Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with antibiotics

How worried should I be about my symptoms?

suncoursing — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:08:41 -0800

Should I be worried about this? I went to the doctor this morning to get checked out for cold/flu symptoms; I didn't think it was serious -- I just wanted to check that I didn't have H1N1, but the doctor told me that the treatment I'd been getting for prostatitis was "highly unusual for someone in their 20s", and he said I should immediately stop taking the antibiotic I'm on (Septra/Bactrim) because I might be having an allergic reaction to it, or possibly an autoimmune reaction. The doctor told me, in the strongest possible terms, that I should write up a description of the treatment I've received so far, with dates, and bring it to another urologist to get a second opinion. Since I won't even be able to schedule an appointment until Tuesday, and it will probably be a week or two before I can actually get in, I might as well post here to see what opinions MeFi experts (or non-experts) have about this.

About a year ago, while seeing a sports medicine doc for an ankle sprain, I offhandedly mentioned that I was waking up once or twice a night to urinate, unless I avoided drinking any water during the afternoon. She said that was just part of getting older, and that I shouldn't be worried about it. My symptoms gradually got worse, but I avoided seeing a doctor for a really long time because the deterioration was so slow, and I'd already been told it was just a natural part of getting older. Eventually, it got to the point that I was waking up every couple of hours to urinate. My life was a total disaster. I was too tired to functon at all. At that point, three months ago (6/26), I went back to the same doctor, who did a urine culture (negative) and prescribed a week of doxycycline (100 mg, twice daily). My symptoms completely disappeared for a couple of days, but they eventually reached a midly annoying steady state level (waking up every four hours or so).

After going off the doxcycline, my symptoms started getting worse, and I got a referral to a uroligist, who did a urine culture (negative), and a DRE (inflamed prostate). He put me on a month of Cirpo. My symptoms cleared up after a few days on Cipro, but after a week or so they went back to the same steady state (waking up every four hours) that I had when i was on doxycycline. After the course of Cipro was up, my symptoms got worse, and I went back to the same urologist (on 08/19) who did another urine culture (negative), a semen culture (negative), and perscribed a month of Septra (800 mg/160mg, twice daily), and gave me some samples of Enablex to "experiment with". The same thing happened again: my symptoms initially went away, and then they came back, but weren't as severe as they were when I wasn't on antibiotics.

I started the Enablex last Sunday (8/30), but stopped last Thursday (9/3) when it didn't seem to help.

And now for the symptoms that really seemed to freak out the doctor I saw today. Three days ago (9/23), while applying sunscreen, I noticed that the lymph nodes in my neck were tender and swollen. I also had some mild eye irritation that I'm not sure how to describe. It felt really uncomfortable, in a weird way, if I moved my eyes to an extreme position (e.g., if I tried to look right without turning my head).

You know that gunk you sometimes have in your eyes when you wake up? My eyes kept generating that stuff all day Friday, and by the end of the day, my eyes were really watery and bloodshot. It looked like I'd been crying all day, but it wasn't affecting my vision. This morning, when I woke up, I had a mild fever, a sore throat, my lips felt like they were burning very mildly, and my eyes were tearing up enough that my vision was just a tad blurry. Like I said above, I went to see a doctor to make sure I didn't have swine flu, and after giving the above description to the doctor, he sounded really worried and told me to stop taking Septra immediately, and that I should see a different urologist as soon as possible. Also, he gave me Erythromycin ointment, in case I have an eye infection, and Optivar drops for the eye irritation.

Since this morning, things have gotten a bit worse. For a while, my eyes were watering so much that tears were streaming down my face. It's not quite so bad now, but my vision is still blurry enough that I wouldn't feel comfortable driving, or even cooking The burning on my lips is a lot worse; I can see skin blistering off my lips and the inside of my mouth, and my ears are red and warm to the touch.

Just as an aside, the urologist I'm seeing seems poorly organized. I called them up this week when I noticed this pattern of my symptoms getting better and then worse again every time I started a new antibiotic, and the nurse I talked to told me I should give it time since I had only been on Cipro for a week (when I had actually been on Cipro for a month), and that I had only been on Septra since last Monday, barely more than a week (when I'd actually started the Septra two Wednesdays ago). The last time I called, asking if I should refill my prescription of Cipro after two weeks, the nurse responded to all my questions with "you should come in and see the doctor", but when I did, he spent about thirty seconds with me before writing me a another prescription for two weeks of Cipro, which I didn't even need, since my previous prescription was refillable.

