Doxycycline Hyclate and doctors

I started taking Doxycycline Hyclate 100mg on oct 25,2009. I have had anxiety, its been something i have been battling with up until 2 years ago and since then i have had no anxiety attacks. When i started taking the doxycycline, i started to become anxious and starting having anxiety once again. I have also become very shaky, i have a hard time swallowing pills so i brake the capsule open and put it my cup, put just a little bit of water in there and mix it around. could this affect the way the medicine is suppose to work. i have no other option because i have to take it to clear my infection, but i don't want it to harm me. please email me at ****** if you can help.

I was on doxycycline for three weeks because the doctor believed I had Lyme disease due to the slight headache, mild fever, and aching joints that I was experiencing. I was fine for the first few days, but then I began to develop some unusual symptoms. The symptoms fluctuated day to day, but I was never free from one or more of these symptoms: severe headache, chills, night sweats, tingling in my arms, weakness in my legs, ear ache, numbness in my face (especially my eyes and lips), anxiety, depression, insomnia, pain in my eyes, and neck, and stiffness in my jaw. At the end of three weeks, I seemed to have more Lyme symptoms than before I began the medication. My Lyme test was negative, but with my continuing symptoms my doctor recommended that I take the medicine for ten more days, and retest for Lyme. The first day back on the medicine I was sicker than ever. I waited it out because the doctor insisted that it was the best thing to do. I finished the medicine, and the effects were less intense. My second Lyme test was negative. I am being tested for Fifth's disease (my son was ill with it just as I began to experience my swelling joints - a condition that can not be treated, uggh). I seem to get worse if I don't drink all day and night - a lot of water is needed, all the time. The effects also increase when I go to bed, recline on the couch, allow myself to become nervous about my condition, or over work myself through the day. I was at the pediatrician with my son yesterday, and mentioned my problem, wondering how long it could take to get the medicine out of my system. She told me it could be as long as a few months. It's been two weeks since I took my last pill.

at the most minor--occasional nausea and heat flashes for me

reading all these postings scared the hell out of me at first...

As I did, later on, all these people should heed their dermatologists' and doctors' opinion and advice before this website's and others' posts and personal comments (not to defile this respectable website), because they dance around various circumstantialities (percentages and likelyhoods, drug interactions with others, etc, etc). Whether they are of coincidence or not, I believe these people scroll through these posts and feel amazed that they aren't alone in terms of side effects and experiences regarding different drugs that other people have had too...
In conclusion--whether this makes sense or not--these comments and threads gather people together to, analytically speaking of course, scapegoat a placebo for any or all various "common side-effects"

After reading all these posts. I stopped taking this awful medication, if you want to call it this Yesterday morning to be exact. Today I still feel awful. Something has to be done. The slight headaches and sick stomach are still with me and the outburst of the chills. Of course i am so tired I still can't function. And to think all my Doctors certainly know the side effects of such a drug. For 6 weeks I have been sick with the worst headaches ever and now I feel like things are crawling all over my body. I pray i will get my life back.Can't even explain how upset my Husband is with me, thinking all this time, i was complaining for nothing. Whatever. I just hope my eyes will get some relief. Who knows at this point. Well getting so very tired again. I will keep you all posted, for sure.

Today, I completed 10 days of taking 100 mg twice a day. It was prescribed to me by my dentist to prevent infection (took a tooth out). I had severe depression, nausea, dizziness, anxiety. I got to a point that I believed I needed psychological help. This is not me, so I begun research. Thanks to this site, I called my dentist and kaiser to told me to stop taking it since 10 is the maximum. The doctors do not believe it causes depression, but what do they know in my own personal experience with doctors with prescriptions they have put me through hell. I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL...YOU WERE MY HELP...MY SANITY. GOD BLESS EVERYONE...I AM JUST HOPING NO MORE SIDE EFFECTS ON THE LONG RUN...AND TO BE BACK TO MY NORMAL POSITIVE, OPTIMISTIC AND FUNNY SELF. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Depression is not the word ....if this stuff was biblical, it would be the devil.
i have never felt like life didn't matter, i have never felt like i wanted to give up, but over the last few days i have, and i know it is a direct result of doxycycline. I stopped taking yesterday (had for lyme dis).
sever headaches, nausea, chest pain, panic attacks, etc....

