How does it work?

Flagyl works by eliminating the bacteria in the colon…ALL the bacteria. It doesn’t differentiate between good or bad, it just wipes them all out. Kind of throwing the baby out with the bathwater if you ask me, but it gets the job done for some people. Unfortunately others find themselves hosting a whole new set of problems, as losing the good bacteria can cause yeast overgrowth, furry tongue, Candida, or even C-Diff [Clostridium difficile].

Add in the fact that patients descriptions of Flagyl sound like this: “worse than diverticulitis”, “worst tasting medication”, “made me vomit”, and “couldn’t taste food for a week” and it’s easy to see why people are out looking for another way. If all I had to choose between was the pain of diverticulitis, the uncertainty of surgery, or a medicine that makes me vomit every time I take it, I’d be scouring the Internet for another way – any other way!

But before we get into another way, let’s get the official look at Flagyl (so you don’t think I’m just making all this up!)

What Is Flagyl? (taken from About.com)

Flagyl is an antibacterial drug. It is used to kill any bacteria in the body that are causing infection.

How Is Flagyl Taken?

Flagyl is taken orally in tablet form. In order for Flagyl to effectively kill harmful bacteria, it is important to maintain a constant level of Flagyl in the blood. Therefore, it must be taken at regular intervals without missing any doses. Take Flagyl with 8 ounces of water. [Trick to avoiding the metallic taste - slide it inside a fruit roll-up]

Adverse Reactions (taken from Drugs.com)

The most serious adverse reactions reported in patients treated with Flagyl (metronidazole) have been convulsive seizures, encephalopathy, aseptic meningitis, optic and peripheral neuropathy, the latter characterized mainly by numbness or paresthesia of an extremity. Since persistent peripheral neuropathy has been reported in some patients receiving prolonged administration of Flagyl, patients should be specifically warned about these reactions and should be told to stop the drug and report immediately to their physicians if any neurologic symptoms occur.

The most common adverse reactions reported have been referable to the gastrointestinal tract, particularly nausea reported by about 12% of patients, sometimes accompanied by headache, anorexia, and occasionally vomiting; diarrhea; epigastric distress; and abdominal cramping. Constipation has also been reported.

The following reactions have also been reported during treatment with Flagyl (metronidazole):

Mouth: A sharp, unpleasant metallic taste is not unusual. Furry tongue, glossitis, and stomatitis have occurred; these may be associated with a sudden overgrowth of Candida which may occur during therapy.

Hematopoietic: Reversible neutropenia (leukopenia); rarely, reversible thrombocytopenia.

Cardiovascular: Flattening of the T-wave may be seen in electrocardiographic tracings.

Central Nervous System: Encephalopathy, aseptic meningitis, convulsive seizures, optic neuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, dizziness, vertigo, incoordination, ataxia, confusion, dysarthria, irritability, depression, weakness, and insomnia.

Hypersensitivity: Urticaria, erythematous rash, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, flushing, nasal congestion, dryness of the mouth (or vagina or vulva), and fever.

Renal: Dysuria, cystitis, polyuria, incontinence, and a sense of pelvic pressure. Instances of darkened urine have been reported by approximately one patient in 100,000. Although the pigment which is probably responsible for this phenomenon has not been positively identified, it is almost certainly a metabolite of metronidazole and seems to have no clinical significance.

Other: Proliferation of Candida in the vagina, dyspareunia, decrease of libido, proctitis, and fleeting joint pains sometimes resembling “serum sickness.” If patients receiving Flagyl drink alcoholic beverages, they may experience abdominal distress, nausea, vomiting, flushing, or headache. A modification of the taste of alcoholic beverages has also been reported. Rare cases of pancreatitis, which generally abated on withdrawal of the drug, have been reported.

Crohn’s disease patients are known to have an increased incidence of gastrointestinal and certain extraintestinal cancers. There have been some reports in the medical literature of breast and colon cancer in Crohn’s disease patients who have been treated with metronidazole at high doses for extended periods of time. A cause and effect relationship has not been established. Crohn’s disease is not an approved indication for Flagyl.

