Anyone taken antiobiotics in early pregnancy?

[Lazydaysaremadeforthis]

I have woken up today with tonsillitis, just had it confirmed at the Doctors and he prescribed me Phenoxymethylpenicillin which I think is just the same as Penicilin(?). I told him I was 5.5 weeks pregnant and he assured me that it was considered safe to take in pregnancy and that he felt the safest thing to do is to treat the infection. He gave me lots of reassurance about how itd been around for years, women in 'third world' countries had healthy babies despite horrendous illnesses etc. He was really sympathetic.

However I was also pregnant last month and had tonsillitis for which I was given the same antibiotic before I knew I was defintely pregnant. I lost that pregnancy at about the point I am at now. I am absolutely terrified it will happen again.

After seeing the doctor though I decided it would be best to treat the illness because last time I didnt see a doctor for a few days and it had got very bad with fever etc before I got antiobiotics. However I have just double checked on the nhs website and it says that penicillins are generally considered safe during pregnancy but that the safety of phenoxymethylpenicilin hasnt been proven and it shouldnt be taken unless clearly needed. So now I don't know what to do...i had already taken one tablet

Anyone have any advice or experience?

I've had recurrent Uti and have so far had amoxicillin, 3 lots of nitrofurantoin and a round of cephalexin. I am 14+6 and 2 scans at 11 and 12 weeks have shown a healthy wriggly bean. I think it's more dangerous to leave the infection as your immune system is depressed and not treating is more of a danger for both of you. I also had a MC at 6 weeks last year when I had an untreated UTI so went for treatment early this time. In fact I'm going back to discuss a prophylactic daily low-dose antibiotic this afternoon with GP. I think the problem is they can't actively test on pregnant women so can't say it's definitely safe - hence why all drugs are listed as only if a GP says you need them. But if your GP says you do better to take them IMO. Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks so much FTMK it really helps to hear i'm not alone. Sorry to hear youve had so much trouble though. Thats what I thought about the not being ethical to test, but whilst the gp seemed to relaxed and reassuring, the nhs website seemed the opposite.

I was so torn when I woke up with the familiar symptoms this morning because last time I was mid tww after ttc so I left it a couple of days by which time I had a raging fever and was in agony. I then got a bfp but lost the pregnancy almost as soon as I found out at just over five weeks. I wondered whether the fact I was so ill played a part so didnt want to let myself get so ill this time. Its hard to know whats for the best though!

I know it's hard, but try not to link your previous infection with your miscarriage - there are so many reasons why you miscarried so early! Use of antibiotics, or having tonsillitis, is unlikely to be it. The first trimester is so scary (and at 30 weeks I can say it only get slightly less scary!)
The websites etc have to be cautious and advise only medications if advised by GP. It is unethical to do research studies on pregnant women. As my GP put it to me - there is no evidence they are unsafe. The older medications (like phenoxymethylpenicillin) have been used on thousands of pregnant women and no link has been made. So while they can't 100% say they are safe, they can say there is no evidence to say they are unsafe.
Certainly not taking the antibiotics is more risky than taking them. Immunity is reduced in pregnancy, so infections can be more serious if left untreated.

I was really paranoid about this and two doctors and three midwives told me there is NO proof of antibiotics and miscarriage, and that if anything what they treat helps prevent miscarriage so I needed to chill the f out.

I've basically been on them since day one (now 8 weeks) for very bad reoccurring uti's, many have failed so I've tried several different ones now and increased dosages.

The only issue I've had is struggling to keep them down with morning sickness, please don't worry, they're helping you not hurting you or baby.

You need to trust your doctor on this one. The ones you're on taste disgusting, which don't help the paranoia but down the hatch and put your faith in medicine not internet research. Sometimes google can be your worst enemy.

5.5 weeks is still too early for the baby to be effected by these anyway, it's still surviving off its own resources.

Congratulations! I hope you're feeling better soon! Tonsillitis is totally pants, you have my sympathy x

Oh also thought I'd just add, had a scan at 5.5 weeks and saw a heartbeat and currently having SERIOUS morning sickness. So no harm done here x

Yes I did. I was on Ciprofloxacin all through my pregnancy (ongoing kidney problems!)

Dd2 is lovely (age 10) unless you ask her to tidy her room!!

Yes, because i had Lyme disease. I was terrified on 2 counts--the disease and the antibiotics. Was reassured by an infectious disease doctor that all would be ok. I worried non-the-less. Baby is now 19 and gorgeous and healthy! Please try to be reassured by what the docs are telling you...

I've had a few antibiotics in my pregnancies for chest/throat/ear infections. It's worrying when you read the leaflet but as pp have said all medications say to only use if necessary as they cannot be tested on pregnant women which is also why they can't give a definite answer on alcohol.

I was terrified when I found out I was expecting my youngest as he was a surprise and I'd been taking tramadol, and diazepam for a slipped disk. Everything was fine and if your GP says you need them then take them. I know its hard but try not to worry.

I can't thank you all enough for sharing your stories although i'm sorry that so many of you have had some nasty conditions when pregnant, some a lot worse and prolonged than mine.

You have all confirmed what i've thought really, that the risk of continuing with an infection is worse than taking the medication. I did trust my doctor and felt pretty reassured, but the seemingly conflicted NHS choices information threw me.

This is my second baby so I was hoping to be a bit less nervous, but i am finding that a new pregnancy only brings different worries!

I also have taken ridiculous amounts of antibiotics this pregnancy for different things, and other medicines that according to the NHS 'aren't proven as safe', but in other countries are taken like candy during pregnancy. The NHS VERY cautious, and it doesn't mean that negative things have been found, just that there haven't been millions of expensive studies (many times just because it's unethical to test on pregnant women, rather than because of risks). Hope your tonsillitis clears up and you feel better.