another flagly question??

Hi everyone,
I am going to recieve Flagly tomorrow in the mail because of bad gas and bloating My surgery was in Brazil 1 month ago, but I know this sounds weird but I am happy that I go to the bathroon alot and am worried that will stop with Flagyl. Can some of you who has taken it please tell me if it causes constipation or even if it causes you to go to the bathroom less often. It seems like that is the case. I appreciate any answers back. Oh thanks to everyone for answering my first question. You are all wonderful I love this board .D

Hi D,
I have been taking flagyl for 3 or 4 months because of the gas and bloating.  It took care of those problems, almost immediately, and I felt like a whole new person.  I did still go to the bathroom frequently and there was nothing solid about it, if you know what I mean.  I decided to stop taking flagyl a week ago, just to see if the gas issues stayed away, and so far so good.  I have also noticed that things have firmed up nicely and I haven't had those nasty watery stools the last few days. Hope that lasts ! I am still going about 4 or 5 times a day, which is just fine with me.  But I feel I have more control now and not the urgency to get to a bathroom, stat, like I did before.  Hope this info helps.  It may not work the same for you though.  We seem to all respond individually to medications, foods, etc, post DS.

Good luck,
G

I don't  do Flagyl on a regular or maintenance basis, but I am on a round of it right now.  I started it three days ago.  I did this once at 6 months out and now again at a year out.  For me, my system starts to get sort of *backed up* if you will, not constipated, just kind of like I need to change my air filter.  (You know, like when you get your car serviced?)  So I go on the Flagyl for 14 days, change probiotics to switch things up, and then continue on the probiotics after the flagyl ends.  It works for about 5-6 months for me.  If this stops working I'll do the maintenance dose, but for now this is what I do.

Okay, now that I've flapped my gums that much, I'll answer your question.  When I'm on Flagyl I definitely go to the bathroom less.  That is the draw for many people taking it, going less often.  When I took it six months ago, I was only going to the bathroom once a day with it.  (Whereas before I was on it I could go 3-5 times a day, depending).  I'm back up to going 3-5 times a day, almost always in the morning.  I'm on day 3 of Flagyl now and have YET to poop today and it's 10:20am.  So, yes it DEFINITELY slows me down in the poop department!!  Sometimes that seems like it would be a good thing, but I've come to appreciate that *cleaned out* feeling.  So, I'm still on the fence about taking it long term.  I do poop more than the average DSer (I think), but fortunately it is a non-issue because I stay at home with my kids.  If I was in the work force again, I'd probably have already gone on the maintenance dose.

Lori

Lori,
When you go on one of the 14 day rounds how much do you take per day? I'm considering ordering some and trying it the same way to see how it works for me.

My surgeon ordered it as 3 per day at 500mg each.  I hear that too much flagyl can cause diarrhea so I changed the dose to 2 per day at 500 mg for a total of 1000mg per day.  So that will last me 14 days. 

I hope this clears things up for another 6 months or longer!

Lori

*HIJACK*  LOVELY new avie, Lori!!!  So elegant!

Awww, thanks LeaAnn!  Are you home yet?

Sorta -- I think I left my heart in San Francisco!

I'm going to have to put this response into a text file so I can copy and paste it every single time this question comes up.

No, Flagyl does not constipate you.
I started taking it for gas and bloating a few months ago and it took care of the issues right away. I did have frequent and urgent bowel movements for about 2wks and then I settled back down into my normal 2x a day pudding-consistency poops. I go once when I wake up, and once when I get home from work. I may go at work depending on what I eat for lunch.
I'm really happy with the results of the flagyl so far.

I was taking 250mg Flagyl 2x day for a week - I was already having diarrhea several times a day and night, I also thought it was my chewable vitamins so changed them.  I stopped the Flagyl yesterday and went on Kaiser's diarrhea diet of BRAT - bananas, rice, applesause and toast (yeah no protein).  I was so hungry for protein last night I added london broil into my rice.  NO runs to the bathroom all last night.  Only 4 trips today, 2 at home 2 at work.  The Flagyl took almost all of my gas issues away.  Maybe there was a fight going on w/probiotics and Flagyl.  I'm still doing the BRAT diet, but added meat w/rice for lunch and for dinner too.  Wish I would have done the Flagyl 2 mo ago.