Probiotics and Antibiotics
 

My sister has a bad urinary tract infection (went up into her kidneys) and is now on a 14 day course of antibiotics. She was planning to start taking probiotics after she finished, but I've always heard that you should take them while you're taking antibiotics, but no less than 4 hours after each pill.

I've started doing research on this and have found many conflicting reports. So to mrsD or anyone else knowledgeable about the subject, I'd appreciate input as to what the right thing to do is. Take them while on the antibiotics, or wait until after the 14 days? I'm a little nervous about waiting because the course is so long, but I certainly don't want her to do anything to negate the drug.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I would take them now.

Do you know what antibiotic she is taking? Some are worse than others on the GI tract.

I prefer yogurt as a natural source of probiotics.
Stonyfield is one very good one. It has several organisms in it.

She's on her 6th day of Cipro; a dose of 500 mgs twice a day. She has a few different types of probiotics (good quality and fridge stored) and would prefer to go that route in order to avoid dairy right now and she hasn't much of an appetite. With that being the case, do you have a suggestion as to when she should take the probiotic so as not to interfere with the benefits of the antiobiotic?

Thanks, mrsD!

Cipro does impact the bowel considerably. It can lead to a colitis in the bowel, for some people, especially those who
take antibiotics frequently.

Cipro is twice a day, typically in dose. So taking the probiotic a couple of hours after each dose may help.
One cannot take minerals like Calcium/magnesium, iron etc with Cipro so dairy has to be avoided at the timing of the doses.

Any severe diarrhea that develops should be reported to the doctor, as C. difficile may occur. This would mean treatment with Vancomycin typically.

Yeast is always a possible side effect too. Avoiding sugar, or high glycemic carbs will starve this off for most people.

Most UTI's are treated with lower dose Cipro for shorter periods. Once you get into the 14 days or longer other side effects may occur.

Some people may develop Peripheral Neuropathy from Cipro, and also tendon ruptures may occur up to a year after treatment.

Dr. Cohen's website discusses fluroquinolone side effects:
http://medicationsense.com/about_cohen.html

But many can tolerate this treatment. One just has to be watchful while on it.

mrsD, thanks so much for your input. Much appreciated! :hug:

I have a friend who gets chronic lung infections and she sometimes has a variety of difficulties when she goes on Cipro for longer than a few weeks and will no longer do that. She likes to limit the duration for this particular drug.
I've recently started eating Activia yogurt and have found it to be tasty and helpful. I also am looking for a priobotic (see my other post). Good luck/feel better.