Severe Antibiotic reaction.. how long?

Hey there, newer around here. Just realized there was a protracted board. I’ll give a little background on my story.

 

I’m 26 & almost 2 years out from a series of adverse reactions from antidepressants that gave me ALL the symptoms and left me disabled. I tolerated them before, was in a mild protracted wd that I didn’t know was wd (mostly brain fog, dizziness, vision issues, feeling weird, sensitivity to medicines starting), tried to go back on ssris after being off 18 months and ended up with akathisia,chemical anxiety, intrusive thoughts and insomnia after 1 pill. I kept trying different meds for about 6 months getting worse each trial. I ended up with around 80+ symptoms. There was some benzo use during that period. Xanax made me depressed and klonopin just put me to sleep (these were at fractions of small doses) I used Ativan about a dozen times within a month after all the reactions, but it made me breathless so I didn’t like it either. I Didn’t understand anything that was happening to me for months, then I finally found the SA website thank god.

 

I stopped going to the dr and trying new things. Then I started getting better! I was recovering, getting maybe 5%  better each month, I was slowly getting my life back and was maybe 60% better at 18 months, things still sucked but getting tolerable. I was very sensitive to everything in my recovery, couldn’t even tolerate aspirin in month 14 (except I did take amoxicillin in month 2 without issue so I didnt think I had an issue with antibiotics). Sooo this is why I am posting... 3 months ago (month 21) I took 1 dose of amoxicillin and I immediately had a BAD reaction. This slowly worsened to worse than my acute phase, not exactly sure if it’s worse  but different/scarier. Kind of apples and oranges to serotonin vs gaba I think. I read penicillins can affect gaba. Then a month after that I had to get a wisdom tooth extracted (that’s what the antibiotic was supposed to be for) with carbocaine. Didn’t take any pain meds as I was too scared to get worse.

 

Holy crap guys, since then I’ve been rapid cycling through new & severe benzo wd like symptoms (severe mental & physical stuff) and some ‘floxed’ people symptoms (Achilles heel pain, popping joints). I don’t know where to turn. The antibiotic community hasn’t heard of this happening from amoxicillin, I know I’m not really a benzo person but I am definitely getting the waves of horrific terror, doom, intrusive thoughts,fear, hopelessness, painful depression, anxiety, ocd, DP, feeling like I’ll just drop dead any second etc. The reaction started off with akathsia, then more flu like, body pains, involuntary movements when falling asleep and then slowly morphed into the worst psychological crap ever. It seemed like it kept worsening which is why I am SO freaked out. My original recovery was more gradual and that really pulled me through the worst of it.  2 weeks ago when I had my monthly cycle was the complete worst ever and intolerable waves with that agitation... like I wanted to try to reinstate something bad. I’m hoping that was the peak. I’m still shaken by it.  I’m terrified of what this months pms/cycle will bring.

 

Is this a setback? Or since the antibiotic gave me some new cns symptoms is this something else to heal from?  Has anyone else had this happen? Is it going to keep getting worse? If this has happened to you PLEASE tell me how long it took to settle down for you. It’s been 90 days and I’m in hell. I know everyone’s different but I need some hope to hang on to. Im non functioning at this point. I just really need to hear from someone who has been through this and that these symptoms WILL calm down and I will survive and I will go on to recover.

 

I was doing so much better earlier this summer. I was accepting & relaxed with the process, my symptoms were dialed down a lot and had set patterns but hit a bad wave at month 19 with new symptoms like metallic taste in mouth, hypersalivation, nerve pain in teeth, digestive issues and even hemorrhoids for the first time in my life? which I thought was due to my infected wisdom tooth & led to horrid health anxiety & then adrenaline rushes when falling asleep.  But no, all those symptoms are still here too after the tooth was pulled.. Still trying to understand why I got new symptoms so far out? Ugh! Anyways, now every 1-2 hours is a complete different horror show, rapid cycling disaster. Im reacting to things I didn’t before, smells are asphyxiating, can’t watch tv again, feeling too terrible to distract or concentrate on much. A lot of stuff is also back from my first acute phase as well.  I’m so stressed out and don’t know how my day will go and have no set patterns anymore, have no idea what a baseline is anymore.  Sorry for the length just wanted to be thorough since my history is a bit different & I guess I needed to vent as well.

 

I know once I start seeing improvement again I can mentally cope and know the worst is behind me but holy crap has my life been turned upside down again! From amoxicillin.. really? Just devastated. Is all my progress gone?

 

Any words of wisdom out there?

