I am taking tetracycline but I am not asking for medical advice.
My doctor warned me that tetracycline could cause stomach upset, and I am experiencing that. I am wondering if this is due to:
A. Interaction of the drug directly with the stomach lining after it dissolves in the stomach
B. Systemic effects caused once the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream
My doctor said that drinking a full glass of water when taking the drug would help prevent the stomach upset, but I am wondering if the stomach upset is due to having the drug in my bloodstream, in which case the glass of water would offer minimal help.
Here’s the background. I saw my dermatologist on 1/3 for a rash on my face. She diagnosed it as rosacea (which I wonder about, but she’s the doctor and that’s not what I’m asking about). She prescribed tetracycline. I asked if it was caused by a bacterial infection and she said that tetracycline is the standard treatment not because of its antibiotic properties but because it acts as an anti-inflammatory. She prescribed 90 days’ worth. Wednesday (after taking it for about 9 days), I started feeling a mild cramping in my stomach that mimicked hunger pangs. I thought I was hungry all the time. By today the cramping worsened, though was less the first couple of hours after a meal. By this afternoon, it was verging on nausea while I was working out. Because I had no trouble the first several days I didn’t associate it with the drug but I have had similar effects when taking erythromycin. I do not have any other symptoms that would suggest a digestive problem or illness so my working theory is that it’s the medicine.
Just a suggestion: pay strict attention to the doctors advice to avoid dairy products for a couple of hours before & after taking tetracycline. The reason given is that tetracycline binds with calcium, and then can’t be absorbed by the body, making the drug useless. But for me, tetracycline & dairy also causes increased stomach upset.
This also applies to other calcium-rich items, like spinach, antacids, etc.
P.S. I believe the “*mycin” drugs, like erythromycin are in the tetracycline class. I know that terramycin and aureomycin are.
Antibiotics in general tend to kill off your natural gut flora - this can cause digestive upset - although not in your your stomach, if you specifically mean the organ called a stomach (but certainly in your stomach if you’re using the word in the common sense to mean abdomen)
I’ve been taking 250 mg oxytetracycline daily for a few years now, also as an anti-inflammatory for rosacea. I experienced varying degrees of stomach disagreeableness for the first 6 months or so, but then everything reached some sort of equilibrium, and it’s OK now. Oxytet is a fairly mild antibiotic, as they go (IANA doctor etc.), and I find it hard to believe that it would have killed off all my gut fauna, but I do believe it’s shifted the balance of power. I can eat more or less normally now, and aside from losing the ability to digest cheap industrial cheese, my digestion is fine.
Probiotic supplements, yoghurts and drinks are available, but they’re generally only one or two proprietary bacteria species, and none seem to ever set up a permanent home in the stomach, whereas there can be thousands of species of normal gut bacteria resident.
I have a friend who uses a topical antibiotic cream for rosacea, which is an alternative, but I prefer the more systemic delivery method of pills.
Yeah, sorry, the rosacea is pretty much for life. But the digestive system usually adjusts to the drug regime. As well as the antibiotics it can be controlled by avoiding known triggers, which will vary with the individual but are usually extremes of temperature, dehydration, and certain foodstuffs. Other non-antibiotic treatments are available for the adventurous.
The wiki page is quite good (who’d a thunk Mariah Carey had it?), also Rosacea.org.
I haven’t taken tetracycline for many years, which I am happy about because I also had stomach upset from it. Mine was a dose for a bacterial infection, though, not for rosacea. I understand the dose for rosacea is much lower.
Anywho, what I learned was to be very careful to remain upright for at least 2 hours after taking it. For the first couple of days I would take my dose and then go back to bed, because I was on vacation. I got an upset stomach and what I now recognize as heartburn. For some reason the heartburn made me think I was hungry. Very weird. When I started staying upright for a while after taking the dose the stomach issues went away. Dunno if that anecdote will help you at all.
Tetracyclines and Erythromycin are not directly related.
Erythromycin is a macrolide antibiotic, tetracycline is one of the tetracyclines.
The pain you are describing is quite common with tetracyclines and a major reason people don’t like taking them. Speak to your doctor about possible treatments.
Not so much about stomach upset, but about the effectiveness of tetracycline. I’ve had Rosacea for many years, and I’ve found that tetracycline alone is a very effective way of controlling it. I initially tried many different treatments, including topical steroids, and going all the way up to Accutane. WAY too many side effects with these treatments. After quitting everything for a while, I was treated for an unrelated problem with tetracycline, and noticed that my Rosacea rashes went away. I’ve been on daily doses of tetracycline for about a decade now without any outbreaks. So, in my case, tetracycline is the mildest treatment (and cheap, too) that consistently works with almost no side effects.
I appreciate all the responses, which have been very helpful and educational.
However, I still don’t know the answer to my original question, which is what causes the stomach upset. Is it because of the drug contacting the stomach, or something that happens after it enters your bloodstream? I find the stomach upset worst about 2 hours after I take it. I would think it would be within minutes if it was just a matter of direct irritation.
I’ve been using Finacea for my rosacea for a few years. My main rosacea symptoms are redness and flushing - I don’t get much in the way of breakouts or rashes. Do you have any redness and flushing problems, and does tetracycline help?