# Dr Prescribed some Kflex again...



## AnitaG (Sep 8, 2014)

I posted a few days about the fact the antibiotic Cephalexin (kflex) stopped my symptoms while on the pill. I talked to my health care provider again Monday.. she has been helping me through the last 2 1/2 years of this ailment. We still don't really know what it is or whats causing it! Have done all the usual tests, none show anything... So she was very interested in what I had found out and in this forum. I told her this would teach her more than any medical journal she could read, since we are real people posting real problems and sought after solutions. When I mentioned the Kflex she was very interested and was going to contact a Gastro doctor as soon as she could to see why this particular antibiotic would stop all symptoms while on it. and maybe start some kind of study on it..The hell comes back anywhere from a few days to a week after the pills, but... during that time I feel NORMAL! She agreed to give me a prescription to use when I had a flare up like in July. Believe me I know what you mean when you say you feel suicidal with this crap (pun intended). My PA looked a bit alarmed when I mentioned it, but then I told her you cannot imagine it unless you have been there.

I have gone off of lactose, gluten, fat, junkfood, coffee, tea, just about anything you can mention, I don't eat. I eat primarily well cooked veggies, rice, rice ceral.. and maybe a few other things I found out didnt race me to the loo. None of this makes any difference... the only thing that does is Immodium and calcium carbonate (Tums) and liquid Simethicone. taken in the right combo at the right time (trial and error) it allows me about three days of firm BM and no racing squirts. but then on about the 4 day the 'plug' comes out and so does everything else. I go ahead and let my system empty and then start the plug combo over again. It gives me a few days of feeling okay and not planning trips to town around where the bathrooms are.


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## AIRPLANE (Mar 15, 2004)

Anita,

Yes- that sounds familiar. I do whatever I have to during the workweek so that the frequent, urgent trips to the biff don't happen, as well as the other symptoms (especially the foul gas which my co-workers would like to have me locked up for and throw away the key- there is no humor in it like so many Drs think there would be). And if I get backed up I will use glycerin suppositories to clear it out. Also very hot sitz baths and ointments for the irritation from all of it.

Let us know what your Dr finds out from the gastro. They may suspect SIBO although there are still many Drs who aren't into SIBO- either they don't know about it or don't believe in it. If you do get a breath test be aware that it isn't always accurate. But if it shows mainly hydrogen as opposed to methane (or in my case absolutely no methane- just hydrogen) then that would fit in with your symptoms of diarrhea. Some Drs will treat for SIBO based on symptoms alone without a breath test. Your great improvement from the Keflex also would support a SIBO diagnosis.


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

Sounds like you found something that works alleviate your symptoms, and it's great news because it points to a cause of your symptoms. There's something wonky about the bacteria in your gut.

You could try to do a real SIBO protocol:

Get prescribed the antibiotic Xifaxan 550mg 3x p/day for 14 days.

then also take:

Peppermint Oil, Oregano Oil, Monolaurin, Lauricidin, Interfase plus or Lactoferrin

Eat the FODMAPs diet the entire time.

Do the drug for 2 weeks, and the rest for 4 weeks.


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## Pattijean (Mar 31, 2013)

Anita, I'm a little unsure of the wording of your sentence...are you saying that Imodium & Tums, etc. keep your IBS-D in check?? I take both when I have to (actually take Tums when I take my migraine meds to coat stomach and also for osteoporosis & osteoporenia (sp?).

Just recently put on the antibiotic Xifaxam 550 twice a day for a month to be followed by Enteragam pack also for a month. Warning, both are VERY EXPENSIVE!!!! The Xifaxam, at least here in the states, over $1,500. Enteragam @400 w/$75 coupon. But I'm willing to try anything.

Thanks in advance for answering my question.

Pattijean


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## AnitaG (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks for your input. Fact is the medical people don't really have a clue what causes all this stuff. They have a list of things, symptoms, tests and meds and when those play out, we are on our own. I have found that by being very careful with my diet, (as I outlined above) eating small meals more often (No heavy meals), trying to keep the stress down (Lorazapam now and then but truth is it doesn't stop the D at all so I don't take it nearly as much as I use to since its now considered a controled substance and they treat me like a slurring addict when I go to fill a prescription for it), taking preventative liquid Immodium, Tums (calcium carbonate), and Liquid Simethicone for gas (for some reason that helps ward off the D, not sure why) taken at the right times, tends to firm things up. I call it firm Diarrhea since thats exactly what it looks like, not a regular normal BM. Im sure its different for everyone so the exact dosage and combo depends on each person, trial and error. I find taking a teaspoon of Immodium in the morning, a probiotic, small breakfast, and a half a Ultra1000 Tum, and a dropper full of Simethicone in a cup of water seems to settle my system. I chew a half or quarter of a Tum off and on during the day..And drink a cup mixture of the Simethicone now and then during the day. Of course if there is a lot of stress about something, it takes away the reliablity of 'the usual dose' so I up the dose of Immodium, but, that stuff can cause bad Constipation, so be careful..I only up the dose when I see things are going to be acting up and take my chances for the granite poo.. It has helped me SO much to read this forum! I don't feel as alone anymore or ashamed that I get the 'its all in her head' look.. It's not.. not when there are thousands and thousands of us all experiencing the same symptoms! there is a new bug , a new something that has caused a new illness/ailment and no one is taking it serious except those of us who have it!


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## AnitaG (Sep 8, 2014)

Oh..PS.. as for the kflex, I talked to the PA and the pharmacy person and no one knows why my symptoms go completely away while taking them. They seem to think like we do, that there is some kind of bug/bacteria that it keeps i ncheck while taking it, but they don't know where to go from there. I have taken two sessions of Flagyl, and that does nothing. Only the Kflex, and I start feeling better right away, no side effects. But we dont know if I should take it longer or what! I will do a test one of these days but in order to do it I should go off all my preventative meds and let the D come back full blown. Then start the Kflex and experiment with the dosage to see what works. I have been on as high as 500mg 4x a day! for 10 days! and as low of a dose as 250mg 3x a day. they both worked! But even though I have the prescription in the cupboard i can't bring myself to let the D flare up again to try the meds. Those flare ups, well..its hard to describe how terrible they are, huh? so one of these days I will take the Kflex and just see how it goes.. Will keep you posted.


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## AIRPLANE (Mar 15, 2004)

Anita,

There is a very lengthy thread on another site about this. One poster is a patient at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles where Dr Mark Pimentel works. She has just been given a new antibiotic for diarrhea-predominant SIBO called Doxycycline which she will take for 10 days and then follow up with a med to encourage motility in an attempt to prevent it from recurring. She has already tried Rifaximin but just like with you and the Keflex it came back.

One thing about diet. Dr Pimentel explains in his book about this, "A New IBS Solution" that it is actually better to eat less often. There should be a few hours between eating because if the small intestine is busy digesting food it can't move anything out to the large intestine and that could encourage the bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. It is a good book about this stuff.

Here is the link to the very lengthy post that is going on about this.

http://www.inspire.com/groups/agmd-gi-motility/journal/bacterial-overgrowth-1/


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