Antibitotics And Pots

[dizzygirl]

Im on antiobiotic again for another bout of streph throat.. I was just wondering aside from the obvious..fighting infection..why do antibitoic knock us thru such a loop? I sometimes wonder what is worse the actual infection itself or the anitbiotic's we have to take to rid our selves of the infections..

all i know is this particular time around the antiobiotic are jitting me aharder then normal.. and i feel seriously green and way way potsy.. i have had really bad chest pain since saturday... UGH

what do you all do to help manange with antibiotics so your pots doesnt knock you on your buns?

amajorlygreendizz

[AJVDK]

Dizzy,

I wish I knew the answers to that. It fact on Wed. they had to lower my amount of abx, as I was getting to sick from them also. So now I am only at 1/2 they does they want. I have notice that I have chest pain, joint pain, heachaches, dizzy the hole deal. The question is is it Lymes, or POTS or both.

Due you think for you its more the Lymes or the POTS? IT's odd how the POTS systoms get worse on abx. Who knows!

I am send you (((((((HUGS)))))))) hope you are feeling better soon! Hang in there!

[masumeh]

I've heard that POTS tends to include chemical sensitivity. So, many medications (heavy chemicals, poured right into your body) can have backward effects on us...bad instead of good...worse instead of better. I think this goes for external chemical exposure too...I used to faint if I pass by the detergent isle of the grocery store, when the pots was the worst.

Chemical sensitivity makes some sense, since we're like everything sensitive, it seems (sound, touch, lights/movement, bla bla bla).

Also, another complication with taking antibiotics for pots patients, many of us have IBS or other GI problems bc of the pots. Many antibiotics are hard on the stomach. Anything that is remotely difficult on the stomach will give me pain and digestive problems. I usually cannot complete antibiotic courses because by the fifth day or so, I cannot eat a thing.

[DancingLight]

Linda,

I remember for some reason this topic coming up before and I did a quick search (use the advanced search option, type in 'antibiotics' and then choose 'search topic titles only') and you will get about 10 topics related to what you are asking....Hopefully they will help you.

I was curious what others had to say on this matter, b/c it's so hard to sort out what's what.

And, I don't want to be all 'lyme, lyme' but that's my filter right now. It looks like others have problems with abx and POTS without having Lyme.

But, I did want to ask you if you were ever able to pursue the possiblity of Lyme and what you found out. When I first decided to pursue it, my ANS doctor asked me three questions (only two of which I can remember at this moment, sorry!).

1. Do you feel worse when you take abx?

2. Do you have memory of a tick bite? Or a bull's eye rash?

You have some symptoms like your bone pain and such that others with the ANS issues don't seem to have. And you live in a Lyme area right?

So, I don't know. It's impossible to know and I don't want to suggest anythign unreasonable at all....just throwing some things out there.

Hopefully, it's just a temporary deal with the POTS and the abx not cooperating with each other. Not to mention that ANY time we are compromised with a virus or an infection and our body is fighting that...we are going to have a flair in ANS symptoms...so it could be that and not the abx?

Just some thoughts...

And, no, you may NOT be the green girl! hahahahahahahhahahaha.

Later alligator!

emilythegirlformerlyknownasgreen

(however, now i think i will be turtle girl, so if you want to be green, i guess you can! sorry just a little teasing!)

[dizzygirl]

miss green girl emily~ i can be a green frog! lol..

i normally have a rough time with antibiotics.. but this particular time is unreal! it is like affecting my breathing.. and

I know thursdaynight after taking my night dose.. i got this weird flushing across my nose and each side of my face.. it reminded me of a butterfly ...it was quite strange...

But I had the inital blood test done for lyme and my pcp at the time said that it was negative.. and in order for me to see one of the only 2 lyme docs in the area.. i have to be refferred there by my pcp.. and he wouldnt referr me b/c my blood test cam back negative...

so im going to talk with my new pcp and go from there..

But yea i live in pa.. and i grew up in a wooded/country area... and right next door to a small farm with horse's.. at one time cow's and stuff and other barn yard critters...

I dont remember having a bullseye rash...but i remember my dad telling me to be careful of tick bites...but i alway seem to be breaking out in a rash of some sort for some reason.. so many i could have ha d a bullseye rash and just not remember b/c i always seen to have one....

I dont think investigating lyme is a long shot for me to pursue.. its just getting my doc to get me the referral i need..

i do have several things or alot of things that do not fit in the pots molding...

but i have always had a problem with antibiotics even before i got dx'd with pots..

thanks for the info!

[Fiddlchik]

Maybe it's just me (and I "only" have POTS, no lyme or anything) but when I had pharyngitis last month, I actually felt a little better the week I was on antibiotics. I took the Z-pak - I think that's arithromyacin? but I'm not sure.

alana.

[Sunfish]

alana et al-

i wouldn't say that i've ever felt better on antibiotics (aside from b/c of the underlying infection finally being quelled) but i too have never had problems other than pretty-typical GI stuff when on antibiotics. i'm SUPER grateful for this though b/c i wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for high doses of IV antibiotics over the past several months (for sepsis); in the midst of being incredibly ill i'm thankful that at least a reaction to antibiotics didn't further complicate things b/c for me not taking or taking less of them wouldn't have been an option.

i have had a reaction to a certain IV antibiotic (vancomycin) when given too fast but am fine with it at a slower rate of infusion.

melissa

[DancingLight]

Linda,

Melissa's post is really interesting b/c it seems most folks with ANS stuff tolerate abx if they need them (besides the general icky side effects). I remember thinking when Melissa was getting such high doses of abx that I was so grateful she could tolerate them to treat what was going on with her.

