roughly a few weeks after takedown, i developed very bad pains in my abdomin. doctor scoped and said the pouch looked good but every time he would touch it, it would bleed. they put me on a 14 course of antibiotics. cipro 500mg 2 x a day, and flagyl 500mg 3 x a day. a am 1 week into this and although the pain has gone away, i am horribly nauseaus from the flagyl i'm guessing. having trouble eating,sleeping, and horrible taste in my mouth. i have a few questions... 1.)does this course of antibiotics seem extreme? 2.)if i get this again,can just the cipro work or can the flagyl be substituted with another antibiotic? i am allergic to Vancomycin. 3.)does this mean i am a good candidate for pouchitis chroniclly since i got it so soon?

I think in your case, they want to add the Flagyl to reduce your risk of reactivation of C. diff, especially since you are allergic to Vancomycin. Giving Cipro, or most antibiotics alone, would increase your risk of C. diff reactivation.

Jan

thanks jan, so what your saying is, if i would be one to have chronic pouchitis, they would probably just give me the cipro?. also, with the c-dif, even though its gone i am more prone to get it again every time i'm on any antibiotics?i read about people who take antibiotics as a maintanence drug for pouchitis, what would i do if that is my case?

I have been taking Cipro 500 mg 2X and Flagyl 500 mg 2x daily, rotating onto other antibiotics, for 13 years now. I have no side effects from cipro, flagyl, or xafaxin and amoxocillin (which also has worked well for me), except a coating on my tongue that looks kind of gross. I also have not suffered from c diff or bleeding of any kind although my pouch studies do not show a complete remission of the pouchitis but rather a mild, chronic pattern of inflammation consisting of ulcerations in the pouch and lower ileum. Since adding pentasa and culturelle to the rotating antibiotics regimen, I have noted further improvement.

If it is the flagyl that is bothering you I would ask your Doc if something else can be substituted for it. I assume you have tried taking it with food? A lot of posters have reported problems tolerating flagyl but fortunately, it has never bothered me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DJBHusky,

Goose, Your C. diff can be inactive, but the spores remain ready to reactivate at any time. They can live for decades, like seeds, ready to grow when the conditions are right. It does not happen all the time or to everyone. For many people who are carriers of C. diff, that is when they take antibiotics that C. diff is resistant to. This is why C. diff colitis is also called antibiotic related colitis. Cipro by itself may not be safe in your situation, because it suppresses bacteria other than the C. diff. It may not be as bad as others, but still, Flagyl and Vancomycin are considered the only single use antibiotics that are effective against C. diff. I would suspect that if you do develop chronic pouchitis, Flagyl and not Cipro would be more appropriate for chronic use. See this link (note: Cipro is a fluoroquinolone) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/c-difficile/DS00736/DSECTION=causes

Understand, that once you have C. diff, your pouchitis is more complicated than others who have never had it and your doctors need to treat you with that consideration. It is possible that you have totally irradicated the C. diff, but it is also quite possible that you have not, especially since you have not been able to use Vancomycin.

It is possible to treat pouchitis topically with Flagyl topical preparation- Metrogel. This is typically used for vaginal infections, but can also be used for pouch installations for people who are intolerant of systemic Flagyl. You may want to discuss that option with your doc, if you wind up having to discontinue the oral Flagyl. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8036463

Jan

THe strong advise i can give you about flagyl is to take them as suppositories.

You will have no more nausea, or bad taste or tongue infections.

I was taking 500mg and no cipro and was extremely effective.

Its not as bad as it seems and takes two seconds. The effect is local rather than polluting the entire body. However, some does get absorbed into your blood although not as bad as taking it orally.

Talk to your doc.