UTI - New Meds (To me) Anyone taken before?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Lucky me! I have a UTI. I haven’t been having sex, how can I have a UTI?! Just not fair. My doctor, however, is great. I was in and out to his office in less than 30mins. He also gave me free meds. Which brings me to this post.

The last two times (the only two times) I’ve had a UTI I’ve taken Bactrim. My doctor gave me samples of something called Levaquin. Pros: 4 day, once a day treatment rather than 7 day, twice a day with Bactrim. The only con I can see is a possible side effect I noticed when researching this drug on line:

*Quinolones, including LEVAQUIN, may also cause central nervous system stimulation which may lead to tremors, restlessness, anxiety, lightheadedness, confusion, hallucinations, paranoia, depression, nightmares, insomnia, and, rarely, suicidal thoughts or acts. *

The last time I took a drug that had a CNS crossover (Reglan) the restlessness that came with it as a side effect was one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. My legs and arms were in actual pain and I’m not sure I can go through that again, especially not for 4+ days. Has anyone had any experience with this drug, good or bad?

My doctor did give me a script for Bactrim just in case I had a problem with this stuff after my first dose. I’m trying to decide if I should even try the Levaquin or if I should just fill the Bactrim.

Other side effects are: LEVAQUIN is generally well tolerated. The most common side effects caused by LEVAQUIN, which are usually mild, include nausea, diarrhea, itching, abdominal pain, dizziness, flatulence, rash and vaginitis in women.

Heh, having IBS, most of the above is part of my every day life anyway. :wink:

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IANAD, but I’d go with the levaquin. From a very little research, looks like a stronger antibiotic. Its in the same group as Cipro and Trovan. I’ve taken Cipro, but never levaquin.
:slight_smile:

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I’ve taken Levaquin before, and I didn’t have any problems with it. But, as they say, it can affect each person differently. The manufacturers have to list potential side effects in order to cover their behinds.

IANAPharmacist, but a technician, and there’s not too much stuff listed in our databases here. The only thing I saw that stood out was that you should not take antacids while taking levaquin. (It decreases the effectiveness of the levaquin.) I would give you a link, but the info is on our hospital network.

I hope you feel better soon!

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my pharm text books lists amoxycillins as first line, with quinolones as second line antibiotics.

GIT disturbance is much more common (8%) than CNS effects (text book says “occasionally” and cites headaches, dizziness, tiredness and restlessness), with skin rash in 1-2%.

my advice is to go with something you trust and that works for you.

however i’m currently recovering from some nasty side effects of deflaclor, so i’m not exactly unbiased here.

i take it that it’s gone beyond cranberry juice and bicarbonate of soda?

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I’m not sure what “first line” and “second line” antibiotics mean, but I decided to live on the edge and take the Levaquin. I figure if it causes a nasty side effect (restlessness), then I can fill the bactrim and switch to that. I’ve already cleared it with the doctor.

Strangely enough, I barely even know I have it. I thought it was something else last week and treated that with some OTC stuff. When it started getting bad again, I thought I’d get it checked out. I’m not complaining though because I’ve had UTIs before and it was PAINFUL. This is a cakewalk.

Thanks, Skerri, I’m not feeling so poorly now (I wish all UTIs would be like this!). I don’t think I’ve taken antacids, I usually just take some papaya and pineapple enzymes from Trader Joes, but just incase I’ll stay away from them for the next four days.

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FWIW, I was warned off of dairy products for at least 2 hours before and after taking a dose of Cipro a while back, for much the same reasons given as the antacids.

Just something to consider, as you’ve decided to take the Levaquin. Good luck with it, in any case.

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I’ve had Levaquin a couple of times, and it seems to be pretty powerful. I was hospitalized about a month ago for a UTI, and that was one of the antibiotics they gave me.

I always get a yeast infection when I take antibiotics, so I make sure to get a prescription for Diflucan when I get orders for antibiotics. Diflucan, for those of you who haven’t run into this before, is an ORAL anti-yeast medication. No more messy cream or suppository. ONE pill. It takes a couple of days to work, but you just have to take ONE pill.

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:eek: I had two slices of cheese as part of a small meal right before I took it. Ok, I’ll make sure to not eat anything dairy at the same time again.

That was the something else I thought this was at first. I’m sure next week when I think it’s that again, it will be because I’m like you with antibiotics.

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:rolleyes:
I did the same damn thing; went from lunch to see the doc, got the scrip, read the instructions, and said, “Oops.” Never did give me a problem, though.

