Clindamycin Side Effects Can Be Serious

Urgent Message from Portland to the abscessed tooth person:
My husband Dan took the same drug clindamycin for a infection on his leg and had the same symptoms with the non stop diarrhea and did get C-Difficle. Nine days in critical condition and 41 days total in the hospital and rehabilitation. He lost his large intestine and gall bladder. He has an illestomy now. Please inform your readers. It has drastically changed his life. Thanks, Camilla and Dan

I read with interest the comments concerning diarrhea and C. Diff. My 25yo daughter was having digestive issues and had an endoscopy to help diagnose the problem. Within days she developed worsening, unrelenting diarrhea. Thinking it was a gastrointestional virus or part of her stomach problem, she suffered through it for nearly 2-3 weeks. Finally after losing weight and being unable to eat without rushing to the bathroom, she called her family doctor. She saw a partner in the practice who immediately suspected C. Diff after learning of the endoscopy procedure. (Apparently, this is how the C. Diff infection was introduced.)

A stool culture was ordered for confirmation. It would be through the weekend, though, before the results were in. The first stool culture was negative. The doctor ordered a second culture. Again, it would take a couple of days for the results. For a long time, I had been trying to get my daughter to try eating yogurt to help with her stomach problems and now her diarrhea. Finally, after the false negative culture result, I convinced her to try it.

The brand of yogurt I have always eaten is Stonyfield. She ate 3-4 servings per day until the results from the second culture were back. This time it was positive for C. Diff. But her diarrhea had stopped! The doctor prescribed appropriate medication just to be on the safe side. My daughter was astounded by the effect eating yogurt had had on her C. Diff infection. Her doctor was amazed as well and took note of the Stonyfield yogurt effect!

He now recommends it for his patients. Needless to say, we continue to eat this particular yogurt regularly. My daughter's stomach issues have improved significantly. I really feel that Stonyfield yogurt was literally a lifesaver for my daughter and I pass the word to everyone I know. Maybe this can help others as well.

I had the same problem after taking clindamycin. Probiotics did not help me. My gastroenterologist did tests for all sorts of pathogens (including Clostridium) and eventually she recommended a colonoscopy. That also found nothing wrong, but following the procedure, my diarrhea cleared up (expensive treatment? coincidence? who knows, but I'm much better now).

Thank you for printing the letter re clindamycin. I had a far more serious reaction to the drug. Why is it still on the market and why do dentists prescribe it?

I had a root canal done at the end of January of this year. The dentist prescribed clindamycin. I began to have serious diarrhea and three days later called 911 and the paramedics took me to the hospital. After I was examined in their emergency department, they transported me by ambulance to Kaiser Hospital.

I spent a week in the hospital with C. diff and finally went home with a prescription for Vancomycin. This prescription was for a six week period, followed by an additional six week session and when the diarrhea returned again, for an additional six week session. I think I am finally on the way to recovery. It was interesting to see that this wasn't an isolated case.

I am taking clindamycin as a preventative measure, after a tooth extraction. It seems I feel really terrible within about 20 minutes of taking it. I get very tired, achy, mild sore throat and ear pain. It may be from the extracted tooth, but maybe not, because it wasn't infected and is healing normally.

I have also felt depressed. Are these side effects reported with this antibiotic? All I see are diarrhea/GI side effects. Thanks.

I had an infection in a tooth and the dentist prescribed Clindamycin. Awful stuff. Every time I took a dose I got sick to my stomach if I didn't make sure to eat crackers with it. It took almost the entire week of dosage to make the toothache go away. I took the last pill two days ago.

Now, I have terrible diarrhea and skin that feels like it's on fire with a rash that is getting worse. The itching is unbearable. I had researched the possible side effects when I first got the prescription and started taking pro-biotics right away to make sure that I didn't get the diarrhea. Obviously, that didn't work. Thanks much to the "Mom" who wrote to tell about the yogurt. My husband is on his way to the store now.

I found a site that shows the results of 12 clinical trials for Clindamycin. Of the 126 people who participated in the trials, 62 ended up with diarrhea. 80 ended up with an itchy rash.
WHY IS THIS STILL ON THE MARKET???

I was prescribed Clindamycin following a root canal and had to stop the medication after 4 days due to severe heart burn (that was stated as a possible serious side effect in the info given to me by the pharmacist). After stopping the medication it took a couple of days for the heartburn to subside. 2 1/2 weeks later I had diarrhea, fever, chills, and body aches and presumed I was getting the flu.

The other symptoms subsided within a few days but the diarrhea continued for a week. After see my doctor she confirmed it was C difficle as a result of the Clindamycin. She now prescribed Flagyl for the C difficle.

I had an IV of Clindamycin in the ER followed by a ten day course of the antibiotic to clear up an ear infection.

I developed diarrhea within a few days of taking the drug but was instructed I needed to continue the full course of the drug.

One week after treatment was still having diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, I was put on Flagyl (metronidazole) for ten days. The diarrhea disappeared within three days and abdominal pain subsided. I was put on the BRAT diet Bananas, Rice, Yogurt and Tea. It was all I could eat.

Three days after the Flagyl treatment the diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, now severe reappeared. A stool test was then done negative for C Diff.

I was put back on Flagyl for 21 days. I was sent for a Cat Scan, which revealed minor issues but no outstanding problems. I was then sent for a colonoscopy which again revealed nothing outstanding. Biopsy taken from colon was negative. Blood work for other potential conditions all negative.

Still not right a week after colonscopy was put back on Flagyl again for 10 days and currently still on, abdominal pain minimal, no diarrhea, but gastro system still not functioning properly.

Be careful very careful when prescribed Clindamycin.

My 19 yo college-aged son was rxed Clindamycin by a podiatrist after tx for his foot infection. He has Type 1 Diabetes (insulin pump) since age 9 and also Hypothyroidism. WELL he had a severe allergic reaction with full body rash and general weakness. That was over 2 months ago...

We've tried acidophilus and Florastor...no help.... His appetite post-rx decreased rapidly and he has lost 15 lbs in 2 months, also had increased fatigue, muscle weakness and diarrhea. Now his MDs are saying that due to severe reaction, this may have triggered onset of Addison's disease and/or diabetic gastroparesis. As you can guess we are VERY DISTRAUGHT about why this happened and why this medication remains on the market!!!

HELP! Words cannot express how badly I feel about bringing my diabetic son to the podiatrist and having this happen. PLEASE BAN THIS MEDICATION ASAP!!!

I had a bad tooth infection (the dentist wanted to pull the tooth), and I couldn't eat much with the tooth pain. He prescribed Clindamycin. I'm relatively stubborn 44 year old with a rock hard gut. Around the same time I was taking the Clindamycin, I was constipated, some diarrhea, and horrible cramping.

I wasn't allergic to antibiotics so I didn't think of that. I ate prunes, fiber and anything to relieve the constipation, but it caused more pain. My wife wanted me to go to the hospital, but I didn't think it was serious enough. Then it felt like someone shot a flaming spear through my lower left abdomen (that floored me), and I had my wife call 911.

I had been on other medications for other conditions, and told the hospital that I never had so much as a stomach ache and that the only new drug was the clindamycin. They admitted me and found I had a perforation in my colon that led to diverticulitis.

I spent 6 days in the hospital, then I changed doctors and got a stronger antibiotic. The pain subsided so I said that I wanted to go home. The put a pick line in my arm (a tube for the IV), that leads near the heart. I plug Zyson antibiotics into it and run the tube down my shirt and in my pocket (the cannister has gas in it).

I've been out of the hospital for almost 3 weeks with no pain, but I can't eat normal food, I'm still on antibiotic IVs, I've gotten 5 CT Scans (like 400 X-rays each), and it shows improvement, but a way to go, so I have no idea when this will be over. I figured today that I would check on this drug, and although it wasn't exactly the side effect listed, and I'm not 100% sure the drug caused it, I don't know what to do. Even though I'm out of the hospital, I can't do anything heavy with my good arm because it tears the pick line out.

I never had an intestinal issue in my life, and judging by the posts here, I can't think of anything else, but if anyone knows of side effects like this, please let me know.

Thanks

I was prescribed clindamycin for a tooth abscess, which cleared up right away. I took yogurt with it from the start, so had no major problems until I finished the prescription. I then developed heartburn (severe) and a rash, which cleared up with treatment. However, my digestive system has now been messed up for 4 months.

I have had a colonoscopy and several lab tests. No colitis was found, but I am still having frequency, despite daily probiotics and daily immodium. Now I have developed arthritic pain in places I never had it before. Does anyone know if there could be a connection between the clindamycin and joint pain?

I was given Clindamycin after a tooth extraction. I now wish I had the tooth back. At first the rash and I went right to the doctor, she threw the pills away and said the rash would probable get worse before it got better. 3 days latter my husband dragged me to the doctors again (sometimes having a high threshold of pain works against you). I had been in bed for 2 days and he says he went to bed with his wife and woke up with Barney the Dinosaur.

The rash was from head to toe, the itching unbearable. The Doctor sent me straight to the emerg. One look and they hooked me right up to an I.V. full of steroids. This got me out of bed but did not change the rash much. Then they had to check for kidney and liver failure. So far so good.

They sent me home that night and told me to come back the next day. That day I was told my urine had blood and other deposits in it, and they were going to give more steroids but it raised my blood sugar too high. They say maybe 2 weeks or so for the rash to go away . Yes, really wish I had that old tooth back now. ITCH ITCH ITCH.

I have been taking 300mg of Clindamycin a day for 6 months now, to try and prevent a recurring gland infection. I read similar awful accounts about this drug online beforehand, so have been taking probiotic yogurt daily and have had no problems other than going to toilet half an hour after taking each pill.

Believe me, it took some guts to take it after reading reports like this, but the infection is serious and deadly and the other antibiotics were not suitable, and I'm here to balance out the other reports, as some people have no choice but to try it.

Obviously some people have terrible side effects and should stop clindamycin immediately - I'd recommend they also take probiotics for months afterwards too. It is a fact of life that all drugs have serious side effects for some people, and if there is a lesson to be learned, it is this - only take drugs that are absolutely necessary and be on the lookout and on google for side effects. Believe me, my family learned the hard way with Zyrtec.

I was given CLINDAMYCIN after having a root canal. I developed a horrible vaginal itching almost at once. I thought this was a "typical" yeast infection caused by taking antibiotics so I tried to treat it myself with eating yogurt and using Monostat to NO AVAIL. What agony. I would take the tooth pain back gladly as I feel there are ants crawling all over me.

Nothing helps. Not multiple soaks in the tub, cold compresses.... nothing. Of course I stopped taking the evil drugs but just 5 pills have me in utter misery.

My husband doesn't have the diarrhea side effect, but since being prescribed clindamycin in June, he has been miserable with increased bloating and gas. Our primary care physician dismissed it as "swallowed air," but we're convinced it's more serious than that. He has eaten yogurt and is taking probiotics, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Last night the burping changed to hiccups that lasted for several hours. I'm thinking we need to see a gastroenterologist.

I was given topical clindamycin for acne. After being on it for 4 months I started getting depressed. I felt tired all the time. Then I started having severe bloating. After a few weeks of those things, the severe abdominal pain and bloody stools started. ( normally I am a very healthy person with a lot of energy) After reading about the side effects of clindamycin, I called the pharmacist and told her what was happening.

She said it wouldn't happen if I was taking a topical form of clindamycin. I told her indeed, I was having these severe reactions from taking the topical drug. After realizing the antibiotic was destroying the "good bacteria" in my system and leaving the dangerous bacteria to thrive and create all sorts of havoc in my system, I stopped putting it on my face and I also started eating yogurt and taking probiotics. A few days have gone by. So far, I am feeling much better.
Please beware of this drug.

I am about the same age as your daughter and I got prescribed this medication for teeth problems, I just started it this morning but it looks like I will NOT be taking it again and will be asking for a different medication!

Can the diarrhea side effect happen 2 months after going off Clyndamycin?

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: C. DIFF ASSOCIATED DIARRHEA COULD START SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER STOPPING CLINDAMYCIN. WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT 2 MONTHS.

I'm a 30 year old healthy active athletic male.

One month ago, I was prescribed Clindamycin for my root canal as an alternative to Penicillin. I took 2 pills just before leaving the dentists office. Not even 10 minutes into my drive home, I could tell my stomach was uneasy.

I started having diarrhea that same day and up to 6 times per day.

Even though my prescription was only for one week, I still have diarrhea everyday and it's been one month later.

I've lost about 8 lbs in one month and to be honest I'm very slender as it is so I'm not trying to lose any weight. I eat normally but everything (even liquids like chamomile tea) triggers the runs.

The difference between what I'm experiencing and what others report is that I don't have any abdominal cramping and I don't feel weak or tired. Just loose stools for now.

I"m going to see a doctor next week because I'm worried that by not doing anything I'm going to cause irreparable damage to my intestines.

I am having severe heartburn from Clyndamycin and trouble swallowing (very painful). I am wondering how dangerous this is?

I'm having the same issue with the heartburn. This is my 4th pill. I'm done with this....

I was experiencing severe acne problems and was prescribed clindamycin 300mg to be taken once a day at night after meal. After one week I felt sharp pains in my chest, lungs, heart that I can't eat, sleep or go to college. There's no diarrhea though. The doctor told to stop taking the medicine for 2 days but even after one week the pain is still there and my acne is worse. Will the yogurt help?

I have been taking clindamycin for two days. I don't have any stomach problems. But I do have depression, flu symptoms and no appetite. I will not be taking anymore after tonight and plan on starting a probiotic and liver cleanse tomorrow.

My dentist prescribed clindamycin for a tooth infection. It took care of that in short order but caused a case of diarrhea that has lasted from thanksgiving until today January 12th. I have spent $175 in blood and stool tests to try to determine what was the matter with me.

The c diff test came back negative but the health practitioner suspected it was a false negative and prescribed flagyl to see if that would clear up the diarrhea. It did so within two days of starting treatment!

I guess clindamycin is about the only option for people allergic to penicillin; but now I know watch out for. Good luck to you out there, I hope this helps.
Mark

I was prescribed clindamycin for a tooth extraction. I am not allergic to penicillin so I don't know why it was given to me. I received NO warning about this and was on painkillers afterward.

Three weeks later, I was in ICU in septic shock with diarrhea, fever and blood pressure in the 50s with the mean in the 30s and 40s. No blood was getting to my organs and they were beginning to shut down.

I am so grateful to be here to be able to write this. I am really wondering why this is allowed to be given out. I was taking probiotics with it but it almost killed me anyway.

Honestly, I am so upset right now that I have contacted a lawyer. Something needs to be done. Dentists give this out too freely. Who knew having a tooth removed could kill you? I am home now recovering and I pray that this is not something that I will have to live with forever.

Beware of clindamycin and help spread the word that this drug needs to be banned. C-diff is a highly contagious disease and the causes need to be stopped and clindamycin is one of the biggest.

Shaking my head, I can not believe this medicine is dispensed so casually. Yes I understand that there it is the best treatment for certain infections but it really doesn’t appear to be necessary in a lot of cases and if more commonplace drugs, such as penicillin had been used there would never be an issue, not to mention how much less expensive the penicillin treatment is.

And speaking for myself it was prescribed to me for abscessed teeth by a dentist who had taken over the practice of my previous dentist who used to prescribe penicillin for me. Point being, I really didn’t do my job in checking it out first or asking questions, I just went and got it filled. The dentist had instructed me to double the first two doses so we could jump start the drug in my system.

Tuesday, January 5th I took the first double dose in the evening, and did sit upright for actually about an hour as the pharmacist and the bottle labels both cautioned not to lie down within a half an hour of taking it. I then proceeded to bed and in less than hour was awakened by a very weird nightmare and god awful pain across my entire chest and shoulders, along with burning all through my upper digestive system.

I spent hours sitting upright trying to quell the "heartburn" I was experiencing but eventually did manage to return to bed avowing to be even more careful with the next dose I took, thinking of course that the problem had to have been with me and not yet associating the nightmare with the drug.

Next morning I take the second double dose as instructed and headed off to work tired from the rough night but still at that point thinking it must have been just me. Now as I am walking into the office building I work in I realize that the top part of my thighs ached like they had been beaten mercilessly during the night. So I am thinking, wow, okay, this is not going be a nice day. That evening I immediately take just a single dose when I get home from work, right at dinner so I can insure I will be upright for several hours before going to bed but the same thing happens again, chest and shoulder pain, aching thighs, and weird, weird nightmares that were so unsettling that they themselves would have been enough to ruin ones sleep.

The next morning, Thursday, January 7th I can barely walk because of the thigh pain and I decide I am taking no more after having done multiple searches online and seen that indeed some very dire things can and do happen with this drug. Now I would have hoped that this was the end of it and my body would commence to getting back to normal now but par to the worst was to come.

This drug decided to attack my renal gland and I know I am not explaining it right but consequentially because of the inflammation that caused and the weakening of the surrounding muscle I ended up with 4 sprains in my back, very painful sprains I might add. I am now undergoing acupuncture w/electrostim as treatment because the chiro says I am so inflamed he can not do an adjustment. Additionally icing several times a day and taking anti-inflammatories has brought relief to a degree where I can at least sleep for about 4 hours at a time.

Today is Friday the 15th and I am still having the weird nightmares and really wonder how long will it take for this to completely get out of my system and what can I do on a lay level to facilitate that?

p.s. Yes I am working in conjunction with dentist, general practioner, and the chiro for the most optimal solutions.

I had acute pharangitis in my throat, and was prescribed penacillin. My throat began to feel better, and i finished the course of antibiotics and all was well. A week later, I woke up in the middle of the night, barely able to swallow or breathe. Went to the base E.R. No fever, no other symptoms besides the insane throat pain.

After being admitted they did a CT scan and concluded that not all of the pharangitis had been killed by the penacillin and I now had a peritonsullar abscess within my tonsil. The procedure was the most awful pain i ever felt. A needle in the back of my throat 5 times, and syringes full of pus came out of my throat. My doc prescribed CLINDAMYCIN to kill the bacteria 7 days ago. The first few days, I actually felt really good, the pain started to go away, my throat felt like it was returning to normal and all was well.

Today marks the 7th and LAST day of treatment. My throat feels 100% again, but unfortunately about 3 days ago I started noticing very soft, foul smelling stool. Nausea, slight fever (99.4) and semi sharp pains in my right abdomen just below the ribs. The docs don't know what to make of it. I am beginning to get scared now.

I'm active duty military, and I'm TDY going to a school that is very important to me, but if this continues, I fear I may not get to graduate. I say take Clindamycin off the market, although it may help, these side effects arent worth it.

I have been taking Clindamycin for a tooth infection before I have a root canal tomorrow and I dread taking every single pill!! I have had the worst abdominal cramping, gas, diarrhea and not to mention the terrible heartburn. After reading everyone's warnings and side effects I am really worried about recovering from this, does anyone recommend a brand or type of probiotics that helped them recover? I would also recommend NOT to drink alcohol while taking Clindamycin!!

I am a severe type 1 diabetic and im only 21 years old. I had gotten a staph infection and was put on Clindamycin. From day one of taking the first pill which was Sept 9th 2009 I have had the non-stop diarrhea, loss of appetite and major headaches and yet to this day still have it. They have tried other meds to stop it but its not working, i also have an enlarged liver on top of that. I believe they should ban this drug!!!

having a persistent nasal odor following a bone/skin graft by the periodontist, I was given 500mg every 6hours for 10 days to clean up any bacterial infection which may have been the cause for the odor. The odor persists, but I have not experienced any of the side effects mentioned yet noticed that, with yogurt twice daily during the 10 days, that the intestinal stool actually was cleaner, following the treatment. this was 2 months ago.

I first started out with a sensitive tooth so the dentist up a cap on, that made it worse-big infection, put on Penicillin!!! So then a root canal, well he couldn't get to the very tips so I go back in next Friday for another root canal.....BUT GUESS WHAT---another infection started this week. I was put on Penicillin again but this time I had a reaction-I felt burning under my scalp!?!

So today I call my dentist and he put me on Clindamycin. I took my first pill tonight and after 5 minutes of taking it I got "heartburn" from the back of my throat all the way down to my stomach. I got on the computer to see what I could find out about side effects. Well... Thanks to this website I will NOT be taking anymore pills. I agree with everyone who said they would rather live with the tooth pain. Thank you again!!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago I had to have a tooth filled. Because I have heart valve disease, I had to take one dose of four x 150mg Clindamycin one hour before. The stomach pain was pretty bad, but I remained upright for the hour, and had no further problems. Since then, my tooth has kept hurting, and I noticed a gum ulcer that is producing pus. I went to the doctor and he prescribed 300 mg clindamycin three times a day.

So far, I have had four doses, but I felt so sick with stomach pain, and the most poisonous tasting reflux each time, and it's getting worse, I think. I feel very dizzy shortly after I can feel the drug kick in. I have had chest pains (not stomach, as I have had ulcers and also have chronic gastric reflux, and I know stomach pain), and my heart felt like it was missing beats for a short period of time about a half hour after each dose.

I also feel like it's hard to breathe. I have no rash, no chronic stomach pain, and the symptoms ease up mostly after about four hours. But I have a constant metallic taste - disgusting - and I feel dizzy. The last dose, I decided I couldn't possibly face felling like that again, but as the effects wore off, I thought, well, maybe I can try one more time. All antibiotics can cause allergies and the bowel thing. However, after reading this, I don't think I want to put myself through this again.

I'll have to wait to see the Dr on Monday, and he may not be happy, but I have already lost two days. I can't cope with more. If it's any comfort, Bactrim is far worse, and was mostly banned in Britain, for general use.

I was prescribed Clindamycin yesterday. I am going to have oral surgery to extract a wisdom tooth pretty soon and my dentist prescribed this medicine to help with the infection. I am on 150mg/3 times a day. I am also on Lortab for pain. So far, I have taken 2 of the pills. After the first one, I sat up for 30 minutes and then went to sleep because the Lortab made me extremely sleepy. I just took the second pill about two hours ago and I feel absolutely terrible.

I basically just feel sick. I'm very nauseated and my skin is itchy but that may be from the Lortab. My chest is also hurting a little and it feels like indigestion. I'm extremely nervous about taking this after seeing all of the bad reactions. I will repost on this site as I keep taking it.

KG - I have also been taking it topically for acne for 3-4 months. I stopped last week because I was developing diarrhea, and mucus/blood. It is the ONLY drug that I take, but still my doctor told me it was unlikely that it is from the clindamycin topical.

