Pouchitis antibiotics, particularly Cipro, often work fairly quickly. Do you remember how long it took you to feel better when you had pouchitis previously? How long have you been on Flagyl?

Strong probiotics, like Visbiome or VSL #3, can reduce the frequency of pouchitis for some folks.

THanks Scott!  My prescription is 250MG TID for 10 days.  Today is my second day taking them.  I will say this is by far the worst case I have had and nothing like the "flare ups" prior.  My prior experience was some bloating, blood, pain, change in color and smell and I would take Flagyl for a few days and stop when I got better.  I never completed the whole prescription.  This current bout is completely different and although I have the classic symptoms, it has me questioning some changes to my diet.  I work out multiple times a week (biking typically) and was supposed to leave yesterday for a week long biking road race trip across my state.  Unfortunately, I am stuck at home in bed.  My diet is fairly healthy as I enjoy all veggies and fruit.  I typically have a protein shake in the AM and a small lunch as I don't want to be in the restroom all afternoon at work.  My evening meal is a balance of protein and veggies.  I do indulge in ice cream once in a while and may have a cupcake at a birthday party but do not have those items in my home.  I am curious about the probiotics mentioned in this group.  I do eat whole milk yogurt sometimes but would like to learn more about probiotics.  Can you guide me on some research or where would be a good place for me to start investigating the benefits of this?  Thanks for all your help.  I do feel blessed to be able to have a functional life but it is easy to feel blue about my current situation.  This group has been very helpful to me!

I guess I should share my story as it is not your typical case.  My sister was killed in January of 2013 and that first Christmas after her death, I had some blood in my stool.  It became worse and I attributed it to stress of the anniversary and Holidays but went to my doctor anyway.  I was prescribed Flagyl and it went away.  The following year at Christmas (2014) the blood in the stool returned with fatigue etc. but I again attributed it to stress and I was traveling out of state.  It did not get better when I returned home from the holiday so in early January of 2015 I went to the ER because I truly thought I had food poisoning.  I was admitted and told I had UC and was going to lose my colon.  Ten days later, while in the hospital, my colon perforated and I had emergency surgery.  I had several issues after surgery with infections with the incision sight and skin burns from the ileostomy.   Due to my age and active lifestyle, I opted for the j-pouch surgery.  While receiving a body scan prior to my surgery, they found a large mass on my ovary and was not sure if it was malignant.  They would not know until the day of my surgery for the j-pouch.  Fortunately, I did not have cancer and the mass was removed along with ovaries and tubes while I had the reconstruction.   My take down was five months after my surgery.  So I had all three surgeries within 11 months.   Not one doctor believed I did not have issues prior to the perf of my colon due to the condition of it was in but it is true.  I have a wonderful specialist and had my first scope two years ago where he stated there were signs I had at some point had pouchitis, so he offered a prescription as a PRN.  My next scope is in October and I have only used the PRN twice in the last six years so this new bout is pretty severe for me compared to before.  I guess I am not very in tune with myself for when I have a infection and am realizing I need to learn more.  Thanks for listening and the support!

One of the best summaries of probiotic research I’ve seen is the CareFirst Blue Cross probiotic policy. I posted the updated location/navigation here: https://www.j-pouch.org/topic/...4#663214202801915104

Note that the research on “VSL #3” was on a product that is now called Visbiome. The current product called “VSL #3” is a slightly different formulation (that’s the one I use, for insurance reasons).

@La-Te-Da posted:

I guess I should share my story as it is not your typical case.  My sister was killed in January of 2013 and that first Christmas after her death, I had some blood in my stool.  It became worse and I attributed it to stress of the anniversary and Holidays but went to my doctor anyway.  I was prescribed Flagyl and it went away.  The following year at Christmas (2014) the blood in the stool returned with fatigue etc. but I again attributed it to stress and I was traveling out of state.  It did not get better when I returned home from the holiday so in early January of 2015 I went to the ER because I truly thought I had food poisoning.  I was admitted and told I had UC and was going to lose my colon.  Ten days later, while in the hospital, my colon perforated and I had emergency surgery.  I had several issues after surgery with infections with the incision sight and skin burns from the ileostomy.   Due to my age and active lifestyle, I opted for the j-pouch surgery.  While receiving a body scan prior to my surgery, they found a large mass on my ovary and was not sure if it was malignant.  They would not know until the day of my surgery for the j-pouch.  Fortunately, I did not have cancer and the mass was removed along with ovaries and tubes while I had the reconstruction.   My take down was five months after my surgery.  So I had all three surgeries within 11 months.   Not one doctor believed I did not have issues prior to the perf of my colon due to the condition of it was in but it is true.  I have a wonderful specialist and had my first scope two years ago where he stated there were signs I had at some point had pouchitis, so he offered a prescription as a PRN.  My next scope is in October and I have only used the PRN twice in the last six years so this new bout is pretty severe for me compared to before.  I guess I am not very in tune with myself for when I have a infection and am realizing I need to learn more.  Thanks for listening and the support!

I am so sorry about your sister, she is in a better place. I bet she is proud of you