Flagyl = Dual purpose?

[num1habsfan]

I discovered something a bit interesting..

I've been avoiding being seeing for a flareup for a couple weeks, but got to the point where it was too much.

It turns out I also have a bladder infection at the same time.

One of the prescriptions I am on now is Flagyl. When I searched it up on the internet, it says that it's used as a treatment for both infections AND Crohn's!

Can anyone explain why this is??

 

[BWS1982]

It's an antibiotic, and often those are used for Crohns (since bacteria is suspected to be a culprit)...and obviously it's used for infections, being an antibiotic. Cipro is another common one for Crohns, often in conjunction with Flagyl (Metro.)

 

[num1habsfan]

Thank you, it's good to know...
Is it bad if I only take the 250mg x 2, twice a day of Cipro, instead of 3 times a day? I get farely ill even by that...(side effects wise)

 

[num1habsfan]

Thanks for sharing that, Pen.
I know everyone is different, but yeah, 1000mg a day is easier on me than 1500mg!

 

[katiesue1506]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_he_me/antibiotics_warning

My mom shot me this link today. Interesting read. Something to be aware of since we are often on Cipro and other antibiotics.

 

[Colt]

If you feel it's best to take a lower dosage of your current medication due to side effects let the doctor know. The doctor will likely let you do it without protest. Meanwhile this lets the doctor take into consideration that you were on a lower dose than prescribed when they are making decisions later.

You don't want a situation where the doctor insists that the amount of antibiotics prescribed would have certainly fixed the suspected problem and so you must have something else.

Most doctors will also accommodate the side effects and work with you to avoid them. Remember they don't know how bad or what side effects any individual is going to have. They may put you on something else entirely if you complain about the side effects.

With my doctor I was not happy with the prednisone side effects so we worked out a trade off of only taking it in dose packs when I flared. That meant I had was a little more uncomfortable but it also meant less side effects. Now if I had just skipped pills without saying anything I would have screwed myself up because steroids have to be tapered down and given on a consistent basis or you get even more problems.

 

[AmandaC]

Flagyl is the only thing that gives me any relief from my symptoms, but my GI told me that it was not an option for long term use because of the side effects. Has anyone been told any different?

 

[Cookie]

I am in the same boat as you. Flagyl seems to be the ONLY thing that has ever helped me. My GI would give it to me in 4 week increments (3X250mg along with Cipro), but as soon as I would quit taking it my fistulas would become very inflamed and infected. I went to a surgeon who put me on the same dose to clear things up and when she saw that it worked she decided to keep me on a 250mg/day dose of just flagyl. I was leary at first b/c it makes me feel kind of crappy and my GI said it should not be taken long term. But when many people on this forum said they have taken it long term I decided to give it a try. I have to say...it has worked great and the low dose agrees with me fine, but my GI warned me that long term use can cause nerve damage and that if I start to feel any tingling in my hands or feet I should quit taking it. Well, for the past week, every morning when I wake up my arms and legs are tingling/numb feeling. It goes away within 5 minutes. I am really not sure if this is severe enough to worry about or if I am just being paranoid. From everything I have read, the nerve damage is usually not permanent and reverses itself soon after the drug is discontinued, so I have decided that this is a case of good outweighing the bad and have continued to take it. But if the tingling gets worse, I will stop. Hope this helps!

 

[AmandaC]

Hi Shadycat. Thanks so much for the info. I'm in a position where none of the drug treatments have made any difference to my symptoms and my GI is basically saying that my only option is surgery. I've tried mesasal, 6-mp, pred, humira, flagyl and cipro. Flagyl doesn't put me into remission but it makes life a little easier to the point where I can go back to work. I don't really want to have surgery if I can avoid it as they're going to take all of my large bowel and give me a bag. Major surgery and life change! I might have another chat with my GI and see what he says.

Thanks again,
AmandaC