Appreciate the detail.
Which Culterelle product do you take specifically? Amazon link?
And how do you take it? With Candex? Or does it need to be taken away from Candex?
I specifically take this one (without inulin):
iherb.com/pr/Culturelle-Health-Wellness-Probiotic-30-Vegetarian-Capsules/7797
The details are most important here (as well as anywhere else). They often decide whether something is working or making you way worse. I experienced that many times. I lost many years of my life searching for the details that I missed. It's possible that the damages caused by these details are irreversible. Imagine someone taking Culturelle with inulin who is allergic to chicory, ie. this version:
iherb.com/pr/Culturelle-Digestive-Health-Daily-Probiotic-30-Once-Daily-Vegetarian-Capsules/56049
... and cursing it to hell then taking the version without inulin and swearing by it... This specifically didn't happen to me but I know people who experienced this problem with Culturelle.
Unfortunately, something else like that has just happened to me (an allergy caused by a component that I didn't notice before) so I am barely alive now, inflamed, etc.
I take Culturelle away from Candex - as it is said that it also may digest bacteria.
But I developed also a detailed guide how to take Culturelle:
- start with 1/4 of the capsule (you may open it, there's no problem) and take it for some time. Possibly even every other day. Gradually increase the dose. I arrived at a dose of 1/2 of capsule every other day, or even less frequently. 1/2 of a capsule on 2 consecutive days and I end up with gut inflammation (joint inflammation follows).
It's no problem that you take a smaller dose - every capsule contains 15 billion of CFUs - so it's a lot and many probiotics didn't have that much a few years ago. On the other hand, natural probiotics contain much much more, so it all depends how sensitive you are to ingested bacteria (and the fight betweend the new bacteria and old bacteria and your immune system). I'm incredibly sensitive but if you weren't also sensitive we probably wouldn't have this conversation (Candida will make you more sensitive). So, statistically, you will be better off starting with a small dose.
- take Culturelle with the first bite of your meal. This will allow a fast passage of bacteria to your gut through the stomach, relatively unharmed by acid.
- beware of foods that are easily digested by bacteria when taking Culturelle - even simple carbs can serve as a food for them - not only such sugars as inulin. This will end up in local overgrowth and a lot of trouble.
Actually, this quide pertains to any and all probiotics...