Metronidazole & Fluconazole (Combination therapy for BB)

[KeepTrying09]

Hey Everyone,

(Please read this thread, I really think i'm on to something here....)

One of the forum members asked me the other day about Metronidazole curing bad breath. She asked me if I was able to *(editied by author)* Metronidazole here in Thailand and *(editied by author)* to her like I have been doing with the Biozole (Fluconazole). Metronidazole is available here in Thailand, *(editied by author)* but as soon as she told me it was an antibiotic I was skeptical. If you have followed any of my threads, you will know that I swore off antibiotics after I was treated for Candida, and haven't even thought about using them since. But...

I did a search on this forum for "Metronidazole" and came across 64 matching threads. Yes, I browsed through all of them. Overall, it seems like Metronidazole has worked for a few people permanently, but for the majority it has only gotten rid of bad breath while they were on the medicine. Usually the bad breath came back after the person quit taking the medicine. Does it have to be like this though??? Maybe not...

I have a theory as to why bad breath comes back after finishing Metronidazole. Firstly, we all know that antibiotics kill off the bad bacteria in your body. If your bad breath is caused by a bacterial imbalance in your body or in your mouth, then it's no wonder that Metronidazole is able to relieve bad breath. However, as with any antibiotic, they also kill off all the good bacteria in your body. Basically, when you are finished taking the antibiotic, a race begins in your body between the good bacteria, the bad bacteria, and the Candida. They are all racing to see which one can become the dominant resident in your body. For the majority of people, the good bacteria are the winners, crowding out the bad bacteria and the Candida. These people are lucky. For the unlucky people however, either the bad bacteria or the Candida is the winner. Bad breath is only one symptom of the countless many that an imbalance of bad bacteria, or an overgrowth of Candida can cause.

Why is it that some people are lucky and some people are not? I would be willing to bet money it has to do with their diet and lifestyle after they finish the medication. So many people out there think that all they have to do is pop a couple pills and they will be cured of whatever illness or condition is plaguing them. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Yes, medicine can cure your illness or relieve your symptoms, but if you don't change your lifestyle, then your illness or condition could just come right back. An example would be a smoker who gets lung cancer, goes through successful chemotherapy and radiation, only to have the cancer come back because they continued to smoke after their successful treatment. Another example would be a heart attack victim who survives their first heart attack, is treated with medicine or surgery, only to die from a second heart attack because they didn't stop eating fatty greasy foods.

The same theory holds true for people who suffer from bad breath. If they take Metronidazole to kill off bad bacteria or they take Fluconazole to kill off a Candida overgrowth, if they don't change their diets and lifestyle after they come off the medication, then they shouldn't expect for the cure to last very long. So what's my theory?

For a possible bad breath cure, I would try these steps in order

1.) Take Metronidazole to kill off any bad bacteria that inhabit your body. Metronidazole kills off anaerobic bacteria in the body, which is one of the primary bacteria types that are responsible for bad breath. It also kills off the anaerobic bacteria in your mouth. Yes, you will also be killing off the good bacteria in your body as well, but that leads me to my second step...

2.) Your goal here is to get as much good bacteria in your body as you can while you are on Metronidazole. During your treatment with Metronidazole, supplement heavily with probiotics! When I say heavily, I mean take probiotic supplements that have at least 100 billion CFUs per dose per day. If you can't find a probiotic supplement with 100 billion CFUs per dose, then find one with less, and take two or three doses to get up to 100 billion CFUs per day. Also, eat a TON of plain natural yogurt with live active cultures or kefir. Furthermore, you should be eating as healthily as you possibly can. That means no trips to MacDonald's, Burger King, or Pizza Hut. In fact you should eat as many whole foods as you can. Fruits, vegetables, brown rice, oats, etc. You can also eat meat too, but some meats are better than others. I would recommend chicken and fish, while avoiding pork and beef. Fiber is very important during this phase because fiber feeds the good bacteria in your gut, whereas sugars and starches feed the bad bacteria. Try to eat as many high fiber foods as you can! Also, take some multivitamins/multi minerals. Try to focus on the ones that boost your immune system. If you have a strong immune system, then your body should be able to fight off the bad bacteria and the yeast. Drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest. You should be exercising during your treatment too, at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 to 4 times per week. It's no secret that exercise increases your immune system. The stronger your immune system, the better your chances of success! AND NO SMOKING AND DRINKING DURING TREATMENT! If you plan on smoking or drinking during your treatment you're better off just saving your money and your time.

3.) Ok, so once you have stopped taking the Metronidazole the next thing to do is take a round of Fluconazole. As I mentioned, after finishing the Metronidazole, you will have killed off all the bad bacteria in your body but you will have also killed off all the good bacteria, which makes it possible for Candida to overgrow in your body. Also, it's possible that Candida was the root cause of your bad breath to begin with. This is where Fluconazole comes in. After your treatment with Metronidazole, you can take a round of Fluconazole to kill off any Candida that overgrew in your body while you were on the Metronidazole. Fluconazole is an anti fungal, so it only attacks yeast/fungus (Candida). It doesn't affect bacteria, so it won't undermine your treatment with Metronidazole. If anything it will complement it. Again, you should continue doing everything from step #2 during your treatment with Fluconazole.