I had to show her the FDA warning which clearly states that enough can be absorbed topically to cause these effects. I am eating Stoneyfields yogurt 2-3 times a day, taking acidopholus and also started taking S. Boulardi (another probiotic). Right away (within 2 days), I had no more diarrhea and no more urgency. The blood/mucus is still there but much less. How long does it take to completely go away?

I am going to get tested for C Diff anyway, because another post (I think the mom) said that her daughter's diarrhea stopped but she still had C Diff and had to get a different antibiotic to treat it. I do not know why this is on the shelf.

On November 12th,2009 I was prescribed Clindamycin HCL 150mg for tooth removal. I told the dentist that I had already taken Penicillin for a week. He stated that I needed to take a more specific drug like the one in question. I was prescribed 28 pills to be taken over seven days. Now, I have a rock hard gut but after a few days I started having abdominal cramps and loose stools. Today is January 27th, 2010 and I am still having cramps, gas, and loose stools sometimes four times daily. The color is not normal, sometimes dark and pasty. I just started acidophilus and Greek style plain yogurt. I agree with everyone "THIS DRUG IS DANGEROUS". Will keep you posted. It might be a little late for me, but thanks for your website.

I was prescribed Clindamycin for a bad root canal. In the meantime, the dentist prescribed Clindamycin to kill the root canal bacteria. After taking just five Clindamycin pills, I started experiencing this extreme abdominal wave-like cramping. The muscle movement inside felt like I had a large snake in my intestines that was moving on its own.

By day five on Clindamycin I had to stop taking the pills. I had developed uncontrollable black diarrhea. During the course of one 24 hour day, I had to make 30 (thirty) bathroom trips. The pain was physically disabling and the smell was very strong. On a few bathroom trips, I noticed I was passing white tissue from my body. I saw my PCP on a emergency basis, and a stool confirmed C. Difficile. We started 14 days of Flagyl and the BRAT diet.

Pepcid AC and Tums helped control the severe heartburn and stomach acid that accompanied the C. Diff. I'm slowly recovering, but this started 8 weeks ago. Tomorrow I see a Gastroenterologist to determine next steps. The C. Diff smell is pretty much gone now. But my skin looks completely dried out, and it's itchy. My skin was actually red and burning shortly after taking the Clindamycin.

Things that helped me may help you, too. Take Stonyfield yogurt twice a day, and use the B.R.A.T diet to go easy on your digestive system. I used Culturelle (Target) or the mega Ultra Probiotic Complex 50 (GNC) three times a day. Drink Vitamin Water for vitamin C and Gatorade(G2) for electrolytes. Try sleeping slightly propped up to eliminate the severe stomach acid/heartburn. Wash your clothes and bedsheets every day. Use Lysol and disinfect surfaces. Avoid physical contact until the follow-up stool test shows you are free and clear. Run all dishes through the hot dishwasher.

Hang in there and don't let fear and depression stop you.

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: THE BRAT DIET CONSISTS OF BANANAS, RICE, APPLESAUCE AND TOAST. IN SOME VERSIONS, IT IS BANANAS, RICE, APPLESAUCE, TOAST AND TEA. LINDA'S RECOMMENDATIONS SOUND SENSIBLE, BUT CHECK WITH YOUR OWN HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.

I started taking Clindamycin 300mg 3 times a day last week.... I felt like I couldn't breathe. Then had trouble swallowing and heart burn. I have been off the medicine 2 days, and I'm still not back to normal. But when I googled Clindamycin it was one of the side effects... I hope this helps, and I hope this is not pro-longed!

After a series of nosebleeds last week (Feb 7, 2010) caused by dryness and a sinus infection, the ER Dr. prescribed Clindamycin HCL, 300mg 4 times/day for ten days. I am a 60 year old male in good health and take only Prilosec regularly.

On the sixth day, I developed severe pains and cramping in my stomach. I lost sleep and tried to walk it off. The pain subsided until I took another dose of the medication. I have no other side effects at the moment and I have begun the yogurt supplement as suggested by this site and by the pharmacist. I stopped taking the meds and will call my doctor tomorrow. There are warnings for this med on the label and now I know why.

I took four days of the medicine and everything seemed great until the fifth day (last Friday...it's now Monday the 15th). On Friday and ever since then, I've had the worst cramping and constipation imaginable and now my rear end is inflamed and I think I have bleeding hemorrhoids.

Of course, whenever I eat I get the "urge" to have a BM. When I do, the stools seem "normal" for now, but the cramping and anal pain is almost unbearable. I don't want to eat, for fear of getting everything going again. Anyone have any suggestions?

I am on clindamycin currently. (clindamycin hcl 150 mg.)

I take 4 capsules orally every 6 hours for a MRSA infection. Originally I was on bactrim but I learned after 12 days that I was allergic to sulfadrugs. Now with the clindamycin, the skin on my face is peeling and I have a rash on my entire body, my hands had swollen up and became itchy and easily bruised to the point I couldn't use them for days.

My nose is flaky and dry, especially in and around my nostrils and just tonight I noticed the rash spreading into my under eye area causing bright red crusty splotches all over my face. I only have 2 more days left of this medication and my doctor has not been very helpful in treating my allergic reactions (when I left the hospital my face was swollen and my skin was red and they still insisted on discharging me and when I developed the bactrim allergy he did not even try to treat the rash).

I have developed diarrhea while taking this medication and while it's not severe, the consistency has been getting slightly mucusy. Is there ANYTHING I can do about my reactions? Specifically my facial and skin rashes? As I've said my doctor has been no help and just keeps writing scripts for more antibiotics.

Please stop those tablets immediately if you have a rash or swelling. It means you are allergic, and you could go into shock suddenly and die. Stop first, tell the doctor after. And I would suggest any doctor who ignores such serious side effects is a quack, and you must see someone else.

I posted before, I was using clindamycin topical for approx 4 months, and developed loose stools, urgency, blood and mucus. I stopped using the clindamycin one month ago exactly. I was tested for c diff and it came back negative, and had a procedure to see my colon and it looked normal. After eating tons of probiotics (yogurt) and taking acidophilus and s. Boulardi (probiotics) I have been improving, but still not right.

The urgency ended after 2 days of probiotics and yogurt, and now I'm back to my normal BM schedule, but the consistency is still off, and it looks darker than normal. The blood has decreased but there is still mucous and some blood. When this all started, the mucus came first: looks like a piece of tissue in the toilet. The blood started as a little pink on the tissue and progressed to drips until I stopped using the clindamycin and started the probiotics, now it is SLOWLY getting better. I feel fine and have never been in any pain, but then again I only used it topically. I guess we can't expect to reverse the damage overnight. But it's already been a month and I am so ready to be over this! Where is it even coming from?

The healing is so slow... Any ideas on how to speed it along?

2/23/10 -clindamycin 150mg/ea 6 hr/40 tabs start 1/12/10-jaw infection from tooth ache, infection won out- couldn't be stopped w antiobiotics for 40 days [clindamycin being last rx] result no stopping of infection, tooth loss and bone graft.

Things cleared up once TOOTH pulled w/ no further after the 40 dys antiobiotics, none of the rx stopped infection as long as tooth in mouth; Now this date 2/23,still have skin rash since mid Jan on face, red splotches and peeling over cheeks, nose forehead eyebrows ears and headache lasted 3 weeks; still the rash and splotches and peeling; some diahrrea; will this skin thing which I have NEVER ever had before this or any rx- go away does anybody know?

Beware if somebody gives you 40 days of antiobiotics; I changed dentists too late- now its $4,000 for a single implant.

I had periodontal surgery on 2/12/10 and was given clindamycin hcl 150 mg to take 3x a day until gone. I was given 15 pills so 5 days worth. I took the last pill on 2/16. On 2/18 I started eating regular food again and after eating a hot dog and chocolate milkshake I got diarrhea.

At first I didn't think too much about it because I have had this happen occasionally after having a milkshake, although have never had any problems with milk so I know I'm not lactose intolerant. As of today 2/24 I have not had a normal bowel movement. I have had diarrhea at least 2 or 3 times a day, once having to jump out of bed at 3am. A few times it has been dark and tarlike but mostly a lighter color. Also for a few days after the surgery I was very lethargic and felt "blah" with slight sore throat and ear pain.

I went to my doctor then about the ear pain and he said I didn't have an ear infection and it was probably a reaction to having my jaw open wide for 4 hours during the surgery and it would go away. At the time I wasn't having diarrhea. He was right about the ear pain going away after a few days but now the diarrhea. I haven't tried any "home remedies" or over the counter drugs but after reading these posts I made an appointment for this afternoon.

Hello, I to had a terrible experience with this drug, and will NEVER again start a med without checking it out FIRST!

I started 1800ml daily of this med... the first day was fine... the second day I felt "hurty" all over... including a dull headache that never did stop till one full day after stopping the med. On that day I had a small rash on my forearm, applied a cream it stop the icthing. The third day...WOW... could hardly get out of bed to get breakfast before taking my son to school... kept taking the meds... had BAD diarrhea... and I am already a yogurt eater...daily. Fourth day... took meds and felt like I could not get the two 300ml pills down my throat... had toast and applesauce and skipped the eggs the rest of the family was enjoying... I felt so sick... Got in the truck to take the youngest to school and we are a few miles down the road and I realize I am getting sick and lucky for me my 11 year old son had a plastic shopping bag handy and I was so sick I pulled muscles... got Tim to school and barely made it home before the diarrhea struck. It lasted ALL day, into the night (I read this site and my husband took the bottle away!)

That was yesterday morning... I never took another pill because frankly I couldn't swallow one if you PAID me. I can hardly sit up to write this but felt I should share... I cannot eat without being sick... and the diarrhea is a mucous type and foul beyond foul. I can hardly get out of bed without help the joint pain is so bad it has been 24 hrs since the last dose and I will eat some yogurt and try to regain some fluids with some tea... I started this drug for a skin infection that was painless but needed to be addressed with meds...

I will NEVER understand why they didn't TELL me what could happen...since it seems as tho it's not IF you get sick but WHEN! Thank you for listening. TAK

Last week I started feeling a sinus infection coming on. I started taking clindamycin on Tuesday. That night I had a lot of stomach cramping diarrhea, and started noticing some skin burning sensations and pain in my calves. Over the next few days the pains got worse, in my legs mostly, occasionally my hands and arms. I started to think it was MS after looking up those symptoms. I have had a lot of diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, lethargy, just feel really unwell.

The joint pains did not start until I began the medication. Could this be the cause. What about all this nausea and diarrhea, should I go to the hospital to check it out because of the clindamycin? I stopped taking it yesterday afternoon.

I started on Clindamycin Tuesday. That night I started noticing some joint pain which has gotten worse. I have severe stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, no appetite and low grade fever. I stopped taking it yesterday. I am still having diarrhea, bad nausea and no appetite. Feel lethargic and awful. Called the Dr. all he said was to come in Monday if still feeling bad, and to discontinue use of medicine which I did already.

What should I do?

I had Clindamycin + Lortab (for pain) subscription for a bad left side tooth. I had to stop taking the medicine after finishing five of the seven day prescriptions not because of diarrhea but a much more terrible condition.

It worked as a good laxative instead of diarrhea and my tooth pain is gone on the 6th day. However, the reason I stopped it is because in the morning while I was at work, I felt like I had a stroke, a penetrating pressure between my left eye and nose which contracted and numbed my left side of face. I felt like I would pass out but I did not.

Afte a 3 - 5 minutes, I was back to normal but the feeling that the condition will return remained in me as a "panic attack". Three days passed since this happened. My Dr. Checked my left eye if the pressure has left damage but I am ok. He advised me to continue checking my blood pressure which was up when I was measured on prescription. My blood pressure is back to normal now, and I had no symptom of blood pressure in the past except that I am a little overweight for my height, but I still have a feeling like blood will penetrate and flow out of my left nose (I don't know what to call it) but goes away fast.

I never had any of these symptoms before the medicine.

TAK,

Please, please, please get to the doctor immediately! I had the same thing without the vomiting and blew it off thinking it was the flu, it was c-diff and I got it because the clindmycin stripped my insides of all defense. My whole awful story is above. I was in ICU, please get to the doctor NOW!! Also, please let me know how it goes... I am worried about you.

Kim

In September 2009 I had an infection develop around the fractured root of a tooth. My dentist prescribed 150 mg Clindamycin 3 times each day for 1 week. I recall some queasiness after taking the antibiotics for several days, but basically it was ok. Now, in February 2010, an infection developed around the fractured root of the neighboring tooth. A different dentist prescribed 300 mg Clindamycin 4 times each day for 1 week.

That is triple the dose, 1200 mg instead of 450 mg, and after 4 days of taking the medication I had a lot of pain in my esophagus, it felt as if the pill had become stuck a couple of inches below my throat, and also much belching.

My pharmacist said to take probiotics, he recommended AlignGI, since the antibiotic kills good bacteria as well as bad, and suggested halving the dose, two pills a day, 600 mg, instead of four. My dentist said to stop the antibiotics until my dental appointment the next day. That did help, I also ate yogurt, and, after reading the advice and personal histories posted on Peoples Pharmacy, I am happy to have dodged a bullet, ... maybe.

Over several decades I have had treatments of antibiotics and never this reaction. Also, over several decades I like to think that I have built up a considerable resource of good bacteria, that aids particularly in digestion. I don't want that destroyed for the sake of controlling a localized infection.

Yes, the pain went away quickly with the antibiotics, and yes, no doubt the local concentration of harmful bacteria around the fractured root was reduced. But the source of infection will not go away until the site is treated surgically. The first prescription, 450 mg daily, appears just right for infection control. The second prescription, 1200 mg daily, I think, was too aggressive. The bad side effects showed how much the medication reduced populations of good bacteria. There was the potential for much greater harm.

Following a root canal on 2/18, I was prescribed 300Mg Clindamycin 3x/day for 5 days. When questioned, my dentist stated that it was a 'stronger' antibiotic and since I thought the doctor knows best, I took it. It caused immediate, violent diarrhea & constant stomach gurgling. I was concerned when I found this web site and all the adverse reactions to this drug.

I stopped taking it on day 3. I called my dentist 1st thing Monday morning (2/22) who told me that the prescription was only to be on the safe side (I already had taken 1 week of Penicillin) GREAT - THANKS FOR THAT!! I've never had any reaction to antibiotics. Awful stuff.

As of today (3/2) my stomach has settled down somewhat, but I still have dark mushy stool. STAY AWAY FROM THIS DRUG !! BTW it costs $66.59 at CVS for 21-300Mg Clindamycin VS $12.29 for 28-500Mg Penicillin. I have no dental health insurance to cover this cost.

I took Clindamycin 300MG 4 X a day for 6 days following a root canal for an abscessed tooth. I had zero symptoms while taking the drug and no gastrointestinal problems at all, but now, almost a week after completing the drug, I have a strange rash on the backs of my hands. It's like I have frog skin with multiple raised bumps. It doesn't hurt or itch, just looks weird. Has anyone else ever had this once that stopped taking the medication?

SJ, Thank you for your comment. I wrote the comment from the day before. Thank you for the capital letters. Your strong reactions come through in your comment, and that's a good thing. You report that the dentist gave you the Clindamycin "to be on the safe side". That is scary. Antibiotics do harm as well as a lot of good. To be on the safe side, doctors and dentists should slightly under-prescribe, not dramatically over-prescribe.

If the dose is too low to begin with it can be increased. The dentist who gave me the lower dose ( 3 x 150mg daily ) said that Clindamycin is effective at low doses, and that only once in his long experience with the antibiotic has he had a need to prescribe a stronger dose later.

The drug literature reports that serious side effects do occur, the same side effects that are reported in these comments in the People's Pharmacy, including C. difficile, diarrhea, colitis, and esophageal irritation. Therefore Clindamycin should be used sparingly, and never just "to be on the safe side".

I've only taken 3 pills 150/mg so far. I'm seriously going to stop taking this drug. But I need the tooth infection to go away, what are the alternatives? On the third pill feel a little weird but no weird bm. I hope it's not to late did take care of pain in only 16 hours.

Hi there- you said the rash cleared up with treatment- can you tell me what you used? I've been off the drug for two days, but the rash is getting worse. Any advice would be appreciated.

My daughter was given this drug for infection at the base of a tooth that had previously had a root canal done on it several years ago. The infection was so bad that the roof of her mouth was swollen and "hanging"... after several days we noticed that in insides of the palm of her hands were broken out and looked like the back of an alligator... under the skin on the palms. It has been 3 weeks, and now the skin on her palms is peeling. After reading all of this site, I wonder WHY any doctor would prescribe this anymore?

Certainly there are other drugs without all of these side effects that would do the job as well???????????

I started this drug yesterday for a bad bronchial infection. I noticed that I didn't need to urinate much. Last night I only was able to squeeze about 1/4 cup of urine out.
I am a winter resident in Florida and don't really have a doctor here. I went to Urgent Care. Now I am having trouble getting help.

I had a cat bite that caused blood poisoning Sept.7th, 2008.

The ER gave drip system of Clindamycin and gave a prescription of Clindamycin 300mg. On the14th I broke out with hives and itched like crazy for a week. On the 17th I had horrible pains that started like what they call a brain freeze. Wondered
if I was having a stroke. I could smile and put my hands over my head so that ruled out stroke.

The whole right side of my head felt like it was having lightening strikes everywhere.
Went to a Neurologist, he ordered all sorts of tests. Said he had never heard of Clindamycin having that kind of side effect.

Went to the Sinus Doctor on the 20th of Nov. He could not find any reason, but he did give me a six day packet of steroids and I was back to normal. Only for the six days though.

Decided I needed to go to the Chiropractor, maybe my head was not on right. He is the one that said I had every symptom of a Cluster Headache, which is Trigeminal neuralgia. I had these attacks for three days short of five months.

Those attacks drained all the energy out of me. The doctors still don't believe it was caused by the Clindamycin, but I am convinced it did and am relieved to read that a couple of others had the Trigeminal neuralgia. NEVER AGAIN Clindamycin.

I was prescribed Clindamycin 150mg/4x daily for one week for a tooth infection, a few days prior to having a root canal. I have a severe allergic to penicillin, which will trigger symptoms of joint and muscle pain. I took Clindamycin reluctantly, as I didn't know what else to do for this infection, and did not know of the side effects stated on this forum.

Exactly one week after being off Clindmycin, I developed some pressure in one of my eyes, and started seeing a gray circular spot in my line of vision. I, too, thought I was going to have a stroke, as someone else on this post had written. The pressure in the left eye was very elevated and the Opthamologist discovered that I have a type of retinal detachment that comes on suddenly, among other things, it can be caused by infections and some types of medicines.

I just found this to be coincidental as I had just been to the Opthamologists and my eyes were found to be healthy; had normal vision, and normal eye pressure two months prior to being on the Clindamycin. (I take no other medications). Since many people that have written here have skin rashes and joint pain due to inflammation from having taken Clindamycin, I am wondering if this caused inflammation in my eye that resulted in increase in pressure and the ERD... it is something rare.

No stomach upset, however, and no diahrrea as yet, but stool is very dark.

I'm happy to say my gut feels back to normal again. For over a week I had strong pains from my digestion. My dentists had said at the start of the week to stop taking Clindamycin 4 x 300 mg daily. I was on daily AlignGI, a probiotic, at the recommendation of my pharmacist. Then, after talking to friends experienced in health foods, I took a trip to a good local health food store. One person recommended going to Whole Foods, I happened to choose somewhere else.

The friends said that the best probiotics are those in the refrigerator section. I picked up Good Belly, yoghurt with live cultures, Kombucha (haven't faced that yet), ordered a green juice freshly made, basically anything that promised a jolt of raw nutrients and probiotics. Most important I think were probiotic capsules from the refrigerator in the medicine / supplements aisle.

The in-store nutritionist helped me choose. The twice-daily capsules provide 10 live probiotic strains, in a whole-food media, targeted at the colon. We can't know for sure, but before this jolt of natural food, good probiotics and live probiotic capsules I felt bad, and now I feel back to normal.

I was given Clindamycin after having three wisdom teeth removed on Wednesday. I was told to take four of the pills every day. Thursday morning, I woke up and had a red, splotchy and itchy rash on both forearms. Since then, the rash has spread to my entire body. My hands are swollen. I can barely stand to type. The dentist's office simply told me to stop taking the antibiotic and take Benedryl. Though the Benedryl diminishes the itch, it does nothing for the swelling or rash. I'll be calling my doctor's office on Monday.

I was prescribed Clindamycin for an infection in my throat. By IV 2 days while at hospital & 10 days oral at home. I started to have trouble a month later with diarrhea & mucus. (Sorry, gross). I see you are taking Imodium. On my Clindamycin RX information sheet, Imodium (if it is for diarrehea) shouldn't be taken for Clindamycin. I haven't gone to the doctor yet. Not serious enough.

I have found that Flex-A-Min, which I have been taking for years along with Calcium, a multi-vitamin, & Vitamin E (name brand and Kroger brand) is very helpful. I also watch what I eat, but survive pretty much on Lean Cuisine dinners. I eat a bowl of cereal in the morning and have a tablespoon of coffee brewed to make 2 cups. (Good for Asthma - no attacks since 1990!)

I have introduced Kroger brand Organic Yogurt to my diet & take an expensive Probiotic to help with the stomach problem. I don't limit what I eat, but I don't go crazy. I had been to Jenny Craig in 1999 & follow that plan pretty much. I see a Chiropractor for my lower back. I do chiropractic exercises morning and night & my migraines and pain in my hands have subsided hugely. No lower back problems unless I can't do exercises for a week. Hope this helps.

I do not recommend taking Clindamycin as it has caused me diarrhea and mucus in stool a month after I was prescribed this medication for the infection in my throat. The diarrhea is not serious though & does seem to be clearing up. I do not attribute these stomach problems to bad eating habits as I weigh 116 and am 5' 1". Daily, I take a mult-vitamin and Vitamin C, Calcium, & Flex-A-Min. I have chiropractic exercises that I do day and evenings.

Originally, I had a cold for 3 weeks. I was better. Then, overnight on the last Thursday in Feb. 2010, I woke up with a lump in my throat. I couldn't swallow my own spit. I couldn't eat. I ended up in the hospital hooked up to an IV for 5 days. Two of those days, I was given Clindamycin by IV.

Hospital fed me jello & ice chips. The ears, nose, throat specialist was finally able to drain the lump which turned out to be a cist. It was a horrible infection so I don't know if there was another type of medication that could have been prescribed.

