antibiotics and stomach aches

about an hour after I take my anitbiotic I get horrible stomach pains-like unbearable. I take them with food as the bottle says and am on cipro-any advice as to what I can do to not have these? I am on them for ten days and I just called my doctor and she says I need to just deal but I have finals, work ect and can't just deal.

 

If your doctor said you need to take them then you do so that you don't breed resistant bacteria. You can call your doctor again but this may be one of those things you just have to suffer through.

 

The same thing happens to me if I take an antibiotic. My doc told me to take it in yougurt so that it coats my stomache. It didn't really work for me, but possibly it could for you. For me, the pains only lasted the first 3 or 4 days I took the medicine. Best of luck- I know it can be painful.

 

this is one of reasons that allopathic medicine sucks...all the darned side effects. i suppose your doc probably told you to take pain meds to deal with the stomach pain? when one medication causes a nasty side effect, usually docs will tell you to take another pill to deal with those side effects, and then you end up with more side effects from the second pill, etc etc etc... and the pills that you started out with are just covering up how your body is trying to deal with dis-ease, not actually fixing the problem at all...i'm guessing that if you're on abx, that your immune system isnt working quite as well as it needs to be to fight off infections on its own. god forbid that a doctor should actually get to the root of the problem in the first place. oops, now i'm ranting, i'll end it here. sorry you're feeling crappy. next time try to see a naturopath instead.

 

i don't you what to tell you for the stomach pains, but
make sure to eat cultured yogurt to replenish the beneficial bacteria.

 

When I took cipro for a bladder infection last year, it didn't give me bad side effects but it didn't fully get rid of the infection either. I had another one within a few weeks. I kept getting them and even though the doctor tried a few different antibiotics on me, none of them worked. I finally got rid of it on my own by taking amoxicillin (refilled an old prescription for acne several months before). Anyway, back to the original point--if cipro doesn't work out amoxicillin might be better. I hope you feel better soon.

 

thanks I have 5 more days left and I can't do the milk or yogurt thing because I still have some lactose intolerance issues left over from when I was a kid. I have just been dealing but it's weird because I get a stomach ache after my morning one so I don't feel like eating for my evening one and than my stomach ache is worse-good diet plan but so not worth it

 

you can get acidophilus from the health food store in capsule form. you dont have to eat yogurt with active cultures to get it.

 

In some people Cipro can cause a temporary form of colitis (inflamation of the colon) or it could be effecting the lining in your stomach. Did your doc do a sensitivity study to see which antibx is most appropriate for the bacteria that is causing the infection. Cipro is one of hte "end of the line" oral antibiotics, and should not be a first choice for uncomplicated UTIs.

Taking a Pepcid about an hour before your dose will really help. (Don't use any other antacid, as the rest usually interfer with the action of antibiotics, but Pepcid usually doesn't.) Pain killers won't do anything, and are rarely if ever prescribed for stomach pain due to antibiotics. OTC pain relievers also won't be of help and NSAIDS like Ibuprofen and aspirin will actually make the problem worse, if it is due to a stomach lining issue.

Tell your doc, though, so he can, next time do a sensitivity culture to make sure you are getting the best antibx for the type of infection you have.

We are running out of antibiotics which are useful due to antibiotic resistant bacteria, and doctors who prescribe things like Cipro without a sensitivity study are adding to it. However, don't STOP your meds now, or you will be adding to antibx resistant bacterial growth even more.

I hope you are feeling better. I hate taking antibx, too, but in some cases, they are neccesary.

 

One more thing, if you aren't allergic, the Sulfa family of drugs is still among the first choices for uncomplicated, non-resistant UTIs.

 

I was told to not eat any Dairy, calcium, zinc, or caffeine 2 hours before I take my Cipro and 6 hours after. I found that once I stopped drinking coffee with Cipro my symptoms started to fade a bit. The dairy really made my stomach hurt alot. SO just take that into account. I am very tired while taking this. If I had known before hand how yucky this would make me feel I wouldnt have even started the Cipro. But now I gotta finish them :/
Oh and you gotta love the tendon pain you get with this stuff. If I turn a little too fast I get a bad pain in my tendons. It blows.

 

Dairy products, Tums, Mylanta, Maalox, etc, anything with calcium, aluminum, zinc, or magnesium will interfere with the absorption of Cipro. Do not take any vitamins or antacid within 2 hours of the Cipro. Maggie had the best advice, take a Pepcid 20mg or Zantac 150mg about 45 minutes to 1 hour before the Cipro, and take the Cipro with a FULL glass of water.

 

Definately listen to the 2 above me, when i took cipro a couple weeks ago it clearly said on the bottle not to take with any dairy products, just be careful what you eat in the few hours before and after you take it, stay away from what they said, like calcium, zinc, dairy, and hopefully it will help. i definately wouldnt do the yogurt thing, thats about the most dairy you could get and would only hurt rather than help.

 

Yea, the same thing happens to me after I took my antibiotic too, the bottle says if it causes a stomach upset to take crackers, bread or a small meal..

 

Cipro is nasty strong stuff, please make sure that a sensitivity was done before you take this. Usually there are less intense antibiotics which can be used, but only a sensitivity study will let your HCP know.

