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Seems I'll be on cipro for a while. Anyone else have blurred vision and difficulty sleeping? The doctor pretty much said deal with it as this is the most mild of treatment options. I'm working with the sleep issue and relying on glasses more than I used to need them. I'm wondering if there will be permanent vision impairment?

Also wondering about cipro killing off the good bacteria I'm trying to get through Florastor and goat milk kefir? Expensive supplements only to have it killed off by cipro. 

How much yogurt/kefir do you consume? I was at 32 oz kefir/day, but have cut back to 16 oz at most daily now that things have settle down. Plus the kefir seems to cause a fair amount of gurgling noise and some bloat/pressure that leads to more trips. I'm starting to look at consuming less and/or spreading it out more, but timing is a bit difficult since I take cipro 2x/day.

Last, the guidance on hours before/after cipro before consuming dairy are fuzzy. I'm trying to have the kefir 5 hours after and before each cipro dose. How do you time your cipro?

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It does a lot of damage to your eyes, can’t see without glasses now. Didn’t have a problem with sleeping, but messed up the tendons in my feet pretty bad. 3 years at the foot doctor trying to figure it out. Completely off Cipro now, refuse to go on it, feet got better. My GI doc told me it was from Cipro. The numbness in my fingers and toes, that’s from Flagyl. Off all meds now. Rather deal with some pouchitis than deal with pouchitis and 3 or 4 side effects. Just saying. Take two Aleve and try that. 

I’ve been on Cipro for years now, and so far it’s going fine. I was careful early on to find the lowest effective dose, to minimize side effects. I also found that taking it once a day works as well for me as splitting it into two doses, so I just take it at bedtime to avoid any dairy interaction. Florastor won’t be affected by Cipro, because it contains no bacteria, only a probiotic yeast strain. It may help reduce the risk of C diff. I do take a big dose of VSL #3 DS, and I space it as far away from the Cipro as I can, taking it before breakfast and dinner. Good luck!

Personally I won’t use Cipro due to the  side effects, tendon problems, blurred vision, and brain fog. Rifaximin (tho I know it’s expensive, thank god for the nice people at my insurance company) works wonders for me paired with entocort for pouchitis. And sometimes add hydrocortisone suppositories. It took me a while to find my perfect pouchitis cocktail . I also take VSL 3 for probiotics 

Scott, what is your cipro dose?

Hoping I'll be able to reduce. Right now I think the doctor is concerned about recurring symptoms. The scope shows improvement, but still symptomatic.

An aside......At a prior visit rifaximin was mentioned for long term use, but when I asked about it subsequently due to the cipro side effects and tendon tear risks, I was shut down completely. I was told she never heard of tendon problems/it's a myth, that cipro is mild compared to other options if I am concerned about side effects......and she then referenced biologics risks. She said if cipro stops working for me I'd need to consider biologics. Pretty frustrated as I know there are options before jumping to biologics and because known side effects of cipro were dismissed.

Sorry to hear that happened to you. I do know a lot of doctors are quick to discredit known Cipro side effects. But that doesn’t change the fact that they aren’t fun for some. It may be worth getting a second GI doc’s opinion? You should always fight for your own health care and needs. If you don’t like the side effects, you have the right to state that and seek alternative in my opinion

Aly Henderson posted:

Sorry to hear that happened to you. I do know a lot of doctors are quick to discredit known Cipro side effects. But that doesn’t change the fact that they aren’t fun for some. It may be worth getting a second GI doc’s opinion? You should always fight for your own health care and needs. If you don’t like the side effects, you have the right to state that and seek alternative in my opinion

Agreed. I’ve been thinking I’ll  do that. I’ve already put the breaks on biologics when she wanted to do that before trying any other options. 

I take 500 mg once per day of Cipro. The only way to find the lowest effective dose for yourself is to lower it (slowly) until you get symptoms. I tried 250 mg and it wasn’t enough. I added Flagyl a couple of years ago when Cipro alone stopped working.

Many drugs can have terrible side effects that most people don’t experience. Cipro is in that category. The significant side effects are common enough that it shouldn’t be used casually, but there’s nothing casual about keeping pouchitis at bay. Tendon problems certainly aren’t a myth, but neither are they as common as people sometimes claim. I would trade a lot to keep pouchitis under control. I would also choose rifaxamin (or at least rotate it) if it worked for me, but it failed when I tried it.

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