Sorry for the typos and grammatical errors; it's hard to proofread when my vision is like this.

Also, can anyone recommend a urologist in Austin? The doctor I saw today avoided recommending a particular urologist, telling me I should call my primary care physician for a recommendation, but who knows if they'll even be around on Tuesday?

Drugs are bad, mmmkay?

inoculatedcities — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:29:27 -0800

Recommend an excellent, comprehensive book on the history of antibiotics? After burning through Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson's Napoleon's Buttons and Michael Pollard's The Botany of Desire I've decided to seek out books with a similar, historical approach to other interesting molecules.

In particular, I'd love to read a comprehensive history of antibiotics (especially a technical one that's not aimed at lay audiences/bestseller lists like the admittedly still quite good books I mentioned above). I know Thomas Hager's The Demon Under the Microscope is a popular book that chronicles the discovery and history of sulfonamides, but I'm looking for something that covers the whole spectrum of modern antibiotics. Any recommendations would be most appreciated.

C. difficile help.

futureisunwritten — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:47:12 -0800

Questions about C. difficile (and dealing with illness). About three weeks ago, Mom had a root canal and was put on strong antibiotics. As a result, she ended up in the hospital with Clostridium difficile, which they treated with Flagyl. Gradually she was able to resume her normal daily activities again.

A few days ago, she started feeling sick again and went back to the emergency room. The doctors said the C. diff is back. She started taking another antibiotic (I'm pretty sure it's Vancocin because when we picked up her medication for her, I commented to Dad that at first glance I thought the label said "Vicodin").

Mom is obviously in terrible discomfort and she seems really worried. What can she do to help her situation? What can I do to help her? Is there any way I can cheer her up and make her more comfortable? She's pretty bummed right now. I'm also getting very worried about this and I don't have much experience dealing with sick people.

I'm also wondering about the short and long-term effects of this on her heatlh. Mom is 61. She has never been overweight, no major health issues, quit smoking 15+ years ago, eats well, and is under doctor supervision. You are not her doctor AskMe, but I hope you can help.

You can tell which doctor I would prefer to believe.

sarahj — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:18:45 -0800

Which doctor should I believe? I take doxycycline for acne and Apri for birth control. When I went to Planned Parenthood a few months ago for information on methods other than the pill, I asked about interactions between the two and was completely reassured by the doctor there that I had nothing to worry about and the pill would work fine while i was taking the antibiotics (this was one of the main reasons I decided not to get an IUD). I went back about two weeks ago to get a new prescription, and the (different) doctor noted the medications I was taking and made no comment. But yesterday I went to the dermatologist to get a new antibiotics prescription and she warned me that I should be extra careful with my birth control and that the antibiotics could lessen the pill's effects. So now I'm mildly freaking out. We use condoms too, but after a little bit of initial entry. Who can I believe about this? Who could I ask to get a definitive answer? Is there any definitive answer?

How do antibiotics work?

captnkurt — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:56:22 -0800

Woke up Tuesday morning with a killer sore throat, swollen lymph nodes making it painful to swallow and a low-grade fever. A doc visit this afternoon confirmed I've got some sorta creeping crud and I was given a prescription of antibiotics, (Amoxicillin tablets 875mg). Can someone describe in detail what exactly happens when I take the stuff, maybe in a timeline format? How does it wipe out the baddies exactly (i.e. what mechanisms does it use to kill off the bugs?) In my mind, it's all kind of a black box: pills go in, eventually the bad stuff gets wiped out. I would just like to have a clearer picture in my head of how the battle is being fought in the trenches, so to speak.

Should I take the antibiotics?

nzero — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:41:59 -0800

MediFilter: Should I take the antibiotics for my staph infection, even though it's getting better? Saturday morning I woke up with what looked like a spider bite on the top of my foot. By Monday evening it was hurting like hell, so I went to the ER thinking I had a brown recluse bite or something. Doctor at the ER said it was a staph infection, MRSA by the look of it. She gave me a prescription for a couple of antibiotics and sent me on my way. I tried to fill the prescriptions that evening, but the power went out at Publix (yay free antibiotics) so they weren't able to fill them until the next day. I just happened to have an appointment with my family doc Tuesday morning for something unrelated, and got him to look at my foot. He said it didn't look like MRSA to him, took a culture to test and told me to take the antibiotics until he knew more. I got the prescription filled later that afternoon, but didn't take them right away. The next morning (Wednesday) my foot was looking a lot better and the pain was pretty much gone. I decided at that time that I'd just ride it out unless the test results (which I should have tomorrow) tell me it's MRSA. Is this a bad idea? Am I running the risk of blood poisoning or some weird thing by not knocking this out right away? I'd really love if my body could kill this on its own. I'd call and ask the doctor this, but they're closed today.

