Doxycycline Hyclate and antibiotic

I took tetracycline for 10 days (it had been prescribed for 30 days for emergency oral surgery...I had cracked a molar and it had to be extracted)

On the tenth day I was ready to die from the progressive side effects that were completetly intolerable.....I thought I was going to die and the fear was so unreal that I thought I was possessed by the devil or some evil force that was going to kill me and my family....it was horrific!!

Taking an anti-anxiety med Ativan helped but I also made the decision to stop taking the anti-biotic tetracycline...within 24 hours I felt fine....the racing thoughts, the heat, the chest pains and blinding fear were suddenly gone....I know now that this drug is not good for me and have asked the doctor for another antibiotic.....

If anyone experiences these symptoms stop taking this drug immediately....I took it for ten days and I wished I would have stopped sooner....

I especially don't recommend Tetracyline or any of its similarly-based antibiotics for anyone who suffers from depression or anxiety....

I hope my experience can help others understand the adverse side effects of this drug.

I have been taking doxycycline hyclate for acne for the past three weeks and find that I am now urinating a lot especially after intake of liquids and it seems as if I empty the same amount that I consume.This is really very annoying and inconvenient.

I started this antibiotic because of symptoms my ER physician thought paralleled those of lyme disease... At first I had mild to severe nausea... which was assisted with the intake of a meal or snack. Those symptoms I could deal with... that and a wonderful yeast infection that occurred around the fifth day. The side affects that became unruly, were those of confusion, panic, paranoia (I became extremely jealous/thought my partner wanted to leave me/ and felt un-trusting of just about anyone near - people mocking me, wanting to avoid me, unloved me), and had random bouts of crying - which affected my libido tremendously.... one moment I was in the mood.. the next I wanted to be held in a fetal position and cry. I finished the 14 day regiment about three days ago, however I still have some side effects remaining... I still have panicky thoughts.. almost flash backs of past anxieties... as though I am relieving them again... and paranoia... that people are talking about me, or scheming. I can understand these behaviors if they were pertinently normal.. and a justified part of my general existence... however, I am generally a stable, upbeat and cheerful individual with normal reactions to stress... being that the only time I act reasonably irrational is around my period, where I feel fat and uncomfortable. The panic and rage I felt on this medication was coupled with insane thoughts and neurosis.

I do not recommend this to sensitive individuals.... or any one who is prone to medication side effects.... truly an awful experience... glad there is a support group. Still waiting to return back to normal.

I took Doxy for about 2 weeks as a remedy for a bump on my eyelid. This first exposure to Doxy seemed only to cause a little skin sensitivity and burning in my fingers, no big deal.

When my eye problem didn't go away, my eye doctor prescribed Doxy for a second time a month later. This time my side effects were much different. Within a couple hours of taking my first pill I felt a bit off, I felt anxious and unsettled. I Continued on the medication for a total of five days. During this time my side effects progressively worsened. The first few days I had very abstract thoughts, and began feeling strangely claustrophobic. By day three I was beginning to feel paranoid and fearful over just simple everyday things. Day five is when it all hit the fan. I started having difficulty breathing and feeling extreme tightness in my chest. My feelings of claustrophobia had also worsened to the point where I began having panic attacks, like I was trapped inside my own body. It was at this point I made a desperate attempt to search the internet for a possible cause, in hopes it might be the Doxy medication I was on. I was somewhat relieved to find this website and read that others had similar symptoms, maybe I wasn't losing my mind. I immediately quit taking the medication, but unfortunately the symptoms didn't go away for several more days. That night I was unable to sleep, I had mild nausea, and would wake up in the middle of the night in a panic and would shake uncontrollably. Lovely huh. It gets worse. I began to feel extreme fear and paranoia like I was going to die, or lose my kids and family. I began to feel if this didn't go away, I would not be able to go on. Thank God it did, and by day eight the extreme thoughts began to subside. I continued to have the breathing difficulty and mild depression for several days after, but the worst was over. Within a month I was back to normal.

