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Anyone on Flagyl who can help me out?

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Posted 6/27/2009 10:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, i have just been prescribed this to see if it will help to close a fistula which has come through my old scar on my stomach.

I have to take one 3 times a day for 10 days  my question is if after 10 days it hasn't healed then does that mean the drug hasn't worked? i haven't got a repeat prescription and was given 30 tablets. i thought you were on them longer than 10 days  i haven't got another appointment till sept any advice would great thanks so much Bev x

Posted 6/27/2009 11:04 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Bev,

Flagyl is very strong but it really works to kill infection. It will kill infection in the tissue that surrounds the fistula. It also has been shown in some people to reduce the diameter of fistulae or even close them. But that takes time. The short dose your doctor gave you propably is to kill the infection, but it could help shrink that fistula too!

Be aware that the common side effects are bad taste in your mouth, anxiety, high emotions, loss of appetitite, and D. I was on it for several months, but then I got tingly toes (peripheral neuropathy -- stop taking it if you get this). These side effects can be nasty, but remember that your doctor put you this "big gun" antibiotic because you need it!

Take care.
Posted 6/27/2009 3:26 PM (GMT 0)
yeah, if you get any tingling in your extremities or start experiencing a metallic taste in your mouth, tell your doc who SHOULD have stop cold turkey. the side effects are supposed to go away soon after you stop, but if you have side effects like this and continue long term they may not. so be cautious, but that goes without saying for any medicine.
Posted 6/28/2009 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
I've been on Flagyl for months.  It's the only thing that works for me.  Humira, 6mp etc haven't worked but Flagyl makes me feel a hundred times better.  I'm not quite in remission but my quality of life is so much better on it.

The taste of Flagyl is brutal.  I ususally swallow mine in a spoon of applesauce to keep it from touching my tongue.  It helps.  I think the general course of Flagyl is only about two weeks but I can't imagine it would fully close your fistula in that time.  It hasn't helped my fistula in all the months I've been taking it but it sure does help the pain and bleeding.

Best of luck to you.

Posted 6/28/2009 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
There is no way that 10 days worth of flagyl will close your fistula.  I was taking 500 mg 4 times a day with cipro, and I needed remicade to help close mine.  I even set my alarm to get up in the middle of the night to take it so I was always taking it the same amout of time apart. 
Posted 6/29/2009 1:11 AM (GMT 0)
Hi ChronnieLass,   I have been on Flagyl combined with amoxicillin for about 9 months now. I am currently on 2 tabs a day but was on 3 x day for a few months, and I found the side effects to be very full on. I am quite thin and I think that might have had something to do with it. It really affected my moods and gave me this weird anxiety/depression, hard to put my finger on it but I just ‘didn’t feel like me’ and realised it was the flagyl. Also, it made me nauseas and killed my appetite so I lost some more weight. I would definitely vouch for the drug though – mine was also used for an abscess/fistulas, but my crohn’s ‘tummy’ symptoms have been much improved since taking it with the other anti, as have my energy levels, because it is working to bring down the infection.   If you are on it long-term and 3 a day is too touch side-effects wise, I would ask your dr if you can go on 2 a day, that’s what I did and it still seems to work but I get none of those nasty side effects. I think 10 days is a very short dose, if he’s given you repeats I think he’d want you to be on it for longer. My doc said ‘try 3 a day, if its soo much, go down to 2 a day’ so I think its pretty flexible.   Hope this helps!   P
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