Occasional deep coughing problem after chest infection

lndl — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:43:07 -0800

Why am I occasionally getting coughing/breathing problems still when swimming after a 2 week course of antibiotics for a chest infection 2 months ago? ( I am very fit). Ok, it's a bit complitcated. I'm a 46yo male. I've had mild asthma for about 15 years. (Rarely affects me, I avoid triggers and am very fit).

Usually the only problem is if I get an infection (flu) that might subsequently reach my chest. This happens maybe once every 2 years, as it did 6 weeks ago. I always immediately go to my GP, get an antibiotic and fine.

However after the last time, the first course of Antibiotics didn't clear the infection, so I did a 2nd course (6 days each). I don't ever recall taking 2 courses before. (I always take natural yoghurt after antibiotics to replenish intestinal flora and alleviate tiredness also).

Anyway, problems still arise. Here's how: I'm a long distance swimmer. I train between 1 & half to 2 hours a day, 6 days a week normally, with occasional longer swims (in the pool at this time of year).
A couple of times after this course for a few weeks, when doing some explosive sprints, I started to cough, getting a feeling of mucus/matter deep in my lungs. Intensive intervals didn't product the same coughing effect.
Last week I was doing a 10km, 3 and a half hour straight swim, constant speed, for distance training. I started to get a "tickle" in my throat at about 2 hours and was constantly coughing for the next hour and a half. I finished my swim but it was tough, all that coughing under water, affecting my oxygen levels. I was apparently very pale after the swim.
About 7 hours later, I had a very difficult coughing fit for about 10 minutes, feeling like I was trying to "clear" mucus from my chest. It left me with sore lungs for the next 2 days. (The training day after a long swim is easy and the day after that is my rest day).
Tomorrow I'm due a 12km 4 hour swim. I'm nervous the same thing will happen again although I've been fine all week.
I would go back to my GP but I've been unemployed for almost a year now and can't afford it at moment without a more concrete reason.
Any thoughts appreciated.

Help me fix my antibiotic-shredded stomach!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:26:32 -0800

How do you fix a stomach blitzed by antibiotics? I just got out of the hospital, where I was on an IV drip of crazy strong antibiotics for three days (for a kidney infection). They also made me take a bunch of mineral supplements (magnesium and potassium mostly) that shred my stomach under the best of conditions. And while I was there, they didn't let me eat for almost 48 hours because they kept doing CAT scans to check the progress in my stupid kidneys.

So- I'm coming off of almost two days of a totally empty stomach, the good bacteria balance in my stomach is totally destroyed, and all the mineral supps have just added to the problem. Every time I try to eat my stomach just clenches up in pain that comes in waves and almost doubles me over.

I have talked to my doc about this and he said to take acidophilis pills, which I am, and I'm also guzzling yogurt. But it's been two days now and I've yet to see any improvement, and I'm freaking starving. Can anyone recommend any other OTC meds or supplements or foods that I can take to quickly rebuild my, for lack of a better word, ecosystem?

Thanks in advance!

Ugh. Make it stop!

missuswayne — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:05:47 -0800

How do I heal my gut? I have a history of IBS, and years ago I had an H. Pylori infection. After the infection was taken care of my gut was good for several years, no real issues to speak of. Since I had my kids a few years ago, my tummy's been on a bit of a rollercoaster, especially in the last year. Recurrent gas, terrible sharp pains an hour or two after eating, alternating diarrhea and constipation. Thought it was gluten (nope), dairy (nope), coffee (nope).

Coincidentally (or not?) I've been on antibiotics several times in the last 4 or 5 years, and I've had about 7 or 8 courses in just the last two years. I have severe allergies and have taken the antibiotics for recurrent sinus infections.

I now suspect that perhaps the antibiotics have obliterated the good bacteria in my gut. I eat yogurt (Stonyfield) most days, and I'm trying to increase my exercise (to get my intestines moving regularly and normally) but I'm looking for guidance as to what other things I can do to heal my gut from the antibiotic assault.

(I know you're not my dr, I've got an appt with a gastro coming up. Just looking to get a jump on things.)