(taken from Wikipedia.com)

High doses and/or long-term systemic treatment with metronidazole is associated with the development of leukopenia, neutropenia, increased risk of peripheral neuropathy and/or CNS toxicity.

Metronidazole is listed by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP) as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Although some of the testing methods have been questioned, oral exposure has been shown to cause cancer in experimental animals. The relationship between exposure to metronidazole and human cancer is unclear. One study found an excess in lung cancer among women (even after adjusting for smoking), while other studies found either no increased risk, or a statistically insignificant risk. It appears to have a fairly low potential for cancer risk and under most circumstances the benefits of treatment outweigh the risk. Metronidazole is listed as a possible carcinogen according to the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Due to its potential carcinogenic properties, metronidazole is banned in the EU and the USA for veterinary use in the feed of animals and is banned for use in any food animals in the USA.

Now I don’t know about you, but reading the official description makes me feel like the remedy might just be as bad as the disease! Surely there’s a better way to cure diverticulitis than enduring all that…and maybe there is…

It’s called Great Taste No Pain and it was written by Sherry Brescia, a wife and mother who suffered a painful digestive disorder that was “incurable”, or so her doctors claimed. Not comfortable with the idea of changing her whole life to accommodate a disease that would never leave, she decided to dig deeper and find out the truth.

What she found was a wealth of knowledge that pointed to a very simple truth – it wasn’t WHAT we were eating that was causing these painful stomach problems, but WHEN we were eating it! Changing just a few simple things on her plate eliminated her stomach problems permanently and it’s not just working in her life. She has thousands of testimonials on her site of people cured from diverticulitis, Crohn’s, ulcers, GERD, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and every other stomach problem you can think of!

Will it work for you?

I can’t promise you it’s the magic bullet for your situation, but I can tell you that it’s worth a try. Before you have another attack, or schedule that risky surgery, or choke down another Flagyl pill, why not take a few minutes to try a cure that doesn’t involve thousands of dollars or weeks/months of discomfort?

It’s your call, but I don’t think you have anything to lose by simply trying it…

Click here to try Great Taste No Pain…

References:

http://www.topix.com/forum/health/diverticulitis/T7DN0MTRJS1QL97AC
http://www.end-diverticulitis.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=483
http://ibdcrohns.about.com/od/antibiotics/a/flaglfaq.htm
http://www.drugs.com/pro/flagyl.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metronidazole

PREVENT2 randomized 592 subjects to receive once-daily SPD476, MMX mesalamine 1.2g, 2.4g or 4.8g, or placebo, over a period of 104 weeks.

For those of you who don’t want to do the math, that’s 2 years of daily Lialda doses with a success rate that was no better than a placebo…a mere sugar pill.

SPD476, MMX mesalamine also did not show a significant difference compared to placebo on the key secondary endpoint of the study.

Sadly, this didn’t make news because of the wasted money people spent on Lialda, or the side effects many people endured for a drug that offered them no help at all, but for the simple reason that shares of Shire Plc were trading lower than normal because of this unfortunate setback.

Mild side effects of Lialda – Diarrhea; gas; headache; mild stomach discomfort or pain; nausea; runny or stuffy nose.

Severe side effects of Lialda – Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); blood in the urine; bloody diarrhea; bloody or coffee ground-like vomit; change in the amount of urine; chest pain; dark urine; fever, chills, or persistent sore throat; severe or persistent headache; severe or sudden stomach pain or cramping; shortness of breath; unusual bruising or bleeding; yellowing of the skin or eyes.

Ugh…sounds like the life of the party for the lucky guy or gal taking this stuff.

What burns me most about this is the fact that Shire Plc took in over a MILLION dollars a day last year…for a product that did nothing more than give people diarrhea, gas, headaches, nausea, and a stuffy nose! Seems like they should be sending a lot (or all) of that money back to the people who bought these “wonder” pills; but that’s just my opinion.

