CFS induced by certain antibiotics?

[Minnesota]

Just curious if anyone here has noticed their chronic fatigue/brain fog starting after taking certain antibiotics. I had abdominal surgery 6 months ago for a GI issue that had bothered me for a year. It was major surgery, and although painful I was recovering well for the first few weeks. This had me excited, as I could sense that my GI issue may finally have been fixed. At 4 weeks, I came down with what appeared to be an infection (severe cramps, elevated WBC). I was given a 2 week script of ciproflaxin and flagyl, 2 known potent antibiotics. 4 days into this I started feeling really out of sorts......heavy fatigue, disorientation, mood swings, fog. I took this 4 more days thinking that you need to finish an antibiotic to kill off the bacteria before I had no choice but to stop. That was 5 months ago, and I am still feeling the effects of this, primarily the fatigue and brain fog. Now mind you I was doing triathlons and 10k runs before this despite the GI issue, so I know what my body feels like to exert and feel a normal type of fatigue after working out. Now I do 1.5 miles on the treadmill lightly....anything above that produces the PEM that I hear about. Unreal to feel how heavy and energy-less I am if I push beyond that. Adderall helps a bit for the mind so I can keep working, but not being able to do the things I used to enjoy right now is really tough. Depressing of course when what you were used to doing seems so out of reach. My take is the antibiotics did damage to the mitochondria's ability to produce energy. Any thoughts?

 

[pbyr]

The gastrointestinal tract is home to 70% of the immune system. Dr. Leo Galland believes there is a reason for that since the GI is the most susceptible for infections. The microbiota is a complex environment of organisms that live in the gut. It is thought that abx ruin this microbiota by killing off the beneficial or good guys bacteria. By missing the good guys then the bad guys have a chance of holding your GI hostage.

Any time there is bad microbes then the CFS symptoms will appear. Try repopulating the good guys with a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, whole foods. Kefir may be a good choice. If that does not help, PM me and I will give you more options.

 

[jaminhealth]

OP: It's really tragic this class of abx drugs is allowed to be dispensed. I know enough people in my life who suffer with major issues due to this class of drugs.

Fluoroquinolones Are Too Risky for Common Infections

Fluoroquinolones like Cipro are too risky to treat common infections and are overprescribed. Consumer Reports has advice about when to avoid these meds.

www.consumerreports.org

You could do good to look into Grape Seed Extract and you may never have brain fog again.

I've been taking it going on 25 yrs.

 

[Minnesota]

OP: It's really tragic this class of abx drugs is allowed to be dispensed. I know enough people in my life who suffer with major issues due to this class of drugs.

Fluoroquinolones Are Too Risky for Common Infections

Fluoroquinolones like Cipro are too risky to treat common infections and are overprescribed. Consumer Reports has advice about when to avoid these meds.

www.consumerreports.org

You could do good to look into Grape Seed Extract and you may never have brain fog again.

I've been taking it going on 25 yrs.

I will go get some of this today and given it a shot. Trying to understand the Wahls diet given the success she had in gaining some life back with MS. I just wonder how I would be now if I hadn't taken these, or at least had something less potent. Very sad.

 

[Not dead yet!]

Just curious if anyone here has noticed their chronic fatigue/brain fog starting after taking certain antibiotics. I had abdominal surgery 6 months ago for a GI issue that had bothered me for a year. It was major surgery, and although painful I was recovering well for the first few weeks. This had me excited, as I could sense that my GI issue may finally have been fixed. At 4 weeks, I came down with what appeared to be an infection (severe cramps, elevated WBC). I was given a 2 week script of ciproflaxin and flagyl, 2 known potent antibiotics. 4 days into this I started feeling really out of sorts......heavy fatigue, disorientation, mood swings, fog. I took this 4 more days thinking that you need to finish an antibiotic to kill off the bacteria before I had no choice but to stop. That was 5 months ago, and I am still feeling the effects of this, primarily the fatigue and brain fog. Now mind you I was doing triathlons and 10k runs before this despite the GI issue, so I know what my body feels like to exert and feel a normal type of fatigue after working out. Now I do 1.5 miles on the treadmill lightly....anything above that produces the PEM that I hear about. Unreal to feel how heavy and energy-less I am if I push beyond that. Adderall helps a bit for the mind so I can keep working, but not being able to do the things I used to enjoy right now is really tough. Depressing of course when what you were used to doing seems so out of reach. My take is the antibiotics did damage to the mitochondria's ability to produce energy. Any thoughts?

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I was very surprised by a Celiac diagnosis late in life. At least this situation should trigger a screening, or a re-screening. A DNA test can rule Celiac out, but it can't prove whether or not it's active if the genes are present. (I mention it because many people have a 23andme test already).

Have you been cleared to take probiotics like yogurt at this point after the surgery? One thing that happens from too much antibiotic is that the flora is damaged and its ability to make Biotin and B12 is damaged. Depending on what they did in the surgery, the very fragile system that helps you absorb iron may have been a bit damaged, and that could be a double whammy.

