I'm having oral surgery tomorrow. And the Dr gave me this as the antibiotic to start taking tomorrow. I just read it may cause "Pseudomembranous Colitis."

Now I'm scared to take it. Should I call for another antibiotic? Is there aone equally as strong that doesn't have such a severe potential side effect?

Virtually all antibiotics can cause pseudomembranous colitis. That is just another term for C. difficile colitis or antibiotic associated colitis. If you have had C. difficile infections in the past, you may want to be extra alert.

Take it as directed. You should be fine. However, if you develop terrible diarrhea, especially if there is blood, then you need to take Flagyl and/or Vancomycin to deal with it.

Jan

Thanks Jan. I guess it's the antibiotic killing the good bacteria that leaves people open to the C. diff.

C. diff is where I started, oh so long ago. I fought it for months with vancomycin. And by the time it finally was gone, I had developed full blown UC. I know it doesn't happen to everyone who gets C. diff, but I think I remember it happened that way for a few of us here.

So, I hope that keeping up the probiotics at non-antibiotic times will keep me on the safe side.

Actually, part of it is that the good bacteria get killed off by the antibiotics, but more importantly, that the antibiotics do not touch the C. diff. Then the C. diff is allowed to grow unchecked and release toxin. Cipro also does not touch C. diff, yet it is commonly used by pouchers. Since you have a history, you just will need to be extra observant.

Jan

Yeah, I see what you're saying. This antibiotic scared me once before when I read the same warning. It was for a topical application, but still, I threw it right in the trash when I read that line.

Thank goodness we have you, Jan. And thank goodness for J-pouch.com. Even when things are going great, which they are, the information we share and receive here is invaluable.

THANKS EVERYONE!

Thomas's UC also seems to have been triggered by a case of bleeding c. diff. at age 8. He has not taken clindamycin orally, but he has used it topically almost daily for over a year. No problems.

Oh thank you! It's good to know that. The next time I go to the dermatologist, I'll have another option.

And what a bummer ( ) that Thomas and I have that in common. I wonder if people were aware of the long term effects that c. diff could cause, maybe the doctors would be more quick to test for it and treat it aggresively.

I was put off by doctors for quite a while before I was tested for c. diff. And then it took three courses of Vancomycin to get rid of it. Perhaps it wouldn't have led to UC for me if it didn't have such a long time in my system.

Maybe we should get the message out to all kinds of doctors. The first to put me off was a very wonderful and competant OB/GYN. I don't blame her. I just think the docs don't have c. diff on their minds and the possible long term consequences.

For a long time I tried to figure out what caused Thomas' c. diff (which was diagnosed and treated quickly, BTW) and UC: Did he pick up the bacteria on a cruise ship two months earlier? Did the antibiotic he had a few months later trigger the UC? Etc. While a lot of people with both Crohn's and UC have c. diff at some point (some before diagnosis, some after), and while bacterial infections may be one trigger for UC, I no longer believe Thomas' c. diff necessarily triggered his UC--in fact it might even have been be the other way around: compromised mucosa in the colon may have been what allowed him to develop c. diff in the first place, especially since he had not had an antibiotic in 5 months when it started. His second and final UC flare started within 24 hours of having oral surgery. So I no longer think it's possible to point to any single "cause" of IBD. I think it is a combination of carrying the gene and any number of possible triggers.

That's right Connie, I completely agree. We can make ourselves nuts trying to second guess what we did or did not do to cause the cascade of events that would lead to the first UC flare. Even if you could pinpoint a precipitating factor and avoid it, would it be possible to avoid every single potential trigger throughout your life? Probably not.

Jan