I was prescribed Clindamycin 300mg (one pill 2x day) for a yeast/bacterial vag. infection.

Within 30 minutes of taking my first pill I had the worst acid reflux/heartburn/chest pains I have ever felt in my life. When I tried to go to bed an hour later, I couldn't lie down for the pain. So I stayed up until 4am, pacing around my house, belching and doubled over in horrible pain. The next morning I still had some acid reflux (not as bad as the previous evening), my face was flushed and hot to the touch and I had pains all through my hamstrings. I kept taking the Clindamycin, because I had also taken a Diflucan at the same time for my yeast infection and had no way of knowing which drug was causing the problems.

Simultaneously, I had just begun using Clindamycin Phosphate 1% topical pads for acne. Two days later, on Monday, I developed a horrible rash covering most of my face--very red/inflamed, itchy, hundreds of tiny bumps. By the next day they had developed into blisters.

I only took 4 doses of the Clindamycin before stopping altogether. Now I'm still experiencing the heartburn/acid reflux/gas, and it hurts like heck every single time I swallow food. I called my gynecologist (who prescribed me the meds) and they just told me to stop taking the Clindamycin and come in as soon as possible.

So far, I do have abdominal discomfort, but I have not had the diarrhea...

I was prescribed the vaginal suppositories 1X day at bedtime for three days for a pelvic infection. The afternoon after the first one, I was hit with severe pain in lower back, could barely stand. Then came explosive diarrhea and gas. Doc told me to take Imodium (after she tried to get me to soldier on!), and not to take the last 2 pills.

SO Thursday took 3 Imodium, Friday woke up with diarrhea and took more Imodium and have the most offensive gas as the cats wont even stay by me. Now it is Saturday, and more diarrhea. Is there anything I can do? Reading the web I have myself convinced it is CDiff. I have no fever, eating well, and pain in back virtually gone. I had to miss work because my coworkers wouldn't be able to be in same room.

Thanks so much for posting such great information. I have been prescribed clindamycin 150mg for a tooth infection. I am concerned about taking RXs because I am nursing an eight month old. After reading the above 64 reviews I certainly will not take clindamycin. Tomorrow I will contact my dentist and request an alternate antibiotic. Do you have any suggestions?

Note: the dentist did not prescribe penicillin because (once, many years ago) I took it and experienced some itching (although nothing outrageous). Perhaps I should give it another try? Any feedback you suggest is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
EE

EE,
I don't think you should take penicillin again if you've had an allergic reaction to it in the past!! Your reaction could be more severe this time. There are other antibiotics that could be taken in lieu of penicillin. Ask your General Practitioner as your Dentist may not be familiar with the antibiotics that would be the best substitute for penicillin. I don't blame you for not taking Clindamycin, especially while nursing. I had a horrible experience with it and would never take it again!

It is day 3 of my son taking CLINDAMYCIN 300MG. This am he had an upset stomach, most the day started throwing up at 5pm. It is 1130 pm and non stop vomit and diarrhea. I am concerned about this. The doctor only told him to take with food. If this doesn't stop soon, I will have to take him to the emergency room for dehydration.

I saw the endodontist yesterday with an aching tooth which had a previous root canal. He said I had a root infection and prescribed Clyndamycin, 150mg. I have taken 6 capsules and will not take anymore. Especially after reading all the horror stories on this website.

I have been taking "Align" probiotic which had been recommended by my primary Dr. for a digestive problem, so I think this has prevented digestive system upset. I did have weird dreams last night and woke up with chest tightness and pain. I still have the chest problems today. If the dentist can't prescribe a different antibiotic I'll see my primary Dr.

I highly recommend "Align" probiotic. It has worked for me. It is available OTC.

Sounds all to common, As most of you, was prescribed clindamycin 150mg's for gum infection caused by a broken tooth/partial root canal from 2 years earlier. Never got it taken care of now I'm going to go have it pulled.

Thrusday 2pm - Took 1 pill with food + 2 glasses of water.
Thrusday 10pm - took 1 pill with food + 2 glasses of water.
Friday 1:30pm - took 1 pill with food + 2 glasses of water.
Friday 9:15 (or so) - took 1 pill with food + 1 cup of water ( Crazy Dreams that night)
Saturday 11am - took 1 pill with food + 2 glasses of water
Saturday 6pm - took 1 pill with food + 2 glasses of water.
Sunday 4am - took 1 pill with brownie + 1 glass of water.

8am Stumic bubbling Broken soft stool. (semi dark)
8:45am basically almost diarrhea.

( I normally go twice in the morning so the frequency is semi normal)

10am - Called pharmacist, explained what was going on, told me to probably stop taking it and contact my dentist tomorrow.

All day my stomach been kind of upset, started reading these posts and immediate went and got some yogurt. (dairy products upset my stomach at times, but figured better to have then not to have).

I have completely stopped taking the medication as of 4am today. WILL not take anymore and hopefully I've stopped in time not to have any lasting side effects.

Another Note:

Food I eat last night might have been over spiced. (Could be me just freaking out), but after reading all of this if there is other medication that can help this infection before I have my tooth pulled I'm forcing the dentist to take that route and if not I'll find another dentist.

Hi Jim,
I had horrific nightmares too, when I was taking Clindamycin...they were the worst I ever had, and I woke up thinking I'd have a heart attack. My heart was pounding and I could feel the blood rushing through my veins up into my head. It was the same feeling of adrenaline that you would get if you were about to have a head-on collision. A week after stopping the medication, I developed a type of retinal detachment called RPE, which can not be surgically repaired.

I can't say that the clindamycin caused it, it could have been the infection in my tooth and jaw that spread to the sinus', or being under extreme stress from the pain, nightmares, and fear of even taking this medication. But, with so many medications causing glaucoma and other eye problems/loss of vision, I thought it was such a coincidence, and therefore I would never, ever take it again. I can also recommend "Florajen3" probiotic...a pharmacist told me it is the best there is. It is kept in the refrigerator to preserve it's potency. It is even less expensive than Align! Best of luck to you, Lisa

I'm in college and recently had a spider bite on my upper cheek (soft tissue area) the dr. gave me an RX for clindamycin and I have yet to have diarrhea, however I bought the same probiotic yogurt (DELICIOUS) and hopefully it will prevent any strange BM's that seem to occur with this med.

You people need to understand that with any antibiotic this can happen. It is not just clindamycin. Each year, C. difficile infection results in approximately 3 million cases of diarrhea and colitis in the United States. C diff is part of the normal flora in your GI tract, but when you take antibiotics, they tend to wipe out the other bacteria, which mean less competition for the C. diff, which allows it to flourish and cause diarrhea.

You need to ask questions when you go to the doctor, and don't just assume you are ill with the flu, especially if you have been on antibiotics of any sort. Not everyone gets this infection either. I myself have been on clindamycin before, on 3 separate occasions, and I have yet to have any difficulties. There are exceptions and risks for every drug and medication you take, it is your own responsibility to question what you are taking, and ask about possible side affects ahead of time so you know what to look for.

"We people" do understand that we need to ask doctors about side effects. We may be told there might be diarrhea, and we know to take pro-biotics or yogurt to counter this. However, how many times do you think a doctor will tell us that the diarrhea may last for 8 months or more? We may be told to stop taking the pills if there is a rash or heartburn, but not what to do if these reactions start after the dosage is complete. I should have looked it up in Worst Pills/Best Pills, where the serious side effects are stressed, rather than minimized.

I've got to say I resent the smug tone of the previous message. It's no help if doctors don't tell you the worst risks, which they don't do because they want you to take the medication.

I agree with JM. In my experience, Doctors almost never tell you about side effects of medications. Sometimes it may be because they feel you should take it and think you wont if you know the risks, or maybe because they don't think it's their responsibility to let you know, and sometimes because they just don't take the time to know. Furthermore, CS MD-PHD may not have met Doctors that resent being asked questions and resent informed patients.

My dentist is aware that I have antiobiotic sensitivities and yet prescribed Clindamycin, one of, if not the, strongest anti-bacterial antibiotics available. Not only did he not discuss the side effects, two weeks later when I went back for a follow up appt., he didn't even remember prescribing Clindamycin for me.

Many people trust their doctors so implicitly that they will take what their doctor prescribes for them, and they may not have access to more information than what is provided by their doctor or pharmacy. There is that disclaimer on the medication information sheet provided by the pharmacy that reads, "this may not be a complete list of side effects". So it's great that we have a forum like this to get an idea of what side effects people have been experiencing with these drugs so that we can make more informed decisions.

The writers on this site describe some terrible side effects of taking Clindamycin. When a drug has a, let's say, 0.01% chance of producing these side effects, what do we say to the dozens or hundreds or thousands of us who experience those side effects? Do we say, sorry, you are a statistical fluke, a very small probability, there are always some people who have a really bad health experience, and you should have asked your doctor beforehand? I don't think so. Thank you to the People's Pharmacy for providing this forum where we learn of each other's experiences, and, perhaps most importantly, learn how to manage and remedy the side effects that do occur.

To the medical professionals reading these postings, you've read the studies (I hope), what are the probabilities? Much much higher than 0.01% I think. What are the probabilities of side effects, with different types and severities, for Clindamycin, for Amox, for other antibiotics. How do these differ by dosage level? What are the patient-specific risk factors doctor and patient should consider? There are examples in these postings of people who had no side effects and then, at a later time, did experience side effects. What does patient history tell us about the risks of side effects for the prescription today?

What are the benefits? How often do doctors and dentists prescribe a high dosage of strong antibiotic, just to check the box "no risk of infection"? Without balancing the risk of side effects? Without thinking about the alternatives, including intervention if an infection does subsequently appear or worsen? That box could also read: "patient left office with antibiotics, so no risk of infection, so no need to follow-up with a phone call or a repeat office visit".

And by the way, C.S. is not the only one posting who has top professional degrees.

The doctor who called us "you people" just doesn't get it. C. Diff can be devastating, and I can't imagine why this "doctor" would say it's our responsibility when the doctors and the drug companies lead us to believe the drug is relatively safe. So I guess one of the lessons here for those of us who have suffered significantly is don't trust your doctor to inform you of the serious potential side effects.

This doctor shrugs off his responsibility and passes it on to the patient. Why do we go to you, pay you, trust you in the first place? Shame on you.

I had a recently crowned tooth become sensitive to cold and hot. It went on for a week. I thought it would pass, having seen sensadyne commercials... it didn't seem serious. Then a very small ache started. I called the dentist.

They tested my tooth for sensitivity and then took x-rays. The "roots" were infected. My tooth was flushed out, and an appointment made with a endodontist for a root canal. I was put on Clindamycin, 150 mg. three times a day. The second day I felt very depressed and lower back pain began. It was very bad. I could barely get out of a chair. At first I thought I may have strained my back, but one usually remembers when that happens. I go to the gym regularly, and have only been gardening.

I checked the internet and read some of the horrific side effects. Lower back pain being one. I decided I had to call my dentist and get a substitute med. I'm a caregiver to a parent, and I was practically disabled with the pain. My dentist gave me another prescription of AMOXICILLIN. 500 mg, four times a day. I immediately started that but also I was due for a quarterly check up with my family doctor so I moved the appointment up so I could see him before I took any more pills.

He was surprised that I was given CLINDAMYCIN.... and asked me.."do you know what COLITIS IS?"...After a few "leg movement tests"... he determined that my back pain probably was due to some kind of inflammation, and probably from the pills. There was no localization of pain like a "pulled muscle" would indicate. He said he didn't like the idea of me taking the CLIND... that the AMOX was better in his opinion.

I'm glad I decided to check the internet. Pharmaceuticals list possible side effects, but they can't list them all... we are all different and react to chemicals differently to a degree. Being a caregiver, if I had gotten the diarrhea, or COLITIS.... it would have ruined two lives. I have no idea what I would have done for my parents care. The back pain started to subside little by little since I stopped the CLIND. But its taken over a week.

I'm sorry for all those that have suffered so much. I was barely able to dress myself at the worst. I get the root canal in two days... I cut back on the AMOX... my family doctor said I didn't need to take so much for so long. I'm going to ask my dentist why the CLIND was the first choice considering the risk of such horrific side effects. Be aware people... any meds you are prescribed... check the internet... like this one... where "average users" may have different side effects than those listed by the manufacturer.

In this day and age, where pharmaceuticals find new drugs..... their motivation is profits. They are in a race for newer drugs before they lose the patents on older drugs. We cannot always take for granted that "doctor knows best"... if you are having strange symptoms after taking a med..TAKE ACTION... notify your doctor, check the internet. I'm glad I stopped taking the pills. If they caused my lower back pain, no telling what that may have turned into if I had continued the prescription...

I took the Clindamycin for a tooth infection. It is supposed to be a seven day treatment. During the first several days, I start seeing some rash on my face which I did not pay attention to (thinking it is my skin sensitive to Spring stuff). However, on the fifth day, I started a very serious heart burn every time I took it - I was not even sure it was call heartburn until my husband helped me to recognize it based on the symptoms. Never in my life time I experienced such a terrible heartburn. Like the rest of you, I strongly oppose to use this medicine from now on. Why it is still on the market? Most importantly, why do the doctors even prescribe it?

I also have a lot of joint pain since I took this medication. The pain started in my hands immediately after taking the medication and now I've had the pain for over 3 months and it has now moved to my knees and ankles. It feels to me like all my tendons are tight and brittle. I'm 34 years old and feel like I'm 80. Sometimes I have trouble walking because my knees and ankles are so stiff and achy. I talked to my MD about it and he basically implied I was making it up. It's very frustrating and I'm wondering how long will this condition persist...

Hi TM,
My Dentist just told me yesterday that his daughter was taking Clindamycin for an acne condition, and that she also began having a lot of joint and muscle pain, like you. She was diagnosed with drug-induced Lupus. The Clindamycin was discontinued, and after 3 days, he said her symptoms disappeared.

I also have the symptoms you do; extreme pain in joints and muscles caused by antibiotics; but mine occur when taking penicillin, which I am highly allergic to. They last anywhere from 3 months to a year! They are the symptoms you have, however I do have autoimmune disease, and taking antibiotics causes a flare. You are probably just allergic to clindamycin, like my dentist's daughter, as she had the symptoms that you have.

Drug induced lupus symptoms, if that is what you have, should go away shortly after discontinuation of the medication. Since yours have gone on for 3 months, you might consider going to your GP and having some bloodwork done; in particular ANA;(antinuclear antibodies); ESR (elevated sedimentation rate); and RA (rheumatoid arthritis), just to be sure nothing else is going on. If it were me, though, I think I would get another MD, since yours was so dismissive. He could have just done simple bloodwork, or referred you to a rheumatologist, just to rule out other things.

Don't worry though, it is likely that you are just allergic, but if your symptoms persist, I would consult with another Dr., one that will listen to you and pursue some answers! Anti-inflammatory medication might help you a lot in dealing with pain in the meantime. (I used Cataflam, which was highly effective... and when symptoms resolved, I began taking Ginger, which helped as much as naproxyn, which I also took briefly) I hope you post when you find out because I'm sure it will benefit others that may experience the same symptoms you do. All the very best of luck to you, I hope you will be feeling better soon! Lisa

I had a horrific experience at the dentist 10 days ago and ended up with a root and raw nerve exposed (freezing didn't work) for a couple of hours.

My dentist, who is holistic and doesn't prescribe lightly, ordered Clindamycin since I'm allergic to penicillin. I wasn't thrilled about taking it after reading about all its problem along with the fact that I hadn't had any antibiotics since discovering that I had become allergic to penicillin about 16 years ago.

So I made certain that I took each and every pill with at least a large banana and a large glass of water-- every single time! The one time I got side tracked and only drank about a third of the water, I quickly got a bad stomach pain.

I also took a high quality pro-biotic twice per day, with two hours before or after taking the Clidamycin. A lot of people don't believe that pro-biotics work for them because they take them too close to the antibiotic and the latter simply kills all the good bugs.

I've just taken my final pill this morning and will continue taking the pro-biotics for some months, just in case.

Also, for those with diarrhea from this-- you might try the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It's tough for some (we are on it for my husband's Crohn's but are also vegans) but might well do the trick for you. Basically, it starves the bad bugs out.

And for those with any type of arthritis (even drug-induced) the Nightshade Diet gave both my husband and my lives back to us. As long as we're strict about it-- no arthritis pain at all!

Remember, for those looking into whether or not to take this stuff, the great majority of people who have no problems with it do not bother coming to sites.

I have had a lot of fatigue while taking this though. Hoping that departs soon.

as an RN, I beg to differ with the
"you people" opinion...........
WE are professionally charged with the responsibility of TEACHING our patients about the potential side effects of all treatments.......YES, patients SHOULD ask questions, but to put the burden of knowing what to ask on a lay person is ridiculous.

I myself was prescribed Clindamycin for a root canal infection and the doc simply said, "you don't have stomach problems, do you?" WHAT does THAT mean? How would a lay person deal with that? I have taken every precaution by taking probiotics, active yogurts, sitting up for at least an hour, a full bottle of water with each dose etc etc.......HOW would a lay person know this if a doc or pharmacist did not educate them?

I do think that all patients should read the paper that comes with their prescription....that would help, but by then it's usually too late....they've already paid for and gotten a drug for an obvious problem.

DOCS and NURSES are the FRONT LINE educators responsible for teaching patients the necessary information when taking ALL antibiotics! This is the root of so much trouble for patients these days...........no time to teach.

I was put on clindamycin on March 29, 2010 after being on Bactrim for a MRSA skin infection. I completed the full course of medicine on April 7. I read that there could be sudden diarrhea. That didn't happen until this past Wed. after being off the meds for 3 weeks.

The diarrhea woke me up at 2 Am and then again 2 hours later. I've had diarrhea ever since which has mucous and is blood tainted (pink). I had the heartburn twice after taking the pill and one time it did feel like the pill didn't go all the way down. Felt like it was just sitting at the end of my esophagus. I also have the achy feeling which makes you feel like crap and not wanting to get out of bed. Tylenol or Advil relieves that pretty much.

I haven't had the rashes or itching, thank goodness! I began eating yogurt this week and will definitely step that up and look into the other treatments for the C. diff. I don't want this to get any worse and will never take this drug again!

If you can manage to eat yogurt with and following antibiotics, do so. If you can't, try the probiotic pills. Check the storage conditions on the package, as well as the date.

I apparently have one of the more vicious strains of bacteria in my mouth, that cause more acidic plaque than most. I've also had to have several root canals, and have been prescribed clindamycin for infection. It does leave me fatigued and with a vaguely not thrilled tummy, but if I take it with food and drink then the stomach upset isn't near so bad. All antibiotics leave me feeling tired and not especially well. It's a drug designed to KILL things, this shouldn't be a shock.

Antibiotics have CLEAR warnings not to drink while taking them. If you ever have question as to why, ask your pharmacist. Don't just be an idiot and blow it off.

Warnings need to be discussed, risks need to be discussed. But no medicine is going to work well for everyone; ALL medicines are going to be moderate to high risk for SOME. You want to advocate? Push for better discussion. Ask your doctor about side effects. ASK the pharmacist questions. If you hear something from them or find something concerning in the papers, call your doctor's office BEFORE you start taking the pills. If you have problems midway through, CALL YOUR DOCTOR. Request a prescription change.

I've had to do this with one I was prescribed for a sinus infection. I couldn't keep it down, I was horribly miserable, so I called the office. After confirming that I'd been taking it with food, they called in a different order for me.

I was prescribed Clindamycin for a ear infection and sinus infection. 300mg 4 times a day. Within seconds of taking it I get SEVERE disabling heartburn. Even though I took it with a full bottle of water and was sitting up. I also had been prescribed this medication a little over a year ago and took it in my car before a hike. I got about 200 yards into the hike before I thought I was having a heart attack and went to the E.R. they didn't figure it out.

But now that I am on it again I realize this side effect is because of this medication. Is there something I should do? I think he offered me this med because I am allergic to sulfa drugs and amox doesn't work anymore on me as I was given it many times as a kid. HELP!

CS's comment really sticks in my craw.

I was prescribed Clindamycin by an oral surgeon. The doctor never discussed the medicines he was going to prescribe. Indeed, his general routine is to provide the patient with the prescription on the day of the surgery - basically, you pick it up after the procedure. For convenience, I had his office call the prescription into my pharmacy the day of the procedure, before going to his office. That day was the first day that I even knew I was going to be prescribed an antibiotic (I had assumed just pain killers).

The pharmacist did discuss possible side-effects, but this was limited to just diarrhea, which I know is common with antibiotics. There was a hand-out as well, which I read and which looked alarming - but you tend to think that they are just erring on the side of caution and basically covering their you-know-what. And besides, I had about 1 hour before my surgery was scheduled to begin in which to decide whether or not I was going to take the medication and go forward and I had already paid for the medication.... So what do you do????

It has now been 2 weeks since I completed my prescription. Although I have not had the worst side-effects as have been described on this forum, I have had persistently loose stools which are more troublesome now than when I was taking the medication. I am also experiencing horrible joint pain and am lethargic. In all, this has been a terrible experience.

I had a tooth infection the first week in April and I was given clindamycin. My dr. Told me in may make me nauseous, but never asked me if I had bowel problem, which I don't. Now a month later I'm having all of these stomach issues.

What upsets me is that what's given for c.diff is flagyl, which I had a terrible reaction to (throwing up for days). Shouldn't the Dr asked if I ever had a reaction to flagyl just I case? I always read the side effects and I remember reading this, but I was in so much pain I thought "how often does that really happen?"

I'm going to the Dr. today for the stomach issues. :-/ as far as the patient "asking questions" I always ask questions, but I didn't go to school for 10 years to become a Dr, so I'm sorry I don't know the right questions to ask. Hope this goes away soon!

I was just prescribed this by ER for a abscessed tooth. After the ER I went and had tooth pulled same day. I'm now afraid to take this due to fact I have a stomach ulcer and I'm afraid it will cause problems with that I also have acid reflux. I was prescribed 150 mg one capsule ever 4 hours for 10 days I haven't taken any yet and don't know if I should.

Hello Ross...Please check with your Dentist...I was told by my endodontist that the infection of a tooth is often localized, and if so, removal of the tooth should take care of the problem. If you have no gum swelling or pain, it may be that the area was cleaned out well enough that you may not need to take antibiotics at all. However, you really need to consult a dentist and have an exam and x-ray done to determine this!

