I just wanted to share my experience with Macrolide antibiotics. I realize that
drugs effect
everybody differently, but please take this for what it's worth.

I took two and a half courses of Biaxin XL (clarithromycin) 500 mg—twice for 14
days
following my first 2 ipls, and then for again for about 4 days following my 3rd.
I began to
experience the symptoms of a yeast infection during course number one. I visited
my
obgyn, who gave me a prescription for Diflucan (flucanazole) and told me take it
weekly to
keep the yeast in check. The symptoms of my yeast infection lessened somewhat,
but
persisted. I returned to the obgyn; he was unable to see any evidence of Candida
Albicans
(the most common species of yeast, responsible for most instances of overgrowth)
in the
microscope. I think he thought I was imagining things. But to appease me (I
guess) he
wound up having his lab do a culture. Two weeks later I was told that I have
Candida
Glabrata, a less common and very difficult to treat strain of yeast. This strain
is resistant to
most of the usual anti-fungal therapies. I'll spare you the details of the
course of
treatment I'm now undertaking, but can assure you that it is a drawn out and
very
unpleasant process (and not even guaranteed to work!). Apparantly this type of
yeast can
be extremely difficult to get rid of.

I've since read that, of the Macrolides (a powerful class antibiotics to begin
with)
clarithromycin is a particularly potent killer of lactobaccilli, the healthy
flora which, under
normal circumstances, inhabit our systems and keep candida in check. When the
lactobaccilli are killed, the yeast basically has free reign, and can overtake
things very
quickly.

Another interesting thing to note: Candida Glabrata, the resistant strain with
which I'm
now infected, used to be less common. Now, due to the widespread use of broad-
spectrum antibiotics AND what some consider to be the over-use of antifungal
medications (monistat, diflucan, etc.) accounts for almost 10% of yeast
infections.

I'm not saying that everyone will react in the same way that I have, but PLEASE
keep the
risks in mind when you use macrolides.

By the way, I'm now working to prevent post-IPL angiogenesis by supplementing
with
tumeric extract and soy isoflavones, as well as by drinking green tea throughout
the day
and consuming extra soy products.