NO WONDER THIS IS A FREE PRESCRIPT....they get you on your second visit after your doc prescribes zoloft or something for you.

I am so glad I found this posting! Hi everyone my names Vanessa..I am 20 years old and was prescribed doxycycline for mild adult acne in Jan..5 months ago...and never knew how much the side effects change someones lives. Experienced: insomnia, nightmares, hot/cold spells, difficulty breathing, paranoid, swollen face and tongue, crying spells, severe mood swings, inability to concentrate, weakness, fatigue, suicidal, shakiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, irritability, feeling outside of my body.....it wasn't until I started to stop drinking coffee and drinking loads of water and exercising..that I realized it was the doxycycline side effects. I would wake up have a good breakfast....and water....than take the pill and start to get blurred vision...shaky..feel depressed. and confused...than I would start drinking more water and trying to sweat (knowing that water flushes toxins out of your body and sweating) and by 2 ish? the side effects subsided...and I could see clear. Today my first day not taken the pill...and from what I read it takes a few weeks to get it completely out of your system. But I get a kick out of doctors who prescribe all of these medications to people thinking it cures things..not realizing that it really can disrupts someones lives who's sensitive to medication.

I want to know if anyone has experienced severe joint pain while on Doxy. I was prescribed this med on a Monday. I (like an idiot) doubled up on my first dose Monday evening because I know you can do that with other antibiotics to jump start the process. What can I say? I don't like being sick. Well....Tuesday morning, I took my 2nd dose and went to work. Very soon after taking the second dose, I broke out into a very itchy rash all over my back that soon spread to other parts of my body. I called my doctor and was immediately taken off the Doxy and prescribed Augmentin. Later that night, I began aching all over. I woke up in severe pain throughout all of my joints, and was in a terrible mood.....obviously. As the day progressed, the pain continued, but seemed to be moving randomly about my joints. My ankles would hurt for a while, then my arms, the my shoulders, etc. That night, I took a Benadryl (still itching from the rash a little), some ibuprofen, and went to bed. I woke up feeling a lot better. A lot less pain in most of my joints. It was a good day. However, today, Friday, I am still in some pretty bad pain in my hands. Anyone else have a similar experience??????

I have been taking Doxycycline Hyclate 20 MG for the past 2 weeks and have only had diarrhea. They prescribed it to me for infection in my gums and I seem to be getting better....my sinuses have cleared up and my blood sugar is more under control.
Maybe these doctors are prescribing this drug to people for the wrong symptoms because I feel a whole lot better today 2 weeks into the drug than the past 4 months. I'm supposed to be on it for 3 months and if all I get is diarrhea, I'm sticking to taking it.

Ive been taking Doxy for 6 days now, after about 4 days I began to have a very itchy burning scrotum. Also have a very "warm" feeling in my chest. Can anyone else confirm the symptoms with the itchy genital region? It is quite red and painful. Lanacane seems to provide some temporary relief. Thanks for your input.

I have been taking Doxycycline Hyclate 100 mg for about a year. Two pr day. I have had on occasions pain that is similar to heart pain. I now know that it is NOT heart. My Question: Do any of you take this tablet with food? With milk? On a Full stomach? On an empty stomach? The manufacturer gives NO directions on these questions! How do Pharmacists and Doctors arrive at their directions?? I take WITH food at breakfast and dinner. I stay away from dairy, calcium, iron etc for two hours before and after taking the Doxycycline Hyclate. The medicine is accomplishing what it is intended to do.

i think all you people are just mental cases, this is all of your minds ways to try to rationalize being insane. Panic attacks on an antibiotic!! Come on, really do u all think its the dox?? Even the doctors don't believe u. Funny that its not on any of the common or less common side effects anywhere on the internet!!!

DO NOT TAKE DOXYCYCLINE IF YOU HAVE ANY HISTORY OF DEPRESSION!!!

I do and doxy has sent me over the edge for about a month AFTER i stopped taking it.

