Digestive tract symptoms and conditions

I was prescribed 7 days of Avelox 400 mg for bronchitis. On my fourth day of taking this medication, I began to suffer from severe abdominal pain, cramps and debilitating diarrhea. These symptoms were so bad that I missed a whole week of work. I was taking each pill with dinner in the evening and then I was up all night back and forth to the bathroom. I took 6 of the 7 pills and then refused to take the last one when it became obvious that Avelox was the cause of these symptoms (the only side effect listed on the bottle was dizziness, which I did not experience). I have now been off Avelox for 2 days and I am still suffering from severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. I am afraid to eat anything because it goes right through me and it is very painful.

I am taking probiotics now to regain the good bacteria in my digestive tract, but I am still in a lot of pain. My sister, who is a physician assistant, told me that it should take from 48 hours to a week for this to flush out of my system. She said that Avelox is an extremely strong antibiotic that she only prescribes for confirmed pneumonia.

I am otherwise a very healthy 42 year-old woman with no allergic reactions to any medications which is why it took me so long to make the connection. I would not recommend this medication to anyone and have told my sister that she should not prescribe it either.

These postings have really helped me. I feel lucky that I did not suffer more severe symptoms.

have taken 80mg of omeprazole for years without any side effects. it controls my diarrhea and prevents me constantly running to the toilet. as soon as i stop it i get ibd, and after staying off it for a year ended up having half my bowel surgically removed. it is harmless to me. all this talk of bowel flora etc has to be weighed against the protective effect it has on the mucosa of the stomach and entire digestive tract. yes maybe there are more pathogens running round but the defenses are also much greater.

I was diagnosed with pneumonia on July 6 and prescribed Levaquin 500 mg for 10 days. I took my last pill tonight and could not understand the pain in my right hip, red eyes which I suspect comes from the insomnia I have been experiencing since July 10. I am still having difficulty sleeping and tonight I feel extremely tire with discomfort in the back and shoulders. I wish I had read these comments earlier, I would have discontinue using this drug. I have not experience any depression, but lack of appetite, stomach pain and upset stomach. I have had intermittent diarrhea. How long will it take for this drug to get out of my system.

I was given it for a nasty kidney infection, but I swear it made me more sick than the infection ever could. I was lethargic and nauseated off my rocker, fevering, and trembling. I remember while I was recovering from the medication as I lay waiting for its 1 1/2 half life to expire, my room mate said it felt like we had a vibrating couch I was trembling so much. That all passed, but what has stayed with me for two years is a damaged, unpredictable, undesirable digestive tract. I get stomach aches and nausea a lot, and my bowel usually cramps and hurts. It stripped me of all the good flora I had in my tract and though mom gave me acidophiles bacteria (sp?) which has helped a ton, my tract has never ever been the same. People say I just developed IBS over the years, and if a doctor does give me a minute of their time, they just say that or it's stress or it's 'normal' as one doc tried to pass it off as. They just won't listen. Before Cipro my tract was strong and resilient, I took Cipro, then after Cipro it's so sensitive and unpredictable and painful. Thank goodness I found ginger, but this shouldn't have happened in the first place. I hope one day a doctor listens to me so I can find out what the Cipro caused, whether it's Colitis, Chrones, IBS... Ect... I don't even know what is wrong with me but I do know Cipro caused it. No one will believe the Cipro is what caused it... Now I am so anxious about it, which only exaggerates it. I get stressed and I can feel my gut start to spasm. Please someone help me... Please...

I am being treated for ulcertive colitis. I have been on prednisone since Sept of 08. I started out on 40 mg. In late Oct. my doctor started tapering me off 5mg per month. Each month following the tapering date, I would get sick. As I look back, all the signs of withdrawal were there. This Jan. I tapered once again, but the window was only 3 weeks. I hit rock bottom. If there was a symptom, I have it. Nausea, burning in my digestive tract, diarrhea every time I eat, muscle ache, numbness in my legs, swollen feet, sore bones and joints. ( The worst was in my feet. I ended up seeing a podiatrist. He thought plantar faciaitis until I told him about being on prednisone. The small bones in my foot were swelling, The muscles in my calf were buning they were so sore. That was last week. Today my other foot started. I can hardly walk. In addition to that, I am lightheaded, have elevated blood pressure, and fatigue. I also had some vision problems that sent me to the doctor. I went through a ton of testing which all were negative. It seems that pseudotumor is another symptom of withdrawal. I have a history of that. It would have been nice to know that. As I look back each month, I had different muscle and joint pain that lasted about a week. I was put on an acid reducer in Dec. to help my stomach, but in all of this time, I was not told that these all may be withdrawal symptoms. I have been off work for two weeks now in addition to the days I missed each month. My physician is now controlling the tapering procedure. They up the dose to 10 mg again. They plan on weaning me by 1mg doses. This has been a terrible experience for me. I have only been severely sick one other time in my life. This pain is awful. It is chronic. This drug may be beneficial, but it is like poison too. Anyone who takes this should really ask a lot of questions, and be careful..

