Panicked newbie here, have to take new meds.

[jacobean]

Hi all,

I am totally new here and having a major freak out right now. I don't know if I have generalised health anxiety but I definitely have a huge huge huge phobia about meds. So if I am ill - like recently when I got diagnosed with arthritic neck and doc said 'you will be in pain but it's not gonna harm you, you can take pain killers or cope with the pain '. I am actually relieved! Relieved that I don't *have* to take meds.

So... last week I got a bladder infection. Nothing unusual for me. Except this one is trimethroprin resisitant. The usual antibiotic used to treat them. I have an allergy to the next chosen drug - Nitrofurontein. And the next ones are penicillin based and I can't take those as I had a very serious allergic reaction to them and have been told I can't even touch them to give them my dog! This reaction has left me with a fear of new drugs and particularly antibiotics. I am terrified to be honest. I had to take metronidazole for the first time three years ago and I don't think I had more than an hours sleep the three nights on them!

I've been told there's one drug to treat the infection. Cipro!! I thought - 'okay, fine. It's a new antibiotic to try but you can deal'. And then I did a stupid, crazy thing and read the leaflet. Normally I don't. I just ask the pharmacist how to take them. I wasn't going to read the side effects but I didn't need to to get freaked out. There were some many warnings!! I have never seen so many on an antibiotic pamphlet before. So of course I looked online and read horror stories and there are support groups for people who have been made very ill etc and I am freaked!!! Now, due to being freaked, I have actually done a lot of in depth reading of medical studies and papers which are actually more reassuring re the risks than the internet horror stories. But there's this big old 'if' in the back of my head - the 'what if I'm the unlucky one'. So I can't take it.

Went to docs today and he said to me that the risk of leaving bladder infection to get worse is higher than risk of a short three day dose of antibiotics but I can't rationalise it like that. I feel sick and haven't slept well for the last three days I've been sat with this drug in my medicine cabinet.

I really think tomorrow I have to take it but it's the weekend so the doctors aren't even open and then I start panicking all over again!

I feel ridiculous but so scared I can't seem to get past it :shrug:

Any help is muchly appreciated.

---------- Post added 19-07-14 at 01:06 ---------- Previous post was 18-07-14 at 23:26 ----------

Just to add that I have GAD and panic along with agoraphobia.

[anthrokid]

Hi Jacobean,

Sounds like you're having a rough time. I can absolutely empathise with you. I have a few severe allergies and it's always a bit of a nightmare trying something that has the potential to produce a reaction.

Whilst the pamphlets included with medications can be really useful in terms of guidelines, they can also be very anxiety inducing in terms of possible side-effects and adverse reactions. It is important to remember that they have to list every single reaction noted - even if it only occured to one person.

You know how it is with anxiety - our minds will automatically magnetise to that negative 'what if' rather than the positive. Thinks of it this way - 'what if I take the medication and I get better?'. That is a much more likeley scenario than the negative. Also keep in mind that you have to have had something at least once before you can develop an allergic reaction to it. So if you've never had something with this medication before or the ingredients of it, it is pretty darn unlikely that it'll produce such a severe reaction as your other medical allergies.

I know it's hard, but the best thing for your health right now is to give it a go and try and get yourself better. Bladder infections are easily treated by medication, but left untreated they can get worse and become more difficult to treat. If worse comes to worst and you do have a severe reaction you can call drive to emergency or call an ambulance.

I hope you're feeling better soon :)

[jacobean]

Thanks so much for the reply. I have taken the first one and I am such a mess. Already imagining my mouth feels tingly etc. I did not know they had to report every side effect even if only one person has had it. I really shouldn't have googled either as some people have been very ill on it. There are support groups for it!! Never seen that for an antibiotic. It's scary as hell. But then I think people have to take chemo drugs and steroids etc to get better!

I have acid burning and feel like I want to sick it up!! I am trying to distract myself watching comedies and messing about online :)

[anthrokid]

That's the awful part about anxiety interacting with allergies. The anxiety can mimic the symptoms we worry about as allergy sufferers. Amazing what a little anxiety can do. Keep yourself distracted and try not to worry about it (easier said than done, right?) If you've got some acid burning have some milk or try and eat something. Many medications can cause reflux when taken alone.

