HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Clavulan antibiotic

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 4/8/2016 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

I've been in remission (1-3 bms a day) for over a year now. Yesterday I was prescribed the antibiotic clavulan for a chest infection. I'm two pills in and have also taken 1 Ultimate Flora probiotic to help keep my gut balanced, but earlier today I had to rush to the bathroom and nothing but this dark, goopy blood came out. Is this the antibiotic killing off an infection or should I stop taking it?
I was prescribed a different antibiotic last year for something similar and definitely did not have this reaction....

I also have been coughing a lot for the past week to the point it's bringing up blood and hurting my torso (why I saw the doc) so it's hard to tell if this is related.

Post Edited (handfulofrain) : 4/8/2016 5:51:58 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/8/2016 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
That was the antibiotic I took 6 weeks before I developed UC. I believe the side effects include "colitis" in the patient information. I would be worried and would call my doc ASAP to tell them what is happening.
Sorry you had such a bad response.
Posted 4/8/2016 8:09 PM (GMT 0)
Possible side effects on my sheet are diarrhea, nausea and vomitting, and vaginitis in women. Both doc and pharmacist know I have UC and the pharmacist recommended the probiotics.
Posted 4/8/2016 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
I was prescribed this last November. It was called Augmentin (Amoxicillin and Clavulanate potassium) and I flared after taking it. It was my worse flare ever with extreme abdominal pain which I never normally suffer with when I flare.

I did have other antibiotics as well within a short period but strongly believe this started the flare.
Posted 4/8/2016 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
Well looks like I'll be asking for a different antibiotic....hopefully two pills of this clavulan hasn't done too much damage.
Posted 4/9/2016 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Amoxicillin alone gives me severe diarrhea. Augmentin makes it explosive and uncontrollable. Even Lomotil doesn't ease the symptoms. It took me several months to get back to normal after taking it for a few days. I've since declined it twice.
Posted 4/13/2016 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
fyi all it had nothing to do with the antibiotic....wound up being hospitalized and have been diagnosed with ITP. seems my body trying to fight off the flu so hard for a week set off my immune system in another way. so that's fun.
Posted 4/14/2016 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
oh wow! Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Who hospitalised you? and which one?

How are you doing now, and what was the treatment?

Scary how our bodies can react....is this something for you to be seeing another type of specialist?

Hope you're feeling better soon.

q
Posted 4/15/2016 12:54 AM (GMT 0)
i wound up at hsc. i had two IVIG infusions (i believe that's what they're called) and tomorrow will be my 6th day at 40mg of dexamethasone...am still waiting to hear back from the doc on how to taper that as i don't see the hematologist again til the 25th now & feel that this is an extremely high dose of steroids to be on for any extended period of time (you bet i'm on calcium supplements right now too). the hematologist who came to see me while i was in emerg seemed pretty confident that i would recover well, but there will definitely be some follow ups in my future to make sure things are getting to where they need to be.

platelet count on friday night was down to 3 (norm i'm told is 150), monday it was up to 17 so that's when they gave me the second IVIG infusion & then discharged me. i had some more bloodwork done today & am assuming they would have called if my platelets were still looking too low. right now i'm just mostly trying not to mentally obsess over whats going on in my body...hopefully i'll get lucky & this will be a one time thing as i was going through a lot of stress & flu symptoms for a week or two before this happened. i did have a bout of enteropathic arthritis in my arm around this exact same time of year back in 2013 that has never relapsed...same sort of situation with stress/flu too.

Post Edited (handfulofrain) : 4/14/2016 7:04:10 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/15/2016 6:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi...wow.... low platelet count, but good it's going up. Obviously your reaction warranted a quick whack with dexa and ivig. Who is the hematologist?
Good you have an appointment soon.

You might consider vitamin d supplements as well considering you are taking calcium .... did that get checked as well?

You've gone through an awful lot, and your body's reactions are extreme. I wonder if another type of doctor can be added to the mix eventually unless the hematologist covers those types of reactions.
I understand your not worrying, but do make a list of questions for your appointment.

I hope you have a good support circle in family and friends...it helps.

Please keep us updated on how you are doing.
q
Posted 4/15/2016 7:05 PM (GMT 0)
the hematologist i'll be seeing is dr. zarychanski. heard back from the nurse today and i'll be going in for more bloodwork next week, plus 4 more days on the steroids from today & then i can stop cold turkey apparently, so that's good.

my supplement right now is a mix: 350 calcium/175 mg magnesium/100 IU vitamin d3. may up to two a day tomorrow, but just trying to avoid shocking my system with anything too much right now. not sure what those levels are at - another question to add to my list. have to say that all of the nurses & docs i've dealt with this past week have been great - very knowledgeable and keeping me in the loop about what to expect/whats going on which is nice.

yeah my body is a strange one....i'll be fine for years, but when any illness hits me it sure hits me hard & fast. i'm guessing my recovery over the next couple of weeks will depend if i need to be seeing a specialist regularly. for now i am just going to make sure to keep in contact with the hematologists office & get follow ups on blood work regularly - i think when it comes to blood issues & platelet levels a hematologist would be the specialist to see.

family & friends & work have all been super supportive this past week - it definitely helps!!
Posted 4/16/2016 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hi...looks like you're in good hands with Dr. Z. It's good to hear there are more hematologists in the city. I see he's also in Critical Care....all good.

Definitely find out what your vitamin D levels are...if they are low, you're in no way taking enough. I'd definitely up them to 2 a day since the dosage of Calcium would be still under the daily recommended (I take the same twice daily plus 2000 D at this time. Mine was low, has increased...but isn't in any way high. I might increase the D again if my mood declines...but for now it's doing well.

Good you can drop the dexa...any side effects from it at this point? If you do have problems, at least the contact you have with his office is good.

Hope you continue to feel better daily and that your blood results will be in a good range.

Let us know how things go....
Awesome you have good support system.

q
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply