Antibiotics

[Mouse]

My son is 42. Never had a problem until 3 months ago. It’s been awful. He eats really healthy and drinks lots of water. Did the micro lax, dulcolax, psyllium, senna, etc. Went to Dr. yesterday and started on motegrity. However, I’m thinking that because this came out of the blue, that perhaps there is a slight infection in his small intestine and I’m thinking that it might be worth a try. I have read that erythromycin and rica I’m in are often prescribed. Any thoughts on this?

[Mouse]

Should be Riga I’m in

[Jeffrey Roberts]

I'm actually not aware of any antibiotics being used for constipation. Erythromycin is sometimes used to empty out the contents of the stomach and propel things along the small gut for people who suffer from gastroparesis. There is some research about small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) that uses antibiotics to treat patients.

Motegrity is a good drug for constipation. It works by increasing the levels of serotonin in the gut thereby increasing movement.

[Mouse]

Thank you. He took the 2 milligram motegrity last night. Hopefully it will work soon. As I’m sure you are aware, it makes for a near impossible life. Haven’t stopped researching for days and I stumbled upon it. Although, there is a test for SIBO. We have also been told that he may have to also take miralax. The two drugs I read about were erythromycin and rifaximin.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Mouse

[Jeffrey Roberts]

SIBO has other symptoms associated with it and it's not entirely clear if everyone who has SIBO also has IBS. If you were doing research you no doubt stumbled on Dr. Mark Pimentel's work with SIBO at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He is the expert on using rifaximin and other antibiotics to reduce the bacteria in the small gut.

I would give the motegrity a chance. If it doesn't help, there are other constipation medications that can be tried. You can also ask for breath testing to see if SIBO is really the issue and then find a doctor that follows Dr. Pimentel's protocol.