There are a lot of scary stories out there about Clindamycin and C.Dif, but I wonder......how many people have ACTUALLY had this problem whilst on Clindamycin?
Is it really going to cause more trouble than all the other truck loads of antibiotics that I have been taking for years, or is this an urban myth?
I would hate to miss out on taking a potentially helpful med for babesia, when the risk is really not that high after all.
Anyone been there on this one?
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
There is a definite connection and it's trouble for many.
but I took clindamycin/quinine off and on for 2 yrs... no c.diff ...
That said, c.diff is more prevalent these days... so you can't feel totally safe.
Have you tried artemisinin and zithromax yet?
PS.. You can take saccromyces boulardi to protect against c.diff.
Posted by Cockapoo1996 (Member # 14238) on :
I am on it a couple of months and ok so far. I am noticing some flares of severe fatigue and headaches then slow but steady improvements.
As Lymetoo said, make sure you take saccharomyces boulardi when you take your other probiotics. Florastor is saccharomyces boulardi but there are less expensive ones.
I am taking the Florastor because I bought 2 bottles before I knew about the cheaper ones.
Posted by blinkie (Member # 14470) on :
often times, c diff starts once stopping abx. Strangly enough, the abx that cause it, sort of control it, if that makes sense.
Posted by jwall (Member # 22999) on :
how would you know if you have c diff? I am starting clindamycin next month.
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
You would get diarrhea, and abdominal cramps, sometimes nausea and fever as well as a nasty smell. You can have it mildly without diarrhea and smell as well. Make sure you take Florastor! Clindamycin is the # 1 offender for c.diff and I would NEVER take it for Lyme or babesia treatment when there are alternatives available that work better.
you should be ok on clindy and quinine if you dont do it for more than ten days straight.
my llmd had me do 10 days then switch to biaxin and plaquinil for ten days
then repeat both cycles 1 more time for a total of 20 days on each med!
ask your llmd to have flagyl as your next med after doing this combo flagyl kind of keeps c diff at bay !
make sure you take nystantin and a good quality probiotic seperated by two hours from the abx and you should be fine.
I have done that combo twice with no problems at all other than its a nasty herx !
Posted by jwall (Member # 22999) on :
I wonder why my LLMD (who is considered one of the best LLMDs) uses clindamycin?? I have read that he discovered that some of his toughest cases responded really well to clindamycin. I am on IV treatment. I do take sacro-B.
Does it go away on its own...or would I just have to stop clindamycin to get it to go away?
Great, another thing to worry about...I will have to ask him next week. How much sacro-B do I need to take? right now I take the Jarrow brand x 2/day.
I will be pulsing clindamycin, along with another IV antibiotic...and adding in a couple oral abx too. I wonder if this going to be too hard on my system?!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Quite a few great LLMD's use clindamycin/quinine because it works and is much cheaper than mepron.
jwall.. Are you taking a regular probiotic PLUS the s.boulardi??
Just make sure you don't take Nystatin or Diflucan while on s.boulardi. It will kill the sb.
Posted by jwall (Member # 22999) on :
I am taking probiotics and eat plain yogurt and drink coconut water kefir every day. I take sacro-B too. I will be taking flagyl at the end. I will be pulsing it, so it will end up being 9 days/month on clindamycin. Thank you so much for the heads up!
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
That is what Dr. J is using with mixed results. There are other options like malarone for babesia + artemesia.
I would take 2 Florastor daily while on antibiotics and probiotics as tolerated. Please be very careful.
C.diff can go away by itself after you stop antibiotics but usually you need treatment for it and it interrupts your Lyme treatment. Sometimes you can never take antibiotics again once you get c.difficile. Each case is different but it is a very toxic germ and you have to be very aware, especially with high risk clindamycin.
Posted by jwall (Member # 22999) on :
Surely Dr. J would know about this risk with clindamycin??!! Well, I will ask at my next appt. I don't think he is using it for babesia, but rather, for lyme treatment?? Or maybe to hit babesia and lyme. I have no idea!
I believe I will be on it a total of 9 days and a 9 day break in between...another 9 days and that's it, but I'm not sure about that either!
How would one know if diarrhea is from c.diff or from normal abx tummy problems. I got horrible stomach cramps and diarrhea when I was taking oral zith and doxy a few months ago.
Thank you for the information!
Posted by Florence1 (Member # 22960) on :
I definately got c diff/colitis within a week of starting clindamycin last year.....but i have had colitis before so dont know if i was more suseptable......
i now have it on my allergy list......you'll know it once it starts...........
but not everyone is affected by it......lots of people take clindamycin fine aslong as you are protecting your stomach.......
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
i had c. diff after stopping biaxin.
the smell is horrendous. i was going 10 or 15 times a day with severe abdominal cramps.
also i had burning diahhrea, so bad it scalded me. i cried when i had to go, it was that painful.
that's why i'm never touching another abx again and hoping i don't have to.
i got another mild case of c. diff (if it ever can be considered mild) after having been put on flagyl for diverticulitis.
Posted by Annelet (Member # 13503) on :
Why is Clindamycin so often given with Quinine?
Does it have to be?
Posted by gatorade girl (Member # 24896) on :
Clindamycin helps prevent babesia from being resistant while on quinine .
Posted by Annelet (Member # 13503) on :
Would Clindamycin+Plaquenil be as good?
Posted by nspiker (Member # 22824) on :
I have been on IV clindamycin for ten months, every two weeks for seven days. I love this drug, and have had great success in combination with other babesia/lyme drugs.
Initially, took clindy orally and got the stomach ache and diarrhea, and had to stop (not c-difficile). Conversely, have had NO side effects from IV clindy.
There are many people who use IV clindamycin for autoimmune diseases (www.roadback.org). It is a commonly used, and well-tolerated drug in IV form.
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