I write this as a warning to those who are taking this med and feel anything close to this... stop taking it! I am a healthy, normal, 40 year old male, that has no history of mental issues, other than a "blue" day from time to time, and within six days I was entertaining thoughts of suicide. The psychological side effects of this drug NEED to be addressed. This is very serious stuff!!!!!!! Though it may be a small percentage of people that are susceptible, for those who are, it is a deep dark hole.

I was given Doxycycline to prevent infection from an HSG procedure. I took one the night before the procedure, two the day of and one the morning after. So total of 4 capsules of 100mg each. I'm supposed to take the full course, which is 6 capsules, but I'm going to stop now. After the 4th capsule I started having bad stomach cramps, a bit of nausea and severe diarrhea. I know the risks of not completing the course but I'm not going through these stomach pains again. No more Doxy for me! I have a similar bad reaction years ago to an antibiotic called Augmentin. I guess I have to avoid those 2 kinds of antibiotics in the future. After reading all the posts, I can't believe they still prescribe Doxy to people. It seems horrible.

I took this medication as a malarial prevention whilst traveling through India.
Never EVER again. My boyfriend had suffered from depression in the past and we had heard bad things about Larium in relation to anxiety and insomnia so we specifically asked our doctor for the malarial tablets with the least amount of side effects associated with that kind of stuff. He reassured us that there was no record of Doxcycline ever having caused those sorts of effects.
So off we went- we followed the instructions exactly and began our trip.
A week or so into India I began to notice shortness of breath and stomach pain- I put it down to typical India travelers upset and thought no more about it. A bit later I began to suffer moments of anxiety that were really out of character ( I've never suffered from anxiety or depression). I'm very well traveled ( I work in the travel industry and have traveled extensively in the Americas, Africa, Australasia and se Asia) and so although this was my first trip to India- i knew my anxiety had nothing to do with India itself. ( people kept telling me this but I loved India)
It came to a head on a overnight bus from Goa to Hampi- I was feeling really anxious, sweating and clammy, I couldn't sleep and my breathing was really tight. Eventually I had a full blown panic attack that was almost like a out of body experience- I couldn't see and I couldn't breath. The whole bus had to stop ( embarrassing!) at 3am in the morning. Eventually I managed to get back on and make it to the next town ( although not as far as Hampi) so we could take stock.
I was petrified and had no idea whatsoever what was going on. It never occurred to me it could be the malaria tablets as we had been so clear and our doctor so confident they didn't have these kinds of side effects.
I was worried about being on buses, trains even planes again since I didn't know what caused the attacks and I was terrified another one would happen. I had no valium or any other sort of thing that might have helped. In the end we had to cut our trip short and make it back to Mumbai - In Mumbai I suffered from another two panic attacks- one where I could see the walls closing in in our cheap hotel room. Shortness of breath, tightness all through my body, hysteria, blurry vision - it was awful! And also this ongoing pain and upset in my stomach.
I ended up cutting short a RTW trip that my boyfriend and I had been saving for for over a year and coming home to Australia 2 months early.
It was devastating and I still had no idea what was causing it. Finally a friend said her doctor had mentioned sleeplessness and anxiety as a rare side effect of this drug when she was taking it for some problems to do with vaginal bleeding and spotting. I started searching on the internet and was amazed to find loads of sights with people experiencing heaps of the side effects that I'd been told were never a problem with this drug!
Obviously Malaria is really serious but if I had been properly informed I could have made the decision to come off the drugs and look at alternate medication. For now - Im taking the risk of no malaria tablets at all for my next couple of trips (to Borneo- so not a major risk anyway) and will actually research much harder before taking anything again!

