Has anyone taken Metronidazole (antibiotic)?

TeamZissou · Post by **TeamZissou** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:13 am

I read on a random website about BB that this is sometimes used as part of treatment. It is apparently specific to anaerobic bacteria. Here's a wikipedia article about it:

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

I know many have probably been given a course of antibiotics to clear up this problem, only to have it not work. But, I wonder if it was specific to anaerobic bacteria like this is. Usually they are not.

Just wondering if anyone has heard of this or tried it.

halitosisux · Post by **halitosisux** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:24 am

Hi TeamZissou,

Yes metronidazole has "cured" my BB on two separate occasions, as it appears to have for many others on here too - there's a posting on the subject on here somewhere that i've read.

This "cure" only lasted for the duration metronidazole was taken. It's not a true cure because generally it doesnt deal with the underlying cause. I had the most awful taste during the course of taking this. There is one major problem with taking broad spectrum antibiotics, in the case of metronidazole (as far as i understand) it kills off all the oral anaerobic bacteria. The problem is we need (god damn) anaerobic bacteria, and killing them off has other detrimental effects. For instance (as far as i understand) the oral flora is a balance (war) between bacteria and fungus. If the fungus were to take over completely we end up with oral thrush and god knows what else. That's why i dont waste my time with mouthwashes or anything artificial coming in contact with my tongue, because it becomes a vicious circle. If you affect the bacteria on there you are doing the fungus a favour which is why keeping a tongue clean of coating becomes such a battle.

I have spoken very simplistically because im a bit rushed for time, and this is the opinion i've formed on the subject which i've just blurted out in 2 mins. Its would be interesting to chat about this later when i have more time.

Archimonde · Post by **Archimonde** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:47 am

Learn to use the search engine! There's a 10-page thread on Metronidazole:

viewtopic.php?t=232

A bunch of people tried it, 2 were cured.

halitosisux · Post by **halitosisux** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:58 am

Thankyou for reminding us Archimonde

TeamZissou · Post by **TeamZissou** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:48 pm

Thanks for the thoughts halitosisux. I agree with everything you said.

I will use the search function in the future as well. My mistake.

coeric · Post by **coeric** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 5:05 am

im staring at my bottle of metronidazole now, havent taken it yet. i know that if i take it my bad breath is gone for about 3 weeks (2 courses + 1 week for lingering affects). ive taken a course of a ripoff, lower-grade metro once two years ago (from a shady online pharmacy). it cleaned my breath for its duration. anyway, i believe this antibiotic is a godsend if for some reason youre only going to live a few more weeks.

currently, im debating whether to take it but also adding some other treatment at the same time. maybe then i can hope for the best eh. probiotics perhaps? or another antibiotic? any advice?

halitosisux · Post by **halitosisux** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:24 am

Hi Coeric,

Look at metronidazole as a kind of magic mouthwash. All you are doing is killing the bacteria. The reason for the BB is still there, so the bacteria readily resume once the effect wears off.
Maybe the lucky few who appear to have a permanent effect have, by chance, eliminated a chronic infection somewhere such as in the gums or sinuses, which gave the structures there the chance to heal, so the bacteria could not resume.
These cases of people seemingly cured following antibiotic treatment for helicobacter pylori are also assumed to have been cured for this reason.
That guy who started the thread on metronidazole often referred to his lack of dental hygiene. He even went into depression after being cured and felt his halitosis returning, only to realise it was his lack of oral hygiene, and once this was corrected, his halitosis had gone.

bbsux · Post by **bbsux** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:50 am

I went to the doctor 2 days ago and she prescribed amoxicilin for my sinus infection... i will call today and ask her to change it to this antibiotic as i have already taken antibiotics!!! grrr.

halitosisux · Post by **halitosisux** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:23 pm

whoops bbsux, i saw your other posting describing your job situation before seeing this one, but you didnt mention your BB history in there or what you've tried doing about it.
For your doctor to be prescribing antibiotics for a sinus problem, i guess you must be having sinus symptoms. DONT PANICK!! make sure if you are decongested that you take decongestants, because if you do have sinus problems you dont want your sinuses to remain physically blocked because this will never clear otherwise.
If you dont notice any improvement in sinus symptoms shortly, then you may require an operation to deal with it. Your doctor may further try to deal with your sinusitis with more potent antibiotics and decongestants before he refers you to an ENT.

TeamZissou · Post by **TeamZissou** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:34 am

Did anyone ever try the triple antibiotic treatment for h. pylori that includes this drug that was mentioned in that 10-page thread?

Clearly this drug works to some degree. It seems a little premature to abandon it without considering how best to maximize the length of the results.

halitosisux · Post by **halitosisux** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:18 am

Good point TeamZissou,

Its a powerful tool that we need to exploit to offer further insights, in a lateral way. For example, like your idea of oxygen gas to gradually shift the floral balance towards more friendlier bacteria.
Something with the power of metronidazole could open doors to new understandings and we should be exploiting it with ideas.

asd · Post by **asd** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:03 pm

this is something I will try next year:
I will try and get a couple of courses of this antibiotic.(by gettign some and not using them and then going back a month or 2 later and getting more.
then I will take 3 courses back to back. Drink grene tea all the time non stop. And use hydrogen peroxide and vitamin c all the time, like every hour. I will also have a very restricted diet. I will follow this for around a month.

