Had my colonoscopy two days ago, my doc said ulcers worse prob from antibiotics

Do you think antibiotics can make ulcer worse, I have ulcertive colitis. I'm not discouraged right now, because I believe in miracles. It not what I wanted to hear, but I can get better with medication. I'm on nothing at this point. The antibiotics I was on, Bicillin shots, then oral zithromax everything started giving me panic attacks. I'm back to having night sweats, they seemed to go away when on was on the zithromax, but the antibiotics are tearing up my gut. Now what? I will see my LLMD when my biopsies come back in two weeks and start with him again. He's expensive, out of pocket $120-$160 a visit. Any suggestions on antibiotics?

Ulcers, and any other stomach or digestive problems can definitely be made worse with oral antibiotics. The pills are just really harsh on the linings. Ulcers can be caused by h. pylori bacteria, but they aren't always. You need a test to find out if you have this bacteria, although the tests are 100% accurate. If h. pylori was causing the ulcers, I would think that the antibiotics would make it better, not worse.

I find it very interesting that you have night sweats and that Zithromax made it better. This is a big indication of babesia, not Lyme. Were you tested for any other tick borne infections? The treatment for babesia is usually Zithromax and Mepron, both of which may be harsh on the digestive system. You can also use artemesinin (sp?) along with that. Artemesinin is a natural substance, but that doesn't mean it won't have side effects. You may find that you tolerate it more than the antibiotics/antimalarials, but it may just take some trial-and-error.

It's good that you're looking into babesia. If you indeed have it, you need to treat it appropriately. It can be hard to treat Lyme if you don't treat other co-infections as well.

The babesia symptoms really stink. (Well, ALL of the symptoms are awful.) I used to have shortness of breath because of it. Walking up a flight of stairs was a huge chore. My sweats didn't happen at night. They would come at random times during the day. In one particular instance, they hit me while I was getting a hair cut. By the time I stood up from the chair, my clothes were completely soaked through from head to toe. I can sympathize!

I don't know anything about ulcerative colitis, but have you looked into using probiotics? I mention it because one of the probiotics that I take, VSL #3, advertises that it helps with that specific condition. I take this probiotic myself, as well as others, but not for that reason. It might be worth looking into this or talking to your doctor(s) about it. I don't have any association with the company, and I can't validate their claims. Unfortunately, this particular probiotic is the most expensive one I've seen and has to be shipped overnight.

I agree with IH8ticks.

And a big yes for the use of probiotics!!! I like to use kefir, as it has so many more of those friendly little critters (beneficial bacteria) in it than most products offer. Homemade is best (because it's not pasturized), but even the commercial product would be very helpful.

I am so sorry to hear that you now have to deal with UC as well as the tick infections, therearemiracles.

Lyme can wreck havoc on the digestive track, but I'm not sure if it can specifically cause or worsen ulcers. I would imagine that it could, but I can't say that for sure.

A lot of us are in similar situations. We have multiple problems going on at once. I have digestive problems, including GERD, that I think Lyme and bartonella make a million times worse. I also have hypothyroidism. Lyme can cause this, but there is no way for me to know whether Lyme is the root cause or whether I just happen to have both at the same time. It's like trying to unravel a big, tangled ball of yarn.

I use kefir as well, the store bought kind from Lifeway. It's actually the only dairy I can tolerate since the antibiotics made me completely lactose intolerant. I use it to make smoothies with fruit, since eating fruit plain can cause acid reflux problems for me.

I'm not sure if I can suggest anything else. I'm always on the lookout for new probiotics to try. I currently take VSL #3, Theralac, and Prescript Assist Pro. These keep me close to normal, but I have to take a lot every day.

I'm downing powder probiotics from Klaire Labs, I have to say I feel better now coming out of the colonoscopy then when I went in, other than the drugs made me feel like crap for three days! I feel like I'm not as inflammed in my rectum. I hope this continues. No more antibiotics for me for a while! Thanks for all you input and everyone who responded, we need to help each other and I feel I get the support I need from this forum!

Thanks,

Linda