I was given doxy by my doctor for a sinus infection for a week and stopped taking it just under a month ago. This past month has been absolute hell for me.

The day I stopped taking it I went from feeling fine into a 5 hour crying fit with suicidal thoughts in less than 30 minutes. During the fit I became convinced that this was how my life always is, that I was depressed, that I had always been depressed and that I needed anti depressant as I spend all my time crying. That was on 2nd Feb.

The next day I was shaky and felt very up and downy but went back to feeling normal pretty quickly and after I did some internet research on Doxycycline (the only change in my diet/lifestyle) assumed it was that. I read some pretty bad stuff on the internet about other people’s experiences which were very similar to the one I had had and I thought that must be it.

So I decided to drink lots of water and have been taking Milk Thistle to cleanse my liver.

Then this Saturday past I had exactly the same thing. I had another one of these 5 hour crying fits and more suicidal thoughts and I became convinced I was bipolar. This time was much worse in a lot of ways.

I felt it again felt like a panic attack and to me the change in my physiology was really noticeable. The noticeable dip in my mood – very sudden from feeling fine to feeling a little bit irritable and then withdrawn with some anxiety – and wanting to be reassured but also being a little aggressive in communication almost like trying to find a fight, then a change in breathing and heart rate and then plunge into dark thoughts and sobbing.

When I went to see the doctor on Monday my mood was still swinging up and down and I just felt crazy so I mentioend to him the doxy and he dismissed this without even asking a question about when or how much I'd taken.

I ask to be referred to a psychiatrist as I do get that I may have underlying issues and these mood swings were so bad and so strong and so by the time Wednesday came with my in and out moods I had convinced myself it was probably to do with my childhood and the difficult heart stuff and repressing how I really feel

Whilst I do have my fair share of childhood stuff and issues of the heart I think I’ve become so self aware and so careful with myself and I think I talk to my inner child so much and check that I am okay with things and I deal with things really well. so this has all come as a bit of nasty shock as I thought I was okay with everything. In fact I know I’m okay with everything as I write this.

But during these mood swings I am definitely not okay. I do not feel like myself. I become convinced that I have been lying to myself about being okay, that I have never been okay that I am mentally ill and that is why I am having mood swings and I start really analyzing everything and linking everything back to the past and trying to make links with things that are happening today and things that happened in the past. I haven’t had any change in my heart situation that this could be a reaction to, its remained the same for a number of months and I don’t have a problem with it but when I have this mood swing I blame that situation and my childhood together. I start wanting to blame people. I start thinking I have two personalities and I just start trying to find reasons and I have no idea what I feel, who I am or what I want, if I’m telling the truth of if I’ve ever told the truth. I start doubting everything and everyone. My head hurts, I get in a state of confusion and I become a little mean to people. I start trying to blame events and situations, anything I can find. It’s an absolute nightmare. Then I get confused about what I have and haven’t said and agitated that I need to say more to make myself understood. I might be stable for hours or even a day but it happens very suddenly and it’s a really physical sensation, first the dip in mood, the irritability, the breathing will change, I will feel anxious and can really feel my heart beating, like when you are really scared about something – that fight or flight feelings. I then get a really strong sense of insecurity and nervousness and will become really awkward at communication and almost aggressive and rude in my communications and then rueful.

The crazy thing is my mood is just absolutely all over the place in a way it has never ever been before, even in my days of deepest darkest moments when everything in life sucked and people were horrid to me. I don’t understand why I would, after all my years of learning how to deal with this and cope with this be even worse when my situation is so much better. It just doesn’t feel like its actually real. I don’t feel like anything I’ve said when I’ve been in these moods is actually a true reflection of how I feel when I am out of the swing.

Then I come back to feeling more like a version of myself but not quite and then I swing again very quickly and go from very hyper and laughing to almost the polar opposite in a very short space of time.

This is the first time in a week that I’ve felt like I am completely normal again. Right now I feel very calm and grounded and rational like I have been feeling for a very long time and I feel very clear in my head that I am completely fine and this is a reaction to some chemicals in my body affecting my mood rather than a psychological issue.

