Metronidazole..long term side effects, anxiety and panic attack!

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3 years ago I took metronidazole, 500mg three times per day, for three days only ( suppose to be a 7 days course)...bad adverse effects..dizziness..trembling..blurred vision..palpitations. I just ruined my life. I developt anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia (never have them before..and I'm 29).. 3 years since then and I still have no idea what else to do ...I visited over 20/30 doctors in two different countries, making a lot of analysis and everything came back normal..but the symptoms are still there

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  • Posted

    This poison did not only ruined my BRAIN .IT RUINED MY LIFE ..

    • Posted

      Hi, this sounds absolute hell. I have been prescribed this drug 3 times by my dentist and never took it. Over the last 3 years he said I had an infection under a loose bridge and prescribed it. I asked him to take the bridge out and then I used salt water (my gum was actually purple at this stage). The salt water cleared it completely and the gum returned to normal. On my return visit he said that the antib he prescribed had cleared it up nicely!!!!!! I never told him the truth. Since then he has prescribed it to my hubs twice coz he had toothache!!! I told him not to take it and it turned out no infection just a piece of filling had come out. Why is this prescribed like smarties. After researching into it, it is the devil. Alexandra, I am so sorry for you, it is just not fair. I will refuse it again and you can ask for a different antib than this if needed.

      Hug to you and you other guys that this has affected.

      G.

    • Posted

      Same !!! and my HUGE PROBLEM is... even if I spoke with 20 doctors about this situation , they said is not true!!! That is weird!!!!

    • Posted

      so sorry to Here. I took it for seven days three times a day about a month ago and a soon as I stop taking it or help my close. Every day is a challenge every day I’m teary and I have anxiety and don’t feel like myself. I look at my family who i love dearly And feel nothing just weird and emotionless and that causes me more distress paranoia because I don’t know when it will end it’s a terrifying feeling and I take the one in magnesium amongst other tablets and will take Valium when needed until this is sorted out. Feel heartbroken to be honest that an antibiotic could do such a thing. There is a Facebook group that is fantastic and your find a lot of support ..

    • Posted

      doctors will never admit it. we are the ones suffering. it's pure torture.

    • Posted

      thank you Carmen. everyday is torture ,I don't feel like my self either and have no sense of time ,and my memory is shot,not forgetting things,but actually not remembering anything with the blank mind I have and another gazillion symptoms ,I know how you feel I'm sorry. I wish I could bring my self back. time back. and memories back. everyday feels the same over and over I am dizzy. confused. brain pressure and so on. my vision is so off. it's just to much to explain. not to mention the other cocktail doctor put me on at the same time. it just fried my brain leaving me like a zombie and having no idea how about to go on with my day because my mind is shot and nothing comes to mind and so on. it's always a circle. I pray for everyone to get back on their feet because I know I can't. xx

    • Posted

      will pray for you too. I too hope somehow a miracle happens . its sad when i have an amazing family and cant enjoy them. feel

      like a stranger in my own body .. they say that the side effects are due thr flagyl causing a thimine deficiency so definitely try some THIAMINE And magnesium . ive PURCHASED GABa online as well . may need to consider antidepressants but not sure as yet .

      this has been a great sourve of comfort as is her FACE BOOK GROUP.

      Moderator comment: I have removed the link(s) directing to site(s) unsuitable for inclusion in the forums. If users want this information please use the Private Message service to request the details.

    • Posted

      with every single day, I hear more and more people dealing with the same problems! Sorry for you, ladies ( Carmen and Ana)... Before to go on anti-depressives pills.. have you tried any psycho-therapy? I've done 2 years ago something called cognitive- comportamental.. that helps me a lot! ( I refused to take pills and I was trying everything else...acupuncture...massage...vitamins..)

    • Posted

      thANKU . yes definitely

      Massage , accupuncture vitamins , etc but will be seeing a psychologist to help me with this side effect . i am trying SaM-E AND will also start GaBa. i read that this antibiotic can lower dopamine levels in the brain so am researching how yo increase dopamine wirh Tyrosine and see if it helps before taking any antidepressants. i dont want to take them but scared how long tho

      is will last for . are u feeling better?

