Q: I just finished a two-week course of antibiotics, taking them twice a day. They wrecked my whole body, making me nauseated, giving me an upset stomach and reflux, changing my stools, and even some weirder side effects like pins-and-needles sensations on my hands and face! What can I do now to help my body get back to normalcy, and do you have tips to make any future treatment I might have to take less awful?
A: I’m sorry you had such a bad time. Antibiotics are a mixed blessing for sure. Without them, we’d be stuck back in the 19th century, dying of sore throats and infected hangnails. The discovery and development of drugs that can kill bacteria has saved countless lives. Pure power in a pill. But nothing comes without a price: As you experienced, drugs can have side effects, and all drugs have risks. Antibiotics have some unique ones. Here are my suggestions to you for future reference.
First, make sure you really need antibiotics before you take them. Don’t pressure your doctor for antibiotics if she is advising against them. Millions of doses of antibiotics are prescribed inappropriately every year. This is usually in the context of respiratory infections like bronchitis or sinusitis. These infections are caused by viruses almost all the time. Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses, yet people with virus infections get prescribed antibiotics over and over again. In my opinion, doctors and patients share responsibility for this unfortunate pattern.
Second, while you are taking antibiotics, follow the directions carefully. Some of them sit better if you take them with food.
Some require a full glass of liquid to make sure they get all the way through the esophagus. Some need to be taken on an empty stomach, or at a distance from certain foods. Read the information that comes with the medicine. If you have questions, ask your pharmacist, and make sure you take the entire course. You should never have leftover antibiotics in your medicine cabinet. If you don’t take the whole course, germs can develop resistance which can lead to a worse infection requiring even stronger drugs.
Antibiotics kill bacteria, as I said. But not all bacteria are bad. In fact, we live with several trillion of them on us and inside us all the time. Believe it or not, there are more cells living on us and in us in the form of microbes than we have composing our actual bodies. Now, before you run screaming to the shower to scrub yourself inside and out, understand that we need those guys. They are called normal flora and our relationship with them is mutually beneficial. They get from us a steady supply of nutrients, a stable environment, protection and transport. We get from them certain nutritional and digestive benefits, stimulation of the immune system and protection against colonization and infection by dangerous microbes.
The problem is that antibiotics are indiscriminate killers — they get the bad bugs, but they also get the good bugs. Without the good bugs in our guts our digestion isn’t as smooth. Result?
Diarrhea, stomach cramps, indigestion. In severe cases, we can end up with a dangerous infection with a hardy bacterium called Clostridium difficile. To help prevent the killing off of all the good bacteria, boost your system with healthy bacteria while you’re on antibiotics, and especially after you finish them. You can do this by eating yogurt and/or taking probiotics. If you eat yogurt, make sure it has active cultures in it. Probiotics are usually in the form of capsules that contain beneficial bacteria.
They come in many varieties. You can get them at the SHAC pharmacy or at a health food store.
Sometimes it seems the cure is worse than the disease, doesn’t it? If it is any consolation, remember that having a few uncomfortable side effects beats dying from an infection, like in the old days.
And as you recover from the disease and the cure, don’t forget the basics of body care to help get you back on your healthy feet. Eat good foods like fresh vegetables and fruit, stay physically active and get plenty of sleep.
Peggy Spencer is a student-health physician. She is also the co-author of the book “50 ways to leave your 40s.” Email your questions directly to her at pspencer@unm.edu. All questions will be considered anonymous, and all questioners will remain anonymous.
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