I actually have an ongoing infection from my root canal that was done two months ago. I have to have it redone, but, in the meantime, the Endodontist told me they don't prescribe antibiotics for this as the infection is usually so contained/localized, and taking care of the problem (in my case, another rootcanal, and in yours, extraction) often does not necessitate a round of antibiotics... so please try to see a dentist as soon as possible and maybe you can avoid taking antibiotics altogether for this particular problem!
Best of luck to you, Ross!
Lisa

Ross, an oral abscess can be dangerous. You need to speak with your dentist, doctor and pharmacist about your condition and ask if this is the only med that will work in your case. If you are not allergic to penicillin, perhaps it would be better for you.

However, if you do need to take it, do so expecting only good results. Take it with food every single time (a large banana is what I had), and a large glass of water (I felt water-logged during that 10 days!). Take a really good probiotic two hours before and after your antibiotics. Then continue it for 4 months or longer after discontinuing the medication.

The chances of severe side-effects are there with any antibiotic-- simply know that if you do have to take it, it's necessary (don't if it is not), and do all you can to minimize any problems. The great majority of people have no problems. You might also consider diets such as SCD for your ulcer.

So far, two weeks off of Clindamycin, I've had no problems except minor heartburn a couple of times that some Tums took care of. Oh, and fatigue during the treatment, but that happens with any antibiotic.

Perineal abscess drained, hospitalized and put on Vancomycin via IV. Ended up being a MRSA infection and was switched to oral Clindamycin on Thursday. This morning I woke up and had a bowel movement that was very watery, but no blood. I also don't have cramping or abdominal pain.

After a second watery stool this morning, I called my doctor and he said to discontinue the Clindamycin.

I've read about the possibility of developing colitis and even the potential for needing a colectomy. Yikes!!! I thought I was out of the woods once I came home from the hospital, now I'm scared to death that the Clindamycin will finish off what the MRSA couldn't.

Wow! My girlfriend, Laura, was just brought home by pool teammates after nearly fainting while playing pool. She told me she experienced a sudden wave of extreme nausea and rapid deterioration of her conciousness. Luckily, her teammates, who are aware of the Type 1 diabetes she has, burst into action, grabbing her glucometer and strips to ascertain her blood sugar levels which turned out to be fine.

Laura concluded that the ill effects must have been caused by the antibiotic she had just been Rx today for a pulled tooth; that antibiotic was Clindamycin. All I can say is thank God! If she hadn't experienced these symptoms this early then I may have been too late! 300 mg 3X a day and she'd only taken two (tooth was pulled around 4:30).

Detached retinas, bloody stools, back pain, vomiting, relentless diarrhea, strange nightmares, loss of energy, depression, not to mention the lack of sleep and the emotional status of an individual are side-effects!
 
All I know is this drug has definitely failed to meet the approval of this household and we are bewildered as to what the true purpose of the FDA really is! 
Thank you all so very much for sharing your experiences, especially the yogurt! I ran and got some Stonyfield's as suggested and am now laying next to my lady who is sound asleep. I WILL most definitely pray that the power of the Great Spirit help relieve the symptoms for those of you who are still suffering the atrocities visited upon you by this pharmaceutical abomination. 

PS If you posted your experience here to help prevent others from suffering the hell you've been through then mission accomplished! Thank you again!

I have just been prescribed Clindamycin HCL 150 mg tabs, 2 tabs 3 x daily. This is for an infection in my throat/neck (I'm guessing I got it as I had an abscessed tooth for almost 2 months.)

Anyways, after a couple days I had such horrible leg pain in both legs that I couldn't sleep. I also had noticeable pain behind both knees and my left Achilles tendon was hurting. I took myself off the meds and the next day I was fine. The doctor told me to try taking it again and see if the pain comes back. Well, it's coming back. Unfortunately, I can't call his office until Monday.

I'm just wondering if anyone else experienced leg pain. I have no abdominal pain or diarrhea like most the of the posts mention.

Thanks.

Dear JMR, You may be allergic to the clindamycin. Antibiotics can cause inflammation in the body, and even cause an autoimmune reaction. I had written previously on this forum, that my dentist's daughter was given clindamycin for a skin condition, and it caused "drug-induced Lupus", which caused her to have severe muscle and joint pain. After stopping the medication, her symptoms disappeared and the pain subsided. I am highly allergic to penicillins, and I have unbearable joint and muscle pain from it, and therefore I can no longer take it. Your Dr. may have an on-call Dr. that you could see... you should see a Dr. right away, as he/she may possibly suggest you try a different antibiotic if your pain is the result of your having taken clindamycin!
Best of luck to you!
Lisa

I have been taking 300mg Clindamycin 3X/day for chronic sinusitis. The first day was awful, with horrible heartburn and stomach issues. Unlike many, I have not had bad GI problems, but I just don't feel well. The backs of my knees have felt swollen and stiff. On day 8 of the medication, my knee spontaneously gave out while standing... no previous knee problems. I have been hobbling around and icing since and cannot wait to finish this course of meds. If I hadn't tried everything else, I would stop using Clindamycin.

EE, WOW!! I have the exact same story as you. I have used pen years ago a couple of times actually and got a back itchy rash and now I am afraid to take it because of it's discomfort. My dentist advised me to take clindamycin 150mg for an infection that is below my tooth that had a root canal done years ago.

After reading these comments I am more scared to take this med then I am to take the penicillin that just cause a rash. I will talk to the dentist after memorial weekend and see what I can do... Thanks to all of you that posted your bad experiences. I do agree they should not give this med out so freely and without consulting the patients of the harmful effects.

I am in the process of a very long and costly dental procedure to restore many teeth that have been plagued with multiple severe abscesses. 2 weeks ago I had 2 teeth pulled as final prep work for the end stages of this treatment plan, about a week later I rushed back into the dentist thinking i was developing dry socket, when in fact the extraction site infected. Joy. So my dentist gave me amoxicillin and Peridex (anibiotic mouthwash) which i never had any issues with before. Just a few short days after that I rushed BACK to the dentist because I had a lump on my gum which was very painful, thinking it was most likely just a piece of tooth that was left in the site.

Wrong again. It was 2 good sized pieces of jaw bone that fractured off (sometimes common with extractions) floating in a swollen pocket of gum tissue. So it was under the knife again, which was terrible. From then on it was Amoxicillin + Vicodin + Peridex + some left over flagyl from a previous RX which overlapped with the new antibiotics. Ran out of Vicodin quickly and the 4 teeth to the right started to act up ( felt like abscesses again), called the dentist yesterday to try to get some more pain killers since I was already on a multitude of antibiotics, and got their emergency page number which then directed me to a different dentist (never met him before), who did not want to give me anything for the pain but wanted to give me a different antibiotic. Ok, fine...

Please note that I never had any reactions to any medications EVER. So this guy gives me Azithromycin, and tells me to stop taking all the other meds. After I got home from work at 11:30 pm, I took 2 as directed before bedtime as the first dose with "dinner" (midnight snack). I wake up at 6 am today to get ready to go back to work, and my chest is killing me. Not wanting to call out because of missing so much work from the previous dental catastrophes, I decide its better to go in so I don't get fired. That lasted an hour. Chest pain, tightness, trouble breathing, dizziness, talking like a delirious moron. My wonderful (ex nurse) coworker offers to drive me home. I am home for 10 minutes and Boyfriend calls 911. Great...

An EKG, Tilt test, 2 XRAYs, and 2 bags of Saline later. the nurses and doctors decide its a combination of dehydration and a reaction to the Azithromycin (but not an allergic reaction because they would have to file paperwork with the FDA) DUH.

You may be wondering where Clindamycin comes into play in this story. The discharging nurse prescribes it and orders all other meds to stop immediately "we give this out all the time" she says. After asking a few questions I say OK. Doing some research before I fill the script, this page pops up. After the last 2 weeks of dental hell, do iI really want to risk taking this medication? I got phillies tickets for my mom and I for mothers day... the game is this Friday, along with game 4 of the flyers in the Stanley cup... I DO NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH EXPLOSIVE BOWEL MOVEMENTS while down in Philly, during what could possibly be the best day of my life ever.

Needless to say I think I am going to wait to talk to MY dentist before dealing with this BS.

So sorry I didn't read this page prior to taking Clindamycin (150 - 3x a day).
On May 13 during a vacation, I consulted with a dentist re: a badly done root canal and he prescribed C. as a preventive measure till I could get to the original dentist!
I started diarrhea after 2 days but thought it was just an expected reaction to antibiotics which I haven't taken for many many many years prior to my tooth problem. Don't think I've had a prescription drug in 20 years as I live a very healthy lifestyle.

By the 6th day I contacted my dentist who thought I could finish the last day if things weren't too bad but I finally read the pharmacy small print and decided not to continue it. The D. did not stop.

Made it to my Dr. after 10 days of D., got tested to learn I have the C-diff so now I'm taking even more powerful antibiotics for the next 2 weeks (side effects are even potentially worse but I seem to be caught in a catch-22). My Dr. is fabulous because he introduced me to 2 OTC probiotics (Floraster and Culturelle) when I contacted him and they've helped immensely. He said to always take these probiotics when using antibiotics.

After reading this web page, I asked at the pharmacy if this is a usual drug request and was told it is the dentist's drug of choice. Then I asked how many people have side effects and C-diff and was told 70%! How is it that dentists continue to prescribe it? Even the pharmacist didn't understand! Are they getting kickbacks from the drug companies?

This is costing me so much money and depriving me of the pleasure of healthy foods (vegetarian) that I'm really distressed. Clindamycin should not be prescribed for anything much less as a "preventive" anything! To date, this "prevention" cost me $165 for the Dr visit, $56 for probiotics, $20 for new antibiotic, weeks of good health and social events, and confidence in dentists! The only thing C. prevents is health and happiness!

Thanks to SM on the Stoneyfield suggestion - it has so many great bacteria!

3 yrs. ago I took clindamycin. 6 days after taking, I developed an eye problem (iritis) opta doctor thought not related. Now my dentist has prescribed again, not sure if I will take. Looking for other that eye problems and was this drug cause?

I was on topical Clindamycin for 2 weeks. After stopping treatment I had diarrhea which would not get under control using probiotics. Tested neg for C-Dif twice. During these two months I also got a nail fungus of which I've never had, skin rash up and down both legs, and hair loss. My Dr. could not see all these symptoms as being related to Clindamycin.

He wanted to do xrays for a bowel obstruction. I told him no way. Researching the issue on my own led to Yeast overgrowth, or Candida. I went on a diet for Candida overgrowth and have seen great improvements. The rash still comes back if I eat certain foods, and I've never been been allergic to food. My hair is still falling out and the Dr wants to send me to a Dermatologist. At this point I'm not sure what the point would be in going, expensive tests, more money, the Dr's don't listen. Clindamycin has taken over my life for the last year. I had a gut feeling it was a bad idea to take it and now I wish I would have listened.

I am an attorney and I have defended doctors. I am very very careful about drugs... even asked about this one b/c I have sensitive skin, etc. I am 34 years old, and a very pretty woman with skin that I have protected very well... no sun spots, nothing. I was given this drug for an infection on my knee (non-staff) at an orthopeodic's office. I developed the bumps on my back neck stomach and chest after a week. I stopped taking the medication.

I ended up in the ER the same day I developed reaction b/c it had gotten so much worse. I took prednisone... four days after stopping this steroid, which is not all that healthy either, and again developed these bumps, but worse with extreme itching to my scalp and skin irritation.

I am an athlete and I do not complain easily, but this drug has affected me. I am well educated, but I relied on my doctor... we people are supposed to be able to rely on them. Problem is, they either don't know the extent of side effects and rely on drug reps for their info or they simply don't care.

I had some minor oral surgery (a benign growth on my gums removed) and was given a prescription for Clindamycin when I left the office. The dentist told me absolutely nothing about this drug, and I assumed it was like any other antibiotic I'd been on, which I've never had problems with. I had never taken this one before.

The pharmacist told me very vaguely, and only after I asked (otherwise he would have let me leave the pharmacy with no info except a very vague and generic leaflet about all drugs), to take this with food to eliminate chances of minor stomach irritation.

I then left to go camping with my family for 3 days in the woods. I was totally blind-sided by almost debilitating nausea for a few hours every time I took a pill, and had to eat non-stop to help keep me from vomiting. It took me a couple of days to figure out it was the antibiotic (remember, I'd never had any probs before), I thought it was a flu.

I do not have diarrhea, but very frequent normal bowel movements (like, 6 a day!).

I also developed a sharp pain inside my right ear that happens at random, and radiates toward my eye.

Now that we're done camping and I'm home and reading this forum, I am going to stop the meds and go to the doctor to see if I need to start another. I had about 4 days left of them and I am NOT taking them anymore. (The reason I'm reading this now, at 3 am, is because I was awakened by severe nausea from taking a pill at bed time!).

The thing that gets me is that I wasn't told ANYTHING by my dentist OR my pharmacist, about not lying down for 30 minutes to an hour after taking, or about the dangers of C.Diff, or about diarrhea, I was just sent on my way. This seems just WRONG after reading how many people have suffered so badly taking this medication.

I WILL NEVER TAKE IT AGAIN, and am so worried that I'm going to get a delayed reaction like many of these readers have, and end up with rash, diarrhea or other awful illness in the weeks to come. I'm angry that these drugs are given out like candy!!!!

Symptom of vertigo and dizziness led to diagnosis of infection in front tooth and prescribed with 300 mg 3 times a day of Clindamycin while I waited for oral surgery which was 10 days away. With 3rd dose on first day I fainted then next day and 4th dose I threw up.

I was not told of 30 min no lying down or of the reactions that might be expected. This is unbelievable that there is so much negative symptoms with this drug! In this day and age there has to be better drugs for infection with less negative reaction.

Wow. I never saw a thread that lasted for a year and had new posts almost every day! What brought me here is I am having black greasy (sorry) stools, severe abdominal pain and loss of appetite. I was on Clindamycin for 7 days ending a couple days ago for a tooth extraction. I was googling 'black loose stools and abdominal pain' and kept getting hits on cancer somewhere in the digestive system. I made my will and did everything except actually go to the hospital to get it verified.

But in the back of my mind I didn't think that was it because I just had a pelvic ct-scan with oral barium for another issue (ventral hernia) 5 days ago and I thought surely if I had cancer in my stomach someone would have noticed and called me by now. So I'm gonna think positive and eat lots of yogurt and NOT use any of the two refills I have left on the stuff. And I'm going to pray that I don't have C-Diff.

Hi All,

I just finished a 7 day course of 300mg 3x/day Clindomycin (I am allergic to Penicillin) for an infected tooth. The tooth was extracted, the jaw scraped out, the bone graft put in place, the gum stitched up, the crazy glue strip put over that, the putty put over that and another prescription for 150mg 3x/day. I finished the 300mg course without major side effects. First I noticed a metallic taste. Next milk started to taste awful. Then after the surgery I seem to have mouth lesions. Could be canker sores or could be not... Stool is smooth and very yellow (I guess my gall bladder is still working) and no serious stomach upset so far.

I am taking vit C, and yogurt as often as I can and so far so good. My tongue is very sore along the side where I had the surgery. Could be caused by biting my tongue while I was numb or... Anyway I am a few days into the 150mg 3x/day course and will most likely finish the course unless things go badly. Even still the idea of getting C-Diff months later is pretty scary so I guess raw yog and probiotics for me.

Thanks to all for sharing your experiences and good luck to those having more serious side effects.

I was given Clindamycin last Monday for an abscessed tooth the dentist put me on it three times a day 150mg..... by Friday, it felt like my throat passage was swelling up and I started having trouble breathing, there was extreme pain, at this point I wasn't sure if it was from infection in the tooth or something else. I had to go to Urgent Care where they increased the mg to 300 and gave me a pain shot.... later that night I had to return to ER for another pain shot and made to yesterday July 5, I had the tooth pulled and so far I haven't any problems where the tooth came out but the swelling in my throat and sharp pains around my ear still persist. I'm really worried.... I think I will give my primary doctor a call in the morning.... after reading everything on this page... I'm not taking any chances.

I've taken 2 doses for a tooth infection, one last night, and one this morning. I already feel queasy. Went to bed after taking... doctor never told me not to lie down 30 min after taking...a fter reading comments I'm done after 2 doses... it is already hard to swallow...

The New York Times today, July 12 2010, has a fascinating article "How Microbes Defend and Define Us". I and others writing here have suffered in one way or another from what happens when Clindamycin harms the colonies of these microbes. The article starts with an account of how a physician, Dr. Khoruts, treated a patient with a vicious gut infection by C. Diff, and constant diarrhea, first with antibiotics, which did nothing, and then with a sample from her husband's stool put into her colon. That worked right away, within 24 hours. Dr. Khoruts team had similar success in 13 out of 15 patients.

The microbiome, which is the collection of microbes living on and inside us, is fantastically rich. It varies from person to person, it changes as our life circumstances changes, and it is protective, mostly. Thus a healthy microbiome naturally limits C. Diff. One function of the microbiome is to help limit inflammation: inflammation is the body's natural response in fighting some diseases but there can be too much inflammation. Probiotics are a step in the right direction, and there is much more to understand. The article paints a rich picture for us of this world of the microbes.

I certainly wish that I had read this thread weeks ago! Thanks to all of you that have taken time to post here....I've been on clindamycin for possible MRSA for nearly two weeks now, but will never take another pill after the last one I took this evening. I wasn't certain why I had insomnia, anxiety, severe diarrhea, headaches, anorexia, nausea, muscle twitching, etc., so I Googled clindamycin side effects and here I am! And now I know.

I have taken lots of antibiotics, but have never had symptoms of such severity before. In fact, I've been on intense antibiotic therapy for the past 7 months for Lyme disease, Babesia, HME, and Bartonella, including doxycycline, azithromycin, Alinia, Omnicef, and IV Rocephin. So I've been very careful to take probiotics twice a day, and to eat Greek yogurt daily as well.

And to C.S. MD-PHD, I would like to say that no doubt there are a number of people posting in this thread with Ph.D.s. I have one in physics. But it didn't protect me from all those side effects that are NOT listed on most websites, all of the ones that my doctor did NOT tell me about.

And I'm running for the bathroom up to 10 times a day!!

The list of possible side effects to be found by reading this thread is absolutely terrifying... these are NOT the typical side effects for an antibiotic. Clindamycin is apparently one of the worst culprits responsible for cases of C. diff.

I will warn people about this medication every chance I get!

I had a tummy tuck done and my doctor put on clindomycin also. I had to take them 6 times a day for 3 weeks. I had diarrhea so bad, I told him that but he said that's what the medication well do. So iI continue to take the medication. Every week I lost 10 pounds. Total pounds lost was 35-40 pounds. After I finished taking it a month later, I woke up out of my sleep with a bad stomach pain and running to bath room throwing up and with diarrhea, sick as a dog on crack, that's how bad it was.

Anyway so later that day I was still throwing up stomach cramping and having diarrhea, but in my stool I started bleeding out blood instead of the stool. I ran out of stool it was like watery blood.I drove myself to the ER pale as a ghost, scared just knowing that I was going to die. I finally made it. Thank god I work there in the ER.

I walk in there, they took one look at me on told me to go to the room. To make a long story short I was diagnosed with diverticulitis, c-diff, colitis, and it did come from taking this antibiotic.

I had a root canal and was prescribed Clindamycin to kill bacteria that had caused infection around the root of my tooth. I didn't know that this antibiotic was a particularly strong one that might kill A LOT OF GOOD BACTERIA in my digestive tract in addition to the bad bacteria around my tooth roots.

I was already aware that antibiotics in general can kill both good and bad bacteria (that is, both bacteria we want to keep in our digestive tract and bacteria that we don't want because they cause illness) and, in fact, I regularly eat yogurt and have always believed this to be a reason that I did not have trouble over the years with antibiotics.

Little did I know the strength of Clindamycin to knock out good bacteria in the GI tract and allow the bad bacteria called Clostridium difficule to take over. It's taken me a while to learn all this.

I finished taking Clindamycin on May 20, 2010 with only mild stomach distress while I was taking it. However, one week after finishing the medicine, I began to have diarrhea several times a day and much more gas (smellier too) than usual. Since I had finished the medicine a week earlier, I thought I had eaten some tainted food, or caught a stomach flu bug. When the diarrhea continued over a week, I thought maybe I had suddenly become lactose intolerant and tried eliminating dairy products form my diet. This didn't make a difference.

Next I wondered if I was suffering from stress or anxiety and tried to cut back my activities, obligations, etc. This didn't help either. I finally decided to look for more information on Clindamycin. Here's a quote I found in "The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs" under Clindamycin:
"POSSIBLE DELAYED ADVERSE EFFECTS: Severe colitis with diarrhea (psuedo-membranous colitis) may begin several weeks after discontinuing this drug. Severe colitis with persistent diarrhea occurs in range of 0.01% to 10% of subjects."
(So, those affected can be up to 10% apparently--that seems like a lot to me since these side effects interfere with work, social activities, and the enjoyment of life.)

I agree with all the writers above who said that this antibiotic should be a last resort choice, never a doctor's first choice.

I was prescribed 150mg x 3 a day for a week of clindamycin to treat a tooth infection. About 2 weeks after completion, I had the runs for 2 weeks, including the blood and mucus. At first I thought it was food poisoning like Salmonella from some tacos or peanut butter crackers. I went to the ER and tested negative for clostrodium difficile, and negative for Salmonella. The doctor gave me a week of Metronadazole, Flagyl. I seemed to get better.

A week or two later, I ate some grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup. The runs came back, and vomiting was pretty severe. Back to the doctors, two prescriptions for 10 days together of Flagyl and Cipro something. Next they ordered a near 3 thousand dollar test, a colonoscopy, to look for polyps or a tumor. That came back clean. They say I have some kind of gastro intestinal infection, most likely due to Clindamycin. Its my understanding that colitis and Crohn's disease are classified as severe cases.

Well I am in month 2 of this, and down 20 pounds, roughly 15% body weight. Cultured yogurts have been my only real relief, I have been using Dannon with acidophilus or something. Stonyfield isn't available around here. Fighting the reactions of this medication is enough to break anyone.

I completed a 10 day rx for 300 mg 4x a day for an abscessed tooth. I followed some of the hints posted on this forum, and I believe this helped me avoid most of the side effects. I drank two glasses of water, remained upright for at least 30 minutes and took probiotics and Activia every day. I've always had an "iron" stomach so maybe that helped. However, I will never take this medication again unless I am given a really good reason! I have no allergies to any medication and I've taken penicillin for previous abscesses with good results. I should have questioned this more since I'm still worried about a c-diff infection down the road.

