Question:
On Monday, I made a trip to my GP who prescribed amoxicillin after
a night of cold sweats; dry cough (eventually yellow-brown sputum);
and excruiating headache.
Over the course of the treatment, the symptoms above symptoms
have eased. During this time, however, I have encountered
dizzy spells that are getting more severe; they are constant and
increase throughout the day. So, the doc sent me for a chest
x-ray, and some blood work (glucose, blood cell counts and
one more to do with antibodies I think).
The results are not back (even if they are, the doctor was snowed
in today), but the dizziness remains.
Could this be an allergy to Amoxicillin?
If not, what in the HELL could it be? It's very irritating. I'm
giving 75mg dimenhydrinate a shot to see if it'll make things a little
more bearable.
Answer:
Very doubtful that the Amoxicillin is causing dizziness, since oral
amino-penicillins do not affect the central nervous system much.
It sounds like your doctor is trying to determine the cause, and it would be
foolish for me or anyone to guess what is causing your dizziness without
seeing the results of tests.
By the way--an allergic reaction is when swelling,
breathing,itching,redness, rash and other immune system reactions occur.
Therefore, dizziness would not be classified as an allergic reaction, but,
rather a side affect of the medication. And, again, amoxicillin is not
known to cause dizziness.
It sounds to me as if you have developed a coincidental case of
labyrinthitis. This is when the labyrinthine canals of the inner ear (which
control your body's sense of balance) become inflamed. Labyrinthitis is MOST commonly caused by a virus, but then what you have
may very well have STARTED OUT as a virus -- but then went into a secondary
bacterial infection (hence the prescription of amoxicillin). Amoxicillin will
help the secondary bacterial infection, but (unfortunately) will do absolutely
NOTHING for any viral part of your illness -- that simply has to run its
course.
The antihistamines/anit-motion sickness medications are about the most
useful in treating labyrinthitis, but sometimes a benzodiazepine (such as
Valium or Xanax) will help it. An anti-inflammatory (such as aspirin,
naproxen, or ibuprofen) MIGHT help a little, too.
Other than that, about all that you can really do is to stay lying down,
and get as much rest as possible, until the condition subsides ... sorry!
Have you had glandular fever at all? This can present as the initial
symptoms you describe, and is often confused with/misdiagnosed as an
upper respiratory tract infection (my GP did the same with me) Amoxycillin has the potential to worsen glandular fever (not as much as
ampicillin, but it is possible) if taken concurrently. Although I don't
think this would show up as dizziness, but an increased fever can cause
dizziness - you certainly feel unsteady on your feet, I know I did (that
was on the one occasion I was able to leave my bed in the five days. - I
had stopped hallucinating at the time!)
Has your doctor run a test for glandular fever (called a Paul-Burrell
test in the UK), if not and the others don't turn up anything, maybe get
him to do one.
On the otherhand I could be totally wrong :-)