I am fully prepared for another full scale attack of mood swings and totally losing the plot again though.

I am lucky in that I have a good friend who called a doctor friend of his in the US and the first thing the doctor friend said when asked about Doxycline was 'don't tell me, you know someone who's had anxiety attacks and suicidal reactions'. According to this doctor this is VERY common and very well documented. There should be no lasting effects or permanent damage and now the doxy is out of my system I should not be experiencing these moods swings.

HOWEVER - he thins that because I have a history of depression due to my childhood issues the doxy has basically destabilised me and driven me to the edge again.

I did some really lengthy research because I really feel like this is a brain chemistry issue rather than a psychology issue and knowing I've dealt with everything and I just don't get why these issues would re-arise. I'm going to go get some therapy no matter what but I just wanted to know the brain chemistry.

Obviously if my GP doesnt even recognise that doxy can have this affect there is going to be no interest in helping me figure this out so I will figure it out myself.

From what I can understand Doxy decreases some amino acids in the brain which is important as simply put, amino acids get converted into neurotransmitters which play a critical role in your brain. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals which help your brain cells 'talk' to each other. Low levels of certain neurotransmitters have been associated with depression and anxiety.

I feel like I am 'back' from the Doxy but to be honest, I have no idea what it has done to my brain and I doubt there has been that much research into it...if so why on earth would they prescribe a drug that does this to people?
Particularly people who have a history of depression.

I am going to try taking amino acids to see if that helps - it can't hurt.

If anyone else is going through the same thing please get in touch and let me know!
This site totally helped me!! Thank you everyone who has posted on it. It really makes a huge difference to know that there are other people out there going through the same thing. I have felt like I am absolutely crazy! Thank you so much :-)

I was prescribed Doxycycline Hyclate 100m for acne on January 20th 2009. Then, on February 6th, I took the medication at 11:00 only to wake up at 11:40pm with severe chest pains. I have never had anything wrong with me heath wise and the first thing that popped into my mind was the medicine. I went to the doctors the next day because the pain had become so severe and i could not eat or drink anything (even water) without feeling a sudden sharp pain. They did an x-ray and found nothing wrong. I was told it was probably anxiety and this medicine had nothing to do with the chest pains. I
went ahead and took it again last night only to still have chest pains so i decided to do research on this medicine and came to this where i found posts in which similar things were experienced upon taking the medication. I have just stopped taking the medication today and am hoping for the pains to go away.

I have taken 3 doses of an 8 dose course of doxy for a sinus infection. in the past i've been prescribed amoxicillin and had a little bit of dizziness on the first day but nothing severe. So when I took my first dose of doxy and felt a bit dizzy and woozy I figured it was nothing out of the ordinary. Day 2 however this got much worse with nausea and sweats and I spent most of last night trying not to throw up. This morning I woke up with no nausea and was thinking, today will be fine, the worst part is over. I wasn't due to take another dose until 6pm but at around 3pm I ate a bagel and before I had even finished it my stomach was turning over and over. That was 3 hours ago. My head is spinning, my stomach is still upset and I'm having cramps now. I've also started needing to pee like a racehorse. Suffice to say, there is no freakin way I'm taking another one of those things. I'm baffled as to why my doctor even prescribed it in the first place. I'm working on my masters right now and have an assignment due in 4 days so i have no choice but to stop the course and hope my sinus infections goes away itself. There are studies to suggest this drug is 3 times more likely to cause stomach upset than other antibiotics. Why do doctors not seem aware of this?

