Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Gluten In Rifaximin/xifaxan?

sfc83

Recommended Posts

sfc83 Rookie
sfc83
Posted

I was recently diagnosed with small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) after a positive lactulose hydrogen breath test. My GI has prescribed me Rifaximin. I called the manufacturer, Salix Pharmaceuticals, and they could not confirm that Rifaximin is gluten free. Has anyone taken this antibiotic, and if so, do you know if it contains gluten? I would also be interested in knowing whether anyone had an adverse reaction to Rifaximin.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

What exactly did they say? Most manufacturers, in my experience, will say something to the effect of "we don't use any gluten containing ingredients but don't test our final product... blah blah blah" which is a CYA statement. No manufacturer (to the best of my knowledge) guarantees that their drugs are gluten free because it creates a liability issue, but most will state whether or not they use any gluten containing ingredients in a particular product.

 

If this manufacturer doesn't know, contact other pharmacies to see what generic manufacturer they use and contact those manufacturers. You aren't tied to a particular pharmacy.

sfc83 Rookie
sfc83
Posted
  • Author

What exactly did they say? Most manufacturers, in my experience, will say something to the effect of "we don't use any gluten containing ingredients but don't test our final product... blah blah blah" which is a CYA statement. No manufacturer (to the best of my knowledge) guarantees that their drugs are gluten free because it creates a liability issue, but most will state whether or not they use any gluten containing ingredients in a particular product.

 

If this manufacturer doesn't know, contact other pharmacies to see what generic manufacturer they use and contact those manufacturers. You aren't tied to a particular pharmacy.

Thank you for your reply. They just said that they could not guarantee that the medication was gluten free, and they pointed me to an ingredients list, listed below. I did look on www.glutenfreedrugs.com , and Rifaximin was listed as gluten free. I am always a bit paranoid however, since manufacturers change ingredients/suppliers from time to time, which is why I was curious if anyone on this site had reacted to the medication. Regarding generics, I do not believe that they currently exist for this antibiotic.

 

Each 200 mg tablet contains colloidal silicon dioxide, disodium edetate, glycerol

palmitostearate, hypromellose, microcrystalline cellulose, propylene glycol, red iron oxide,

sodium starch glycolate, talc, and titanium dioxide.

 

Each 550 mg tablet contains colloidal silicon dioxide, glycerol palmitostearate,

microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol/macrogol, polyvinyl alcohol, red iron oxide,

sodium starch glycolate, talc, and titanium dioxide.

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

I would just call them back and ask if any of the ingredients are sourced from wheat. You aren't asking for a guarantee, no such thing exists in the pharmaceutical business. Even Apotex, which is a gluten free manufacturer, will not make such a guarantee because of legal reasons. You just want to know if the ingredients come from wheat which you can't know by reading what the ingredients are on a list. I honestly don't know a thing about the ingredients in drugs, I always just call the manufacturer and talk to them. For anything I take regularly I call them every 3-6 months for a "checkup" to make sure they're still safe. I just ask if the it is gluten free, point out I'm not looking for a legal disclaimer, I just need to know if anything is sourced from wheat. They are always more than happy to help.

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted

Hi SFC, and Welcome to the Forum  :)

 

The ingredients as you listed look fine.  As Addy said, they have a typical CYA statement.  For me personally I would be satisfied and take the drug as prescribed.  If you have an adverse reaction to the drug it will not be caused by gluten.

 

Hope you feel better soon.

 

Colleen

sfc83 Rookie
sfc83
Posted
  • Author

I would just call them back and ask if any of the ingredients are sourced from wheat. You aren't asking for a guarantee, no such thing exists in the pharmaceutical business. Even Apotex, which is a gluten free manufacturer, will not make such a guarantee because of legal reasons. You just want to know if the ingredients come from wheat which you can't know by reading what the ingredients are on a list. I honestly don't know a thing about the ingredients in drugs, I always just call the manufacturer and talk to them. For anything I take regularly I call them every 3-6 months for a "checkup" to make sure they're still safe. I just ask if the it is gluten free, point out I'm not looking for a legal disclaimer, I just need to know if anything is sourced from wheat. They are always more than happy to help.

