Flagyl Side Effects?

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Todd Eastman

climber
Bellingham, WA
Jun 25, 2013 - 02:31am PT
I don't believe Flagyl has the same weakening effects on connective tissue as does Cipro. Different bugs, different treatments, but there could be an upside.
Jan

Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
Jun 25, 2013 - 03:08am PT
As an anthropologist working in Nepal, I've taken buckets of flagyl and tinidazole, mostly for Amebas, sometimes for Giardia. In fact the Giardia which is likely what she picked up in the Sierras, plays havoc on the small intestine and food absorption whereas amoebas attack the large intestine. It's pretty easy to tell the difference. Did the center of her abdomen hurt, did she swell up and burp rotten eggs, or did it hurt in a semicircle going up the right side across the top and down the left side and feel like someone was in there scraping away with razor blades. Both of course cause diarrhea.

If Giardia is what she had, then it's very important that she take folic acid in addition to probiotics. Start out with 5 mg. for a week and then taper to 3 and 1. Often this alone is enough to get rid of problems. Without folic acid, sometimes a person can develop a mysterious affliction called tropical sprue.

While lactose intolerance is generally hereditary in our society, Giardia can also cause it. Lay off dairy products except for yogurt, buttermilk, and other already fermented products and take probiotics. Abstain from dairy for a couple of weeks, try it for a day and if a bad reaction discontinue for another two weeks. With folic acid and probiotics, almost everyone is back to normal after a month.

Sometimes people also develop a temporary gluten intolerance. Eat rice, corn, and quinoa instead for a couple of weeks, try it (but not at the same time as trying dairy again) and you will either be ok after a couple of weeks or will need to abstain longer.

Fish oil helps immensely to rebuild the mucosa of the intestines. Take 3 g. twice a day for about five days and then taper off. By this time your skin will smell fishy, but it really helps.

The main thing is patience. Once you disrupt the lining of either intestine it takes a long time to heal and of course a long time to restore the normal bacteria.
jaaan

Trad climber
Chamonix, France
Jun 25, 2013 - 05:29am PT
@ Jan,
Ah, the rotten egg burps! It's all coming back(!) to me now. Flagyl is the work of the devil. I thought it was far worse than the condition it was treating.
Park Rat

Social climber
CA, UT,CT,FL
Jun 25, 2013 - 06:33am PT
I agree with what Jan wrote in her thread.

As a result of my visit to national Jewish health, I came away with the name of their best probiotic.

They highly recommend Jarro-Dophilus to restore G.I. health.

The company is Jarrow, you can check out their website.

The bad news is it should be refrigerated to keep its potency, however they do make a travel probiotic. It's called E P S Jarro-dophilus.

It's not available in your average health food store, however I found it on Amazon.com.

I hope this helps
Jan

Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
Jun 25, 2013 - 07:54am PT
Three cheers for National Jewish!. They figured out that my asthma was vocal cord dysfunction and all the high dose steroids the military doctors gave me were unnecessary. I'd go so far as to say National Jewish gave my life back to me. I have never been in an emergency room since their diagnosis and the correct treatment.

Since they mainly deal with respiratory problems, it's hard for me to imagine why they would be recommending a British probiotic but that is the stuff they gave me in England at a hospital of tropical medicine in Leeds where they treat lots of Indians and Pakistanis. They too, straightened me out in no time after two years of mucking around with military doctors.

And I agree with Jaaan, it's hard to tell often times whether the flagyl or the parasites are going to kill you first.

As for military docs, if you do have to deal with them for this kind of stuff, head straight to the Special Forces medics. They know ten times more about parasites than any other military docs.
HighDesertDJ

Trad climber
Jun 25, 2013 - 09:15am PT
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(I took flagyl for giardia BITD and got nothing but better. It affects everyone differently but it will definitely knock your gut flora for a loop.)
Fritz

Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
Jun 25, 2013 - 09:19am PT
My research on the subject a few years back detertimed that Flagyll does not kill the common as Giardia Protozoa, Cryptosporidium. Until 2005, Cryptosporidium sufferers had to let the disease run it’s course-----which can be several weeks of suffering.

Nitazoxanide is sold under the brand names Nitaxide, Nitax, Zox, Nitazox, Niazid, Toza, Daxon, Dexidex, Kidonax, Mitafar, Pacovanton, Paramix, Nitazox, Alinia, and Annita and is now prescribed for both Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections. Nitazoxanide effects a cure in about a week in a high percentage of those infected.

