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Anxiety-Antibiotics

I believe I have been experiencing severe panic attacks/ anxiety as a result of a combination of antibiotics I was on for an UTI.

I have stopped the antibiotics, abou 36 hours ago, and am wondering how long before they are out of my system? and when they are out, will the anxiety go away?

My GP prescribed a mild anti-anxiety drug and it has helped but not completely.. My heart is pounding and anytime I think of leaving the house I get sick to my stomach... Is there any way to fight these feelings without upping the dose of my medication.. and how long will this last?

Thank you for any help.
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Avatar universal
My case was severe.
In 2002 I already had some anxiety and depression. I was able to live my life with coping. But then got a Uti. I was put on bactrim. Second dose I was riding in the car, had my husband stop at restroom threw up, diarehha and severe panic. Went to the er 6 times shaking for hours, insomnia, couldn't eat, lost 15 pounds, severe depression... once the drug was out of my system I just could not understand why it was still happening. The drs really didn't say much either. I felt lost. But after about 5 years, I looked up on Internet and saw others had the same thing happen at different levels. It's crazy how something can change your life in such a traumatic way. I'm now on antidepressant.
Some others don't have any reaction to bactrim. But be aware.
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For those of you who have had anxiety related to antibiotics, what do you take when you have an infection?
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Okay thank you, I think I'll call my pharmacist later today.
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Can anyone tell me how long it was before the anxiety got better after taking antibiotics? I've been off of them for two weeks and still feel the same. If someone could give me some incite into how long they felt this way before getting better, it would give me light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you
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1 Comments
It doesn't happen to everyone, and likely not to many because that warning I posted was just to call your doc if anxiety occurred.
It is a different experience for each person so you might just get anecdotal evidence here that is not reliable. Some people might coincidentally have run into something that caused them anxiety right after taking it and confuse the cause.
For reliable advice it is better to call your pharmacist or doctor who sees people taking this drug all the time or the manufacturer who did the FDA trials to get the drug approved because he has all the scientific data for the world to find.
Avatar universal
Thank you for the info, hopefully it won't last long. It's horrible.


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Thank you for the reply. I was on cipro for 5 days, 500mgs twice a day.
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Drugs.com lists below POTENTIAL side effect, so you may be correct in thinking it made you anxious. I suggest you call the manufacturer for timing of side effects to disappear.
Note that anxiety is a difficult thing for anyone to pin down, because there is no measurement device so it is up to the sufferer to figure how anxious he is and when it comes and goes. The anxiety problem could also be from some other event in your life and just started coincidentally with the cipro usage.  Anxiety can occur from only one of many potential causes. http://www.univgraph.com/bayer/inserts/ciprotab.pdf

"changes in mood or behavior - depression, confusion, hallucinations, paranoia, tremors, feeling restless or anxious, unusual thoughts or behavior, insomnia, nightmares;"
Avatar universal
Can anyone tell me how long it was before the anxiety got better after taking antibiotics? I've been off of them for two weeks and still feel the same. If someone could give me some incite into how long they felt this way before getting better, it would give me light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you
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4 Comments
What antibiotic were you on, dosage and for how long?
I am experiencing the same thing.  I was on flagyl and duflucan and now I feel constant, sick to my stomach anxiety. I've been off the meds for three weeks and no change. Did you get better?
Are you still feeling this way?
I am feeling better. I felt like I was going insane. It took about a month before the anxiety and nausea went away. I am staying away from diflucan. My body cannot handle it.
Avatar universal
I thought I was crazy! So I've done a lot in the past year to better my health and to move forward in my life after going through a traumatic loss.   A few weeks ago I had broken a tooth that I had to have fully removed and days later I had an infection that left my face swollen. My dentist prescribes me amoxicillin and I return to work. I had very little pain but the swelling and discomfort and infection needed to be remedied before I could perform at my job properly.

I took the amoxicillin as prescribed and it made me feel sick and have an awful taste in my mouth. Then I wasn't able to sleep at night. I started to feel angry and rage full at first about my job for no apparent reason. I just started to hate working there. The next thing I know I'm having huge anxiety problems at work and when I'm at home when I think about my job and can't sleep at night, I woke up in the morning for several days feeling this hopeless sense of impending doom as other people have described. I quit my job just like that! Lost all of my benefits and everything because I was so miserable. I could just sit there and feel horrible and didn't even know why. I decided to stop the amoxicillin around that time because I was feeling sick all the time. I was taking 500 mg 3 times each day.

It's been two days since I stopped and I feel somewhat normal. When a panic comes over me I can control it. I had been so confused as to why I was bahaving so erratically and I thought to research if it could be crazies by amoxicillin.