Ear infection: please help!

high0nfire — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:28:53 -0800

For an outer ear infection, how do I get the medication drops safely past the pus to the infected ear canal? So 3 days ago I started to feel a tinge of pain between my ear and jaw hinge. I did the wait-and-see for a day and it got worse pretty fast. I have old vicodin that still works that I was taking for the pain (when I needed to sleep and focus on work, ear pain is terribly distracting) So I go to the doctor, he looks in my ear canal and says "yes it looks enflamed" and prescribed me the Neomycin/Polymixin/Hydrocortisone drops. The first couple applications were pretty easy, I could feel them drip down the canal, all was good. After two applications, I thought I could feel some blockage in the ear canal. here is where my stupidity begins.

I get the bright idea to flush my ear out with warm water to try and flush the pus/wax/whatever out so the medicine can coat the entire canal. Well i sort of went crazy. Probably 20 minutes of flushing ensued, with no payoff wax-boulder tumbling out. After I gave up, I used a hair dryer on low to dry my ear off, didn't use a q-tip or anything.

My wife gets home, looks in my ear and says "there's no wax/pus blockage, but your ear canal looks about 1/3 the width of the other one". So I go to bed and in the middle of the night I wake up (probably 4-5 hours after the flushing) and my ear canal is totally blocked. It's swollen shut and sounds like I have one of those -30db earplugs in my ear. Also the pain is way worse, so now I have to take a 2 year old vicodin to function, which does the trick fine but once it wears off i'm in pain city again. The problem I then discovered was that I can't get the drops to go down my ear-canal. I'll sit there with my head tilted for like 5 minutes, then straighten up and out they come.

So i go back to the doctor today (different doc, thanks HMOs) and tell him the story about the flushing and what not. I don't tell him about the vicodin cuz I know it's illegal cuz the prescription is expired and I know not telling him was a mistake. So he takes the ear-looker-inner instrument and plunges it (much like a jilted lover would a dagger into their betrayer's heart) right through my swollen-shut canal (OUCH!) and says "yeah it's infected... you might also have a middle ear infection too but I can't see through the outer canal so lets put you on 10 days of amoxicillin just to be safe".

An hour later (the vicodin was worn off) my ear hurt SO friggin much, i'm not sure how much of it was from the infection or the breaking of my ear-canal-hymen by the good doctor. My wife tried to apply the drops but she said the ear canal was very tight and spackled with yellow pus. So the medicine just sits on the mouth of the canal and doesn't go down. It might have gone down a LITTLE, but after 15 minutes of wiggling my ear , pulling the lobe around trying to let the medicine work it's way down, sitting up still put drops of the medicine onto my shirt collar. The second doctor was positive that my wife could drip the medicine into the canal and work it right down. Maybe the pus really formed after he shoved the instrument down the canal?

Anyhow, maybe most of this was uneccessary to write down. My ultimate question is: I'm on the amoxicillin AND the drops. The drops are blocked by the swollen canal and yellow-pus. How can I get the medicine down in there? They say don't put anything in your ear (and i think flushing with warm water made things worse, maybe i just did it too much) so what do I do?

If a medical professional could give some advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I assume I have to move the pus out of the way, right? I can't think of any other way. What I sort of think you will say is "you have to move the pus out of the way, so let your ear get wet in the shower and apply the medicine immediately"

Ear infections really suck, thank you in advance for your advice.

In retrospect, they probably would have prescribed me pain medication...

Tinnitus After Antibiotics

amyms — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:09:49 -0800

I'm recovering from a bout of pneumonia for which I was prescribed a 5-day course of Azithromycin. I'm feeling much better, but I'm bothered by tinnitus. Googling has revealed that my antibiotic may have cause this. If so, will it go away eventually and/or is there anything specific I can do to help it go away? I really don't want to - and can't afford to - pay for another doctor visit if this is something that will go away on its own. What I'm hearing/feeling can best be described like the sensation that occurs when holding a seashell to one's ear (e.g. I can hear my own pulse making a "swooshing" sound) and I feel like I'm hearing other sounds as if from underwater. If I'm having a conversation, I feel like the other person is miles away. I feel really disconnected from my auditory environment.

Any words of wisdom or advice (or reassurance) from others who have experienced this would be greatly appreciated.

Penicillin, you be illin'

saxamo — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:54:10 -0800

What are the lesser known dangers of penicillin that the pharmaceutical companies don't want you to know? Hi all,

I've recently come down with a bad case of tonsillitis. Upon visiting the doctor for diagnosis and testing and whatnot, she had prescribed me penicillin VK and Tylenol. I'm not touching the Tylenol.