ok so i got sick ( pretty sure i caught it from school ) on a Friday sick as a dead man. lots of sneezing and runny nose ( and i mean machine gun sneezing with waterfalls of snot ) sometime during the night i start coughing out phlem and now wheezing when i breathe n i had a fever , dizziness , well diarrhea comes in play and on Saturday i ate completely nothing.. i was scared after this because i was starving and couldn't even force myself to eat something to stay alive.. well the only thing better about Sunday i was able to manage some cereal for breakfast and a fajita for dinner.. coming Monday i stayed home from school went to see my doctor and he prescribes me "doxycyline" the doctor told me to get tablets.. but i ended up with capsules.. well wen i got back home i took one and immediately felt a kind of high ( like right now ) .. yea so today is Tuesday and i chose to stay home again.. and i just took my 2nd pill... im really starving n i think the only reason why im still typing is because of this pill...yea i have a really bad stomach ache / headache ... loss of appetite kinda wish i was dead feeling... im 18 and should i stay with this med? i don't even know if i can go to school 2morrow i have a doctors pass only for mon and tues.. i cant sleep .. i taste and smell this horrible taste i cant describe .. this is only the 2nd pill....and if i die in a week or two i think its bc of this drug .......

Well, I have just started taking Doxy for a couple of days now and so far have noticed a change in bowel movements, appetite, a bit of nausea, my stomach has been feeling a bit bubbly and weird here and there. Also, it makes me feel high after taking it. And i know this sound funny but it makes my bottom itchy. Which is all really weird but over all I don't really care about the side effects as long as they dont become too extreme. I think as long as I take the medicine on terms that are best for me I will be just fine. I am just very glad to be getting rid of an infection that was causing me a lot more pain and discomfort than this med and will be glad when this is over. The biggest issue I have with the pills is getting them down my throat...I'm not a good pill taker and they make me gag. I can't imagine having to take them and deal with side effects for months at a time as some of you are doing so good luck to everyone!! And I also agree that doctors really do need to address the more serious side effects on this med! After coming to this site I will definitely take precautions.

Wow! Seems as if I'm one of many, many folks with Doxycycline issues. Was prescribed it for symptoms arising from a bad tick bite. Now, in my 5th day of a 10-day course, I have the crushing exhaustion, the mild nausea, the sudden hot flashes and sweats (I didn't even get those during an unmedicated menopause), the aches, the muzzy, on-another-planet head symptoms. I'm thinking that the side effects are better than, say, Lyme or Tularemia – but whew! This has been a stark realization that even if you're a "good patient", even if you read everything that's given to you in connection with a drug, you're still not getting even half the story. And doctors in this managed care world certainly aren't going to tell us. Thanks to everyone who has shared info on this site!

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.

I took Adoxa for six months, and was so happy my skin cleared up, that it took me longer than it should have to come to terms with the other side effects. I took 200 mg/2x/day. I have experienced many, if not all of the things listed here: nausea, diarrhea, depression, all early on. I too stopped menstruating after several weeks of being on it. What has been more disturbing to me are the after-effects. I stopped taking Adoxa nearly two mos ago, and have been on hormones (progesterone, I am only 33) for the last several months to restore, but to no avail. I have had massive bloating, water retention, constipation, and my doctors believe they are all inter-related to taking this drug for so long. It has taken trips to countless doctors to even get to that conclusion. Unfortunately, I do not have a great solution for recovery. Has anyone else experienced this? My GI has had me taking Florastor (a probiotic, at any drugstore but you HAVE to ask for it-$40 and kept behind the counter) and thinks it will take at least another month to see benefit. My doctors said next they will treat for IBS but wanted to see if the effects would reverse themselves first.

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???!!!!!

My significant other took Doxycylene, 100 mg, twice a day for two weeks to treat a swollen lymph node under his arm. During the treatment he experienced nausea, stomach pain, rash and cold sweats, nothing too bad. 3 days after the last dose everything got significantly worse. It started with sever chest pain, so bad we went to the emergency room thinking it was a heart attack or blood clot. They found nothing and discharged him. Over the next 3 weeks he started vomitting, diahrea and developed jaundice. Constant queeziness and chest pain. After numerous tests, ultra sounds, MRCP, the doctor has ruled out various hepatitas's and every other disease he could think of. He's also rulled out any kind of bile duct blockage after the MRCP. Its now been 7 weeks since all this started, my friend has dropped 40 lb's (190 down to 152) and still dropping. Our doctor (gastro interologist) has admitted he's stumped and is currently contacting a professor in Miami as a last hope. The only thing our doctor keeps comming back to is the Doxycyclene and that my friend may have had that one rare acute reaction. We're frazzled and don't know what to do next.