TeamZissou · Post by **TeamZissou** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:39 pm

I think this antibiotic needs to be taken either slightly longer or at a higher dose to clear up the problem too.

But i'd have to strongly advise against doing that without the supervision and/or direction of a doctor. You don't want to mess around with antibiotics. Being on it that long could be dangerous.

Try talking to your doctor though, and explain the problem, and see what his thoughts are on taking it for a longer period or at a higher dose.

girlie girl · Post by **girlie girl** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:19 pm

I found some useful info on this website...

http://www.helico.com/disease_weird.html

Lots of people with chronic halitosis respond to treatment for H.pylori. This may be because mouth bacteria, sinus and periodontal disease responds to the same antibiotics. It may be that H.pylori is the cause of the halitosis (bad digestion, achlorhydria etc.). In any case, treating H.pylori might be worthwhile.

Conventional First-Line Triple Therapies-(Twice-Daily PPI-Based Triple Therapies)

Cure rate 90%:with 2 weeks treatment in the U.S.; 1 week Treatment outside U.S.

Omeprazole 20 mg bid or Lansoprazole 30 mg bid
Clarithromycin 500 mg bid
Amoxicillin 1 g bid
or Metronidazole 500 mg bid if Amoxicillin intolerant

girlie girl · Post by **girlie girl** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:21 pm

More helpful info...

Antibiotics Without A Prescription?InternetDrugNews.com

Believe it or not, our investigators were able to obtain generic Cipro generic, Levaquin and generic Zithromax without a prescription within minutes. Report reveals how and why people disregard prescription regulations.

Home> Drug Databases> Antibiotics Investigation

Introduction:

We wanted to determine if it was possible to obtain antibiotics without a prescription and how people do it.

In the United States, there are 4 ways to obtain antibiotics without a prescription: buy them in a pet store, drive down to Mexico, buy them in an ethnic market/convenience store or buy them on the internet.

Pet Store

Here is a loophole I learned about when I began training as a pharmacist thirty years ago. If you walk into aquarium section of any well stocked pet store and you may be surprised to learn 2 things:

(A) Fish diseases are treated with human antibiotics.
(B) You don't need a prescription to purchase antibiotics for fish.

We visited 6 pet stores in the New York City Area - 2 national chains, a regional chain and 3 independently owned pet shops.

Both national chain pet stores we visited had antibiotics for sale. Most of the formulations were available as liquid gel drops or powders that are difficult for people to take. However we were able to obtain tablets of triple sulfa (a cocktail of 3 broad spectrum sulfa antibiotics) and tetracycline tablets on the websites of these chains.

The regional chain pet store and all three mom and pop pet stores sold tetracycline, erythromycin and ampicillin in tablet and capsule form.

On the internet, it was easy to find amoxicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, cephalexin, metronidazole and erythromycin for sale without a prescription by searching Google for the term "fish antibiotics".

It is a bad idea for people to take veterinary medicines but chemically the drugs are the same as what you find in a human pharmacy.

According to anecdotal reports the fact that one can obtain antibiotics in this manner is common knowledge among branches of the armed forces.

Internet

Importing non-prescription antibiotics over the internet into the United States is a low priority for the authorities compared to narcotics and controlled substances. When was the last time you read about someone being arrested for importing Cipro or Augmentin into the USA?

Here's how it works: As long as the pharmacy is located in a country that does not require a doctor's prescription for a drug, they are happy to sell you whatever you need (other than controlled substances) without a prescription. You might be bending the law, but the authorities look the other way.

We don't recommend you do this but if you do, the key is to buy from a trustworthy pharmacy. Word of mouth is the best way to choose one. Otherwise you must screen them carefully.

Bodega

Many ethnic grocery/convenience stores such as bodegas (small grocery/convenience stores found in Latino neighborhoods), sell antibiotics.

Since I live in New York City, we conducted our experiment in Washington Heights, a vibrant immigrant community with a large Spanish speaking population.

Our undercover investigator (a middle aged woman) went into several bodegas and explained that she had a sore throat and needed antibiotics. Two out of seven stores had antibiotics for sale.

One store had "Gimalxina", a brand name for amoxicillin. She bought 20 capsules for $10.00. Another store had generic ampicillin and tetracycline for $0.60 per pill. They also had other medicines for sale (such as diuretics and birth control pills but that's another story).

People who buy medicine from ethnic markets are usually poor and originate from cultures where buying antibiotics over-the-counter is the norm.

A 2002 NY Times article indicated that Chinese and Russian immigrants easily purchase antibiotics and other prescription drugs in small markets