[dasilva]

I just finished a 10 day course of flagyl (400mg twice daily) and can't say I've noticed any improvement. Just wondering if I should try another one like neomycin. Or can I take it that if flagyl didn't work then antibiotics are not the way to go for me?

 

[eric]

dasilva, why are you taking them?

 

[dasilva]

I was trying to follow the same course of treatment as Pete on the basis that this could be bacterial overgrowth. The only thing that has eliminated my symptoms (gas, D, pain) was when I ate nothing for 3 days. Thats the only thing that has worked for me so I reckoned I'd give antibiotics a shot. Don't know anything about antibiotics so I don't know if I have anything to gain by trying different ones. And since it was a battle just to get my doctor to prescribe them, I need something to work with if I'm going to try again.

 

[kinetic]

what other treatments have you tried besides anti-biotics? If it was a battle to get your doctor to prescribe the flagyl in the first place, that would indicate to me at least that he/she's reluctant to try it because possibly he doesn't think it would work?The one thing I've taken that seems to have helped me a lot is Levsin... if you haven't tried it yet, you might try asking your doctor if he/she thinks it might help you. Also, Immodium advanced is supposed to help for both D and gas, and seems to work well for me in conjunction with levsin...But, just because something worked for me or someone else, doesn't mean that it will work for you as well... so try not to lose hope if what you try doesn't work... sometimes it takes a few misses before you find something that works.

 

[eric]

Were you tested postive for small bowel bacterrial overgrowth, because thats not IBS and if you have IBS antibiotics can perhaps make the problem worse.This is possibly playing with fire for IBS. And for other health reasons.No bacteria has been found that causes IBS!If you didn't eat for three days and you felt better it might be because you shut donw the digestive tract. It may also be because you fasted and that helped.Antibioctics indiscrimenantly kill ALL gut bacteria for those most part good and bad and also run the risk of C diff by going this route unless your doctor perscribed them for a real reason. Just fyi

 

[dasilva]

i didn't take that test because my doctor said it was unreliable. i think i read that somewhere before but i don't see the harm in taking it. i'll ask him about it next time.to be fair to my doctor, he did eventually think taking antibiotics was a good idea after reading a report that i gave him from this site. i don't understand how i can still have excess gas if antibiotics kill all gut bacteria. actually i did notice some improvement for the first 5 days or so but then went back to the usual symptoms before finishing the treatment. but you know how this thing is, that could mean anything.how do i know i have excess gas?

 

[JeanG]

Hi dasilva:It's best not to take antibiotics if you don't need them, since they can make your IBS worse. So you want to be careful there.I have diverticulosis and once in a while need to go on strong medication, usually 2 at a time, and flagyl is one of them. If I don't take probiotics with them, I do get D.I hope you find something to help!

JeanG