6 weeks ago, I began taking Doryx 100 once a day for mild acne. 10 days into treatment, I started with what I thought was a yeast infection, feeling as if I was "on fire" in the vaginal area. I used a Monistat 3 and I felt no relief. I went in to a Take Care Clinic at Walgreens and the RN had me do a urine culture. It came back positive, I had a bladder infection. I was prescribed an antibiotic, Cipro 500, dosage of twice daily for 3 days. My symptoms persisted, some days worse than others. A few days later, I went in to my gyne office. The Dr. did a swab test and found no yeast. They took a urine culture and it was negative. She saw some redness and inflammation, but could not explain what it may be from. Perhaps a new soap, she questioned? She prescribed a cream (Lotrisone) to help with the inflammation, but the cream seemed to make the area burn even more. 2 weeks later, my symptoms dulled. However, I felt that there was still something wrong. I received an Rx for Diflucan, as if the symptoms might just be from a yeast infection this time? It's possible, I thought? Again, no relief in site and it's gotten worse. A week later, I go back into the gyne office and another Dr. tells me to try switching soaps again? What's wrong with this picture? I have NEVER had any type of issue in the past and now I am 6 weeks into this one? Doryx is the only thing new that my body has come in contact with. One of the side effects in the pamphlet was "vaginal irritation/discharge." According to the pharmacist, this may occur with prolong use (such as 6 months) of any antibiotic. Although Doryx has cleared up my acne, I have decided to discontinue its use. I am hoping that this cures my symptoms. Were these the side effects from the use of Doryx? I shall see.

I have been on 200mg per day for 7 months! Seems too long for anyone to be on an antibiotic, since antibiotics can deteriorate your gut and colon. However, I suffer from pemphigus vulgaris, which is an autoimmune blister disease, whereby the body no longer recognizes the skin as part of self and attacks it as an invader. The doxy will make me severely nauseous without food. I have experienced the burning from the inside out, tingling and new blisters from the sun because of the doxy. It has been a long run, I imagine the anxious, depressed emotions could be from the doxy, however I am unsure. Always feeling tired has been quite common. I tried to stop, especially if I were going to be in the sun, but the consequences were severe with new sores appearing from my pemphigus. So in my case apparently the benefit outweighs the risk, for now. I have noticed in my 6 month that my knees and hips are in pain. Is that a side effect of long term use of this medicine? Not that may be worthy of reconsideration, if it is responsible for joint and bone deterioration.

I was prescribed doxycycline 2xday for seven days. On the third day I started to feel very sick. However, it was not until the 5th/6th day that I began to suspect I was having a reaction to the antibiotic. I have never had a negative reaction to any medication ever. My symptoms started with severe nausea that lasted all day, and extreme tiredness. The symptoms continued to get worse....muscle aches, joint pains, elevated blood pressure, back & neck pains, unfocused vision, confusion, dizziness, loss of appetite, muscle tremors that woke me from sleep, depression, and anxiety. When I discussed with my doctor that I suspected it might be the medication I was dismissed and told I was developing a virus. They had prescribed this medication often with no problems. I decided to try to stick with it for two more days. That was the biggest mistake ever. I can't really describe what it did to my head, but all I could think about was that I was dying. I guess severe anxiety and paranoia. So, I finally stopped taking it.

It took three full days with no medication for my nausea and mental confusion to begin to subside. It took a few more days for most of the muscle and back pain to go away. It also took about seven days for the depression and most of the anxiety to quiet down. It is now 11 days with no medication and I still have diarrhea, and minor joint pain. I have also stopped drinking coffee because I an still a bit anxious. I have not really gotten back to my routine yet, and will probably hold off going to the gym until next week.

The most frustrating thing of all is that this medication was given to me as a preventative before a small surgery. All the symptoms I was supposed to be watching for I was having. I am sure this contributed to the anxiety.

At least most of the symptoms have gotten better, and I am hopeful that they will continue to improve. I have researched serum sickness and it says it can take 1-2 weeks for symptoms to subside, and up to several months in some cases.

Good luck to everyone.

I am taking Doxycycline for recurrent prostatitis. I have to take 100 mg twice a day for 14 days. It's definitely the worst antibiotic I've ever been on, though it does seem to be generally effective. I'm on day 10 now and I have been on two previous 14 days courses of doxycycline so I have a fair amount of experience with it.

Here are a few things I've learned:
Do NOT lay down after taking Doxy. Don't take it right before bed. You need to be upright for about an hour prior or you will almost certainly get heartburn. Also, take Doxy immediately after eating. When I don't take it with food, I become nauseous and occasionally throw up. So those are the two big ones. Eat before and stay vertical after.

