I checked "6 or more" because I'm on antibiotics all the time. But my actual flares are more like 3-4 per year. And they're taken care of fairly quickly.
I have a feeling the being on any antibiotic, for the simple reason that while it gets rid of the bad bugs, it also gets rid of the good, and without the good, how well is your GI tract going to work? So, I take the Cripro (ten days, max), and eat lots of Avtivia and take probiotic pills, and in the end, as it were, everything goes back to normal, whatever that is at the moment.
Mine is pretty much all the time, but that's because I won't take antibiotics anymore. While they help the pouchitis, they make the underlying autoimmune disease much worse, so I just live with it. I tried VSL3 and it made me bleed like mad! I haven't found a probiotic that I can handle without becoming quite ill.
I'm about 1.5 years post-op and get pouchitis regularly. Now that I'm familiar enough with the symptoms, I get a cipro Rx right away and it's better within a few days. My surgeon said some people need to stay on an antibiotic indefinitely and I think I'm going to be one of those.
My doctor said that same thing to me about needing to be on cipro indefinitely. However, I started getting sick from being on cipro all of the time and he decided to put me on prescription VSL3 (a probiotic) and it has worked wonders. If being on cipro 24/7 isn't bothering you then you shouldn't change anything but if you start having issues, ask your doctor about VSL3.
I'm about 1.5 years post-op and get pouchitis regularly. Now that I'm familiar enough with the symptoms, I get a cipro Rx right away and it's better within a few days. My surgeon said some people need to stay on an antibiotic indefinitely and I think I'm going to be one of those.
I believe I've only had pouchitis once in 21 years....I could have forgotten an incident back there aways? I really never limited my diet much from the beginning. BTW A very nice 20 something guy came to the hospital to answer questions and tell me about the the J- Pouch procedure when I was first considering it. He told me that he had some friends sneak some Doritos into him the day after surgery. He said he REALLY paid for that stunt!! I can hear a lot of you gasping right now! A little anecdote that just came back to me from 1994.
I wish I could say what I'm doing that has helped this go fairly easy for me (it definitely was not for the first couple years), but I just don't think about it that much most of the time. I will talk to my wife and see if I'm forgetting something and ponder it some more and will get back if I think of something that is helpful.
I constantly had pouchitis and was on a steady dose of antibiotics. My doctor finally put me on prescription double strength VSL3 (probiotic) and I haven't had pouchitis since. It has been a year and I feel so much better being off of the antibiotics.
I used to have bouts of pouchitis three or four times a year. I have learned to follow a daily routine of Activia for breakfast, and I watch the balance of proteins and carbohydrates and the size and character of vegetable foods I eat. I am very careful to avoid foods that are indigestible (like mushrooms, darn it), and to avoid as much animal fat, though not all animal fat. I haven't had pouchitis in three years. Now that I've said that...
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