I dont want to take Cipro and Flagyl :(

[Mary:)]

I just dont understand how this will help my flare. 2 heavy antibiotics !!!

 

[Misty-Eyed]

What are your reasons for not wanting to take them? They were one of the rare treatments that actually worked really well for me when nothing else would. Surely it's worth a try?

 

[InstantCoffee]

I actually got put on cipro and flagyl for an abscess and while I want on it my crohn's symptoms were greatly diminished.

Thing is flagyl gives me flu-like symtoms from nausea if I don't also ask for a script for anti-nausea medication with it.

And cipro means I can't work out because it increases the tension of your tendons or something, making it dangerous to bear heavy loads, and also can't be taken with calcium, and dairy is like 50% of my diet.

 

[DustyKat]

Antibiotics are used because when you are flaring you have inflammation and that inflammation invariably causes a breach in the bowel wall. The gut is not a sterile environment so when you breach that protective lining localised infection will set in. The antibiotics will treat that infection plus Flagyl is believed to have anti inflammatory properties as well.

Dusty. xxx

 

[KWalker]

I have never had a problem with Cipro or Flagyl and I was also given them for an abscess and they helped me greatly while I was on them.

 

[Mary:)]

I just never really understood how they would help. I hear alot of bad things about being on antibiotics. BUT since you all say it may help..then I will. I get really scared about taking meds. Thank you very much for encouraging me to take them.

 

[Ihurt]

Just as a percaution, when you are taking the cirpo, if you feel ANY type of pain in any of your tendons or muscles, You should contact your doctor right away and probably stop the cipro. Cirpo can cause spontaneous tendon ruptures! I was on it for a UTI a few years back and out of Nowhere I woke up in the middle of the night and my arm was in so much pain. My doctor had No clue when I called him but I did end up calling the pharmacist and she told me to stop taking it right away, she told me it causes tendon ruptures in some people. Luckily I it did not rupture my tendon, but it did mess it up. I still have problems with that tendon today, 5 years later! That being said, this does not happen to everyone, but it does happen. The key is to take notice, I mean if you start feeling a pain that is NOT normal for you, then you need to take action before it gets worse.

I understand your hesitance to take antibitoics. But they can help. I cannot take either cipro nor flagyl due to reactions from them. I have not even been dx with crohns yet, I am still in the process of trying to find out what is wrong. But I am a bit nervous since it seems these two meds are the main stay in treating crohns. What do they do if you cannot take these meds????

I just never really understood how they would help. I hear alot of bad things about being on antibiotics. BUT since you all say it may help..then I will. I get really scared about taking meds. Thank you very much for encouraging me to take them.

 

[bigtruck]

No point in being scared of medications or you won't get far with this disease, you need to remind yourself it's not a cold your dealing with!

 

[Grumbletum]

How long do you have to be on them for?

 

[Mary:)]

For 2 weeks

 

[JoFowler]

I was on them for 10 weeks, to deal with an abscess. I came off of them around the time I started Remicade, so I don't know if part of feeling better was down to getting off the antibiotics or not.

My abscess, that was GONE for about two weeks, has flared back up a couple days ago

 

[myriahdawn]

I'd like to tack a question onto this... Is that ok in these threads? (not really sure)

I have a anal fistula and my surgeon says with Crohn's he ALWAYS likes to prescribe Flagyl along with any other antibiotic. I asked him why after I was having a VERY hard time tolerating the side effects and he said "it will help with diarrhea caused by the Levaquin" Does this make sense to anyone on here?

I recently saw my GI and he is starting me on Humira & wants to put me back on an antibiotic, Cipro, for a bit in hopes that the combo of Humira/Cipro will close my fistula, however, he said Flagyl is not necessary.

I am confused... One docs says it's a must and the other says not necessary?!?!?!

 

[Jim (POPS)]

I've taken both before, don't like them but they worked.

 

[AlliRuns]

Gradually increasing the dosage of flagyl helps with the nausea, my GI doc suggested this the last time I took it. I have been on and off it for the past 7 years, sometimes for months at a time, the side effects suck, but your doc is prescribing it for a reason.

 

[RachieJo]

I saw this thread and I feel exactly the same way. I went to the Gi guy today and he wants an MRI before he puts me on Remicade as a small abscess showed up on my CT scan. He then said that he wants to put me back on Cipro and Flagyl for another 4 weeks, I've already been on it for 8 weeks. Unfortunately I seem to be having all kinds of side effects including raging yeast infections which I have never had before.

The pharmacist explained to me that the the need for both is because one works on aerobic bacteria and the other on anaerobic bacteria, I tried everything I could think of to get out of taking both.

I have also been told that Remicade and not Humira is the only way to fix fistulas, I'm new to this and haven't taken either so may be wrong.

 

[Ihurt]

One thing is for sure, you definitely need to be taking high doses of probiotics when you are on antibitoics and for several weeks after you finish taking them in order to help maintain your gut flora... All antibitoics kill our beneficial gut flora which in turn can cause big issues. I mean if you have take the antibiotics, you have to take them in order to get rid of infection. I mean I have had to be on low dose antibiotis for 5 years just to keep the nasty UTI's I kept getting away. I make sure I take a good probitoic that has many beneficial bacterias as well though..

 

[vonmon]

I'm not a fan of cipro. I was diagnosed with accute colitis a few years ago and have been symptom free for about a year. I took cipro last month for something unrelated and it has caused a terrible flare up. I'm so mad.

 

[vonmon]

Well things have finally calmed down. For the past 2 weeks I have been taking bio-k twice a day, and yesterday started with VSL#3. I'll keep doing mega doses of these probiotics and hopefully this will fix it.