The icing on the cake? Nearly 1% of people who tried Lialda complained that their diverticulitis actually got worse…that’s right…worse. As in, I just spent a bunch of money to feel more horrible than I felt yesterday. Ouch.

How did this happen in a country that supposedly employs a system to avoid these kinds of embarrassments (hint…the FDA)? Well it seems that back in 2007, Shire Plc ran a quick 8 week test that showed success in treating patients and Lialda was given the green light to be sold to all those needy diverticulitis sufferers.

The FDA approval was based on the results of two Phase III clinical studies that found LIALDA (2.4 g/day and 4.8 g/day) was effective in inducing remission in patients with active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis compared to placebo after eight weeks of treatment.  LIALDA is generally well tolerated and has a similar safety profile to other currently available mesalamines.

Too bad they didn’t ask for a more in-depth study – it would have saved a lot of suffering people a lot of time, money, and heartache.

So what’s next for Lialda and Shire Plc? If you guessed lawsuit, you’d be entirely clued in to our wonderful society. That’s right – there are already websites popping up, asking the question, “Did Lialda hurt you?” Help us sue the s**t out of them and we’ll all get paid!

Okay, maybe not that blunt, but it’s not that far off, sadly.

Lialda™ Classaction

March 30, 2012 Lialda™ Lawyers

Lialda™ Lawyers: If you believe that you have suffered negative side effects after taking Lialda™ and you would like to have a Lialda™ Lawyer review the facts of your incident please feel free to use the contact form on this page.

As for those poor diverticulitis sufferers? Well that’s not really the focus of all this coverage – we’re more concerned about the dip in stock prices or the lost revenue that Shire Plc was raking in. A few thousand / million hopeless diverticulitis sufferers aren’t our concern, are they? After all, I’ll never get this crazy sounding disease…

…or will I?

Seems like the odds of contracting diverticulitis are at an all time high:

Diverticulosis is quite common and happens to 10% of people over 40 and in 50% of people over age 60. The predominance of diverticulosis increases with age and affects almost everyone over age 80.

See? As long as I die before I’m 80, I’ve got a 50/50 chance of dodging it…lol…what great odds!

There is another way…but it’s not the one most diverticulitis sufferers want to hear. It has to do with a special diet, and before you brush me off, not a typical eat this, not that diet; I’m talking about a diet that doesn’t tell you what to eat, but WHEN to eat it.

Intrigued?

So was I…that’s why I found this – Great Taste No Pain

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Articles referenced in this article include:

• http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shire-announces-top-line-results-of-the-prevent2-trial-2012-03-30
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-30/shire-drops-after-lialda-fails-in-test-for-colon-condition-1-.html
• http://www.rttnews.com/1851580/shire-plc-shpgy-is-down-sharply-on-disappointing-study-results.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=sitemap
• http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/61014.php
• http://lialda.mesotheliomacancerlaw.net/classaction

Here’s my list of “safe” foods (disclaimer – just because these foods are considered safe doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try them out CAREFULLY for yourself…always incorporate new foods into your diet slowly…and in small portions):

• Whole-grain breads, pastas, and cereals
• Beans
• Fresh fruits
• Vegetables
• Water
• Juice/broth (easier on the stomach)

Foods to avoid – aka “danger” foods (again, use your own judgment on these):

• Foods high in fat or sugar
• Alcohol
• Nicotine
• Fried foods
• Anything that will clog the stomach

Renee Woodruff, a blogger at Shape Magazine, talks about this feeling of being in tune with your body in her latest blog post – Follow-Up: My Fear of Meat. You can read more about her journey towards discovering her meat-related illnesses and maybe pick up an idea or two on how to monitor yourself for food-related issues. Check it out and let me know what you think…I’d love to hear your opinion on what strategy you’ve used to cope with your Diverticulitis…or what foods you have managed to incorporate successfully into your post-diagnosis diet.

What foods do you seek out / avoid?

* Surgery selection alone however, does not account for huge difference in mortality rates.

