Bloating after Doxycycline

[QuintinCoetzee]

Hi everyone.

Near the end of September, I started a 14 day course of Doxycyclin (the specific brand name was Cyclidox). 100mg twice a day, with lots of water, an hour before meals, as instructed. During the course I experienced severe bloating, trapped gas, abdominal cramps, abdominal pain, and belching (burping). The probiotics I was taking didn't seem to make any difference.

I knew that any of the Tetracycline antibiotics, and especially Doxycycline, could have gastro side effects, and I stuck with the pills, after contacting my GP who prescribed them. I finished the course, and after three weeks, my digestive system still hadn't normalized. Any food, and sometimes even water, brings about gas.

My GP then put me on a 10 day course of Nexium (a proton pump inhibitor) in case I had an ulcer. I took one 40mg tablet per day, as instructed, but this didn't seem to make any difference. I also took a different probiotic during the 10 days, which also didn't seem to help.

I then waited another few weeks, until yesterday, when I went to see a gastroenterologist. He said the Doxycycline could very well be to blame for my bloating and belching, and that he wanted to perform an endoscopy. I had the scope, during which he examined my esophagus, stomach, and duodenum (initial part of intestines). After the procedure, he said everything inside me looks normal and healthy, and that the only thing it could be is IBS or dyspepsia. He said the symptoms may eventually go away.

I'm hoping this is just a case of my intestinal bacteria being out of balance and needing time to restabilize.

Just as an aside, my digestion and apetite are normal. I have been on no other medication.

It seems highly implausible to me (and numerous doctors and pharmacists to whom I've spoken) that a two week antibiotic course could do irreparable damage to my digestive system.

Does anyone have any experience with Doxycycline, other Tetracycline antibiotics, or other antibiotics that cause gastro problems? Could I have another problem, or something underlying that was triggered by the course?

I finished the course of Doxycycline two months ago. How long could the bloating, etc. take to go away?

Thank you in advance for any assistance and information.

 

[minkeygirl]

It can cause candida, which has to be addressed. You need probiotics to get your gut flora right and stuff to kill the candida (intelligent guess). Search around here for candida albicans. Lots of info.

I also think that candida will not show up on scopes.

I can't answer more indepth (fog) but i'm guessing that is the issue. Others can offer suggestions of what to take to help but it's a job to manage it.

 

[QuintinCoetzee]

It can cause candida, which has to be addressed. You need probiotics to get your gut flora right and stuff to kill the candida (intelligent guess). Search around here for candida albicans. Lots of info.

I also think that candida will not show up on scopes.

I can't answer more indepth (fog) but i'm guessing that is the issue. Others can offer suggestions of what to take to help but it's a job to manage it.

Thank you for the information.

Should the intestinal flora not balance again a little while after ceasing Doxycycline use, thereby eliminating things like candida overgrowth?

I had a biopsy from my duodenum. Would candida and other bacterial imbalances show up in the results?

 

[heapsreal]

Yep candida can give u bloating , try nystatin antifungal med might help. Im not sute if its otc or you need a script. I know in australia it will be otc after December .

 

[minkeygirl]

. Im not sute if its otc or you need a script. I know in australia it will be otc after December .

Still script in America. Not sure if going otc here.

When you kill the bad stuff you have to replace it with good.

 

[QuintinCoetzee]

Yep candida can give u bloating , try nystatin antifungal med might help. Im not sute if its otc or you need a script. I know in australia it will be otc after December .

Thank you. I'll definitely ask my GP about it.

When you kill the bad stuff you have to replace it with good.

I'm can't say I've got a lot of experience with these things, especially in terms of durations.

Would the probiotics that I took for two weeks during the antibiotic course, three days after the course, 10 days during the Nexium course, and am currently taking, not have replaced everything yet?

I would've thought that two months after a two week Doxy course, things would be back to normal.

 

[minkeygirl]

You have to kill the bacteria and replace good. It can take awhile. And since you're still having symtoms then it apparently it is not better.

This is not a quick fix. To get really serious you have to change your diet and stop feeding the bacteria. It likes sugar. Carbs are sugar.

I don't think a biopsy will show it but I don't know. I don't quite understand your questions. Abx cause yeast growth. Just stopping them does not stop the problem. The yeast are there. Antifungals, Probiotics, diet change.

Do some googling. Search here. There are a lot of threads about it. It's complicated and requires several things for awhile.

It's not going to be fixed overnight

 

[minkeygirl]

This might help

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/candida-sibo.41369/

 

[IreneF]

I've had problems with doxy. My go-to is natto, which is a Japanese fermented food. Most Westerners think it's disgusting, and it's hard to find unless there are Japanese people in your area.

The organism is a strain of Bacillus subtilis. You might be able to find a probiotic that contains it or something similar.

http://bellybiotic.net/images/safety_study.pdf

 

[minkeygirl]

@QuintinCoetzee check into this


Check out this product I found on iHerb.com.
Nature's Way, Pau d'Arco Inner Bark, 545 mg, 180 Capsules

http://www.iherb.com/prod/2031

 

[QuintinCoetzee]

This might help

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/candida-sibo.41369/

Reading through that now. It does hold some good information. I'm waiting for my gastroenterologist to call with the blood and biopsy results so that I can ask him about candida and other possible bacterial overgrowths.

@QuintinCoetzee check into this


Check out this product I found on iHerb.com.
Nature's Way, Pau d'Arco Inner Bark, 545 mg, 180 Capsules

http://www.iherb.com/prod/2031

Thank you. The reviews for that seem good.

