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any one here had anxiety from too many antibiotics and end up on a benzo?


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I was on 9 different antibiotics for a recurrant infecton. one of them I had a bad reaction to (Generic form of Bactrim) and had severe anxiety. went tot the doctor and I tried to tell her I believe its because of the antibiotics. she did not believe it. so she put me on a benzo.  I  was on it  a year that  that included tapering. I am 10.5 months. I was told if I had anxiety before it will come back.

 

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I think this happened to me about 10 years ago when I was put on a higher dose of Biaxin for sinus infection.  My tongue swelled, was in the ER, was finally OK physically but now I recall that I was subsequently put on Xanax!  Must have had some medication induced anxiety but never connected it.

 

I have heard that the newer antibiotic Levaquin can really affect the nervous system!  Anyone should be careful of that one.

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My anxiety began with an adverse reaction to Levaquin (cipro class). This reaction is known as flouroquinolone toxicity. I was put on a benzo to help with the cns reaction, and now am trying to get off so my brain can heal. Our brains can heal. In time.
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[5a...]

If one of the antibiotics was a quinolone (Cipro class, antibiotics with "flox" in their name) then an anxiety reaction is quite possible. The quinolones are extremely neurotoxic and often cause a benzo-withdrawal-like reaction. Gulf war syndrome was caused by the Cipro given to US soldiers. The medical/pharmaceutical establishment and US government do not acknowledge this for financial/liability reasons, but every knowlegable person who's examined it knows it's true.

 

Other antibiotics are not known to cause this sort of damage. But I wouldn't rule it out. If you feel your anxiety is traceable to antibiotics then there may be a basis for your feeling.

 

My original (mis)diagnosis of GAD was actually due to Cipro toxicity. The Ativan that was given to me to "treat" the "GAD" ultimately caused even worse problems. I think after a few years of taking benzos my main problem was benzo addiction. I think 99% of the anxiety I felt after quitting was benzo withdrawal anxiety and not the Cipro poisoning from years earlier.

 

The good news is your brain ultimately *does* heal both from antibiotic damage and from benzo damage. It took me almost 2 years but at this point i am completely healed. You"'ll get there too. Don't pay attention to your idiot doctor.

 

Love,

CP

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

I am in the same boat but I took Doxycycline.  I have read a ton on antibiotics over the last 7 months and I have read that any antibiotic can inhibit gaba.  Cipro and the other antibiotics in that class have possible severe reactions both mental and physical because they contain floride. 

There are several different opinions as to why antibiotics can have this affect on people.  One is the gaba inhibition, they deplete the body of magnesium and others vitamins, and gut dysbiosis.  I think if I were you and I am working on this too is repairing your gut.  The reason I say this is because it is very possible that it did damage your gut and I believe benzos may too.  The majority of your serotonin is produced in your gut and a percentage of gaba is too among other neurotransmitters.

 

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I was recently on a lot of different antibiotics (intravenous and oral) for months, for major life threatening health problems.

 

Since then my anxiety is so much worse.

 

Nevertheless  I don't  know if it was all the different antibiotics, the stress from being very ill and hospitalized, the continued taper, other stresses or what? has caused my anxiety to increase. Probably all the above.

 

I just know that after discontinuing antibiotics that I was on for close to 3 months, my anxiety is increased substantially. I have no idea the actual cause, only guesses. I may have been floxed, since I was on Levaquin for a month.

 

 

 

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  • 5 months later...

Hi,

Yes! This is EXACTLY my situation. I’m new to the forum, but I was “floxed” by Cipro in February 2017. My symptoms started with burning nerve pain and quickly progressed to at least a dozen other thing including internal vibrations, head pressure, extreme restlessness, confusion, vision problems (blurry vision, floaters), anxiety, SCARY intrusive thoughts, derealization etc etc. I was desperate for relief and was put on Ativan in the ER, then switched to klonopin. Even on the klonopin I experience many symptoms both physical and psychological, but not at the level I did initially. This is horrifying and has upended my life completely. I feel hopeless often and like a constant sense of Doom thst sometimes morphs into something akin to existential terror. It’s hard to believe an antibiotic can do this, but I know it did. I’m so sorry this has happened to others here. It really is almost unfathomable. This time last year, I was the picture of health. No medications, nothing. Anyway, I know this is an older topic but I’d love to message with anyone who can relate. Hope all of you are improving since this topic was started and wishing you well.

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My anxiety and panic disorder started with the use of ciprofloxacin and an ignorant doctor who told me to finish the course, even though i was in panic 24/7.

Never take a fluoroquinolone class antibiotic unless your life depends on it, there's always some other antibiotic you can try.

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Hi Nickneedshelp,

I completely relate to this, so wish I didn’t. Went to the ER with my skin on fire, confusion, panic. Told them the warnings for Cipro. The Dr laughed at me, insisted Cipro doesn’t effect the CNS and condescendingly told me to go home and finish my medicine. He also gave me a benzo to mask what was happening and put “health anxiety” in my charts. I didn’t even have a GP at the time because I never went to the Dr, health anxiety was not my issue. It’s been a nightmare since. So sorry you were hurt by Cipro too. Hope you fully recover.

Best,

F2B

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Late to the thread here, but I can relate to much of this as well. I was on Cipro last spring myself, and while I didn't get many of the symptoms as described above, I did get a pretty bad case of insomnia and anxiety that eventually ended up in getting a prescription for Xanax in order to sleep. At over nine months out, I'm still having anxiety issues. Like others here, my doctors have also blown both drugs off as a non-issue.
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  • 3 weeks later...
I should be free later today if you want to chat or pm more. I have talked to lots of floxies and I have talked to many people tapering. If I can help you in any way, I would love to assist. I know how horrifying this is.
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  • 1 year later...

Hello,

I have been floxed too, and really like to chat.

Thanks

 

Welcome to BB! Sorry to hear that you've been floxed! It certainly isn't any fun is it? While there are a few floxies that are members here, I'd highly recommend going to Facebook and doing a search for either the "Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Group" or the "Fluoroquinolone Toxicity 24/7 Live Chat Group." Both groups have thousands of members there, and they've helped me a great deal. If you want to chat with others who've been floxed, either is the place to go.

 

Personally speaking, I'm pretty much beyond most of the damage that Cipro has had on me, but I still suffer from minor anxiety, insomnia, and occasional joint and tendon pain. Weird thing is, the joint and tendon problems started happening long after I was floxed. As I noted in one of my posts above, it was the Cipro that eventually led me to take Xanax. Needless to say, that was quite the double-whammy! Thankfully my issues are much more tolerable these days.

 

Hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck!

 

 

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