augmentin vs. augmentin es

[danddd]

my daughter is currently on regular augmentin, she has been getting stomachaches and now loose poops, dispite taking pobiotics ( 12 bil. 6 strains). her pediatrician recommended more probiotics, zantac and switch to augmentin es., (and c. diff test). her pandas doc said ok to the switch, but that could be less effective, i am assuming because there is less clavulanate acid. i dont know what to do? has anyone else used augmentin es, and was it helpful. thanks so much for any info.

[simplygina]

my daughter is currently on regular augmentin, she has been getting stomachaches and now loose poops, dispite taking pobiotics ( 12 bil. 6 strains). her pediatrician recommended more probiotics, zantac and switch to augmentin es., (and c. diff test). her pandas doc said ok to the switch, but that could be less effective, i am assuming because there is less clavulanate acid. i dont know what to do? has anyone else used augmentin es, and was it helpful. thanks so much for any info.

 

Most people here seem to think the XR version (same thing as ES?) is much kinder to the stomach and actually works better. There is some thought that the lower dose of clav acid is better for kids as well. I don't know if you've read Saving Sammy, but XR is what he used. You can still take it twice a day and it actually lasts longer in the system so the benefits are more long lasting and consistent.

 

Augmentin doesn't seem to protect my son at all though. He still manages to get ear and sinus infections on it. Lots of people have great success with it though. We are doing Biaxin and to protect my son's gut we take two high dose probiotics each day as well as drink kefir or Danactive Immune boost yogurt drink.

[danddd]

thanks, I guess the es must be the same as xr. we arent really doing it for prevention of strep, more for the theraputic effects. her last strep was almost a year ago, but the augmentin is really helping i think. do you give the adult dose of probiotics or higher? thanks i feel better now about switching.

[simplygina]

thanks, I guess the es must be the same as xr. we arent really doing it for prevention of strep, more for the theraputic effects. her last strep was almost a year ago, but the augmentin is really helping i think. do you give the adult dose of probiotics or higher? thanks i feel better now about switching.

 

I do give my son the adult dose of both. I'm actually considering buying a very high dose supplement. I know some parents do with good success.

[danddd]

how does the biaxin work for pandas? I am on my second round for chronic lyme. it gives me a horrible metallic taste in my mouth, uggggh, but it works.

[MomWithOCDSon]

My DS was on Augmentin XR for 5 months, and it worked very well for him. No stomach upset or diarrhea, and his PANDAS symptoms subsided dramatically over that period. I'm not clear on what "ES" is, but the XR I can recommend without reservation, especially if Augmentin in general seems to be addressing the PANDAS issues.

[Fixit]

My DS was on Augmentin XR for 5 months, and it worked very well for him. No stomach upset or diarrhea, and his PANDAS symptoms subsided dramatically over that period. I'm not clear on what "ES" is, but the XR I can recommend without reservation, especially if Augmentin in general seems to be addressing the PANDAS issues.

 

so he is not on abx now???/

would you say 80% better?

how/why did you decide to stop?

how long has it been since you stopped?/

any thoughts on next move if things decline?

[MomWithOCDSon]

My DS was on Augmentin XR for 5 months, and it worked very well for him. No stomach upset or diarrhea, and his PANDAS symptoms subsided dramatically over that period. I'm not clear on what "ES" is, but the XR I can recommend without reservation, especially if Augmentin in general seems to be addressing the PANDAS issues.

 

so he is not on abx now???/

would you say 80% better?

how/why did you decide to stop?

how long has it been since you stopped?/

any thoughts on next move if things decline?

We have been trying to step him down over time, mostly on the basis that we want him taking the medicine for as long as he truly needs, but no longer. So after the five months on XR at 1,000 mg., twice daily, we dropped him down to XR 1,000 mg. in the morning, followed by regular Augmentin (the XR version appears to only come in the 1,000 mg. variety) at 500 mg. at night. We did that for 10 days, and then dropped again to 875 mg. Augmentin in the morning, and still 500 mg. Augmentin at night for another 2 weeks.

 

Just this past week, we went down to 500 mg. Augmentin both morning and night. Yes, I would say he is about 85% and still working hard at certain behaviors. But -- knock on wood -- we haven't seen any significant backsliding since lowering the dosage, either, despite the onset of seasonal allergies and a brush with a cold he picked up from a classmate. DS13 has had OCD behaviors, off and on, for over 6 years before we found PANDAS, so I'm not certain that he can ever be 100% OCD free, even if we were to keep him on high-dose abx indefinitely. So we're letting his behavior and his ability to live his life as he wants, without undue interference by the OCD, be our guide.

 

It is a day-to-day thing. When he has a couple of tough days in a row, it makes me consider asking to step back up to the higher dosage again. But then he will have a great day and take on some challenges he hasn't been able to address for the last several months and be successful at it, and I think I shouldn't doubt his progress so quickly.

 

If things decline markedly and consistently again, we'll go back to the higher-dose abx first, and we haven't completely ruled out another step, like IVIG, should he begin to struggle again unduly. It's just so hard to say what is the right path, especially when results can be somewhat erratic, and the research remains relatively new.