 

Thanks,

Waiting

I was recovered from Ativan 7 years and took keflex for one week for a minor infection. The gates of hell opened up. Over the the next two weeks I developed more than 90 crippling symptoms. Lights out. Bedridden. Life came to a complete stop. Here it is 47 months later and I'm still suffering. 80 sx are mostly gone but the remaining sx are still extremely brutal. I was recently diagnosed with a few brain infections and viruses, which could be directly linked the antibiotic. Or, I already had dormant viruses that were triggered and exploded from the toxic antibiotic.

 

Most people are fine with antibiotics and have no reactions. I know at least 10 former benzo sufferers who had extreme, long-term reactions to antibiotics. It could be that the threshold was broken or that dormant infections were triggered by the chemical. I can't speak for them, but I know what happened to me. Here is a link from a British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology that explains that people with prior central nervous system (CNS) disease, renal insufficiency and advanced age may be particularly vulnerable to antibiotic toxicity. Encephalopathy, anxiety, seizures, myoclonus, behavioral changes, are listed among other symptoms.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3175508/

 

Christ, Deziner, I’m so sorry.

 

Scary.

I had a bad reaction to Bactrim - will not ever take that again. I'm really trying to recover, but it's hard, as my bp keeps going up. My doctor doesn't believe that Bactrim caused my bp to go up, but since I check it so often, I know it does. Am having plenty of lab tests. I just hope it didn't mess up my kidneys even more than they already are. The "gift" that keeps on giving - antibiotics! I finished it on November 22nd, and I don't know when the suffering will be over. Previously I was put on an IV antibiotic, and that was just as bad.

 

As soon as I got to the hospital, because I had extremely low sodium, my water was substantially restricted. This was not good because it didn't allow me time to heal. I see the mistakes made, but I can't blame the medical staff. I was also given a catheter for awhile. They took me off 6 of my bp pills, which caused another upheaval in my bp, though in hindsight, the pills were the worst offenders for low salt. I was SO GLAD to be out of the hospital! But it is scary dealing with this on my own!

 

I think I'll heal from this. I've read on here that 3 weeks seems to be about the time that people feel better from Bactrim. In the meantime, I'm doing everything I can to ensure that I won't have to repeat the antibiotics for a UTI!

Waiting,

 

Thanks. It has been worse than Ativan hell. And, lasting much longer. Never thought anything could match that insanity. I hope your reaction settles down faster than mine has.

 

Terry,

 

I'm glad you are out of the hospital. Just being near one gives me the shakes. Doctors never believe drugs cause anything. Pfffft. It always amazes me how an entire industry can be so willfully blind and delusional. When patients complain of side effects it's never the drugs they gave. Arrogant schmucks. My bp is generally low but immediately after taking keflex it was very high and my heart was pounding so hard I was certain I would die. It's back to normal but that sx lasted about a year. I can't believe you were on 6 bp meds. Holy cow.

 

Antibiotics can help heal and can cause extreme damage. They can really destroy the immune system. They are not innocent drugs. And, many think taking a probiotic will reverse any damage, that is naive and very wishful thinking. It's a crap shoot but I can never ingest another one. I trust none of them anymore. There won't be a third trip thru hell. I'm done.

 

Dez

What would you do for a UTI, Deziner? I'm so afraid I'll get another one. I've researched drugs, have looked up Keflex, and found what you discovered - people having very high bp. I could not go through that again!!! I am so worried at night about my bp that I've ended up staying awake for hours. I have no idea how much sleep I've actually gotten, but I'm always tired now.

 

It was a shock to be put in the hospital and have my pills dispersed to me. I didn't realize my salt had gotten so low, and 3 pills were the culprits. I'm not on them anymore, but I still worry. Hence the lab tests on Tuesday, at two weeks, and another doctor visit in a month. If they wanted to take pills away, they did, something I couldn't do on my own because of rebound hypertension, and they couldn't understand why I had high bp. It was the doctor who finally released me, said I didn't have to have a "good" bp upon getting out. By that time I was on the Bactrim, and my bp never did settle there. I was a complete mess!

 

So I understand your feelings about being in a hospital.

 

Thank you for responding, Dez! 

I am sorry that you are having a bad reaction to antibiotics.

I took during Amoxicillin  during my taper with no problem at all. I know that the ones that are "forbidden" for us are the fluorquinolones...

Hope your find your way out!

I meant this for the protracted board, if not it can be deleted as I’ve already posted in the other medications board about this issue. Sorry still figuring out this site.

I am sorry that you are having a bad reaction to antibiotics.

I took during Amoxicillin  during my taper with no problem at all. I know that the ones that are "forbidden" for us are the fluorquinolones...

Hope your find your way out!

 

Thank you!

Hey there, newer around here. Just realized there was a protracted board. I’ll give a little background on my story.

