Antibiotics

[Rexie]

While most of us might need antibiotics at some time in our lives, some antibiotics are known to cause reversible neurological issues in some people. Those of us with dysautonomia and central nervous system diseases may have a greater risk factor for encephalopathy (primarily fatigue, cognitive complaints, and brain fog, as documented for cephalosporins and penicillin) and other neurological side effects. Most often if people are going to react to antibiotics only the non-neurological, antibiotics-related complications occur (nausea, diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding, fever, anemia, allergic reactions and embolism). Dysautonomia is not likely to be caused by the toxic effects of antibiotics, but antibiotic use can make us feel worse during treatment. Here are two articles that address antibiotic side effects. Life is full of compromises; sometimes knowing symptoms are reversible after an antibiotic course is complete makes these experiences easier to tolerate. 

Neurotoxic effects associated with antibiotic use: management considerations, Marie F.Grill, Rama K. Maganti, British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Vol. 72, Issue 3, pp. 381-393; 2011 
https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2011.03991.x 

Antibiotic-associated encephalopathy, Shamik Bhattacharyya, R. Ryan Darby, Pooja Raibagkar, L. Nicolas Gonzalez Castro, Aaron L. Berkowitz, Neurology, Vol. 86 (10), pp. 963-971; 2016 
https://n.neurology.org/content/86/10/963.full 
Full text: http://prd-medweb-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/darbylab/files/Neurology-2016-Bhattacharyya-Darby_antibiotic_encephalopathy.pdf 
 

[targs66]

Interesting information! I tend to be hypersensitive to medications, and although I seem to tolerate amoxicillan and keflex without problems, I had a bizarre reaction to minocycline about 6 years ago: I felt so out of it that I really couldn't speak. I wasn't sleepy, but just terribly foggy and confused.  To a lesser extent, I had a similar reaction to azithromycin (z-pak) this past year: I felt awful and foggy, but not as incoherent as I was on the minocycline.

Thanks for posting this info!