Hello everyone,
I haven't gotten around to properly introducing myself but I already have a rather urgent question. I hope to find some answers from you since my doctors haven't been of great help so far. I will go and introduce myself in another post later. Promise.
I'm not an English native speaker so please be patient with me. ;)
I'm 35, female and was diagnosed with LC in July 2018. The reaction of my doctor was to prescribe Budenoside (Budenofalk) 3 x 3 mg a day. I wasn't happy about the prospect of taking cortisone but after suffering for over 10 years (with comparatively mild symptoms I would say) I thought I would give it a shot. It worked almost immediately. I felt like I haven't felt for years: No more cramps and healthy looking stool (is stool the proper word here?). Unfortunately two weeks ago I got a cold and have been sick ever since. Because of the Budenoside my cold symptoms have been muted somewhat. Still the infection is there and it's wandering up and down my airways. I don't see any progress so I guess after almost two weeks I need to see a doctor on Monday.
I'm expecting him to prescribe me some sort of Antibiotics and I'm worried about that. I'm worried that the Antibiotics will worsen my LC again.
Do some of you have experiences with Budenoside and having a cold? Will Antibiotics really be necessary at this point?
Are there maybe Antibiotics that aren't as agressive and work OK for people with LC?
Can I do something to help bowel while taking Antibiotics?
Thank you all for reading my post. I am really grateful that this message board exists. :)
Looking forward to your answers
Kiddo
Budesonide and having a cold
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hello,
Welcome to the forum. Your English appears to be excellent, by the way. Yes, "stool" is the proper term for a bowel movement. One of the undesirable side effects of corticosteroids is that they gradually suppress the immune system more and more as time passes. This makes one more susceptible to the development of diseases, and colds can last longer, or complications can develop.
When we need to take an antibiotic, there are no good choices. But sometimes we have to do what we have to do, regardless of the consequences. Ciprofloxacin, which is a member of the fluoroquinolone family of antibiotics, will almost never cause an MC reaction. In fact, if the disease is active, Cipro will usually stop the symptoms (temporarily). But Cipro has many "black box" warnings about the risk of side effects (at least it does in the U.S.). Side effect risks include tendonitis, torn ligaments, peripheral neuropthy, tinnitus, and probably some that I have forgotten. Because of these risks, the fluoroquinolones are considered one of the most dangerous class of drugs available. They work very well, and I have taken Cipro at least twice over the years without any problems, but the risks are real, and the risk of torn ligaments may be higher if you are athletic.
A better choice may be azithromycin (Z-Pak). It rarely causes an MC flare, and it has no serious side effects that I'm aware of.
Different bacteria require different antibiotics, so you doctor may prefer a different antibiotic. But antibiotics such as aureomycin and other tetracycline-based antibiotics will often cause diarrhea for MC patients, and sometimes they will trigger a flare or cause the disease to develop in patients who did not previously have MC.
I hope that some of this is helpful.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the forum. Your English appears to be excellent, by the way. Yes, "stool" is the proper term for a bowel movement. One of the undesirable side effects of corticosteroids is that they gradually suppress the immune system more and more as time passes. This makes one more susceptible to the development of diseases, and colds can last longer, or complications can develop.
When we need to take an antibiotic, there are no good choices. But sometimes we have to do what we have to do, regardless of the consequences. Ciprofloxacin, which is a member of the fluoroquinolone family of antibiotics, will almost never cause an MC reaction. In fact, if the disease is active, Cipro will usually stop the symptoms (temporarily). But Cipro has many "black box" warnings about the risk of side effects (at least it does in the U.S.). Side effect risks include tendonitis, torn ligaments, peripheral neuropthy, tinnitus, and probably some that I have forgotten. Because of these risks, the fluoroquinolones are considered one of the most dangerous class of drugs available. They work very well, and I have taken Cipro at least twice over the years without any problems, but the risks are real, and the risk of torn ligaments may be higher if you are athletic.
A better choice may be azithromycin (Z-Pak). It rarely causes an MC flare, and it has no serious side effects that I'm aware of.
Different bacteria require different antibiotics, so you doctor may prefer a different antibiotic. But antibiotics such as aureomycin and other tetracycline-based antibiotics will often cause diarrhea for MC patients, and sometimes they will trigger a flare or cause the disease to develop in patients who did not previously have MC.
I hope that some of this is helpful.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
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.
Kiddo, I've read both your posts.
I was also diagnosed with LC in July and began budesonide on July 11. My taper is planned to be very slow, spread over 10 months. So far it has been working. My watery diarrhea is gone and my stools are usually well formed.
I haven't had a cold while on budesonide, so I have no experience to share on your precise question. However, I will say these things:
1. Before I ever had MC, I've had very bad head colds that have lasted longer than two weeks. So, I wouldn't conclude from having a long lasting cold that budesonide is the cause (because of reduced immunity) or that I should reduce budesonide to solve the cold problem. I'm no doctor, but I don't think that three months of budesonide is long enough to compromise immunity.
