Xifaxan

[anlockwood]

I was wondering what the usual dosage is for this? I think I am on 400 twice a day. I haven't picked it up yet. I am not sure about this plan but we will see. Gastro had me do two weeks of vanco 250 4 times a day and then straight to xifaxan for two weeks. I pray it goes well as I have read of people on here who have relapsed with xifaxan.

[beth22]

It helped me more than the vanco. In the past when I tried to taper vanco I always relapsed, but this time I took the Xifaxan only for a week after taking the vanco for 3 weeks and it has been 8 weeks now with no relapse and this last time I had the worst bout of c diff ever. I credit the Xifaxan for this. It is a hard medicine to take in a way - gives a lot of gas and can give looser bms for some, but it was worth it. I took one pill 3 times per day, but I took 2 pills 3 times per day last Spring for SIBO. I actually tapered the Xifaxan over 8 days two months ago - started with 3 pills a day for two days, then two pills a day and finally just one a day. Good luck. Hopefully you will get rid of this for good.

[anlockwood]

Beth,
For the chaser did you do 1 200mg 3 times a day? I think my dr has me on 400mg twice a day so I wanted to check. I am nervous to do the xifaxan as I know for some it has worked wonders but for others it has caused relapse. I just don't want to stare this ugly thing in the face full blown again. My dream right now is to be okay to take my boys trick or treating this year. This will be my husbands and mine first time taking both our boys and those are the moments God has given me that I live for. I know that if I feel at all like it is not working I will be asking to do the pulse dosing with vanco as I feel good on vanco. There is this nagging feeling inside me that I shouldn't do xifaxan but I don't know what else to do. It seems everytime I ignore that feeling lately I get sicker. Had the feeling to have the tooth removed that began all this but dentist talked me out of it. Had the feeling that I was relapsing the day of gallbladder surgery cause D had came back but surgeon said I was fine. Had the feeling I was relapsing 4 days later but dr's said it was the gallbladder and then I ended up in the hospital. I feel like I ignore that feeling to much but it is just a whisper so I never know what to do and it seems I keep making the wrong choice.

Uggghh!

Amanda

[Vikingjeff28]

I started out for two weeks at (3)200 mg tablets a day, now for two weeks I do 2 and then last two weeks 1 tablet. Also, I am not using as a chaser but instead of Vanco. I can tell you that right now I feel great.

[Vikingjeff28]

Also, after 3 days on all symptoms disappeared and it is very easy on the body, you don't even know that you are on anything. My GI said more and more trials and info coming in that GI's are starting to use Xifaxin instead of Vanco as success rate has been very very high. I said, whatever you thimk will cure me, bring it on.

[beth22]

Different doctors give different doses. I took one pill three times a day after the vanco, but the doctor in Minnesota who does the stool transplants recommended two pills (400mg) twice a day last November when I relapsed, but my ID doctor at the time didn't want to do that and sent me for the colonoscopy instead. I wish I had tried it. Unlike Jeff, I did feel some symptoms from taking it like a lot of bloating and gas, but it wasn't unmanageable. This last time I took probiotics with it and I didn't have so many symptoms with the gassiness, etc. When I took it for SIBO I was not supposed to take probiotics, but if you take FLorastor, which I can't, that is good. I took VSL#3 this last time with it. Since I only had to take it 3 times a day or twice a day, I took the VSL a few hours after the dinner dose before bedtime. If your doctor feels that this is the right thing to do, maybe it is. There is a journal article that talks about a small study of women who had multiple relapses of c diff and could not get rid of it and did so taking the Xifaxan after taking vanco. I think there is a link to it here on the site someplace. The new GI that I saw yesterday also does this now as a chaser. I don't know how many do it instead of vanco, but I don't see why not. Anyway, whatever you decide, good luck with it. I'm praying you beat this thing completely.