Now I'm jobless but gave a clear mind to look for something else thanks to stopping the antibiotic. I am glad to see this site because it explains somethings I couldn't even come close to explaining. I felt like I needed to be committed and there was not one cause or reason for me to feel this way except I couldn't sleep anymore even with a benedryl it didn't work at all. I felt anger and rage and depression and doom and sadness. I cursed a beautiful sunny day and just wanted to be awful and moody. I felt like I wanted to just not exist anymore. Because of these awful mood swings and debilitating anxiety I will never allow myself to take amoxicillin.

I'm a 38 year old healthy female. I took a daily regime of several B vitamins and supplements as well as several other vitamins but stopped all of them so they wouldn't affect my amoxicillin treatment. I regret this now but will go back to my daily vitamin intake.

I hope this makes sense to people because I am almost convinced that this treatment is what caused me to abruptly have these mental issues.
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Horrible story. I'm currently right in the middle of the after effects from Amox. Almost crashed my car, having brief black outs. Other symptoms I experience: anxiety, hyperventilation and weird electrical sensations in my head. I'm drinking a litre of raw kefir to replenish my gut bacteria. Hope this nightmare ends soon.
Avatar universal
I know the feeling! I m goin through it now! ! Dreadful. I.m on antibiotics about 7 times a year for U T I.s & its always the same dreadful feeing. Get well soon.x
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Azithromycin did this to me. I took it for 4 days and didn't sleep once from day 2-4. I figured it was maybe because I was feeling better or something but I just kept my mind busy and felt like I had done a ton of cocaine or something the entire time and got a TON of work done but really don't remember any of it. On day 5 it all came tumbling down. I was just laying down watching TV and started bawling for absolutely no reason and felt like I was going to literally go insane. Couldn't control my thoughts, they kept going to really bad places so I smoked a bowl of marijuana. Holy hell that was the worst decision ever. I freaked out so bad I ended up laying out in the street 100% sure I was going to die and wanted to make sure someone would find my body. Eventually I didn't die so I came back inside and took 4 benedryl, which were in the form of OTC sleeping pills (same ingredient). Once those kicked in I felt amazing, the anxiety was gone. I was happy, slept great. I am still experiencing this pretty bad but it seems to be getting better and have been taking benadryl every night since and it works well for me at least. I had to quit smoking cannabis for the time being because it still takes me to a really really bad place where I just stare at something, thinking bad things and how fked up the world is, why even bother living etc, which had never happened before I took the antibiotics. I believe I will eventually get better but feel like it is going to take some time. It's been 2 weeks since I took any at all and I feel as though I'm about halfway better. I was also taking probiotics/vitamins the entire time because I always have so I don't think that is a cure all.
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1 Comments
Have gotten better since?
Avatar universal
I have been having anxiety and panic attacks for 3 years, and it all started after going to the clinic for feeling too tired and sleepy, back then I was younger and didn't know that stress can make you feel that tired. The doctor prescribed me a high dose of antibiotics because supposedly my throat looked irritated and I might have an infection. I took the antibiotics and I started feeling like I was going crazy but didn't know what was wrong. After a year it got a little bit better, I never took any medication for it, since I was scared that it might make it worst. So after doing a lot of research and new studies that have shown the relation of the bacteria in the gut to the brain and all the benefits of taking probiotics, I started taking some, I take now foods probiotic-10, it has 10 strains and 25 billion organisms, twice a week and I have been feeling a lot better, like the old me, I still have a little of anxiety but its nothing compared to before, now I can actually control it.
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Avatar universal
I have been suffering with anxiety for about 2 year now and I suspected it was because of a high dose of antibiotics i was taking due to sinus problems but the doctors told me that it wasn't possible that the antibiotics could do this. Even though it mentioned it underside effects(found out a year later). I have been trying everything i could think of to recover from the anxiety. Went to a physiologist thinking that its all in my head but still happening.  I get relapses of panic attacks randomly every now and then. It doesn't seem be related to a specific situation,example, i will be on my sofa and the anxiety will kick in.So i started searching and that's how i found this forum and i see am not the only one that medication caused their anxiety.

Is there anything i can do to help recovery from the anxiety and the sinus problem?
I'm guessing they linked.
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Avatar universal
I have been suffering with anxiety for about 2 year now and I suspected it was because of a high dose of antibiotics i was taking due to sinus problems but the doctors told me that it wasn't possible that the antibiotics could do this. Even though it mentioned it underside effects(found out a year later). I have been trying everything i could think of to recover from the anxiety. Went to a physiologist thinking that its all in my head but still happening.  I get relapses of panic attacks randomly every now and then. It doesnt seem be related to a specific situation,like  i will be on my sofa and the anxiety will kick in. Thats how i found this forum and i see am not the only one that medication caused their anxiety.

