Anxious about Clarithromycin

[JanesSadLittleLife]

I've got a nasty recurring throat infection, and after peering at the pus follicles in my throat from as far away as possible this morning, the GP prescribed 500mg per day of clarithromycin (I'm allergic to penicillin).

I didn't get to ask any questions but I gather it isn't well tolerated - I struggle with stomach cramps on erythromycin, and this is the next choice in the list (other than azithromycin).

I had antibiotics for strep a good 20 years ago but I can't remember what they were, don't recall any reaction though.

I'm really nervous about stomach sensations and nausea etc, can anyone give me some reassuring anecdotes from their use of it?

I'm allergic to penicillin and enthromycin doesn't agree with me at all - however I am always happy to get clarithomycin as for some reason it really agrees with me, I get no adverse side effects and normally settles my stomach

I am allergic to penicillin and get stomach upsets from amoxicillin and erythromycin. Clairythromicin is fine though and I can tolerate it well, I don’t feel any side effects from it but it does work.

Oh that's good to hear, thank you - do you find it better to take with a full meal?

DD gets stomach cramps from erythromycin but is fine with Clarithromycin. She tried to take it with food last time IIRC but the timing didn’t always work out. Didn’t seem to matter though. Hope you feel better soon.

I must admit I have not enjoyed my recent brush with Clarythromycin. I had it as part of a triple therapy for gastritis. So pretty heavy doses. It affected my sleep and my bowels. The main, and horrible issue, was with a disgusting acid taste in my mouth. So bad it woke me up, put me off eating, and three days past stopping the course, I still have it, although slightly less severe. I wouldn't take it again.

I had to stop taking it as I felt so sick

Bugger. Now I'm too nervous to start it and DH is going to moan at me.

I struggle with it, it makes me feel nauseous and my stomach/gut cramps too. I also have a penicillin allergy. The one thing I have found that helps are the Bio-Kult probiotics. I take three per day when taking any of the 'mycins'. They're expensive but worth it.

I was on it for skin for months. No side effects

If you don't take it you wont get rid of the strep though so it's got to be worth trying?

I'm terrified of all things nausea and also had a rough time on various other antibiotics. Clarythromyacin has always been totally fine though. It is a horrible worry but it's one of those where you just won't know if you're one of the ones it's fine for unless you try one. Definitely take with a full meal and got everything crossed it's all okay!

I'm the same, give it a go.

I'm allergic to penicillin and I'm usually given clarithomycin . I'm usually fine with it it doesn't make me feel sick or cramps.

Dd had this as a long term medication and was fine on it.
Can you speak to the pharmacy about your concerns, maybe having a probiotic and/or anti-sickness medication could help. I think the long-term issues around not treating an infection could be much worse than a few days side effects from the medication. I speak as someone permanently disabled due to sepsis.

Yes, true. I will try it but I might do it with a full meal tonight!

I wish I could remember what I was given for it previously - clarithromycin seems familiar, like I might have had it before, but I might be thinking of cefadroxil (begins with a c!). I know Ofloxacin went through me like a dose of salts.

It was the treatment that finally cleared a nasty staph A skin infection for me, after multiple courses of other antibiotics. I did take probiotics to offset the loss of gut flora/fauna, and had no nausea. Fingers crossed for you.

Teen DD has had it twice - the worst part by far of it is that it gives you a horrible bitter taste in your mouth that you can’t get rid of. She lived on mints 24/7 to get rid of it! A bit of nausea, nothing awful but get some anti emetic tablets just in case

My son can't have any 'mycin' antibiotics and is allergic to penicillin.
He gets given Cefalexin which works really well for him and has never upset his stomach.

Take it with milk. That makes a difference for me.

Thank you all the replies. I took one 2 and a half hours ago with a full meal, and chased it with plenty of Pepsi max. They taste a bit weird and my lips now taste metallic - I've had a couple of peculiar belly twinges but I was getting belly and back pain with the strep anyway.

So far so good, no cramping colicky pain or loo emergencies but it hasn't been long! Hope I don't wake up feeling nauseous or shit the bed. 😩 From memory, the cramps I got with erythromycin came on within 40 mins and I didn't actually get diarrhoea with them. It was anti-depressants that used to set off the runs within 24 hrs! Honestly I'm crap with medication.

I have to take one every 12 hrs, but I rarely eat breakfast. Will some toast and milk be enough to protect against any gastric effects?

So glad it seems to be going well. Got everything crossed for tonight! Toast and milk will do you absolutely fine. I'm not a breakfast person so often lined my stomach with a digestive and milk for various antibiotics!

My ds is a very allergic child with stomach issues and clarithromycin is the only antibiotic that doesn't seem to upset him in some way. He gets a bad breathing reaction to penicillin based antibiotics and others give him a sore stomach.

Thanks @Olivia199!

And thank you @Itsonlyagame , your poor son. 😔 I had chronic tonsillitis as a child and was constantly on amoxicillin, so developed the allergy - an itchy rash - when I was 10! They put me on daily co-trimoxazole until I could have my tonsils out at 12, that was a bitter tasting thing dissolved in water.

I also get a crazy pulmonary response to nitrafurantoin (bit random), ended up in hospital having a scan with that, so I'm wary of new meds.

DH has just woken me up searching for a lost ear bud, but I feel ok. Was in bed by 9pm, had a few anxious stomach flutters so busied myself with the George Michael documentary and dozed off. Felt a little crampy, had the briefest wobble of mild nausea and was aware of a strong pain behind my navel around midnight, but nothing I couldn't handle. I have IBS so I'm no stranger to gut pain!

Throat still very sore, but I'm feeling confident about taking my next dose...I'll update the thread, if only for the benefit of other anxious antibiotic takers searching in the future.

Took this mornings dose with toast and milk, absolutely no effects or sensations whatsoever - no cramping pain. Possibly a mild wash of nausea but it passed so quickly it barely registered.

I did, however, get myself into a bit of an anxious state this evening. I'd eaten lunch (porridge) at 1.30, but by 5.30 my stomach was grumbling and empty like I'd not eaten all day. Usually I'd be glad of hunger pangs but it struck me as a bit weird as I'd eaten only 4 hrs before.

Then my anxious inner voice piped up and said its the antibiotics, they're making your stomach roll - it's lining you up for a lovely evening of explosive shits. Probably within an hour of eating. Maybe you'll even throw up your dinner.

I forced down a small frozen pizza and took my next dose at. 6.30, but I'm jittery and agitated.

And I still have a raging sore throat.