 

I’m 26 & almost 2 years out from a series of adverse reactions from antidepressants that gave me ALL the symptoms and left me disabled. I tolerated them before, was in a mild protracted wd that I didn’t know was wd (mostly brain fog, dizziness, vision issues, feeling weird, sensitivity to medicines starting), tried to go back on ssris after being off 18 months and ended up with akathisia,chemical anxiety, intrusive thoughts and insomnia after 1 pill. I kept trying different meds for about 6 months getting worse each trial. I ended up with around 80+ symptoms. There was some benzo use during that period. Xanax made me depressed and klonopin just put me to sleep (these were at fractions of small doses) I used Ativan about a dozen times within a month after all the reactions, but it made me breathless so I didn’t like it either. I Didn’t understand anything that was happening to me for months, then I finally found the SA website thank god.

 

I stopped going to the dr and trying new things. Then I started getting better! I was recovering, getting maybe 5%  better each month, I was slowly getting my life back and was maybe 60% better at 18 months, things still sucked but getting tolerable. I was very sensitive to everything in my recovery, couldn’t even tolerate aspirin in month 14 (except I did take amoxicillin in month 2 without issue so I didnt think I had an issue with antibiotics). Sooo this is why I am posting... 3 months ago (month 21) I took 1 dose of amoxicillin and I immediately had a BAD reaction. This slowly worsened to worse than my acute phase, not exactly sure if it’s worse  but different/scarier. Kind of apples and oranges to serotonin vs gaba I think. I read penicillins can affect gaba. Then a month after that I had to get a wisdom tooth extracted (that’s what the antibiotic was supposed to be for) with carbocaine. Didn’t take any pain meds as I was too scared to get worse.

 

Holy crap guys, since then I’ve been rapid cycling through new & severe benzo wd like symptoms (severe mental & physical stuff) and some ‘floxed’ people symptoms (Achilles heel pain, popping joints). I don’t know where to turn. The antibiotic community hasn’t heard of this happening from amoxicillin, I know I’m not really a benzo person but I am definitely getting the waves of horrific terror, doom, intrusive thoughts,fear, hopelessness, painful depression, anxiety, ocd, DP, feeling like I’ll just drop dead any second etc. The reaction started off with akathsia, then more flu like, body pains, involuntary movements when falling asleep and then slowly morphed into the worst psychological crap ever. It seemed like it kept worsening which is why I am SO freaked out. My original recovery was more gradual and that really pulled me through the worst of it.  2 weeks ago when I had my monthly cycle was the complete worst ever and intolerable waves with that agitation... like I wanted to try to reinstate something bad. I’m hoping that was the peak. I’m still shaken by it.  I’m terrified of what this months pms/cycle will bring.

 

Is this a setback? Or since the antibiotic gave me some new cns symptoms is this something else to heal from?  Has anyone else had this happen? Is it going to keep getting worse? If this has happened to you PLEASE tell me how long it took to settle down for you. It’s been 90 days and I’m in hell. I know everyone’s different but I need some hope to hang on to. Im non functioning at this point. I just really need to hear from someone who has been through this and that these symptoms WILL calm down and I will survive and I will go on to recover.

 

I was doing so much better earlier this summer. I was accepting & relaxed with the process, my symptoms were dialed down a lot and had set patterns but hit a bad wave at month 19 with new symptoms like metallic taste in mouth, hypersalivation, nerve pain in teeth, digestive issues and even hemorrhoids for the first time in my life? which I thought was due to my infected wisdom tooth & led to horrid health anxiety & then adrenaline rushes when falling asleep.  But no, all those symptoms are still here too after the tooth was pulled.. Still trying to understand why I got new symptoms so far out? Ugh! Anyways, now every 1-2 hours is a complete different horror show, rapid cycling disaster. Im reacting to things I didn’t before, smells are asphyxiating, can’t watch tv again, feeling too terrible to distract or concentrate on much. A lot of stuff is also back from my first acute phase as well.  I’m so stressed out and don’t know how my day will go and have no set patterns anymore, have no idea what a baseline is anymore.  Sorry for the length just wanted to be thorough since my history is a bit different & I guess I needed to vent as well.

 

I know once I start seeing improvement again I can mentally cope and know the worst is behind me but holy crap has my life been turned upside down again! From amoxicillin.. really? Just devastated. Is all my progress gone?

 

Any words of wisdom out there?

 

Thanks,

Waiting

 

Your story is so similar to mine. I was also polydrugged and had healed and gotten back to functioning at like 95%.

