# Neomycin



## Saxman (Aug 28, 2009)

I have been suffering from SIBO for about 25+ years, and recently took the Hydrogen Breath Test at Cedars (Dr. Pimental, et al), was "diagnosed" with SIBO and given 10 days of Rifaximin, 400mg/tid. As I've noticed with most other posters in these groups, it did not work and made my condition much worse. Seems to be a pattern that Dr. Pimental's staff doesn't seem to acknowledge.Anyway, the next step in the protocol is apparently to add Neomycin to the mix. After researching the probable side effects of Neomycin, I think I'd rather be thrown off a cliff. Are you kidding me? It states that it can cause PERMANENT hearing loss, kidney damage, and possible paralysis. In fact, some of these can occur long after the medication has been discontinued. That doesn't sound too safe to me.Anyone have any horror or happy stories to share re: Neomycin? Rifaximin is harmless. No real side effects at all (other than it doesn't work for me at least).


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Well you could try Cipro or any of the other systemic antibiotics used for SIBO before Rifamixin was developed. http://www.medicinenet.com/small_intestina...rowth/page6.htm has the doses and time frames.The side effects of Neomycin while bad are pretty rare. The renal and hearing problems are generally in those with impaired renal funciton. The paralysis thing is generally when mixed with other drugs. Also taking it longer or at higher doses then recommended is a problem.Being elderly or dehydrated also can increase the risk.So for a generally healthy younger person with good kidneys and not taking anesthetics, neuromuscular blocking agents, or getting transfusions with certain additives in them you are probably not at risk for anything serious.rifaximin isn't totally harmless, either. http://www.rxlist.com/xifaxan-drug.htm although they aren't quite as dramatic.


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## Saxman (Aug 28, 2009)

Thanks. For me, the main difference between the potential side effects in Neomycin vs. Rifaximin is that those of Neomycin are PERMANENT. I don't care how bad the side effects of a drug are if they're temporary. Heck, I used to take erythromycin when I was younger and it used to cause stomach pain and gas that was so bad it was mind-boggling, but I always finished my course. That's way different than having permanent hearing loss or kidney failure. I'm glad it's a rare occurrence, but I'm getting really tired of having to choose between two evils: "Behind Door number 1, is possible permanent hearing loss, paralysis and kidney failure; Behind Door number 2: spend the rest of your life with overgrowth of bacteria in your intestines."Cipro isn't a lot better, unless you don't mind losing your achilles tendon and having permanent connective tissue disorders.Sorry, I'm just venting a bit. I appreciate your input. Just have to weigh the risks and roll the dice I suppose.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

There are a couple of others listed in the link. Unfortunately when you take something designed for killing things it can be a tad on the toxic side. You just try to make it less toxic to you than it is to the bacteria.


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## Fconzero (Dec 12, 2007)

I took Neomycin (1500 mg (500 mg x 3 daily) for 10 days. The symptoms went away except for the weight loss that was already occurring before nausea appeared and continued, so I tried Neomycin a second time. Finally, the weight loss stopped at 129 pounds after I lost 54 pounds. Sometime around April I jumped back up to 142 but I was still having symptoms. Thus, I tried ciproflaxcin and I felt better but could not gain weight.Then around July I started having issues again so I tried expensive Rifaximin. The symptoms went away for a long time but started up about 3 months ago and I am going through the cycle again. Time for another antibiotic plus I am around 136 pounds again with eye pain, back pain, hip pain, fatigue and it is not fun.Rifaximin does not circulate into your system and stays in the Gastrointestinal tract but is very expensive.There is also Flagyl and Tetracycline that will work on this so antibiotic resistance can probably be prevented through rotation.Life has been hard over the last 25 months. What can you do???


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## Saxman (Aug 28, 2009)

THanks, Kathleen. With regard to the Neomycin hearing loss "side effect": I've read this can occur long after the medication is stopped. Why would this be the case? Is that also an issue with impaired renal function or does Neomycin have an unusually long half-life or something?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The hearing has to do with the nerve, it sounds like the damage happens at the time, but it can take awhile for it to fully manifest. I don' t know how long the "long after" is. I'll try to see what that means. Anyway the problem is that you don't notice the damage as it happens so you don't know to stop the drug when you need to. Sounds like the risk is higher if you take other drugs that can also have some toxicity to the ear.Only about 3% goes into the body but the rxlist.com does say http://www.rxlist.com/neomycin-sulfate-drug.htm_Release of tissue-bound neomycin occurs slowly over a period of several weeks after dosing has been discontinued. _I'll try to see what this "long after" means. I did find one paper: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1926525...Pubmed_RVDocSum -- and it sounds like part of the issues is it makes you more sensitive to noise damage and with another drug that it could last longer than you are taking the drug. It is seen in oral use, but more common when you put the stuff in the ears or it is injected into the body as not much gets into the blood from the GI tract.Looking at this http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1726659...Pubmed_RVDocSumThere are some genetic factors that make you more prone than usual. Chinese seem to carry the genes that make you susceptible and it can be rapid and severe. White people in the USA generally don't get it as severe but the hearing loss could progress over a few years after taking antibiotics in this class. Some damage doesn't immediately kill a cell, but may make it more prone to die in the near future, just not right when you are taking something.


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