Two reasons:
1. Tomorrow we leave for France! We are celebrating 25 years of marriage!
2. I saw my new GI doc today and he wants me to try Neomycin for 10 days. He actually wanted to try Rifaximin ( he has seen a patient go into remission for 2 years on this!), but since I pay for my medications and it is about $600.00 he suggested I try Neomycin first at $42.00. If I see any improvement then he will prescribe the Rifaximin. If I don't see any improvement then I haven't lost much. The plan then will be to try the Prednisone followed by the Entocort. We'll see. I'll keep you posted. I won't be able to post again until I return from France! Au Revoir!
Pat
I'm really excited!
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No wonder you are excited!!!
I believe I would be excited if I were on my way to France since I've never been out of the States except for a VERY short trip into Canada...oh, I almost forgot....When my son was stationed in Bermuda I did visit there for a week one Christmas but I stayed on base and it certainly wasn't really like a "vacation".....but I did enjoy being with him and his family.
Anyway, I'm glad you are getting the chance to go and I hope you and your husband have a blast!!!
Love, Shirley
I believe I would be excited if I were on my way to France since I've never been out of the States except for a VERY short trip into Canada...oh, I almost forgot....When my son was stationed in Bermuda I did visit there for a week one Christmas but I stayed on base and it certainly wasn't really like a "vacation".....but I did enjoy being with him and his family.
Anyway, I'm glad you are getting the chance to go and I hope you and your husband have a blast!!!
Love, Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
Hi Pat,
Congratulations on the 25 year anniversary. The trip to France is a great way to celebrate.
You seem to have found an innovative GI doc. Apparently your doctor is approaching your MC from the viewpoint that it is caused by a bacterial overgrowth, which is not the "old school" approach, (but maybe this will be the wave of the future). Normally, a treatment such as that, is tried only in refractory cases. IOW, antibiotics are normally tried only after conventional treatment methods, such as Prednisone and/or Entocort, (or a GF diet), have failed to provide relief from the symptoms.
Be aware that treatments with broad spectrum antibiotics, are known to commonly result in Clostridium difficile-associated colitis, and there is also a risk, (hopefully minimal), of developing pseudomembranous colitis, which can have very serious consequences, if not controlled soon enough. The risk of C. diff occurs after the antibiotic treatment is discontinued, so it is a good idea to start taking a good probiotic, as the antibiotic treatment comes to an end, in order to establish a "good" gut flora population, before any "bad" bacteria can take it over, again. You might want to discuss this with your GI doc before beginning the antibiotic treatment, if he doesn't bring it up.
Rifaximin, even with it's high cost, is not immune to the risk of a subsequent bacterial overgrowth, so in my opinion, a good probiotic would be advisable following a treatment regime with rifaximin, also.
Good luck with your treatment, and please keep us updated on your progress. And, of course, be sure to let us know how the trip to France turned out.
Tex
Congratulations on the 25 year anniversary. The trip to France is a great way to celebrate.
You seem to have found an innovative GI doc. Apparently your doctor is approaching your MC from the viewpoint that it is caused by a bacterial overgrowth, which is not the "old school" approach, (but maybe this will be the wave of the future). Normally, a treatment such as that, is tried only in refractory cases. IOW, antibiotics are normally tried only after conventional treatment methods, such as Prednisone and/or Entocort, (or a GF diet), have failed to provide relief from the symptoms.
Be aware that treatments with broad spectrum antibiotics, are known to commonly result in Clostridium difficile-associated colitis, and there is also a risk, (hopefully minimal), of developing pseudomembranous colitis, which can have very serious consequences, if not controlled soon enough. The risk of C. diff occurs after the antibiotic treatment is discontinued, so it is a good idea to start taking a good probiotic, as the antibiotic treatment comes to an end, in order to establish a "good" gut flora population, before any "bad" bacteria can take it over, again. You might want to discuss this with your GI doc before beginning the antibiotic treatment, if he doesn't bring it up.
Rifaximin, even with it's high cost, is not immune to the risk of a subsequent bacterial overgrowth, so in my opinion, a good probiotic would be advisable following a treatment regime with rifaximin, also.
Good luck with your treatment, and please keep us updated on your progress. And, of course, be sure to let us know how the trip to France turned out.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
The trip to France was unbelievable! We just got back this morning at 1:30. The food was fantastic, the countryside where we stayed was gorgeous, and the people were most interesting! I didn't have a good experience with the Neomycin though. It made me sick. Every time I took it I immediately felt nauseated and my D got worse and worse. I finally started throwing up and so I discontinued it. The nausea went away but the D is ridiculous. I took a lot of immodium to get by. The trip was all inclusive and all our meals were included. The chef of the hotel was quite accomodating to my GF diet. I did have dairy. I had a Fluconazole tablet 150 mg from the new doc and took that. I get yeast infections if I just think about antibiotics. Do I also need to take a probiotic? If so which one? Since the doctor gave me the prescription for the Prednisone I have started that today. Hope that works. I think I should also stop the dairy and all other grains. I just don't want to lose weight. I really appreciate you all being here and giving support. Thanks so much!
Pat
Pat
So glad you can call the trip to France a success even though you had the Big D problem, etc.
I'm sure you'll get some good advice from others who know more about the probiotics than I do, but I did want to welcome you back.
Love, Shirley
I'm sure you'll get some good advice from others who know more about the probiotics than I do, but I did want to welcome you back.
Love, Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
Pat,
Welcome back. I don't take probiotics myself, but it's generally recognized that a good probiotic, (one of the types that needs to be kept refrigerated), is a good idea, after taking an antibiotic of that type. A good probiotic should also help to prevent a yeast overgrowth.
Maybe someone who has had actual experience taking probiotics can recommend a good brand that worked for them.
Tex
Welcome back. I don't take probiotics myself, but it's generally recognized that a good probiotic, (one of the types that needs to be kept refrigerated), is a good idea, after taking an antibiotic of that type. A good probiotic should also help to prevent a yeast overgrowth.
Maybe someone who has had actual experience taking probiotics can recommend a good brand that worked for them.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.