I'm on day 2 of Clindamycin, and plan on not taking another dose. Yesterday immediately after taking it I had a terrible taste in my mouth, called the pharmacy and they said that was normal. After dose 2 I started feeling sick to my stomach. This morning after taking it my stomach pains have increased and feel like I'm about to vomit, I have also developed a terrible itchy rash all over my body. If things get worse I'm heading to the er. I strongly recommend taking this medication as a last resort.

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: BE IN TOUCH WITH THE PRESCRIBER ABOUT YOUR REACTION.

I'm an RN. After having a root canal, I had no pain, no fever, and no facial swelling -- in other words I did not have an infection. Nevertheless, I was prescribed prophylactic clindamycin 150mg every 6 hrs (4x per day) for 7 days. I stopped taking it 3/4 of the way through. The lesson I learned: Although I never had problems taking antibiotics in the past, going forward I will be very skeptical of taking antibiotics unless I have an infection. The side effects of clindamycin are not to be taken lightly, as most of the posts here indicate.

I started taking it on Mon at 7pm. I had a general feeling of malaise (weak, lack of energy, stomach blahs). I started feeling worse and worse, until I decided to stop taking it Sun morning due to extreme muscle soreness and weakness. I felt a bit better, but by Sun evening I felt weak and had a fever of 101. It turns out that fever is another side effect of clindamycin, so I decided to stay off it. Monday morning my temperature returned to normal, my muscle soreness was gone, and my energy level was improving.

I have to agree with the retired dentist who posted this comment on another website: "Antibiotics should only be taken if you have an uncontrolled infection present and that is most evident as swelling. If you have no swelling present then do not take any antibiotics. Too many dentists and physicians prescribe antibiotics indiscriminately to their patients."

The mantra in the medical industry is to take all you antibiotics until finished. This advice is for people that start feeling better, and then stop their antibiotic early. But if you are feeling progressively worse while taking an antibiotic, consider stopping it. If you have an infection, get your doctor to prescribe a different antibiotic.

To the doctor who said that "we people" need to ask our health care providers more questions: It seems that many of us try, but the whole doctor's office process is very rushed in many cases. You go in sick, the overbooked doctor quickly examines you and prescribes something. He or she is usually on their way out of the exam room door before you have a chance to formulate the questions that you want to ask. You ask about side effects and they say, "Oh, there are very few side effects with this drug," as they finish waling out the door to their next patient. A day or two later when you really have questions about side effect you're experiencing,and you call the office, you have to wait hours or days for a response. I'm in an extremely rural area with a shortage of doctors, so this may not be everyone's experience, but it does happen.

I failed to follow the instructions to not lie down for 10 minutes after taking this Rx and regretted it. It is very important and you will feel like sandpaper has been rubbed up and down your chest to your ears, if you are like me. Tums and GasX helped me burp, which helped me to feel better, but do follow this instruction! It's important.

June 30, 2010 I had bone graft for my tooth implant. I was given 1200mg of Clindamycin per day. Taking 2x150mg 4 times a day for 5 days. During the entire time I was doing fine. But soon after I had diarrhea and lasted for 3 weeks. I was eating probiotic, yogurt and acidophilus. My diarrhea has stopped but what about to followed was worse. I started to have severe leg cramps to a point I could not stand up at times, and my skin started to itch as well.

Last Friday I finally went to see my GP. She ordered immediate blood test and to submit specimen to check if blood in the stool. My blood test result shows my minerals are so low from constant diarrhea, so I am taking potassium and magnesium supplement. Tomorrow I will be back to my GP for further investigation on my condition.

A dentist also prescribed me 150mg x 3 a day of Clindamycin for tooth infection and swelling. It did clear the infection but one week after completing the clindamycin I developed this awful mucus diarrhea. The pharmacy warning sheet I received mentioned this serious side effect possibility. A culture confirmed the c. diff infection and I was put on 500 mg. x 3 of generic Metronidazol antibiotic for 10 days.

Then the diarrhea seemed better but 6 days after completing the dosage the c.diff was back again full force. I have been on another 14 days of Metronidazol trying to get rid of this problem and have six days to go. The warning side effect sheet with this antibiotic says it caused cancer in rats. Good news, I'm not a rat, but....?

If this antibiotic doesn't cure this c. diff, my doctor says there is only one other antibiotic to try. Needless to say, I will object to any clindamycin use on me in the future and advise every one else to question its use.

I hope that eventually this epidemic of serious physical pain and health problems that is being caused by Clindamycin comes to the attention of an attorney. Something is just not right when all these people, and countless more, are suffering debilitating physical affects from the Clindamycin drug. My Gastroenterologist says that many people who are affected never completely go back to their old selves. The only way to protect patients is for the pharmaceutical company to be financially impacted, otherwise, they don't care.

And some doctors just blame their patients, ignoring their own duty to prescribe a better class of drugs (or no drug at all). As patients we have to be ever vigilant. This blog is a gift to all who need a little support to get through.

DM, In order to clear up your tooth infection, did you take a different antibiotic other than clindamycin when you stopped taking it? My regular doctor prescribed amoxicillin for my tooth infection but another doctor overruled him and ordered clindamycin instead. Had I known of my future intestinal problems from it I would have never taken the clindamycin which did clear up the tooth infection but with horrible consequences.

I was given Bactrim and Clindamycin for a MRSA community-based staph infection on my leg. The antibiotics did combat the infection but I suffered from anxiety, headaches, increased urination, stomach gas; followed by loose stools; followed by a full body rash and swelling on all extremities. I stopped all medication after the rash bloomed. The rash lasted for 8 long days. I also had diarrhea in the morning for ten days despite discontinuing the meds and taking probiotic supplements; Dannon and Stoneyfield/Brown Cow yogurt.

On this site I took the advice of one blogger and started a supplement called FLORASTOR. I took two pills per day and after 32 hours the diarrhea stopped. I'm feeling whole again after three weeks. As a fit, 48 year male whose has never been allergic to anything, I feel these drugs and the MRSA really humbled me. I empathize with my fellow bloggers and wish you a quick recovery.

I started taking clindamycin 7 days ago for a severe infection in my leg. About 3 days ago, the diarrhea started. It wasn't really bad until today. It is so bad now that I am not planning to take it anymore. I will be calling my Dr. in the morning to see about getting a different antibiotic. I also am having severe heartburn.

Ok, this is so scary. I have been on this drug for about 4 days for root canal. I asked both the dentist and the pharmacist for the correct way to take it, side effects, should I take the whole thing, etc. I asked all the questions. They pretty much said "yes, yes, yes" with no worries. No one told me that it is likely I might experience ANY difficulties.

ALL day today I have had bad bloating, gas and severe pain & cramps (upper and lower abdomen). I finally thought that it might be the medicine and looked again at the side effects on the sheet that came with it (I remembered reading about the diarrhea, but it said "in rare cases" - and I do not have any diarrhea, just pain). Then I called my regular doc who told me to call my dentist in the morning or if it gets worse to go to the ER - Yikes! - but it sounds like I may be at the start of a long road ahead - and things may hit me when I least expect it. And do I trust my dentist to give me good advice now?

I feel like someone is ramming hot pokers under my diaphragm and in my stomach and intestines.

Is there anything I can take to head off the C. Diff?? I am scared.

To those of you who would like to try and get the FDA's attention regarding clindamycin's adverse affects can do so on their website, FDA/medwatch by filling out a multi-page form. I went to the trouble to do so and advised them to refer to these blogs on the PeoplesPharmacy website.

Don't be scared Camsmom23. Be proactive--it's very important now. Make an appointment with your doctor for a stool test for C-diff. Stop taking the Clindamycin. Go easy on your intestinal/digestive system for now (use the BRAT diet). Add crackers to absorb excess stomach acid, and bland noodles. If diarrhea comes, drink Gatorade (G2) to replace lost electrolytes. Take a probiotic every morning. Most importantly see your doctor as soon as you can. We've all been there.

I took this as a preemptive measure before a root canal. Also took a pro-biotic with it (I have a terribly sensitive system to begin with so I wanted to head off side effects at the start). Lasted on it for four days. Became terribly itchy to the point where I had to wear gloves. Called the dentist. Stopped taking it per order of my dentist. Fantastic! Thought it was going to get better. Well, the itching is now gone and my stomach is in so much pain and agony.

Bathroom trips every hour. No real appetite. Stomach cramping. Can't sleep. And so sore. Its not been a great trip. I would never recommend anyone take this medication. Ask for a different antibiotic. What this does to your system was not worth it for me.

I have mitral valve prolapse (a heart valve problem) and, as a result, I must pre-med. prior to dental appointments. My dentist has prescribed Clindamycin for me for a number of years now and, as long as I drank a good amount of water after taking the capsules (4 capsules one hour prior to my dental appointments), I only experienced mild stomach discomfort and a bit of gas for a few hours following the appointments.

HOWEVER, that all changed just two days ago! I had a dental appointment on Tuesday, and today (Thursday) I am still experiencing HORRIBLE stomach and chest pains, gas, bloating, belching, and a burning sensation that travels from my esophagus to my stomach; I am also experiencing pain/ache/soreness in my upper left arm. At first I thought that perhaps I was starting to experience the symptoms of a gallbladder attack, or a very bad bout of acid reflux (I have GERD, also, and take prescription Prilosec for that problem!), or even some sort of heart-related issues but, after reading all of the posts in regard to the side effects that others have experienced after taking Clindamycin, I am convinced that I am experiencing a very negative response to that medication!

So, I just telephoned my dentist's office and left a message requesting that my dentist change my pre-med. to something that is gentler, kinder, and safer to my system! In the meantime, I took Pepto-Bismol tablets earlier in the day, and as a matter of coincidence, I just so happen to have eaten yogurt both yesterday and today, so I am hoping that the awful side effects will subside quickly!

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has also experienced these same symptoms, or worse, after taking Clindamycin. I am both shocked and angered by the posts that I have read, since so many people have suffered needlessly, and yet, Clindamycin continues to be prescribed so easily by doctors and dentists alike. Shame on the medical community and the FDA! In my opinion, this medication should be banned until further investigation and testing is performed ASAP! Good luck to all!

Well, I stopped taking the clindamyacin, the dentist put me on a z-pac instead. I asked my doctor if I should take it and he said it should be OK.

So before paying for it at the pharmacy, I asked for a Pharmacist consult (different pharmacy than the one I got the Clind. from). Told him what happened. Asked HIM also for advice about switching to the Z-pac. He had the best answers of all of them - did not brush me off...took his time.

He mentioned C. Diff as a side affect to Clind., to watch for diarhhea and told me I should start taking Probiotics (first person off all these medical people who suggested it)to offset any antibiotics I am prescribed. Then he went further by telling me to take the Probiotic first (not with the antibiotic - I would not have thought of that) and then 12 hours later take the 1st dose of the z-pac and alternate the two every 12 hours through the course (5 days) of the z-pac....he then went further to tell me to then keep taking the probiotic for another week or so at least after I stop the z-pac. This all makes sense, and that is what I have done. I do feel better - slight stomach cramping still but I can sleep at night now. And the heartburn is gone.

Thanks for your support as well LJC.

I wish everyone luck on their journey with this terribly problematic drug!!

Hi! I am on this med. again, due to a boil that turned into MRSA abscess. This is my second serious cellulitis infection on my face, and had a few on my legs before, as well. I am on HUmira for Crohn's Disease which lowers my immune system. I had a serious c. diff infection for months before realizing what it was by stool culture.

I just assumed it was my Crohn's acting up. No, I happened to get colitis from the meds. I was in and out of the ER many occasions due to dehydration issues. Passed on many times. Yes, digestive/gastro problems can cause joint and skin problems. I know this due to my Crohn's Disease. It lets you know that there is a flare up going on. This med. is a serious one, but one of the only ones that can kill the MRSA infection.

I took Levaquin first, but it did not help the infection. The swelling was moving down my neck towards my throat and serious meds. were required. It is dangerous, but the other alternative-death- was not an option. Sometimes you have to take the one less worse than the other. I hope this helps you and others. I soooo need this medication when infected with MRSA. Now, I am sure I will need Vandomyacin for the c-diff infection soon, because the Flagyl I have reactions to... peripheral neuropathy. Take care.

Hello! I have read your comment. We have the same problem, I take Clindamycin because I was biopsied last Thursday due to abnormal cells and my obgyn recommend this med. It was on my second day that I felt pain in my chest after drinking clindamycin and there is pain whenever I eat or drink. I think I have heartburn just because of this med and I don't want to take this med again. I'm afraid I might die, my obgyn told me to take clindamycin together with an antacid.

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: CLINDAMYCIN CAN CAUSE INDIGESTION AND EVEN ESOPHAGITIS. THE DOCTOR'S ADVICE IS GOOD.

I have been on clindamycin for an infection on my legs from some kind of bite. Started Friday and by Sat. I could not stand up without severe burning in my upper left left leg and now it is Monday and it isn't any better. Went to Dr. for an adjustment and he put me on a pain killer. Nothing stops this pain, can't stand the pain when I am up. I think it is this drug. I am going to stop it and see if the pain leave. I welcome any advice.

I am a 24 yr old healthy female for the most part. A few months ago I have some routine oral stuff and was given this antibiotic then I was in the hospital only a few weeks later with horrible stabbing pain in my stomach that was actually from an infection due to a D&C I had after losing a baby.

I thought nothing of it but, was given 150 mg tablets and told to take 3 every six hours. I was told to start taking the medicine again after a few months due to ovary problems ??? Not sure why but, when I asked the doctor he told me that it was better to keep me on the same antibiotic instead of switching up which makes NO SENSE to me.

I have been on it again for a few days taking a very large amount and now I am having the worst stomach pain. I have not had any diarrhea, but, the pain is so bad just walking or being moved around hurts my stomach. I'm concerned it could be from this medicine so I have now stopped taking it but, I still feel pretty bad.

I do have a sinus infection right now but, I see no reason how stomach pain could be form that and when I was in the hospital it was my side that hurt and lower abdomen. This is right below the naval and right above it at times.

Has anyone just had severe pain with this medicine? I can't take time off work or school for a few days to make it to the doctors and I'm afraid something is really wrong. If it gets worse I will go but, I want to know if anyone else has had severe stomach pain. I've tried Tylenol and Gas X just to check with no results.

I'm allergic to diary but, perhaps something else will work. All I know is I am stuck in bed with severe pain and the only thing new in my life is this drug since I have been off of it for about six months. Now I am taking it again which I stopped today and the pain is HORRIBLE. I am also itchy and I have a mild fever but, that could be form the sinus infection.

I was prescribed this drug at 300 mg for a spider bite on August 5. On August 8 I awoke with chills, severe diarrhea, headache, nausea, low body temperature, pains in elbows and legs and generally thought I was dying. I only ingested 10 of these little pills. I went back to emergency, thinking it was the spider bite only to find that clindamycin was the culprit.

I have suffered unrelenting diarrhea for over 3 weeks. 3-4 times in the morning. Gurgling all through the night and wondering if I could drive the 45 minutes it takes me to get to work without an "accident". I have been taking heavy duty probiotics, eating rice and anything that will not compromise my system. I was depressed, without energy. I could not function.

THIS DRUG NEEDS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE MARKET. I HAVE REPORTED IT TO THE CANADIAN EQUIVALENT OF THE U.S. F.D.A. I am being tested for C. Difficile and Public Health here in Canada screwed up the first test, so I am still waiting. People are being harmed, very seriously harmed. My elbows have ached for weeks and I don't have arthritis.

I am so very angry about this. So very, very angry. This is the first time I didn't do the research because I was frightened by the doctors in the E.R. because they stated I was getting cellulitis from the spider bite. Now I don't know if I'll ever be the same.

Was given Clindamycin after developing an infection along surgical site, have developed severe foul smelling mucus filled diarrhea. Pain particularly in my left lower abdomen, and this was rapid onset. I have had a CAT scan which showed a inflamed colon - we are awaiting the tests for c-diff but my Dr put me on the meds to treat it last night anyway. Say a prayer, I've missed much work the last two weeks.

I think the comment I posted was very valid, yet I don't see my comment anywhere. This drug should be taken off the market and the sooner the better. Maybe my posting was too graphic; maybe it was too close to the truth - that the pharmaceutical companies are just loading their pockets at the expense of ordinary, trusting people.
I've learned my lesson. Yes, I know it is one of the antibiotics that treats anaerobes, but there must be some other way than to expose people to all these intestinal problems. 60% of our immune system resides in the gut and this drug ERADICATES all the good bacteria, laying people wide open for infections - like C. Diff. The Canadian System is also looking into this drug.

I have taken the necessary steps to bring this to the attention of the Vigilance Committee of Canada Health. The reason this drug is still on the market is not enough people are making FORMAL complaints to the proper authority overseeing drugs. I talked with the person who is handling my complaint. I mentioned this site and many others with all the SAME complaints and dire consequences of being on this drug. She said, and I quote "PLEASE LET OTHERS KNOW THAT WE CANNOT GET THIS DRUG OFF THE MARKET UNLESS THEY FORMALLY COMPLAIN". SO, PLEASE, DO YOUR PART SO OTHERS DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER WHAT WE HAVE ALL GONE THROUGH.

I am glad you reported it to the Canada FDA. I made a report with the FDA here in the states. I was the poster from a few months ago who was in the ICU with my organs shutting down and literally dying from this drug. My life has never been the same. I still have nightmares, I am still freaking out when I have even a little tummy upset and not to mention the fact that I still have much dental work that needs to be done but yet I am terrified.

I posted my comments re: Clindamycin on August 26, 2010, and I am writing again to report some "good" news now! NOT about the Clindamycin, but about the fact that my dentist was willing to prescribe Amoxicillin (4 500mg capsules one hour prior to the appointment) INSTEAD of the Clindamycin as my pre-med. before dental procedures, and I am happy to report that I had absolutely NO side effects after taking the Amoxicillin!

And, while I realize that some people are allergic to Penicillin in any form, for those who are able to tolerate it, it seems to be a good alternative, at least in my own personal situation. I only hope that everyone else who has been negatively impacted by Clindamycin is able to recover from their ailments, and then find alternative medication(s) that will permanently replace the Clindamycin, so that its use is never necessary again.

ATTENTION PLEASE:
I am so sorry to read how many people that find this website have shared with me the consequences of taking Clindamycin. Personally, I have been positive for c.difficile ever since the middle of July. The first medicine, Metronidazol that I took for 24 days did not work even while taking probiotics and eating lots of yogurts.

Now, as the 3rd attempt, I am on the 2nd week, and am scheduled for a total of 4 weeks, of Vancomycin. I understand it is the only other possible cure. But, I was in for a big shocker!!! The price for the 58 capsules my doctor prescribed was priced around $1600 at even "low cost" pharmacies. Before buying it I shared the cost information with my doctor.

She suggested changing the prescription to a liquid form normally used for injections. It costs MUCH less in that form making the bitter taste of it very tolerable. It requires refrigeration and must be measured carefully but Group Health is able to provide me the same comparable liquid doses as 58 capsules for less than $150.

What a difference! Well worth the inconvenience of measuring a liquid. Better yet, it seems to be working so far and I am feeling good, finally. Also, I found in Fred Meyer's health food dairy case a good tasting yogurt containing six cultures. It is called Nancy's Honey Yogurt that is made in Springfield, Oregon by Springfield Creamery and has been in business for 50 years. I will also share this with my doctor and continue eating it in the future. Thank you and good luck in your fight against Clindamycin.
Marian

To all on this site. I have formally complained to the Canadian Government about this drug. The woman I spoke to said that UNLESS PEOPLE FORMALLY COMPLAIN AT THE GOVERNMENT LEVEL, THIS DRUG WILL STAY ON THE MARKET.

To all those that have suffered at the hands of this incredibly horrible drug, please lodge a formal complaint through the US or Canadian Health Agencies. This is the only way it will be removed. Be proactive and take a little bit of time to save somebody the grief and pain and suffering we have all been through.

"This is the only way it will be removed"

?? And replaced with WHAT?

There is currently a battle being fought between man's technology (antibiotics) and the ability of the pathogens to adapt. As of now, the BUGS are winning. Clindamycin saves lives every day. It is one of the FEW remaining alternatives against pathogens that have become resistant to ALL the penicillins or for someone who can't take penicillin. Antibiotics are TOUGH medicine, they are toxins.

ANY antibiotic can have serious side effects. There are VERY few tools left in the box to fight emerging resistant bacteria, such as MRSA ... we NEED every one. The "alternative" for anyone suffering from a resistant infection ... is death ...

PLEASE take Susan's advice and file a complaint with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about your Clindamycin experience. You can do this on the FDA's Medwatch website. Enough people will have to do this in order to get their attention and hopefully some action.

Ok, you make a good point about the bugs are winning. But what good is it if you heal the disease but the patient dies? This is my point. This medicine is BAD. It eradicates almost all of the good bacteria in the gut, leaving a person wide open for infection and our immune system is 60% in the gut (if you follow current information). There is an entry in here where the person ended up with organ shut down in the hospital and almost didn't make it because of this drug. Yes, all antibiotics have side effects, but I have lived 55 years and have NEVER experienced what I experienced and am still experiencing with Clindamycin. I STILL have diarrhea, I still gurgle at night, I cannot eat certain foods, my energy level is drained, I have weird stuff going on with my muscles that I never had before. I know what did it. And I personally would rather tough it out with some other form of treatment. I am a TCM practitioner. I went to MY teacher who is helping me get over the effects of this devastating drug. It IS poison and for the lucky few that don't have their guts ripped out of place by it, I say good that they didn't have any effects. But from what is on this site, the monograph lies as it states that severe diarrhea and all the other effects are RARE. How rare is it when so many people are complaining about the same thing?

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: WE CANNOT JUDGE HOW COMMON OR RARE AN EFFECT IS BASED ON THE RESPONSE HERE. PEOPLE WHO DID NOT HAVE TROUBLE DON'T REPORT THEIR EXPERIENCE ON THIS SITE, OR ANYWHERE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. WHY WOULD THEY? SO OUR ONLY CONCLUSION IS THAT CLINDAMYCIN CAN CAUSE NASTY SIDE EFFECTS AND THAT PEOPLE DO EXPERIENCE THEM. WE DO THINK THAT PATIENTS SHOULD BE WARNED OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS BEFORE STARTING ON THE PRESCRIPTION.