    • Posted

      I 've tried gaba as well... 😏 Sometime I feel better and sometime worse...I've observed that as long I keep my mind very busy, I.m felling good even if after I feel exhausted. Anyway, I still have a little bit of hope 🙄

  • Posted

    Hello all. I wanted to give a little update to you all to try to give some hope to everyone going through the effects of this heinous drug. I wrote on this thread about three days after coming off metronidazole and I genuinely thought my life was over. I was a wreck, had constant beating heart, anxiety about everything, shakes along with the physical symptoms of not being able to eat and constant lethargy. This was about 4 months ago and I never thought I'd have a normal life again. I can now say I'm 100% better and back to my old self. I'm not saying the road here was easy but I just thought I'd share some things that helped me and I really hope it helps some of you out there because believe me I know how tough it is. obviously I'm not a doctor so check with your health care provider before taking supplements but this is what really worked for me. 1. I went to a counselor first and started cognitive behavioral therapy which really reassured me that it was just anxiety and I wasn't going crazy. I learned great techniques of how to stop irrational thoughts as well to stop googling every symptom as it'll only terrify you more. As hard as it sounds you have to accept that you have anxiety and acknowledge it rather than fear it just as you would every other emotion. I wont say I "got rid" of anxiety but I can manage it and it no longer controls me. it gets easier every day. 2. I went to the doctor and had full blood work done which showed I was anaemic which can make anxiety worse. i started iron tablets and am no longer like a zombie. 3. I drank a tonne of water and and took probiotics to get good bacteria back that the antibiotic destroyed. I also take various vitamins B, C, D and omega 3 which is good for brains function and dopamine. 4. I started to exercise, this I found was the biggest help for me. it made me feel better and I couldn't focus on how bad I felt when I running or taking a spinning class. 5. finally I stopped worrying about getting better and just kept living my life. I stoped googling symptoms and stressing myself out. I talked to my friends and family about what I was going through. someone mentioned how they have no emotional for their family and felt detached which was a really scary symptom of my anxiety too but as soon as I accepted that it was just my mind and I still did love them I stopped thinking about it and it took the fear out of it. Again i know this may not work for everyone but i really hope it helps some as I've been there and have come out the other side and you can too. sending love to you all xx

    • Posted

      HI Lolly,

      how are You. Thank you so much for your comforting words and For giving hope to us. I am taking quite a few supplements and hopefully will be taking GAbA SOON. I am also hoping to see a counsellor who does timeline therapy. I also have extremely low iron and ferritin and transferring and have had to iron infusions since stopping this awful antibiotic. I Have other help issues and the best waffle antibiotic exacerbated my thyroid which made my symptoms even worse. Strangely enough five years ago I also took antibiotics called rifaximin and vancomycin

      And it did the same thing but ON is very high scale and I never thought it would happen again And when the same thing happened it was absolutely terrifying I did get better the depression went away And the anxiety that the emotion flat detached feelimg never did, But in saying that I did not understand what steps to take to heal and to get better in that sense which I feel counselling might actually be the key and something else that I found on the internet as well woth certain brain exercises . i definitely need DOPAMINE. do you take a particular brand and how much do you take a day. I have tried something similar to doper mean it was not dopamine so it didn’t help. Thank you so much as I feel I am on the right track and will get better and regain my feelings love and joy from my family who I love so much and thd lack pf feelings os called anhedonia but there is a website called anhedoniasupport and that is my next step too 😃 ...

  • Posted

    I just started this medicine last week. Was only able to stand maybe 3 days of the perscription! I'm on day 2 of NOT taking it anymore & i'm miserable! I have been panicing bad over everything. Acute upper right quadrant pain, tightness in chest, tingling in my jaw & down my arm. I was freaking out so bad i googled to check if I was having a Heart Attack! I'm hoping this wears off! The shakiness & little episodes of confusion makes it even worse. My face is even red & hot to the touch. I will NEVER take this medicine again!

    • Posted

      sorry to hear @rebekah. it definitely not you its the drug. it can affect you as well if you have thyroid problem. i found a blackbox warning on the box . there is a facebook group as well called metronidazole support group

  • Posted

    I was prescribed 500 mg 2x per day. also the gel 1x per day. my dr knows I cannot take this mess. it's awful, I already have anxiety and take meds for it. so I'm taking the gel 2x per day and pray it works!

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