Clindamycin=IBS?

[askdocques21]

Hi, I am a 23 year old male, approximately 170 lbs. I recently had a wisdom tooth extraction and was prescribed Clindamycin to prevent the extraction area from becoming infected. I was prescribed this medication on 5/28/2014.  I was directed to take it 3x a day until it was all gone. I took it for about a week straight. I noticed while I was on the medication that I had very severe episodes of diarrhea and stomach cramping. I stopped taking the medication as of yesterday. I also plan to see my GP about this early next week and I will be seeing the dentist who prescribed it today as well. My questions are:

Since I have stopped taking the medication, how long will the diarrhea symptoms take to go away?
What is the likelihood that I could have developed colitis or some other digestive/intestinal/stomach/IBS issues?
What can I do in the meantime to curb the symptoms?
Is having IBS abnormal at my age?

[Margot49]

Try eating Activia yogurt daily for at least 3 weeks.  Stanford doctor told me that.  Use after treatment with Xifaxin also if treated for SIBO.
It helped me at the time but now my insides are all messed up.

[Margot49]

Sounds like my story!  Was given that for a tooth  infection, made me sick but told to finish it.  I have been sick since and now have major GI problems and have seen numerous doctors and have been to Stanford also.  Early on, I was treated for SIBO 3 times,  now, they think I have a motility disorder or IBS, which means they don't know.  Have constipation and diarrhea problems now and on Linzess.  Also had a low ejection HIDA scan that was normal before all this.  I feel I'll every day. Mope you are not going down the same path.
Was it the infection and/or antibiotic?  Not sure but been downhill since then.
Please update.

[Sanjivani Wanjari, MD]

HI,
The diarrhoea is more likely to be a side effect of the drug. It is very to say that it is IBS or intestinal or colitis issues. If it is because of the drug, it is likely to be self limiting. In the meantime you can drink plenty of liquids and water to maintain hydration and take stool binders and lactobacilli preparations. This will help the diarrhoea to stop. If this does not help then do consult your Doctor. Hope this helps.
The answer is based on information provided. Exact advice is not possible without a proper examination and investigations. You are requested to consult your Doctor. Take care and keep us posted.