In conclusion, part of the reason why it has such frequent side effects is that it is a very powerful antibiotic. Often, I think, the side effects are worse than what its supposed to be curing. I can't wait to be off it. Good luck to everyone.

Hi neverybody,
I was on day 4 of this antibiotic for sinusitis when I woke with severe neck stiffness, (unable to do chin to chest). This progressed to headache and I remembered then that I had pain in my eye the night before. I also had profound sleepiness on night 4. I work nights and this was affecting my judgement. I felt very low on night four and emotionally labile.crying came easy but for no real reason.
My shoulders are sore and my neck still aches but it is not as bad. i did not contact dr. Should I? I stopped before finishing the course on day 5.

Good luck to everyone and I hope your are all well soon,
Lou ,
Ireland

I have been taking doxycycline for about 4 days now. Last night I took it right before bed, with water, and upon waking at about 1 am I felt that the pill was stuck in my esophagus. And then my stomach starting burning and acid started coming up. I still feel like the pill is lodged in there, and it is very uncomfortable. Along with this issue, I have felt rather depressed, dizzy, yeast infection, and am extremely tired. I don't really know what to do at this point. I was prescribed it for pneumonia and a double ear infection. My chest is still killing me from the pneumonia and still have trouble breathing. My doctors have not been helpful what so ever through this process. I had to actually go to the hospital for the proper diagnosis. I don't even know if it is even working for me, but I don't have health insurance and have been out of work for over a week. Can any one give me ANY advice PLEASE???!!!!!

Not sure if its Hyclate or not, but I am taking Doxycycline for an eye infection (100mg 2x/day). At first everything was ok, then after about 4 days, I stated having some nausea and acid reflux (throat seemed to be burning). I have to take it for 3 more weeks, but next week only 100mg/day which I hope will help.\
Is this typical of an antibiotic that you might not get any side effects until it build up in your system?

hi,
i have been on 100 mgs twice daily for bulls eye rash. i am awaiting initial lab results.
anyhow in the morning or whenever my stomach is empty.(told to take on empty stomach via enclosed pamphlet courtesy of pharmacy) The nausea takes over i try to get a piece of toast down it is agonizing! then when the nausea calms down, i them have burping problems the rest of the day also having slight boughs of dizziness. i want to quit after 9 days. i am really not eating because of the discomfort. these are my synopsis of issues with this med.
cc

I have been having Doxy since last June (about 6 mo. ago) and still taking it. Its effects on my acne problem has just gotten apparent about one month ago. (Yep. For 5 months, I kept my faith and it is beginning to pay off.) I was determined to take the stuff as long as I need to. However, I just noticed that my stomach is bloating and I got tired very easily. I could play several games of rigorous racquetball before but no longer. My breathing has gotten harder and felt like something was obstructing my breathe just below the rib cage (in the middle).

I will see my derm to see if there is any long term problem with this side effect. He once told me I have to take this drug at least 2 months after all the major "bums" have disappeared. I hope that is within the next few weeks.

I was on this antibiotic for a chest infection and had few side effects until I came to the end of the course.The last day of a week long course I became very nervous and depressed with an overwhelming fatigue.This was eight weeks ago and I`m on anti depressants now and wish I`d never taken the stuff as I`m sure this caused it.

This is my second day on Doxycycline.I was prescribed Doxycycline yesterday, for a sinus infection. I am on 100mg BID. my sinus infections are, well, I get on an antibiotic about once a year. This is, I believe the first time I've been on Doxycycline. Yesterday, the pharmacist warned me about being sure to eat with it. I took the pill, but did not eat enough food, and I had nausea. I did eat food with it last night, and did much better. Today I ate food with it, but I do notice that if I don't eat meals, I get very nauseous. Of course, the antibiotic has not kicked in yet. my throat is still sore,I hope it kicks in soon. I tend to rush antibiotics, and I'm a nurse, and know better.

