In this particular case, ignore the pharmacist (more often than not, they know more than the surgeons, but not in this case). Flagyl (metronidazole) is an old antibiotic with a specific type of bacterial target - mostly, ones that are problematic in our rearranged guts. It has a bad reputation for some reason - I think some misinterpreted studies where they determined it caused cancer or something - but that was pretty much disproved and yet the stigma remains. Many of us do rounds of Flagyl just as Dr.K recommended periodically, when the poop stink just won't go away even when eating only safe foods - because we have/get bacterial overgrowth of the bad bugs that cause gas, bloating and stench. Some people in fact ABUSE Flagyl because - unfortunately - it allows most of us to eat white flour and other foods that normally cause gas with no consequence. Some people are prescribed prophylactic maintenance doses of Flagyl - I would not do that.
Flagyl abuse has two problems - (1) it is too tempting to misuse it to eat bad carbs with abandon; and (2) Flagyl is the first line of antibiotic defense against
C. diff, and if you keep using it at subtherapeutic dosage regimens, you end up with guts that contain Flagyl-resistant
C. diff, and you do NOT want to create and harbor those bad boys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metronidazole
"
Mutagenesis and carcinogenesis[edit]
Metronidazole is listed by the US
National Toxicology Program (NTP) as reasonably anticipated to be a human
carcinogen.
[15] Although some of the testing methods have been questioned, oral exposure has been shown to cause cancer in experimental animals and has also demonstrated some mutagenic effects in bacterial cultures.
[15][16] The relationship between exposure to metronidazole and human cancer is unclear.
[15][17] One study
[18][
full citation needed] found an excess in lung cancer among women (even after adjusting for smoking), while other studies
[19][
full citation needed] found either no increased risk, or a
statistically insignificant risk.
[15] [20] Metronidazole is listed as a possible carcinogen according to the
WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer.
[21] A study in those with
Crohn's disease also found chromosomal abnormalities in circulating lymphocytes in people treated with metronidazole.
[16]"
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/content/profiles/metronidazole.pdf
"
Cancer Studies in Humans
The data available from epidemiological studies are inadequate to evaluate the relationship between human cancer and exposure specifically to metronidazole. An excess of cancer of the uterine cervix was found in two epidemiological studies of women treated with metronidazole for vaginal trichomoniasis (Beard et al. 1979, Friedman and Ury 1980, IARC 1982); however, trichomoniasis is a risk factor for cervical cancer, and one of the studies (Beard et al. 1979) showed a greater excess of cancer among women with trichomoniasis who were not exposed to metronidazole. The study by Beard et al., but not that by Friedman et al., reported an excess of lung cancer, which may have been due to smoking.
Since metronidazole was listed in the Fourth Annual Report on Carcinogens, additional epidemiological studies have been identified. In a follow-up of the cohort study by Beard et al., the incidence of lung cancer (bronchogenic carcinoma) was significantly increased in women exposed to metronidazole, and the excess remained after an attempt to adjust for smoking (Beard et al. 1988). In a study of over 12,000 people who had used metronidazole, no excess of cancer (all tissue sites combined) was found after two and a half years of followup (IARC 1987). A large cohort study of cancer in children prenatally exposed to metronidazole found no overall excess of cancer (all tissue sites combined); a twofold increase in the risk of neuroblastoma (cancer of the sympathetic nervous system) was not statistically significant (Thapa et al. 1998)."
I take it cautiously (up to 4 times a year - only once in the last year). AND DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL WHILE TAKING IT!
And what you posted Diane about the transplant in to my arm is exactly what I have. I did have to take calcitriol, but my little guy in my arm didn't start working fast enough to stop me from having to go back to the hospital after being released. My calcium dropped too low and I had to be re-admitted. But they got it back up and I was ok after that.
