Help with antibiotics

[SickOfSickness]

Because of a probable infection I'm supposed to take antibiotics. They make me feel worse. Joints hurt (inflammation, I guess) and muscles feel weaker and ache.

This one is Clindamycin. I had the same aches from Amoxicillin and they lasted for a while after stopping. I read some bad things about it, but all the strong antibiotics have some bad effects. I am weak to start with.

I'm afraid the good bacteria are being killed and bad bacteria are multiplying like mad. Should I eat yogurt or take probiotics pills?

I would rather skip it all and take some herbal remedy, if I could believe in the herbs and get them from the local store.

I also don't know if I should take less than the full prescribed 300 mg. Prescribed to take every 6 hrs. I am way less than 150 lbs and I am so sensitive to drugs and supplements. I think I have a CYP450 problem and metabolize differently. Want to be sure I don't under-dose but some adults take only 150 mg.

 

[Sushi]

I'm afraid the good bacteria are being killed and bad bacteria are multiplying like mad. Should I eat yogurt or take probiotics pills?

I also don't know if I should take less than the full prescribed 300 mg. Prescribed to take every 6 hrs. I am way less than 150 lbs and I am so sensitive to drugs and supplements. I think I have a CYP450 problem and metabolize differently. Want to be sure I don't under-dose but some adults take only 150 mg.

The usual recommendation is to take probiotics after you finish the course of antibiotics. As far as lowering your dose, don't think you should do that without your doc OKing it, as you don't want to get resistant.

Just my 2 cents!
Sushi

 

[ukxmrv]

I've found it hard to tolerate antibiotics and am still trying to put togther the puzzle. Taking probiotics after AB's worked for a number of years but maybe after 20 years of repeat AB'a for different infection the probiotics had no good effect on my stomach at all. Did all the obvious things like try different ones. For many years early on I had no stomach problems at all. It happened over time.

In the early days taking Amoxicollin (and similar drugs) for the infected tonsils etc always left me worse off. I can tolerate a little amox every now and then without feeling weaker and poisoned but high doses for long periods led to very bad lows that took months to resolve. I have long list somewhere of the AB's that make me feel like that and I try to avoid the infections by simple things like gargling with salt, tea tree etc.

It can pay to keep trying AB's until you find one that will help with the probably infection that doesn't have such bad reactions or too try different methods. In my case I found that Doxycycline resolved most of my infections without the side effects of the poisoned feeling. Still don't have a cheap or very available way of resolving the stomach problems though.

For some reason (and I don't know how) taking Imunovir with the AB's seems to cut down on the bad reactions. No idea how this could possibly work.

Good luck. Hope you something that works without the side effects.

 

[heapsreal]

I would start with doxy and if u feel u are having a die off type reaction then just take a day or 2 off until things resolve, then restart. As infectious load reduces u should be able to tolerate doxy better. My understanding of doxy is that there arent the issues of drug resistance when stopping and starting etc. Once one can continually handle doxy then start to add other abx like azithro and use similar to doxy. These are bacteriostatic abx which means they dont kill bacteria but stop replication. After using bacteriostatic abx for awhile then they say too had bacteriocidal abx like amoxicillin/augmentin, flagyl etc which actually kill the bacterial infections. So adding them after bacteriostatic abx can help reduce die off reactions. Also doxy, azithro and other similar abx have anti-inflammatory effects which can help modulate the immune system and this can help people feel better. But like everything, everyone always seems to react differently and also many of these infections are co-infections, so can make many of us feel better but maybe not a cure as such.

cheers!!!

 

[Enid]

I was put on a course of Amoxcillan (following tooth extraction) - bit of serendipity here - felt awful during and after the treatment but suddenly much better and GI problems (inc bowels) eased. Assume die off involved. Extra probiotics used at specific times and after treatment to re-colonise the gut.

 

[heapsreal]

I was put on a course of Amoxcillan (following tooth extraction) - bit of serendipity here - felt awful during and after the treatment but suddenly much better and GI problems (inc bowels) eased. Assume die off involved. Extra probiotics used at specific times and after treatment to re-colonise the gut.

