I am having good results with pulsed low-dose metronidazole (flagyl). The doctor says that many ABX have anti inflammatory properties, which is why I might be responding to it. I am very careful to load up on high dose probiotics and take candida meds, too. How long can someone stay on low-dose metronidazole?
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long-term, low-dose metronidazole
- Thread starter lizw118
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Ema
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People can and do stay on antibiotics long term for many sorts of conditions without any issue. Obviously this is not ideal for the gut but the other benefits may outweigh this cost for some people.
That said, Flagyl does seem to be particularly hard on the body though and can increase oxidative stress. It also carries a black box warning that it has been shown to be carcinogenic in rats and mice.
My liver enzymes shot up after a course of Flagyl and have yet to return to baseline. I would suggest keeping a very close eye on liver and kidney markers to make sure that you catch any potential problems early.
Have you thought about an antibiotic like minocycline? It also crosses the BBB but is generally accepted to be pretty benign otherwise. It's often given long term for acne.
Ema
That said, Flagyl does seem to be particularly hard on the body though and can increase oxidative stress. It also carries a black box warning that it has been shown to be carcinogenic in rats and mice.
My liver enzymes shot up after a course of Flagyl and have yet to return to baseline. I would suggest keeping a very close eye on liver and kidney markers to make sure that you catch any potential problems early.
Have you thought about an antibiotic like minocycline? It also crosses the BBB but is generally accepted to be pretty benign otherwise. It's often given long term for acne.
Ema
Thanks Ema,
Is minocycline like doxycycline? I have taken doxy for lyme and I had crazy emotional/mental symptoms from it like I was going insane. Might have been a herx reaction, though, I suppose. I saw the doctor today and he mentioned trying some other antibiotics instead of flagyl to see if they might work. He gave me some samples of Xifaximin to try for two weeks. I have been really anxious to try this one for a while, but it's too expensive to take it long-term. I am now wondering if my symptoms have a lot to do with inflammation in intestines that affect the rest of my body somehow. It's a theory. The doctor says he would definitely monitor liver and kidney if I stayed on the flagyl. I wish there was something else to help me. I just ordered some soil based organism-probiotics to see if those might help. Otherwise, honestly I can't tell any difference with all of the probiotics I take except for some bowel irratation.
It definitely made me really tired and wiped out when I first started taking it. I think it makes me a little depressed, too. However, the lack of inflammation in my sinuses and elsewhere makes all of the other stuff worth it for me.
Little Bluestem
All Good Things Must Come to an End
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I am surprised that no one has replied to this yet. Cipro belongs to the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics. It is a powerful, but dangerous, medication intended for use in life threatening infections. If you search cipro and fluoroquinolone you should find a lot more information.
Yes, that is what I thought. Thanks for reminding me. I definitely will stay away from Cipro. My doctor is very open to my suggestions so he probably won't mind if I don't want to take it, luckily. Does anyone have an opinion on soil-based probiotics?
Ema
Senior Member
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I took them for a while. The theory is good but I didn't really notice any effects so I went back to the regular probiotics.
Wouldn't it be nice if our food still came with dirt and beneficial organisms attached instead of this factory engineered crap?
Yes, it's getting tough to get any benefits from food these days, isn't it? My only hesitation with the SBOs is that I have sibo and worry that they might take hold in the small intestine and colonize there. For some reason regular probiotics either do nothing, or just irritate me. I take them anyway, though. I am desperate to figure out how to get the sibo under control by either stimulating the vagus nerve or taking better probiotics, or something. But I just can't find a solution.