need antibiotics longer?

What you can try doing is lowering your evening dose for a few days and then alternate days for a week with meds. Then move to every three or four days you take your meds over the next week or two. I often never stop cipro cold turkey. I usually slowly reduce my dosage over a few weeks until I am off completely.

hi there,diagnosed with chronic pouchitis several years ago, prescribed cipro--alternate with Augmentine, this helped for for a couple of years but I became immuned to them both, so I weened myself off them, with no initial effect, I then started to get diarrhea again with stomach ache,I told my doctor that I had stopped the antibiotics four weeks ago without any change until now.....
He said did I get pains in my stomach before I said no more in my pouch area, he said that I should do a stool sample to test for c.diff ????
The sample came back positive oh no I said,, the Cipro had caused C.difficille, the point iam making to you is go on the c.diff websites and just see what antibiotics cause. Please check with your doctor,all the best in the future.

You still might want to taper off like Jeanne suggested, to see if it helps. You can not get tested for c.diff until you've been off of antibiotics for 14 days anyway. If the taper works then you probably don't have c.diff. If it comes back real soon then it probably is a good idea to be tested for c.diff.

Allison,
Is your pouch activity increased with pouchitis? Mine always is and that tends to dehydrate me too. Possibly you can try some bowel slowers or immodium to help as well.

That post was in July. I went off the cipro and did just ok for a while. Then I had to go on other antibiotics because I had skin cancer surgery and those helped. The last month has been rough with increasing diarrhea so my dr. had me take a stool test and no c.diff. I'm on cipro which helps but I can tell it's not helping like it used to and I worry about getting c.diff.

I take psyllium fiber every day and immodium (once in a while pepto) so I do take bowel slowers however when things are bad, the diarrhea runs through those bowel slowers and that's when I know I have pouchitis or something like that which I cannot control with the bowel slowers.

Jeane - my only symptom is diarrhea and when I have it, I might go to the bathroom more than usual and I might not. It depends. But, when I do, it's liquid and I have to take pedialyte to stay hydrated and I feel weak.

I really feel like this rollercoaster is getting old and I wish I could get this bacteria in balance. I take two different probiotics and try to keep the sugar at bay as much as possible.

I'm so sorry to her about your cancer, it adds one more horrible layer of medical problem to worry about. I know you are posting asking Jeanne a question but am concerned. C.diff is dangerous, they quarantine people in hospitals with it and it can cause death if someone is weak enough. If you can't tell the difference please ask your doctor. I can't tell the difference and have had tests many times and never know if I'll test positive or negative for it or not. I believe there is a more expensive test they can give you if you've been on antibiotics but I've never had it.

You need to do what you need to do to get well.

TE Marie,
No, thank you for responding. I want to hear from anyone who has information/experience.

I'm wondering why I should be that worried about c.diff. I mean I am, but I know several people who have taken cipro for years and never gotten it. I just want to make sure I'm aware but I don't want to get super worried, I don't need that right now. (I have so many health issues all the time it can drive you crazy!)

My question is also about pouchitis and just riding this wave of antibiotics, then getting off them, then going on them a couple months later. I guess I'm looking for others to say if they're going through the same and methods they're using to help. The last scope I had showed a little pouchitis and I also had a bacteria, both of which were treated with antibiotics.

I take Augmentin for recurring or chronic IPS, not pouchitis. Since I have not tested for c.diff the last few times tested I assume it's IPS. I was diagnosed with this by my GI at the Mayo Clinic. None of my pouch scopes and biopsies indicated pouchitis. I don't like taking antibiotics so often but that's the treatment, along with Lopermide, prescription Imodium. I take Flagyl every once in a while too.

You are right there are many on here that take Cipro all the time and don't get cuffitis.

Allison,

I am treating pouchitis for 18 years and never had C Diff. It is believed I suffer from a bacterial overgrowth situation, and I have combated it with rotating antibiotics (cipro, flagyl, xifaxin, augmentin) one week, and then lactulose (prebiotic) the next. This, along with changing my diet to reduce sugar and carbs dramatically, has really seemed to help. I am taking lower dosages of antibiotics than in the past, and I feel like I am in better shape with the pouchitis.