Hi Gang,
I have a problem of my own with bactrim, but I want to start this post by saying I am an emergency room physician assistant and I prescribe bactrim all the time due to a number of reasons - one, it does, according to state guidelines, cover MRSA (people misunderstand that MRSA is a PENICILLIN resistant staph - but USUALLY responds to bactrim, levaquin, or cipro (ciprofloxacin). And two, traditionally bactrim is the cheapest and I personally try my best to keep my patients costs down (I have 6 kids and even I cannot afford the $800 a month cost just for insurance so we put money in a health savings account and pay cash for everything - though we rarely go for just "colds" like so many do). But I developed a UTI which tend to be real bad in men as we do not get them as much as women do - this is due to the urinary tract and anatomy differences. Almost ALWAYS a UTI is from E. COLI 80-90% of the time - don't let that scare you as it is a normal digestive enzyme - but outside of the digestive tract or if exposed to an outside source like bad meat - it cause infection), why that matters is some antibiotics, like zithromax, do not cover that bacteria.

Well, to the point. I started on it for my UTI, normal dose, 2 times a day. I noticed I was having some weird dizziness and even slurred speech - no rash. I noted in this blog that people worry SO MUCH about the rash, but the rash is usually not any big deal. We see it, but unfortunately what we see scares us more than what may be going on silently inside of us!

So I have these symptoms and now I have a lump under my jaw that I can hardly open my mouth and still slurred speech. The Mrs thinks I am taking something else or who knows what, but I almost felt like a stroke. No headache, some nausea at times, but no rash. The jaw pain and I guess a left side neck pain are pretty intense today. I am stopping the bactrim and I promise I will be a bit more sensitive to others who I prescribe it to! I was looking for side effects and came across this blog.

Jamie B. PA-C******

Oh my god. I can't believe I have just stumbled upon all these women talking about the same problems. Feeling chronic fatigue, depression, listlessness, anxiety and insomnia, bloating and loss of a sex drive! (THATS birth control for ya! Ha!) I also experience aching muscles, headaches, and a brain fog that makes me feel like a fraction of my former self. All of these symptoms, among others, can describe Candida overgrowth.

I have had my Mirena for 2 1/2 years, and I never put together these symptoms and the IUD! Even though they started shortly after my insertion, I also had some serious life circumstances happen to me and assumed I felt crummy from that. Also, I loved not thinking about birth control and was convinced that the small progestin-only tips had to be the most gentle form of hormonal birth control out there. And no period! Sweet. I also worked in the field of sexual health and trusted my doctor completely. I recall in hindsight getting really sick right after it was inserted, and asking my doctor if I could be having bloating and intestinal problems from it, and she said it was unrelated.

I called to make an appointment to have the Mirena removed shortly before finding this site, because since I have discovered I have candida overgrowth, I have learned it can be onset by hormonal birth control. Candidiasis Albicons is the same yeast that causes yeast infections, and when the healthy flora of the digestive tract are compromised, it can spread out of control, becoming systematic. That's what happened to me. If this sounds all to familiar, please check it out and see if you have it too.

I am getting better already, after committing for the last two weeks to the candida diet, where my body is detoxifying and I am coming back to life. (Many western doctors know very little about this, so don't be surprised if they laugh you out of the room and prescribe prosac. Trust your gut, literally ;)

I don't believe the Mirena caused my candida overgrowth, only that its a factor in it, like taking antibiotics or heavy metal poisoning. I felt compelled to share my story, because I am starting to recover, and I can't tell you how good it feels to feel better after 2 1/2 foggy years. Don't give up on your health.