Thank you for your reply, Adalaide. This helps a lot.

sfc83 Rookie
sfc83
Posted
  • Author

Hi SFC, and Welcome to the Forum  :)

 

The ingredients as you listed look fine.  As Addy said, they have a typical CYA statement.  For me personally I would be satisfied and take the drug as prescribed.  If you have an adverse reaction to the drug it will not be caused by gluten.

 

Hope you feel better soon.

 

Colleen

Thanks Colleen, I am planning to give it a go with the drug. Hopefully all goes well.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. nanny marley
      - nanny marley replied to hjayne19's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      22

      Insomnia help

      I do believe that people are under so much pressure up have a sleeping pattern , with working and how households work these days , but in reality there is no wrong or right at to sleep , I believe your neighbour showed this with such a long life , I do exactly the same at night many times so I hope I live into my nineties also , I have found one thing...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      47

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      Try adding some Thiamine Hydrochloride (thiamine HCl) and see if there's any difference. Thiamine HCl uses special thiamine transporters to get inside cells. I take it myself. Tryptophan will help heal the intestines. Tryptophan is that amino acid in turkey that makes you sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner. I take mine with magnesium before bedtime...
    3. Known1
      - Known1 replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      12

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      I live in the upper mid-west and was just diagnosed with marsh 3c celiac less than a month ago. As a 51 year old male, I now take a couple of different gluten free vitamins. I have not noticed any reaction to either of these items. Both were purchased from Amazon. 1. Nature Made Multivitamin For Him with No Iron 2. Gade Nutrition Organic Quercetin...
    4. SilkieFairy
      - SilkieFairy replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      I am doing a gluten challenge right now and I bought vital wheat gluten so I can know exactly how much gluten I am getting. One tablespoon is 7g so 1½ tablespoons of Vital Wheat Gluten per day will get you to 10g You could add it to bean burgers as a binder or add to hot chocolate or apple sauce and stir.
    5. Scott Adams
      0

      Celiac Disease Beyond the Western World: Hidden Populations, Changing Diets, and Growing Awareness

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,362
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Jac3
    Newest Member
    Jac3
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • nanny marley
      Insomnia help

      By nanny marley · Posted

      I do believe that people are under so much pressure up have a sleeping  pattern ,  with working and how households work these days , but in reality there is no wrong or right at to sleep , I believe your neighbour showed this with such a long life , I do exactly the same  at night many times so I hope I live into my nineties also , I have found one thing in life your body knows what's best so good to listen to wat it needs however unconventional that maybe 🤗
    • knitty kitty
      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Try adding some Thiamine Hydrochloride (thiamine HCl) and see if there's any difference.  Thiamine HCl uses special thiamine transporters to get inside cells.  I take it myself.   Tryptophan will help heal the intestines.  Tryptophan is that amino acid in turkey that makes you sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner.  I take mine with magnesium before bedtime.
    • Known1
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Known1 · Posted

      I live in the upper mid-west and was just diagnosed with marsh 3c celiac less than a month ago.  As a 51 year old male, I now take a couple of different gluten free vitamins.  I have not noticed any reaction to either of these items.  Both were purchased from Amazon. 1.  Nature Made Multivitamin For Him with No Iron 2.  Gade Nutrition Organic Quercetin with Bromelain Vitamin C and Zinc Between those two, I am ingesting 2000 IU of vitamin D per day. Best of luck, Known1
    • SilkieFairy
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By SilkieFairy · Posted

      I am doing a gluten challenge right now and I bought vital wheat gluten so I can know exactly how much gluten I am getting. One tablespoon is 7g so 1½ tablespoons of Vital Wheat Gluten per day will get you to 10g You could add it to bean burgers as a binder or add to hot chocolate or apple sauce and stir. 
    • Wheatwacked
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.