However, I DO want to get better sooner than later for a number of reasons. I never really take pharmaceutical drugs and so far I have mostly been making myself garlic soups and eating dark green veggies. I've tried looking online for the information that the pharma's DONT want you to know, but, as you can imagine, its hard to find.

So would there be any short/long term damage to my body by taking the antibiotic? I'm not allergic, and the only stuff I've read about talks about increased energy in people. I'm a bit of a naturopath, so information from that sphere would benefit me most.

How do I prevent yeast infections while taking antibiotics?

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:29:41 -0800

Has anyone prone to yeast infections been able to protect themselves while taking antibiotics? I want to start taking antibiotics (doxycycline) to treat my acne. It's my last resort. However, I am extremely prone to yeast infections. Will taking acidophilus supplements be enough? How much to take? I have been trying many, many routes to treat my acne, and I would now like to try doxycycline. However, a few years ago I absolutely devastated my good bacteria balance by taking a few rounds of Cipro, and I've been extremely prone to stubborn yeast infections ever since. Right now I'm clear, and I would like to stay that way.

I'm going to be taking acidophilus both orally and vaginally, but I don't know if that's enough and don't want to risk it. Has anyone had any experience doing this and succeeding at staving off the yeast?

Minocin is pretty, Minocin is good

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:34:24 -0800

Husband diagnosed with long-term staph infection. Is this MRSA? And should/can I get tested to see if I have it too? Background: My husband has had a bad rash for almost a year and after six months, I finally made him go to the doctor. One round of antibiotics sort of helped, but the rash came back worse a few months later. A GP and a dermatologist have given him three rounds of various antibiotics (Amoxicillin, Bactrim which resulted in a bad allergic reaction, and Levaquin) before finally running a stress test to figure out what this is resistant to. They've got him on something else this time (Minocycline), but it'll be two weeks before we know if it worked. It's a "penicillin-resistant" staphylococcus infection. Is this the MRSA everyone is talking about? Are MRSA and garden-variety staph two different things?

As for me, I've been experiencing fairly bad chest pains (lasting a few hours each) about three or four times a month for a few months now, pains which I chalked up to acid reflux. A glass of milk helps, but laying on my chest works better. My hips are so achy every morning that I hobble like an old lady at 25 and I feel generally crappy. These are all symptoms of a bad MRSA infection. And from what I've heard, sometimes people don't discover it's MRSA until they're gravely ill. I don't know if my symptoms are enough to merit a doctor's visit, though. Is there a test for MRSA? Should I get it? Is that what I should tell the receptionist when she asks the reason for my visit? (I'm already iffy about my GP--I went in to rule out a thyroid issue that might've caused recent weight gain issues and was sent home with a script for anti-depressants and an order to lose weight. I don't want to get the same pat on the head treatment this time around, considering MRSA is some nasty stuff that can result in ER visits and worse.)

I feel so incredibly uninformed by both of our doctors that I am not sure what to do except switch doctors and try this all over again with someone else (which is impractical, as our deductible is very high and we're paying for every single visit and test out of pocket). Is this my hypochondria or anxiety or is this is a "VISIT THE DOCTOR NOW!" situation? I'm incredibly frustrated and embarrassed and I don't know what to do. Googling "MRSA" is not helping my fears. YANAD, but it helps to know what to expect, what I should ask when I visit the doc and what others of you might have experienced in a similar situation.

Should I take these antibiotics even though they are mine?

grablife365 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:00:52 -0800

Should I risk taking these antibiotics for my abscess or just wait a few more days? Backstory:
I have an abscess in one of my lower teeth on the right side.
Night of May 23rd I went to the ER for antibiotics and pain pills.
The prescription lasted that week.
I was to head into my Dentist but couldn't.
This week the tooth itself doesn't hurt so bad but the abscess isn't completely gone. Almost but not quite.
I'm going to the dentist this Thursday no exceptions but my mother is insisting that I use antibiotics from a cousin. I don't like the idea but I read that the infection can spread quickly and get into other areas like the brain and heart so I'm a little freaked about waiting any longer than I already have. How should I handle this? Should I risk taking them or just use salt on the abscess for now?

Medicine information:
I was prescribed Penicillin VK 500MG
Cousin has Sulfameth/Trimethoprim 800 which was subbed for Bactrim DS

thank you.

