Side effect of TB drugs

My wife is taking RIMSTAR for active TB. She did not have the common symptoms of TB but MT result was more than 17mm. After the medicine she feels drowsy and become insane. Is there any drug to stop this side effect. She is diabetic and also taking pyrodoxine with RIMSATR. Doctor please help me.

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

I am sorry to hear of your wife’s travails.  Rimstar is a combination drug that contains four active ingredients (that is, four anti-TB drugs), each of which is associated with side effects. Side effects with Ethambutol, for instance, include confusion, disorientation, or hallucinations.  Assuming that her TB-treatment doctor is a specialist with much experience in the treatment of TB, he/she would be the best person to consult about the side effects she is experiencing.  In general, discontinuation of a drug causing adverse side effects is the course to take.  Nevertheless, should one of the drugs she is taking prove to be one that she must have for treatment to be successful, an alteration in dose or another drug to ease the side effects could be an option.

Good luck