 

my son is taking amoxicillian for an abcessed tooth. he also complains of stomach pains after taking his medicine, and his doctor told us to give him children's tylenol which of course didn't work. part of that may be due to food allergies - we're still waiting for initial test results - we picked up some children's acidophilus. should he take that with the amoxicillian, or later in the day, between doses?

unfortunately i find that often it's necessary to be very assertive with doctors to make sure they've given enough thought to what they're prescribing, and that it really is the best medicine for you, and not the just latest nifty concoction that the rep from pfizer was pushing when he took the entire staff out to lunch. we like to think that we can trust our doctors to inform us of side effects and drug/herb/food interactions, and to know what to do about them, but many do not even read the package inserts on the drugs they prescribe. often times what will happen is they'll get excited about the new drug a pharmaceutical rep comes peddling, and they in turn will believe that they can trust the rep to give them accurate information about the product, its benefits and risks, side effects, and interactions. they take the free pens, prescription pads, calendars, and other advertising "gifts" offered, and the sales pitch along with it, and believe in good faith they have been told what they need to know. unfortunately, much of the time they are given an incomplete picture, a rosy view of the product that glosses over its problems.

i had a doctor once who was very lax with this kind of thing, and obviously unimformed. she'd rail against herbal diet pills with ephedra, for example, and in the very next breath tell me to take psuedoephedrine for nasal congestion. (i have seriously high blood pressure, and guess what, boys and girls: it's pretty much the same stuff.) i used to have to refuse to leave her office, even following her out of the room if necessary, to make sure she had considered side effects, interactions, and safety for breastfeeding into account whenever she prescribed something. i left her care when a prescription error hospitalized and nearly killed my mother (for something like the third time.) my current doctor however, is so completely ignorant of and hostile towards natural remedies and blindly accepting of pharmacueticals, i feel i can't talk to her. she might find it ironic that my herbalist friend is more aware of herb-drug interactions and side effects than she is.

i have very, very big issues with our current medical system and its control by the big power playing pharmaceutical and insurance industries. it's a nasty, nasty business. i'm with nimh about naturopathy. pharmacueticals may help some things natural remedies can't but they don't have all the answers. my blood pressure's too high to control naturally, but taking over-the-counter pharmaceuticals for congestion can be damgerous for me. and i find the symptom-based, quick-fix approach of allopathic medicine allarming. more often it is the case where a doctor, under pressure from insurance or pharmacuetical companies, will prescribe an inappropriate or under effective medication, when long-term changes in common-sense things like diet, exercise, water intake, fresh air, and healthy relationships, while less drastic in their immediate effects, will get to the root of the problem long-term. such was the case with my experience with anxiety & depression: ten years i will never get back gone down the toilet to pfizer, and in the long run i was really helped most by nutrition, exercise and herbs. i will admit to still being bitter about that: too many people today are processed, rather than healed. and its the system's fault: not the doctors, not the medicines it's the competitive, corporate-run, profit-driven system. i find it difficult to put my trust into anything ultimately controlled by a headless monster.

anyway, whether you see an allopathic doctor, herbalist, or naturopath, it's important to talk to them and make sure they're informed, and to be informed yourself as much as you are able. a good healthcare provider of any kind will at least attempt to be informed about both pharmaceuticals and natural remedies, and be open minded about selecting the most appropriate treatment for your specific condition.

ok, that was my turn to rant.

 

BETWEEN doses. Acidophilus is a bacteria, and if taken with (at the same time) the amox, it will be more likely to be all killed off. If he can swallow pills, the ENTERIC coated is the best, if not, then let him have the chewable, preferable between meals. It works better on an empty stomach. (It doesn't matter when you take enteric coated because it doesn't release until it gets into your intestine anyway.) Supplements of acidophilus are really a lot more effective than yogurt, too. I think one tab of acido is like 50 servings of yogurt, (I could be off on that number, but it is like more than you could eat comfortably) and it is less likely to be killed off and more likely to be alive than the cultures in yogurt.

Yes, ephedra and pseudoFED are basically chemically the same. (The name pseudofed came from Pseuo Ephedrine.) Both do nasty things to your BP. A doctor who tells a patient with high BP to take pseudofed needs to relearn medicine.

 

pseudoephedrine is okay for people with high blood pressure, if it is WELL UNDER CONTROL. Pseudoephedrine does increase BP, but not to the extent that ephedra does, or even phenylepherine.

It sounds like your BP is really high, though. You should avoid it all together, or use it very sparingly.

If you do need a decongestant, you CAN use a Vicks Inhaler, which is really just like Vicks Vapo-Rub, but in a convienent tube. Saline irrigation can also be useful. If you are really congested, the saline nasal sprays won't help, though. Ask the pharmacist for a saline nasal irrigation product, such as Sinus Rinse (it is NO FUN to use, though)

 

...oh, I almost forgot!

Maggie is exactly right about the acidophilous. It should preferably be enteric coated, but it is imperative that it contain an obscene amount of active culture, because most will be destroyed in your stomach.

Culturelle is a good product that is widely available. It is lactobacillus gg. I prefer Multi-Probiotic 4000 by Douglas Labs, but it will be difficult to find. Douglas Labs products are sold almost exclusively through a handful of doctors offices. Some pharmacies carry them. If you are interested in there product, check out their website at www.douglaslabs.com.I guess they could tell you of a dealer close to you or sell it directly. Alternately, you can PM me, you can buy it from my store and I can ship it to you.

 

Maybe try taking some ginger root, it may help your upset stomach. You can find it in capsules at the health food store.
I have found that penicillin gives me diarrhea. Usually I am prescribed amoxicillin, but for my wisdom teeth extraction the surgeon gave me penicillin. That was terrible, feeling crappy at both ends... haha