Prescribed antibiotics for Colitis and am questioning it

Hello - this is my first post on a forum like this. After my thanksgiving dinner, I started having stomach pain that has yet to go away. In the following 11 days, I had what I call "attacks" in the middle of the night. Burning, cramping in the lower abdomen. One of those times it was accompanied by vomiting. After the 3rd attack, I went to the ER as I feared it was diverticulitis. Instead my ct scan showed an inflamed colon (colitis). My WBC counts were normal. They prescribed Flagyl and Cipro and told me to go to a GI to see if I have ulcerative colitis or Crohn's. I questioned the antibiotics because I thought that WBC would have to be up to have an infection? But he brushed that off and said not necessarily. I am aware now after researching that Ulcerative Colitis is a very strong possibility as I have had the bleeding issue (but not diarrhea) over the course of the past 13 years (I know, I know) but I thought it was internal hemorrhoids. And a doctor 13 years ago took a little peek and also thought it was hemorrhoids. However, when reading about flares and remission, this sounds a lot like my pattern of bleeding over the years. So a colonoscopy is inevitable and its scheduled. But again, I never had a constipation problem. I never had a diarrhea problem. Just the bleeding. I am on Day 5 of the antibiotics. I do not feel better. I feel lethargic. I feel worse. I feel like they blindly threw these antibiotics at me. I HATE MEDS. And I don't and won't do meds until alternative therapies have been tried and failed. So thats a little background. My question is...am I crazy to stop the antibiotics?

I now have a low fever too 100.2

antibiotics are used in treating colitis for their immunological properties. by regulating gut microbes they can affect immune response.

I don't like this treatment because it can also put gut microbes out of wack. But my objection is risk and not hating meds.

IMO, very few get remission without meds. Some do maintain without meds. You have a hard road if you have UC and hate meds.

The only thing that helps the anti inflammatory drugs work better in a flare for me antibiotics. If you're having side effects though you need to tell the doctor.

Please be patient. I'm terrible with patience. But anxiety makes it worse.

Antibiotics, especially Cipro, can have serious side effects but hopefully you are only taking them for 2 weeks. Many people have been helped by them, for others it made things worse. Sometimes antibiotics can work so well that people think they can be used over and over. I believe that is the real danger. Use them to get out of your flare then get something, meds, diet, and/or supplements such as daily probiotics, to remain in remission.

The most important thing to remember when taking antibiotics is to also take PRObiotics with them. ABX kill both good and bad bacteria in your gut so you need probiotics to replenish the good guys. There is good reason to believe that colitis is an imbalance of good/bad bacteria.

Since you are a newbie here you should know that there are many threads about this topic. Here is a typical one. Please note the interesting discussion about saccharomyces boulardii which can be a useful tool if you can tolerate it.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=2461088
“The only time he has even been somewhat in remission is when he was on the antibiotics”

I do have VSL3 and have taken one so far. I have read conflicting info about whether to take it during or after antibiotics. Not sure what to do?

Willowbrook said...
Has anyone reached total permanent remission with drugs?

The answer to your question is yes. But don't count on it. There are people that only have one flare then never have one again but that is not the norm. In my very small circle of friends with UC, it seems to be every couple years they have a flare up, then remission for a few years. Check out the Crohn's and Colitis foundation website for accurate info. Hopefully, you just have a bacterial infection. I would say that people on this forum trend more toward the moderate to severe UC end of things and are searching for answers to their chronic UC problems.

My general practitioner did the exact same thing to me that your doctor did. Threw antibiotics at me and put me on a liquid die after some mild, but persistent stomach cramps years ago. I had just returned from the Dominican Republic. The problem seemed to pass after a month or so. It wasn't until 5 years later that I had a full on flare where I got diagnosed. My GI said she hates when doctors do that.

I would be worried about using that kind of antibiotic. Cipro is a seriously powerful antibiotic and has serious side effects. Guardian7 can attest to that claim. Going straight to antibiotics was not a good move, and I honestly don't know why some doctors go that route.

I would use probiotics about three hours after taking the antibiotic. And if you have any, and I mean ANY pain just above your elbow and just above your heel (your achilles tendon), stop taking the Cipro, go to the hospital, and tell the nurse/doctor that you're on Cipro. Cipro can rupture your achilles tendon. You need to be aware of that side effect.

I would go to your family doctor and see if he/she can get into a GI asap. You need to be on the right US medication, not on a strong antibiotic.