Antibiotics+alcohol+birth control=?

ad4pt — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:57:33 -0800

Antibiotics+alcohol+birth control=? I am currently taking Yasmin and I'm near the end of my cycle (I start the placebos in two days). I have to take antibiotics twice a day for three days (I'm on the second day). I drank alcohol today and I had unprotected sex. Ridiculously stupid decision, I know.
I remembered that antibiotics supposedly don't work when you drink and birth control doesn't work when you're taking antibiotics. Does the alcohol cancel out the antibiotics which now won't effect the birth control? Should I wait until I'm done with the antibiotics and take a morning after pill on monday? What should I do?

Is my kitty sick or in need of a nose job?

schroedinger — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 04:42:48 -0800

Does my cat have a chronic respiratory infection, or is it possible she just naturally has poor breathing passages? Ever since my partner and I adopted her and her sister in August she has had periodic coughing and hacking fits that have been relatively unaffected by three separate rounds of antibiotics. Now I wonder if maybe she just has the equivalent of a deviated septum, or whether it's time for hospitalization. When Victoria and Margaret first came to us four months ago, they both had coughing issues. The vet said it was kennel cough, prescribed us antibiotics, and after two different rounds Margaret's issues stopped entirely. But Victoria continues to have problems, despite finishing yet a third round of a third antibiotic in October. The cough mainly occurs when she is purring vigorously. She will start coughing and hacking, followed by swallowing, as if she's hacking up phlegm and swallowing it. Occasionally the fits will become so violent it sounds like she is throwing up and swallowing it. It is heartbreaking to watch and I worry she'll choke, but after every incident she never seems much worse for the wear, if slightly sedated for the next ten minutes or so.

There are a couple of reasons why I wonder that this may not be due entirely to illness. One, there are no other symptoms of disease--no fever, listlessness, watery eyes, runny nose, etc. Two, after the first round of antibiotics her condition improved somewhat, and has since then stabilized and hasn't gotten better or worse with subsequent dosages. Three, Margaret hasn't gotten sick again, and they're around each other all the time so there are plenty of chances for re-infection. And four, Victoria is pretty wheezy when she sleeps. When sleeping deeply she snores loudly and regularly, a very high, wheezing snore that sounds like something in her nasal passages is blocked up. So maybe that has something to do with her fits?

Anyway, I am not entirely sure where to go from here. She's been put on three different kinds of antibiotics, and I imagine if this is an infection the next step would be hospitalization so they could give her some really strong stuff. But if it isn't an infection, that could just be a futile effort that does nothing but develop antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

And f it is just a nasal passageway thing, well, is there anything I can do? Kitty neti pots? Kitty MRI/X-ray and a subsequent kitty nose job?

I plan on talking to my vet, but I was wondering if anyone could give me insight to similar experiences with their dog or cat.

Festive Red Colouring - Not always a "Good Thing"

dancinglamb — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:16:32 -0800

Cipro or Christmas Tree causing the Red Itchies? I was diagnosed with a UTI on Saturday (four days ago). I filled the script for Bactrim DS and started it immediately (I also took some AZO). Late Monday afternoon the doctor's office called, saying they needed to switch the script to Cipro based on the urine culture results.

I picked up the script Tuesday morning and was told to take it ASAP by the pharmacist I told her that I had already taken the Bactrim that morning. She said that it wouldn't make a difference since it wasn't working against the infection. Besides, I wasn't feeling better, anyway.

I took the Cipro around 12:30pm. By 6:30pm, my face (mostly my cheeks and along my jawline) was kind of hot, red, swollen and itchy and looked/felt like a prickly heat rash. I'm allergic to penicillin and erythromycin but those send me into big hives and vomiting.

The complication in all of this is that I was virtually buried in my Christmas tree for most of the afternoon (the fucking thing kept falling over and I was trying to fix it). I don't if it was a reaction to the sap or the meds. So, I waited till about 9:30pm, and called the doctor, who said to take Benadryl and wait it out. He doubted it was the Cipro since I've taken it before with no problem. He said that since it didn't seem like a major reaction, it was more important to get the abx going to try and knock out the UTI before it got any worse.

The red itchies still haven't really gone away, nor has the swelling. Problem is, I've stayed away from the tree until this afternoon. I finished decorating it and all the itchy nonsense is about 60% worse. But now added to that is now flank pain (didn't have that until a few hours ago) and the UTI nonsense is still in full force. I took the Cipro this morning. I'm on 500mg dosage.

Any ideas? And yes, I'm swilling water. And cranberry juice. Low sugar cranberry juice. And I hate yogurt, so I'm not eating it, even though I know I should be.