 

A few days of Macrobid sent me spiraling back into the pits of hell. I'm not even sure that the infection is gone, and honestly have no earthly idea where to go from here. 😔

Terry,

 

I know your concerns. I live it. There are a plethora of natural antibiotics available. I bought a book about them. Not all UTI are E. coli, many are strep, and the reason why D Mannose fails sometimes. And, the infection may not be in the bladder. It could be coming from other tissues, even the pons in the brain or infected teeth even if we feel or see no infection. Sometimes the dip stick will show leukocytes but no nitrites...meaning inflammation not necessarily a full blown infection. Check Earth Clinic for pages of natural UTI cures. It's very informative. I hope you can get over all this, it's horrific, I totally get it. You dont want a kidney infection and antibiotics can halt that. But, for me, I cannot take them at all. The first things to cut out are wheat, gluten, dairy, canola oil, and eggs of you can. They feed bacteria. I'd stick to a high protein, high fruit and veggie diet until infection goes away. But, that's my protocol.

 

Dez

What book was that Dez?

 

In that article you linked it says clindamycin doesn’t affect cns. Is that true? Would that be safe for people like us?

 

I’m really scared if I ever need an ab in the future. & I know no doctor would understand. I want to have kids someday.. I’m so scared I’ll need medicine.

Terry,

 

I know your concerns. I live it. There are a plethora of natural antibiotics available. I bought a book about them. Not all UTI are E. coli, many are strep, and the reason why D Mannose fails sometimes. And, the infection may not be in the bladder. It could be coming from other tissues, even the pons in the brain or infected teeth even if we feel or see no infection. Sometimes the dip stick will show leukocytes but no nitrites...meaning inflammation not necessarily a full blown infection. Check Earth Clinic for pages of natural UTI cures. It's very informative. I hope you can get over all this, it's horrific, I totally get it. You dont want a kidney infection and antibiotics can halt that. Buy, for me, I cannot take them at all. The first things to cut out are wheat, gluten, dairy, canola oil, and eggs of you can. They feed bacteria. I'd stick to a high protein, high fruit and veggie diet until infection goes away. Buy, that's my protocol.

 

Dez

 

Thank you, Dez. I don't want another antibiotic either. I'm sure that I got it in the hospital from being very stressed, being restricted in my water usage, and not having a shower the whole time (and I messed my pants and wasn't cleaned adequately - TMI - I should have demanded to be cleaned better, but I couldn't even stand up. I can't blame the people there, they did the best they could). I also had a catheter, a known cause of UTIs. Before that I hadn't had a UTI in probably 35 years. Yes, I have to take care of myself and eat well. I'm hoping it's GONE. I eat a lot of veggies and fruit, have to watch my protein intake, though. It's been a real challenge, this whole thing!

 

THANK YOU!!

I just wanted to swing by to offer a little hope. I've had a bit of a window open up today, after my run in with macrobid. Sending good vibes your way!

I just wanted to swing by to offer a little hope. I've had a bit of a window open up today, after my run in with macrobid. Sending good vibes your way!

 

Thank you. I’m glad you got a window! I’m rapid cycling through so much crap, every couple hours can be completely different. Today so far seems to be pretty intense restlessness, scatterbrained & muscle spasms.

Waiting,

 

It's called Herbal Antibiotics. I have no idea what drugs will effect you. I've researched antibiotics extensively for four years, have been in groups and read countless stories, and there's no way to know for sure how any drug will react. Just like benzos...millions are completely fine taking them and coming off. Only a subset are severely impacted. Just do the best you can. If you're dealing with a serious infection then you must do whatever you believe is right for you.

 

Dez

I just wanted to swing by to offer a little hope. I've had a bit of a window open up today, after my run in with macrobid. Sending good vibes your way!

 

How wonderful!!! What a pleasant surprise!!!  :thumbsup: You are healing!!!

 

I'm feeling better, too. That dreaded heart beat in my left ear has gone down (it was extremely loud before, and I hated hearing that every time I got out of bed and was just sitting; it was from the Bactrim!), and so has my bp.

I just wanted to swing by to offer a little hope. I've had a bit of a window open up today, after my run in with macrobid. Sending good vibes your way!

 

Thank you. I’m glad you got a window! I’m rapid cycling through so much crap, every couple hours can be completely different. Today so far seems to be pretty intense restlessness, scatterbrained & muscle spasms.

 

Gosh. Hang in there! I hope this leaves you soon!!

I just wanted to swing by to offer a little hope. I've had a bit of a window open up today, after my run in with macrobid. Sending good vibes your way!

 

How wonderful!!! What a pleasant surprise!!!  :thumbsup: You are healing!!!

 

I'm feeling better, too. That dreaded heart beat in my left ear has gone down (it was extremely loud before, and I hated hearing that every time I got out of bed and was just sitting; it was from the Bactrim!), and so has my bp.

 

Yes I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better!

Thank you, Muddlefoot!!