Rilexine antibiotic for SIBO?????

Has anyone heard of the antibiotic Rilexine being used to treat SIBO in dogs??? My vet has told me this is as an equivalant to oxytetracycline (oxycare) antibiotic which I do know is used in the treatment SIBO. I have googled and googled Rilexine and so far in my extensive searching I have found no referance to this drug being used other than for treatment in urinary tract infections and bacterial skin infections. Am I missing something?
I would be so very grateful for any light to be shed on this. My dog has suffered for months and months with gut problems. There has been several times I have quearied the vets actions but to then be given reasons as why they have taken that route just made me feel that perhaps I was just getting caught up in misinformation on the net. Afterall the vets are the experts so they '''must''' be right ?????
Finally I elected to have my dog referred to a GI specialist of my own choice of whom I have done my research on and imo I really think I have the best man on the job. This has now thrown up all sorts of questions regarding my own vets competence (or incompetence!) I have a horrible, horrible feeling that absolute basic errors have been made and the past 6 months of hell my poor dog has been through could have all been avoided. Its not just the antibiotic dillema but there is a catalogue of errors that keep popping up. I am going to have a frank and honest conversation with the Professer tomorrow re my concerns about my vets and the treatment they have given him and I am hoping for an honest responce. The whole story is far too long to go into but one thing I will say is if my vet has caused unneccesary suffering to my dog by the way of basic, basic errors then GOD HELP HIM!!!!!!!! ( should i say ex vet!)

Tetracycline is an antibiotic used to treat infections with bacteria, mycoplasma, rickettsia (e.g., Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), spirochetes (e.g., leptospirosis), and Chlamydophila (e.g., psittacosis).
Whereas Cephalosporins are broadspectrum, I will not use the brand Rilexine on my GSDs the first time they have had a course they have been fine, second time they have had severe stomach ulceration resulting in further treatment with Cimetidine.

Thankyou wildmoor. I am a little confused??? Is Tetracycline another name for rilexine?? If rilexine can cause inflammation of the stomach then is it wise to prescribe it for gastric problems?? My boy had gut biopsies done and although they were unable to get to the small intestine they did take biopsies of the stomach. The results revealed inflammation in the stomach. He was on these antibiotics for weeks at a time. My vets said that he had ulceration of the stomach and oesophagus. The thing is right back at the beginning when the problems started my vets had very strong suspicions that the problem was sibo. They prescribed him a course of oxytetracycline which had very positive results and my boy even gained 3kgs of weight in a week. When these antibiotics stopped within 24hrs the diarrhea returned. I spoke to the vet and he said to put him on a further course of antibiotics. When I picked up the tablets I noticed they were different and were specifically for bacterial skin infections. Phoned the vet to query if a mistake had been made (previously my boy had a hot spot and was on antibiotics for this) but they said it was the correct medication and they didn't have any oxytetracycline but rilexine was the equal alternative.
From then on he went down hill, yes at times it stopped the diarrhea but he had gradual, steady weight loss. He now weighs a sad 30.5kg and he is a big fella. He should be getting to 40kg buy now.
Sorry i've gone on but I am so worried.

Yes, I had this prescribed by my vets (an RCVS Hospital, so not a small concern!), and I remember I questioned it too at the time, and I was told just like you were, that they didn't have his "usual" ab's in stock, but these would do the same job but at the time I think he was getting Metronidazole for a giardia infection, although he has had them for his skin problems, but if you like, I can go backthrough my invoices and see which condition these were for???

It's making me wonder whether this is a new product and they're kind of pushing it, as they do, just like our doctors do for the benefit of the drug companies.

I have to say though, we had no ill effects here after he had the course, but of course, that was a first with these, so next time I might be refusing them! Good luck with the specialist's visit.

