Best practices when taking major antibiotics?

April 6, 2022 9:08 AM

YANMD. Because of a sudden medical issue, I am on a 10-day course of Cipro and Flagyl + an extremely restricted diet (clear liquids only right now, ramping up to low fiber toward the end). Yikes. I am not happy thinking about what these meds + no/low fiber is gonna do to my insides. Has this happened to you? How did you handle it? What should I be doing to make this as easy as possible on my body?
posted by BlahLaLa to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Rest. Lots of rest. If you can drink Pedialyte+ as part of your clear liquids the prebiotics really do help. Be sure to ask, though! For some clear liquid diets the red isn’t ok but other dyes are. When you can start having fiber again, don’t overwhelm your system and keep majorly hydrating.
posted by Bottlecap at 9:12 AM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

oh boy. if liquid acidophilus is appropriate for you liquid diet, I would start taking that right away to help preserve healthy gut flora as much as possible. good luck!
posted by supermedusa at 9:12 AM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Check with your health care provider about anything you take. Can you eat soluble fiber? Prune, Orange, or Apricot juice. Magnesium can help. Kefir, kombucha, miso, and yogurt are fermented foods that help your gut flora. Miso broth is delicious; can be made with 1/2 chicken broth/ bouillon. When you're back on real foods, fresh sauerkraut, fresh local pickles, and maybe kimchi, though spicy might be difficult to tolerate.
posted by theora55 at 9:25 AM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: While you’re on antibiotics there’s no point doing much, but when you’re off them and can eat again, just eat foods with healthy bacteria like yogurt, kombucha, fermented / pickled stuff, and fresh veggies and fruit with some farm dirt on them. Almost everyone has had a few courses of strong antibiotics in our lives and most people recover just fine.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:39 AM on April 6, 2022

Best answer: While on antibiotics, I haven't found anything to help, so just suffering through is my best bet. After getting off, eating a wide variety of foods is more effective for me at improving my health than anything else. Salad bars and friends willing to share were the best way for me to do that.

(Antibiotics destroy my mental health as well as my mental health, so if that happens to you too, know that it's temporary.)
posted by metasarah at 10:33 AM on April 6, 2022