* Researchers trying to pinpoint if black patients wait longer to seek help and/or surgery or if some other issue is causing high mortality rates.

A recent study by Johns Hopkins (published end of November 2011) has uncovered an alarming trend in diverticulitis surgery mortality rates. These researchers analyzed over 50,000 cases of Medicare patients who opted for diverticulitis surgery to see if they could find any discrepancies. What they discovered was a 28% higher mortality rate in African-Americans versus Caucasians! All of these cases involved people undergoing diverticulitis surgery and age, severity of illness, and insurance companies were ruled out as factors. They did notice that African-Americans were over 25% more likely to choose a “riskier” emergency surgery over the traditional scheduled surgery but that one discrepancy did not account for the huge difference in mortality rates between races.

The data prompted the study leader, Eric Schneider (epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Trials and Outcomes Research) to state the following:

“Even if everyone has coverage, black patients are doing worse, so we need to find out what else is going on. Maybe then we can make a difference.”

So what is behind this alarmingly high mortality rate in African-Americans? It’s hard to say for sure, since this data is just now coming to light but it’s something that will definitely become the focus of many a study over the next year (2012). The initial theory had been that African-Americans may suffer higher mortality rates because of a difference in socioeconomic status or health options (insurance plans). However the new study contradicted those theories and pushed the researchers back to square one, figuratively speaking. Hopefully a deeper look into the files of those 50,000 patients plus the addition of more case studies, can help researchers identify a pattern or cause that actually save lives and eliminate the huge discrepancy. Until then, anyone undergoing diverticulitis surgery, especially African-Americans and people considering opting for an emergency surgery, should consider their options very, very carefully before proceeding. While the pain may be intense, even debilitating at times, the risk of losing your life in order to see a rapid relief is not something to take lightly.

What are the options?

First and foremost, consult with your doctor. If your diverticulitis surgery is being scheduled because of abscess or peritonitis concerns, it is probably best to continue with the surgery or you could risk even more pain and disease. However, if the doctor has only recommended surgery or asked you to think about it, check out the other ways first, before making a decision. Consider the route of medication to counter the Diverticulitis, or alternative treatments like the food combining diet recommended by Sherry Brescia. This diet is easy to try, has no serious side effects to worry about, and gives you the chance to cure your diverticulitis without ever stepping foot into an operating room. That’s more than even the surgeons can guarantee, since even surgery only guarantees an 80% chance of a cure.

Learn more about food combining and the diet that can cure diverticulitis…without surgery, high fiber “cleansing” diets, or endless pills!

Full article (taken from http://www.news-medical.net/news/20111122/Racial-disparities-in-emergency-diverticulitis-surgery.aspx):

Black senior citizens who need surgery for the intestinal disorder diverticulitis are significantly more likely to die in the hospital than their equally ill white counterparts, even when each racial group carries the same health insurance, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

While all of the patients in the study required surgery, black patients were 26 percent more likely than white patients to undergo riskier and more expensive emergency diverticulitis surgery rather than “elective” scheduled surgery for their condition, the Hopkins researchers found. The results emerged in a study of data from Medicare, the government health insurance for senior citizens.

Black seniors also spent more time in the hospital recovering from their operations and the costs of their stays averaged nearly $30,000 more than those of comparable white patients.

Publishing in the November issue of the medical journal Archives of Surgery, the researchers say that while lack of insurance is often a major driver of racial disparities in health care, their analysis shows that even with equal access to a doctor, race-based differences in outcomes persist.

“Even if everyone has coverage, black patients are doing worse, so we need to find out what else is going on,” says study leader Eric B. Schneider, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Trials and Outcomes Research. “Maybe then we can make a difference.”

Schneider and his team analyzed data from more than 50,000 Medicare patients who underwent surgery — removal of part of the colon with or without or a colostomy procedure — between 2004 and 2007 in the United States. The researchers, adjusting for age, gender and other underlying illnesses, found that being black was associated with a 28 percent increase in in-hospital mortality, regardless of whether the patient underwent emergency or pre-planned surgery.

