probiotics arent bad for you but what they are in may be causing the problems for people. Unless you buy the yogart in the health food store and there are no other chems in it and it is plain you can and i do react to all the other junk they slide into the stuff. Same for bread it is the yeast and flour cuz of the wheat or other graines that trigger people. but tablet form of probiotics that are good whole ones no chems are kept refigerated and they cause no problems for me nor have i heard of them causing problems. Its just easier to blames it on the good dtuff than disclose the chems they pump into us in trying to eat and be well. If we all got well the pharmcuticals and docs would go out of business

Some Probiotics (as supplements) do cause me to get migraines too. I use one now called culturelle that doesn't effect me that way. I'd be curious to hear from others that have experienced this. I had a hard time finding any other examples.

I use probiotics each and every time that I take antibiotics in order to prevent yeast infections, which seem to plague me within a few days of starting any antibiotics.

I do know for sure that they work for me as they prevent those nasty yeast infections from rearing their ugly heads. I purchase mine in enteric coated capsules that absorb into the lower intestines.

A good quality one can be found at a health food store and there are dairy free ones available for people who trigger migraines from dairy. I had never heard of a person getting a migraine from supplementing with them previous to this post.

I DO NOT eat yogurt, as I completely shun Dairy products, (allergies and MILK is not a food for adults, and COW milk is NOT a food for HUMANS) and in reality REAL probiotics are destroyed by acid, (your stomach is an acid environment) so ANY in food would be destroyed by your high digestive system.

HOWEVER, I DO take ENTERIC COATED Probiotics (usually Nature's Way Enteric Coated Primodophilus) when I am on antibiotics, or was exposed to GI illnesses. I have NEVER had it trigger a breakthrough migraine, but I ONLY use the good stufff, none of that stuff in food, which CANNOT be used by your body, and is destroyed by your stomach anyway.

If one is to use Pro-biotics, they need to be taken ALONE meaning just the powder or pills on an EMPTY STOMACH with nothing to eat for 3 hours before and 2 hour after, OR use the Enteric Coated, which has a seal on it, which will NOT open until it is in the Alkaline area of your SMALL intestine, where it does the most good.

Also, only take ONE probiotic strain at a time. Those "mixed" probiotics, using several strains of the good bacteria at one time, (say Bifidus and Acidophilus in one pill) are believed to be almost useless, as the bacteria may fight each other for ability to colonize in your intestine and neither will form a colony. It's best to take ONE strain at a time, and to take it in an enteric form.

My guess would be, to White Rose, is that the DAIRY was perhaps the cause of your migraine outbreak. It's not really a food meant for humans....(well, human milk is, for HUMAN children, but COW milk, is just not a FOOD, it meant to prep the infant COW'S digestive system for a life of eating grass and hay. NOT for humans in any way.)

I am glad you are feeling better now, but my guess is that it was one of the dairy proteins (which are very allergenic and are CONCENTRATED in yogurt. Yogurt is NOT a "magical food" by any means. It's just old cow milk, with some NON absorbable bacteria added to it., because of the acid nature of both Dairy itself AND your stomach when you eat it.)

Hi All
I'm thrilled to find ski13's response. I came across this post because I've been trying to find a mention somewhere on the web about people having migraines triggered by Probiotics. Everytime I take GastroHealth probiotic tablets, I trigger a migraine. If there is anyont else who suffers this, I would also be interested to here, since this is the only place I've found it on the net so far. Very odd trigger!

I would say if something repeatedly triggers a migraine NO MATTER what it is, to stay away from it.

It is possible for almost anything to be a trigger, so if something triggers you, obviously it isn't good for you.

You may want to look at the fillers in the probiotics you are taking IF only ONE brand of probiotics causes a migraine in you. If more than one brand does, and they have DIFFERENT fillers, than you can guess it is the active ingredient.

Also, there are more than a dozen "Probiotics" from Acidophilus to Bifidus to the ones the yogurt companies just made up (B. Regularis. It is NOT a real "probiotic" as per studies done in independent labs.) Could ALL of the probiotics be a trigger? Highly unlikely, because you body makes plenty of your own. Your body is filled with Acidophilus and Bifidus and other Probiotics, however, there are many things in our enviroment which can kill these in your gut (Antibiotics, medications, certain foods, like...dairy) and some people attempt to replace the colonies that are neccesary to good digestion and immune function by supplementing.

I would suggest a yeast free, dairy free, "Vitamin" free enteric coated Acidophilus, with little or NO fillers and see if that works for you. My guess would be the fillers are the culprit, BUT if you have gotten migraines from several different brands, (and the GOOD ones have to be refrigerated, usually, I know of only ONE brand which is shelf stable) then stay away from them.

Good luck.

When my son was young (20 years ago) I was told that milk was the #1 allergent in the country and people should not drink it. I was certain he was allergic to it.

I get migraines when taking probiotics, but have only tried 3: Flora Q, Align, and Florastor, all caplets. Probiotics do help my IBS systems and were given to me by my GI doctor; however, Florastor is the only one that I can open and monitor how much I take so that the migraines aren't triggered. I'll keep searching. The probiotic yogurts aren't nearly as strong as the caplets, so I don't get headaches from those.

Thanks for all the good information here. Maybe I'll try one strain at a time to see if I just need to beef up on one for my IBS.

I have been seeing a "fuctional neurologist" for 1 month now for my chronic migraine! He did extensive blood work and allergy work on me!
Found out I am very gluten sensitive VERY dairy senstive. just my 2 cents ;) I do feel a bit better in terms of headaches since i started this diet around 2 weeks ago. I was tld it could take up to a couple of months to rid gluten out of system.