Using Probiotics During & After AntibioticsIf you’re taking an antibiotic, you can either wait until the course of treatment is over before beginning probiotic supplementation, or, you can take probiotics during the course of antibiotic treatment.

WHY should you take probiotics during or after antibiotic treatment? Because nature abhors a vacuum! This means that the risk of secondary or opportunistic infection is greatly increased when your gut has been cleared of bacteria.

If you take probiotics during antibiotic treatment, the probiotics will help to further encourage the exit of undesirable bacteria from your gut. And will also simultaneously inhibit the overgrowth of yeast, fungi and parasites… Which can flourish in the absence of good bacteria (which have been killed off by the antibiotic).

If you know you have a Candida albicans problem, for example, then you definitely want to take probiotics during your course of antibiotics… to prevent an explosive proliferation of this yeast that will then be difficult to control.

Remember, antibiotics ONLY kill bacteria; they do not kill yeast, fungus, parasites or viruses.

So you really want to be adding in a LOT of good bacteria to keep these other pathogens at bay. Both during and after antibiotic treatment.

Note: I’m going to give you dosage instructions for Natren probiotics here as that is the brand I use myself and recommend for my readers.

Probiotics Dosage

If you’ve supplemented with potent probiotics prior to antibiotic treatment…

Then take your probiotics as follows:

  • Two hours after you take each prescribed dose of antibiotics… Take 1 tsp. of each Natren brand probiotic (Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Digesta-Lac) mixed in 6-8 ounces of room temperature, filtered water (not tap water) on an empty stomach (15-20 minutes before food, or 2 hours after food).
  • Then take an additional dose (1 tsp. of each) before bed. When your course of antibiotics is finished, do Jini’s Probiotic Retention Enema and take 1 tsp. of each powder on an empty stomach (15-20 minutes before food, or 2 hours after food) three times a day for three months. And then once or twice a day (always on an empty stomach) for the following three months. If your bowel movements are normal, or you tend towards constipation, then you can take the probiotics in capsule form, if you prefer. If you use the Healthy Trinity capsules, then you do not need to take them on an empty stomach.

If you haven’t supplemented with probiotics prior to antibiotic treatment…

Then you may want to proceed more slowly to avoid the Herxheimer Reaction:

  • Two hours after you take each prescribed dose of antibiotics, take 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. of each Natren brand probiotic (Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Digesta-Lac) mixed in 6-8 ounces of room temperature, filtered water (no tap water) on an empty stomach (15-20 minutes before food, or 2 hours after food).
  • Then take an additional dose (1/2 tsp. of each) before bed. When your course of antibiotics is finished, do Jini’s Probiotic Retention Enema and take 1 tsp. of each three times a day on an empty stomach (15-20 minutes before food, or 2 hours after food) for three months. And then take 1 tsp. of each powder once or twice a day (always on an empty stomach) for the next three months as well. If your bowel movements are normal, or you tend towards constipation, then you can take the probiotics in capsule form, if you prefer. If you use the Healthy Trinity capsules, then you do not need to take them on an empty stomach.

Diagnostic Or Exploratory GI Procedures

When undergoing a digestive diagnostic or exploratory test (stomach, small or large intestine), you should also immediately follow it with probiotic supplementation.

These tests are all very disruptive to bacterial flora. And you leave yourself wide open to infection by yeast, bad bacteria, viruses and fungi following these procedures.

If you’ve already been taking probiotics regularly…

Then follow any of these procedures (gastroscopy, colonoscopy, barium enema, etc.) with 1 tsp. of each Natren brand probiotic (Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Digesta-Lac) in powder form mixed in 6-8 ounces of room temperature, filtered water (no tap water) on an empty stomach (15-20 minutes before food, or 2 hours after food), three times a day for three months and then 1 tsp. of each powder (or 1 Healthy Trinity capsule) once or twice a day (always on an empty stomach) for the following three months.

If you haven’t been taking probiotics prior to the diagnostic/exploratory tests…

Then you should proceed more slowly with supplementation to avoid the Herxheimer Reaction. Take 1/4 tsp. of each Natren brand probiotic powder (Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Digesta-Lac) mixed in 6-8 ounces of room temperature, filtered water (no tap water) on an empty stomach (15-20 minutes before food, or 2 hours after food), two to three times a day for two weeks, then 1/2 tsp. of each three times a day for two weeks, then 1 tsp. of each powder, three times a day (always on an empty stomach) for the following three to six months.

If you don’t have loose stools (or tend towards constipation), you can also take one Healthy Trinity capsule before bed… on an empty stomach, if you prefer.

I also have detailed instructions for how you can protect both your gut mucosal lining and your gut flora… Before and after a colonoscopy, in my free colonoscopy report.