AIBU to think that taking antibiotic wrongly caused this 2 year illness

[Jayfee]

My adult son got prescribed antibiotics for swollen glands and a lump on his throat just before going on holiday. He had a five day course of antiobics but didn't read the instructions and ended taking them over 15 days. Since then he has had recurring illness of painful glands and debilitating level of exhaustion for 2 years starting since he took the antibiotics wrongly. He was worried that was the cause of this and a friend said that by feeding the body low levels of antibiotic whatever caused the initial illness gets stronger. Does anyone know whether there is any possible tuth to this. If so, would going to his doctor and asking for a stronger dose of a different antibiotic help? He has had lots of tests with no results giving any evidence as to what is causing this and the exhaustion really affects his life. Many thanks for any advice or information you may have.

Hi OP, you should ask for this to be moved to a health board so you can get some responses.

Good luck. Hope your son gets better.

Taking the wrong antibiotic could have meant any infection might have become stronger because the illness wasn’t being treated. I’ve never heard of an antibiotic being the cause of an illness becoming stronger.

More likely that he had glandular fever. Which can make you feel terrible.

I’m not a medical doctor, but 15 days of antibiotics should not have harmed him.

Mystifyingly his illness sounds like glandular fever otherwise called infectious mononucleosis which is caused by a virus, so antibiotics would do nothing but pre-empt a secondary bacterial infection from developing (I.e strep throat). Glandular fever is well known to cause long periods of debilitating fatigue with reoccurring swelling/pain in throat glands and in some cases, causes full blown Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) with fatigue lasting years. CFS itself has physical pain as well as exhaustion.

There is a blood test that you can have which will show whether he has had glandular fever. This plus 2yrs of fatigue may be enough to refer him to a specialist clinic to see if he does have CFS which depends as well on how much the fatigue had affected and limited his daily activities.

Yes, you're being unreasonable. That is not something antibiotics would or can do.

Long term viral diseases, on the other hand, can. He's got a post-viral syndrome, or still has glandular fever at a low strength. Both are aggravatingly debilitating, but often dismissed in a 'oh it's just man-flu' way.

Lower level antibiotics would not make you ill my cousin took low level antibiotics for years

The original infection would have reoccurred or resolved

It sounds like mono

Thanks everyone. Hopefully it will eventually go away. I think there is no treatment for mono or CFS.

It’s still worthwhile to get a diagnosis if it becomes bad enough that he cannot work or cannot work FT as it means access to disability benefits and employment protections under the disability act. There is also occupational therapy that teaches fatigue management, activity management etc, and there are medications to help with the pain and sleep disruption that often comes with CFS. There’s no cure for CFS, but there is therapeutic help.

Are you saying he's felt this way for two years, but you've never suggested he go and ask a doctor?

If you had any suspicion that there was something not right, or a recurring illness dragged on this long, why would he not go and get checked?

Linda Ellen He has been back and forth to the doctor, various tests and medication, nothing found, nothing helped. Thanks, Plan, at the moment he is trying to live with it and keep working etc. Hopefully it won't get worse and does improve.

I hope it gets better too JJfee.

It sounds like he has Chronic fatigue syndrome which often starts with swollen glands & sore throat. If his bloods continue to come back clear, ask for a referral to your local ME/CFS service clinic.