scared to take antibiotics

hi am i the only one who is scared to take antibiotics, i need to take them as i have a minor chest infection, i took my first one about half an hour ago, im sat here really scared of getting some sort of reaction :weep: im allergic to penecillin and septrin i know the ones im taking have not got any penecillin in why am i so worried also does anyone else get short of breath from a chest infection or am i the only one, ive asked some freinds of mine and they said they dont get short of breath with an infection, im a total wreck at the mo :weep::weep::weep:

I have wrote many a thread about my fear of antibiotics and like you I am allergic to penicillin. I usually have one beginning with m (can't remember the name of them) and although I worry about taking them, am always fine when I do.
I'm no expert but the last time I had a chest infection I felt breathless but also put some of my breathing difficulties down to the fact I was so anxious about the antibiotics, Hope you are feeling better soon x

thanks for your reply, the gp usually gives me erythromycin but this time he gave me clarithromycin he said there from the same family as erythromycin but as ive never took them before i worry about side effects x

I have had those before ( for a sinus infection ) and was fine with them. My main worry with antibiotics is allergic reaction but after having a reaction to pencillin in the past, I suppose it is natural to be a bit concerned but I'm sure you will be ok and will feel much better once you have finished the course. x

thanks i hope so x

I had them last week for a chest infection and was fine on them apart from diarrhea !!

hi nicola ive been put on 500mg twice a day im worried that its a bit too high dosage,

I can't remember what dose I was on but had them twice a day

Acidophilus is good if you do suffer from the runs through tasking antibiotics :-)

Also, perhaps rather than being scared of taking them (because of a potential allergic reaction) remind yourself of the benefits.

It strikes me that many, many people are so scared of side effects, reactions etc from taking drugs, that the benefits if them are so overlooked.

Maybe instead of focusing on the bad, how about reminding yourself instead that the drugs can make you better?

500mg is a dose I have been on many a time for things, I'm sure you will be fine. These are some of the most prescribed drugs out there and there are certain types that people are more sensitive to which are prescribed less for that very reason.

You definately get shortness of breath with a chest infection, the mucus causes it. I've been an asthmas sufferer for over 25 years and this is exactly how a chest infection would affect me, I would fine myself coughing stuff up and it would take a week for my breathing to get better. It is extremely common.

I agree with Tessar, I'm not afraid to take medication but I have had this with antibiotics and even vitamins. I get it because of the side effects caused by antidepressants as I would be fearing the consequences of it. Ultimately, getting over this is about exposure so you habituate to it.

I also agree with Tessar on the probiotics. High strength antibiotics kill off the good bacteria as well and can leave us open to such as Candida overgrowth and if you read the reviews on Amazon alone you will see people saying how they felt much better taking these with them. I saw an article recently where it said doctors may even advice this but should be cautious because there has not been enough study of probiotics, which was a NICE recommendation from what I recall.

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Originally Posted by nomorepanic

I had them last week for a chest infection and was fine on them apart from diarrhea !!

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Hi Nic,

My mum had this very issue a few months back. Very soon after starting them (a couple of hours I think) she had this and it went on the next day too. I asked a pharmacist about it as I was popping into Tesco and she told me that the anitobiotic she had been prescribed is well known to cause this reaction and it had been recorded that a larger % of people should not be prescribed it. It was a combination one with 2 antibiotics in, one in a much smaller volume and this was what causes a common allergy. Her GP simply ticked it on her notes for the allergy as a Do Not Prescribe and put her on one she had always had before. Why on earth he decided to switch on this one occasion I have no idea...probably financially motivated!

Was this what you had? If so, make sure they update your notes.