ciprio

[babshappy]

Hi I have another question for the group Has anyone taken ciprio for severe travellers diarrhea ????the pharmacist said that if I needed to take it, that I should cut my dosage in half for the 3 days while on ciprio and then back to normal, dosage after the 3 days.....does that sound good,right, familiar????

thanks

 

[normofthenorth]

I had a blood infection a few months ago (not BE, thank heaven!), and the Docs wanted me to go on Cipro (ciprofloxacin) antibiotic, which tested well against the culture. (I assume you're talking about Cipro, since I couldn't find a "ciprio" drug with a quick Google search.) I refused and went with a different antibiotic (another one that tested well against my culture), because one of the known side-effects of Cipro is that it can greatly increase the risk of tendon tears. (After years without, I believe there's now a "black box warning" to that effect on Cipro in the US, and maybe here in Canada, too.)

I've already torn both Achilles tendons and a finger tendon -- all playing competitive court volleyball -- and I don't need to take a drug that makes me more likely to tear another tendon! BTW, when I'm not here, I may very well be at www.achillesblog.com , where Cipro is pretty famous for being implicated in a bunch of the AT ruptures of the bloggers and posters there.

I have no idea if Cipro, or any other antibiotic, has an effect on INR that would justify decreasing your Warfarin dose. News to me if so, but I may not be keeping up.

 

[Fundy]

Googling warfarin and cipro yields these two pages about increased bleed risk.

http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Eldercare/4-12-14TenDrugs.htm
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0315/p1745.html

First suggests testing daily, while the second recommends choosing a different drug.

 

[Protimenow]

Most antibiotics will increase your INR (from what I've seen, this seems to be so). Staying off of warfarin IN ADVANCE doesn't sound like a very good idea to me.

While you're traveling, in addition to an antibiotic (if you actually GET diarrhea), you might consider eating yogurt with active cultures. These cultures may help replace the ones that an antibiotic kills, and may also possibly have an effect on whatever critters were giving you the digestive upset in the first place.

If you have a meter and are concerned with your INR - take the meter along on your trip. This way, you'll have a better handle on what, if anything, is happening to your INR.

 

[babshappy]

hopefully I won't need to take cipro, but if I do I will check INR everyday just to keep on top of it . the dosage is for 3 days only...Ill just eat lots of spinach and of course yogurt....thanks i just love this site..really good solid info