Sporadic Difficulty understanding went away two to three months after taking two pills a day 550 milligram).Stopped taking it w eek after Dr said ok and told my husband, he couldn't believe it lactulose gave me chronic diarrhea continued Uti .hospitalized numerous times Dr said not sure how it works but it does after paying the money I felt Id give it a stop which I did, Possibility I think it destroyed all the bad gut bacteria after 2-3 months and now I have not had any in medication for two-three months and no thinking difficulty. 66 yo female
I requested a breath test for SIBO. Based on reported symptoms, physician said test is not reliable, but went ahead and prescribed this Rx. Suffered gas, bloating, constipation and now pain. These ARE side effects reported. I am seeing doctor tomorrow, but will stop this Rx now. Given the extremely high cost, I suggest discussing all options with physician first.
Felt better systemically the first day of use. Years and years of gas, bloat, rapid weight loss, pain. I had Initial gas for about 4 hours after initial dose. My body felt overall better after that - general well-being. Will wait and anticipate further relief of symptoms and expect no further side effects. Interoception - chronic pain in upper right quadrant is already fading. Wow.
I was just diagnosed with SIBO. My symptoms were bloating, feeling full, excessive belching, constipation, and sometimes nausea. Before figuring out I had SIBO I was put on a Low FODMAP diet which has worked very well for me and I haven’t had really any symptoms. After starting Xifaxan all my symptoms came back ESPECIALLY the nausea. My first day on it I felt fine but woke up early in the morning nauseous. The second day I took two or the three doses and I’m incredible nauseous, bloated, full, belching, and uncomfortable. I will be stopping bc this is unbearable. I feel 10x worse than I did off of the antibiotic.
There is a generic version that is available outside the US. It is Rifaxinin and is available from https://www.offshorecheapmeds.com. A prescription is required. I paid a little over $50 for 550 mg pills. I just started on this so cannot comment yet on its effectiveness.
I was diagnosed with IBS-D at age 14. I have been on every medication available for symptom relief, but it always returned. Xifaxan has been a miracle drug for me when i have an episode.
I was prescribed this drug for alleged "SIBO" by what I believed to be a very well-respected and competent doctor. Unfortunately, it completely ruined my life. I went from having moderate, non-painful gut symptoms like bloating and gas to severe, burning abdominal pain, severe constipation, even more gas, near-daily nausea and vomiting, and a host of non-GI symptoms like severe anxiety, depression and insomnia. It's been a year and this effect has not waned, nor will any of the many doctors I have seen since help me in the slightest. No one knows anything about this stuff. It may be hard to understand how much suffering I am experiencing just from reading about it, and you may be tempted to brush it off, but please, please trust me: this drug is NOT worth the risk.
I’ve struggles with IBS-D all my life. Took Zifaxan for two weeks and am amazed with the results. It’s almost as if m IBS-D has been cured. I’m a tennis player and had breathing issues as well rapid hear beat during physical activity. I don’t know 100% if it’s from the meds but I haven’t been able to play tennis. I don’t know what is worse giving up my love for tennis or continuing with the IBS symptoms.
I've tried (what feels like) every medication in the book for my IBS-D. I was very weary that this would work for me. It was a very expensive experiment for my IBS issues but surprisingly it worked! The first two weeks (while taking the medication) i didn't know much of a difference but I stuck it out because of the price and had nothing to lose. Going into week 3, after I had finished all my pills, I wasn't very hopeful but by the end of week 3 I noticed a HUGE difference. I was finally able to leave the house and carry on like I haven't been able to in over a decade! It has been 5 months of bliss! Unfortunately, I'm 6 months in and my stomach issues have returned. I'm again scared to leave the house due to my IBS-D. I have an appointment soon to ask for more Xifaxan. I really gave me my life back for a short while.
From the first pill, I became tired, confused, nauseated, still had pain in my right side. I went to the pharmacy to pick up the drug. I don’t know how many my Gastro ordered but it was $732.00! The Coupon he gave me was useless because I’m on a Medicare Advantage plan. He gave samples for a 7 day trial. So at least I didn’t pay for it. Iwas on the couch for a week! No one warned me that I could have such a negative experience!
I feel a lot worse on this medication.I just got diagnosed with SIBO but it is giving me awful diarrhea and my nausea is so severe with this stuff..it might be getting rid of the bacteria but it just doesn’t seem to be doing the job…
I am a caregiver for my mother with end stage liver disease due to opioid abuse. We are in early days with this drug but I am hopeful. Lactulose has had her a prisoner in the house. My sister (her prior caretaker) was not able to get this for her due to cost. I am writing because I found a way to get it. Mom is on Medicare and has state co-insurance. I called her insurance company and inquired about coverage bc Alpha XR let me know this was not covered. Turns out I needed to call an approved specialty pharmacy. Once I did that and transferred the prescription to them, we got it with $0 copay. Will write in again in a few weeks on her progress.
This drug gave long term extreme urgency to go without much warning which I didn’t have before taking it. Also increased # times to go per day. After getting these symptoms I researched the studies of this drug. This is a broad spectrum antibiotic that kills good and bad microbes indiscriminately in the gut. Clinical studies show minimal short term benefits for IBD. Practically zero actually fir really mild symptoms and tiny improvement. The tendency for this drug is to decrease diversity of your microbiome which in general is less good Almost all the numerous studies and reviews post FDA approval are written by people funded by Salix. A few studies by non funded clinicians found no benefit. Studies are short term for the most part. This drug did much more damage to my gut than what I had to begin with. I say be very careful. The benefits are minimal but even if risk for permanently altering your gut in a bad way may be low it is not worth the risk in my opinion fir the tiny short term benefit. Read the studies yourself before taking.
I have IBSD and have great difficulty going out without taking Imodium first. I am 1/2 way into taking Xifaxan for 10 days. I believe I have less bloating and cramping but am still having problems eating certain foods. I have a week to go and am hoping it will be the miracle drug I’ve been reading about!
My husband just started on this medication. We got it through a Canadian pharmacy for a lot less than with "insurance" or any discount cards.
I have been on Xifanan for 6 years and now unemployed and on COBRA. Has anyone found a way to get this medicine cheaper than $2,000.00? My insurance has a high deductible and Patient Assistance Program doesn't help. The deductible doesn't mean anything with a Tier 5 drug.
I suffered from bloating for more than 20 years off and on and also heartburn, constipation, bad breath, nasty farts, you name it. XIFAXAN with fiber and probiotic cured, as a result, my appetite increased. All symptoms disappeared
I have sibo/constipation. My GI thought I should try Linzess, after 5 days of it, I've had 1 1/2 months of constant round the clock diarrhea. Got a prescription of Xifaxan, no change. i eaten i box of Imodium and one of Pepto Bismol right along with this drug with no results. $660 down the toilet, literally.
After slowly getting worse for years, my IBS cleared after a few days of the 14 day treatment. My doctor recommended a Canadian pharmacy to get around price gouging in the U.S.
The only problem I have had is trouble sleeping