I've had problems with doxy. My go-to is natto, which is a Japanese fermented food. Most Westerners think it's disgusting, and it's hard to find unless there are Japanese people in your area.

The organism is a strain of Bacillus subtilis. You might be able to find a probiotic that contains it or something similar.

http://bellybiotic.net/images/safety_study.pdf

Thank you What problems did you experience with Doxy?

The first probiotic I took (during the Doxy course and for a few days afterwards) was Probiflora Rx Intestinal Flora Care (for during antibiotic therapy), which contains Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lr-32 and Bifidobacterium longum BI-05.

The second one I took (during the Nexium course) was Reuterina Acute, which contains Lactobacillus reuteri.

The one I'm taking now is GastroChoice Probiotic, which contains Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Bifidobacterium lactis. It also contains a number of enzymes; Amylase, Protease 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, Lipase, and Glucoamylase, as well as Glutamine, a mucosal protector. They also make one called IBS, which seems to contain the same stuff.

None of the probiotics seem to have made a difference, and I think the third one, which I've been taking for two days, may be making me feel bloated by itself. I take it in the morning before food, and feel bloated immediately.

I used to eat a Bulgarian yoghurt every morning that contained Bifidobacterium lactis HN019. I stopped that when I stopped all dairy, but I'm going to try it again now.

I've also been recommended Iberogast, which I was told is popular for people with functional dyspepsia and IBS. Here are the results of a study, here's the product page, and here's the Wikipedia page. I haven't started taking it yet, as I want to finish the 5 days of GastroChoice first. The Iberogast recommendation came from my gastroenterologist, so perhaps it'll help alleviate the bloating until my system normalizes. Has anyone here tried Iberogast?

 

[IreneF]

@QuintinCoetzee
Basically gut discomfort.

ABs give me yeast infections, but probiotics have never helped with that.

I think you need to take a probiotic that contains spores or spore-forming bacteria that are likely to survive the passage thru the gut.

Since there's so much variability in the things growing inside of us, everyone is probably going to have to figure out what works on their own.

 

[minkeygirl]

I can't read all that. Taking probiotic won't help if you don't kill the bad bacteria and stop feeding it

There is no one size fits all with probiotocs. Some people here use sacchromyces bouillardii.
I don't rememebr what I take. I use Thorne SF 722

It depends why you take doxy. That has nothing to do with getting candida. I am taking it for mycoplasma. I had serous die off yesterday but like a dumb ass I ate chocolate so my gut is paying.

This is the basics. Replace good bacteria with probiotics, kill bad with antifungal and stop feeding bad by using candida diet . That simple. Google Karen Tripp candida diet. I use that.

And my GI doesn't understand living with candida or other gut stuff. She's the last person I would ask.

 

[minkeygirl]

Oh there's an old wives tale of how to tell if you have candida. Eat a spoonful of peanut butter. If you bloat you have it, because Peanuts have mold. Eat some sugar, that should do the same thing

 

[IreneF]

Oh there's an old wives tale of how to tell if you have candida. Eat a spoonful of peanut butter. If you bloat you have it, because Peanuts have mold. Eat some sugar, that should do the same thing

That doesn't make sense. Maybe I'm not reading it right.

 

[minkeygirl]

You read it right. I said it was an old wives tale. Or I read it on a candida site years ago. I don't remember

I will say the candida diet I use when I get serious does not allow peanuts. So it stands to reason if you eat something that feeds the candida you're going to have a reaction.

 

[IreneF]

You read it right. I said it was an old wives tale. Or I read it on a candida site years ago. I don't remember

I will say the candida diet I use when I get serious does not allow peanuts. So it stands to reason if you eat something that feeds the candida you're going to have a reaction.

How do peanuts feed candida?

 

[minkeygirl]

I told you all I know in previous posts.

This is from the candida diet website foods to avoid.


NUTS
Cashews
Peanuts
Pistachios

This group of nuts contains a high amount of mold, which can inflame your Candida problem.

This is from yeast advisor

Peanuts and pistachios are candida diet bad foods because of (almost) universal mold contamination. Cashews should be avoided as well because they are actually a bean and are often moldy.

 

[IreneF]

I told you all I know in previous posts.

This is from the candida diet website foods to avoid.


NUTS
Cashews
Peanuts
Pistachios

This group of nuts contains a high amount of mold, which can inflame your Candida problem.

This is from yeast advisor

Peanuts and pistachios are candida diet bad foods because of (almost) universal mold contamination. Cashews should be avoided as well because they are actually a bean and are often moldy.

No, peanuts are a bean; cashews are tree nuts.

Peanuts (and a whole range of foods) in storage can get contaminated with a mold that forms a toxin (aflatoxin). I don't think the mold is the problem, but the toxin definitely is. The toxin attacks the liver. Sometimes products are recalled due to contamination, but it's not a common problem in North America or Eurozone countries. (At least it hasn't been until about 2012-13.)

I still don't see the connection to candida.

 

[roller]

i got gross, lasting nausea from doxy, setting in after 5 - 7 days of intake.

the doxy-nausea ended after contracting covid. with covid, i became "allergic"; means, ever since i react to pepper, onions etc or sneeze without obvious reason.

from observation i believe, the doxy-nausea stems from its changes on the gut microbiome.

the doxy-nausea reminded me of motion sickness (substance p), which then could be related to the microbiome?
on another note, my motion sickness can evolve even from the eye only; so when watching some odd visual tricks, the nausea may set in. but somehow unthinkable, that eye-perception could have a link to the microbiome? rather it would be a vagus thing?