I had a similar experience with an ear infection which i was given doxy for. Felt awful while on it for a week but felt improvement for a few weeks afterwards.

cheers!!!

 

[Jarod]

Me three.

Anti-biotics can make one ache, make one's stomach hurt, make on feel sicker when they are working. "Endotoxins" is the name for that I believe.

Pro-biotics and sacrramyces are good for helping one's gut while on or off ABX.

The CPNhelp.org website uses NAC along with the ABX for liver health and bug killing. Might be something to check out if you plan on doing ABX long term. It can be nasty if one is not on ABX, or one's stomach can not tolerate though. Important to have at least a few good vitamins along with the ABX. D3, fish oil, and B vits and more. D3 on it's own can give die-off reactions.

Good luck.

 

[LHCTom]

Because of a probable infection I'm supposed to take antibiotics. They make me feel worse. Joints hurt (inflammation, I guess) and muscles feel weaker and ache.

This one is Clindamycin. I had the same aches from Amoxicillin and they lasted for a while after stopping. I read some bad things about it, but all the strong antibiotics have some bad effects. I am weak to start with.

I'm afraid the good bacteria are being killed and bad bacteria are multiplying like mad. Should I eat yogurt or take probiotics pills?

I would rather skip it all and take some herbal remedy, if I could believe in the herbs and get them from the local store.

I also don't know if I should take less than the full prescribed 300 mg. Prescribed to take every 6 hrs. I am way less than 150 lbs and I am so sensitive to drugs and supplements. I think I have a CYP450 problem and metabolize differently. Want to be sure I don't under-dose but some adults take only 150 mg.

Its difficult to give a good answer without knowing more about what kind of infection, how long is your course and why do you think you have a CYP450 problem? That being said, it would be foolish to second guess your doctor and change the dose as antibiotics won't work if the serum levels are too low and not fairly constant. A lower dose of 150mg will still kill gut flora since all of the antibiotic passes through your gut before being absorbed. I'm taking Ceftin for months due to Lyme disease. I take a good probiotic at every dose with a meal and midway between doses. If the course is short, its probably not necessary. If its long you want to keep trying to restore your gut flora constantly so you don't end up with clostridium difficile taking over or another small intestinal over-growth problem. Those are usually only issues for long courses and certain antibiotics can be more troublesome.

If your infection is a real problem and the course is say 10 days, just take the full dosage your doctor prescribed and go ahead and get a good probiotic and take it daily. Yogurt is good but good probiotics are probably better. Take both as it won't hurt you.

 

[Carrigon]

I'm on Avelox. I am definitely in MORE pain on this thing. But, third day on it and my brain fog has lifted! I feel clearer headed. And I think it's killing my sinus infection. I have had some side effects on the Avelox. It definitely makes you nervous. Weird aches and pains, headaches. I even had a weird feeling this morning of feeling taller. It reminded me of that old song, "one pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small" LOL. I'm supposed to be on this for ten days, too. And it is making me tired. It feels strong. So I'm in a state of wired but tired and have a clearer head.

Definitely eat yogurt! I've been taking this with yogurt and lots and lots of water.

 

[Ocean]

I'm on Avelox. I am definitely in MORE pain on this thing. But, third day on it and my brain fog has lifted! I feel clearer headed. And I think it's killing my sinus infection. I have had some side effects on the Avelox. It definitely makes you nervous. Weird aches and pains, headaches. I even had a weird feeling this morning of feeling taller. It reminded me of that old song, "one pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small" LOL. I'm supposed to be on this for ten days, too. And it is making me tired. It feels strong. So I'm in a state of wired but tired and have a clearer head.

Definitely eat yogurt! I've been taking this with yogurt and lots and lots of water.

Not be alarmist, but since you posted this once not too long ago
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/showthread.php?15592-Cipro-and-Fibro&highlight=cipro
I just wanted to point out Avelox is in the same family as Cipro so if you notice anything too weird, consider getting off it and asking for something else. From what I've read if you have a bad reaction it does have the potential to cause longer term problems. Especially look out for tendon pain. Sounds like you are doing find on it overall but wanted to mention this just in case.