Also, I am writing because removing the IUD won't fix your problem completely, just like it didn't completely cause it, so if you have think you may have systemic candida, find out. You will need to continue treating it after you get the IUD removed, so you get the full recovery you deserve. Hoping for more healthy ladies!

I have had my mirena since April of 2006. For the first two years it was the most wonderful thing in the world ( no cramping, spotting or periods). But lately I have been feeling very horrible. I have no desire to do anything. I am very tired, moody, gained weight (just around stomach area), depressed, joint pain and sik to my stomach. After reading a lot of the posting on this website. I realized that a lot of the women feel just like me. Now I know that I am not crazy. I also scheduled to have mine's removed on August 1, 2008 (yay!!!).

Why do I think I landed here, I have been having very bad mood swings mostly relating to anger and dissatisfaction in everything and everybody. Put the mirena in April 2008, braved it out for 4 months with the
1. spotting and all the time kept thinking that my
2. fatigue and no interest in everything was due the stress of having 2 kids, work and the pregnancy weight that I have to shed.
3. I am hungry always (maybe since I am breast feeding the baby)
I had a copper IUD between my first and second son,
4. I don't remember how that was ( am I in a mental fog?). must have been better than this one. I never wanted anything hormonal. I don't want pills. Dont even know why I went with this then. I know the doctor convinced me saying it has very little hormonal effects

Yesterday, I just lost myself over a silly issue, now I feel I am going to lose my wonderful relationships with people. My 3 yr old asks me If I am not angry any more uh!!!. Why cant I call the doctor to get it removed when I doubt it could be the IUD.
5.I am lazy( another symptom).

Do I have to wait a little longer or take it out and maybe get my self back.?
(What a question to an obvious answer)
Confused!!! lazy!!

I'm 19 and i've had mine since 2006...i've had most of these side effects but i never thought it was my IUD!!! I've always had an anxiety/depression/insomnia problem but it has gotten WAY worse over the past 2 years...i just never put it together.And i have had TERRIBLE cramps for 3 weeks now and i can't take it anymore.I've tried 3 or 4 times to get it removed but my doctors kept talking me out of it and telling me everything was fine,but obviously it's not so i'm getting it removed for real tomorrow @ 12:45!!!!YAY!!!!!!

i want to start off with IM SOOOOO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE!!!

i though.. well i wasn't actually sure what to think.. i got my mirena at the end of January 2008.. at first things were going good... yes my periods got longer.. 3 times longer then normal actually.. i wasn't too worried because the OB said that might happen at first. then slowly i started loosing my sex drive ( im only 25 that really shouldn't happen) started getting achy, especially in my joints, so i started drinking more water. then my clothes started getting tighter.. i cut out soda all together and started watching what i eat more closely..i have also had some pretty bad anexity attacks lately.. which i never had before i got this thing.. i dint know what to do i though i was going crazy.. i talked to my doctors and basically got nothing out of that.. im now in my 6th month of having mirena and i have gained almost 30 pounds!!!! yes i have been hungry all the time but i either restrain myself fream eating altogether or eat healthy snacks.. i exercise daily and still am unable to lose any weight.. the numbers on the scale just keep creeping up and up.. im am moody and easily worn out.. i have no energy at all.. which isnt good with a 3 year old that has more energy then the sun.. i had no idea that mirena could cause any of these symptoms.. but the more i have been reading about it and the more site like these i find, the more i realize that the most likely culprut of losing myself is mirena.. i have decided that on Monday im calling my OB and demanding she remove it!! i want my old self back again.. i wasn't perfect but at least ill be me.. thank you all for sharing your experiences, you made a world of difference!!!!

