Does erythromycin make you feel worse whilst taking it?

[Sarahjsxx]

Hello,
I've got tonsillitis (I'm on week 3 now of feeling ill and caved on Monday and went to the GP) had fever etc and cough before but that went, now had very swollen glands & throat / body aches
Anyways I've finished day 2 and I feel worse than when I started the erythromycin 😣 heartburn body aches anxious and fluttery feeling in my chest. Can't have pencillin as allergy and no clarithromycin due to breastfeeding. Am also now faking omeprazole which hasn't helped
Is it normal to feel worse on the antibiotics, so I just have to ride it out 😪

some people do find erythromycin makes them feel worse - that doesn’t mean it isn’t working as an antibiotic, it’s just that the side effects can be pretty rough.

if it’s tolerable, I’d try to get through the course, it doesn’t sound like you have many alternatives sadly.

Hope you feel better soon

Yes, it’s hideous.
I can’t abide antibiotics.

It can have nasty side effects - made my DD very sick.

It makes me puke like I'm possessed. I can't take it at all.

Yes, it can be awful for some, me included. If you can persevere great, if its really awful maybe a conversation with your GP to see if clarithromycin or azithromycin are a viable alternative.

I'm also allergic to penicillin, so was once given erythromycin as an alternative when I had tonsillitis. I couldn't get on with them as they made me sick and I'd end up bringing up the tablet before it had time to dissolve.
I feel your pain and hope you feel better soon

Me too

When I was on erythromycin by the middle of the course I'm sure I was feeling crappy because of the antibiotics and not the infection they were for

I’m allergic to penicillin and can’t keep down erithromycin, so am always prescribed Clarithromycin for tonsillitis. After my c-section my wound got a bit infected and I was prescribed Clarithromycin for this, even though I was exclusively breastfeeding a newborn. Also prescribed Clarithromycin again for tonsillitis when still breastfeeding a 1yr old. From what I recall, nurse and prescribing paramedic wouldn’t prescribe without Clarithromycin for breastfeeding mother without checking with GP because it’s not approved as standard, but when checking with GP the GP was happy to prescribe.

It does very strange things to your stomach! I felt really ill on it. I was told by GP to reduce dose over a longer time period to finish the course. Wasn’t perfect but more manageable.

Thank you all for the replies, I've woken up feeling worse with worse neck pain blocked sinuses now & worse throat pain😪😪 so I assume they're not working

@Sarahjsxx Hi op sorry you are feeling worse today but I wouldn't assume that the antibiotics aren't working. I've found that you need to have taken them at least 3 full days before you see improvement sometimes 4 with non penicillin antibiotics. There's a throat numbing spray you can buy from the pharmacy which helps with the pain too so it's more bearable. Hope you feel better soon

I’m allergic to erythromycin so always check if I’m going to need antibiotics. It’s the only one that I can’t tolerate for some reason 🤷‍♀️

Thank you for all the replies, well I finsihed the course last night but still not feeling much better 😪 throat still swollen and sore neck and throat especially in the morning my sons got a new virus now so I don't know if that's on top of this