Talk to your doc, or track down Quadgop or someone else with a background in medicine on the boards. (There’s always Google, if you’ve got the time to look.) YMMV as far as dairy goes. And it may only apply to Cipro; it’s the only AB in that family that I’ve taken m’self.

[sub]It did, however make my lunch want to repatriate itself with the scraps I chucked in the garbage, but all ABs do that to me, to some degree.[/sub]

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I did manage to find the package insert in pdf form through google after I posted. I did see the warning against antacids and certain supplements (zinc and iron, I believe), but nothing about dairy so I should be safe!

It’s now almost 10 hours after I took and no side effects to report except the insomnia, but that could possibly not be the medication.

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the antacids/dairy will just mean that the drug isn’t absorbed as fast, no actual harm there.

glad you’re responding well.

try and get a good night’s sleep.

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I took Levaquin, never had any of the possible side effects. But it will lighten your pocketbook. When I called my sister the pharmacist to tell her about what had been prescribed for me the first thing she said was “Did they tell you how much it costs?” Yikes!!! Most expensive antibiotic I’ve taken to date.

She also pointed me to the following website which seems to have a lot of info about kidney problems and UTI’s.

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To try to head off the yeast infection, try eating yogurt with acidophilus --that can help in replenishing the normal flora that the Levaquin is apt to destroy.

'catz

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I’m even more glad that my doctor gave me enough samples that I don’t have to fill a script if it’s that expensive! I like my doctor, he always gives me free medication if it’s available in samples :slight_smile:

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Have taken Levaquin for infection related to kidney stones, and have never had any negative side effects from it. The fact is, I’ve had so many stones which have lead to so many infections, that only the strongest antibiotics are effective for me now. So Levaquin is definitely recommended. I hate that it’s so expensive, though. Since I don’t have prescription insurance, I usually try to talk the doc into giving me samples.

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Well, I really shouldn’t comment since I don’t know your situation but IAAD and I would usually only use Levaquin if it is resistant to other antibiotics. It is broader spectrum which means you are more likely to have a yeast infection, because it kills a wider variety of bugs, including the “good bugs” that everybody lives with. In addition, when broad spectrum antibiotics are overused they encourage resistant organisms, and there are now bacteria that are resistant to almost all our known antibiotics. FWIW- a 3 day course of Bactrim is considered sufficient to cure most UTI’s, and many can be cured with a single dose of 2 pills.
:getting on soapbox: I wish Doctors would stop prescribing antibiotics simply because they have samples available when there are cheaper, better alternatives and reserve these medications for legitimate needs such as resistant organisms, allergies to other antibiotics, etc. :climbing down from soapbox:

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Man, if there’s one thing I like about this board is it allows me to get snooty with the medical mumbo jumbo.

Levaquin will cure your infection and the chance of getting the restlessness is pretty small. Most drugs have some CNS effects and the quinolones aren’t particulary bad in this regard. They can affect cartilage and gropwing teeth, so I never use them in kids. (The AMA says don’t use in kids below 13, the CMA says don’t use in kids below 8).

Wouldn’t have been my choice, however. The double strength sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim DS, Septra DS, generics just as good) is one pill twice daily for three days. Levaquin is a little strongwer than needed for the usual suspects that cause these things. Enough E coli are resistant to amoxicillin that it wouldn’t be my choice, either.

The part that surprised me was that it took thirty minutes to diagnose and treat your UTI. In my practice, that’s a five minute quicky in a young and healthy person like you (unless you don’t really feel like peeing).

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psychobunny I was a little concerned as well when I first read that Levaquin is a strong antibiotic, especially when I know I’m not allergic to sulfa drugs, that Bactrim DS has worked in the past, and that it wasn’t a bad UTI (I wasn’t even in constant pain, in fact I was sure that he was going to say the urinalysis came back negative).

But, I figure once isn’t bad and I really don’t take antibiotics often. Less than once a year. In fact I think it’s been over two years since I have taken an antibiotic for anything.

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Dr Paprika I wish you would have posted early yesterday. I would have filled my Bactrim DS script and just taken it for three days instead of the seven. Ah well, lesson learned and next time I have a UTI, I’ll insist on Bactrim DS.

The “less than 30 minutes” was from the moment I walked into the office until the moment I walked out. The actual time spent with my doctor was about 10 minutes. It probably would have been less, but I grilled him for a few about the new meds and had him write me a back up script for Bactrim just in case.