Vancocin (Including Conversion from IV to Oral Form)

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Bobbie
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Vancocin (Including Conversion from IV to Oral Form)

Postby Bobbie » Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:03 pm

Eli Lilly recently sold oral Vancocin to Viropharma (VPHM). I called their toll-free # at l-877-707-8476 and listened to a half hour of stirring music until I left a message. No word back yet. The menu also mentions an "aid line" for reduced prices.

I called my local Walgreen's and asked about ordering it. The pharmacist said she doesn't order it often, but it usually it takes one day to get the order. The price for 1 month (120 mg. 4 x a day or 120 capsules) was $l,300.00. The pharm. industry is alive and well!

Usual dosages of Vanco. are:

125 mg. 4 x a day
250 mg. 4 x a day

Check this with your doctor and/or pharmacist, however, as I am not in the medical field.

IV Vanco. can be converted into the oral form. I believe some pharmacies can do it for you. Sometimes it is cheaper.
Last edited by Bobbie on Wed Aug 06, 2014 2:51 am, edited 4 times in total.
Reason: Updsting

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Postby Bobbie » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:39 pm

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:37 pm

I contacted ViroPharma Incorporated, the company who now owns oral Vancocin and left a message. Will Roberts called me back and then E-mailed me this information:

Hello Mrs. Smith,

Thanks for the call. By the way, I really enjoyed our conversation (other than the topic itself). I’m the head of communications here, and I was really impressed by the amount and quality of information that you know about C. diff and the repercussions of disease. I was most impressed. Would you mind if I used you from time to time for some questions as we move forward?

Anyway, you are obviously providing a great service to patients with this disease. That is our goal as well – we want to make sure that Vancocin is available and that usage is appropriate, now and into the future. We are very proud to be the company commercializing this important, life saving product.

Anyway:

Vancocin® capsule Patient Assistance Program: 866-694-2547

All the best from ViroPharma, and If I can help with anything please let me know,

Will

Will Roberts
Director, Corporate Communications
ViroPharma Incorporated
610-321-6288


Bobbie
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How to Convert IV Vanco. Into Oral

Postby Bobbie » Wed Aug 17, 2005 5:32 pm

Vanco. is now generic - much cheaper. You can also obtain an even cheaper form by converting IV vanco. into oral. Many compounding pharmacies (and some Walgreens and CVCS stores) will also do this for you.

How to make oral vanco from the IV powder: Using the 1 gram vanco vial, dilute it with 10 ml sterile water. That gives you a concentration of 100 mg/ml. Then you just take as many mls as needed to achieve the appropriate dose (ie. 500 mg vanco would be found in 1 teaspoonful of the oral solution.) NOTE: it is only stable for 15 days and MUST stay in the refrigerator!

This information was donated by a pharmacist, but check your own sources. Remember, we don't dispense med. information. It is up to you to find your own. We provide you with tools to do so.
Last edited by Bobbie on Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Updating

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Postby Bobbie » Thu Aug 18, 2005 2:15 am

For a description of Vancocin, do a google search with "Vancocin" as the search word -- www.google.com.

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Postby Bobbie » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:06 pm

nsewell provided this info.
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 3:36 pm

I was looking at the web site http://www.Vancocin-US.com and found some interesting info under the category NEWS -- then RESEARCH $ DEVELOPMENT.

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Postby Bobbie » Tue Sep 05, 2006 12:23 pm

Allison contributed this info.

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006

Hi Sarah,

We hear such a broad range of answers because physicians are really guessing about this (based on their varying degrees of understanding). Only a small percentage of the billions of bacteria that naturally inhabit the colon have been identified and classified, so much of it is speculation at this point.

But if you were to ask an experienced microbiologist or pharmacologist, the answer usually lies somewhere between the first two statements- vanco doesn't kill most of the *good* bacteria, but wipes out some good, along with the *bad*.

It doesn't kill off everything, that's for certain. It's spectrum is too narrow....narrower than flagyl, so at least the two agents can be compared.

Allison
Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006
Pharmacology and chemistry
It is a branched tricyclic glycosylated nonribosomal peptide produced by the fermentation of the Actinobacteria species Amycolatopsis orientalis (formerly designated Nocardia orientalis).

Vancomycin acts by inhibiting proper cell wall synthesis in Gram-positive bacteria. The mechanism inhibited, and various factors related to entering the outer membrane of Gram-negative organisms mean that vancomycin is not active against Gram-negative bacteria (except some non-gonococcal species of Neisseria).

Specifically, vancomycin prevents incorporation of N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM)- and N-acetylglucosamine (NAG)-peptide subunits into the peptidoglycan matrix; which forms the major structural component of Gram-positive cell walls.

The large hydrophilic molecule is able to form hydrogen bond interactions with the terminal D-alanyl-D-alanine moieties of the NAM/NAG-peptides. Normally this is a five-point interaction. This binding of vancomycin to the D-Ala-D-Ala prevents the incorporation of the NAM/NAG-peptide subunits into the peptidoglycan matrix.

Vancomycin exhibits atropisomerism — it has two chemically distinct rotamers owing to the rotational restriction of the chlorotyrosine residue (on the right hand side of the figure). The form present in the drug is the thermodynamically more stable conformer, and, importantly, has more potent activity.

Reprinted with permission.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancomycin

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Using IV Vanco. for C. diff.

Postby Bobbie » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:35 pm

We've had several questions about using IV Vanco. to treat C. diff. &, to our (unmedical) knowledge, this is not preferable. I checked with several experts on C. diff., & this was their opinion:

IV Vanco. can resecrete partially into the inflamed colon, but the oral form is best.

If your doc. mentions treatment with IV Vanco., question him/her further & ask him/her to cite instances where it has worked.

The IV form can be converted into oral, however. See preceding posts.

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Postby Bobbie » Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:01 pm

Allison posted this recently. She points out the necessity of keeping the level of Vanco. or Flagyl consistent.

Actually, if you are taking two of 750mg and one of 500mg you ARE changing the dosing, and that is not ideal. Dosing is about more than just the total amount one receives in a single day.

The idea is always to keep as consistent a level as possible in your gut. Even when pulsing or tapering, the levels should remain fairly constant on the days you take meds. In other words, when you're on...you're on consistently, and when you're off...you're off.

I took 2000mg of vanco, and while doc thought it was better to receive such a high amount in four doses rather than three...it is not critical you lose sleep because of it. You can fudge the "exactly 6 hours apart" rule to accomodate.
Assuming you sleep eight hours a night, you can remain on four doses - at six hours apart for the first three, and the last dose taken as late as possible before you retire...about four hours later.

That may be a better way to keep a level amount going in, without the severe nausea associated with the single dose of 1000mg. That's way too tough on the 'ole body me thinks.

If you were on a lower dose to begin with (say something like 750mg), you could go to three a day, but I wouldn't do less than four on the 2000mg.
Please have doc approve of any and all dose/scheduling changes.

Over time, if the nausea remains severe, you might also check with doc about anti-nausea meds. They are sometimes very useful to help you maintain good nutritional levels.

Bobbie
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Re: Vancocin (Including Conversion from IV to Oral Form)

Postby Bobbie » Sat Sep 01, 2012 12:15 pm

There are some methods of Vancocin tapers. Thx. Anne.

250 4X a day for two weeks
250 3X a day for two weeks
250 2X a day fr two weeks
250 1X. a day for two weeks
125 1X. a day for two weeks

Some docs. start their patients on 125 mg. 4X a day and then "up it" to 250 if 125 doesn't work.

There is also a pulsing method that has worked for some. It's also in CDI - this forum.


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