Is there anything i can do to help recovery from the anxiety and the sinus problem?
I'm guessing they linked.
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Avatar universal
I took levaquin 500 mg for 10 days and have experienced anxiety since the first dose. I've never had a problem with anxiety before. Does anyone know how long this will last? I've started a probiotic. It has been almost two weeks since my last dose. I feel a little better knowing the anxiety is a result of the medicine but I don't know what to do to fix it.
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Avatar universal
I am glad to find this community! Several years ago, I was on antibiotics off and on for 6 months for sinus problems. I went through hell on earth, not knowing what was wrong with me - anxiety, heart pounding, pressure in my head, dizzy, weak, etc. It was one of the most horrible, scary times in my life. I finally realized years later, with the same thing happening on a lower scale every time I took antibiotics, that my body was having an adverse reaction. Same with taking Vitamin D - terrible upset stomach, reflux.  I became determined to see to my own health better than ever - eat right, take very good supplements, and follow a moderate, more alternative medicine/ifestyle approach in order to stay as well as possible. It has helped. Today I told the Dr I have adverse reactions to antibiotics and Vit D, and he did not believe me, said I had too much anxiety, that he doesn't have any patients with problems like that. I nearly cried because he is a good Dr otherwise, but I know my own body well enough to know that these are REAL, not a result of anxiety. I am going to be more consistent with my healthful lifestyle. A good naturopath with a solid reputation for helping direct one to good health and also treating problems with herbs/diet/natural means can be a great way to go. It is easy to become desperate to get well and go overboard on even alternative/healthful lifestyle, eating, etc. I did at the beginning of my desperate effort to get well. A naturopath will help a lot. I am not a vegetarian and don't advocate that, but whatever will help bring good health is what one should do. Take heart! The body is always trying to heal itself as much as possible. Give it the help it needs and things will hopefully get much better.
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Avatar universal
I could really use your help I just finished z pak and have anxiety and total insomnia. Please let me know the supplement and whatever else.
Thanks larry
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Avatar universal
I could really use your help I just finished z pak and have anxiety and total insomnia. Please let me know the supplement and whatever else.
Thanks larry
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Avatar universal
Hi,
I know you posted his several years ago, but if you still check your messages...I thank you!
I was in Honduras and contracted a parasite infestation.   I have been on Cipro, Flaygl and Alpenza.  I have been suffering from anxiety symptoms since I started the meds.  Tingling/burning sensations in my arms, legs, & face, leg weakness...
I have convinced myself that I have MS.  I went to the doctor today to start the long process of elimination.  I feel much more relaxed tonight knowing that this antibiotics can cause the anxiety symptoms I am experiencing.  
Thank you for sharing....be well
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Avatar universal
I have had panic attacks since I was 12 and am now 52,Finally was feeling good for years,,until I took Bactrim for a Bladder  infection and I cannot believe what it did to me,I went into a full blown 10 hr anxiety attack,,and I jusy about felt like i was doomed and not gonna make it,fel like it was never gonna go away,I was sweating,pacing,vomiting,crying,scared like hell,felt impending doom,,was almost ready to go to the stress unit,,couldn't stand the way I felt and that was after only taking 4 tablets,,I stopped talking them right away and it took me almost a week to get my strength back and stop feeling so weak.I would not recommend anyone who is prone to anxiety to take this drug,,It was a hellish journey.
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Avatar universal
What antibiotic did you take?
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I started having anxiety last year.  I was put on an antibiotic also, and discovered it made my anxiety much worse.  When I told my doctor about it, he agreed it would do that.  He also cautioned me about taking  OC medications for colds and sinus problems.  I have head pressure with my anxiety.  I haven't seen on this post where anyone else said they experience this. I have gone from severe panic attacks and not wanting to leave my house to going back to work and have anxiety that lasts for about 1 to 2 hours per day.  I pray that I can have a normal day one day.  
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Avatar universal
Interesting. I was searching for the opposite effect that most are reporting here. After years of anxiety I took some antibiotics yesterday and found that I woke up with a sense of calm that I haven't had in years even with anxiety medication. Seems like a great case for a university thesis in this.
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Avatar universal
Here it is 4am. Can't sleep b/c of ridiculous anxiety. I've been feeling overwhelmed to the point that I thought I was losing it. After hours of trying to calm my mind (walks, meditation, reading, trying to work) I started searching my mind for what has changed since experiencing the anxiety. Finally, I remembered that Im taking these crappy penicillin pills 4x a day. I googled 'can antibiotics make you crazy' and relief!! At least there's a reason Im feeling like a loony toony. Thank you for posting you comments!!
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Avatar universal
Updating that I'm trying the suggestion of taking a super complex B-vitamin suggested in a post above, it seems to be helping after just a few days.

I had already been taking fish oil, D, inositol, a multivitamin/mineral and a probiotic to help get over this nightmare.  It might be just a fluke, but after adding the super B complex for just a few days, I've started to get entire days of being symptom-free!    

On the site chiro (dot org) there's a chart that tells what nutrients various types of drugs deplete, so I am trying to replace as many of those as I can.

I've also researched that feeling jittery and getting weird heartbeats, sweating, etc can be a symptom of hyperthyroidism.  Maybe antibiotics mess up our thyroids too?
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