Diverticular disease is a common gastrointestinal condition, affecting up to 25 percent of the elderly. In severe cases, it is treated with surgery.

Previous research has found higher rates of mortality, complication and readmission among black surgical patients when compared to white patients undergoing similar procedures. Schneider says the conventional wisdom is that black patients’ poorer outcomes can largely be accounted for by differences in socioeconomic status, including health insurance coverage and greater underlying comorbidity. The new research contradicts that hypothesis, he says.

Schneider says past research has shown that even when they have insurance, black patients are less likely to go to the doctor than white patients, even for routine preventive services such as vaccination. Black patients may also have more undetected or undiagnosed illnesses than white patients, as research shows black patients are less likely to undergo diagnostic evaluations than white patients.

One study, says Schneider, suggested that under-utilization of health care resources by blacks may be related to a higher level of distrust of the medical establishment.

If black seniors were encouraged to see doctors more quickly when they are sick, an illness like diverticulitis could be treated earlier, potentially obviating the need for surgery, or at least allowing for a less-risky, pre-planned operation.

“It may be an access issue. It may be a cultural issue,” he says. “Whites are more likely to have a family practitioner and that may be a factor.”

Brock Lesnar retired last Friday (30 Dec 11). He is credited with helping bring mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream and he is still recognized as one of the sport’s most talented athletes. His retirement comes after losing his last two fights.

“What was powerful enough to cause this 6’3″, 250+ lb. fighter to give up the sport he had dominated for the last few years?“, you might ask.

One simple word…Diverticulitis.

Yes, the same disease that affects millions of people worldwide also managed to take down this heavyweight fighter…for good. Brock suffered two flare-ups in the last few years and though he had surgery to try and get it under control, it ended up costing him the rest of his fighting career.

Why do I bring this up? One, because I want you to see you’re not alone. Diverticulitis affects even some of the strongest, fittest people we can think of, so don’t think you’re alone in this fight. Second, because you have a chance to do something about it that Brock didn’t – you can get rid of Diverticulitis.

Sounds too good to be true, I know…but there are over 500 testimonials full of praise and elation from FORMER Diverticulitis/Diverticulosis sufferers that beg to differ.

Learn more about curing Diverticulitis…

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Full article:

Brock Lesnar hasn’t directly attributed his decision to retire to his diverticulitis, but his disease being at the root of his decision is an inescapable reality. 

Lesnar had already seen his career stalled twice by potentially fatal bouts with his disease. Friday night’s fight was his return from his first surgery to combat the disease that essentially eats away one’s stomach. 

He was not the dominant Lesnar we once saw, and he fell in the first round to Alistair Overeem. This led the former UFC champ to announce his retirement from the sport. 

 The Announcement

Here are portions of Lesnar’s comments following his loss, as quoted by the Associated Press via ESPN.com:

This is the last time you’ll see me in the octagon. 

I’ve had a really difficult couple of years with my disease, and I’m going to officially say tonight is the last time.

I promised my wife and my kids if I won this fight, I would get a title shot, and that would be my last fight. But if I lost tonight…you’ve been great.

Diverticulitis’ Role in the Decision

Lesnar did not attack Overeem with the confidence and reckless abandon that once was the hallmark of his fighting style. He was tentative and full of doubt. 

It only takes a small seed of doubt to make a huge difference in the Octagon, and that is exactly what Lesnar had. 

And if this wasn’t enough, Overeem punished Lesnar’s surgically repaired stomach with knee blows. And that is something that will understandably make someone question if they want to continue fighting. 

As Lesnar said, he has had a difficult couple of year[s] with his disease, and it has understandably taken its toll on his massive body. It is a shame that this disease has led to him calling it a career early, but there is little doubt that [it] is at the root of his decision.

Original article can be found at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1005112-was-brock-lesnars-diverticulitis-illness-what-really-forced-his-retirement

I’ll be back soon with more news!

Until next time,

Steve