Topic: won't this high dose of flagyl just about kill me???
randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
ok, i went to primary for the stomach/colon thingy. he took a ton of blood and i have to do stool sample.
here's the question.
he gave me 500 mg of flagyl for two weeks. i have to take it twice a day.
that's a very high dose of flagyl and since i have lyme, won't that just about kill me???
i mean i know i have to treat the c. difficle (he's giving me the flagyl before the tests come back cause he said better safe than sorry)...but man, can i handle that high a dosage?
how about one a day? i know i'm second guessing the doc and all, but i don't want to kill myself with a dang herx either....
what to do, what to do............
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
It could be harsh, but you also don't want to take too small a dose because that could result in the c. difficile becoming resistant.
I wouldn't lower the dose without talking to a doctor and making sure I was taking a large enough dose to hit the c. difficile.
Also, I think Flagyl is hardest on people who have had lots of abx treatment and sent the bacteria into cyst form. Since you are newer to treatment, it might not be as bad. But I've got not medical background besides what I've learned with Lyme. So this is just me thinking while I type.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Acxtually that's on the low side. It's usually given 3 x's a day (every 8 hrs) because of it's short half life. It's often given at 750 mg tid for parasites.
He's giving it as a precaution for C-diff, so I wouldn't try reducing the dose. If you do end up with a positive for C-diff, then you will have to take it 3 x's a day.
-------------------- You're only a failure when you stop trying. Posts: 945 | From U.S | Registered: Oct 2004
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mojo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9309
posted
I used to take this dose every three weeks for cyst busting. I did OK but it wasn't fun.
My girlfriend had C.Diff and she took 500 mg 3 x per day.
Posts: 1761 | From USA | Registered: May 2006
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posted
I had Giardia many years ago and was given 750 mg three times a day for 10 days. It wasn't pleasant but I lived.
Posts: 142 | From Florida | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I just went through the colonoscopy and the stool samples for Cdiff. I didn't have it and was already pulsing the flagyl when the GI Dr. told me to take it for two weeks.
He did mention he doesn't like flagyl from the severe side effects he's seen with it treating gastrointestinal issues. He also said if I had CDiff it was what treated it.
I just went off the flagyl three days ago as I can'ttolerate the drug. It made me feel like I was slowly being poisioned and terribly depressed and just plain nasty.
I'm doing Rocephin IV after doing a year of orals and bicillin shots. Good luck with the flagyl.
Barb
Posts: 281 | From san francisco | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
I don't know of anyone who has taken it and not gotten depressed. Can't imagine.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
I have run several pulses of flagyl-at 500mg 3x a day-usually for 2 weks at a time.
I would have to make a countdown chart so I would just have to take it one more day until I reached the end.
And just when i was able to complete a cycle with hardly a reaction at all-my LLMD stopped it to give my body a break.
I learned here on lymenet to dip it in olive oil because the taste is so beyond nasty.
Initially it really did depress me-and wonder if treatment, life with lyme, yada yada yada was worth it. Fortunately-again with help from lymenet, I was able to recognize this was the flagyl talking-and given a chance things would get better.
I probably have another round of flagyl pulses ahead of me-but I no longer dread the thought. Perhaps naive of me.
Take Care, Carol
ps-quite frankly, I am finding my current course of minocycline and ART (and the IV Rocephin) to be doing a number on my Joi de Vivre, too.
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pmerv
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1504
posted
I couldn't take that dose for more than 2 days, but in my case, the cure was worse than the disease so I stopped. Good luck. Different people handle it differently.
-------------------- Phyllis Mervine LymeDisease.org Posts: 1808 | From Ukiah, California, USA | Registered: Aug 2001
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WildCondor
Unregistered
posted
The dose for treating c.diff should be 500 mg of Flagyl 4 times per day, or 2,000 mg/day. 1,000 mg is not strong enough, and that is NOT a strong dose. Even for Lyme the Flagyl dose is typically 2,000 mg per day and pulsed.
You have to be aggressive treating c.diff and it has a VERY high relapse rate. With Flagyl, you will be treating Lyme and c.diff, killing 2 birds with 1 stone. That's a good thing! Yes, it can be hard to take, but the danger of not treating it properly far outweighs the side effects.
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quote:Originally posted by randibear: that's a very high dose of flagyl and since i have lyme, won't that just about kill me???
i mean i know i have to treat the c. difficle
500 mg of metronidazole per day is NOT a huge amount, it is in fact about the minimum you should be taking to fight a possible c.difficile infection.
It might make you feel a bit off (make sure you don't drink any alcohol at all, not a drop).
You might get a headache after a few days, try charcoal (well away from your abx and supplements)
Don't believe tini or metro will systematically make you feel terrible, it usually helps my brain heaps
Nelly
Posts: 416 | From france | Registered: Oct 2001
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
I took flagyl 3 x a day just dont drink any alchol drink lots of water,=.
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
CaliforniaLyme
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 7136
posted
What everybody else said*)!*)!*!)!!
Flagyl sucks but it works!*)*)!
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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