Antibiotics and reactions

[torinsmom]

Are some people just more prone to reactions to medicines such as antibiotics? Seems like everytime I have an infection, the doctor wants to give me the newest drug and I always end up with some weird side effects. Septra made me feel like I was on speed, another one I can't remember made me feel like I couldn't breathe, etc. Today the doctor prescribed Avelox for a sinus infection and now my body hurts all over and I feel woozy. I am scared to keep taking it! I am going to call back and just ask for Augmentin. It gives me stomach issues, but at least I can treat that symptom.

Marsha

 

[lsyorke]

Avelox, and all the floxins, are known for their nasty side effects. One dose of Avelox and I had a heartrate of over 150 for 8 hours..never again.

 

[edwardsfire]

I find a z-pack works good for me.
Also, there is a one dose (drink) that is a highly effexctive antibiotic that i have used 2 times. Its easy, one LARGE gulp....well, 8 ounces, and you are done.
Sadly, i cant recall the name

 

[torinsmom]

My doctor says that Zithromax is not good for sinus infections(even though it worked when he gave it to me before) I love Zithromax and have never had a reaction of any kind to that drug. Some of the things I am reading about Avelox really scare me, so my first dose will be my last.(Luckily, the dr. gave me a coupon to get the precription for free) It also says it shouldn't be taken with ibuprofen, and he knows I take ibuprofen every day. Hopefully, I will feel better in the morning and I can get some augmentin to knock the sinus infection out.

Marsha

 

[npmommie]

I find a z-pack works good for me.
Also, there is a one dose (drink) that is a highly effexctive antibiotic that i have used 2 times. Its easy, one LARGE gulp....well, 8 ounces, and you are done.
Sadly, i cant recall the name

Zmax is the one dose oral ( its extended release )
same med as in the Zpack

 

[edwardsfire]

Zmax is the one dose oral ( its extended release )
same med as in the Zpack

Well there you go. no wonder it works..

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Bactim made me break out in hives the size of quarters & I had difficulty breathing.....had to use prednisone & Benydryl until it was out of my system

I have very strange reactions to medication...pain killers make me go 100 miles per hour, gives me insomnia & they all make me scratch like crazy.

The last time I had major surgery they finally just packed me in ice to stop the itching from the pain killers and I only took Motrin for the pain (I don't wish that scenario on anyone).

I've had 3 anticolinergic (sp?) reactions with meds that required being hospitalized.
Two research doctors will be meeting with me mid March....

 

[imabrat]

I have funky reactions to meds. I tend to stick towards Zpack for any minor infections.

I'm allergic to both Penicillin and Clindamycin. We learned the latter last winter. It's in the penicillin family and supposedly had "less that 1% chance of me having an allergic reaction". Yeah right. I was that 1% because I had a full on rash from head to toe for a week. I was hopped up on Benadryl the whole time.

Anesthesia makes me itchy after I wake up. Pain killers make me sleepy, nauseated, and sometimes itchy. The one steriod I was on (Decadron) during chemo made me itch in the weirdest places while it was being injected. (It injects over a 5 minute period) I can taste Saline flushes, and occasionally the Heparin flushes.
I'm a freak of nature when it comes to the medical world. That I know of, my slides are being used for education at the Mayo Clinic and University of Pennsylvania. I've made 2 record books for freaky, unheard of reactions to meds. I give my doctors a run for their money, let me tell you.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You know, I also have side effects now to. It is awful. I feel your pain.

You can discuss the meds with your doctor. I am careful now.

 

[Christine]

Wow, Avelox for a sinus infection. That's sort of like using the biggest explosives for the smallest of jobs. Avelox is typically used for things like pneumonia or more serious infections. It is not uncommon to experience hallucinations on this medication.

I'd seriously be questioning any doctor who feels the need to use the newest, fanciest, snazziest antibiotics everytime. Sheesh.

I also have reactions to meds. I am allergic to sulfa medications so I would get huge hives with them. Things like Amoxicillan and Augmentin seem to work okay with me. Keflex gave me terrible "runs"--terrible. Zithromax isn't too bad but by the last pill, my stomach is seriously hurting.

