Worried about taking antibiotics with UC

Hi Everyone,
I got diagnosed with mild UC two years ago. I was just prescribed an antibiotic (Sulfameth/Trimethoprim 800/160mg) to treat a UTI. I searched online for a complete list of antibiotics to avoid by people who have UC, but couldn't find one. From what I've read they can be disastrous for people Iike us, like getting C. Diff and loosing entire colon. I just got bleeding to stop about two weeks ago and certainly don't want to aggravate everything again. I've also read about how taking probiotics can help to save some of the good bacteria and prevent problems.

Has anyone here ever taken Sulfameth/Trimethoprim 800/160mg and if so, how did it go?
Thanks,
JML

I think I've been on that one when I was triple immunocompromised (prednisone + infliximab + imuran) as a preventative measure against respiratory infections (at least it was trimethoprim combined with something else). It was prescribed by my gastroenterologist and I assume she knew what she was doing. If you're worried you can always check in with your GI.

I haven’t heard of that antibiotic but I do fine with them and also get terrified every time I take them! I had MRSA in 2019-2020 and had to do 5 rounds of antibiotics. My UC was totally fine. I did take Culturelle the whole time though. I don’t do well with Florastor (causes severe diarrhea for me). I think because it cleanses all the bad bacteria but I tried it this year and it took months to have a formed stool again after stopping it.

JML, good move & listen to the pharmacist about the timing. Drugs.com has an excellent read about Florastor, you type in the name & it brings it up. It's the only site I use looking up medications.

It turned out that the urine culture showed no bacteria. I'm still going to finish the antibiotic cycle because I somehow feel better in terms of my UC, not sure why. I've also been taking the Florastor without any issues so far. Maybe it's the Florastor that made things better, not sure.
Since there was no bacteria and I'm still dealing with pain in my bladder area and dull pain in my kidneys everyday.
My dr is sending me for a CT scan. The only problem is that he wants me to do a barium swallow and the iodine IV. I'm afraid to do the barium swallow because I know I will have problems getting it out of me without a lot of serious pain involved. Also read that you shouldn’t do it if you have kidney issues. And, even if you don't have current kidney issues, the barium itself cause permanent kidney issues in a small % of people.
Already made the appointment, but still have to pickup the barium from the hospital. Seriously thinking about telling my dr it's a no on doing the barium swallow.

Has anyone done the barium swallow when they had UC and how did it go?

JML

I did upper & lower barium series x-rays yrs back before c-scope finally gave me an accurate UC diagnosis. Swallowing barium for upper series wasn't bad; it was a tad thinner than milkshake consistency and had a slight vanilla flavor added. The trick involved in upper barium testing, though, is the time it takes for the barium to coat the small intestine, which a patient has no control over. The radiologist warned me in advance that it could take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours! (I lucked out having to wait in the exam room about 1 hr 15 minutes; then the radiologist was able to "read" my small intestine coating and I could go home. That procedure didn't bother my gut afterward. *** CTscan or MRI contrast can be more of a nuisance, in my experience, due to needle insertion (I have small veins), brief feeling of heat from contrast arriving in bladder area, then the need to keep drinking water for the 24 hours following the test to get rid of the chemicals involved. I don't do well with IV iodine contrast because a couple "outside" effects registered in my body about 3-4 months post-scan, also I quickly got explosive D big time from liquid iodine contrast drink, ugh! *** Be sure to keep well-hydrated with plain water following your tests and try to stay positive about the process, relax as much as you can. Getting an accurate diagnosis is worth the trouble of testing. / Old Hat (40+ yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)

Okay, the reason I'm fearful of doing the barium swallow is because I have issues with not being able to completely empty my colon and rectum. My muscles in the last portion of my colon don't work correctly and I basically have to rely on gravity and built up pressure to force out stool. I have what I call my Poop chair. It's the chair in front of my pc and because of the angle it puts pressure on my lower abdomin and eventually forces me to have to make a bowel movement. The same thing happens when bending over for a while or being on my hands and knees while working on something. I make a bowel movement everyday usually 2 or 3 first thing in the morning and then I'm done for the day. The problem is not enough gets released, too much left behind. My lower colon and rectum is always packed right up to my anus. When ever I know I'm going to be getting a prostate exam I have to do a small enema to clear away the first couple inches. It's also a pain when inserting a mesalamine suppository every night before bed.
Having all the leftover stool sitting there all the time causes irritation, bloating, pressure and soreness. "The reason I fear the barium" I usually don't have any diarrhea unless I eat something bad like bacteria in a salad. When I do it's extremely painful for 2 or 3 hrs because the diarrhea doesn't just blow out like it should. It has to push out all the backed up stool that's ahead of it first. I'm guessing that it’s so painfully because my lower colon is already inflamed and sore. If I have that much pain from a couple feet of soft stool and a 1/4 lb of a bad salad I can only imagine how bad it would be in waiting for all the barium (which can get fairly hard) to finally work itself out. Drinking lots of water doesn't help me now so I don't see how it would help with the barium.

Just to make it clear, my primary dr is the one sending me for the ct scan, not my gastro dr.

I called my gastro dr yesterday and explained my fear of doing the barium swallow. He said when you're doing a ct scan with the barium swallow they usually tell you not to eat anything after midnight. He said instead of just nothing to eat after midnight, I could take it a step further and not eat anything the entire day before the scan. That way there should not be much stool in my colon for the barium to have get past in order to exit. He told me to pickup a bottle of magnesium citrate and drink it right after I get home from doing the scan. He said it will be just like prepping for a colonoscopy and when I'm done all the barium should be comletely out off system. (Sounds good, don't know why I didn't think of it).

I also told him about the end of my colon and rectum never completely emptying and always being packed. He told me to take a spoonful of miralax every night before I go to bed and that should resolve the problem. I didn't know what miralax was so I googled it right after I got off the phone with him. It turns out it's nothing more than a laxative, that's not going to help! I thought it was going to be something to actually trigger a bowel movement. As far as I know a laxative does nothing more that just soften your stool by directing water to your colon. I drink a lot of water everyday and my stools are already wet and soft. I'm do for my annual visit with him in June so I'll have to bring the issue up again and maybe ask for a colonoscopy again.

As for not trusting my gastro, no I really don't, the problem is that they are all the same. They all just go by the "standard of care"/physicians book of medicine regulated by the medical authorities. It's just like how there are possible natural cures for some cancers, but a dr is not allowed to talk about them with you. They must stick to the script literally or risk losing their license.

I'm actually going to get more into problems with finding the right doctor in another thread that I have posted (Is my uc mild?) I'm just waiting for some biopsy results to come in the mail so I can post the results in that thread.

JML




JML

Post Edited (JustMyLuck) : 4/27/2024 12:12:30 PM (GMT-8)