emlica
14-11-13, 14:21
So a few months ago I had a stomach bug that completely messed with my guts. To be honest, they're still not 100% back to what I'd call 'normal', but it's perfectly manageable now, so they're not causing me too much anxiety these days. Had lots of tests done, nothing serious, just probable mild post-infective IBS. Fair enough. And like I said, it's mostly fine now.
Thing is, I now have what the GP says is likely to be a sinus infection. I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and she suggested the fairly standard sinus rinse, steroid nose spray, etc, and said to go back if I wasn't any better in a fortnight as it might need antibiotics. It's not better - perhaps very very slightly, but not enough - and I still have headaches most days, a weird poppy sensation in my right ear, tender glands on the right side, excess mucus coming down my throat, and a tightness/irritation in my throat (and I'm hot and sweaty at night, though that might be unrelated - could be stress, could also be hormonal as I'm in the first two months of taking the pill).
So I have an appointment with the GP again this evening. I'm kind of assuming from what she said last time that antibiotics are the next step. And I'm really concerned that they're going to mess my stomach up again. I've taken antibiotics before and all that happened was on the last couple of days of taking them, I had a few loose stools (TMI sorry!). If that's all that happens this time, that's completely fine. But with my guts already a bit sensitive, I'm worried that it'll just be a huge backwards step on that front and I'll be back to having really unpleasant digestive symptoms.
I don't know what to do for the best. I really don't want to take antibiotics unless they'll definitely work, but obviously there's no way of telling. But at the same time my sinus (?) symptoms are starting to worry me a bit as they're not clearing up, so I don't want to not take antibiotics if the doctor thinks I should. I'm getting ahead of myself, I know, as the doctor might not prescribe antibiotics, but I think it's the most obvious next thing. And although they say sinus infections tend to be viral, I've had a sinus infection that was cleared up by antibiotics in the past. Argh.
Can anyone share any experiences with antibiotics? Any joy with taking probiotics at the same time to try to keep the gut flora vaguely normal? Anything else I can try to minimize the chances of nasty gut symptoms with antibiotics? Or indeed - has anyone *not* taken antibiotics when it was suggested by their GP, and did you get over whatever it was on your own in the end?
Thing is, I now have what the GP says is likely to be a sinus infection. I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and she suggested the fairly standard sinus rinse, steroid nose spray, etc, and said to go back if I wasn't any better in a fortnight as it might need antibiotics. It's not better - perhaps very very slightly, but not enough - and I still have headaches most days, a weird poppy sensation in my right ear, tender glands on the right side, excess mucus coming down my throat, and a tightness/irritation in my throat (and I'm hot and sweaty at night, though that might be unrelated - could be stress, could also be hormonal as I'm in the first two months of taking the pill).
So I have an appointment with the GP again this evening. I'm kind of assuming from what she said last time that antibiotics are the next step. And I'm really concerned that they're going to mess my stomach up again. I've taken antibiotics before and all that happened was on the last couple of days of taking them, I had a few loose stools (TMI sorry!). If that's all that happens this time, that's completely fine. But with my guts already a bit sensitive, I'm worried that it'll just be a huge backwards step on that front and I'll be back to having really unpleasant digestive symptoms.
I don't know what to do for the best. I really don't want to take antibiotics unless they'll definitely work, but obviously there's no way of telling. But at the same time my sinus (?) symptoms are starting to worry me a bit as they're not clearing up, so I don't want to not take antibiotics if the doctor thinks I should. I'm getting ahead of myself, I know, as the doctor might not prescribe antibiotics, but I think it's the most obvious next thing. And although they say sinus infections tend to be viral, I've had a sinus infection that was cleared up by antibiotics in the past. Argh.
Can anyone share any experiences with antibiotics? Any joy with taking probiotics at the same time to try to keep the gut flora vaguely normal? Anything else I can try to minimize the chances of nasty gut symptoms with antibiotics? Or indeed - has anyone *not* taken antibiotics when it was suggested by their GP, and did you get over whatever it was on your own in the end?