Flagyl

I've always wanted to give it a try for treating my flare but my GI doesn't think it will help.

She said my problem is not bacterial. I have heard of people saying it has upset their colitis worse. That's probably why she wouldn't want to prescribe it to me. I'd rather give it a try and take the risk because nothing else has helped either. Won't know unless you try...

Flagyl and or Ciproflaxcin are sometimes used to treat UC. It isn't exactly used for its antibiotic properties. Some people benefit from it though. I took it twice and it didn't help or hurt me.

Spooglesmom,
Very interesting! My daughter had the same result from metametrix. Is Aliia an antibioitic? My daughter's not with an integrative doc but a doctor of chinese medicine so she is using an anti parasitic herbal formula. Did you retest to see if the results were any different? How long was she on remicade before you started the Alinia? Is your daughter on a prescribed diet?
As for the flagyl, I don't knowwhy they want to prescibe it for. I guess if you've got a bacterial imbalance which underlies your colitis, it might kill everything for a while and squash a flare? Again, I'm not sure.

I did have stool tests and they came back negative. I have used Flagyl in the past for Bacterial Vaginosis but not since I was diagnosed with UC. I don't know how she knows it is not bacterial. I guess she thinks it's been an ongoing issue for too long to be bacterial. Not that a bacterial issue would resolve on its own. I also wish I could get a long course of diflucan to see if that would help. That or some kind of yeast test. Something is off balance but it's so hard to find the cause...

My GI put me on it . He wrote me a two week script, I was flaring very badly at the time. It made me so naseaus I couldn't take any more after four days. They say to make sure to take it with food. It made me so sick I could't even eat.

Hi Killcolitis! I have been following your posts and it seems like your daughter is doing better!

My daughter has been on and off Flagyl since July. Her GI prescribed it because she had an outrageous amount of gas; the next day we had an appointment with her naturopath to get the results from her metamatrix test, which showed a c-diff infection. Flagyl is the traditional treatment for c-diff, and the naturopath also suggested saccharomyces boulardii (Florastor). She started taking the flagyl immediately the saccharomyces boulardii a couple of weeks later (because I never like her to start multiple new treatments at the same time).The flagyl helped tremendously with the gas, and all of her stool tests have remained negative for c-diff since then. The gas keeps returning, however, so she has had several courses of flagyl (which always alleviate the gas problem). There have been no negative effects, UC-wise, with the flagyl; she does get a tingling sensation in her hands, however.

When she started the saccharomyces boulardii, there was in immediate decrease in her need to use the bathroom, within two months her bm's decreased from 4 to 6 daily to 2 or 3. Mostly it was the overnight bm's that decreased, she used to get up 2 or 3 times a night and the week she started taking the s. boulardii she slept through the night twice......before that, it had been over a year since she slept through the night!

Wishingtohelp,
Thanks for the information. I was wondering if flagyl would be an on-going treatment if we used it or a one off or what? How is your daughter now? My daughter is doing better but we still have ups and downs (ie. when we see even a touch of blood both my husband and I become hysterical). We're trying to see it as a "healing process" with ups and downs and keep that in mind. And, of course, who knows what will happen tomorrow? I'm always talking to new people, researching meds (ie. flagyl instead of pred) etc etc.

Post Edited (killcolitis) : 3/23/2010 12:43:18 PM (GMT-6)

I'm sorry to hear her QOL isn't great. It's heartbreaking. She sounds like a strong little thing tough. Has she done any of the alternative stool/blood tests? I'm confused about their efficacy but it's worth a shot in my opinion.

yeah, I don't know what to think about these tests. Some seem to have great results from them. Ours shows an unnamed parasite. I don't know what to make of that, but that's one of the things we're now treating with herbs.

Wishingtohelp,
about 10 weeks or so. She's also on a strict diet at the moment. If you want details at any point, please email me.
I try to stay pessimistic about treatments so I would be completely devastated later but I can say that pred did not firm up stools this time around. They only firmed up a month after we tapered, which is about 6 weeks into taking the herbs.
?

Hi Pam, She stopped the remicade after her 7th infusion; it immediately put her into remission with the 1st infusion but she started flaring again about 2 weeks after the 3rd. Her doctor then had her get the infusions every 6 weeks; she never stopped bleeding and after the 7th infusion, which was a double dose, starting bleeding profusely. She stopped the 6MP about 3 weeks before that final remicade infusion (and started taking sulfasalazine). Her last infusion was Jan. 2009. She is not in a great place right now, but after diet modifications, and a lot of trial and error with supplements the bleeding finally stopped in October. There are mini bumps with that now and then, but really her major symptom right now is urgency, and she is severly underweight, no energy and still losing weight. When did your daughter start the VSL3 and yogurt, and did it make a difference?