60 Days of Taking the Just Thrive Probiotics - My Personal Review Of This Spore Based Probiotic
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I have struggled with poor gut health for the past 10+ years since having my gallbladder removed at just 19 years old.
Over the years this has looked like intense stomach cramps, diarrhea, and periods of constipation. All of which left me constantly feeling bloated, uncomfortable, and anxious about eating when I was away from home (aka away from quick access to a bathroom).
In this post I want to share a few of the things I tried prior to trying the Just Thrive probiotic as well as what changes I’ve noticed since taking Just Thrive’s spore based probiotic.
Before Just Thrive Probiotic
My provider told me that since my gallbladder had been removed, it was likely higher fat containing foods that was triggering my stomach issues, and to eat a low-fat diet.
I started paying closer attention to what I was eating, and I even tracked everything I ate in MyFitnessPal for a period of time. My hope was that I would be able to identify which foods were triggering the episodes of cramping and diarrhea, but several weeks later I couldn’t find any correlation what-so-ever.
The episodes seemed to happen randomly, no matter if I was eating “healthy” or absolute junk…sometimes I would be totally fine eating a food one day, and sicker-than-a-dog if I ate if again the very next day.
As you can imagine, this was very frustrating, so I had a discussion with my doctor again. Following that conversation, I was placed on a medication called Colestid, a cholesterol medication that’s #1 side effect is constipation. I was told it would keep me from having diarrhea episodes. I continued to take this medication for years and it worked well for a while, but eventually it did start to cause increasing constipation, so I weaned myself off of the medication.
How I Learned About Spore Based Probiotics
Around the same time I weaned off the medication, I noticed that more people had begun talking about the power of probiotics for digestive health.
Figuring that I had nothing to lose, I started taking a probiotic daily. Thankfully I did notice some improvement, but it was inconsistent. Somedays I felt great, others I was still running to the bathroom.
I’ve since learned that not all probiotics are the same. They don’t all actually survive the digestion process to arrive live in your intestines, where they really need to be in order to do their job.
As I learned more about taking a functional medicine approach to health, I was also made more aware that probiotics alone cannot health poor gut health. I knew that I needed to get to the root cause of my gut issues, or else I would never really fix the problem, just Band-Aid it.
Having to deal with the symptoms is frustrating and painful, but because our gut health affects nearly every other thing in our body, it felt even more important to truly address the issue.
What I Experienced From Taking The Just Thrive Probiotic
I was introduced to Just Thrive by Megan Kober from The Nutrition Addiction (now known as mydietician). After doing my own research, I decided to make the switch because its a spore-based probiotic, has proven survivability, and Just Thrive completed a study which proved their product helped reduce leaky gut.
I have now been taking Just Thrive daily for 60 days and am happy to report that I absolutely can tell a difference.
I have experienced less bloating, less episodes of diarrhea, no constipation, and feel less GI “discomfort” in general.
Although I am not completely “healed” in the area of my gut health, I knew switching probiotics would not be a magical quick-fix cure. I am taking other steps to aid in the healing of my gut: increased water intake, increasing fiber, decreasing my consumption of inflammatory foods, and have a food sensitivity test pending.
If you struggle with an upset stomach, acid reflux, diarrhea, or constipation, I highly recommend giving Just Thrive a try for at least 60-90 days as it will take time to notice a difference. You can order Just Thrive from their website here and you can use code “VANDA” for 15% off your order.