by Dr. Bill Rawls
Posted 4/15/22

Most people with chronic illnesses like chronic Lyme disease have had a healthcare provider recommend taking probiotics at one time or another. But are they really helpful? Here, Dr. Bill Rawls talks about probiotics and whether or not they’re right for you. Plus, he discusses instances where they could actually add to digestive discomfort. Learn more about ways to have a happy, healthy gut here.

Video Transcript

Question: Lyme and probiotics, should you be taking them?

Tim Yarborough: Gloria is wondering, why might probiotics cause her stomach pain when it’s supposed to be helpful? And then a follow-up on the probiotic question is, is it okay to take probiotics with antibiotics?

Dr. Rawls: Second question: yes. If you’re going to take antibiotics, definitely you should take probiotics. There’s no doubt about that. That might help just a little bit. But people still typically get gut dysfunction if they’re on a probiotic.

A general probiotic that also, a yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii, don’t ask me to spell that one, is really important for suppressing candida in the gut and also C-diff. So I would recommend a general probiotic with bifidobacteria and lactobacillus in the average strains. But also taking the Saccharomyces boulardii, I think is important.

For your first question, as far as probiotics in general, you know, sometimes they help but you’re introducing bacteria. And if your motility isn’t good, and you’ve got food there, and you introduce bacteria like lactobacillus that are fermenting bacteria, and things aren’t moving, as long as there’s food, bacteria will grow.

So if you’re introducing bacteria, and things aren’t moving through, you’re just going to make a bad situation worse. And we do see this a lot with probiotics that people actually get worse instead of better if they don’t have good motility. And so, again, probiotics I’ve found to be hit or miss. I found that as far as restoring normal function, the herbs really work a lot better.

Dr. Rawls is a physician who overcame Lyme disease through natural herbal therapy. You can learn more about Lyme disease in Dr. Rawls’ new best selling book, Unlocking Lyme.
You can also learn about Dr. Rawls’ personal journey in overcoming Lyme disease and fibromyalgia in his popular blog post, My Chronic Lyme Journey.