Any anemia test? I had anemia fully 10 years before Celiac was diagnosed, but it was "minor" so they didn't look further. Grr.

As far as ME/CFS I feel better from Valtrex and things that keep inflammation down, Advil, Celebrex, DHEA, that sort of thing. I have each of these for different reasons, but they luckily add up tot he Pridgen Protocol.
Sometimes antibiotics will restore my energy level, sometimes they hurt it until I restore the flora with yogurt. I don't think they are hurting me specifically with regard to mitochondria, but I can't be sure.

 

[Forebearance]

Dear Minnesota,

Please rest!!! It is much easier to nip this in the bud in the early stages.

 

[Minnesota]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I was very surprised by a Celiac diagnosis late in life. At least this situation should trigger a screening, or a re-screening. A DNA test can rule Celiac out, but it can't prove whether or not it's active if the genes are present. (I mention it because many people have a 23andme test already).

Have you been cleared to take probiotics like yogurt at this point after the surgery? One thing that happens from too much antibiotic is that the flora is damaged and its ability to make Biotin and B12 is damaged. Depending on what they did in the surgery, the very fragile system that helps you absorb iron may have been a bit damaged, and that could be a double whammy.

Any anemia test? I had anemia fully 10 years before Celiac was diagnosed, but it was "minor" so they didn't look further. Grr.

As far as ME/CFS I feel better from Valtrex and things that keep inflammation down, Advil, Celebrex, DHEA, that sort of thing. I have each of these for different reasons, but they luckily add up tot he Pridgen Protocol.
Sometimes antibiotics will restore my energy level, sometimes they hurt it until I restore the flora with yogurt. I don't think they are hurting me specifically with regard to mitochondria, but I can't be sure.

I have started taking B12 shots weekly (3 so far) and this has bumped me up a bit (15% maybe). Doing a lot of smoothies that are nutrient rich, and no sugar given I tested positive for fructose intolerance. I can eat keifer and probiotics now, and have been doing that too. My functional doc says that mitochondria repair can take some time given the blitz you experienced with the heavy drugs cast upon you. CoQ10 is key he says.

 

[Minnesota]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I was very surprised by a Celiac diagnosis late in life. At least this situation should trigger a screening, or a re-screening. A DNA test can rule Celiac out, but it can't prove whether or not it's active if the genes are present. (I mention it because many people have a 23andme test already).

Have you been cleared to take probiotics like yogurt at this point after the surgery? One thing that happens from too much antibiotic is that the flora is damaged and its ability to make Biotin and B12 is damaged. Depending on what they did in the surgery, the very fragile system that helps you absorb iron may have been a bit damaged, and that could be a double whammy.

Any anemia test? I had anemia fully 10 years before Celiac was diagnosed, but it was "minor" so they didn't look further. Grr.

As far as ME/CFS I feel better from Valtrex and things that keep inflammation down, Advil, Celebrex, DHEA, that sort of thing. I have each of these for different reasons, but they luckily add up tot he Pridgen Protocol.
Sometimes antibiotics will restore my energy level, sometimes they hurt it until I restore the flora with yogurt. I don't think they are hurting me specifically with regard to mitochondria, but I can't be sure.

The inflammation aspect of this....the feeling of being swollen internally since the surgery must indicate this. Does DHEA seem to help?? I see this listed often.....

 

[Minnesota]

Dear Minnesota,

Please rest!!! It is much easier to nip this in the bud in the early stages.

Yes, I now nap every day which is something I never did before all this. And, get to bed way earlier that before which is easier since everyone is home for now. Unreal how the heaviness of the fatigue sets in at times though, so different that the "normal"tiredness one feels when before this all hit. Stark difference.

 

[Not dead yet!]

The inflammation aspect of this....the feeling of being swollen internally since the surgery must indicate this. Does DHEA seem to help?? I see this listed often.....

Yes I think it helps, but your body may respond differently. DHEA is nearly always turned into an "androgen" in the human body and here's one effect on infections: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4234740 (warning, animal cruelty is described in that lab test) But when I started taking it I started because of its effect on TNF-alpha. That effect could be because of its protective effect on infections.

Here's one safety test they did... there's a similar one for women but I couldn't find it this time around. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11055323 There isn't much harm in trying it, but the test subjects are healthy to start with and we're not. So do use caution and stop if it's bothering you.

 

[JameDiagonal]

OP: It's really tragic this class of abx drugs is allowed to be dispensed. I know enough people in my life who suffer with major issues due to this class of drugs.

Fluoroquinolones Are Too Risky for Common Infections

Fluoroquinolones like Cipro are too risky to treat common infections and are overprescribed. Consumer Reports has advice about when to avoid these meds.

www.consumerreports.org

You could do good to look into Grape Seed Extract and you may never have brain fog again.

I've been taking it going on 25 yrs.

I've read about the Link you have posted and it is very informative especially for those who are at risk of taking antibiotics. Thank you jaminhealth