First Diverticulitis attack, need help please

Posted , 9 users are following.

My Mom suffered from Diverticulitis but she passed last year and her and I had never really discussed anything about it other than my sister or myself might eventually suffer from it because it could be hereditary. I have some questions that I would have asked my Mom but now I please need help since she’s gone. And I was too stressed and forgot to ask my GI these questions and he’s not reachable on the weekends. Thank you.

I’m a 47 year old Male. And I just started my Ciprofloxacin 500mg (2 daily) & Metronidazole 500mg (3 daily) yesterday. GI said to take the pills for a week to 10 days.

- How normally long before the more extreme burning sensations will begin to dissipate? 2-3 Days?

- How long should I stay on the liquid diet? The entire time while I’m taking the antibiotics? 

- I bought Carnation, Boost & Ensure food drink supplements - Good idea?

- I also bought jello, pudding, chicken stock, red, white & blue popsicles, ginger ale, apple juice & plain yogurt - All good? Any other recommendations?

- How much water should I also be drinking daily?

- The Metronidazole seems to be awful. I have a metallic taste in my mouth, evening & morning headaches, stomach cramps & a nauseated feeling all the time. Is this normal?

- Any other suggestions or advice?

I incredibly appreciate everyone’s help. I really miss my Mom so much right now. Thank you.

1 like, 48 replies

48 Replies

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  • Posted

    right ,let's get you started. Go to the DIVI DINERS forum it will answer most of your questions that have been asked about what, and what not to eat

    Don't know where you are ,but Find a H&B and buy Acidophilus with pectin 

    3 million good bugs in the jar (capsules ) that will give the bad bugs in your guts 

    a good hiding, and keep the pain in check

    Just eat bland foods for the moment ,stuff that slips down ,and drink loads of water

    Metronidazole is a cheap no good drug, ask yor G P for another antibiotic,

    sounds as though you are allergic to the damned tab

    Don't you have an out of hours service ,they are usually pretty good. 

    Now ,go to the D D Forum and don't stressfrown

    • Posted

      Thank you. I will do that. No out of hours service in the US. Just the ER, emergency room, visit. I'll head over to the DD forum too. Thanks!
  • Posted

    The Flagyl is nasty but the Cipro can be even worse. You need to look out for any pain in the Achilles tendon as Cipro can lead to tendon ruptures months after stopping it. Fluoroquinolone toxicity is no joke as hundreds of "floxies" can testify. Read the insert carefully and look out for any adverse reactions as it is important to stop the Cipro if you react badly.
    • Posted

      Having been "floxed" myself I always feel I should warn people that taking Cipro can have very negative consequences. Augmentin works and though it gave me the runs I tolerated it much better than Cipro. It is 16 months since I was on IV combo of Cipro and Flagyl and I am still getting widespread tendon pain.
    • Posted

      Hello Madge, you certainly go through the mill.I'm a bit with you on the tendon pain, Iv'e got a torn tendon in my shoulder ,that makes me yelp

      I really ought to have it repaired, the surgeon  has given me an open 

      door to go,but the "after op" is a bit daunting, pain for a ling time and

      NO driving for at least three months thay would be worse than the pain

      Are your tendons tearing, or hurting when yoy move ,to do anything???

      My reply to the man with the funn yhandle, got squashed, I suspect 

      because I drew the picture of another awful drug. In all fairness .I

      think we should help each other in cases of damaging drugs

      Have you got the Tiger Balm on your tendons? I use it on my shouder

      Have to cover it because the smell is very near the nose, and quite

      overpowering, until it calms down a tad

      Do take care of yourself madge, I know that you do, but ,you have to be  told now and then xx

    • Posted

      So far touch wood I have not had any tendon tears. I did have a rotator cuff tendonitis in the left shoulder that lasted 10 months and I have never been able to regain the same movement range that I had on the right. How many times have you had a fluoroquinolone antibiotic like Cipro to treat your divvi? If your tendon tear was after treatment with an FQ I would suspect it was that that caused or at least contributed to it. Although rupture of the Achilles tendon is the one cited on the package insert for Cipro ( well at least it is here in France) any quick look at a "floxie" website will turn up umpteen people with widespread tendonitis throughout their bodies. At the moment I have pain in my Achilles, elbows and forearms. I will never take an FQ antibiotic again as each time the reaction can be worse. They are not like normal antibiotics but act more like chemo drugs by disrupting bacterial DNA. They have been shown in animal studies to disrupt mitochondrial function in mammalian cells. But GPs give them out for relatively trivial infections like UTIs and bronchitis often without bothering to find out if their is a bacterial infection or not.
    • Posted

      Wow, seriously? I had Cipro years ago when we had all the Anthrax scares and never had any issues, so I'm guessing I should be ok. It's the Flagyl that I know is so awful.
    • Posted

      Thank you jacqueline01135. That's my GamerTag, which I just find myself using when asked for a username. It's not my name. LOL It's Doren. I have no tendon pain yet and hope not too. Just bad stomach cramps, nauseated, back pains & nasty metalic taste in my mouth, which I'm assuming are from the Flagyl and lack of solid food because the Cipro hadn't bothered me years ago, but who knows.
    • Posted

      Hey Madge, it's like the good old days,with the D Diners forum, when I 

      used to pick on you to answer all my questions that I didn't know the 

      answers to with the  div.

