FACT or FICTION...you shouldn't drink alcohol whilst on antibiotics..

[SlightlyMadSweet]

cos it does say anything about alcohol in teh patient information leaflet.

It does however add several notes of caution about liver problems/medicines.

Message withdrawn

I was told that it is'nt harmful per se, but the anitbiotics wont work so well.

erythromycin i think is particulaly bad if you have alcohol with them.....stomach cramps and the shits as i recall.

may just have been my own personal reaction, not nice.

you have me convinced donbean....and I am double dose.

metronidazole is the only one that has an adverse reaction - vomiting badly. the others it just reduces their effectiveness is what I was always taught.

AB's are metabolised in the liver hence the alcohol not a good idea it can also make the pill stop working properly.

Yes, it does reduce efficacy but the only one that is absolute no-no is metronidazole - it has the same effect as antabuse - i.e. will make you vvvvvv sick!

DH was once v ill after having had a drink or two while he was on AB's. He went to the Dr who said that the alcohol/AB mix wasn't the cause at all. Aparently the reason they tell you not to drink is because alcohol reduces the effectivness of the AB's.

Metronidazole is the main one that causes problems. It has a similar structure to antabuse, the alcohol abuse medication and so can make you very ill if you drink any alcohol with it. Erythromycin is notorious for cramps and diarrhoea, whether or not you drink. Penicillin is fairly safe with alcohol. It is excreted almost unchanged in urine not by the liver.

It's wierd. I have been too poorly to want a drink for a couple of weeks.

I havn't even noticed the lager in the fridge.

I am bored of orange squash (I have been drinking loads to try and get better as I don't tend to drink enough)...I was just pondering what else i could drink and DP opened a beer and I thought ...well thats different to squash

Yes fleximum.....I actually managed to give myself food posioning a couple of days ago... teh cramps as I restarted eating were bad.

Now that has settled I seeem to be suffering a little bit frmo lack of apetite (but that may be a direct effect of being poorly rather than drug side effects IYSIM).

I had the worst stomach cramps on erythromycin (no alcohol). I had to stop taking it. If they get worse (mine built up over 24 hours till it felt like I was in labour!) ask to be given a different antibiotic. I'd never ever take it again.

I have no cramps now that I am over the food poisoning.

AT the time I thought it was probably just me refilling my tummy, but now you have said it I don't recall it that bad after previous bouts of food poisoning.

Glad you're feeling better, SMS.

Well yes I am better from the food poisoning...I just need to sort out my chest...it has been on and off for over 4wks now and I am getting sick of it.

it depends which ones doesn't it?

My friends dad had a book which told you which ones you could drink with and which ones you shouldn't. Bless him. He used to work it out for me(I used to stay over most fri/sat nights)