4.) This is probably the most important step. Everything that you were doing in step #2 continue doing it for the rest of your life! Yes, when you stop taking the medicines, you need to continue doing everything from step #2. If you just go back to the same diet you were eating and the same lifestyle you were living before you took the medicine, then I'm sorry to say but the money you spent and the time you invested were wasted. However, if you change your diet and your lifestyle for the better, then you increase your chances of long term success. Of course, you can lower your dosage of probiotics. I don't think you will need more than 100 billion CFUs per day forever. Once you are finished with your treatment, you can adjust it to any number as long as it's over 10 billion CFUs per day. And of course you can cheat sometimes with your diet and lifestyle. But it should be the exception, not the rule. If you go to a sports match or want to have a night out on the town with your friends, I don't think it would kill you to have a few drinks of alcohol or smoke a few cigarettes. If you want to eat some of your friends birthday cake, or you are just craving some ice cream, then by all means indulge yourself. But really, these should just be rare occasions, not 2 or 3 times per week. Usually after you have been eating healthily and exercising regularly for awhile, you will not even want to cheat that much anyway...

I think that the above is a pretty solid possible cure for bad breath. Of course i'm open to any ideas or suggestions that people have. Feel free to post your opinions on the matter.

Cheers!

[Larc400]

Hi!

Is this a cut&paste from another forum, or your own post? I'm willing to try it, but need someone who can get hold of antibiotics so would be grateful if deliveries from Thailand can be arranged

Metronidazole is one of the antibiotics used to treat SIBO, which we are discussing in another thread:

http://www.badbreathhalitosis.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=25072#25072

[KeepTrying09]

Hey Larc400,

This is my own post. If I were going to cut and paste anything from another source, I would use the quote function as I have done in some of my other threads. It's not my habit to take other people's work and pass it off as my own.

With that being said, *(editied by author)* Just e-mail me if you are interested.

[halitosisux]

Hi KeepTrying,
Is there any reason why metronidazole and the antifungals cant be taken at the same time? Everything you say makes perfect sense, which isnt usually the case when people talk about candida.

A lot on this has been discussed before, as you've pointed out. When you think that a baby's microflora starts from the moment it picks up germs while it passes through the birth canal and from the moment it enters into the world, and then what it's microbial flora ends up being composed OF is determined by what its been exposed TO since the start of its life, along with body chemistry and other genetic factors, this whole "resetting" approach you've described has to be worth trying. If illness or antibiotics have at some point in time messed up the body's microflora then its surely never going to go back to what it spent years developing into unless its reset.

The fact that metronidazole tends to have such a massive effect on most people's BB, this HAS to be explored and exploited. It gives clues and opens doors to new ideas and suggestions, just as you've described.

[KeepTrying09]

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said Halitosisux.

I love the word you used "resetting" when talking about the intestinal flora. In essence that's what this method is doing, resetting your intestinal flora to the way it should be.

About taking Metronidazole and Fluconazole at the same time, I checked two websites for possible drug interactions between the two medicines , and found that there were no reported interactions between them. So, I guess it's safe to say that you are able to take Metronidazole and Fluconazole at the same time. See the pics below:

[KeepTrying09]

I found this on the internet that further shows it's wise to take both Metronidazole along with Fluconazole and probiotics.

[KeepTrying09]

If anyone wants to try Metronidazole, Fluconazole, or both of them together to cure their bad breath, *(editied by author)*

Here in Thailand they have both the brand name Metronidazole (which is Flagyl) and the generic version. They also have generic Fluconazole (which is Biozole). Personally I think the generic versions are just as good as the brand name versions, but I guess it's just personal preference. Plus the generic versions are cheaper.

*(editied by author)*

Cheers!

[Jimi]

Are you sure that this is sage to practice? Dont you think people should consult doctor first? What id something goes wrong and somebody gets hurt, these are strong meds.

[KeepTrying09]

[Jimi]

but lets see the stats, how many people tried it on this forum and how many were cured? Only you.

[KeepTrying09]

[snoopsister]

at the risk of being the laughing stock on this forum, I regret to say my bb is back, but not as strong. the good news is that while I was on the biozole I was "cured" for a couple of weeks. the reason I say this as good news is that I DRank, smoked pot and ate everything in sight during my treatment and after. In fact, I was going to write keep trying to ask him for more biozole next week and do the right things this time. I also believe that our condition is something fierce, and we need to fight it like cancer!! this may require 2 separate meds and what not. I am still very optimistic that we are on the right track! I am going to do this again hoping to God it works permanetly

[snoopsister]

thank you keeptrying! this guy is the real deal!!

[KeepTrying09]

Hey Snoop,

Thank you for being honest as to why you think your bad breath came back.

The fact that your bad breath was alleviated during treatment with Biozole indicates that you are on the right track. It's just making the results permanent that you have to focus on now. I encourage you to try again, but this time changing the diet and lifestyle components both during and after your treatment period, so no more alcohol, pot, and unhealthy foods.

[snoopsister]

Starting next week for sure. but how can someone eliminate the basics of foods like breads and pasta etc??