Metronidazole Part 2

Everyone is different and there's no reason to think you will have a reaction to this drug....until you do. Just keep a careful watch for any symptoms and if anything worrying occurs then stop immediately. I have taken this drug with no problems, but am severely allergic to Trimethoprim.....and nicotine patches! As I say, everyone is different. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

I wonder if your dentist took an x-ray Sheena
Usually this tells your dentist if you have decay, an abcess or any infection.
Also, when you consult a dentist, you are asked to complete a form which includes known allergic reactions.
Your dentist should really have been aware of your allergies.
Maybe a second opinion (dentist!) is a good idea.

I can’t take Metronidazole but I’m ok with other antibiotics. It contains the same ingredient that’s used in medication given to alcoholics, making them vomit if they even have a sip of alcohol so it’s produced very differently to other antibiotics. All you can do is try it. I knew after 2 doses I was having a reaction to it (vomiting and nausea and definitely no alcohol) so I stopped it immediately. It did take about 24-36 hours for me to feel “normal” again.

Could you not try a quarter of a tablet or capsule and see how you go? Then half if okay, and build up? If you have read the side effects listed in the leaflet in the pack you will have terrified yourself, but they are rare, you won't be guaranteed to get any of them?

If you can get your dentist to ring you, you could point out that you have frightened yourself, that you do have allergies, and does she think it necessary for you to take them. If she says it would be a good idea, then rest assured that not taking them would put you in a far worse place!

I react to a lot of antibiotics but I seem to be able to take Metronidazaole with no problems. (Other than I have to forfeit my glass of red on an evening!) It does seem to be the preferred choice of antibiotic when dental infections are present. Chestnut I took Trimethoprim once and after 3 days felt so bad! Far worse than the symptoms of the UTI I was treating! I kept the empty box and wrote in big letters on it - NEVER AGAIN! Just as a reminder!

Sheena I am very like you about taking tablets. I am a scaredy cat definitely. I have just started some new tablets for my RA and true to form I was scared of taking a whole tablet!! OH bought me a tablet cutter that slices them in half and then if you are scared, like I was, you can slice them into a quarter.

Try that if you can, I think it came from the chemist, I am now on a full tablet after 3 days of messing around cutting them into quarters!

I do hope you can manage to find something that will help with the pain etc.

I agree you can ease your mind by cutting them into half or even quarter to start with. If you have a serious reaction it will show itself before you take the full dose.

Thanks everyone.
The dentist has prescribed 400g met. x 3 times daily... that to me sounds an awfully high does.... so when I read the info that comes with the tablets it says that for dental infection or gum issues the dosage is 200 g. x 3 timesdaily.. so methinks she has prescribed a dose too high. A dose of 400g. is typical for sexual organ infection.... which I certainly have NOT got !!

I have decided to see if I can get to see my GP about this and ask her opinion on antibiotics in general, for me, as I am so allergic to lots of other drugs, and get her view on this metronidazole.

Thank you one and all . I had wondered about the idea of splitting the tablets into 2 or 4 even, and just trying out a tiny bit first.

Yes grannysue she has taken x rays, but can see no reason for the pain I am getting.. and as I say, I don't feel it at night so quite possibly it's not an infection at all.. but I know that if anything hot touches it it's a real OUCH !

Sheena I had a bad dental infection which didn't show up on x-rays because I had a weird long dental root which was out of range of the x-ray scope. In the end, after months of pain and no answers, I had a dental CT scan, which I didn't even know existed, and this showed the problem which was quickly sorted.

I think going to the GP is a good idea. They can refer you to the hospital, where they have better machines and tests than a dentist.

Sounds like a plan Hetty58 but how long will she have to wait for the hospital appointment? Could be months.

You might be a little better off having a chat with a Pharmacist rather than the GP as the GP is just that - a 'General' Practitioner. A Pharmacist is trained in medications and is more likely to give you the most appropriate advice .... have to say they are foul but do the trick.

Is the pain actually in your tooth or more a face/jaw thing??

That's true, Chestnut. Having severe allergies, I'm always terrified of any new medicines. The roots of my teeth go all over the place,too. Once, I spent an entire afternoon having one extracted as it had to be broken into six different segments.

The last one, which had ruined my sleep for weeks, wasn't apparently infected. Antibiotics (2 different) made no difference.

Eventually, my dentist referred me to a dental anesthetic clinic for sedation (brilliant, £50, probably £100 now, pain free).

Well MadeInYorkshire* when I picked up the tablets yesterday at the pharmacy , I said to him that I was very allergic to penicillin and cephalopsorin , and he just shrugged and said that these weren't like cephalosporin

Thing is that I have a couple of problems (well 3 really) I have pain in my lower jaw where a tooth was extracted 7 weeks ago (because I couldn't bear anything hot touching it and it ached) and as I couldn't stand the thought of root canal treatment (and my dentist agreed that it might not work anyway) I had the tooth out... the tooth next to it now aches, and I can't stand anything hot on that one either... the old crown on the other side of the extraction is sore round the gum and is inflamed/infected... and the top right teeth are painful right under the teeth sort of behind the fillings, and I can't stand anything hot there either, but I can't absolutely tell which tooth is the real problem, so the dentist wants me to see a root canal specialist who will do some tests to single out the problem.

So I have all these things going on at once.
Not a happy bunny.

I changed to this dentist from my NHS one as I am very phobic about going, and any treatment, and this one is small and friendly (I can't fault the dentist's manner etc she is very nice) but every time I've been I've had to have such traumatic work done, teeth out, large fillings , painful hygiene work ... yuk !!

Did I mention Sjogrens Syndrome, can't remember but it does sound a lot like it and what I went through!

Did you take the plunge and try any of them? x

I'm coming late to this saga, but just to put my oar in; I'm not sure if you're talking about the upper or lower jaw but if it is the upper jaw, is it possible that you have a sinus infection? I remember that once when I went to the dentist with toothache (or so I thought), he was able to tell me that the x-ray showed that my sinus was infected and I went to my GP for an antibiotic. If it's your lower jaw, forget my intervention! I hope that your dentist is as skilled as mine who has a Master's degree in root canals and has never, ever caused me any pain.

Just checking in and hope you got sorted, did you ever take the antibiotic? There was obviously some sort of infection going on, and I doubt it would have cleared up by itself.