Concerned about antibiotics

Was just prescribed an antibiotic as I have an upper respiratory infection (sinus, throat, lung) that won't clear up.   Concerned because I know the impact this has on one's gut killing all the good bacteria in the colon (year and a half ago I ended up with C-Diff from an extended period of time on strong antibiotics).

Aside from loading up on probiotics, is there anything else I can do to help fight off a reoccurrance of c-diff and/or getting another flare? 

Yes - I have rectal meds and have been using them daily to treat inflammation that I still had at that end of the colon. I know antibiotics will cause diarhea, so some of that is to be expected... do you recommend taking a higher dose of probiotics during this period as well?

Ceprozil. Started taking them yesterday and already starting to see looser stools... I assume the probiotics need to be taken appropriately spaced out from the antibiotic? (i.e. not taken at the same time).

I've got that upper-resp. thing too and managed to keep from needing antibiotics. Maybe luck but I did a few things to keep it from going downhill in the direction of a flare:

1. Eliminate all dairy which increases mucous and can be a breeding ground for bacteria.

2. Chicken broth in place of coffee or tea, several times a day (homemade if you can). I also sometimes heated water up and sipped it too with nothing in it. Keeping lots of water in my system helped flush out (in my mind) the bad stuff.

3. Upped the probiotics and took VSL#3 twice a day

4. Used generic Mucinex pills(Walmart). I didn't discover how great this stuff was (guaifenesin) right away. First I used a liquid form but it has citric acid which my colon hates so research on the internet told me I could get it in pill form with no additives. It comes in several combos, one for cough, one for sinus, etc. I bought both because I had both problems and alternated them.

Guaifenesin is a natural plant sourced remedy which I found interesting.

Hope you feel better soon. It's lasted 8 days so far and other people here have said 2 weeks for them.

cpaarchie,

Yes, antibiotics will definitely mess up your gut flora.

I would suggest at the very least doubling up on probiotics.

Also, for your sinus infection, the Neti pot is very useful - have you given any thought to giving it a try?

If you do, remember to  boil the water before putting it in the Neti pot.

cpaarchie,

Have you ever heard of GSE?

You could also supplement with GSE - grapefruit seed extract - it's a great anti-bacterial and anti-viral. They even use it in hospitals!

There are 2 ways to take it:

1) put 10 drops in some warm water and garggle with it

2) put 15 drops in some OJ and drink it down

IMO it's more effective than antibiotics, and with alot fewer side effects.

If I start to feel sick, or anyone in the family does, we start this routine and it pretty much nips it in the bud.

What do you think?

The articles also said you can use distilled water. My directions never told me to use boiled or distilled water so I always used tap water. Now I'm scared to even though it sounds like that amoeba thing is extremely rare.

i'm really worrying about antibiotics right now, too... tis the season.

i've got a sinus infection right now and was just prescribed amoxicillin. i've taken 3 doses and just had my first bout of diarrhea. i'm in remission from colitis (my scope in november was clean), and didn't experience any pain, cramping, or blood with the D, which is consistent with antibiotic-caused diarrhea, from what i understand, so i'm trying not to worry about that too much and will keep taking my VSL #3DS.

but i'm really working myself up in fear over c. diff. how much do i need to worry? what do i need to look out for? should i call my gastro and doublecheck with her that it's okay for me to be on amoxicillin? i know i need to take the full course of antibiotics but i'm not sure i can handle 10 days of stress over this...

You need to be on the antibiotics and your doing what you should by increasing the probiotics. If you have any rectal meds around I would also use those for the duration. I've never had C-diff thank goodness...I think the chances of getting it increase if you end up being on antibiotics for more than just one round. I'm sure someone who has had it or knows more will chime in. I must say that I find it funny that to get rid of it you get put on more antibiotics-granted they are ones for C-diff but still strange to me.

Oop, also meant to say that I am on Lialda and nightly Rowasa anyway, so I'll keep doing that... I've been doing one pack of VSL per day, should I increase to two for the duration of the antibiotics?

I have to admit I'm also a little angry. I know my GP doesn't know as much about colitis as my GI but it seems really suspect that she would prescribe this medication to me when there are other, more gut-friendly choices! Maybe time to switch GPs, too?

do y'all have better luck with taking one pack, twice a day? or two packs at once?

2 pills 3x daily. so the plan was to take them in the AM (around 8), at lunch (around 1), and before bed (around 10). this is like a middle school math word problem, isn't it? i guess i could take two packets when i get home from work?

sherbear46 said...
Its frustrating but it seems that many doctors aren't aware of what is gut friendly for people with UC thats why we have to educate ourselves. And sometimes what is supposed to be gut friendly isn't anyway.

SO TRUE. i think that's what's most upsetting about this, for me. why wouldn't she know more about this? it's so stressful and overwhelming having to keep all this stuff in your head.

thanks all for your help - this forum is always such a great resource and source of support. <3