Probiotics and Enemas

@SwitchableSusie, as someone with a medical background, let me ask you a question. For the last year or so I've been doing a series of several high volume enemas about three times per week. I feel fine, and if I stop the enemas, I resume normal BMs in about a week or so. What exactly are the health risks of doing this kind of enema schedule long term, and how serious are they? Some people on Zity claim to have been on an enema schedule like this for years or decades with no ill effects. The web research I've done on this question has produced few results, and what I do find is inconsistent or inconclusive.

Many people do have no apparent ill effects from enemas at all.

However,enemas do wash out the colonic bacteria and IF you get an infection, like C diff because you were on antibiotics or some other reason, the lack of many of your own bacteria will make it easier for C diff to become an established infection because it doesn't have to compete with other bacteria to establish colonies.

Oh knowledgeable ones on ZB........ Do yogurt enemas replace the decreased flora enough to be effective in regaining flora balance?

I do a 1.5qt. Yogurt enema after all the cleaning and rinsing us completed.

Yes, they do help, but it still takes a week or more to rebuild the full colonic flora and longer to develop the fully diverse colonic species after a thorough cleanout as in a colonoscopy prep.

For 30 years I've enjoyed enemas--a lot of enemas, many of them the extreme sort: high volume enemas; ultra-fast-injection-rate enemas using 1" plastic hose and 1" inside-diameter nozzles; long retention times of weird solutions; hot enemas; cold enemas. You name it, and I've probably done it when it comes to enemas, (except for those little bulb things.)

Over the last couple of years I've been doing a record number of enemas while sticking a lot of new things up my ass. I've gotten into using long colon tubes, (actually up to as long as my whole colon). I also started using a squishy soft 3" wide retention plug that fills every corner of my rectum to make high volume enemas easy, probably way too easy. I have two new extreme retention-type enema nozzles I use a lot. Both insert 11" to penetrate and seal my inner sphincter, and fill the first few inches of my sigmoid colon. My first was an 11", double-ball retention nozzle. My second is the infamous SNCMAX3, the ultimate retention nozzle. It's 11" long, 3" wide in the rectum, 2.5" wide in the lower sigmoid colon, and designed to perfectly seal both the anus and inner sphincter for effortless, no-hands retention of anything you can inject into yourself until you say uncle.

With an upcoming colonoscopy, I've been a little concerned lately about possible damage I might have done to myself with all this colon abuse. I've been imagining the worst outcomes, like the colonoscopy doctor would find that I have a heavily scared, totally inflamed, and grotesquely enlarged colon filled with infections, ulcers, fissures, multiple polyps, and maybe even cancer. I've been expecting a WTF-have-you-been-doing-to-yourself lecture from the doc after I wake up from his colonoscopy.

Well, the colonoscopy results are back. I'm fine. I just had one polyp, (not unusual for me.) It was actually an improvement from my colonoscopy five years ago in which I had internal and external hemorrhoids, and three polyps, one of which was a pre-cancer. So with great relief, I can now say that my colon is a lot more normal than I am.

Somewhere on this board, I read about a probiotic retention enema to renew the gut flora after antibiotics. I haven't been able to find that post again and I don't remember who the OP was. I know it was one of the medical professionals (maybe Beccarnmommy?) I am trying to find out the brand name of the probiotic capsules she used.

Susie sure knows her shit, doesn't she?

@ jimmyt44 - No shit! LOL!

Susie sure knows her shit, doesn't she?

Susie is actually 3 guys that spend all day researching answers and spitting them out. Can't you tell?

Three guys WOW. I had suspected the she was really just an AI computer with kink added in. Now we all know.

@Slipitin Your local health vitamin store should be able to help with that, but some good probiotic capsule brands include: Renew Life.

I give my sub probiotics occasionally and they do help his bowel habits. I'd give him yogurt but he is not a fan of it unless it is loaded with sugar. And he needs less sugar in his diet.

We actually give ourselves yogurt/MILK mix enemas monthly. We find it very relaxing and soothing. We mix a large natural yogurt with milk warming it up, at least 3qt, mix hold for 45 minutes or longer.

Here in the UK a number of colon hydrotherapists offer high strength prebiotic implants following a colonic.

I have a small plastic container with a lid that is about the same volume as a measuring cup. I fill it almost halfway with salt and the other almost half with baking soda. Then I get about 5 probiotic capsules and open them and pour the powder into the salt/soda mix then put the lid on and shake to mix everything. I generally pour around a tablespoon of the powder into my last 3 quart enema as the rinse and replenishment.

I had a colon therapist that used to inject a tub of plain yogurt at the end of my session. She used a colon tube and one of those big plunger type syringes to get it in high. She would put it in in knee chest position and then I had to wait that way to absorb the water before I could leave. She gave me a feminine pad to put in my underwear in case I leaked (which I usually didn't).

I couldn't say if it actually did anything for me.