 

[Carrigon]

I'm okay on that class of drug. And I do remember taking Cipro more than once in the 80's and it never did anything to me that I'm aware of. I was surprised people had such bad reactions to it. It's definitely a genetic thing if you are that sensitive to it.

I was scared to take the Avelox after reading alot of bad reviews of it. But inbetween the bad reviews were alot of people who said they only had mild problems and that's where I fall with it. Tonight, other than a bit of nervousness, I'm fine on it. And my brain fog really cleared. I'm just in more pain than usual and tired. But it's good not to feel so out of it.

I'm drinking alot of water with it and eating yogurt when I take it. I think the most important thing is lots of water.

Alot of the people who had problems with Avelox were on other meds and they conflicted with the Avelox. You cannot take any form of mental drug while on it. No antidepressants, no tranqs, nothing. And you can't take NSAIDS or aspirin with it.

I wouldn't recommend Avelox unless someone was able to take Cipro like I was. If someone is sensitive to this kind of drug, I definitely believe they can get the bad stuff on it.

 

[SickOfSickness]

I don't remember having any problems while on Cipro, but I'm scared of getting after-effects I read about.

 

[Carrigon]

All I can say is, my brain fog is gone on this drug. My head feels clear. I feel better today than I've felt in a very long time. I'm wondering if it's killing the lyme or the coinfections. It's doing something. I feel like I'm finally on the right antibiotic. They threw tons of them at me over the years. The only time I ever felt the fog lifting was on IV keflex and cephlosporine. But my insurance wouldn't pay for more than a few days on it. And then I went chronic. For the first time in twenty years, I've found another antibiotic that is actually doing something. I hope the clear head feeling lasts when I'm done with this. I'm on day four and have to take it for the full ten days.

 

[SickOfSickness]

Wow. I missed that part of your previous post. Brain fog clearing is amazing. I hope it lasts too.

 

[Athene]

Hi sickof sickness,

I haven't carefully read all the replies because I am too tired, but I just want to tell you

A) take probiotics as soon as you start taking the antibiotics, separating doses of pros and antis by at least 2 hours. Take at least 25 billion live bacteria a day. Live yoghurt will not get you anywhere near this.

B) the pain you describe sounds like an adverse reaction, not a side effect. Side effect means you have to put up with it, adverse reaction means it is dangerous and you have to stop. I think you should immediately contact your doctor about this and ask for an alternative antibiotic. There is ALWAYS an alternative. Read the leaflet in the pack to find out details of what your reaction could be.

C) don't lower the dose, the dose you are prescribed will be the necessary amount to achieve tissue saturation. If you take less, you'll get the harmful effects without the bactericidal benefit. If you feel too awful it is more sensible to just stop taking the stuff altogether.

 

[SaraM]

I am on amoxicillin for sinus and gut, but notice no difference. Tried Doxy for sinus once and could at least see some discharge indicating it was doing something.

 

[Carrigon]

Ninth day on Avelox. My face is pink! The first time in twenty one years, I have actual color in my face. I don't look like a ghost. But that's all it's seemed to do, and get rid of my sinus infection. I'm still getting POTS attacks. I'm still flaring up and hurting all over. I'm all flared tonight. The light hurts, everything hurts. But I have color in my face. So all I can think of is it might have killed or knocked down one of the lyme co infections. It has definitely done something. But I'm unwilling to stay on it long term. Avelox has way too many side effects and potential for bad stuff. But it's definitely curious. Like what would happen if I was able to stay on it for a longer period of time? Would it do more than give me back some facial coloring? Who knows.

 

[Carrigon]

Two days off the Avelox and the ghost paleness is back. The color is gone from my face. This proves two things. I'm suffering from some kind of biological infection. And Avelox is not strong enough to kill whatever it is. I don't think there is an antibiotic out right now that will kill this. Avelox is one of those last resort meds.

Lyme, co infections, micoplasma, or something else. Whatever this is, it's some kind of infection. Back in 91 the only thing that helped was the IV antibiotics of some kind of Keflex and Cyclosporine combo they had me on. But when the insurance ran out, they threw me off it and then I went chronic. But it was responding to that. I wish I knew what this was, the million dollar question.