Probiotics are very individual. Which blend you need, and at which strength, depends on your existing gut flora. That said...<br /><br />This probiotic is not super high in CFU. It's about 5 billion. Compared to a product like VSL3, which has over 100 billion CFU, this one seems a little weak. In my opinion, this particular probiotic is good if: a) you've tried stronger ones and experienced bloating, discomfort, or any Herxheimer symptoms; b) you have histamine intolerance. This does not contain any histamine-forming bacterial species, whereas most brands do.

First off, I'd like to qualify my review by letting people know I'm a real person. I bought this probiotic, for the first time, a little over a month ago. This review is from my personal experience.<br /><br />I've had IBS/IBD symptoms for much of my life. It was such an issue I had endoscopy/colonoscopy years before it's suggested for the average person. It's quite a lot to ask of a single bottle of probiotic to help bring an end to the misery of those symptoms but - and I cannot stress this enough - 1 single bottle has, literally, changed my entire life.<br /><br />It's expensive and I was hesitant to buy it because if it doesn't work then I'm out about $30.00 and I'd have to wait to purchase my previous priobiotic which I'd been taking for years, at this point. But I risked it, and let me tell you... the results have been - as I said - literally, life changing.<br /><br />Before this probiotic I was taking "NOW Supplements, Aloe 10,000 & Probiotics with 10-Strain (5 Billion) Probiotic Blend, 60 Veg Capsules " which Amazon also sells. I took 2 of those each day and though I noticed some positive changes in my digestive tract, I never even considered there could be even more... better improvement with another priobiotic type. It just never crossed my mind. I thought if I took a probiotic it would do the same general job as any other priobiotic. That was a so incredibly incorrect I can't stress, enough, how wrong I was.<br /><br />This Thorne Research Thorne Research - FloraMend Prime Probiotic - Shelf Stable and Stomach Acid-Resistant Probiotic Blend - 30 Capsules offers half the dosing (only get 1 pill a day instead of 2), half the number of capsules per bottle, 7 less bacterial strains - only 3 compared to the 10 in the NOW brand, and it costs $30 more that the probiotic I was already taking and thought was doing a pretty good job for me.<br /><br />I read a few reviews that convinced me to try this Thorne probiotic and so that's why I'm writing out this detailed review of my experience. I showed this bottle to my Dr so he could read the bacterial types in this probiotic and he told me 'it's not how many you take, it's the right kind - that makes the difference'.<br /><br />My intestinal tract is feeling so healthy and strong... it just feels so good I actually notice it - I mean, that's huge for me so I have to mention it.<br /><br />I went from having IBS/IBD/IBC symptoms all day, every day of my life - every bowel movement since I was in Jr. High School (I'm a grandparent) - never knowing if leaving the house was a safe bet for me... having been tested for Chron's and Celiac, and cancer screening, and I even had a couple of really interesting additional testing in the past few years. Everything came back "normal". And I was told it was likely "IBS and there is no single thing that triggers it" and it would come and go randomly without any easily identifiable reason; could be food, could be stress, could be toxins in the environment(?), could be ... could be... I just needed to learn to live with it. I mean... it was a terrible number of decades in this specific regard.<br /><br />Until I started taking this probiotic.<br /><br />It took about 2.5 weeks for me to notice a remarkable change. I mean, a solidly remarkable change. Stools are regular and solid. I have no discomfort when I eat. I used to feel the food moving in my intestinal tract - some days it was intense and painful but most days it was just a feeling that wasn't great, but wasn't terrible, so I just dealt with it. But with this probiotic I don't feel anything at all. No discomfort. I also sleep through the night now, which is crazy. I used to get up 1 to 3 times a night to use the bathroom. Now? I get a solid night's sleep.<br /><br />I have been eating a super restricted diet for almost 2 years now. Extremely restricted. I took out all Gluten and Dairy, and nightshades, and zero refined sugar - basically only syrup and honey. I made positive strides in my digestive health but - and i cannot stress this enough - the change I noticed when I started taking this specific probiotic has changed my life SO much that - this weekend, alone, I ate dessert 2 times (refined sugar in the ingredients), and had a big salad with a lot of things "I used to eat but can't eat anymore" (peas, beans, green peppers, mushrooms, things like these) and expected to suffer dearly for it but... nothing negative came of it.<br /><br />I didn't even notice my digestive tract working as the food made its way through.<br /><br />I'm telling you... this probiotic.. for me - is giving me my life back. I'm on my 2nd bottle.<br />I recommend this product for sure.

I have been struggling with bloating and malabsorption for over 2 years (due to auto-immune illness lupus, and candida). I could eat 1 cucumber slice and bloat up like a pregnant woman.<br /><br />After 1 month of taking Floramend daily (always with food, as the bottle states) I have been able to eat 3 small meals a day!<br /><br />I have tried countless other probiotics all of which were completely ineffective. I've done 5, 10, 50, 80, 100, and 200 billion organism preparations, and have come to understand that the amount of organisms is not what's important, it's the ability for the capsule to pass into the small intestine without being destroyed by your stomach acid.<br /><br />Thorne uses acid resistant capsules (surprisingly most other probiotics do not). This attribute alone makes it WELL WORTH THE COST.<br /><br />I am happy to say I have gained 5 lb's this last month (I am very underweight) and am excited to continue to heal.<br /><br />WARNING: I have taken Garden of Life's Primal Defense in powder and capsule form, taken 3 times daily as the bottle states, and it made my bloating much worse. Of course, everyone is different, but I still feel I must warn others that out of all of the probiotics I've tried, Primal Defense was the only one that actually caused harm.

I was intrigued by the strains in this formula which seem identical to Colon Health sold in drugstores,<br />specifically I was intrigued by the time release capsule and the stronger 5 billion potency.<br />Colon Health actually helps, this one didn't help much!<br />I have come to believe that no enteric or slow release plastic capsules really work, as none of the probiotics<br />packaged in those ever helped me manage my IBS! first nobody knows when, if at all they open, to release the probiotics, secondly if you have an upper intestinal problem like SIBO or leaky gut, they are sure to miss that spot even if they open in the lower intestines and colon! ( hundreds of dollars of probiotics occupy the vegetable compartment in my fridge, I have literally tried them all, including the new similarly encapsulated 100 billion from renewlife etc..so I think I know a bit about it) I would add, the only exceptions of encapsulated probiotics that work in my opinion, are the &#34;acidophilus pearls&#34; from enzymatic and the alginate time release like &#34;Flora Q&#34;.

We ordered these probiotics for my husband. He took them about 5 days and starting complaining of skin rashes that would just pop up out of nowhere, shortness of breath and fatigue. He Googled the side effects of this product and sure enough, all 3 of those symptoms were listed. So, I decided I would try them. I took 1 and by lunch, I had a red skin rash appear over my eye. I find it weird that both of us had the same side effects. The company should refund our money!

For the first time in many, many years I feel like I am actually digesting. I hear it working and can feel it working. This product really does what it says it can do.