I felt, for me, that getting sick on such teeny tiny doses of abx (less than anyone would take for even a sinus infection) was a real sign that something else was going on. I used to take abx a lot before I got sick without such ill effects (other than GI junk and feeling yucky from the infection I had).

Anyways, I don't want to turn this in to a Lyme thread b/c I am soooo not an expert in Lyme. I'm still taking such a leap of faith in that direction.

But, I did want to comment on your post about your PCP and the Lyme test. FYI...non LLMD's will take that test as an 'answer', but it's not too helpful if you have chronic Lyme. It would be a surpirse to me if it did come back positive. Even EIGHT years ago, mine did not come back positive and I never knew to pursue it further. No one EVER mentioned Lyme to me as a possibility until my new ANS doc did in 2005 after my surgery-gone-wrong.

So, the test you get done not at specialized labs is pretty useless. The testing for Lyme even at the good labs is hard and still needs lots of perfecting. Hopefully your new PCP would be willing to refer you without a positive test result....b/c it's not relevant.

I didn't find any Lyme docs who even took my insurance, so I didn't have to worry about referrals. It was my decision....

Best,

emilyturtlegirl

[AJVDK]

Dizzy,

I just wanted to say I agree with Emily. I found out last month that I had Lyme. The LLMD beleive I have had in for about 9-10 years. He thinks from all my medical records, and when I got sick that I got it in 97. THis whole time no one ever thought lymes. It was on this board that someone said somthing about it this last summer and I went to my PCP. That test came back negiative also. By my doctor thought it fit and tried my on doxy. Then if Feb I finally got in to the LLMD were I found out I had chronic Lyme.

Emily is right many of the doctor will not take insuance so you can go to about anyone you want. I was able to find a doctor who took me without a referal. I am gald I went as I finally have some answers. I hope you get the PCP to get you the referal! Good Luck!

[flop]

Hi,

I wonder if the people who have antibiotic trouble are infact Lyme sufferers? Could severe antibiotic effects be used to screen for Lyme?

Away from the Lyme subject - I am so lucky that I don't react to antibiotics as I have had a severe chest infection since the middle of december (eventually diagnosed as pseudomonas pneumonia) and have had at least 6 courses of antibiotics over the recent weeks! I got the usual GI sideffects, mainly nausea and diarrhoea but other than that no POTSy trouble from them.

Flop

[Guest tearose]

As long as I am not allergic to an antibiotic... I usually feel better on antibiotics.

..go figure...

[deucykub]

Hi, Dizz:

Your description of the flushing that occurred after you took a night dose of your antibiotics really caught my attention. Have you been checked for Lupus? One sign of Lupus is a Malar Rash, commonly referred to as a "Butterfly Rash." There are other conditions that can cause a similar rash, but if you haven't been examined for Lupus, might I suggest you let your doctor know immediately about the development of the weird flushing you experienced?

This synopsis briefly mentions a predisposition to antibiotic allergies as being common in Lupus. I'm sorry I don't have access to the full article.

Antibiotic allergy in systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study.

Here's a Mayo Clinic article on Lupus, showing common symptoms: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lupus/DS00115/DSECTION=2. The reason I know about this is the doctors thought I might have had lupus - there's a lot of overlap with POTS symptoms, too - dizziness, fatigue, raynaud's...

Also here is a picture of the "Butterfly" Malar Rash from MedicineNet (source: http://www.medicinenet.com/systemic_lupus/page2.htm) and another picture from diseaseeducation.com (I'm not sure how credible this site is, but it had a good picture).

It may be worth getting checked out if you haven't already done so. Another common finding in Lupus is an elevated ANA (Anti-Nuclear Antibody, if I recall correctly), which can be found with a blood test.

I hope you are feeling better!

Deucykub

[dizzygirl]

thanks everybody for the info...

I just spent the past 40 minutes trying to type a reply.. (i had to keep laying down..).. only when i went to post it my computer timed out and i lost my enitre post..

so until i can muster up some more energy to type everything i just typed..

i wanted to let you know IM feeling abit better in regards to the strpeh throat alone.. these antibiotics tho are really knocking me thru a loop.. i cant put my finger on reacting this way before like this anways.. or the past 2 times i had streph thorat.. its just knocker me off my rocker..

good news is tho that i can now swollow a bit better.. and i can breath out one of my nostrils! YEA!

lol

but i will type more later b/v i have q's and stuff..

tootles for now froggygirl

[bgsu4]

I've actually felt better on antibiotics for a sinus infection. It sounds like a reaction thats common with lyme patients.

[Guest dionna]

i have only taken antibiotics for recurrent bladder infections... i feel horrible for you having to deal with the side effects of antiniotics, dysautonomia, and strep throat! it is amazing that you are able to get through it. i am praying for you dizzy! get better really soon!!!

dionna