Yes, they have to report every symptom. Because if someone else gets that symptoms that one other person reported in trials and it wasn't listed the company can be taken to court. That's why it takes so many years for medications to become available after initial development and why the information booklets can be so daunting!

[jacobean]

My acid has now progressed to intense and full on nausea. So sick! I had this once before on another drug metronidazole but not sooo quick with the first tablet. I can't sleep the sickness is so bad. Ugh! Also have extremely dry mouth. Will ask pharmacist tomorrow if this normal and if can take probiotics whilst on these to try and help.

[anthrokid]

Ugh sorry to hear you're feeling so awful. As it's for a bladder infection and is an alternative to other antibiotics you may find it could be a stronger drug and hence the acid and nausea.

I just had a quick read on the medication. Interestingly it says not to consume dairy products directly with the medication (e.g. don't swallow it with milk or yoghurt, etc.). However, it does advise that you drink plenty of water. It is also used for treating anthrax, which suggests to me that it may be quite a strong antibiotic compared to the usual. Could explain why you're feeling so sick. I don't know if you had your tablet with a meal, but it says that Cipro can be taken with or without food. Perhaps having a meal in your stomach will help reduce the nausea after you take it.

[jacobean]

I have had a long chat to a pharmacist. She says that I need to eat more before I take it. Like quite a lot. and see if that works. So I plan to take it after a biggish meal if I can force one down. I suffer with a bad stomach anyway a lot and have to take gaviscon every day for acid. The antibiotic *is* a strong one, yes. It is why I freaked out when I read about it online (I know... I should never have gone there :)). There are some who claim it has made them very ill and should only be used in the direst of circumstances. Problem is a lot of UTI bugs are now resistant to the two other main meds and for those of us with serious penicillin allergies that leaves cipro as pretty much the only choice.

So I will try with more food before hand and then move around more after taking as last night I took it then went to bed (I sat up reading didn't lie down as know this isn't good, but it still could have made it worse).

The pharmacist said she's had reactions like this to tablets and plowed on through. She said obviously if actually throw up a few times or the diarrhea gets really bad (had that too oh joy) or get a fever or very shaky etc then go to a docs. But if its a case of darrhea and nausea she would keep on trying to deal with it and get the drugs for the infection in my body.

Then I'll have to deal with the thrush lol.

[anthrokid]

Ugh, what a crappy antibiotic. At least you've had a chat with the pharmacist and have a good idea of how to try and manage it now :) I hope it works and you're feeling better in no time!

[swanick15]

most of what is written on the leaflet is complete rubbish and the only reason its there is so if you did take them and have any serious side effects you can't sue them for compensation as it is presumed that you read the leaflet and taken them 'at your own peril' its nothing but a legality when in doubt I'd just ask a pharmacist.

[jacobean]

Hi Aaron,

Thanks so much for the reassurance :) And you are a medical biology student too so that gives me some reassurance as well. My step brother is a doctor and my uncle too but I'd never let them know the ridiculous depths of my phobia re this! They are so chilled out about everything.

Having quite bad anxiety - which could be self induced as I've got myself into a total pickle. Or could be the tabs as they are one of the few antibiotics that can affect the central nervous system, although the online stuff (medical not the support groups lol) said the CNS effects observed were mild such as headache, mild dizziness, anxiety. Also been having some weird ass dreams but thats not something that particularly bothers me.

These things are hell on my stomach though. But pharmacist advice to eat as much as I can before taking has helped a bit. Still getting a lot of acid though, so bad it makes me breathless. So as soon as I've finished them I'm going to take a massive dose of probiotics. But all antibiotics upset me. Before I got my serious reaction to amoxicillin I used to be okay on those stomach wise. Pretty easy on it. But now the ones I can take seem to do a number on me, Erythro especially. But this one is very hard on the stomach.

I have to take a lot of antibiotics too as I tend to get infections. Only finished a course of metronidazole about six weeks ago! And then I get a bad stomach and thrush for ages. It sucks!

But I just want these three days over so I can let go of this horrific anxiety. It doesn't help that I was already in a bad state as my dog was seriously ill last month, then when we were on holiday my stepfather had a serious accident and had to go into rehab to learn to walk properly again and we had to come home, only for my husband to be urgently admitted to hospital last week with cellulitis! I think it has rocked me and made my anxiety return with a vengeance.