Is antibiotic residue in food making me sick?

bloggerwench — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:04:39 -0800

Is it possible that sulfa residue in food is causing my daily asthma/allergy symptoms? In a nutshell: extremely allergic to sulfa antibiotics, moved to US about 11 years ago after being raised eating mainly food grown nearby or by neighbors, began having asthma/chronic cough issues shortly thereafter. Batteries of allergy tests have never been able to ID the trigger. Recently realized that sulfa is one of antibiotics that farmers here feed livestock as if it were some kind of candy. First of all, for the purpose of disambiguation, sulfa antibiotics ≠ sulfur. Also, I know you are not a doctor and that even if you are, you are not giving me medical advice, I have lots of my own doctors that I see all the time, and I am undergoing standard treatment protocols (Singulair, Advair) and am under the care of a pulmonary specialist.

I found out I was allergic to sulfa antibiotics around the age of 13, when I went into anaphylactic shock after taking a standard dosage; since then, I have been avoiding them, which I imagined was an easy thing to do. Turns out that might not be so easy to do in the US. Shortly after moving here at the age of 18, I began having trouble with chronic, year-around asthma and allergies, primarily in the form of cough-variant asthma.

Outside of my sulfa allergy, I have not encountered many allergy problems. Pollen, dander, and the other usual suspects make me sneezy and watery-eyed, but they don't cause asthma attacks. I've had allergy skin tests and never reacted to anything besides the control test. I'm not one of your "I'm allergic to EVERYTHING" people, I guess I'm trying to say.

My diet includes meat and dairy; when I cook at home, I use organics, hormone- and antibiotic-free foods. Unfortunately, I eat out a lot, so most of the food I consume has potentially more dubious origins. Beef is something I rarely cook at home, but which I do eat a couple times a week in the form of hamburgers at local hotspots. The milk and dairy products I consume at home are never a problem, but those same things eaten in restaurants sometimes do cause reactions.

Due to some writing I have been doing about the beef industry, I found out that the feedlot for the beef I most frequently consume has had a run-in with the FDA over unacceptable levels of Albon® S.R. (sulfadimethoxine) in their beef. Cue freak out! This was the first time it occurred to me that I might in fact be getting pretty regular, low doses of sulfa.

I've never tied my asthma attacks to anything specific, beyond the fact that sometimes dairy makes me cough, and over the past few years my internal explanatory narrative has more and more resembled this. It has been pretty rough, I must say, with effects including two hernias from the horrible coughing.

To wrap this up, I had a burger with a friend last night, and wham, huge asthma attack a few hours later. I'm not trying to do the whole after-and-therefore-caused-by argument, but it seems at least possible that there is a connection.

Tangentially relevant articles I have found online include this alert regarding dangerous levels of sulfa in a Canadian honey a while back, this article on antibiotic levels in milk, and these lecture notes, which claim that there have been no cases of reactions to sulfonomide residue in food. The latter articles seem to challenge the idea that harmful levels of sulfa may actually be in our food.

So, my questions for the hive mind:

1. Has anyone else tied consumption of sulfa residue to allergic problems, especially asthma? If so, what has helped? How about any of the other antibiotics that the FDA is ok with allowing in our food and to which many people are allergic: i.e., penicillin, tetracycline, etc. (Anecdotal and researched findings are equally welcome.)

2. Are there foods beyond meat (including poultry), eggs, and dairy products that might contain traces of sulfa residue? I'm going to try to eliminate the foods I mentioned from my diet for a while and see if that helps the asthma.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Are my cats meds actually good for them?

Braeog — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:00:47 -0800

I have two cats, both with a mild respiratory infection, and the drugs the vet gave us aren't making much sense to us. Can anyone help explain? I have two cats that both had a respiratory infection that we treated, but the treatment didn't seem to hold very long, and the infection has come back/continued, and we're treating them again with some slightly stronger meds.

There are two meds, two bottles of each, to make one bottle of both types for each cat. Each cat is supposed to take a full dropper of both types until her bottles are empty.

What's confusing is that one of the medicines (the one being used up faster) is a powerful antibiotic, and the other is a steroid usually used as an immune suppressant. If the antibiotic gets used up first, why would we want to continue administrating an immune suppressant when the cat is no longer taking antibiotics?

This seems like a generally poor idea, at least to me, but then again, I'm not a doctor, or a kitty doctor for that matter. Any advice or explanation would be appreciated.

A good kind of freaky...

wafaa — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:33:57 -0800

OK, I've been relatively tired and achy all the time, but all at once... I have symptoms of fibromyalgia (so says my family doctor), I have been always tired, no energy to do more than the basics, pain pretty much daily--in my joints, mostly. This has been going on for, say, a year and a half.