 

[torinsmom]

Well, I am also allergic to one of the general anesthesia drugs. When I had brain surgery, my temperature went up to 105 degrees as soon as they started me on anesthesia. They had to reverse it and use something else. I also had trouble with pain meds and after surgery, begged them to take away the morphine drip and let me take ibuprofen. After 24 hours, they finally agreed. The pain meds made me feel like the room was closing in on me and I could feel and hear time passing(I know that sounds weird)

I didn't know AVelox was a high power antibiotic. I think my dr. just had free coupons and thought he could save me some money I will call when they open up and have him call in Augmentin. It gives me stomach issues, but at least that is something I can deal with. This morning, my stomach is just killing me, so staying on this drug is not going to work for me at all.

Marsha

 

[golfgal]

Some people just don't react well to various medications. I know my sister has some reactions to some meds that when she was in the hospital they put the red "I'm allergic to..." band on her even though she isn't techincally allergic to whatever it is, she just has weird reactions.

I also think dosage is an issue. According to the 'adult' dose of something, my 200 lb husband and my 105 lb DD can take the same dose of whatever--I think that there are issues there as well.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I have weird reactions to a lot of medications.I've had allergic reactions to so many antibiotics that the few I could use were no longer working for me because I was using them over and over....I went to an allergist who told me to start taking an antihistamine before meds I had mild allergic reactions to, and I do much better.

For instance, I recently started a course of levaquin. It makes me sleepy but also interferes with my ability to stay asleep , so I try to take it early in the morning so it has less nighttime effects. I took it a 3 PM the first day (when I knew I was starting an infection) and took it at 8 AM the next morning. I think overlapping the dose schedule like that made me break out in a big fat ol' hive on my face, and my face flushed red. I have been popping Claritin everyday with the Levaquin, and I've been fine since.

I'm allergic to sulfa, amoxicillin, phenergan....I stopped breathing once with codeine....cipro causes me to have all-over muscle aches....Lortab interferes with my sleep and makes my heart palpitations worse....toradol makes me feel "stoned" in a very unpleasant way....so whenever I have to start a new med, I usually take half the dose the first time, just in case I end up having a reaction!

 

[daisax]

Fortunately I've never had a bad reaction to a prescribed medication (!) but some over the counter stuff has hit me pretty hard in weird ways -- mostly the stuff that knocks people out makes me hyper, and the stuff that makes people hyper sends me to sleep. For a while I thought that I had a weird reaction to caffeine and that caffeine put me to sleep, but the doc said it's more that I have a hyperreaction to the element of the medication that they put caffeine in to counteract.

There was some OTC allergy/sinus med that actually gave me hallucinogenic dreams -- stopped that right away!

 

[AmazingGrace]

I've had levaquin and it about killed me with the aches. It's been well over a year and i still have aches sometimes.

 

[MM27]

I've had levaquin and it about killed me with the aches. It's been well over a year and i still have aches sometimes.

I was on Levaquin last year for Bronchitis when the z-pack didn't work for me. I was really nervous about taking it because stupid me, went on the computer to see side effects and people were talking about hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, muscle tears, severe joint pain, ect. Luckily I didn't have any problems with it and after a 10 day prescription, my bronchitis was gone.

 

[krcit]

My dh took one dose of Levaquin for pneumonia last year and had the runs for 2 weeks!! He also had horrible leg aches. The Dr tried to give it to me for a bronchitis but I was afraid and stuck with my trusty z-pack.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

My dh took one dose of Levaquin for pneumonia last year and had the runs for 2 weeks!! He also had horrible leg aches. The Dr tried to give it to me for a bronchitis but I was afraid and stuck with my trusty z-pack.

Levaquin is one of the meds I can still take (knock on wood), although it makes me sleep like crazy....Ambien keeps me awake & Levaquin makes me sleep...UGH!
Z-pack gives me terrible rashing & a tight throat so that's off the list as well.

 

[Christine]

Levaquin is one of the meds I can still take (knock on wood), although it makes me sleep like crazy....Ambien keeps me awake & Levaquin makes me sleep...UGH!
Z-pack gives me terrible rashing & a tight throat so that's off the list as well.

And here I thought I was the only one who stayed awake all night with the Ambien.

 

[jx3smom]

I thought avelox was going to kill me recently. The joint pain lasted over a week after I stopped taking it. I had the severe side effects plus an alergic reaction (rash from head to toe) and also got the flu on top of all that. I've never felt so sick in my life.