I’m currently suffering from this nasty ear-sinus-throat-lung infection. My doctor prescribed me this suped up cough syrup and an antibiotic called Levaquin. While taking these meds, I’m not supposed to take any vitamins or risk suffering an “adverse” reaction. I’m wondering what sort of adverse reaction that could be and why I’d suffer it. I probably should have asked the doctor these questions but I was pretty out of it when I saw him, and I don’t want to call him because he’s a quack and I only dealt with him the first time because I was desperate. So, anybody know why I shouldn’t take vitamins? I mean, aren’t you supposed to take vitamins when you’re sick, or at least lots of stuff like orange juice which has lots of vitamins? This is a new one to me. Any ideas? Just curious.
I’ve found this site to be very helpful in researching such things…
In a nutshell, minerals (mg, ca, fe, mn, etc) bind to the drug and make it ineffective. If both are present in your GI tract at the same time, the antibiotic will not be absorbed properly. You will not get the maximum effect of the drug.
Also, it is also possible for this drug to make you more sensitive to sunlight than you would ordinarily be. Wear your sunscreen this weekend!
Thanks to both of you! Who needs the doctor’s phone number when you’ve got the SDMB address. I’m feeling much better, BTW. Have a great weekend. 