Which ABX worked best for you?

[Blessedwifeandmom]

My son has been on Augmentin for the last 3 weeks and we had a follow-up appt. today and I asked the doctor about XR? She said she would prescribe it but it would be a lot more expensive. Boy was she right. The month supply of 1000mg XR 2x a day was going to be $250. The regular Augmentin was only $50. Would it be worth it? I keep asking myself.

 

We are seeing improvement on 875mg Augmentin 2X a day but it is slow improvement. I know Dr L. prescribes XR. Does anyone know why XR? Also I know a lot of people have had great success with Azith (sp?) please share your experience. I have noticed my son Screeching a lot more than normal but a lot of his anxiety, tics and OCD are better.

 

Thanks,

Cindi

[Fixit]

My son has been on Augmentin for the last 3 weeks and we had a follow-up appt. today and I asked the doctor about XR? She said she would prescribe it but it would be a lot more expensive. Boy was she right. The month supply of 1000mg XR 2x a day was going to be $250. The regular Augmentin was only $50. Would it be worth it? I keep asking myself.

 

We are seeing improvement on 875mg Augmentin 2X a day but it is slow improvement. I know Dr L. prescribes XR. Does anyone know why XR? Also I know a lot of people have had great success with Azith (sp?) please share your experience. I have noticed my son Screeching a lot more than normal but a lot of his anxiety, tics and OCD are better.

 

Thanks,

Cindi

 

I think every child is different so i will never say no had this or that reaction from X

 

My ds seems to get screeches in relation to over severe overgrowth of yeast or clostridia....

his yeast seems to be somewhat off most of the time..but its when it gets really out of wack....

that's just some of what i've observed for my ds....

[T_Mom]

HI Cindi, I think the verdict is still out as to whether or not the XR is more beneficial then the "regular". However, having said that, you do need to be sure the amount of the Clavulanic (sp?) Acid is not too high for your child's weight when you use high doses and are not using the XR. The XR provides more Amox and less Clav. Acid. This may be a very important difference for the child's system.

 

If you are seeing noticeable progress on a week to week basis, (not necessarily day to day), then I would continue whatever it is that is working. Recovery is SLOW.

 

Some see initial obvious gains, but to get back to 100% after a "moderate to severe" episode like your child has had, can take months. We have worked under the operating mode of: If it is working--continue! Patiently (easier said then done, I know.)

[Blessedwifeandmom]

How do I find out about how much Clavic Acid for weight of my child? He is 78 lbs. and is on 875 mg 2X a day. He does have a lot of Diarrhea with it.

 

HI Cindi, I think the verdict is still out as to whether or not the XR is more beneficial then the "regular". However, having said that, you do need to be sure the amount of the Clavulanic (sp?) Acid is not too high for your child's weight when you use high doses and are not using the XR. The XR provides more Amox and less Clav. Acid. This may be a very important difference for the child's system.

 

If you are seeing noticeable progress on a week to week basis, (not necessarily day to day), then I would continue whatever it is that is working. Recovery is SLOW.

 

Some see initial obvious gains, but to get back to 100% after a "moderate to severe" episode like your child has had, can take months. We have worked under the operating mode of: If it is working--continue! Patiently (easier said then done, I know.)

[3boysmom]

How do I find out about how much Clavic Acid for weight of my child? He is 78 lbs. and is on 875 mg 2X a day. He does have a lot of Diarrhea with it.

 

HI Cindi, I think the verdict is still out as to whether or not the XR is more beneficial then the "regular". However, having said that, you do need to be sure the amount of the Clavulanic (sp?) Acid is not too high for your child's weight when you use high doses and are not using the XR. The XR provides more Amox and less Clav. Acid. This may be a very important difference for the child's system.

 

If you are seeing noticeable progress on a week to week basis, (not necessarily day to day), then I would continue whatever it is that is working. Recovery is SLOW.

 

Some see initial obvious gains, but to get back to 100% after a "moderate to severe" episode like your child has had, can take months. We have worked under the operating mode of: If it is working--continue! Patiently (easier said then done, I know.)

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to give him probiotics.

 

 

[MomWithOCDSon]

I haven't heard that anyone knows the "right" clav acid ratio by age or weight; it's just that regular Augmentin, for whatever reason, has almost double the clav acid ratio per mg. that XR has. But then XR is time-release, so even at a lower clav acid ratio, I suppose it's possible the drug could be more effective for some people because it stays "active" longer? The half-life of regular Augmentin is pretty short: just a few hours, as I recall (less than 8).

 

You can Google Augmentin and find out the precise clav acid ratio and half-life, but I think the "why" and "how" of abx and PANDAS is still under study. I remember seeing somewhere here that one of the PANDAS docs prefers 875 mg. regular Augmentin to 1,000 mg. XR because the regular has a higher clav acid ratio, and he thinks that's more beneficial when it comes to PANDAS. You can also find research about clav acid being studied for its antidepressant characteristics, so perhaps that doc is right.

 

Still, you have a number of anecdotal reports of kids faring better . . . especially long term . . . with XR than regular Augmentin; there's Sammy Maloney's story, of course, and then there are several kids here on the forum, including mine. Again, it might be an entirely individual thing and tie into personal chemistry, genetics, behavioral manifestations, etc., so it may take some trial and error to determine which abx and which dose is most beneficial for your kid.

 

As for probiotics, I would highly recommend sach. boulardis, found in generic form in health food stores and behind your pharmacist's counter in the brand name FloraStor. This is a beneficial yeast that helps crowd out the "bad" yeast (candida) that can flourish when abx is in use. Sach B. is also known to help lessen and sometimes even alleviate diarrhea caused by abx use. It has definitely helped our DS.

 

Good luck!

[pathfinder]

My ds 17 takes augmentin XL 1000X2 a day. I have no idea if this form of augmentin is better than the other but regarding insurance claim my son gets angmentin XL every 15 days (30 pills) instead of every month. I pay $30x2 a month. I would go talk to your pharmacy to see if there is a way to cut cost and I would also call insurance company to ask why XL is much more expensive. They may want some documentation from your dr why it has to be XL ( which your dr and you could effectively argue as you already tried regular form.

[formedbrds]

A

Edited January 16, 2011 by formedbrds

[MomWithOCDSon]

Just as a point of information for those of you who don't know:

 

There is now a generic form of Augmentin XR available, and it is considerably less expensive than the GSK label brand. We've been using it for the last 4+ months and can discern no efficacy differential between it and the original. It might be worth looking into, especially if your insurance is giving you trouble about paying for XR.

[Blessedwifeandmom]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess we will stick with the regular augmentin this month since I have already purchased it. I'm just worried about the clav acid and diarrhea. However the doctor didn't seem to concerned. We have been on a probiotic since we started 3 weeks ago. I will definitely look for the Florastor since you recommend that one. Is it once a day or more?

[emmalily]

I'm on the XR 1000 generic and the only huge difference I've noticed is that it is a whole lot better as far as side effects go. On the 875 I was very dizzy (felt like was walking on the deck of a ship most the time) and had very bad stomachaches. I only experiences those with the XR if I don't eat a full meal with it.

[MomWithOCDSon]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess we will stick with the regular augmentin this month since I have already purchased it. I'm just worried about the clav acid and diarrhea. However the doctor didn't seem to concerned. We have been on a probiotic since we started 3 weeks ago. I will definitely look for the Florastor since you recommend that one. Is it once a day or more?

 

We give Sach B. twice each day. You might start with once and see how much that helps, since certainly every kid's gut is different.