To be scared?

[WigglesWaggles]

Long story short I have a UTI, on Friday I was prescribed MacroBid for 3 days. I haven't taken one yet but realise UTIs can get worse and spread.

I had terrible health anxiety a couple of years ago which thankfully is very well managed now. I just still have an issue with medication. I read the side effects leaflet and saw that it can cause lung issues or hepatitis which can be fatal.

I guess I'm asking for a kick up the arse and some reassurance. This feels like the last hurdle. Normal side effects are something I can deal with but the fear that they could kill me is all I can think of. ( I realise I sound silly).

Utterly ridiculous. Take the medication or put up with being ill. That's your choice.
Why go to the doctor and get medication if you are not going to take it?

Medication is all about reasonable risk.

The unreasonable risk you are taking of developing really bad symptoms from your UTI versus the reasonable risk you are taking by using the medication.

It's an antibiotic. Just make sure you take it as per the instructions.

Thanks @CheshireCats for the harsh but true comment and thank you @jeaux90 for the rational thinking. Half way through the course now and nothing dramatic to report besides a headache. I know it's ridiculous to some but to me it was a big hurdle.

I also suffer from health anxiety so i totally understand your fear about taking them. Well done and hope your on the mend now. I think its hard for others who dont understand. Take care x

@CheshireCats the OP has already stated she suffered from extreme health anxiety previously - do you have any understanding of mental illness?

I’m glad you took them OP and you’re feeling no side effects.

@WigglesWaggles you are really welcome, and it's not ridiculous at all it's a real anxiety for you. Really glad you are doing the course and hope you are starting to feel better.

All medications can, in theory, cause serious side effects. But the chances are vanishingly small. If the risk was in any way significant, the medication wouldn't be prescribed so readily, and certainly not for a routine complaint like a nasty UTI.

You'd be much more likely to die of sepsis or kidney failure from an untreated UTI than you would from some freak reaction to a commonly prescribed antibiotic. Your doctor knows this - if your medication was more dangerous than your illness, they wouldn't have given it you. If you are anxious about your health, the best thing you can possibly do for yourself is to take your doctor's advice and take the medication prescribed to you.

Take the meds! I hope you feel better soon, and that you can keep your anxiety under reasonable control. (And if you do feel that you're slipping back to a place where your anxiety is getting bad like it was before, don't hesitate to seek more help with that.)

Years ago I was prescribed Ciprofloxacin which is a very very strong antibiotic for UTI/ kidneys.
I read the review, about people falling Ill even more after taking it, every single review said how bad the medicine was.
I was so scared to take it, one person said their leg started coming off, I realised this is absolutely rubbish and decided to take it.
I had no a single side effects from it!
People say all sort of rubbish.
I also checked other medicine reviews, like paracetamol etc, people said similar rubbish about it too.

@CheshireCats
Nice bit of empathy there

I got sepsis many years ago because of a UTI that spread to my kidneys. For goodness sake take the meds.

I take nitrofurantoin (macrobid) twice daily for a week several times a year due to recurrent UTI.

I have also had to take them daily (50mg) in the past for 6 months as a preventative measure.

I'm still here!