Brain fog on an antibiotic - has this ever happened to you?
August 16, 2019 6:57 AM Subscribe
So I'm taking a short course of a commonly prescribed antibiotic for an infected cut. I feel like I'm having a weird reaction to the antibiotic.
The infection is getting better, hooray! And I was told by the doctor that since the science has changed on the whole "take the entire course of antibiotics" thing, I can discontinue as soon as it's truly better rather than slogging on for ten days.
However, once I'd taken two doses of the antibiotic, I was so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open - just out of the blue. I went to bed and the next day I was so fatigued that I couldn't go to work. Today I'm off work and still feeling really fuzzy-headed. I'm not physically tired, I have no other symptoms that I notice, but I feel as if I pulled an all-nighter even though I've slept probably fourteen out of the past twenty-four hours.
I just can't think what else it could be besides the antibiotic, since the cut is almost entirely healed and cool to the touch, I don't have a fever, I don't have swollen lymph nodes, etc.
Has anything like this ever happened to you? What was the upshot?
The infection is getting better, hooray! And I was told by the doctor that since the science has changed on the whole "take the entire course of antibiotics" thing, I can discontinue as soon as it's truly better rather than slogging on for ten days.
However, once I'd taken two doses of the antibiotic, I was so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open - just out of the blue. I went to bed and the next day I was so fatigued that I couldn't go to work. Today I'm off work and still feeling really fuzzy-headed. I'm not physically tired, I have no other symptoms that I notice, but I feel as if I pulled an all-nighter even though I've slept probably fourteen out of the past twenty-four hours.
I just can't think what else it could be besides the antibiotic, since the cut is almost entirely healed and cool to the touch, I don't have a fever, I don't have swollen lymph nodes, etc.
Has anything like this ever happened to you? What was the upshot?
Seconding aspersioncast's thought. You may think you're not allergic to penicillin, but I thought that too until I discovered that one day I was — after half a lifetime of taking penicillin, I took it in my 40's and got a big rash, which my doc diagnosed as an allergic reaction. Of course, if you're fine now, there's no urgency, but you ought to tell your doc before he or she prescribes it again.
posted by ubiquity at 7:09 AM on August 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by ubiquity at 7:09 AM on August 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
This has happened to me, on both flagyl and azithromycin. Doctors prescribe the latter to me in the form of a z-pack fairly often, as I'm allergic to penicillin. I always feel just nebulously awful and almost flu-like during the first few days.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:01 AM on August 16, 2019
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:01 AM on August 16, 2019
Yep - every time I take cephalexin/Keflex I am totally wiped out for the duration of the treatment. The last time I was on it was for a not-yet infected foot puncture wound, so I wasn’t sick beforehand and could clearly tell the exhaustion was due to the meds. The times before that I took it for mastitis, which is exhausting in itself, so it was harder to tell then what was illness and what was a drug side-effect.
Anyway, I figured a week+ of exhaustion was better than an infected foot / boob, so I always finished out the prescription. But yes, it feels like your body is constantly swimming against a strong current - you are not alone!
posted by Maarika at 9:39 AM on August 16, 2019
Anyway, I figured a week+ of exhaustion was better than an infected foot / boob, so I always finished out the prescription. But yes, it feels like your body is constantly swimming against a strong current - you are not alone!
posted by Maarika at 9:39 AM on August 16, 2019
ugh. yes. doxycycline makes me feel like I am in a fog and miserable.
posted by evilmonk at 10:24 AM on August 16, 2019
posted by evilmonk at 10:24 AM on August 16, 2019
I'm a doctor
I need to know what antibiotic you're on to answer your question
posted by BadgerDoctor at 12:41 PM on August 16, 2019 [3 favorites]
I need to know what antibiotic you're on to answer your question
posted by BadgerDoctor at 12:41 PM on August 16, 2019 [3 favorites]
Antibiotics screw up my stomach which often manifests as feeling run down and crappy. If you aren't taking them on a full stomach do, and consider taking a ppi as well to protect your stomach.
posted by ch1x0r at 4:29 PM on August 16, 2019
posted by ch1x0r at 4:29 PM on August 16, 2019
These are the 10 most prescribed antibiotics in order of popularity.
amoxicillin
doxycycline
cephalexin
ciprofloxacin
clindamycin
metronidazol
azithromycin
sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim
amoxicillin and clavulanate
levofloxacin
Fatigue and cognitive impairment (aka "Brain Fog") are known side effects of the five written in bold.
If the antiobiotic you're taking IS NOT one of these, something else is wrong and it could be any of a million things. Call your doctor tomorrow
posted by BadgerDoctor at 6:17 PM on August 16, 2019
amoxicillin
doxycycline
cephalexin
ciprofloxacin
clindamycin
metronidazol
azithromycin
sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim
amoxicillin and clavulanate
levofloxacin
Fatigue and cognitive impairment (aka "Brain Fog") are known side effects of the five written in bold.
If the antiobiotic you're taking IS NOT one of these, something else is wrong and it could be any of a million things. Call your doctor tomorrow
posted by BadgerDoctor at 6:17 PM on August 16, 2019
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posted by aspersioncast at 7:02 AM on August 16, 2019 [2 favorites]