Having a problem with antibiotics

I am on week 2 of suffering with side effects of antibiotics - only took 4 days worth. My stomach is so stripped of all bacteria, good and bad, I now have gripping pain. GP told me to take Probiotic tablets and buscopan to calm things down. Today it is so bad I am not eating and now drinking loads of water to see if it goes away, flushes out. I will think twice before taking them again. Hope you feel better soon.

It sounds as if you neeed a different antibiotic.
Are you allergic to either Penicillin or anything else ending in “-cycline”?

I tend to think that if there is a bacterial infection and we need a-b’s, we should take them rather than risk an infection spreading.

There is no point at all in keeping you on this antibiotic as it is mostly down the toilet, where it will do you no good at all. Definitely go back and ask for a change of drug.

Hope you will feel better soon.

From the nhs advice on Doxycycline....

Side effects:
feeling sick or being sick (nausea or vomiting) - stick to simple meals and don't eat rich or spicy food. It might help to take your doxycycline after a meal or snack but avoid dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurt. Dairy products can stop your body absorbing your medicine properly. If you are vomiting, drink plenty of water or other fluids. Speak to a pharmacist if you have signs of dehydration, such as peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee. Don't take any medicines to treat the vomiting without speaking to a pharmacist or doctor.

I hope you feel better soon.

The last time I had antibiotics was in 1990 for a chest infection that I didn't know I had while having a routine examination before a long-haul flight. I was given a 1 a day prescription for Vibramycin and while having had this on my journey ended up with a water infection after I'd landed in Sydney,then had to see a GP who then gave me the usual Trimethoprim in which both antibiotics had cleared things up--------I hadn't drank enough water on the flight hence the infection.
Vibramycin is a good antibiotic.

I think my step-daughter had Doxycycline which made her ill and her GP stopped it. She was laid up with the effects of the drug rather than her chest infection.

You could try taking it with yogurt, but you probably need to change ABs if they are making you ill.

Thank you all for the responses and good wishes.

Lynne59 as mentioned in the OP, I had 3 digestive biscuits, can hardly count as spicy!

EllaVannin your post re your step daughter strikes a chord!

Oh well, I will give it another try tomorrow morning and if I still throw up after taking the damn thing then, I will be on the phone to the surgery on Monday!

Fingers (and legs, when I cough) crossed!

You seem to have been poorly for ages, phoenix. Hope you feel better soon.

I'm allergic to penicillin and some other antibiotics like Erythromycin absolutely floor me so you have my sympathy.

If it is irritating your stomach you will need more than three biscuits in there, you need a substantial breakfast to line the stomach. Don't drink huge quantities of fluid with it either, the fluid is advised to replace that you have lost after you have vomited. Doxycycline is a wider spectrum antibiotic than penicillin, that may be what you need, but there are other alternatives you can get from your GP if you really can't keep them down. They won't benefit you at all if they come straight back up again, you will have been through all that for nothing - good luck, wish you better soon!

Many thanks for the posts and good wishes, they are appreciated!

Yes, I seem to have been pretty unwell since mid October it also doesn't help with my mental state.

Oh well, will phone the surgery tomorrow and see what they say. Hopefully a course of antibiotics that I can actually keep down, and another lot of steroids will send it packing!

Why do you have steroids as well?
I once had some antibiotics for a UTI, which mad me feel sick. Taking with meals helped. Furadantin.