This is odd to read all of these. I'm getting the exact opposite effects. I have a mood disorder which consists of depression and anxiety. I take 5mg Lexapro antidepressant for this. In the past 4 days I've been taking 200mg daily Doxycycline for sinusitis and noticed that I do not feel at all sleepy by bedtime. I notice that I am energetic, a bit too much, during the day, and food does not taste and smell like it usually does. I feel a bit too energetic and even a glass of wine in the evening doesn't seem to help me relax.

I can take this medicine on an empty stomach with no problems. I just noticed that I have lots of energy. I can't complain, as I'm only going to be taking this antibiotic for ten days. I usually have to take a nap in the afternoons on many days. Not anymore.

I've been taking 100MG capsules twice a day for treatment on a cyst. I'm allergic to penicillin & I haven't been on ANY medications for 4 years, so my system is very clean & not used to medicines. On the fourth day, I started experiencing vaginal itching which made the entire area swollen, sensitive, & painful. I also started having very strange mood swings, felt dehydrated, was more tired than usual, & had broken sleep with nightmares. I called my doctor to see if I could get switched to something else, but I was told to continue taking it & prescribed a cream for yeast infections. I'm on the seventh day, I've been experiencing nausea & dizziness, even though I've taken this stuff with a full meal & a huge glass of water since day one. I haven't been eating dairy or going out in the sun; I've totally been following the rules. But, I feel like a mess on this antibiotic! I've become depressed & I too feel like crying for no reason. My crotch hurts so bad that it brings me to tears too. I'm so upset that my doctor would continue to have me taking this, that I refuse to take it now. I only have 3 more days, but my whole system feels unbalanced & I can't stand to be on this anymore. My cyst is gone & the infection wasn't bad to begin with, so I don't see any reason to continue putting myself through hell. PLEASE BEWARE OF THIS ANTIBIOTIC!!

I took 1 pill (100mg) Doxycycline HCl, went to bed, slept very groggy, exhausted. Next day, second pill, 1 hr later feeling nauseated, then severe migraine headache, thew up, felt like in a severe fever. This lasted about 5 hours then reduced to exhaustion, dizziness with some heartburn. It was intolerable. I also felt very depressed and negative.

One website describing a patent for a different formulation of Doxycycline reported that 31% of patients taking this experience nausea and vomiting.

Why is this drug so frequently prescribed?

Stop taking this drug if you have side effects.
After doing a little research it seems that the "Hyclate" formulation has many side effect problems. The other formulations (monohydrate or carrageenan) may be better. The Hyclate formulation is very rapidly absorbed and is acidic and can cause local damage to the stomach or esophagus. Some report these symptoms on this website. Also it seems foolish for this to be in capsule form, since this increases the rapidity of dissolving and probably also local damage. The drug is 'good' in that it stays in your system a long time and brings your body to a high amount of antibiotic rapidly.

I have never had a bad reaction to an antibiotic before. I'm glad this website allows for these reports.

I started taking the pill 2 weeks ago for ance problems. I have experienced severe nausea, and an extreme burning sensation in the sun! I also have chest pains. my acne doesnt seem to be getting too much better.The nausea is sometimes unbearable! We'll see what happens when i keep taking it.

Tips while taking this medication:

1. Sit up for at least an hour after taking doxycycline. And always with at least 8oz of water, 16oz is better. This will help with the majority of stomach discomfort. Take on an empty stomach. If you have any nausea, consult with your doctor or pharmacist BEFORE you opt to take this medication with food. DO NOT TAKE WITH MILK (See item 4.)
2. Suncreen is suggested, minimum of SPF 50, your pharmacologist can assist you with the selection during your consult. If they don't voluntarily consult you on this drug, find a new pharmacy. You can get sunburn even in your house depending on the sun's direction. Any stinging on the skin is a good clue to apply sunscreen and move out of the sunlight.
3. Do not take any form of antacid or vitamin within four hours unless directed otherwise.
4. Doxycycline is a tetracycline, therefore avoid dairy products. This includes cheese and yogurt. You can render the medication totally inactive by cosuming dairy. This can result in your infection not being cleared, superinfection or resistant organisms.
5. If you have recently taking a *cillin type antibiotic, be sure to tell your doctor or pharmacist. Do not take concurrently with these type of antibiotics unless your doctor tells you to do so.

