Zithromax Z-Pak and bronchitis

This was the only thing that stopped pneumonia for me when I was six and now I'm on it again for bronchitis or something. I've had severe stomach cramping. My heart has been racing since I started taking it. I'm on my fourth of five days. I'm wondering if my heart is unrelated, meaning I should go see what I can do about that, or if it makes other people all jittery/anxious with a really high pulse.

37/f I took Zpak for bronchitis and ended up with a severe itchy rash in the form of little red spots all over my body, it has been 2 months. To relieve symptoms, I tan in salons which initially make symptoms worse, but eventually kills the rash after a while. I have no other symptoms other than the rash, but it is hell. Will never take it again.

this is the second time i have taken the zpack for bronchitis...first time no symptoms, this time however......i am having verrrrry dark brown/ red urine, diarrhea, headache, stomach cramping, and body sweats....i don't know if this is due to my illness or due to zpack, but i HATE these symptoms/side effects

Started the z pack for bronchitis and sinus infection. First symptoms was stomach cramps, diarrhea. The next and most disturbing symptoms were extreme agitation, anxiety, depression. Have finished the last of the medicine 4 days ago and am still feeling the residual anxiety, agitation, general feeling of unease. Will never take this medicine again.

Day 2 (took double dose yesterday, single dose today) -- have developed pretty constant diarrhea and stomach cramps. This week has sucked. I have suspected strep, fever, bronchitis and some kind of flu? I just spoke with my doctor who says that it can't be the drug since it's only the second day. Well, your comments here and other web research offers a different opinion. The doc is blaming in on my flu, but I didn't have any stomach distress at all until now. I'm hypothyroid, hypoglycemic and very sensitive to medication. The last thing I need is to have to deal with diarrhea. It sucks because my sore throat has improved, and so has my breathing, but I get dizzy when loosing fluids, no matter how fast I replenish. Female, age 35.

Female, 30 years old. Began taking five day course of z-pak for bronchitis., abdominal pain from the beginning, better with food. Day five, abdominal pain much worse, ending with diarrhea. Did not take last dose. Day six, diarrhea persisting, frequent watery stool, dizziness, appetite loss, feeling completely drained. Day seven, began taking anti- diarrheal, seemed better. Went to Dr., advised fluids of course. Later that day, managed to eat a good meal, pushing fluids. Some intestinal pain but feeling generally better. Then: anti- diarrheal not really working anymore. Constant watery stools, feeling severely fatigued, completely drained, dizzy, ringing in ears, chills. Called hospital and spoke to nurse, advised ER visit: probable dehydration. I have been sick for 18 days including z-pak. Would never recommend this medication. The side effects are worse than the bronchitis.

I took a zpak for bronchitis and a sinus infection. (lovely to have both at the same time...) I still had a fever three days into the five day cycle. After I finished the whole five day cycle I felt a LITTLE better, but a week later I developed fever and body aches AGAIN. I went back to the doctor and was prescribed a week of Avelox because they said sometimes the zpak does not fully kick the bronchitis, just weakens it and then it comes back. I have been sick for seventeen days now. I'm a little over it.

I was prescribed the 5-day Z-pack for bronchitis and after two days I quit taking it. I am not psychologically and emotionally perfect (who is) but this drug is causing extreme agitation, nervousness, hard intense dreams that leave me fatigued even after a full night's sleep, and depression with crying spells. I am aware that this drug stays in your bloodstream for a long time. It's half-life is 68 hours and after taking 500 mg. on Feb. 6 and then 250 mg. on Feb 7, I still have somewhat less than 200 mg. in my blood today, Feb. 13. Even at today's level I still have no relief from my symptoms and I am praying that this will all go away when the level of the drug gets to a certain point.
My bronchitis is gone and I am trying to live my life as if I have no symptoms (I teach 7th grade U.S. History) but I cannot ignore the fact that I feel like I am cracking up.
I am not trying to bash this drug. Most people are fine with it. Good for them. But some people have these types of problems because I have seen stories like mine on many internet places.
Hang in there anyone who is suffering like me. I hope it goes away and I can return to my life where I get nervous now and again and maybe once in a while I do not sleep well.
This is horrible.
Anyone who has gone through this and returned to normal please respond. I need to hear some good news.

