[purchase/affiliate]After the events of last summer and the number of procedures I ended up having, I decided to try and sort my post-Covid, anxiety and antibiotic intolerance related stomach issues out by trying Symprove. I’ve looked far and wide across the internet and there aren’t many consumer reviews of it out there – I saw a couple of bloggers who had tried a month’s worth (pointless) and a few happy customer quotes but nothing substantial that I could really relate to or get an idea of the three month journey. If you have any questions you can PM me on Instagram (@britbeautyblog) where I’ll happily answer questions. Or email, if you don’t have Instagram ([email protected]).
There’s only so much you need to hear about someone else’s colon troubles – actually not a particularly easy thing to share either by the way! So, without going into graphic detail, let’s just say urgency and frequency with poor food absorption but most of all, bloating. I carry all my stress in my stomach so aside from the obvious unpredictability, bloating, tension and pain joined the party I didn’t want to be at. I think about lovely Deborah James – aka Bowel Babe – who did her level best to normalise bowel chat. I think her wonderful legacy is perhaps not so much to bring it to the casual chat table (although I have one friend that I talk about little else with!) but to highlight symptoms and lock in the notion that if things aren’t right, you need to be checked. I did get checked and actually, I’m loathe to discuss the colonoscopy because it seems everyone is so different – like childbirth, some people breeze through and others not so much. Latter was me but you know, I was pleased to have anything serious conclusively ruled out so I could put those little niggles at the back of my mind to rest. I feel my issues really came to the fore when I had an allergic reaction to some very strong antibiotics as mentioned and after all the tests the consultant came to the same conclusion (probably, she thought, and I wished she’d thought it before tests).
Symprove resets your gut balance by flooding it with the live bacteria it needs to flourish rather than flounder. Also, can I just drop in how pleased I am with myself for managing to find the two knitted bacteria my friend Charlie made for me years ago! What you want, ideally, is a stomach that is colonised with bacteria that allows it to work calmly and efficiently. It’s slightly acid tasting and the liquid needs to be the first thing that hits your stomach every morning with a ten minute wait before anything else, like a reviving tea or coffee, gets anywhere near, but the fact that the bacteria are set in water, which means the digestive process isn’t set off by taking it, the bugs have time to do their work. I can attest that it takes more or less the full three months for things to fully work out unless you are unusual and you will go through a rainbow of stomach stages during the process. I think perhaps the gurgling is the thing that stands out most because it came at the most inappropriate times! The liquid is a blend of pre and post biotics (Acticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum). Symprove is science backed, using independent labs and breakthrough research from UCL but I can see their wording is careful not to claim ‘cures’ and the like, or even be really specific about what conditions can be helped by using it. I’m (clearly) not a doctor but any IBS-like symptoms (like mine) may be improved by ensuring the right bacteria is working effectively – at least, that’s my experience.
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I bought the 3 month programme and have no affiliation with the brand other than joining their affiliate programme but the result has been indisputably good. There is no more bloating, no more urgency, I feel like my food absorption is better and everything colonic is working as it should be. It’s taken the full 12 weeks for me to truly and definitively say that it has been very beneficial for me. Perhaps because the brand is so restricted in what it can claim, having chosen the food category route presumably to reach the masses more easily and avoid Symprove being prescription, but it’s hard to understand what you do when you have finished the recommended three months. My auntie, 85, recommended Symprove to me – she takes it every single day and it has helped her enormously in not having to ‘rush’ every time. So, she’s stayed on it, but should I? It’s just not clear. On the Symprove website it suggests a three month course, but says, ‘and after that, who knows?’ and that just isn’t helpful. Am I back in balance? Can I swap to a supplement? And will problems return without it? Nobody seems to know.
I need to take into account that I have changed HRT in that time to one that suits me so much better, so perhaps that has had some influence but I don’t actually know. The bloating was the thing that upset me the most – not being able to fit into the same jeans I’d worn the day before for no apparent reason was frustrating and bowling about with a stomach that literally looked pregnant was awful, so it’s a huge relief not to have that any more. Symprove is expensive (£79 per month) but it’s done the job for me – I feel kind of lighter in myself, not exactly happy externally with my stomach which is still not as flat as I’d like it to be (entirely my own fault for going through a rare chocolate phase), but inside it’s golden! I never have to wonder if I’ll wake up being able to fit into my jeans, timing is predictable, not random and I can eat what I like. I feel absolutely inundated with ‘health’ information just now – every time I open a paper or website, there’s something about gut health or blood pressure or hidden horrors you might have (but likely not) and I have tried so many things – giving up broccoli, giving up wheat, giving up dairy, eating before 6pm, drinking kefir until I’m nearly drowning, and so on – so actually, the relief of not constantly trying to work out what’s wrong with my stomach is immense. You can find Symprove HERE (current offers to save 1/3 are on at the time of writing).
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All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
6 comments
This is so useful and interesting to read! I’m in very much the same situation regarding my IBS and need to rush to the loo. It sounds as if this is well worth exploring. And my word, anything that will help prevent that ‘eek!’ feeling as soon as there’s a gurgle will be fantastic!
Yes, it just affects so many people – definitely worked for me but now I have finished the 3 month course, I need to see if old habits return or not.
I was the same as you after my mother died: exploding tummy, bloating, terrible pain. I couldn’t eat anything and lost a lot of weight and was so worried. At first I thought maybe gluten intolerant, then lactose intolerant, then sugar ditto. Then, obviously, bowel cancer or some other cancer. I tried all the different diets but nothing made any difference until I started taking probiotics. I now use Mega Probiotic from Victoria Health and I am not perfect but so, so much better. No more bloating, no pain and regular pooing. I don’t take them constantly but a month or two every now and again.
I have never heard of Symprove but I am very glad it has helped you. The thought of living the rest of your life in that horrible condition doesn’t bear thinking about.
Exactly, I am sure stress plays a major part in all of this. Thank you 🙂
I would like to recommend an excellent book, “GUT” by Giulia Enders. Very informative and explains everything in simple to understand, often humorous, terms.
Having suffered for 30 years with gut issues relating to gluten and dairy intolerance, I have managed them successfully now for some years thanks to my own research and dietary planning (various G.P’s have not been very helpful!) “Gut” luck going forward
Thank you so much for the recommendation Elkie x