If you develop hives, swelling of the face or throat, shortness of breath contact your doctor or pharmacist right away. These side effects are very rare, but can be serious.

Most side effects from this drug can be avoided by following these simple steps.

I've been taking doxycycline for a few days now. The first few days i felt dizzy, and I had shortness of breath and a heavy chest, the next day I vomitted, and had sharp pains in my stomach. I realized it was because I didn't take it with food, now I take it after a few bites of a meal and basically try to cover the pill with food and liquid so it doesnt upset my stomach and its working...but I'm surprised this antibiotic is has so many side effects..I also have chronic headaches and advil doesn't work at all. I advise anyone taking this medication to eat it with your food or shortly after, especially in the morning.

It seems to be clearing up my bladder infection though, I couldn't take two medications at once so I took this one for a bacterial infection, and I think its killing 2 birds with one stone.

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 have been on this antibiotic for pneumonia for a week. I already have a possible ulcer and have a prescription for zantac. I am on 100mg BID for two weeks. Since taking this medication my ulcer has become much much worse with frequent heartburn and a lot of drowsiness/lethargy. I feel like I float through my day and am confused and using the wrong words a lot, and just not paying full attention to anything. I have a constant pain right under my sternum that flares up and a lot of mid to lower back pain, esp. at night. I have had a headache for the last four days. I did some research and found that ANTACIDS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN WITHIN TWO HOURS OF DOXYCYCLINE!!! Bummer for me, since I have been drinking Mylanta like it was my only source of hydration.

I'm a 23 year-old college student from Michigan. I started taking doxycycline on 3/3/07 and was instructed to take it for about 2 weeks. I started taking it because i was experiencing a skin rash on my chin, and was told that it was due to a bacterial/fungal infection. i stopped taking it on saturday 3/17/07.

When i first started taking the medication there weren't any inital side effects. I then found that i was breaking out it tiny little red hives, and had red patches of skin on my stomach, neck and gentials. at first i thought it was just a food allergy, and then i started to get really tired and naseauted. then i noticed that the gland on the right side of my throat was constantly swollen. during the two weeks i was taking the medication, i lost about 5 pounds. i found myself weak, tired and with no energy. i had no appetite, had blurred vision (i have 20/20 vision so i though that was weird) and i was in a constant state of anxiety. My stress and anxiety got so bad that i seriously thought i was going to die.

i freaked out so bad that i thought i might even have HIV (because the side effects for doxycycline are similar to the symptoms of HIV: fatigue, rapid weight loss, diarreah, swollen glands, muscle soreness, rash etc. ) so i went and got tested for STDs and HIV. The doctors at the clinic said that everything seemed normal, and while i'm still awaiting the results from the tests, i found that all of my symptoms are in fact due to the antibiotic.

Since i stopped taking the antibiotic i've been suffering from sharp pains in my abdomen. I have very bad cramps and foul smelling gas/stool. I get dizzy very easily and find myself in so much discomfort that it's difficult to concentrate or do much of anything.

I was wondering if anyone knew how long this side effects tend to last, or how long it takes for the body to go back to normal? because this really sucks. I was self conscious about the rash i had, but the rash seemed a lot better than the side effects from the antibiotics.

anyone else feel this way?

I took this s h i t doxycycline, some incompetant doctor said it would be a good secondary antibiotic for my tooth infection that was giving me an ear infection and my lymph node was sore.. so I took this c r a p only twice and feel sick to my stomach shortly after. I stopped after 2. Well I still am taking the amoxicillan. Its been 2 days since I took the doxy and I feel weak and tired and sick to my stomach still. What the hell is going on?

