Jaw abscess worsening with clindamycin

[Kbrz]

Hi I went in to the dentist a couple days ago to get a broken molar extracted. (I had a root canal done on it years ago and it has now got infected) It was extremely painful and tender to the touch but I had no visible swelling. Dentist sent me home with Vicodin & clindamycin to kill the infection before she could extract it in a few days. I know clindamycin is a top tier antibiotic. But I took it and the infection swelled and got more painful. After about 6/7 doses it swelled up so bad it looked like I had part of a baseball stuck in my jaw. And the pain got so much worse I took half of my weeks worth of Vicodin that night. It felt like my jaw was being torn apart with a hot poker. The dentist said that the antibiotic wasn't working and sent me to the er. In er my swelling went down a little bit. I had missed one dose of the clindamycin. The er doctor gave me again clindamycin via iv. My face swelled up again but started pussing at my gums after a while. She told me to keep taking it despite the swelling and sent me home with a follow up oral surgeon.   I didn't take it all night and my face had gone down to half the size by morning! It felt so much better and lighter.  I couldnt get a hold of my dentist or the oral surgeon to ask their opinion on continuing with this antibiotic. i was terrified but decided to try what the er doc told me to do. I took one dose 300mg at 930 this morning. 30 minutes after it was kind of hard to breathe but it went away after a while. An hour later my cheek started swelling more and getting tighter and heavier. The pain started to get worse too. Now its difficult and painful to swallow! I'm so scared I don't know what to do but I'm definitely not taking anymore of them. Has anyone had a similar experience with this stuff and please what did you do? I'm going to another dentist to see if I can get different antibiotics like Keflex or something. Panicking horrible though. Any advice would help.

[Kbrz]

Thank you for your response. My dentist office wasn't open so my husband called another dentist, explained everything to him and I went there. He prescribed me cephalexin 500mg.  Its been 24 hours since my last dose of clindamycin  and im three doses into cephalexin. My swelling has gone down amazingly. It is no longer in my throat or near my ear or eye. it seems to be only around the infection site now. my face almost looks normal and the pain has subsided a lot. I slept through the night only waking once for the first time since Sunday.
    I didn't notice any other effects like itching or redness. I was running a fever and shaking when I was In the er. It was a little hard to breath after the iv and my last dose of it. I felt heavy too.
    I don't understand what's been happening to me but I'm going to do some research and try to figure out as much as I can.
   In the meantime i guess I'll just have to see how things progress. And I will post updates as well.
  

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Any other side effects from the clindamycin?  

So you had some swelling in your throat area as well?  And any itching or redness on the skin?  You may be allergic to it.  I would recommend contacting your dentist to see if they can switch the antibiotics.  At this stage, I hate to say to stop it because both doctors had recommended continuing with it and they both have seen you whereas I'm over the internet but it makes me suspicious due to your description.  Best to call another dentist or your previous dentist and find out.