Recently there was an article linking long term antibiotic use the to development of IBD. I know I was on tetracycline for 2 years prior to my UC diagnosis.

Has anyone been on long term antibiotics for chronic pouchitis who had an original diagnosis of UC and was later diagnosed with crohn's?
If so, how long was it before the start of the antibiotics and crohn's diagnosis?

I don't mean to take up this thread, but I've been on antiobiotics most of the time since my surgery five years ago. This post makes me regret not keeping up with this site on a regular basis. Hopefully I started off with the 10 days of Cipro and there was one point where it turned into a six month stretch of Cipro because even though I'm still sort of a mess, I always feel so much better with the antibiotics. Obviously I know there must be consequences, but your post really hit home for me. About two months ago I started using Xifaxan. Oy I'm killing myself probably. I DO take VSL3 once a day with greek yogurt. Who on earth would have thought when I was a young lad thinking about conquering the world I'd be eating yogurt every day, shoot me.

I don't know why I wrote "hopefully" <typo> Grammar above not so good tonight

There has been documentation that for some, people treatment with antibiotics preceeded their initial IBD flare. Perhaps this is related to undiagnosed C. difficile infections that spiraled into UC, or even less inoccuous infections as triggering events. There also has been a link with long term use of antibiotics, such as tetracycline. However, I am unclear or unconvinced that this is a cause and effect, as opposed to a simple trigger that was inevitable.

Regarding use of antibiotics long term post op for pouchitis leading to a Crohn's diagnosis, I think the same logic applies. I don't think the constant use of antibiotics causes Crohn's, but the fact that you need them may be indicative of Crohn's as a possible diagnosis. Not a guarantee, but a possibility.

Jan

This has just recently happened to me. I began antibiotics in 2008 and '09 sporadically and then nearly full time in 2010 and '11. Now I've been diagnosed with Crohns. I found your post interesting as I had been taking minocycline (a tetrocycline) 3 times a week for almost 15 years for cystic acne. I quit taking it last spring 2011 as my skin has changed with age.

I remember very briefly taking tetrocyclene, (for one week or two - acne when I was a teen). I'm 40 as of today. So not sure if this is related to my diagnosis at age 33. I don't give up hope, but boy this is a pain in the ass. On a serious note, I used to get strep throat annually and was treated with Erythromycin quite a bit until my mid to possibly late teens. These were treatments once a year for a few days at a time. I wonder if this relates. @JanDollar, I've really appreciated your posts over the years. I wish I had the power to anoint you for sainthood.

I was on tetracyclene for YEARS as a teenager with acne. And I had my j pouch because the UC had caused emergency toxic megacolon within 2 years of symptoms and diagnosis. I have been on daily antibiotics for 5 years since my take-down for chronic pouchitis. I was just diagnosed last Thusday with Crohn's.

I don't know if your diagnosis can morph from UC to CD. Abx can apparently cause either UC or CD. I don't know if you can originally have UC and then "get" CD by treating your UC with abx.
But then, these don't seem to be the type of questions that are really investigated and I don't even know how they would determine that? I assume that most docs will say that it's unlikely and that if abx work you take your chances like everything else? It's a good question and I think it's worth consideration. But, I think if you have chronic inflammation/pouchitis post colectomy then you may already have CD which hasn't been diagnosed? So a later CD diagnosis might just formalize your symptoms into a diagnosis?