IBS Study Shows Benefit From Targeted Antibiotics

[CrohnieToo]

Research at Cedars-Sinai have found that Xifaxin (rifaximin) may be an effective long-term treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Participants benefited from the antibiotic use even after the course of treatment ended, supporting previously published research identifying small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) as a possible cause of the disease. Among study subjects whose primary symptom was diarrhea, those on the antibiotic showed more than twice the improvement of those on the placebo (49 percent vs. 23 percent). Patients received the drug (or placebo) for 10 days and were then followed for a total of 10 weeks. Participants kept a stool diary, took a questionnaire and were given methane breath tests. The positive effects of the drug were shown to continue throughout most of the 10-week study, not just during the actual antibiotic course.  In 2000, Pimentel linked bloating, the most common symptom of IBS, to bacterial fermentation, showing that small intestine bacteria overgrowth (SIBO) may be the causative factor in IBS (The American Journal of Gastroenterology, Dec. 2000).  In the first study, an abnormal breath methane profile was shown to be 100 percent predictive of constipation-predominant IBS. In the current study, the correlation between the amount of methane and the amount of constipation was confirmed, another key finding.

http://www.thedoctorslounge.net/gastroenterology/articles/ibs/antibiotic_treatment/index.htm

[7Lil]

Thanks, CrohnieToo! Good stuff.

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Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

[dbab]

Thanks CrohnieToo... very good read!!

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_{Hugs, Des}

_{Co-Moderator ~ IBS Forum}

 

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[7Lil]

Hi David, welcome to HealingWell!

Love the link to the video.... Thank you!

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Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

[ryleigh]

Hi Everyone,  I am calling my doctor tommarow about this new drug!!!  If this helps my IBS it will be a life changing event for me...  I will let you all know what happens...  I hate to get to excited until I talk with my doctor...

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Ryleigh

[7Lil]

Ryleigh, PLEASE keep us posted. I am very curious....
Good luck!

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Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

[bunnybabe]

I took it for about 16 days and I am still doing great.
--bunny
i highly encourage everyone to talk to their doctors about it. it helped me.
best of luck

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what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

[7Lil]

Wow, bunny, that is great news! It is about time you are feeling better.

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Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

[DavidLA]

Hi,-Glad you liked the video clip.Do posts only stay on for one day. I don't see the link now???

[7Lil]

Hi David,
No, posts do not only stay on for only 1 day. I checked with the Admin and he has informed that he deleted your post. Unfortunately when new members post links to other wesites it makes us wonder if they are trying to "advertise." Sorry for the inconvenience.

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Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

[missie1227]

i wrote down the name of this drug and AX and when i go to see my GI man next month i am going to ask him to put me on it, but my ibs may be owed to my spine as  it is out of whack with all the herniated discs and stenosis, arthritis etc. so i am not sure if my sympotoms are nuerogenic or AX related but i can norrow it down some with all this

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9-02 crash w/ C-5-6-7 anterior/posterior fusion in neck w/11 screws and 4 metal plates. multilevel HNP at T & L section. FMS, PA in dec 05. SSI approved after 2.5 yr wait. sezuires, CTS, etc. on norco, xanax etc. i dont know what else is wrong with me and neither does anyone else!!!

[DavidLA]

I posted Dr. Pimentel's web site. Isn't that the TOPIC in this room. I also posted an inteview with him on KCAL. That's not allowed????

[7Lil]

DavidLA, it is allowed - as long as you do not have a "vested interest" or are trying to "advertise."  However, when your first posts are directing the forum to other sites your motive is questioned.  One wonders if you are trying to advertise.  Please email Peter, the site Admin, if you would like to discuss:  Peter's email

[dbab]

Hi David,
Lil is correct. The site has an anti-spam filter and alerts to certain posts made with certain criteria. Since this is your first post, this is what is done with any suspected advertising. Please understand that these things are in place because advertisers pay money to have there ads placed here and it would not be right to have posters advertising their own products and sites for free. This probably doesn't apply to you but that is why these controls are in place. Thanks for listening.

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_{Hugs, Des}

_{Co-Moderator ~ IBS Forum}

 

_{~My reality check bounced}

 

 

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[roadtrip]

very interesting stuff....

Please guys keep posting and let us know how you get on with the antibiotics!

[bunnybabe]

FYI:
my perscription insurance did cover Xifaxan, however there was some paperwork involved, not on my end though. since the drug is normally used to treat e-coli and travlers diarrhea on a three day course some insurance companies freaked out when it has been perscribed for two or more weeks. my course without insurance would have cost $376, i ended up paying $25.
however since there are studies being done now it shouldn't be too difficult. my new GI is running a study also (Maryland). i think it is great, i wasn't feeling so hot while on it, but about a week afterwards i was able to stand up straight--and everyone commented about how they couldn't believe how much better i looked...
one thing though--it is important to not take it with blood in the stools, i actually stopped two days because i had blood, but started back up and all was well.
take care of yourselves! and be proactive about this drug--maybe we can all be cured!
(i still can't do wheat, dairy and tomatos--but i haven't pooped myself!!!)
--bunny

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what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

[m_ms]

Well, I am glad I read this post this morning and was able to check out the website. What a hopeful idea! When I go back to the states I'm going to insist on a breath test.

[ryleigh]

Bunnybabe,  Would love to know more about this drug..  Did you have IBS just D or D and C??  How sick did the drug make you feel??  I am a freak about taking new drugs..  Don't want to feel sicker than I already do..  Thanks for the info...

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Ryleigh

[bunnybabe]

hey. i had D. on a good day i would go 4 to 6 times (with immodium), on a crappy day i would go up to 15 sometimes 20 times a day, with cramping, exhaustion and often the explosive urgent D. i also had anemia, blood in my stools, sometimes vomiting---overall yuckiness.
while on the drug i was my same old sick self, sometimes a good day sometimes a bad day. i don't think the drug itself made me sick, it just didn't work wonders right away for me. it was about a week after finishing that i felt a heck of a lot better.
now, i was also on, Nexium, The Pill, Zoloft, Acidophillus, Multivitamin, B Complex during that time. i know only take the pill, acidophillus and my vitamins... i am no longer anemic and i go MAYBE 2 to three times a day, not D but formed... i have gone more than that when i ate a half a jar of salsa--but it was formed, not urgent and nothing like what it was.
i know that i will have bad days when i eat poorly, but i am beginning to think that there is hope for everyone... though i have no idea if it could help ibs C.

the breath test is really easy, fasting, drinking some lactulose (had D afterwards) and a breathalyzer every 15 minutes for two hours. i sat with my ipod and a book. and my nurse talked to me about the digestive system, she was really into bacterial overgrowth...

take care and i wish you the best of luck!

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what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

[dbab]

Thanks for the great info bunnybabe... I'm sure your experience is going to help a lot of people :)

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_{Hugs, Des}

_{Co-Moderator ~ IBS Forum}

 

_{~My reality check bounced}

 

 

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