Here's a link to the Wiki page on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitazoxanide

However, it appears many doctors are unaware of Nitazoxanide, or don't prescrib it because of its higher cost. Heidi had bad guts after our 2007 Peru adventure, took a course of it, and improved immediately.

johntp

Trad climber
socal
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2013 - 09:36am PT
Thanks all for the input and well wishes for my friend.
Jan

Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
Jun 25, 2013 - 10:08am PT
Thanks Fritz, for mentioning Nitroxanide. One of its good benefits other than killing Crytospiridium is that the amoebas in South Asia are not yet resistant to it whereas they are to Flagyl and Tinidazole to some degree. After several unsucessful courses with Tinidazole, I managed to knock out my last round of Amoebas with Nitroxanide which a friend brought back from Mexico. It also seems to have many fewer side effects for humans than either Flagyl or Tinidazole.

Fritz

Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
Jun 25, 2013 - 11:06am PT
Jan: Thanks for bringing up Nitazoxanide being effective against Amoebic Dysentery, which is common in parts of South America, Africa, and S.E. Asia: it causes more deaths than any other parasite, except those that cause Malaria.

I knew Flagyl had lots of bad side-effects, but I didn't know they included it being suspected as cancer-causing.

It's scary schist!

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metronidazole

Metronidazole is listed by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP) as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen[citation needed]. Although some of the testing methods have been questioned, oral exposure has been shown to cause cancer in experimental animals.[9]

The relationship between exposure to metronidazole and human cancer is unclear.[9] One study (Beard et al. 1988) found an excess in lung cancer among women (even after adjusting for smoking), while other studies (IARC 1987; Thapa et al. 1998) found either no increased risk, or a statistically insignificant risk.[9] [10] Metronidazole is listed as a possible carcinogen according to the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).[11]

Due to its potential carcinogenic properties, metronidazole is banned in the EU and the USA for veterinary use in the feed of animals and is banned for use in any food animals in the USA
darkmagus

Mountain climber
San Diego, CA
Jun 25, 2013 - 11:37am PT
Probiotics: yogurt, kombucha, Kim chi, etc.

And don't forget the...

pre-biotics: supply the bacteria with proper food (inulin/fructooligosaccharides), look around for stuff that has it (e.g. Chicory root).
ryanb

climber
Seattle, WA
Jun 25, 2013 - 11:46am PT
I did a course of flagil at one point and my experience matches the comments of others but I will add that, if you find yourself needing to keep some meds cool on the trail frio wallets are awesome:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=frio+wallet&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Afrio+wallet

(I use them for insulin).
John M

climber
Jun 25, 2013 - 12:01pm PT
Ack, I wish I had had access to some of this information 30 years ago. I went through a nightmare for 5 years with my intestines. At one point getting down below 120 pounds. In college my competitive swimming weight was 176, which was 6 percent body fat, so below 120 was dangerous territory.

Jan, you explain things so simply. Thanks.. Though I never did fully figure out what caused me to have such problems. It was first diagnosed as Dysentery, then Colitis, then eventually after many doctors they decided it was inflamatory bowel disease and then Crohn's disease. I don't think that they ever really knew. At one point they wanted to remove about 14 feet of my intestines. I quit going to the doctors and put myself on a strict diet for 18 months and eventually the problems went away. I forgot how important folic acid was to that regimen. And good fish oil. So much of what is out there is mostly junk and doesn't really help. If you have a mild problem, it will probably help, but if you have a persistent and dangerous problem, then you need the best probiotics, the best folic acid and the best fish oils, along with high quality vegetables, and avoiding gluten and too much red meat. Those are the things that helped me the most, though I had to spend a number of years making up my own recipe for health. I eventually did an 18 month diet with no corn, no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no alcohol, no caffeine, no highly processed foods, and no red meat. Plus a good probiotic, fish oil supplements, and b vitamins. I didn't know that it was mainly folic acid that I needed of the B vitamens. That finally did the trick. But it was epic to get it figured out. The american doctors I had access to 30 years ago just didn't seem to understand the gut. 3 years of sulfa drugs and doctors telling me I needed to have my intestines removed and I gave up on the docs. Thankfully I was able to find a solution.
Jan

Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
Jun 25, 2013 - 03:31pm PT
John M , I arrived at my current knowledge pretty much through the same sort of suffering and misdiagnosis. And if I ever get cancer, it will be related to all the flagyl and tinidazole, I'm sure. This is all part of anthropology and seeing the world that they don't tell you about in grad school!
John M

climber
Jun 25, 2013 - 03:48pm PT
Jan, I really admire the life that you have lived and the sense of justice you embody and convey. That may not be the way that you see yourself, but I feel it and appreciate it. I hope you thoroughly enjoy your time in Colorado. When do you plan to get to Colorado? And yes, I fully appreciate that there are lots of things we aren't told about the kinds of lives we choose. Cheers to you! :-)
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