About 3 days after starting this antibiotic I began experiencing the worst heartburn ever. I considered going to the doctor, because I first thought I was having heart attack symptoms. I think I'll stop taking this and call my physician. The heartburn is so bad that it almost makes me vomit.

severe chest pain, cold sweat, nausea, vomiting, going on for hours! Went to hospital emergency twice before I realized I was reacting to the doxy (for Lyme). Never really got rid of the Lyme but with the doxy I literally thought I was dying - and I am not a pain-freak. Have a pretty high threshhold but was unable to walk or use the phone to call 911 when I was alone with the attacks. (Yes, it took me a couple of times to realize I was having a reaction, not a heart attack).

BTW, I have looked doxy up online as an antibiotic and these kinds of side effects are typically not even alluded to much less discussed. Shameful!

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.

I have been prescribed Doxycycline 100mg twice daily for suspected Lyme disease. I have never experienced such strong side effects from taking an antibiotic before! The morning dose is the worst by far for me. It makes me feel incredibly nauseous and it makes me feel hot with stomach pains. I feel like being sick all the time for about 3-4 hours after taking it - I have tried lots of water and food but I still feel like crap! After about 4 hours I start to feel a little better then I feel like eating lots and lots!!! My body just seems to be swinging from feeling like I am dying to being very hungry hours later... I take the last pill about 10pm and stay downstairs for about a hour before I go to bed - strangely enough though I have never felt ill like I do in the morning and go to sleep ok. All very weird and I cant wait until I have finished taking this drug (14 day course and I am half way through)

A general note for those who are having strong side effects: I've been taking doxycycline at a pretty high dose for months now for chronic Lyme disease. I have experienced many of the symptoms that others have listed here, but I have to say that I also experienced those symptoms directly from the Lyme. The thing is, if you have Lyme and take doxycycline, you get these symptoms strongly at first because it kills a bunch of Lyme bacteria, and the toxins in this bacteria flood your system and cause increased symptoms at first. Then, the symptoms fade (which they've done in my case). So, if you take doxycline and react with an increase in skin rashes, or joint pains, or anxiety attacks, or weakness, or extreme fatigue, or brain fog / spaciness, you might want to look into the possibility that you have Lyme disease. (Not so much the stomach symptoms -- those are common with any antibiotic, because they kill your good gut bacteria.) Anyway, it's something to consider.

I take doxycycline as an anti-acne medication. I've been on it for two years now, with an increase in dosage from 50 mg 2 x a day to 100 mg 2 x a day.

If I take it without food, I feel incredibly nauseous, so I'm careful to take it always immediately after meals. My prescription says do not take within 2 hours of eating dairy products, but sometimes I can't avoid that, since I have to take it with meals... I am also a lot more prone to sunburn since I started taking this, including one really horrible sunburn I got in FEBRUARY last year! ugh!

Does anyone know if there is a limit on the number of years one should take this medication for? Having been taking it for two years now, I began wondering if there could be negative consequences to the drug being in my system for such a long time without break. I am going to ask my doctor the next time I go in for a visit, but wanted to try to find out on the 'net first.

I am 40 years old and I haven't taken an antibiotic since I was in my early 20's. I was given this drug after an outpatient surgery.
I am on the 4th day of a 6 day perscription and I have been suffering from a burning in my stomach, I am freezing and it's 65 degrees outside. I have gained about 6 pounds of water weight, I know it's water weight because my feet are fat. I'm normally 115lbs, so I do not have fat feet.
The worst physical side effect is the bloating in my stomach. Although I haven't experienced any nausea, I absolutely do not want to eat because the Doxy makes my stomach feel like I swallowed a rhino any time I eat anything. However, I swing between not being hugry at all and wanting to eat everything in my house.
And if I hadn't entered this site I would have never figured out why I'm so damned depressed! I'm not moody by nature so there's no way I just decided to suffer from depression for the hell of it. I was cracking jokes before, during, and after my surgery. Today I feel like crawling in a hole and dying but I'm not suffering from any post-surgery pain! I hate this drug!
Oh, yeah, I also can't see very well, blurred vision.