Thanks for replying. Yes please, could you look through your invoices I would find that most helpful. My boy has been through so much and we are still waiting for lab results to rule out other things. He was tested last year for epi but we are retesting to double check. I have to say the professor was very baffled by things but the one thing he did ask me was why if he responded so well to oxytetracycline was he not continued on it. There was an awful lot of confusion over his history I have a feeling that the chain of events as I remembered it and the printed out history that my vet provided didn't quite stack up? Then to make it worse when the prof spoke to my vet on the phone he then gave another completely different history. How things differed so much I am not sure but I will be asking the prof when I next speak to him (he's not back till monday now) I have just finished weaning him off prednisolone and the prof said when the diarrhea returns start him back on the oxytetracycline. Last night his guts were really complaining and his stomach taut with gas. This morning his poo is very, very loose with absolutely no form. Checked with another vet at the referral clinic if I can start the ab today or do I have to wait till he is scouring. Thankfully she said start today. Please, please let it be as simple as controlling his condition on a course of antibiotics even if it means him being on them long term if they can build him back up that is no problem. His muscle on his temperal lobes has even started to waste away. He is such a handsome boy but he really looks so poorly it's breaking my heart. He's still only a baby at 17months and should be looking in tip top form. He weighed more when he was 5 months old!
Going back to the relexine if they are using it for gastric problems then why can I not find evidence at all on the web? The only thing I can seem to find out with this drug is that it can cause inflamation and ulceration of the stomach lining in some cases????? Unfortunatly this could fit for my boy as his biopsies said this!

Also another thing that has happened today has frustrated me. I called my regular vets to see if they could get together all the invoices for the work that I have had done on my boy and also could I have a copy of his history notes. I thought if there had been queries re his history I could compare them to his invoices and perhaps make some sense of what seems to be a complete shambles. Also so much has happened in the last 6 months with my boy he's been on medication so many different times and pretty much weekly visits and all the tests under the sun I feel I need to get things straight in 'my' mind of what happened when and what medication was he on. Unfortunately though on asking my vets they said that they would put together the invoices but it is not their practice to release history notes to owners. Hang about, he' my dog! Surely I have the right to access them even us humans have the right to see their notes!!!!! I'm feeling so let down by my vets I have always really rated them. I am hoping when we get to the bottom of all this that my vet didn't make any mistakes or errors of judgement and the treatment that they gave was relevant and it can sit comfortably with me that they did everything possible for my boy.But for some reason as we go on I becoming more and more doubtful this is the case.


p.s sorry for going on but i'm actually finding this very therapeutic to off load here as it is going to take a while to get all the facts together and I am going outta my mind with worry!!!

My last dog had epi, and I remember one of her tests coming back "borderline" so we took her off the pancrex powder, mainly because I couldn't get it anywhere at that time but of course (knowing what I do now, that it is a condition for life!) I insisted my vet had the test done again because of her constant bouts of SIBO (Oh I know it well!) Have you asked your vet about the Vit B12 injections which apparently help this too???

I'll go and check out the invoice for when I had the Rilexine now then, I'll be back.

Yes helena I did ask about the vit B12 with my regular vets because it came back very low and his reply was," I suppose he could have it but I can't see it making any difference" At that point I felt very embarressed and thought that once again the info that I had found on the net was more like opinion than fact. So what did the refferall guy do straight away, oh what a surprise gives him a B12 injection and pending lab results may have to continue with regular injections!
As I mentioned earlier are these basic errors made by my vet or are these elective treatments just a matter of personal choice? The info on the net suggests that vit B12 'can' play a vital part in the treament of gut problems.

Right I'm back! YES, I definitely had them for my old boy's serious and ongoing ear problems (very deep infection) because they were prescribed to me back in June 2008 (and I didn't have the puppy then, and the old boy only ever went to the vet with skin problems, or his bad ears, prior to the puppy's arrival when they both had that giardia), Anyhoo, he had them in March 2008 (56 of them) June 2008 (56 of them!) then again in July (28 of them), and then lo and behold another 56 at the end of July that same year (so at least you know they are well safe!). Have to say, they are rather expensive too!!!

That must have been the reason I questioned it with them, because they had previously given him the metronidazole so when I saw the Rilexine I thought it was odd, but they said they would do the same job.

The bad news is, they obviously didn't cure his deep ear infection because I had to have him knocked out and his ears thoroughly flushed and cleaned inside and since that time I've never looked back!

Personally, I don't think they're very good do you going on the amount my dog had and his infection problems still ongoing??? I would add that this dog has suffered with atopy (severe skin problem) all his life, and skin and ears go hand in hand together, so to sum up, I would definitely say these particular ab's are for skin wouldn't you???

When both my dogs had that awful SIBO last summer (went on for weeks and weeks) they were both prescribed metronidazole.

When you say the test came back "very low" did you get a copy??? What was the tli count??? Going on 4 is VERY high and affirmative, but then again, my dog's very first test I think was only around 2! I know the last test (when my vet said I'm wasting my money coz she "doesn't have it anymore" came back with a tli of 4!!!! SOME vets!!!! He sure had his tail between his legs though when the test came back, don'tcha just love that bit!!! He once told me he's going to come round myhouse and break my keyboard on this puter!!!!!