Flagyl and UC

Hi everyone,

Just kinda going nuts waiting for my biopsy results...thought I'd get some more insight from you folks.

From what I read on the internet, it seems like flagyl is not considered very helpful for UC at all. Some forum posts I've read seem to have mixed results. Some people say flagyl has really helped and others say it hasn't.

I took flagyl because I thought my problem stemmed from c diff. I took a two week course, and my symptoms stopped.

My symptoms stopped, with some very minor bleeding here and there. But the difference was like night and day. I was bleeding with every bowel movement for months before I took flagyl, and then that stopped.

I've spoken to two doctors who say flagyl can be used to treat UC. I don't know if I necessarily trust that info, but they are doctors, and I'm not.

What say you guys? What's the general consensus on flagyl as a treatment of UC? Is it helpful? Somewhat helpful? Not helpful at all?

Also, since my colonoscopy, it seems like I am bleeding a lot more. Is this common? I was having no blood before, but after the colonoscopy, my BMs are kinda bloody now.

Is there such a thing as just "colitis"? Do you mean like an infection of some other kind? Sorry, I'm not very well educated in this area. It seems from what I've read on the internet the major form of colitis is ulcerative. Can biopsies tell the difference between colitis that is autoimmune or other forms?

Regardless, thank you for the reply.

Hmm, interesting, thanks Gary!

From searching on the internet and searching this forum, it seems like flagyl is not really used to treat UC at all and it seems a vast majority of users here say it didn't help with their symptoms at all, with a few here and there that say flagyl worked well.

Whatever bowel problems I've been having now and in the past, antibiotics seem to be very effective so far.

Interesting IamCurious...thank you for sharing! Have you stayed in remission since that course of flagyl?

Great, thank you for your informative responses!

Thank you notsosicklygirl, I hope so too. I've been doing great since going off the flagyl, but after my colonoscopy two days ago, there's been more bleeding. I think that's common with colonoscopies.

I guess even if I do have UC, the symptoms are basically nonexistent when I am not stressed. Stress makes me go to the bathroom a lot and have cramps and diarrhea. If it is UC, it is very very mild so far. As much as I hope it isn't, I think I can manage it if it is.

My biggest concern is being able to continue recovering from my eating disorder. I've been in recover for a year and a half now and I'd like to keep continuing. One day at a time, I suppose!

Flagyl worked extremely well for me. There has been a lot of lack of evidence for a c diff infection, but c diff can be tricky to diagnose apparently. However, what I'm thinking is happening now is that I may have had c diff after being treated with antibiotics in February and then flagyl cured it, but UC came in after my bout with flagyl.

It's entirely possible I've had UC the whole time too, I suppose.

I'm going to be seeing another GI to kind of ask all the questions that are lingering in my mind and basically really see if this is a strange case of c diff or not. Personally, I've kind of accepted it and am leaning toward this being UC. It's still a little unbelievable that I could have gotten it, but I'm sure the feeling will pass.