If "truth seeker" will truly seek the truth it should show Clindamycin is being used indiscriminately by most dentists and is NOT being reserved for killer infections like MRSA or penicillin allergic patients. Just review the many blogs for verification.

My personal physician prescribed Amoxicillin for my jaw/tooth infection and was overruled by my dentist who insisted I take Clindamycin. After that is when all my real problems started with c-diff bowel infection. Now my physician, NOT THE DENTIST, is left with the consequences of trying to clear up the serious ongoing c-diff infection that Clindamycin caused in me. Are the dentists even aware of the widespread suffering people are experiencing? I would guess my dentist continues to still pass out prescriptions for Clindamycin.

I called my dentists office 3 weeks ago and asked for him to call me so I could relate my experiences with Clindamycin. To date he has not returned my call. I shall try again. I'm sorry now and so is my physician that I ever took Clindamycin without giving Amoxicillin a chance to heal my original tooth infection.

I had a root canal in 2002, and sinus infection in 2004 and have developed C-diff for taking clindamyacin the first time, then amoxicillian the second time. The second bout was much worse.

I am much better now and am very reserved about taking antibiotics.

This is in response to warning a patient of potential side effects. Again, I state that in 55 years, I have not had anything even close to the way Clindamycin ruptured my gastrointestinal system. And I have taken a fair amount of antibiotics for various reasons. I won't be doing so in the future, let me assure you. My point is that drugs are to be a last resort for serious infections. Clindamycin should be pulled out of the weapons arsenal as a last resort for anyone.

I am being re-tested for C. Diff because it could be a false negative. This episode has cost the medical system up here in Canada a great deal for just myself, one person. Endless doctor visits, tests, prescriptions; my seeking help in different avenues such as acupuncture, nutritional supplements (high potency probiotics), etc. All from taking 10 little pills.

What I have a hard time swallowing (pardon the pun because I think I also have esophagitis now and I had to go on an acid reducer medication for a month; add that to the fray) is the protective way people are acting in response to SO many of us reporting negative effects; some so devastating that their lives were seriously harmed and some don't recover. This stalling before a drug is taken off the market, in the face of obvious problems, is baffling to me. It's different if it ain't broken, so don't fix it. This is not the case here. I will be a valiant supporter of taking this stuff off the market and I won't shut up until it is done.

I just wanted to say that finally something worked. I went to my Homeopath. I took 2 little pills at their dosage marker of 200. Within 12 hours, the gurgling stopped. The diarrhea has stopped. My system is back on line. I know it was the homeopathic because nothing else has worked. And I'm eating normally again (the BRAT diet is only part of the solution).

If you have a homeopath in your area, I strongly advise you to make an appointment. For 6 weeks I have suffered through this and finally, finally, something worked and it wasn't pharmaceuticals. Man oh man, I am so against pharmaceutical drugs now. My proof has been my experience.

I am sorry to say this, but my confidence in the medical system is so low now that I will always seek an alternative method before I go to a hospital emergency room (unless I am bleeding to death). BTW, I learned that I could have avoided this experience by putting white vinegar on the spider bite. Just white vinegar. So next time, if there is a next time for a spider bite, guess what I'm doing...

I'm glad Susan mentioned the possible esophagitis because since I was diagnosed with C-Diff Dec 2009, I have had lingering problems with swallowing. Sometimes, on occasion, I almost choke on food. And I've also on occasion swallowed fluids wrong and choked. I never had swallowing problems before the C-Diff episode.

My gastroenterologist said that it's probably "silent acid reflux". If stomach acid problems develop in our older years, the C-Diff accelerated that problem for me. At 48 years old, I now have chronic stomach acid issues. Ask your gastroenterologist to prescribe Famotidine (pharmacy grade Pepcid) if your stomach acid problems are severe. The Famotidine definately helps me.

In 2002, I had to take that for a root canal and got C-Diff as well. I had to take Flagyl and Vancomyacin and had it for 6 months. I had also taken thousands of dollars worth of probiotics and ended up filing for bankruptcy years later. I am better now, but will never take Clindomyacin, or any related antibiotic without an attorney present.

Leah

Susan, that is wonderful news that your homeopath finally helped you. Right now I am finishing up the 3rd series of 10, 14 and 28 days of 2 different medicines fighting the effects of Clindamycin. After finishing each series the diarrhea has returned and confirmed as c-diff.

I'm wondering what kind of little pills finally seems to have worked for you...??

Drink black tea with ginger couple times a day, and you will see, it works pretty good. just do it. promise you will get better.

I took one pill last night and feel like I've been on fire ever since (after feeling like I was going to have breathing problems). I ate a donut and drank four glasses of water. I'm calling my dentist for something different. I've been on (probably) six types of antibiotics in my life. NEVER again.

I finished a 7 day prescription of 300mg. Clindamycin on Thursday night. About one hour after I took the last pill my back started to get itchy. I looked for the back scratcher, took 1/2 a Benadryl, and went to bed. I woke up early and was itchy all over my body and had a rash that looked like German measles on my chest, abdomen, and back. I took more Benadryl. By afternoon the rash was spreading to my arms, thighs, shoulders, ears, I took 1/2 a Cyproheptadine for the itching. The itch was driving me crazy.

At bed time I took another 1/2 a Cyproheptadine and went to bed. This morning I woke up with what looked like the measles. The rash has grown and spread together. I bought some topical Benadryl gel and it has helped a bit. I also took more Benadryl. Will this go away soon? I'm planning to take a whole Cyproheptadine at bed time. Cyproheptadine just knocks me out so I don't usually take more than 1/2 a 4mg. pill but tonight I'm desperate. Of course I can't see the Dr. until Monday. By the way, the Clindamycin did seem to kill the infection that I haven't been able to get rid of with other drugs. I landed in the hospital after taking AMOX.

Susan I have a spider bite. My first prescription was amoxicillion 875/125 Spider bite seemed to be getting worse so I went to the Er and the Er Dr gave me Clindamycin I had got so lat that night that I decided to take it the next day and boy I got the worse Heartburn and was hurting on under my right rib cage so bad it would literally take my breath I would have to stand up and take anti acid tablets, eat crackers and drink water it will last for 20 minutes hurts so bad.

I thought that was it then it happened again the next day, so I discontinued them. I will have to see what happens with the after effects.

Try what I said that my other practitioner told me. Apply straight white vinegar on the bite. Pour it over the bite or just dab it with a cotton soaked ball. Do it as many times per day as you can. Also, make sure the doctor (your regular doctor) opens the poison sac and drains it. The ER doctor DID NOT do that for me and I walked around with that poison laced sac for 5 days before my regular doctor lanced it, drained it and poured some sort of brown cream on it, which by the next day the crimson burgundy color had started to go light pink. What a difference a day makes and a smarter old fashioned doctor!

I experienced severe heartburn when taking Clindamycin as directed. I was not warned about not lying down after taking it. I tried a lighter dose, still felt nausea. I ate over 16 oz yogurt. Thanks for the heartburn remedy from other contributors but now I am afraid of the digestive problems to follow. I am going to voluntarily stop this and call my dentist. I had a nodule on my gums which was removed last year by an oral surgeon who said that salt water was just as good as antibiotics. The nodule came back, I was referred to a dentist who prescribed a 300 mg dose every eight hours beginning with 600 mg jump start. This was supposed to go on for 10 days. I have been drinking a lot of ice water, no help so far. I have decided to quit the treatment.

A wise choice. After 2 months, I am now on an acid reducer medicine because this lovely drug burnt my esophagus. Like you, I didn't see the warning on the literature and laid down after every dose. I was nauseated for a month afterwards and still am having effects from this and did not complete the treatment either. I still lived. Try the Amoxicillin instead. I have never had problems with it and it seems to have less of these violent, horrible reactions for people.

Again I state - this stuff should be taken off the market and I'm working towards it as a loud and strong voice. There are way too many people on here suffering from ill effects long after they stop taking it. It's not right and the pharmaceutical companies should be taken to task for it. They hardly ever are because they are protected. They have the clout and the money. No offense to pharmacists by the way. Nothing will change until people start getting educated and just say no to drugs and find natural and safe alternatives.

Unfortunately, I have a hiatal hernia and clindamycin made it worse and now the reflux. Why is it that drugs don't cure and eventually just make people sicker? You have to ask yourself that and then make your decisions.

I was put on clindamycin 300 mg. every 8 hours yesterday. Got sick by early a.m. Really felt awful. I'm going to try it every 12 hours. I've read online that in studies it doesn't seem to make a difference (large numbers of people). Has anyone tried this idea? Since I have IBS and get nasty diarrhea, I need to protect that.

I have now started 5 billion "units" (not sure measurement) of 3 strains of lactobacillus (L. reuteri) stated to be the best in med journal so that is new for me too compared to millions. I have a staph in nose that did not quite get well on Bactrim for two weeks.

Since I doubt I can make it on the 8 hour regimen, I'll try the 12 hour one and call in Monday to let doctor know. I can't be this sick for a week. Need feedback soon, please. Just want to know if anyone here has had similar experiences. Thanks.

Why are dentists prescribing clindamycin? I've never heard of such. I used to be given amoxicillin, but my cardiologist said I have NO need (I have the MVP that doesn't require anything) for any antibiotic for dental work. Huge relief as it always made me quite ill so that I can't even go out once the diarrhea sets in. I think (my opinion only) it's nuts to give such a strong antibiotic to dental patients unless they have a cultured out bacteria in tooth!! It makes the drugs more resistant the more we use them. Just my two bits!

I wish I had read this page before I took Clindamycin. Normally, I look up new meds I am prescribed, but I figured this was just another antibiotic that was appropriate for my condition...NOT!

The ENT gave me Clindamycin and prednisone for a severe sinus and ear infection. At the time, I had NO hearing in my right ear and very little in my left ear.
Bottom line is this: Four days after ending 7 days of Clindamycin, I have blood coming from my rectum, sores in my mouth, red splotches in my throat, a sore throat, slight chills, and I'm maintaining a low-grade temp of 99.7.

Over the past week I've eaten a whole bottle of Tums. I go back to the doctor tomorrow and I'm terrified of what I have read here. I feel simply horrible. The only good news is that my ears are much better. But what have I traded it for? Does this sound familiar to anyone? What about the mouth sores? I've been eating yogurt all weekend until I can get back to the doctor.

I hope you've called your Dr. I took it every 12 hrs and on the last day broke out in a horrible rash that drove me to distraction with itching. There are other things to take.

More on me and Clindamycin. As I stated above you MUST get at LEAST 5 BILLION CFUs (I think that's correct) of best lactobacillus you can. I read that L. reuteri was/is THE best so I started using it, but I didn't remain faithful every day.

But when I use ANY antibiotic I get on it. There is not enough lactobacillus in yogurt. Dentists can use amoxicillin for Pete's sake! Just refuse the Clinda and get a 'cillin IF you have MVP or other heart problem... see a cardiologist first. (I have a note from mine saying my MVP is not the type to worry about infections from dental work).

I did get light "D" this time, but if I had not been on the Reuteri I would have been extremely ill. I got by okay this time for two days (that's a record). I take some Donna-gel (Rx) and attapulgite clay. I get mine from a pharmacy in Canada (no Rx needed). Imodium helps some people.

Be SURE you stay upright for ten minutes after you take the Clindamycin. I also eat a cracker or piece of toast/bread to make sure my stomach is not empty. I just got a little burn in esophagus just now as I sit here typing!!! Power of suggestion? I forgot the food. I also grabbed a Tums.

I also use almond milk to swallow it sometimes. If you can tolerate cow's milk, fine. I cannot. The best thing for indigestion is a T. of real apple cider vinegar in warm water and honey daily. No kidding. NOT regular vinegar, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR).

I'd ONLY take Clindamycni if it was indicated. In my case (and I wish I could show you before and after photos of my face here) it was the best drug (my staph was sensitive to it so they had to use it). If they had used it at first I'd be all over this nasty, but the Bactrim only partially helped and was not indicated so much. I think I was IV'd with Clinda in the ER which gave me a great push to feel a bit human (but I looked like I met up with a Mack truck).

I definitely have a staph beginning at tip of nose and spreading into upper gum of mouth, covering my entire nose quickly, causing mayhem all through the nose including an abscess that had to be excised and drained, all under my eyes and that slowly "bled" bloody material down my face. Oh, I was a beauty. I have a faint redness to my left nose on outer surface, inside the septum is swollen both nostrils still, and the old tract that drained is just a like a tube that is sorta hard.

Doctor says it will take up to a month for even the slight redness to resolve. I still have some infection, and I'm a wee bit nervous that when I come to end of Clinda on Thursday it may still be signs there, but if it doesn't get worse (like last Friday), I'll watch closely and wait. I have ready access to the ER next door and my doctors nearby also. You do not want to mess with an infection (teeth, skin, mouth sores, sores anywhere!!!!). We now live in a highly contaminated world, and since we have taken too much penicillin back beginning in the 40s and continuing to today we have created super bugs like MRSA.

If we are still ambulatory and not hospitalized on IVs and most complex of antibiotics perhaps we should be thankful (even if I hate the junk). If we allow ourselves to go without the sensitive drug for our infections we can and most likely will die.

Remember our mouths, throat, ears, nose are so closely attached to the brain it only takes a little shove to have this crap in our brains and all bets are off. The blood brain barrier is so tough and lets little through that sometimes nothing can get in there. (I used to work for a neurosurgeon and he talked about this... it's a blessing and a curse). Steroids can reach the brain and rest of our bodies. I had Decadron by drip two weeks ago plus a little bit of morphine and either Clindamycin or some other monster antibiotic, and it felt so much better. I have told my one regular doctor that we may one day have ONLY the avenue of IVing me for infections due to how very sensitive I am to these giant drugs (there's nothing perfect for MRSA I've read, but that was a year ago).

Susan, what "little pills" did you take? I'd love to know. I can't afford trips to natural doctors (I think Americans just have it wrong... we need to push our legislators to get this included in insurance and Medicare. So many natural things are best (however, that said, we can get into bad herbs too, so be sure the doctors are certified and educated constantly).

Thanks so very much.

CRB, I did not see your comments. I would guess you are allergic to the med. And if you are to one, you may be to all of that type. If someone throws a rash and itch, etc., using say amoxicillin that's it! You don't take anymore, and immediately one should take Benadryl. Get to the doctors. The reaction to the 'mycin and then the "trip" with Amoxicillin (another type) was allergic reaction? You don't say. MANY people are becoming allergic and sensitive to the antibiotics due to overuse by everyone in the world. When they get some that work quickly, they might just about kill us (I think of some of them like maybe chemotherapy).

As I said in my epistles I think we have to get so very healthy the bugs can't get us first. I'm going after nutrition even though for most of my life, if not all, I have eaten well. With my IBS I have to watch for trigger foods, but I love purple and red veges (I find that's excellent). I eat canned beets, red sweet peppers, oranges, pure red drinks (if sugared, diluted) and so on. Oh tomatoes. They aren't so acid anymore either. They bred that out of them. I'm going to get a bunch for the week. My dosing ends Thursday mid-day so I can eat without concerns over hitting the throne.

But I KNOW this time around (compared to other 'cillin regimens) it's the amount of lactobacillus bugs I'm taking! It has to be that as nothing has been better than this time around. I was taking them for dental work and surgery (in and out of hospital). I never had one bit of acidophilus! Doctors don't mention it except my most recent in ENT said to add in yogurt. He didn't ask if I was allergic to milk. We have to educate our doctors. I also didn't get a chance to tell him a lot about my colonectomies due to the surgical errors for something else before that. I said a little to the nurse assistant over phone, and I always tell them if I get into too much trouble it has to stop. They all agree hitting the ER is appropriate at night or over weekend.

My primary care guy is not "into" such stuff and neither is their lab (gone from 5 p.m. Fridays to 8 a.m. Mondays which does NOT work for a "need to know" like you get in a hospital ER which I did. They do not understand why I would go to ER and not there. I just said I HAD to go as I was getting worse. I'm not getting worse, but I'm not getting better which I don't understand. Anything rougher, and I won't swallow it. I'll ask for IVs outpatient once/day or whatever they can come up with. I do NOT want this infection in my nose (looks ever so much better compared to a few days ago) to get "stuck"! So far I'm not allergic, but my gut keeps me at home, and I've already spent too much time (most of summer for FMS problems). I have to get out.

It's up to them to fix this, but I may have to push hard even harder. I hope you are okay now.

Hi,

The "little pills" are homeopathic medicine. The reason you have to go to a Homeopath to get them is that everyone is different and my remedy would not be yours. There are however, over the counter homeopathics at the health food store and there are some that would work for diarrhea. Nux Vomica would be the common one because it works on the bowels and is used as the most efficient of the polychrests (best known multiple-use medicines) when a person has overdosed on any medicine (like clinda). If you go to the health food store, surely one of the practitioners there would be able to guide you to the appropriate remedy. And it's cheap. $6.00.

Hi, I think you are allergic to clindamycin (but you had to know that!). Be sure your med people know! I saw my doctor today, and she said "no more clindamycin!" She didn't prescribe it in the first place! I probably never needed it for second round. It will take a month or so for swelling, etc., to come down.

I'm going to see what Dr. Sidney Wolfe says about these antibiotics among other drugs. He came in years ago with Ralph Nader. He's just great. I temporarily forgot! He is online. He is not the FDA, he's an advisor along with many great doctors who are very cautious about drugs, especially new ones.

This has been a real eye opener to me (the clindamycin stories). I'm so glad I found this site! I needed it. Makes me shudder when I read the stories of people who were made very ill. That's sad! Hopefully others will be saved by these warnings. Thanks to all of you.

It's still on the market because a) doctors don't seem to realize the dangers... they don't have time to learn about most meds... they depend on the detail folks! and b) we aren't hollering about it. So we should get the word out as a group.

A side-effect of clindamycin is joint pain. I have FMS (not an arthritis as some think), and I know differences in pain. I truly believe the harsh pain in hips and knees (a finger, etc.) was clindamycin. I'm clearing this evening after stopping the drug this a.m. Every comment on this blog is in the side effects for clindamycin. Every one!!! Amazing and needs a lot of belly aching (the good kind) to get it banished. Think of babies on it. I read about the dosages recommended for little tiny babies and flinched. This is wrong!!!

I know this goes with an old post but may be of interest. I mentioned I became depressed overnight after starting clindamycin. I started having dreams that would awaken me and I'd be very sad, even near tears (like this a.m. and other days). What a wicked drug.

Hi, I have read through all the very sad stories and wish everyone well. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if a person once took the antibiotic and didn't get any reaction to it, does this mean they won't in the future either?? I guess I am one of the few lucky people, but if there is a chance it could happen to me in another rx of this, I might not be so quick to take it. Just checking if anyone knows anything about that.

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: THERE IS NO WAY TO GUARANTEE THE SAME LACK OF RESPONSE IF THE DRUG IS TAKEN MULTIPLE TIMES.

You have lots more knowledge than most and you still were hurt. I think most doctors care although I have trouble finding them. I trained and worked in medicine, and I know these doctors have very little time to study each drug that comes out or review those they prescribe.

Their practices eat up most of their 24 hours in many cases. The detail people come and give them the "scoop" as they were told by the manufacturers. And sure, the drugs are always safe and good. NOT! There's huge canyon between doctors and knowledge of most drugs.

I do have a doctor who seems to read up on new drugs now and again. He told me he was concerned about those new drugs for sleep and how they would affect the brain over time so he's not prescribing them (takes 7 years to really know after drugs are released to public/doctors). I wonder how many pharmacologists are in practice. I'd love to use those doctors for prescriptions as I would guess they know the most. I still lean on my pharmacist here. He knows what's going on as patients inform him for good or bad!

We have to report all side-effects to doctors, pharmacists AND the FDA. Dr. Sidney Wolfe is also a great one to send a message to. Just google him. People are dying daily from side-effects of drugs. We don't hear about it. I have a saying somewhere on inside of a book cover that is about the high percentage of drugs given and the very low percentage of people even helped and the numbers who die. Very sobering.

I won't trust a new drug, and in the future if I have nasty side effects, I'll get on it immediately. I don't know what I'll do with antibiotics. I guess I'll have to get very pushy and demand outpatient IV drips or a fanny pack. So I'm not always allergic, but my guts cannot tolerate the "caustic" nature of this super-antibiotics for extremely super bugs. I'm still on the old song of "let's keep ourselves as healthy as we possibly can."

I know a hospital is not the cleanest place to be at all. In my ER here there are signs all over the place about washing hands and even one that says "Did you wash your hands?" for the staff. I did that this time around and added "I washed mine for you!" Handwashing is a huge help in keeping down infections in hospitals (and everywhere). When I was at the university some years back I wore kid gloves a lot. I took one off to write notes. I never got one cold or flu bug. I know it was because I was not putting my "dirty" hands to my face, and the gloves were a great reminder to not touch myself or anyone. I just hope the bugs don't win. We're in a "brave new world" here me thinks.

Ive been reading this forum for awhile, and would like to share my experience with this medication....

Week 1- 9/12/10
prescribed 300mg 4x a day with 40 pills for a bug bite on my leg.
well I only took them twice a day, and stopped on the 3rd day (Wednesday, started Sunday), so I only took 6 pills.

Symptoms- Bloating, Heartburn, Nauseous, MASSIVE headaches, fatigue, Lower abdominal pains, black stool... at this time i did not know what probiotics were and wasn't taking any....

Week 2- 9/20/10
Same symptoms-all of them seemed to go away a bit, except for a new symptom. DIARRHEA, had diarrhea for about 3 days.....

So I went to the doctor and had a stool test done....
and he told me about yogurt so I started eating yogurt immediately after the doc appointment.

Week 3- 9/27/10
Stool test arrived and is all negative....
Diarrhea gone, symptoms subsided, just random abdominal pains/noises and the presence of loose stools returning to a honey color...

9/29/10(Wednesday)- finally started taking probiotics (Florastor 250mg twice a day) along with whatever yogurt that contained cultures...

I've had Activia, Yoplait, Stonyfields, Greek yogurt, soybiotic yogurt.....

10/1/10(Friday)
Along with the probiotics I was already taking I bought "Garden of Life-Primal Defense Ultra" at a vitamin shop and started with 1 pill for about 3 days-then 2 pills for the next for days-then 3 pills a day

Week 4 - 10/4/10
Taking porbiotics- bowel movement returning to normal 2-3 times a day is regular for me....
Lower abdominal pains random throughout the week..
Weird abdominal noises, no pain associated......
Started to exercise again because I stopped when I started taking the medicine and for obvious reasons.

