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Help! Antibiotics causing me to flare??

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/19/2013 4:51 AM (GMT 0)

Hi-

I'm still trying to fully understand my UC. I was diagnosed in 2009 but had my first flair last year. I've been on Remicade for a year since with great results. However, I was put on a zpack last week because I had bronchitis. When i went back to my primary care doctor, she started me on another zpack because i was wheezing. I was unable to tolerate it this time around (swollen face, vomiting) so she switched me to Doxycycline. However, I am now having watery stools. Has this sent me into flare? Or now that i stopped antibiotic will the watery stools subside in the next 24 hours?  Its the weekend so should i go to the ER? I'm just nervous because I don't know how fast this can get out of control.  also, what do i do about the cough i still have? being on remicade i don't want it to get out of control.

Posted 1/19/2013 6:34 AM (GMT 0)
Antibiotics can send you into a flare but sometimes they can give you watery stools that don't mean a flare as well. Are you having any pain? Is there any blood. I don't think you need to head to the ER but I don't go to the ER for a flare. I just call my GI. If you get dehydrated then you need to go to the ER. Or if you get a really high fever. Watch the cough. Finish the antibiotics for it unless the D gets too bad and then call your doctor and ask if you should stop it. I have been on antibiotics at least five times and had d without going into a flare so try not to stress. Do you take a probiotic? If not you might want to consider it or eating some yogurt because the antibiotic can kill the good bacteria in your gut and you can get sick from that. Try not to stress if there is no blood and pain chances are it might not be a flare just lose stools.
Posted 1/19/2013 11:58 AM (GMT 0)
I was on Amoxycillin last week and flare worsened. I added VSL#3 DS (half sachet) with Slippery elm bark powder into my routine (along with continued use of Hydrocorotisone, Mesalamine enema 1X a day each), looks like flare is getting under control.

To note, same regimen of Hydrocortisone and mesalamine was not helping before antibiotic use.
Posted 1/19/2013 1:00 PM (GMT 0)
I wouldn't head to the ER. When I was on antibiotics I had a few days of less than normal stool. Are you taking probiotics? If not get on them. Take 2-3 hours after the antibiotics. Help replace the good gut bacteria the antibiotics are getting rid of.
Posted 1/19/2013 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
You shoud be taking probiotics all of the time anyway, increasing the dosage quite a bit whenever you have to take antibiotics. The first time I took a zpack with UC my symptoms got much worse. I wasn't taking a probiotic at all. The second time I was already taking VSL and increased my dosage in anticipation of the zpack. The zpack didn't hurt me at all that time.
Posted 1/19/2013 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
I went on vancomycin twice and both times I got loose stools but it resolved itself (bare in mind I was taking 2 sachets of VSL #3 combined with Yakult, yoghurt and another probiotic capsule daily).
Posted 1/19/2013 4:03 PM (GMT 0)
Do not go to the ER, you do not have an emergency. But the antiobiotics probably did cause a mild flare.
Be very cautious about antibiotics, use them when absolutely necessary. There are some that are less likely to disrupt the gut. There are lots of coughs going around from various ailments, and no magic bullet. Take probiotics!
Posted 1/21/2013 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Doxycycline is a bad antibiotic for UCers, not that the other brands come problem-free. Z-pack usually is o.k. after the 1st (double) dose. Try taking Culturelle probiotic nightly 2 hrs after your last antibiotic dose for that day. As other members have written above, the probiotic helps to replace the good bacteria wiped out by the antibiotic along with the harmful bugs. Good bacteria is needed to solidify the waste in the colon. / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 1/21/2013 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
I had a ten year full ten year med free remission that ended eons ago due to antibiotics for strep.... The remission was so ironclad while med free and eating anything, that I assumed I had been misdiagnosed originally, so I was not researching or maintaining any relationship with doctors. Nowadays my attitude towards antibiotics is that I won't touch them unless it is literally a matter of life and death. (Actually, I did try rifaxamin *against* my UC last week but the experiment didn't turn out well- made things worse immediately and I quickly halted it.)
Posted 1/22/2013 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure if they can cause a flare, but I know some stronger antibiotics have caused GI symptoms for me. A few years ago, I was put on a short course of antibiotics (I think it was Azithromiacin) for a throat infection, and I had severe cramping and diarrhea. It cleared up after a day or two, but it wasn't fun!
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