Last week I cracked a wisdom tooth and my dentist said we're just going to pull it--don't need it anyway. He put me on antibiotics and, this is what's weird. Since taking the round of penicillin, I feel better than I have in months. I have so much energy, I just want to go go go. I am cleaning, I am cooking, I want to take long walks, I even sleep better. Coincidence? I can't think of anything I'm doing out of the ordinary to make such a difference; I just know I feel so, well, GOOD. I mean, I feel almost manic, and I don't have a history of mania. What gives? (not that I want to look a gift horse in the mouth...) Thanks for any opinions y'all may have.

Antibiotics and an abscess

A189Nut — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:34:15 -0800

Tooth abscess and antibiotics question I have a painful abscess on a tooth and have been given antibiotics. Will it speed up the healing if I up the recommended dose/take it more frequently? It hurts like hell.

How un/safe is it to drink alcohol while on antibiotics?

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:37:20 -0800

Is there anything really wrong with (moderate? binge?) drinking while taking a course of antibiotics... or is my (frequently preachy, moralizing, unctuous, underfunded, dodgy-quality) free clinic just trying to pull one over on me? I wouldn't normally try to second-guess any professional advice, but in the past I've really kind of gotten some overly-simplified, watered down, and sometimes just plain off-the-wall advice from the various low-income clinics I've utilized. I'm not calling the caregivers there incompetent or anything close--they're saints for doing what they do--but by and large they will dole out a pretty huge helping of homiletics about, say, making sure to avoid salty foods while they're stitching up a cut on your finger. They also won't usually go out of their way to clearly delineate the distinctions between or reasoning behind various instructions they give you.

They're working for the greater good... but it makes me suspicious.

So I got prescribed a 7-day course of antibiotics (doxycycline, if it matters [to treat my recently-contracted chlamydia... anonymity is fun!]) and was told to abstain from alcohol.

I'm no alky... but I'm having about a once-in-every-two-years gathering of 13 of my closest guy friends this weekend and I might want to tip a few back.

Is this a big deal?

I realize that whatever is said in this thread does not constitute medical advice and that by posting here we are absolutely NOT establishing a patient-doctor relationship.

Why should anyone take three weeks of antibiotics?

bash — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:45:32 -0800

Should I load my body with antibiotics for three weeks? I saw an allergist today for chronic (I mean really chronic) hives, and she said I wasn't allergic to anything, but then she gave me a shot of cortizone and three months of zyrtec. She only tested me for environmental allergens, but said that my body isn't acting like it's allergic to food allergens. Then she said I also have a chronic low-grade sinus infection and prescribed THREE WEEKS of antibiotics. I am very anti-antibiotics, as my body is VERY sensitive to them. I will get a gazillion yeast infections and will probably experience some skin burn also (as in the past). I am full of dread and haven't taken an antibiotic in over two years.

I had never seen this allergist before and don't know if I trust anyone that would prescribe such a heavy dosage of antibiotics. I feel pretty ok (except for the hives every day), do not feel sick, and am healthy enough to have ridden 60 miles on my bike on Saturday, so how can I possible need 400 mg of Avelox every day for the next 21 days?

Should I see another doctor? Don't bother with all the disclaimers. I assume you're not a doctor and am probably going to go see a different doctor anyway. Just curious about personal experiences.

Any solutions to antiobiotic allergies when they're needed?

ForeverAKid — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:27:01 -0800

Has anyone else had severe allergic reactions (e.g., hives, anaphylaxis) to antibiotics, and what did you do if you actually needed it? I'm kinda in a bind. I was supposed to have a root canal done today, but for all reasons, I couldn't because of my allergies to most antibiotics. I can usually take an antibiotic two or three times, but then I start having allergic reactions (have gone into anaphylactic shock from them), so have been told that if I start having allergic symptoms to stop taking the drug and put it on my "medications I'm allergic to" list.

Anyway, I was told that I do need antibiotics, but she wants me to go into a hospital to have that done. To be honest, the thought of having to do that terrifies me, but I'll do it. She said the infection isn't bad enough that I can't wait (I'm leaving for a trip in five days, which is the main thing delaying me here). She's more worried about the allergic reaction though than the infection itself (which is both understandable and scary to me).

I currently have no regular physician (I have an appointment to see one when I get back though). I'm just wondering has anyone else had anything like this, and honestly, is there any way to prevent allergic reactions like this? Even done in a hospital, the thought terrifies me of possibly going through anaphylactic shock again.