      I actually tore my tendon pruning a rather large shrub.had no treatment for it, and the medicals said I had sprained it Two years later, They shaved the cuff ,as I could not raise my arm, and as I am  left handed,

      life was a bit of a sod. I v'e never had the drug you are talking about. it was another one that I was trying to tell man with funny handlecheesygrin

      but the reply was exterminated !!!!  However  DORAN  we got around that cool

      I now bin most drugs that are supposed to be good for me, and .my

      blood  readings have never been better

      Can you raise your arm ??? I could do handstands with mine now, but 

      the tear causes probs  x

       

    • Posted

      T hank goodness you have a name I can pronounce

      Did you recieve my private note question

      Have to get you started on the Acidophillus  capsules ASAP rolleyes or you

      will never get better

    • Posted

      Unfortunately the fact you have had no issues in the past with Cipro does not mean you will not get a reaction this time. There are some who have been floxed who react very badly after their very first dose, others who have milder reactions then get hit by second or third doses. Many people get reactions weeks or months later that they do not associate with the drug then get floxed when their individual body has reached it's limit. This is what happened to me. I have not been as badly affected thankfull y as many people but I have widespread tendon issues,blurred vision and some peripheral neuropathy. The worst thing was that the last time after ONE capsule of Cipro I ended up one week later in the cardiac ward with atrial fibrillation. I had previously had a bad reaction in hospital to an IV Cirpro / Flagyl combo with chest pain and pins and needles in my arms. Mysteriously the Cipro bag disappeared the next day but I did not make the connection and it was only several months later when after the one pill of the prescrition given for a suspected UTI I started having within 2 hours some of the side effects I remembered in the hospital that I read the insert more carefully and made the connection. I looked up Cipro online and was horrified. I thought I had got away with only some mild Achilles tendon pain till a week later when the attack of tachy started. My heart was going at more than 150 bpm:-)and felt like it was trying to jump out of my chest! You need to look out for any tendon pain or neuropathy and stop as the FDA put a black box warning on fluoroquinolones to the effect that the neuropathy can be permanent. The Flagyl also has nasty side effects but I am not sure that they can last years after discontinuation as FQ toxicity can. Just take care. You don't want to find yourself "floxed".
    • Posted

      I had the metallic taste and nausea from Flagyl but the back pain could be the Cipro. It can cause pain in the kidney area.
    • Posted

      jacqueline01135, thank you. It's Doren, pronouced like Doorrin I guess LOL Thanks!
    • Posted

      Yes, I got your PM but it didn't have any info content thought. They must have monitored that too. Sorry. Should I start the Acidophillus while I'm still taking the antibiotics? Thanks!
    • Posted

      That's so true. Past experiences probably mean nothing now. Wow, I had no idea a drug could hit you months later. If I react any worse to these drugs what is the alternative? I don’t know of anything from what I’ve read. Ugh. Did your reaction to Cipro happen immediately after taking it?
    • Posted

      I can now. But when I had it I could only raise it to chest level. I could not do my bun - hubby did it for me and dressing and undressing was very painful. Before I retired I taught and performed Bharatanatyam which involved arm positions above the head and I could not do this. My classes were often interrupted with crying out as I would forget when showing my pupils dance sequences and try movements that were too painful. I had to stop performing altogether. It was instrumental in me taking my retirement when I did. You are lucky you have never been given Cipro.
    • Posted

      Within 2 hours of starting the IV I had a very high glucose reading when they came to test it. I thought it must be to do with the IV nutrient bag as I had eaten nothing at all for more than 24 hours. I asked my consultant if this was normal and she told them to change the nutrient bag. BUT I have since learned that Cipro can cause dysglycemia and she jolly well ought to have known that and been warned to look out for other side effects. Within 24 hours I had pain in my right Achilles tendon and difficulty walking ( I felt my balance was off) but I did not think to associate this with the treatment and when they asked me if I was in pain I thought they meant abdominal pain which I did not have. Unfortunately they do not give you an insert with an IV like you get with a box of pills! Within 48 hours I had the chest pain/ neuropathy reaction. They did an ECG and said it was normal. I have since obtained a copy of this and had my GP look at it. He said it was not quite normal like the other ones I had had but was not seriously abnormal BUT the small abnormality was in the electrical conduction system in the heart which probably explains why the next time I took Cipro I ended up in the cardiac ward.

      But the gastro SHOULD have told me I was probably having an adverse drug reaction and they were stopping it and that she would inform my GP that I was not to have a fluoroquinolone again. She said nothing, wrote no such thing and has since lied to me over the telephone saying I only had Flagyl and when I demanded a copy of my dossier from the hospital falsified my treatment sheet to say I was given Augmentin andFlagyl. Since Augmentin starts with Au and I remember quite clearly that the second bag was labelled with a drug that started with Ci (at the time I did not recognise the generic name Ciprofloxacine) and since both my GP and my new gastro have confirmed that the Cipro/ Flagyl combo is the bog standard treatment here in France for acute divvi I can only assume she is lying to cover her lack of care.

      If you do get any reaction that looks like FQ toxicity ( including mental symptoms like sudden onset depression, panic attacks or black thoughts) then you should definitely raise this with your doc. Augmentin also works but gives the runs. And Jacqueline is right. A probiotic is essential.

    • Posted

      Yes to the probiotics ,and . I thought that private meant private.

      Not much point in sending private, , if it's not !!! Are you keeping up with me rolleyes 

       .

      So your name sounds like MOORIN (just an example so I know if I'm

      on the right track ) By the way, you can leave off the number ,makes me feel like a convict

      Do you have Holland and Barretts  near, or, even in the country???

      Sorry you are feeling crock .Divi really is a nasty thing lol

       

    • Posted

      I know. It should have not been monitored. LOL Ok, no more number. LOL It's more like Door-Rin, but run together. Nope, US. Pennsylvania, just south west of NY. Thanks again!
    • Posted

      Hi xcaliber/jacqueline,

      Private Messages are private - we do not see or read any of them. If one was sent with no content it must have been wiped before sending.

      Regards,

      Alan

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