I have taken Zithromax before without any problems but this time around I have had difficulty sleeping, have felt extremely anxious and very emotional. I am also pregnant, but the week I was on the z-pak, was especially charged with emotion. I have also felt extremely fatigued and am having difficulty concentrating. Day 4 & 5 on the meds were the worst for me. Not sure why this drug causes these symptoms. Does anyone know?

I am on the 6th day of my Z-Pak and I have to tell you, I was scared to death to take it after reading all the side effects posted here. But like many, I would rather deal with diarrhea and stomach cramps than the inability to breathe because of bronchitis. So, I took my chances.....

I don't know how I escaped it all, but I did not suffer one side effect! I wondered if maybe the fact that I no longer had my gallbladder had anything to do with it. Who knows? I feel better and wouldn't hesitate to take it again.

I started feeling better on the third day and feel better more every day.

Thank you!

I've been sick for 22 days. I was told I have tonsillitis and was given Amoxicillin but did not get better. I had a cough that did not go away. I went back in and was told I had bronchitis even though I had no fever. I was given the 6 pill Z-Pak treatment - 2 pills the first day, and then 1 pill each of the next 4 days. They had me stop the Amoxicillin. Both all day yesterday and all day today I've had diarrhea. Watery and frequent. Not fun. I also have no appetite, not sure if that is from the bronchitis or the drugs. Half a serving of soup all day and I had to stop eating. I recommend the soft wipes with aloe in them, as I am very sore back there. However, I must say, if my bronchitis is gone in 2 or 3 days, then the diarrhea was worth it. I can't stand being sick any longer, and can't stand the congestion that is in my chest!!! I've only taken the Z-Pak once before, a while ago, I forget if there were side effects, but I seem to remember it worked.

While I have taken it before, I don't recall having anything but very mild side effects (maybe a little discomfort in my belly). This time, however, it is different and I am owing it to the beauty of aging. I just took the second of the three pills (and yes, I've had the three pill one before). My bronchitis is clearing but this afternoon I had really bad abdominal pain and I have a continuous headache in the back of my head, where my spinal cord ends. It is not as bad (so far) as the one I had with Biaxin (I refuse to take that). The only bright side is that it made it a really good time to join Weight Watchers because I do not have much appetite. I was able to sleep last night, at least, because my cough decreased. The verdict is still out on whether I would do this again. Problem is, I am allergic to Penicillin.

I've taken Zpak twice in my life. Once for bronchitis, it was helping right away.(within a few days). Second time for a sore throat and ear pain I was having for 2 weeks. By the 3rd day I was felling good again. I have nothing bad to say about the drug. I think it is the BOMB!!! Though I never had any side effects to the drug,
I would take a little diarrhea and nausea over bronchitis ANY DAY!!!

I have taken many zpaks before because of repetitive sinus infections or strep throat. Had my tonsils removed 3 years ago and got bronchitis recently and was on a 3 day 500 mg per day dose of it and felt fine the first 2 days and just got hit with MAJOR diarrhea....felt like I lost 10lbs in bathroom for 15 mins. YUCK! Hopefully its flushing the sickness from me.

The first day I took it I had severe leg cramping in my sleep...3 days later same thing. I have had diarreha the first day and even with drinking lots of fluids I have had dry mouth. Other than that it seems to be clearing up my bronchitis

I recently took the single dose liquid Z-Pak for what was supposed to be bronchitis. Three days later, I have a full-fledged sinus infection and painful, ringing in my ears. The stuff also seems to have given me horrible dreams, and I can sleep for only about and hour and a half at a time. During the time I'm awake, i'm so befuddled I can barely function. How long does it take for this stuff to get out of your system?