Week 5 - 10/11/10
Still taking probiotics as a precaution and will do so probably till the end of November.....

Bowel movements seem regular just stool is a bit softer than before the clindamycin...
Abdominal pains subsiding.. abdominal noises not as frequent...

I am a 20 yr old male, athletic...
I've always had a lot of gas when I was younger so it really didn't bother me, also got bloated a lot too.....

It's funny now because I don't seem to get bloated at all anymore, which I'm thinking has to do with all the probitoics I'm taking.

I believe I lost around 6-8 lbs but gained 3 back putting me at 150 lbs....

I eat really healthy, no fast food during this time, a lot of vegetables, breads, chicken, fish and beef well I'm not to sure about... basically I ate just about whatever I wanted.

I will update my progress, and will answer any questions.

When I had diarrhea I was very fatigued for about the next week and a half, which I think could be just because the food I ate wasn't being processed right so I wasn't getting all the nutrients...
just a thought...
and I was depressed throughout the first 2 weeks...

MAP-

I have posted twice on this site (August 26, 2010 and September 11, 2010; both are under the name "Diane"), and I am one who was previously NOT adversely affected by Clindamycin for a number of years. Then, all of a sudden, I had the awful side effects that I wrote about in my first posting, and that is why and how I even found the People's Pharmacy website!

I was looking for information in regard to the side effects of Clindamycin, so that I could determine whether or not what I was experiencing was the result of taking this drug prior to my most recent dental appointment, or if I should start to consider other health problems or medical conditions that might be causing the symptoms that I had, and call my primary care physician to schedule an appointment for an examination.

It even crossed my mind that perhaps the chemical makeup of the drug might have been changed just enough that it produced the horrible side effects that I experienced, but I have to admit that I do not know enough about science and chemistry to know whether or not that is even a possibility!

So, in my opinion, it IS possible that someone can go from "day to night" in an experience with a drug/medication, because I feel as if I am living (thanks to a higher power!) proof of that. As I stated in my second post, my dentist is now prescribing Amoxicillin for me instead of the Clindamycin, and so far, so good. (Thank goodness I am not allergic to penicillin; well, at least not yet!). Good luck to you!

Diane

Diane,
Thanks so much for your insight, I too take premeds for dental, I take Amoxicillin and have no problems, Given your experience with Clindamycin, I will ask for another ABX when given Clindamycin for my infected root canal tooth. Thanks again. Much health to all
MAP

Sorry about your problems. I so understand. One thing I would do were I you is to take at least a few billion CFUs of a top probiotic daily (1) the rest of your life. This is what keeps our immune systems strong along with everything else we do. I also take vitamin C daily again. I took C since 1957 and got careless the past year! I have not had a cold in about 30 years. I did get this staph thing. I will be a lot more careful.

I'm still showing the signs of cellulitis (redness) of nose and still swollen inside. Doctor not concerned about this and says it takes time to get normal. I still have dreams that make me very upset if I wake up during them, and I have the depression it brought on.

I'm going to get a really nice antibiotic cream recommended by my pharmacist (prescribed by my number 2 ENT guy). He says it really helps. I can put it on any of the areas I see/feel remainder of staph. It's even in gums between two upper front teeth (on that "thing" that holds our lip to our jaw. :o) (Very smart here, not!) I think the cream is imutricin or very close. Your pharmacist or doctor can say if that's correct if you want it. It's NOT related to clindamycin (heaven forbid).

I'm wondering why so many are taking antibiotics for dental work. I'd like to know. Do you have heart problems? I have had MVP probably since I was born so when it was found the dentists freaked. There are two types. I have the one that needs no antibiotics (that's a HUGE thing for me as ALL cillins and mycins make me very ill).

Does anyone know how to talk their doctor into using these meds via shot or IV/fanny pack or whatever? I can take it if diluted in my vein (not clindamycin, however). It just gets my delicate colon. I will not take anymore chances with it. I'm still doing a bit of trotting. Not horrible. I'm using a bit of belladonna or Imodium. Have to be careful as when I swing out of "D" I go too far the other way, and I have bad cramps/pain before things get going again.

One thing I can clear diarrhea with usually is to take either Benefiber as directed or Acacia fiber (get it at store OR www.helpforibs.com). Then I eat green string beans. No kidding. There's something in them that calms the gut. My son found it and told me about it. Weird? Whatever works. Maybe other veges cooked work also. I don't know. Rice is a "binder" too (white). Cream of Rice is so easy to eat when feeling so icky. I did that. I think the reason I still have a bit of trots (only been less than two days off the clinda) is that I have eaten a very normal diet but included the Acacia and green beans. If you get dehydrated drink Gatorade.

How did we do it before antibiotics? I lived my first early years without that! I survived scarlet fever, strep throat, and rheumatic fever without those. All that was out was sulfa. And I had a dedicated mom (great RN trained in hydrotherapy) who never missed a pill or a water treatment and kept me quiet in bed for a very long time. No heart problems per any cardiologist. But I hemorrhaged during last colon surgery (had a bad surgery by someone who literally goofed with where sutures were placed and used extremely poor sutures that my doctor had tossed out 12 years before) so I have atrial fib now which I try to ignore. I use a bit of a beta blocker for skipped beats for the MVP and atrial fib. I won't take the BP meds (make me very sick). I have been recovering a long time from the surgeries (including breast cancer) and some accidents, but I'm getting more active now every week. I'm normally a hiker/walker, and I will return.

Good luck to all of us!

Just finished reading some reviews about Clindamycin because I'm not having a frequent diarrhea every morning and before sleeping, I thought its only normal when I took clindamycin 4x a day before, but after several weeks of finishing them, I still have this stupid diarrhea. Now I need to get to the doctor... I don't know if I am thankful knowing its not an isolated case..

I cannot believe that this medication can be prescribed. I recently had wisdom teeth extracted and due to a slight inflammation near the tooth I was asked to take this *dreadful* medication. I have had persistent diarrhea since. The doctor insists it will improve with keeping a diet "in the course of time"! Am I supposed to believe that? Clindamycin means stay away from it - there's got to be a better substitute!

It's with a lot of sadness and disgust that I read more and more of the entries here. Take a good look at what most of you are writing. We are (well, not me) sucked into the merry-go-round of drugs. This is not doctoring or medicine. It is Pharmaceuticals - you know, the chemical compounds that are not natural and the more you put into the body, the more side-effects.

Have you listened to commercials on the TV about a drug and how wonderful it is (like Cialis) and then gloss over the last part of the narrative where it lists the maybe side effects? Are we all deaf? Just like Clindamycin, how are we to know that we aren't that supposedly small percentage that will get a devastating, life-changing side effect? Donna is right. What did we do before antibiotics. Well, the body's immune system kicked in. Our food wasn't GMO'd, our water was pure and our air wasn't fouled by pollution.

Not to wax too philosophical on here, but God help us all. Until the general populace (not the small percentage of people that are now turning to alternative methods (that work well by the way), make a public outcry that enough is enough, that we are tired of being guinea pigs and feeding Big Pharma, there will be no change.

I was a victim in the past few months of "trusting" the system and it failed me - big time. I will no longer be quiet and shut up about this. I have gone through procedures in the hospital that were absolutely unnecessary and had drugs fill my veins in the past year. I have been sick and my body has absolutely rejected it on all levels. I pay attention when the body reacts because we have that mechanism for a reason. Drugs are not the answer folks. Truly they aren't.

I agree that the immune system should be challenged to do it's job and we should not abuse or use antibiotics when not necessary.... HOWEVER, to answer the question about what did we do before antibiotics..... well what we did was DIE... from what were minor problems that evolved into big problems.

Research has shown that large percentages of cavemen died because of tooth infections, abscess formation and sepsis. Colonial habitants faced the same dilemmas as do people living on our earth today who have no access to antibiotics. I do think our country abuses these medications.... people with fever should stay with fever for 72 hours before seeking other treatment (obviously depending on the fever and the suspected etiology) but in general, letting our kids have a fever for a few days will allow them to build internal immunity.

Having said all that, I am NOT a fan of Clindamycin and would warn anyone I could AGAINST taking this drug unless is was a life threatening last resort... this drug reacted with my body within hours of taking the first dose (it was prescribed for a resistant root canal infection). I will NOT take this drug again unless my life depends on it. It's not all black or white, natural vs chemical, there is balance that must be struck.

There are many women who are alive today because of strong pharmaceuticals that killed breast cancer. Those women would disagree that chemical agents aren't good. And then there are the Suzanne Somers of the world who feel they cured their cancer naturally. Point is, neither is right or wrong... if they both worked and the women are alive, then there is a place for both treatments in our world... balance.

Cavemen are a long time ago. Since then, American Indians, Chinese, Indian and many other cultures have provided insight on how to "cure" without harming the body. Only in North America has the Pharmaceutical Industry taken free reign to blind a populace to what drugs really do to a body.

Yes, I'm all for balance, but when the overpowering medical regime in North America has basically taken over, the small voices of reason, nature and true balance ARE NOT heard. I stated I am a practitioner (alternative). If I have a patient aged 40, they are usually on some medication. By the time I get a patient that is 60, they are on about 5. By 80, count at least 10 and a horrible existence usually.

It's our lifestyle, what's in our food (fructose is saturated in all pre-packaged and so called 'convenient' foods) and the way we think. Doctors are not gods. They are educated in THEIR field, just as others are educated in theirs. People get frightened of others that tell the truth and think they are unbalanced. We do our research too, but a lot of it is squelched because it doesn't serve the higher powers; in this case, Drug companies.

Your most telling words are that "others are frightened of those that tell the truth"....which leads the reader to suspect that you feel you are telling the truth, while others (pharmaceutical companies) are not. You come across as very threatened by pharmaceutical companies. There is truth in holistic approaches and truth in pharmaceutical approaches. It is TRUE that ones body can fight infection sometimes very effectively without intervention. It is also TRUE that antibiotics save the lives of those who are immuno-compromised. BOTH are TRUE. Your "anti-pharmaceutical" campaign is palpable.

You also suggest that people who are on medication at varying ages are somehow being mis-treated, mislead or mis-informed. I am a firm believer that patients must make their own individual choices. I for one research alternatives before taking medications. No one prevents any individual from doing such research, in fact, in the age of such technology, information has never been more available to people. Having said that, I do believe that there is a severe lack of advocates who can help people make informed decisions regarding their care including use of, or rejection of recommended pharmaceuticals. I'd love to open such a business, but I don't believe people would pay for such services.... even though it could help them.

Extremes don't help the situation. Holistic, natural approaches combined with medical/pharmaceutical approaches can be very successful. A personal note... my mother passed away at 80 years young... she took approximately 15 medications per day at the time of her death. Your generalization that "usually" these age folks on multiple medications live a "horrible existence" again suggests a personal "anti-pharmaceutical" campaign. My family advocated for my mother and closely monitored everything that was ordered for her and we found balance in combining natural methods with pharmaceuticals to keep her in the best shape possible.

I too am a practitioner... a Registered Nurse, and I find your remarks saddening. You'll never gain momentum for your cause if you bash the "big bad pharmaceutical companies" and practitioners who are ordering such pharmaceuticals for patients because they believe in what they are doing as passionately as you do. I think you'll gather more support if you can start there... everyone who takes care of the patient wants what they think may be best for the patient... let's work together and find a balanced place to help people. And remember, patient choice remains a key element here..... patients choose pharmaceuticals because the overwhelming majority of the population seeks a "quick fix" for their problems... which is easier and faster, Lipitor or a cholesterol lowering diet, exercise, omega3's, etc etc., don't discount patient choice here.

People choose anti anxiety drugs rather than re-evaluate their life, their stress, their anxiety etiology. People choose antihypertensives rather than lower salt intake, exercise, losing weight etc etc. Remember, education is the key. Just as this site discusses the negative effects of Clindamycin, which I experienced first hand, I would take it again if all else failed and my life was dependent upon it and I'd be grateful to have my life, even if I did have cdiff at that point.

BALANCE.................................................
Peace.

DOES CLINDAMYCIN AGGRAVATE CELIAC DISEASE?

I'm stunned. I just found this website. Skimming through some stories and I'm moved to post mine.
Some of the postings here sure sound like celiac disease to me, so I urge you to check it out and try going gluten free. It really helped me. Dental disease is a MAJOR symptom of celiac disease.

I had 6 yrs. of horrendous dental surgeries & was repeatedly prescribed Clindamyciin + Flagyl. (I already had FMS.) I got so sick I nearly died. On a roller coaster, better, then much worse, often bedridden, over YEARS. A royal runaround from doctor to specialist to dentist to surgeon to shrink & back again. Drugs & more drugs.None of the doctors could relate to what the others were doing. Doctors didn't understand dental disease. Only a couple took me seriously.

I finally decided to QUIT. No more surgeries, quit all the drugs I could. No more antidepressants. I try to only take things that have been on the market for many years, if I have to. I got somewhat better, though I may never be well like I was before I started the surgeries. The downhill slide really escalated with the Clindamycin + Flagyl.

Halfway through my nightmare, I read an article about celiac disease. It's classified as a "rare" GI disease & doctors are ill-advised about it. It's an auto-immune disease; it's way under-diagnosed. GI symptoms (diarrhea to constipation to foul odor) do occur, but many people have different symptoms (hundreds of them): pain, rashes, very bad teeth, neurological problems, depression, infertility, cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, etc.

Celiac is the ROOT cause of many strange illnesses. It's an allergic reaction to gluten (a protein found in cereal grains); it inflames the small intestine so you can't absorb nutrients. Over time, the small intestine atrophies & can't work at all. This leads to a variety of illnesses. It makes sense. If you can't absorb nutrients, your body can't function properly to repair itself.

The article I read was about a man with severe pain for 30 years, on a medical merry go round, who was finally diagnosed with celiac. His symptoms sounded like mine, so I started going gluten free in 2006. It was hard. You have to avoid anything made from wheat, malt, barley, rye, & a variety of other grains. No bread, no pasta, that's easy. The hard part is: Gluten is everywhere. It's cheap, it's in everything processed. It's in soy sauce, it's in frozen vegetables and beer and sodas. It's in lotion, and eye drops, and energy efficient cellulose insulation. And WHAT'S being used as filler in those pills you're taking?? Wheat starch? Sometimes the drug companies won't tell you because it's proprietary information! But an eighth of a teaspoon of gluten can make you really sick.

Long story short, I got somewhat better and am still progressing. I still have a long way to go to get back to where I was. I may have always had subclinical celiac;
I wonder if Clindamycin was what really set off the gluten intolerance in me. (Makes sense with the damage Clin. does to your gut!) I used to be able to eat bread, but now I can't even be in the same room with sandwiches. I get severe joint pain, skin problems, headaches, etc. if I have any kind of gluten in or on me. Sometimes it takes days for the symptoms to occur, so it's hard to match them with what's causing them. Journals help!

Amazingly, after a couple years gluten free (taking lots of vitamins, minerals and supplements like SAM-e for pain) the FMS symptoms started to wane. I wasn't depressed like before. My GI system was perfect. No more migraines. My blood tests normalized! Cholesterol down, blood sugar normal. Inflammation indicators normal. So I didn't need the drugs any more. And the dental infections that were potentially fatal, requiring constant surgeries? So far, so good, fingers crossed. If I ever need surgery again, I will be sure to discuss IN DETAIL the side effects of Clindamycin!

Bless you all for your stories. I hope mine can help someone.

Week 6 of my update...
Well I feel a lot better than before..
except stomach pains.....
past couple of days after I eat at night I would be in pain in the abdominal area generally where the stomach is......

The pain would be so bad I didn't know whether to go to the ER or not. So I went to the doctor today (10/21/10) and had some blood work done, won't get results till next week.....

everything seems fine.... no diarrhea, bowel movements seem normal....
just these stomach pains.

I was given clindamycin for a tonsil infection. 1st two days of taking seem fine. About 10 min after taking it the 3rd day I had unbearable heart burn felt like I had knots in my chest. I thought I was have an allergic reaction went to the Dr. and all he said he didn't think it was a allergic reaction and it might just be acid reflex and told me to stop taking the pills and nothing else.

Same day at work on break as I'm eating. I'm getting these unbearable pain as food travels down my throat. I haven't had diarrhea, yet. It's been 6 days now the pain is getting worst and I'm starving.

What I'm more upset about is the Dr. didn't mention much about the side effects. And from what I've been reading above it seems alike there's a lot of problems with this drug that don't ever get mention. And it seem this is a long term side effect I have to live with now.

I have had some of the same problems as these other people on here. I got the prescription for a tooth infection, and after taking just the third pill, about 15 mins after my right hand around my knuckles swelled up, so I stopped taking it immediately.

The next morning when I woke up, my whole body had turned red with a rash, and my blood pressure was high. I took some Benadryl right away. I didn't have any other swelling, no trouble with breathing, so I never went to the doctor. I have been taking the Benadryl for a couple days now, and most of the rash is gone, except for a rash on the inside of both of my ankles.

I have no other side effects now other than that. I never got the Diarrhea like everyone else seems to be getting, but I will admit it scared the hell outta me when I woke up that next morning. With all the bad things that seem to be happening to everyone taking it, I personally wouldn't recommend anyone using this drug unless there's no other choice, and keep a eye out the whole time you do. I'm glad I only took 3 pills before my symptoms showed, cause I can only think it could of been a lot worse if its like this after only 3 pills.

I am so appreciative of this feedback. My dentist prescribed clindamycin when I was having root canal work and I did have some gastro upset while taking it for a week. Then a week of occasionally queasy. I then left for a much needed cruise vacation which was spent mostly on the commode. Intense cramping, diarrhea, lethargy. My husband, a retired chiropractor, made the connection and it has certainly been validated by the above anecdotal histories.

At least I will now proceed to a gastroenterologist with a better understanding
of what's taken place. And you can believe I'll try to eat yogurt.

I was prescribed clindamycin for an infection in my tooth after a root canal last Thursday. When I took my dose at 4:00 am on Saturday morning, I made sure to eat something and to stay standing for at least 10 minutes (I see that others here mention that their instructions said 30 minutes) before going back to bed.

Within 10 minutes, I started to experience severe stomach cramping... more like a muscle spasm across my upper abdomen. There was nothing I could do to relieve this as my stomach began to swell due to a gas buildup. I tried to make myself throw up, but couldn't. I was doubled over in pain for almost 2 hours until my husband woke up and found me like that. He was ready to call 911, but managed to get me to slowly sip some water and eat a few bites of oatmeal.

Suddenly the spasm released and the intense pain went away. However; I felt like I was run over by a truck for the rest of the day. I called my Endodontist and he told me to stop taking it immediately. He also told me that since I was taking Vicodin for the pain, that combination just made everything worse. Oh, thank you for prescribing that combination for me!!

I was perfectly happy taking Advil. Now I am not on anything and have to go back next week so he could finish the root canal. I will never take this medication again and highly advise anyone against it as well. It's not worth the risk. I'm just hoping I don't start experiencing any other symptoms. I can tell my digestive system is slightly out of whack, but not as bad as others are having.

I just wanted to document this incident along with all of the others.

I too was prescribed Clindamycin and had Diarrhea so bad it about killed me for 2 weeks. After speaking with my wife's uncle in Reno, a Gynecologist about my problem. He told me to take "Align", an over the counter pro-biotic and the only thing that would cure the lower colon diarrhea problem. It did! I am 69 years old.

Within two hours the diarrhea was gone after taking one align. I still take one a day to rebuild my good bacteria in my system. The best fifty dollars I ever spent in my life. I have told others about Align and it worked for them as well. My doctor had not heard of Align, but now prescribes it.

Damon

This is in response to CHENG who posted earlier on this site. I know exactly what you are saying about the acid reflux. I had severe side effects from Clindamycin back in December 2009. My side effects were so severe I was unable to go far from a bathroom for weeks.

I had severe stomach, throat, intestinal and colon reactions. But the lingering, long term effect for me is the stomach acid problems and throat choking I feel often. The throat choking is from "silent acid reflux". I never in my life had acid problems before I took the Clindamycin in Dec 2009. Never even took an antacid before the Clindamycin. My gastroenterologist said that many people never completely recover from C-Difficile. My advice to CHENG is look into Famotidine (40 mg Pepcid). It's a pharmacy grade pill that your doctor can prescribe that helps immensely if your stomach acid problems become intolerable.

I don't need to take it every day now, but it was very important to take every night in the early days and months of my recovery. Famotidine also helps stomach and intestinal ulcers heal. Best wishes to you CHENG.

Here's an update, now I have h. pylori gastritis....

Am I mad? nope... just gotta keep pushing on and live...
Doc gave me antibiotics and after all that has happened I really don't like meds hahaha
but oh well gotta take them and just have hope and faith.
I'll keep you guys posted.

I was prescribed clindamycin for a tooth infection 3 days ago. So I decided after reading the pamphlet and getting vague answers from the pharmacist on possible side effects that I would look up some information on the drug. I'm sorry to hear that all of you had such a negative reaction to the drug. This is day 3 of 300mg 4 times a day for me, I have 80 pills to take and I have no side effects, what so ever. I'm not getting yogurt like crazy, taking probiotics or anything. I don't have a good immune system, I was hospitalized in September for sepsis, and have been sick for the past year, I have fibromialgia, scoliosis, hyperglicemia.

I have had numerous health issues, so when it comes to medications I have pretty much ran through most. I'm allergic to pen, amocy, the cylin family to be more direct. this medicine has helped me fight the tooth infection and the sepsis with no nasty side effects. I haven't had a limited diet, but I do eat organic and healthy foods. No artificial sugars, preservatives or things of that nature. I take my supplements and medications everyday.

I'm saddened to see so many people had to go through so much, but without this medicine I wouldn't be here. It is on the stronger side of antibiotics, but if future concerns come up always request the alternative, some people are more sensitive to stronger medicines than others. I wish you all well, and don't mean to sound rude or anything. I understand that if I had the same symptoms I would be mad as well. And doctors should be required by law to fully tell you the details of all possible side effects, dangers, or other possible medications.

