Hi
I thinkit was SarahQ who suggested probiotic capsules. I was on actimel at the start. But
http://www.healthspan.co.uk is quite a good source for supplements. From memory, 90 capsules for £14. Cheaper than that are Brewer's yeast tablets from H&B upto 6 tabs per day. At the end of my last course of antibiotics- I only took Brewers yeast- no bowel upset at all. And I was on two of the biggest culprits for tummy problems as well.
Linezolid is harder to take. I do feel nauseated a wee bit on them. One must also be ona low tyramine diet (no meat, bananas, caviar, advocados, soya, yeast, fava beans, red cherries, beer, red wine etc etc). Can still take brewer's yeast tabs.
One more week on the ultraexpensive antibiotics (causes bone marrow suppression and anaemia) and then back onto ciprofloxacin and clindamicin. I want to stay on these ones until my foot temperature settles to normal and my xrays are settled.
I don't worry about being on antibiotics for too long. There have been reports of tendon ruptures on ciprofloxacin- but these tend to happen early on. Keeps one skin clear as well
I often have one or two patients on similar courses of antibiotics as my own for 6-12 weeks. I have managed to get my ward pharmacists to obtain brewers yeast tablets for them, but I cannot get probiotic capsules purchased. One of our sister hospitals had a C. diff outbreak recently. There has been brougth out a raft of antibiotic prescribing proibitions which make no use of brewers yeast or probiotic therapy. Althought there are reasonable reports of there use in prevention, it seems hard to get them into mainstream thinking. I can get my ward pharmacists and dieticians to agree to probiotic yogurts, but I cannot get my kitchens to provide it. Madness.
Anyway, I do hope anyone needing more than a short amount of antibiotics will consider the above supplements. Brwer's yeast is full of Vitamin B complex as well- quite good if you have neuropathy like me.