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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 11/24/2011 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all,
Does anybody happen to take Vancomycin? If so what sort of feedback could I get in terms of pros and cons about this medication? I have yet to try it but my specialist just wrote me a script for it in a very last of salvaging my health before I go under the knife and start the whole process of removing my colon, then rectum.
Posted 11/24/2011 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
I took it for my C Diff infection when Flagyl didn't work. It got rid of it fairly quickly, and I didn't notice any side effects (but with all of the other medications I was on, I'm not sure I would even have known what was causing what.) I have heard it can be very expensive, but I have decent insurance, so it wasn't too bad for me. That's really all I know about it.
Posted 11/24/2011 1:30 AM (GMT 0)
So, do you still currently take the Vancomycin? Or is it used periodically. . .when needed? Because at the moment I have no drug plan and will be taking a test run with this medication for about 7-10 days to see if it does anything for me.
Posted 11/24/2011 1:49 AM (GMT 0)
I only took the Vanco to clear up the infection... I think I took it for about 10 days. I would only take it again if the infection came back. So you would potentially be using this long term?
Posted 11/24/2011 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
Well I'm still uncertain about that. Currently I'm on 15mg of Prednisone. My specialist told me to call him once I finished the Vanco. I will have to clarify with him, if he is suggesting this treatment for long term? Or is it just to get my health up to par so I can be strong going into surgery. Ultimately I do not want to have the surgery but as of right now I am scheduled for April.
Posted 11/24/2011 2:35 AM (GMT 0)
I was on Vanco and prednisone at the same time. The prednisone was for the UC, and the Vanco was for the C Diff... I hadn't known that Vanco was used for treatment of UC. I would definitely check with your doctor.
Posted 11/24/2011 2:45 AM (GMT 0)
What is C Diff?
Posted Today 12:41 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry for the late reply... computer issues. From what I understand (but I am not the best at understanding medical stuff), C Diff is a bacterial infection that causes a lot of the same symptoms as UC. That's why it took the doctors awhile to figure out if I was just flaring, had C Diff, or possibly had toxic megacolon (which they would have figured out if they had taken a stool sample earlier, but oh well...)
Posted 12/8/2011 3:00 AM (GMT 0)

Hi there.  Vanco is the antibiotic used to kill c-diff when flagyl alone does not work. It is very expensive.  Depending on where you live, it can range from $750 to $2000 for a 10 day course.  It works very well. I used it last year at this time in conjunction with Flagyl.  Because flagyl has always made me sick, I cannot tell you if using Vanco alone would also make you feel nauseous. I was extremely ill with the c-diff and spent 6 nights in hospital, and an additional month of home health care hooking me up to IVs every few days. I went through  3 different rounds of that combination to get rid of the c-diff.  I was off work and the cure took 3 months but was well worth the daily nausea.  If you haven't started Vanco yet, and flagyl did not resolve your c-diff infection, by all means I recommend you do the Vanco, before you are damaged so bad that they start removing portions or all of your intestines.

A bit of info about vanco being used to treat UC.  It is used in the treatment of UC CAUSED BY by C-diff.  Severe cases of c-diff cause UC.  Mild cases may just cause severe bowel distress, without causing UC.  If you do not test positive for c-diff, your practitioner most likely would not perscribe vanco to solve UC. 

I wish you luck on getting cleared up. 

Posted 12/12/2012 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
Hi All,

I was googling Vancomycin when I found this thread going on. I have had Severe Ulcerative Colitis for over 10 years and was about to go into surgery this past August to have my colon removed. I had been on high doses of prednisone for 4 years and tried everything to get off, even Remicade. Finally, even the prednisone stopped working. It sounds like there are others here with that same issue.

Anyway - 3 weeks before I was to sign consent for surgery, I heard about a radical treatment called Fecal Transfer, where you have a donor provide their good "stuff" and transplant it into your colon, thereby recolonizing it with all of the multitudes of good flora it's supposed to have in order to work properly. I was able to skip the surgery and get down to 1/2 the prenisone I had been taking. My doctor prescribed 2 weeks of Vancomycin for me because he thought there may be the possibility that my UC is c-Diff related. After the 2 weeks are up, I am going to try the Fecal Transfer again and start going reducing my drugs to see if I can get rid of the need for prednisone (or any medication) totally.

For those of you who are facing the prospect of the surgeons knife - look for a thread on this website called "Fecal Transplant Log Part I" and "Fecal Transplant Log Part II". Read the experiences of those who are trying this pioneering method. I show up at the end in Part II. There's no reason for you to have your colon removed!

Diagnosed with UC in 2001
Fecal Transplants in Aug 2012 - went from 40 mg/day to 15 mg/day prednisone
Symptoms reoccurred at 15 mg/day prednisone, so went up to 20mg/day and further Fecal Transplants in Nov 2012. Current medications: prednisone (20 MG/day)
Posted 12/12/2012 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
I almost forgot.

Anastasios10 - you asked about long term use of Vancomycin for treatment of UC. There is a study that regards that very thing. Click on http://www.pulsus.com/cddw2007/abs/207.htm.
Posted 12/12/2012 3:19 AM (GMT 0)
Isn't vancomyacin very expensive?

Peaceful, while I agree with you on trying FT, there are people here who have tried it without success. I think FT can help in cases of bacterial imbalances but I am not sure whether it would provide results if you had a different cause to your UC? I would definitely give it a try before surgery if I had a good donor but it's not a magic "cure".
Posted 12/12/2012 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
notsosickly - Yes, Vancomyacin is very expensive. My 2 weeks worth would have cost me over $1,100 CDN if we didn't have a good benefits package. But then again, Remicade makes it look like a penny drug.

I'm currently trying out the theory of my UC being caused by a virus or bacteria that depleted my colon of good flora (or at least some strains of good flora) and that the condition is exacerbated by food sensitivities much like what happens when a person is lactose intolerant.

Which is why I am trying out ways to deal with the issues on all three fronts. The studies that I've read pertaining to FT are very positive, especially the Borody trials in Australia, and so I am winding my way through actions and observations to affect a remission without medication.

At least I still have my colon. If not for following the FT route, I would be a very different person today.
Posted 12/12/2012 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
it blows my mind the Brody's case reports and the word "trials" are even in the same sentence.
Posted 12/12/2012 4:22 AM (GMT 0)
DBwithUC - Why do you say that? Are you not a fan of Borody or the results that he's given to achieve with FT?
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