I hope you will get some really good lactobacillus (i.e., Align, L. reuteri, etc.) as they come in the billions and trillions of CFUs of the good bugs we need for a healthy immune system and gut when it's "insulted" with drugs or bad foods and especially when stressed. I have read many times that people think all is well and maybe two months AFTER the infection and medication, then they get sick with Klebsiella. That you do not want. Some never get over it and are always on some treatment. If you've had that much stress on your body as you mention in your note, I'd run (not walk) to get lactobacillus (refrigerated stuff) and get the highest dose you can. Mine costs about $8-10 per month (Reuteri). A bottle or 90 lasts three months ($25-$29/bottle).

I quit taking clindamycin about two weeks ago, and I'm still having problems and don't trust going too far from home. It's not bad, and I KNOW the only thing that kept me together as well as it did was the L. reuteri I took every night. I got bad diarrhea (but not as bad as times before when the lactos were much fewer in CFUs) by two days. I was already on the L. reuteri. I added Acacia fiber three times per day and attapulgite clay (natural occurring clay in soil here and there which is refined for human use to "mop" up the excess water and help a person begin to form stools).

One funny thing that really (I'm serious here) helps me is to eat green beans. I have no idea why; they just are great. I've tried other veges, but nothing works like the little ole green string beans. My son told me that one time, and I am SO glad I asked about what he'd do in my situation (I've had more than my share of "D" because of a surgical error a while back and then sepsis and two surgeries to get things fixed up...I don't mess with my colon anymore, not that I ever did).

Peppermint (like Altoids and tea) is wonderful for irritability. I have program worked out from day one if I eat the wrong thing and start "D"! However, the clindamycin must be a LOT more toxic than anything I've ever taken because two weeks later or more I'm still having some looseness. BTW, if you take large doses of lactobacillus only take as directed. Too much in 24 hours can make you a bit more distressed as it causes gas and gurgling. No harm, just that you don't need it right then. :o) Hang in there and get ahead of what just might get you later. Clindamycin is so very nasty I would not wait for symptoms to occur. Get out ahead of them!

I posted a couple of days ago, I'm a 22 year old female, and still no side effects, except for a few flare ups of my fibromyalgia, but I cant really tell if its from the antibiotic or if its just with the weather changing and my body becoming more tense. I understand that so many have had bad side effects from taking this medication, but just like with everything else, if you take this off the market, another just like it will appear. When a doctor prescribes you a medication it is up to you wither or not you take it. If you feel like the cons over weigh the pros then by all means don't take it and request another medication. Doctors can only tell you the possible side effects and not everyone experiences all of them or to the same degree that someone else will.

There are a lot of people that depend on this medication in order to take care of serious issues that do mean life and death. with everything you do each and everyday, you take a risk. With every medicine you risk a negative reaction. this medicine has helped me so much, and I wouldn't be here today if I didn't take the risk and take this medicine. I feel so bad that you guys have all had to go through the bad things that you have, and that most of you are still suffering long after stopping the medicine, but banning it wont solve problems, you'll create more for those who haven't had a problem with it.

I was just recently prescribed Clindamycin 300mg for a bacteria infection that I have close to the vaginal area. I pretty much got a huge "boil" in my groin area that was close to the vaginal area. After reading all these comments I am afraid to continue taking this medication. I have only taken two doses. Unfortunately, I do not have health insurance, therefore, this drug cost me a leg and an arm. I also do not have a family doctor that I go to, this medication was prescribed by an E.R. Doctor. I don't know what to do. I'm scared I have a bacteria infection, however, I don't want to continue to take Clindamycin. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should do?

I cant even tell everyone how happy I am to have found this site.

I got a root canal on 10/22. I was scheduled to go back on Fri 10/29 to get my temporary filling looked at, and then I would be sent to my Dentist to get the permanent filling.

I ended up going back a few days early (10/27) as I was getting pain and throbbing in my newly root canaled tooth. The Endodontist told me that I have an infection, took the temporary filling out, and put me on Clindomyacin @ 300mg 4x per day.

The first day I was fine, the second day I had a little bit if reflux, but by day 3 I was at work and felt like my stomach and esophagus were going to explode, right after taking a dose of the medicine. I drank a ton of water with it but nothing seemed to help the pain. By Sunday (10/31) I decided that enough was enough and stopped taking that awful medicine.

Now I have been off it since Sunday and am taking Penicillin instead per my dentist office. I am still in a ton of pain in my stomach, esophagus, and throat. I can't eat or even drink water without my esophagus hurting. I will be seeing my regular doctor on Friday who I hope can help me get out of this mess. I have a history of GERD but it was really good for over a year now. Thanks to this medicine I am feeling worse than ever.I don't have bad diarrhea (yet) just loose stools.

I feel terrible for everyone who has gone through this. This drug causes more good than bad, and there are other things that can be taken which won't wreak havoc on your insides like this does. I am also eating probiotic yogurt when I can but its hard to since I am still on Penicillin until next Monday.

I will report back when I get a diagnosis of what this medicine has caused.

I spent a lot of time writing a long, long note for Tiffany. I was then asked to sign in (It doesn't ask when I first come in and I never can find it) so I did. I came back, and poof all my work gone. I can't do it again, but one thing Tiffany is that I feel you should go back to ER (they always tell you that or should be, they said it over and over to me) to be re-evaluated and get a different drug.

Your labs will have shown what the bug is sensitive to. Call first and talk to the supervisor of ER and explain your financial problem and your health problem. NO ONE wants you to not get well!!! Ask a lot of questions when you go (use a pad and pencil). Ask what to do if the next med makes you really sick and so on. Sit in warm sitz baths in the tub frequently. This is all people had before antibiotics.

I've had lots of hot, moist packs all over my body with my feet in a tub of hot (tolerably) water to break fevers and heal for tummy flu or a bad cold, and it was all the time for when I had Rheumatic fever. I even got hot moist packs to scraps, cuts, scratches to hold back infection... always worked way back when!! We have gotten away from hot soaking infections, but we should do them again along with medications.

You can find pharmacies (i.e., Walgreen's is one) that will sell generic drugs for $4 per supply for a month if you explain your financial bind to them. My Kroger's does and many others too. Just ask. I wish you well.

I was wondering how long any of you have had lingering diarrhea after stopping your clindamycin. I quit taking clindamycin three weeks ago tomorrow. I still have some loose stools. If I eat heavier foods I get in real trouble and feel very sick. If I rest a day or two from food and drink clear liquids and then try light foods again, I do better, but I had a small bout of it again last night after eating a bit of French bread and some white rice plus cooked green beans and Acacia fiber in liquids.

Now this is usually enough to stop diarrhea for me within one treatment! Oh, I also use attapulgite (a natural clay in the earth which is processed to be safe for us to use for diarrhea). I have to order it from Canada. It was all over the place for many, many years here and sold under various names but I can't find it here anymore. Canada has it in the old Kaopectate bottle. The U.S. uses the exact bottle and label for the old Pepto-Bismol (no good for diarrhea at all and especially IBS).

So one has to read the ingredients of any Kaopectate bottle (think pink). But it is usually delivered within three to four days, is reasonably priced and it works. It's minty in taste. That plus 5 billion CFUs of lactobacillus helped me, but I still got frequent and loose stools. I hate the burning it leaves. I use Calmoseptine on the skin for that, and it's very soothing. A bit of Gold Bond Powder also soothes our sensitive skin (I think the more sensitive skin we have actually). But mainly I NEED TO KNOW HOW LONG PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE DIARRHEA IN ANY FORM and how did you finally get it stopped.

I think mine MAY be slowing, but when I eat some rice in a bit along with my faithful green beans (don't ask... must be some enzyme in them as nothing else acts like they do) I'll know where I stand. Until it's all stopped I pretty much stick close to home. At least it's not the watery stuff that can catch one off guard and no place to run. Ach!! Hope to hear your experiences with getting over the trots. :o) Thanks.

I was given Clindamycin for a tooth infection back in 2007 and I feel like my intestines have never been right since then. I can't eat a lot of things that shouldn't bother a 35 year old and I was fine before I took this drug. I have been terrified to go back to a dentist since then and decided I would just rather live with the tooth pain if any flares up.

I am a 46 year old female and was prescribed clindomyocin for my root canal. Like many other posts I have read I didn't have any reaction whatsoever while on the antibiotic, however, 2 weeks after I was done taking it I developed unbelievable diarrhea. I went to a gastroentorologist and he prescribed Flagyl, 3 days after finishing a 10 day treatment it came back again. I started taking it again and I am going to take it for the next 20 days . I have been taking Align and eating Activia.

I was wondering if anyone has done 2 rounds of flagyl and if the diarrhea came back after the second round? I was to the point where I could not even go to the grocery store without having a severe attack. I have never ever had an issue like this before and I was never told by my dentist to eat yogurt or to take a probiotic. Could someone please tell me how long this can go on for!... I am at my wits end with this!.. thank you. I also, at times, feel the urge that I need to go (almost like constipation) but cannot. I cannot believe this medication is prescribed so freely.

I'm really surprised at all these comments. Other than heartburn after immediately taking the pills, I have never had any problems taking Clindamycin. Matter of fact, I ask for it at the dentist because I know it works for me.

I've had 2 abscessed teeth in the past and a jawbone infection, and both times I had Clindamycin with no side effects. I at least know what to look for, since you never know what can happen.

I do notice the heartburn is more severe if I don't drink a lot of water, and usually eating does help.

I understand how you feel Sam about the dentist since I too had severe damage from taking Clindamycin due to a botched root canal. But please don't think that completely avoiding the dentist is a healthy strategy for you. Dental procedures like root canals can release harmful bacteria into the body.

Please know that dental issues, if left unchecked, can cause you serious harm or even in extreme cases death. I will never take Clindamycin or any drug ending in "cin" again, but I know the severe damage that poor dental care can cause. Please be safe, ask your friends to find a good dentist for your future dental care.

I too have some continuing effects, and I took the Clindamycin in December 2009! Take charge, and don't settle for anything less than you can achieve.

I was prescribed Clindamycin for an infected tooth that ended with a root canal. The Clindamycin worked for the infection, but a week and 1/2 later I had diarrhea. I went to the Dr. 4 days later and the Dr said that this was a side effect of this antibiotic and that it was the worst antibiotic to take. Who knew??? I was put on a different antibiotic and tested for C diff colitis. I was positive.

I am now trying to recover. If you have any symptoms after taking this med, please get tested. It is crazy that this happens. Will not take it again!

This nonsmoker, on the weekend of Groundhog Day 2010, ended up in the hospital and given Clindamycin for a cyst in my throat that I think developed from a head cold. A visit to Urgent Care at Kroger the Thursday before Groundhog Day was inconclusive; possibly I could have strep, which Urgent Care prescribed Amoxicillin. By Saturday morning, I could not talk nor swallow!

After 3 days in the hospital, the cyst advancing to the size of a golf ball, had to be drained. I was prescribed Clindamycin for home. I too had stomach problems and a little rash. (It says in the instructions to stop taking Clindamycin if a rash develops. I did not since it was a mild rash on my stomach.) I thank my chiropractor/nutritionist who recommended probiotics.

Probiotics restore the good bacteria in your body. Your appendix stores the good bacteria! My chiropractor says he takes probiotics on a daily basis just to counteract the antibiotics in the food we consume we come in contact with on a daily basis. I also take a Kroger multivitamin, calcium, 1 Flex-a-Min a day, and switched to Ester C instead of Kroger vitamin C for awhile. Just about every day, I do my chiropractic exercises morning and evening. I have experienced heaviness in my legs like other people have mentioned. I no longer am experiencing that heaviness, since I've taken up riding my bike.

By October 2010, I could say I seemed to be back to normal. I am leery of this drug because my stomach was missed up for months and I have heard there may be a class action lawsuit regarding Achilles tendon stiffness. I am still keeping tabs on the effects by receiving updates from The Peoples Pharmacy chat site. Even though a great deal of negativity surrounds this drug, I believe this drug saved my life. I don't, however, understand why dentists are prescribing Clindamycin. Instructions from another prescription medication suggested to,
"Report negative side effects from prescription drugs to the FDA by visiting www.fda.gov/medwatch
or call 1-800-FDA-1088."

The following is from their website:
Report a Serious Problem
1-800-332-1088
1-800-FDA-0178 Fax
MedWatch Online
Regular Mail: Use postage-paid FDA Form 3500
Mail to: MedWatch 5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857

LL

I had a temporary crown put in 2 days ago, and developed a swollen cheek (not gumline). I went back to the dentist today and he prescribed Clindamycin. I trusted the dentist and didn't do any research. I've taken 3 pills today. I just took pill #3 and the side effects were immediate - my body feels like it's having an entire panic attack. MAJOR heartburn has kicked in. I feel nervous, anxious, weak, rapid heart rate, shaky... so I googled the drug to find out if these side effects were normal.

OMG is all I can say after reading all of these comments. WHY in the world is this drug on the market, and furthermore, why did my dentist not warn me of these terrible side effects? I feel like an idiot taking drugs from a dentist, when I probably should have called my internist. I hope taking 3 pills doesn't wind up giving me long lasting problems like all the people I've read about tonight. In addition, I wonder how long until this feeling will wear off?

I had a tooth pulled and was given Clindamycin 300mg by my dentist. I was not given any warning of the possible side effects by my Dentist or Pharmacist. After 2nd dose I developed diarrhea and some stomach discomfort. After reading these commentaries I have decided to discontinue use. I have started eating Activia Yogurt with Probiotics and am hoping I don't develop C diff or worse.

I will have to now go to my primary physician to be checked out for C diff, etc. I've also read that these symptoms occur in .01-10% of patients, but you know what... those odds are way too high for me! I say take Eurithromycin or Penicillin if you can instead. Better yet, if you don't have an infection don't take anything!

I took just ONE DOSE, then decided to google this drug. Now I am scared. I took the dose with a full dinner. I have a toothache. I was already taking Bactrim for a sinus infection, but switched to this. Also taking Vicodin for pain, just half a pill. Within about 15 minutes of first dose I had heartburn, that was last night and it is still going on at 7 am this morning as I write this. Lots of stomach gurgling and burning sensation also. Last night after reading this I took Benadryl and acidophilus and Mylanta. Usually I don't take any of those. This morning I just took a probiotic pearl. And pray that this does not develop into Cdiff.

Please help......Dentist told me to stay on the Clindamycin for the full 10-day course but I have hives all over my face and have gained 8 lbs!!!!! Only 2 or 3 days left of the pill but I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!! The teeth were extracted Monday, it is Wednesday, if I stop what kind of side effects should I expect?! ANYONE please advice thank you!!!!!

Please someone respond? I am supposed to take my next dose in 2 hours and would rather NOT but am afraid just stopping abruptly will make me even sicker? 3 days' left. OK if I just stop taking it? Advice please?

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: BEST TO CHECK WITH THE DENTIST THAT PRESCRIBED IT.

I think you should contact a Dr. to see what would be the safest and healthiest thing for you to do would be, but from information that I have read in the past, if you are having an allergic reaction to medication, you should discontinue taking it. If you have an active infection, perhaps your Dr./Dentist can prescribe another to take instead, so you really need to talk with a health care practitioner about this, but allergic reactions can be very serious, so please consult with a Dr. right away!

Liz
It doesn't matter what your doc says........ if you have hives and such, it could be a severe allergic reaction beginning. STOP TAKING IT IMMEDIATELY... NOTHING awful will happen if you stop. Call the Doc and tell him/her that you have hives all over you and doc will just order you a different antibiotic. You'd better pray you don't get diarrhea in two weeks............ you'll be in for the ride of your life!

Liz T. don't take any more of the antibiotic. I am right now dealing with an itchy rash that's spreading over my body after taking on 4 pills. Stopping an antibiotic will not cause you to have more problems. I stopped taking it immediately after the rash appeared which was yesterday evening and I have no prevailing issues other than the rash.

Hi,
Can anyone tell me how long the esophagus /chest pain lasts? On my sixth day of this med. I experienced TERRIBLE BURNING in my throat a couple minutes after taking a dose. I never have had heartburn and as I had just finished our Thanks Giving meal, I wasn't sure what was the cause?

After a useless doctor's office visit I am still having pain with swallowing and I feel as if I have something "stuck" in my esophagus. Hospital on call nurse, doctor on call and pharmacy all "haven't heard of this before"?

I just want to know when I will feel normal again.
Thanks so much!!!!

Thank you for having a web site like this. I take kefir yoghurt, which you make yourself in a plastic, or glass jar containing full cream milk and the kefir grains [in a plastic mesh bag for ease of removal after the milk has become cultured after just a few days on my kitchen shelf]. This has finally cured my recurrent loose bowel problems acquired from antibiotic use decades ago.

I am now also on a low gluten diet for celiac disease, and my resistance has improved immensely! I developed an abscess in the root of a broken molar a few days ago, and immediately upped my calcium ascorbate intake. But I knew I would also need a course of antibiotics.

Alphamox was prescribed but unfortunately I got some puffiness in my face and tightness in the chest after only 3 caps. So I discontinued taking it. Went to the er and was RXd clindamycin. I was asked to take the first dose in the er and report any adverse reactions. The only one in that time frame [an hour] was an adrenalin rush that got my heart racing for a few minutes and then nothing, until I started getting itchy 2 hours later, at home by then.

That's when I decided to google it. And have decided not to continue with it either, after reading all the adverse reactions posted by so many trusting souls! Because I simply don't want to compromise my success with the kefir.

There is also a kefir community on line, I recommend it to all of you wanting to return to a normal bowel/immune system. And the greatest thing about it is, it grows, and you can give it away for someone else to make, free.

First of all I want to thank everyone for telling their stories about their experiences with Clindamycin.

I was prescribed this drug for 2 dental implants and had no problems taking the drug for 10 days in 8 hour increments. My problems began 3 weeks after I finished the drug. I had been eating some yogurt in my daily diet because I was aware that any antibiotic does kill off good bacteria in the gut. But I got lax and over Thanksgiving weekend the D hit me with a vengeance! I read the advice here and got organic Stonyfield yogurt, reading the date labels to get the newest I could purchase (stores vary).

Also I bought a probiotic PB-8. This stopped the diarrhea within 12 hours of me taking 2 capsules and two servings of yogurt. I am using the BRAT diet to give my digestive system a rest-will wait to see if this solves my problem. I DO NOT want to take another antibiotic unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!

To Liz T.:

I am not a doctor, but have had experience with Clindamycin. Read the insert that came with your prescription. It will advise you on the rash situation. If you are still uncertain and if your doctor or dentist is unavailable, I would call any pharmacy and talk to a pharmacist. They are of great help. Do not bother with the Lil' Clinic at Kroger grocery stores on matters concerning Clindamycine. If all else fails, get to the hospital a.s.a.p.!

As per my experience, on the weekend of Groundhog Day 2010, was in the hospital on Clindamycine (and after I got home was prescribed Clindamycine) for an infection in my throat that had to be drained after 3 days. I too had stomach problems and a little rash. (It says in the instructions to stop taking Clindamycine if a rash develops. I did not since it was a mild rash on my stomach.)

I thank my chiropractor/nutritionist who recommended probiotics. (On a side note: the appendix stores the good bacteria.) It is October 2010, and I seem to be back to normal. My chiropractor says he takes probiotics on a daily basis just to counteract the antibiotics in the food we consume that we come in contact with on a daily basis. I also take a Kroger multi-vitamin, calcium, 1 Flex-a-Min a day, and switched to Ester C instead of Kroger vitamin C. Just about every day, I do my chiropractic exercises morning and evening.

I have experienced heaviness in my legs like other people have mentioned. I no longer am experiencing that heaviness, since I've taken up riding my bike. Please note, I am still keeping tabs on the effects by receiving updates from The Peoples Pharmacy chat site.

Also Note: There may be a class action lawsuit regarding Achilles tendon stiffness.

Per instructions on a different prescription, the instructions suggested to "Report negative side effects to prescription drugs to FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088."

On Nov. 3rd 2010 I had oral surgery, bone graft done. I was prescribed clindamycin and was on it 2 days then realizing I had terrible diarrhea. I've been to my doctor and had difficile C test done and e-coli and all were negative. I've done the BRAT diet and other diet given and I'm now on 26 days of diarrhea and lost 25 lbs, my doctor said last week if it cont. to see him, which is tomorrow. Should I see a G.I. or cont. with this Dr.? This is a terrible way to live... are their any answers? I'm 43, is this the end... and yes I have been eating yogurt like crazy and taking probiotic pills. Now for 4 days no results...

Dear Henri - Yes! Get to another doctor A.S.A.P.!

I am taking Clindamycin 150mg for a root canal that I had yesterday. I have already taken about about 7 pills. I am having a lot of pain/cramps on the right side of my body. My leg is cramping so bad I can't stand it. Worse at night, it won't let me sleep. I am constipated and am having troubles urinating now. I have mentioned it to the dentist several times but they seem to think it has something to do with something else.

I am tempted to just quit taking it and see it I get better on my own. I had a really bad infection when I had the root canal done. After reading all the comments I am scared to finish it. I have never felt pain in my leg like this before in my life and it never stated until taking the antibiotics. Granted the tooth pain was horrific so is the leg pains. I am eating A LOT of yogurt because that is all I can seem to eat. Any suggestions? Thanks, Karen

Hi! I'm 46 and I have sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that causes granulomas in virtually any organ it chooses. Because of this disease, I have to watch what meds I take as my liver and kidneys are affected by it.

I went to the dentist because I was having severe pain. It turned out to be a piece of my jaw breaking off and erupting through the gum. My bones are dissolving. Partially because of my disease, I suspect, and partially because of being on prednisone for about 18 months.

My dentist prescribed clindamycin because he said it was a good bone antibiotic and gentler on the liver than some of the other meds. It would help heal bone tissue. THAT is the reason that dentists prescribe it so frequently.

They work with our teeth which are indeed bones. Doctors however, they are NOT. If you are having severe or dangerous side effects why on earth would ANYONE ask their dentist for help?? That is obviously a matter for a primary care doctor or an ER specialist or an internist or a gastroenterologist.

I am on 900 mg of clin daily for about 2 weeks. I am nearly finished with my course of it. I have had a problem with diarrhea. It has been a weird thing because I normally suffer from constipation because of the meds I take. It started out as a good thing, just causing normal poop, but the longer I've been on it, the worse it has gotten. It also happens every time I need to pee and sometimes in between as well. I would say probably 6-8, maybe more, times a day.

Bloating and gas are a problem, too. Explosive unbelievably raunchy, loud gas. Thank goodness I have been able to be out of earshot and sniffing noses. It's SO embarrassing!

Bottom line though, I'm thankful for the I have. They