Oh my gosh! There is no way you should be continuing Cipro with the list of side effects you have developed. Shame on your doctor who keeps prescribing it!

Yes, there are other antibiotics, or other novel treatments, such as those for IBD. But, failing that, sometimes you just have to lose the pouch. Did you read the article I posted in the "sticky" post? Scroll down to the topic of chronic pouchitis. http://www.cghjournal.org/arti...(13)00483-7/fulltext

Jan

I have a appointment with a different GI Doctor, I'm hoping she can prescribe something else to try that won't have as many side effects. That tendon and muscle pain is getting very bad, I'm having a hard time walking now.

Also, in addition to Jan's reply, are you sure it's even helping you anymore? After 12 years on one antibiotic, I can't imagine it's still being effective. That's awesome if it is, but maybe you don't even need it anymore? When is the last time you were off it? Defintely time to rotate to a new medication.

I alternate between Flagyl, Cipro, and VSL3 on my own schedule. You might try Flagyl even if it hasn't worked in the past.

I get a side effect that you haven't mentioned. I tend to get a rash (likely yeast) on my face near my mouth when I'm on antibiotics. I take similar doses of antibiotics when I'm on them.

wow,wow i agree with jan do not know why a doctor knowing you have so many bad symptoms would keep you on cipro..first rule for doctor.DO NO HARM..what was he thinking and truthfully(sorry) what were you thinking... thats a long time to have so many terrible side effects without thinking hey something is wrong here..i must stop taking it..

there are so many other antibiotics that would not effect you at all to try.. we all talk about this on the site a lot about all the antibiotics one can try.. wish you had come to site sooner for some good advise..cipro or like antibiotics are known for very bad side effects for lots of people..only hope you can reverse some of those awful side effects..please stop cipro now!!!!for all you know cipro stopped working years ago and you may not have needed it at all..thats a long time for a drug to stay effective..personally,i can not be on one over 4 months at best before it just stops working..

I took cipro for a long time and had no side effects but did develop a severe yeast infection and warts simultaneously, which is what happens with high dosages of broad spectrum antibiotics taken over a long period of time. The bacteria in your skin is killed to such an extent that the other microorganisms in your skin, namely fungi and viruses, begin to occupy the empty space formerly occupied by the dead bacteria. This is why I never stay on cipro more than 2 weeks before going off or rotating. I am actually more afraid of fungal infections and viruses than side effects because I have never had the usual side effects of tendon/joint issues. When I broke out with warts and yeast infections my dermatologist told me it was the worst case of a wart breakout he had ever seen in 30 years practicing dermatology. He also told me he had never seen anyone heal up from warts that were frozen off as well as I did, especially considering some of them were monsters that grew huge overnight and had to be treated very aggressively with multiple freezings.

Bottom line is that these are all reasons to be very careful with broad spectrum antibiotics.

I should also note that the wart breakout came at a time when I was not only taking cipro for a period of months but also Entocort, which is an immunosuppressant drug. So be careful with taking that combination for a period of more than a few weeks. I took them continuously for months and the result was the yeast infections and warts. Your skin is the first line of defense against infection from the environment we live in and when it is compromised that is where the problems will show first if the bacterial balance is severely compromised.