PPIs increases C. Diff diarrhea

Proton pump inhibitor use was associated with an 80% increase in the risk of Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhea. Studies included 133,054 individuals. Overall, there was a significant increase in the risk of CDAD in patients taking PPIs. C. difficile represents an escalating threat to public health, and CDAD cost the United States an estimated $3 billion in 2005, researchers stated at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Steve - I would venture to say that GI docs don't tell you about this risk before they prescribe PPIs.

If you do get diarrhea of any kind a multitude of research data shows the benefits of probiotics. According to a new review by Cochrane Collaboration, probiotic bacteria given as therapies for diarrhea reduce the length of time sufferers are affected and lessen the chance of episodes continuing for more than four days.

Probiotics may help in a variety of different ways including eliminating the bacteria, viruses or parasites responsible, for example, by competing for the same nutrients. Giving probiotics in conjunction with rehydration fluids reduced the duration of diarrhea by around a day and reduced the risk of diarrhea lasting four or more days by 59%. No serious adverse effects were reported in the trials.