Community Chat

[57babe]

Passing along some important information to those who are having surgery soon:

Saccharomyces boulardii (brand name Florastor) is a tropical strain of yeast first isolated from lychee and mangosteen fruit in 1923 by French scientist Henri Boulard. It has been shown to maintain and restore the natural flora in the large and small intestine; it is classified as a probiotic. It has been shown to be non-pathogenic, non-systemic (it remains in the gastrointestinal tract rather than spreading elsewhere in the body.)

I discovered Saccharomyces boulardi about five years ago when I read a medical report in JAMA about how it stops the spread of c.difficile in the intestines. Then my mother-in-law contracted c.difficile from the rehab nursing center after back surgery. She quickly became deathly ill with diarrhea. She was hospitalized and given several courses of antibiotics but her condition worsened. I sent my father- in- law a copy of the JAMA article and told them to get Florastor, (which is the best manufacturer of Saccharomyces Boulardii, in my opinion) and give it to her immediately. After taking this for just two days, my mother- in- law’s condition began to improve. She completely recovered in a little over a week.

Now hospitals that are giving this to patients to take for three weeks prior to surgery to build up resistance to and inhibit the growth of c.difficile should the patient get this disease. Saccharomyces boulardii does not kill the c.difficile bacteria, but what it does do - it stops the spread of the c.difficile bacteria so it doesn’t become life threatening.

But not every hospital is giving this to patients, and not every doctor is aware of it’s healing properties.

So if you are going to have surgery soon you can take Saccharomyces boulardii (Florastor) for three weeks prior to your surgery to build up this probiotic in your system to improve your resistance to c.difficile. It is considered to be safe but you may want to clear it with your doctor before you take it.