Hi! I only very occasionally get pouchitis symptoms and when I do I fill a running prescription for cipro. When I start taking it I am cured within a couple of days, it works amazingly fast. My question is, at this point can I stop taking the cipro or do I have to finish the full bottle course of cipro for the full 10 days (or however long it is)? Thank you!! Sinead

Generally, if you have a real case of pouchitis, you should take the full 10 day course, or at least 7 days. But, if this is just bacterial overgrowth, a few days may be enough. You will know if your symptoms return within a week or two if you stopped it too soon. There really is no harm in completing the course though, so you may as well.

Jan

Hi Jan, thanks for answering! Hope you don't mind more questions

I don't know anything about bacterial overgrowth, is that something we have to deal with too? What is the symptoms of bacterial overgrowth compared to pouchitis? Is there a way to tell the difference?

thanks!
Sinead

The symptoms of bacterial overgrowth are pretty much the same as pouchitis, just milder; mostly just the diarrhea/frequency. You don't get the serious cramping, urgency, etc. that you do when there is real inflammation going on. Bacterial overgrowth happens when you have been on antibiotics or if your output is too slow and bacteria has time to build up in your pouch. Usually, you can turn things around with probiotics in mild cases and probiotics are good for maintenance.

Jan

What do you think of Kyo-Dophilus as a pro-biotic supplement? I have taken 1 per day for about a year now, is this enough?
should I take more? I usually take cipro when I get symptoms, but hate the idea of getting too dependent on it.

Well, for me sounds more like the start of a possible pouchitis than bacterial overgrowth then. Or it's just one of those things that will go away on it's own, so hard to know at this stage. I usually only start to recognize it's a problem when I get a certain specific pain that notifies me I have pouchitis, and that's when I'll fill my cipro script and start taking it. Presto I get better and then realize I must have been having issues for longer than I thought because I'm sooo much improved. Like, you know, you just get used to gradually using the bathroom more or more urgent etc. and don't realize it's not normal.

I just thought if I didn't have to take the full course of cipro and could just take enough to make it go away in a day or two, I wouldn't wait until it got that bad. That's what prompted my questions.

Thank you for the discussion. I'm also curious about learning about probiotics, Kayla, I know nothing about them. My Dr. brought up the possibility of trying them once but next time I saw him he said not to afterall. Maybe because I (thankfully) rarely have pouchitis issues? I only see that specialist now once every 2 years or so or I'd just ask him all these questions on the next visit.

I have been dealing with chronic pouchitis for a year now and am finally off the Flagyl!!! My Dr. gave me some samples of probiotics called TuZen. They are new and are becoming available in drugstores. I picked up a pack of 30 for about $30. I have been taking one a day for three weeks now and feel pretty good so I am going to try to get off the antibiotics eventually.

I tried the VSL#3 but I think they were too much for my system.

Usually the first week or two you take probiotics there is an increase in gas but then once your system adjusts it settles down.