I find some of these posts interesting because it seems as if some folks either do not completely read the dosing instructions that come with all medications when they are picked up from a pharmacy or given by a doctor, or they just choose to ignore them. I have been on Doxy for six months for the treatment of Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. It's been no picnic at times but I feel 100 times better than before I started it. When I started taking Doxy, I too didn't pay much attention to the dosing instructions and I learned the hard way with some uncomfortable side-effects. Here are a few recommendations from someone who has been taking this drug long-term. 1. You must eat! Eat a small snack (banana, crackers, fruit) before you take the drug. Do not take it with something that you know upsets your stomach, also do not take it with dairy or any supplements containing magnesium or iron. 2. After taking the drug, eat another small snack, same as in #1. Avoid any of the supplements or dairy listed above for at least two hours. 3. Imperative!!! Take a good probiotic regularly (30-50 billion cfu). Antibiotics are designed to kill stuff in your body. They do not distinguish between bad and good however. You need the probiotic to replace the good bacteria in your digestive tract, otherwise your body will not digest properly. I was constipated for quite some time before I figured this one out. 4. I saw a few other folks mention this one. Do not lay down immediately following taking the drug. Again, I learned the hard way, I had severe GERD for a time as well. 5. Avoid long-term sun exposure. This was the latest. My skin has always had some natural pigmentation in it for a white guy and I have not burned too easily. On the Doxy though, I found out that I burn extremely fast. I guess I will be under an umbrella at the beach in a few weeks. 6. Don't panic! This drug was made to fight infections/disease. Be prepared for some side-effects, but also don't be afraid to see your doctor if they are just unbearable. All people do not respond to medications in the same manner. What works for you or me might not work for someone else. I hope this information helps someone out there. I know it is incredibly frustrating when you are taking something to cure an illness and more things go wrong.

I have been taking these pills on and off for about 6 months now...I just recently started taking them every morning while I have my breakfast and I have experienced severe nausea-one minute i'm ok and then the next i feel like i need to trow up right away...and then after it subsides, i get some gas pains and then i burp and i am ok...the thing is that if i take it during my dinner like i used to when i started, i don't experience these side effects...Can some please tell me why this is so? Thank you for allowing me to post this!!!

I have been on Singular for 3 years, the Dr prescribed
this for allergies. This past year I have noticed an increase in
sinus drainage constantly and a cough. Also some wheezing when I
lay down. A nurse told me today about
the write up on Singular and coughing because of Lisinopril.
Well coincidentally just last week I decided to stop the Singular and
no more sinus. drainage. NO MORE SINGULAR FOR ME and I am also telling my friends about it.
Signed Relieved and no more cough

I was prescribed Cipro for a UTI on 1/25/08. I took 500 mg for 7 days. About day four I began to experience intermittent "little pains" in my hands and feet. I thought it could be a side effect of Cipro but no big deal and would subside when I finished the prescription. Boy was I wrong. It has been two months and every week that goes by I feel worse. I have pain and mild cramping in my arms, hands, legs and feet on and off all day. The muscles in my neck and the back of my head tighten up and I get very lightheaded. When I get up in the morning I am extremely stiff and do not feel like myself most of the time. I have read many comments by others who have used this drug on several websites and I am quite worried at this point. Can I expect these symptoms to gradually subside or am I on the road to becoming an invalid? Sorry to sound dramatic but this is very upsetting. Has anyone found anything to help with these sort of symptoms or does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

I was on many pills over the past 5 years, all with really bad side effects. The pills would cause me to have a period every two weeks, give me CRAZY yeast infections, cause all sorts of mood swings, and completely took away my sex drive. After giving me so many different brands of pills, my gyno decided that my body metabolized the hormones too fast and not enough of them were getting into my blood stream. He put me on the NuvaRing because it totally bypasses the digestive tract and the hormones get absorbed directly into your blood stream. I've just come out of my 1st month and feel great! My boyfriend and I both don't even notice it's there. I'm actually starting to regain some of my sex drive back and couldn't be happier with my new BC.

I took Cipro at 200 milligrams / 6 pills / 6 days about a month ago.

I cannot/barely sleep, I'm constantly wired.

My left leg voluntarily/involuntarily twitches sporadically.

My body feels like some kind of horrible "bubbles" build up and are then released...everywhere...probably some kind of circulation thing, I don't even want to know.

My legs have nerve pain occasionally, my right arm has pain occasionally.

My digestive tract has rare pains and is irritable/snazzy...I don't know when I'm full, I barely know when I'm hungry.

I have to force myself to urinate, as my body does not give me the "I'm full, empty me" signal anymore.

I get white lines of light that streak across my vision rarely.

I lost most of my emotions except the humor I receive when I think how horrible it is. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.

