I have taken antibiotics on a couple of occasions, once for a few months to see if my acne would clear up. I didn't feel too much of an effect, but I did have looser stools. It was actually sort-of a positive side effect for me. I didn't take probiotics very rigorously, either. I know that one antibiotic I took was Doxycycline and the other was for a sinus infection, so your antibiotic may or may not produce the same results if it's different.In the end, I don't feel it hurt or help my IBS, just gave me a short time period where I had looser stools.
Antibiotics
SO who here has taken antibiotics and not gotten screwed...or what have you taken in place of antibiotics..I am currently sick and should be on them but do not watn to take them...my primary doc Rx'd them and she thinks it should be no problem toi take but she is not me....any suggestions??? Either way I suffer, and I can;'t use anymore sick days as I have used them all for IBS issues in thae past already
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Thanks for the reply...in the past I have been on various antibiotics for throat infections...and it has been bad..I also have lots of bloating and abdominal pain besides the C so while the C isn;t as bad on the antibiotics, the probiotics I use to allieviate the other symptoms are killed when taking the antibiotics....ALso I am on Miralax currently so I don;t think I could possibly get any looser of stools...
Unfortunately antibiotics made my constipation worse; i couldn't believe it because for most people they loosen things up--
I had the same experience as Cigarello - made the C worse every time I had to take them.
It can make C worse simply because up to 90% of our stool is bacteria. And of course if all the bacteria is killed then we have nothing to help us process the food/stool. Probiotics are the best bet, but antibiotic are really a last resort. I am currently taking chewable adult multivitamins, probiotics, and Echinacea tea multiple times a day and it really helps. I would recommend trying the Echinacea first. I use Traditional Medicinals Echinacea Plus or Echinacea Elder 3 to 4 times a day and it make me feel considerably better. Be sure to follow the instructions to cover it and let it steep for 15 mins though, otherwise you may get not benefits. Also try omega 3 suppliments, I am about to start trying them myself because I notice I feel better when I get a good amount of natural healthy fat in my diet. Good luck.
Well, since I had such a lovely jackpot of Bowel involved pelvic adhesions attached to my hysterectomy, no one is really sure what caused my IBS-C to go on mega strike and give me one humdinger of an impaction. I began the antibiotics on a wednesday and by monday morning I was on my way to the ER for Emergency Surgery to remove an impaction. Both my bowel function and my urine function just flipped out and stopped. I was taking my acidophilous too.Tried some milk of magnesia at one point.The fleet enema was the final straw.It was "yikes"ville from there.Anyway, I'm thinking that the less antibiotics for me might be the prudent action for my personal bowel health future.If I ever do need antibiotics again I'm going to make sure the Doctor and the ER are all on notice.Regarding EchinaceaEnchinacea is an herb with antibiotic qualities.However, if ones IBS is related to any autoimmune disorder (overactive immune system)then enchinacea would be contraindicated. An article on the dangers of certain herbs and suppliments recenty came out in Diabetes Forecast( the magazine of the American Diabetes Assoc.) indicating that since enchinacea is an immune stimulant (and that is exactly what it is) that it could be something that might make autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes worse.Herbs that stimulate the immune system are indeed deadly when combined with autoimmune disorders.Take Care and Be Well,Kamie
P.S. One more thought, if one is going to take probiotics in cap form then try to find the kind that are kept refrigerated. Those billions of live friendly bacteria crittersdie as soon as they get exposed to heat.That's why pure and plain and very very organic real yogurt is going to be the best kind of lacto bacilli that you can get.If you find a good probiotic brand in the refrigerated section of the whole foods store, try to get the critters home and into the cold as soon as possible.Kamie
Thanks all for the helpful advice..I did forgo the antibiotics, but am still suffering from bronchial infection...but I have had impaction issues in the past and figured that would be worse...I have been having my probiotics and yogurt and drinking all natural juice with vitamin C...
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