Probiotics with extended duration IV antibiotics

[OaktownA]

My husband was diagnosed with staph in his lungs and, after a scary hospital visit, it seems to have enjoyed an extended stay in his body. He came home with a PICC line and I am giving him IV push antibiotics 3 times a day, for a total of 6 weeks. He'll be on oral antibiotics for 4 wks after that. He also takes Calquence twice a day.

He now has the unpleasant side effects of antibiotics (mild stomach pain, diarrhea) - he's on Ancef, a cephalosporin (known to cause GI issues) - and we're not sure how to address it. He's been having a probiotic yogurt/drink each day, or a glass of Kefir, but it's not helping much. Medical journal articles indicate some caution for those with weakened immune systems and taking probiotics.

While we wait to hear from his doc, I'm wondering if anyone has experienced this and found a solution that worked/helped, or has any insight on the safety of probiotic use in people with CLL.

thanks!

[CycleWonder]

I’m glad to hear the medical team established what needed to be treated. But the side effects of antibiotics are often stressful. I don’t have any experience to offer with regards to CLL or being treated. Only my best wishes that you get it sorted.

My son needs help in the restroom and to make sure we don’t accidentally cause him any skin irritation, I usually put a dab of hand cream on the toilet paper. This is especially useful when he suffers from diarrhea since it tends to be an irritation to his skin. That might help a little bit.

[LeoPa]

The answer depends from what he eats. Most probiotics contain bacteria that help to digest a predominantly plant-based diet. If he needs lots of those, it might make sense. When I need to take antibiotics, they always want to sell me some probiotics in the pharmacy to go along with the antibiotics. I always decline as I eat not much plants.

[Pearlpink]

sounds tough! Just as a caution - if he has had a hospital stay, and persistent diarrhoea, it might be worth asking for a clostridium difficile stool test which is a different test to normal stool test. Multiple antibiotics plus hospital stay just make it something to be aware of.

I found I got best results for helping stomach by having prebiotic food, such as onion, leek, garlic , mushroom done in olive oil in an omelette. Just a little bit, but made all the difference to me.

Good luck!