Are these normal side effects from antibiotics ?

[Jotia]

Sorry for tmi in advance. I started taking antibiotics 5 days ago for a gum abscess and it didn't give me diarrhoea but I think it's change the way my stools look. Today I went to the toilet twice and both times the stool was very long, is this normal ? Could this of been caused by the antibiotic? My stools are not normally anything like this. At the moment I feel quite sick and Im debating whether to stop taking them two days early because I worried it will get worse.

[Fishmanpa]

In poo jargon, that's called a "leaner" for obvious reasons ~lol~ Most people would be somewhat amazed by that. It's like "Seriously... that was inside me? ... damn!"

Be proud of the "leaner" :yesyes:

Positive thoughts

[LateRoses]

Antibiotics kill all the good and bad bacteria indiscriminately so yes they can definitely mess with your GI system and make you feel crummy/funny stools.

Please don't stop taking your antibiotics course early without approval from your doctor first. You risk killing off the weak bacteria and letting the more resistant bacteria proliferate by stopping antibiotics too early.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Antibiotics kill all the good and bad bacteria indiscriminately so yes they can definitely mess with your GI system and make you feel crummy/funny stools.

Please don't stop taking your antibiotics course early without approval from your doctor first. You risk killing off the weak bacteria and letting the more resistant bacteria proliferate by stopping antibiotics too early.

And why not add some yoghurt to help the healthy bacteria repopulate?

When my mum was on a cocktail of strong antibiotics, including IV ones, for her pneumonia it really messed her up in the bowel dept. She went from all day runs to constipation as they changed which they used. Latter was when she was discharged and a few days of eating yoghurt got her back to normal.

Even doctors are coming around to probiotics and whilst they are still awaiting the science, they are starting to recommend them alongside antibiotic treatments.