West nile symptoms and conditions

Hello all,
I'm in the same boat but near the end.... I was given Bactrim for a UTI. I woke up after 2 days with horrible aches in my joints and muscles. I was immediately taken off the Bactrim and put on Doxycycline. I was then put on Prednisone for the aches (which helped). I developed blisters and a rash after a few days. My aches went away after about two weeks but now I have itchy, sore and peeling feet, buttocks, mouth, and genitals. Stomach upset as well. I have been tested for everything (STDs, Lyme Disease, West Nile, etc, etc) and everything has come back negative. I was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome from the allergic reaction I had to the Bactrim. It has been 3 weeks since the first dose and I am finally starting to feel better (except for the insane itching). Good luck to everyone. Never again!

There are many side effects to Doxycycline. I took it for a bug bite I got (I tested negative for West Nile, Lyme, and every other blood born disease from a tick...the doctor still doesn't know what bit me...thinking it was a house centipede based on my research and seeing a couple dozen of them in my garage this summer)...200mg for 2 weeks.

For me, it was the dizziness, headaches, chest pain on and off after taking it, and the itching that would move all over in spots. Doxy is not the best antibiotic for acne though...you should take either Tetracycline or go with topical stuff (Differin or something similar)...the problem with taking Tetra or Doxy is that once you're off of it, the acne comes back even worse than it was before, then by taking it again, the stuff doesn't work. Plus, taking Doxy for several months or years will reduce it's effect and you will build up an immunity to it...any cycline has the same side effects, but I never had the nausea/diaharrea/vomiting that most people.

But please, read the leaflet and talk to the pharmacist/doctor before taking this stuff. The big side effects are the nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. If you have to take it with food, please do, but the Doxy will not work as well (absorb through the body) when taking simultaneously with food. Be careful taking this stuff...and quit taking it if the reaction is that bad because there are other medicines that won't do this stuff.