For those who got messed because of antibiotics...

[noptical]

So few weeks back I was just chatting with my cousin who is a pathologist and I mentioned some antibiotics I took in December that messed my digestive system a little.
The antibiotic was called Dalacin C and I took it for 3-4 days if I recall correctly and I stopped it because of diarrhea. It was prescribed by one of my ENTs after he tired seeing me all the time and complaining about bb... That antibiotic didnt help me at all and after stopping it my ENT prescribed me a less heavy antibiotic for sinusitis called "ketek", I completed the 5 day treatment with no results (as I expected).
Now the first antibiotic made my digestive system very sensitive... The moment I ate fruits and some other foods I had to run to the toilet with diarrhea. Sometimes I even got diarrhea at random periods.
Now I asked my cousin what do we do in those cases, she of course told me to visit a gastroenterologist (which I will do right after exams) and she also said that in those cases docs prescribe some kind of probiotic (not sure if thats a probiotic exactly) to lessen the damage to the intestine flora as much as possible (it prevents dangerous bacteria from developing while your organism recovers from the antibiotics).
So she told me to go buy some pills called "Ultra-levure", it is made by a French company and it is available under a few different names around the world. Its a small bottle with 20 small capsules and it costs only 2,40€ (3,20$), you dont need a prescription to buy it. My dosage was 2 pills at the same time, 3 times a day.
The paper inside the package says things like (translated from Greek):
- There arent any side effects or any dangers of overdosage ("due to the nature of the product").
- Each capsule contains 1 billion alive Lyophilized Saccharomyces boulardii
- Prevents the development of pathogenic organisms like: bacteria, Candida albicans etc
- Promotes the defense mechanisms against infections, stimulates the immune system tasks.
Anyway, it helped me with diarrhea right away. After 2 days I noticed a big difference and after a few days more my bowel movements became completely normal (note that I never had constipation problems so I dont know if it helps in that case). I dont really know if it helped with my bad breath but my bb hasnt been as horrible as before since I started taking it. (That could also be a coincidence because I barely go out lately, I stay all day home studying for my exams and my bb is better when Im home.)
One thing I also noticed, I had a beard which I let it grow a little more than usual... I started taking these pills and after a week I shaved and to my surprise, the little acne I had, the few red spots that randomly appeared on my face that I noticed after everytime I shaved were not there! My face was 100% clear.
Also, I've been using for a few months a new (to me) face soap which dried my skin (I have normal skin). After a few months of using it I developed dry skin on my face and my whole right cheek plus random spots on my face were dry all day and looked like they were peeling or something, especially after coming in contact with water. I had to use face cream 1000 times a day. Now after using this thing for ~2 weeks I can say it almost disappeared! Those results after using these pills make me think that maybe I have some problems with my immune system or maybe I have some kind of vitamin deficiency.

Theres also some interesting stuff on the net for these pills, here's one:
http://www.aids.org/atn/a-224-03.html
Just search google for "ultra levure" for more info
After researching a while it I found out that these bacteria dont live or multiply in your colon, if you stop taking these pills they're gone after a while.

So for those who took antibiotics to treat bad breath (metronidazole, triple therapy etc) have in mind that you always need to take a probiotic with your treatment to prevent making things worse than they already are, digestion issues are no joke. When your doc prescribes you an antibiotic ASK him to tell you which probiotic you need to take (something I didnt ask for and my doc wasnt smart enough to do by himself). Even now that you finished the treatment, its still not late so consult your doc.

This topic isnt really bad breath related but seeing that some users here have digestive issues and have been taking antibiotics (or planning to) whether its for their bad breath or not, they might find this thread useful.

[mel rosenberg]

Antibiotics usually provide relief from bad breath for a couple of weeks, then the body is usually repopulated by the same kinds of bacteria, and the odor returns. It doesn't sound logical that taking antibiotics can lead to bad breath, especially since Candida are not considered microorganisms that cause bad breath.

[noptical]

Antibiotics usually provide relief from bad breath for a couple of weeks, then the body is usually repopulated by the same kinds of bacteria, and the odor returns. It doesn't sound logical that taking antibiotics can lead to bad breath, especially since Candida are not considered microorganisms that cause bad breath.

Yes, my thread is more for those who took antibiotics that caused them bowel problems

[Larc400]

Noptical, I was also prescribed Dalacin ... am thinking of trying it. Diareha is mentioned as a common (>1 in 100) side effect. I guess that's what you got. But are you saying the digestive problem continued for a long time after you stopped taking Dalacin?

I'm thinking of trying it mainly to once and for all find out if my problem is bacterial at all... but yeah, I don't want permanent digestive damage, so advice needed

[elliott]

i don't even think Nop comes here anymore... Nop?

[noptical]

Noptical, I was also prescribed Dalacin ... am thinking of trying it. Diareha is mentioned as a common (>1 in 100) side effect. I guess that's what you got. But are you saying the digestive problem continued for a long time after you stopped taking Dalacin?

I'm thinking of trying it mainly to once and for all find out if my problem is bacterial at all... but yeah, I don't want permanent digestive damage, so advice needed

Hi!
no do NOT even THINK trying dalacin c, its one of the heaviest antibiotics out there and to this day I curse the moment I decided to take it after my ENT prescribed it to me... I got my lesson the hard way, listen to my advice and DONT do it.

[greenman]

my 1st doc gave me anti-biotics and a nasal spray, 2nd doc did the same, and now the ent also <.<

i'll just finish this last batch and take probiotic in a regular basis.

also to update on my condition. i've been told to use a nasal spray once a day, and nose irrigation similar to neti. after i use up the sprays and nose irigation and my nose still has mucus then i might have to get a small surgery to take "something out"?...... well i probably have a sinus infection, hopefully it'll fix me.

[noptical]

my 1st doc gave me anti-biotics and a nasal spray, 2nd doc did the same, and now the ent also <.<

i'll just finish this last batch and take probiotic in a regular basis.

also to update on my condition. i've been told to use a nasal spray once a day, and nose irrigation similar to neti. after i use up the sprays and nose irigation and my nose still has mucus then i might have to get a small surgery to take "something out"?...... well i probably have a sinus infection, hopefully it'll fix me.

That "take something out" sounds scary. If they're going to reduce the size of the turbinates make sure your surgeon is a good one. Ask the doc whats that he's going to remove.
Also read about the Empty Nose Syndrome: http://www.geocities.com/shouser144/empty.html

[greenman]

my 1st doc gave me anti-biotics and a nasal spray, 2nd doc did the same, and now the ent also <.<

i'll just finish this last batch and take probiotic in a regular basis.

also to update on my condition. i've been told to use a nasal spray once a day, and nose irrigation similar to neti. after i use up the sprays and nose irigation and my nose still has mucus then i might have to get a small surgery to take "something out"?...... well i probably have a sinus infection, hopefully it'll fix me.

That "take something out" sounds scary. If they're going to reduce the size of the turbinates make sure your surgeon is a good one. Ask the doc whats that he's going to remove.
Also read about the Empty Nose Syndrome: http://www.geocities.com/shouser144/empty.html

i have some symptoms from what's mentioned in the link. thx for the good info.

[greenman]

i've come to realize that i've been having less and less awareness of my bad breath. some times i could smell the bb, but now it becoming less and less.