I was prescribed doxycycline for an infection in my testicles. After 5 days of taking 2 pills a day, the pain was diminishing and I was feeling better. However, I never took the pills with food, always took on an empty stomach. Everything was OK for those first 5 days. It was the 10th pill I took that I felt bad pain in my stomach and lower esophagus, a burning pain just below my rib cage. I could not hardly eat as the pain was so bad as food reached the end of my esophagus. I have stopped taking the pill and 4 days later each time I eat food as it passes through my esophagus and enters my stomach, I still experience bad pain. Its funny because there is no pain until food has traveled a good ways down.. It feels like doxycline has burned that connection of the esophagus with the stomach. I

I have found since taking this drug that my bowel movements are very difficult. I am not actually constipated, but feel almost impacted. I have never experience this problem before, and attribute it directly to this drug. I am curious if I am alone in this problem.

Thanks

I've been on TOPROL-XL( 50 mg) for about 18 months now. Gained 25 lbs. Lack of interest (consistently) in getting much done. I had an aortic valve replacement 12 years ago and they were recently concerned about an enlargement of the aorta-so they wanted the Toprol to reduce the blood pressure further. Its keeping the pressure steady but not a huge decrease. When I discuss the side effects- they smile beningly. I'm having difficulty with digestive tract issues, also, which seem to be connected with weight gain. Other than fluuid retention- anybody know WHY this cuases weight gain? Anybody had any luck switching to other medications??

I have been taking Advair for 4 years. I have had reoccurant viral infections, bronchitis, Dizziness, brusing, stomach issues such as gallstones, and GERD. Headaches and now Candidias Infections of the digestive tract. Weakness, fatigue and Muscle weakness. My MD refuses to listen to me, and tells me that they are not linked to the medication Can all these things be attributed to the Advair? What are the adversions and complications if any of stopping this medication?

I took doxycyline for 18 days, 100mg 2x/day for a skin infection. Immediately I realized how rough the drug was on my stomach, but I was able to overcome the nausea, etc. by how much I ate before I took the dose. My infection began healing very soon after starting the drug, and I was happy about that.

The side affects took a while to become apparent. Things started to get strange, little by little. I've never had heartburn until taking this drug. The sun sensitivity was not to be taken lightly. I even got a sunburn on my hands and knuckles. After the burn healed, I thought my hands were tingling as a result, but it seemed odd that they didn't stop. I was irregular and kept thinking that I had gained weight, though the scale showed no gain. All the weight gain issues turned out to be (gas) bloating that ended up being pretty extreme. The dr. said the drug probably attacked the "friendly flora" in my digestive tract. The yeast infection confirmed that theory. I also had moments of complete idiocy - really weird ones unlike anything I could attribute to lack of sleep or other normal causes of confusion. I also felt depressed during the last week on the drug. Because the side effects seemed unrelated to each other and all happened gradually, it took a while to attribute them to the antibiotic.
I finally stopped taking the drug when the syptoms sort of peaked.

I've been off the drug for 5 days, and my digestion is 75% back to normal, with huge doses of simethicon and acidophilous. My yeast infection is gone (post-treatment), and my hands are back to normal. But I am still depressed. The depression seems to have deepened since stopping the drug.

Did any of you have to be treated for your doxycycline-related depression, or did it just pass like the other side effects?

I've been taking Lisinopril for 5 years for moderate hypertension. I'm now 40 years old.

Given the side effects of the drug and my high / normal pressure (typically 140/90 or less without the drug), I decided to quit the drug and try to lose weight (among other things).

Seven days after going off, I am experiencing angioedema - hives with sub-tissue swelling - including last night my bottom lip becoming 4X it's normal size.

I found a source that showed 1 in 100 users of these types of drugs experience angioedema, but I've found nothing that suggests those who quit using it have to go through this.

Anyone had a similar experience?

Dear Ladies,
I am with you on all the side effects too. It is quite funny that every time I talked to my doctor about possibly changing the pill or getting off of it, he'd say, "just wait so many months, and it'll will all get normal." I waited, and the only thing that was changing was that I was somehow just getting used to the symptoms, but they were not going anywhere.
I had problems with my digestive tract, kidneys, had lot of headaches and migraines, ongoing fatigue, lost of motivation, PANICK ATTACKS (was paranoid about many things) etc.
I started pill April 2006 and stopped August 2006. One the many doctors I have been to was a kinesiologist/chiropractor, and after assessing my body he recommended that I need (without even knowing I was on a pill) complex of B vitamins, magnesium, calcium. These supplements along with a regular (!) exercise, plus some medicaiton like Valerian for soothing the nerve system really did help in the relieving the symptoms. Good luck ladies. I hope you all feel!
Will-o-thewisp