antibiotics and uc flare

My flares in recent years have all followed antibiotics, unfortunately. I wish I had started on probiotics right away both times, especially Florastor (s. boulardii).

I think there's some debate about whether most sinus infections require antibiotics, but I know I've gotten very sick with them before. I've heard from folks in the Entyvio Facebook group that sometimes respiratory tract issues get out of hand, even though it doesn't suppress the immune system quite as systemically, so I'd be weighing both sides of the risk (taking antibiotics vs. not) and upping the probiotics either way.

I hope it works out well for you, one way or another.

Thank you so much for your responses! The antibiotic she gave me seems pretty mild. It's a Z pack for 5 days but only 250mg. This disease is so frustrating , as you already know. Help from others who are going thru the same thing really helps alot. Also, I know everyone is different and each persons results are entiterly different too. I wish they'd find a cure. I saw they have a new medication, but not sure if it was approved by the FDA yet. I think the name was Zeposia, or something like that. dont remember if its a pill or given by infusion. Would be interesting to know what results they"ve found with that. Thanks again for your help.

They always give me prednisone and usually its the only thing that stops the bleeding. Does your Dr. give you something else in place of it?

To add to my last post - I've never been able to use prednisone to get into remission. Only for symptom management while I wait for other drugs to work.

dayatatime66 said...
They always give me prednisone and usually its the only thing that stops the bleeding. Does your Dr. give you something else in place of it?

You...MESALAMINE ORAL AND RECTAL! And request it.
I've never nor will ever be on prednisone unless my life depended in it.

q

As for taking a z-pak for a sinus infection, that was a common treatment. I say "was" because many doctors no longer treat sinus infections by initially prescribing a z-pak.

Zithromax has been over-used to the point that it's no longer very effective for many types of bacteria. What's more, the current thinking is that sinus infections often clear on their own without the need for any antibiotics, as GrittyHope alluded to.

For somebody with UC, for whom any antibiotics increase risk of flare - and nobody can predict how you will respond to any specific antibiotic - the risk/reward of taking a z-pak is even more tilted.

Try to clear the sinus infection with other means before taking an antibiotic. By this I mean steam inhaling, saline rinses or saline irrigation, decongestants, mucolytics, etc. Only if you can't clear the infection by such means should you take an antibiotic for it.

Yes antibiotics can cause flares, but it depends on which one. Antibiotics that are targeted are less of a problem. Broad spectrum antibiotics that kill many species are the worst, and should be avoided in UC patients.