2. The vast majority of colds are caused by virus, and antibiotics are not effective against viral colds. Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. Sometimes doctors will prescribe antibiotics for viral colds, but that's usually just to prevent some possible secondary infections caused by bacteria. So, ask your doctor whether antibiotics are necessary in your case at all.
3. If I had to take antibiotics for some reason while still taking budesonide, I'd seek the advice of both my internist and gastroenterologist as to whether I should modify my budesonide.
4. Since Immodium (loperamide) was effective to control my diarrhea before I ever took budesonide, I would take that in addition to budesonide if an antibiotic seemed to be overpowering the budesonide and giving me diarrhea. Did you try loperamide in your years of loose stools?
We all seem to be slightly different in our reactions to everything, so my opinions and experiences my not be yours, but I thought I'd share what I could.
Good luck, and let us know your follow-up experience.
I was also diagnosed with LC in July and began budesonide on July 11. My taper is planned to be very slow, spread over 10 months. So far it has been working. My watery diarrhea is gone and my stools are usually well formed.
I haven't had a cold while on budesonide, so I have no experience to share on your precise question. However, I will say these things:
1. Before I ever had MC, I've had very bad head colds that have lasted longer than two weeks. So, I wouldn't conclude from having a long lasting cold that budesonide is the cause (because of reduced immunity) or that I should reduce budesonide to solve the cold problem. I'm no doctor, but I don't think that three months of budesonide is long enough to compromise immunity.
2. The vast majority of colds are caused by virus, and antibiotics are not effective against viral colds. Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. Sometimes doctors will prescribe antibiotics for viral colds, but that's usually just to prevent some possible secondary infections caused by bacteria. So, ask your doctor whether antibiotics are necessary in your case at all.
3. If I had to take antibiotics for some reason while still taking budesonide, I'd seek the advice of both my internist and gastroenterologist as to whether I should modify my budesonide.
4. Since Immodium (loperamide) was effective to control my diarrhea before I ever took budesonide, I would take that in addition to budesonide if an antibiotic seemed to be overpowering the budesonide and giving me diarrhea. Did you try loperamide in your years of loose stools?
We all seem to be slightly different in our reactions to everything, so my opinions and experiences my not be yours, but I thought I'd share what I could.
Good luck, and let us know your follow-up experience.
Dear Tex, dear Kilt,
thank you for your reply.
@Tex: Thank you for your compliment about my English. I do my best, it varies depending on the time of day. ;)
We do have Ciprofloxacin in Germany but it's not first choice and only considered in severe cases. Also, interesting side note, Ciprofloxacin does not have a "black box warning" here in Germany. So I guess I will try to stay away from it as long as possible.
I will keep in mind Azithromycin if the topic of Antibiotics comes up at the doc tomorrow.
@Kilt: Indeed I also had long and rather strong colds before I was diagnosed. Still I can say that this time it's completely different. I have lowered my Budesonide dose since yesterday and the cold has come through. Today I am completely sick, feeling very bad with a runny nose, headache, itchy throat and so on. I will call my doctor tomorrow and see what he suggests. I really don't want to take Antibiotics I'm just scared that my immune system won't be able to subdue this cold.
Btw. unfortunately I do only have a gastroenterologist (to whom I just recently switched since my gastroenterologist before was rather unhelpful). I'm still (after 10 years) searching for a good doctor that takes my problem seriously and is willing to work together with me.
I haven't tried Immodium but I will consider it. Thanks for the hint. I have had some good experiences with medical clay but have stopped using it over time since I didn't like the taste. I guess it won't hurt to give it another go.
Thank your for your ideas, I will keep you updated.
Kiddo
thank you for your reply.
@Tex: Thank you for your compliment about my English. I do my best, it varies depending on the time of day. ;)
We do have Ciprofloxacin in Germany but it's not first choice and only considered in severe cases. Also, interesting side note, Ciprofloxacin does not have a "black box warning" here in Germany. So I guess I will try to stay away from it as long as possible.
I will keep in mind Azithromycin if the topic of Antibiotics comes up at the doc tomorrow.
@Kilt: Indeed I also had long and rather strong colds before I was diagnosed. Still I can say that this time it's completely different. I have lowered my Budesonide dose since yesterday and the cold has come through. Today I am completely sick, feeling very bad with a runny nose, headache, itchy throat and so on. I will call my doctor tomorrow and see what he suggests. I really don't want to take Antibiotics I'm just scared that my immune system won't be able to subdue this cold.
Btw. unfortunately I do only have a gastroenterologist (to whom I just recently switched since my gastroenterologist before was rather unhelpful). I'm still (after 10 years) searching for a good doctor that takes my problem seriously and is willing to work together with me.
I haven't tried Immodium but I will consider it. Thanks for the hint. I have had some good experiences with medical clay but have stopped using it over time since I didn't like the taste. I guess it won't hurt to give it another go.
Thank your for your ideas, I will keep you updated.
Kiddo