I've never skipped a period in my entire life. In fact, I've only been late by a day or two once about 10 years ago. I started taking doxycycline for acne about two weeks before I should have gotten my period. One of the common side effects I wasn't told about? "Menstrual irregularities" and "irregular uterine bleeding." It stopped my period entirely, caused lower abdominal cramps and water weight gain. I have been seriously uncomfortable for over a week now and am waiting for my body to balance back out after taking this drug. As a sidenote: This antibiotic also causes birth defects, vaginal itching, yeast infections, seizures, hormonal fluctuation and depression.

i was put on this drug by a heath center.. but the problem is..they dont even know what is wrong with me.. i went in for a pap complaining of a sharp deep pain on my left side that accurs during intercorse. they told me it wasnt a cyst but they didnt tell me what exactly it was! instead they wrote me a perscripion for a powerful antibiotic that i may not even need? today is my first day taking this stuff..i feel bloated and even more strange im itching all over! im only 17 so if you have any advice please help me out

Was prescribed Doxycycline for nasal infection. Wound up being hospitalized twice for extreme lower back and abdominal cramping. More intense pain than I have ever felt. My skin was covered in rash and itching, presumably due to the antibiotic as well. I found that consumption of milk products highly agitated these symptoms.

I was prescibed it in the form of periostat, for Rosacea. It has worked very well at reducing it by about eighty percent. I use it with Rosac cream a sulphur based cream. The antibiotic has blown me up with water weight and I have experienced terrible moods, depression and dry hair also ringing in the ears...I am counting the days till I am finished with this horrible medication it also makes me feel "out of it" and strange.

*BAD ANTIBIOTIC ~ DO NOT TAKE IT! IF YOU ARE STOP IT !!!
MADE ME SICK FOR ALMOST A MONTH! CAUSED: ANXIETY ATTACKS, SEVERE PAINS IN HEAD AND EYES, SEVERE MUSCLE PAINS ALL OVER...ALLLLL OVER! FEET HURT SO BAD (HEELS ESP) COULDN'T WALK, DR. THOUGHT I WAS ON VERGE OF NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, COULDN'T SEEM TO GET BREATH, GENERAL WEAKNESS, HAD TO STAY IN BED!, ON TOP OF IT ALL INSTRUCTIONS TO NOT LIE DOWN WITHIN 30 MINS OF TAKING!?
DON'T TAKE THIS OR THAT WHEN TAKING DOXY ! THIS IS THE WORST REACTION I'VE EVER HAD TO AN ANTIBIOTIC OR ANYTHING~ I THOUGHT I MIGHT DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WORST PART...NOT KNOWING UNTIL AFTER ALMOST 2 ROUNDS TAKEN WHAT WAS GOING ON AND WHAT IS WAS THAT WAS CAUSING ALL THE SYMPTOMS ~ ! DOCTORS SHOULD TELL YOU! PHARMACIST SHOULD TELL YOU~ YOU BETTER LOOK UP ALL MEDS YOU ARE ABOUT TO TAKE ON THE INTERNET AND THEN YOU'LL PROBABLY NOT TAKE MORE THAN HALF OF THEM! SCARY!!!

I was put on doxycyline for acne rosacea immediately after my baby was born. I also started using Rosanil, retin-A and Finacea. I started having a skin reaction so I was told to stop the retin-A. It didn't get better so I was then told to stop the Rosanil and Finacea.
I am now only using Cetaphil to wash my face and it is still red, breaking out and itchy. My derm said the antibiotic wouldn't cause those symptoms.
PLEASE HELP! I stopped the doxycyline yesterday and was wondering how long util my face feels better. I've always had minor redness from rosacea but never anything like this. I've been taking benedryl for weeks now.
Please email me if you have any advice or can give me an idea of when this will get better.

I was given 8 capsules of dexycycline, fortunately day 8 is tomorrow. I was fine until yesterday when I had the worst headache I have ever had. Today I have terrible heartburn and stomach pains. Also dhiorrea. I am taking the capsules for a sinusitis infection. This is the second antibiotic the other didn't work, amoxyllyn. I have a hiatus hernia, perhaps that has something to do with the pain in the stomach?

Doxycycline has prescribed to me has an antibiotic for my eye infection, but after a dose, i felt a buring sensation on my chest, followed by a sharp pain in my chest. Hurts when swallow food and drink, lost appetite as a result