Metronidazole Lasting Side Effects (Page 10) (Top voted first)

I have been taking this medication for 7 days and off of it since a week and still have severe side effects, abdominal cramps, severe headaches, dizziness, unsteadiness... How long is it expected to last? It was prescribed with Ciprofloxacin to me and I take Entrophen on a regular basis...

REPLY

REPORT

Re: Erin (# 1208)

You are right about doctors not wanting to admit the side effects, but strangely, ask a veterinarian! They say the adverse effects in dogs is rare, but they readily admit that it has neurological side effects in humans!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: cyrill (# 1220)

I'm having a hard time understanding your posts--the grammar makes it difficult to follow but I think you're talking about what vitamins to take. Please look further down this page--I have a super-long post about metronidazole toxicity. It's only a theory but there is medical literature that backs up my claims.

I believe metronidazole toxicity is actually metronidazole-induced thiamine deficiency. In order to correct it, you need to supplement high doses of thiamine (aka, vitamin B1) and magnesium. Eating thiamine-rich and magnesium-rich foods is not enough to correct a deficiency this big. It will take months; see the content further down this page for details.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Metronidazole destroys thiamine in your body (aka, vitamin B1). You can look this up yourself--just type in metronidazole and thiamine into any search engine. In order to restore it, you need to take high doses of B1 (thiamine HCL) and magnesium--don't take thiamine without magnesium or you won't absorb it. After you get that under control, then start taking other vitamins. Thiamine is the "spark plug" of your cells--if you're deficient, then you can't absorb anything right. It is very common to check the levels of B12 in your blood and for them to actually be higher than normal--it's because, without thiamine, you can't absorb enough B12 and then the excess just floats in your blood until your body excretes it.

Get the thiamine and magnesium under control ASAP, then worry about the other stuff. Also, probiotics--I like kefir, but it is a dairy.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Galina (# 1283) --

It's actually 2 different types of thiamine; regular thiamine (thiamine HCL, etc), is the type you buy in the grocery store and it's pretty good. Allithiamine (derived from garlic) is a special type of thiamine that can penetrate the cell directly, whereas regular thiamine cannot. It's more potent, but since you want to start slow, I'd suggest regular thiamine first, then Allithiamine later. Both are good.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1281)

Hi Dennis, I agree with you that metronidazole is a pure poison and should not be on a market. I feel your pain!!!! I am also struggling to get through this nightmare and regain my health back. I see that you have a bad migraines. I also had them right after I finished the course. The head and facial pain was very bad but I gradually got better over the last 2 months. Now I have a mild pain that travels through the head and face. I hope it will get less and less with time. Is your migraine getting a little bit less with time? You said it has been 15 months for you. I hope that you recover overtime and regain your quality of life. I miss a lot the time when I was healthy and care free. Now I know my limitations due to the damage from metronidazole, but I try to stay possible and have faith. I know I will recover, it just will take time. Please keep faith and believe that time will heal us!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Galina (# 1290)

Thanks Galina for the reply. Unfortunately I suffered permanent brain damage. Not many people know, not even the doctors who dispense it, especially my doctors at John's Hopkins that Metronidazole now comes with brand NEW WARNINGS that patients with known disorders or diseases of the CNS, Brain or Spinal Cord must NOT be given this drug. They didn't believe at first until I presented the data to them. They were not only red-faced but speechless. I could hear them thinking about all the patients they must have dismissed over the years after they had complained to them about the severity of Metronidazole's side effects. Clearly this antibiotic crosses the blood/brain barrier way too easily and thus destroys already compromised nervous systems in those with CNS disorders. Sadly my condition has progressed, its gotten much worse since it happened last July 2017, not better. There is no hope for me as my doctors have given up, guilty with their tails between their legs that they may have harmed many people without realizing it. My thanks for your caring.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1293)

Hi Dennis, although you have gotten worse since taking this medication, but we have to hope that brain can heal. We don’t know how long it will take for the brain and CNS to reverse the damage I know miracles can happen. For you it’s been about 14-15 months and there is still hope that brain can heal although you are not yet see improvements. Most people heal with time! Please keep Hope! I also have very bad days now where my feet and legs burn like hell. I did not have these symptoms right after or on metronidazole, but they developed gradually after 2 months of stopping the medication. Some of my symptoms like migraines got better but others got much worse. So I know how you feel!!! I agree with you that the medication easily crosses blood brain barrier and causes so much damage to the brain and CNS. I never had migraines and peripheral neuropathy until I took this medication. Also, my vision is not good at all, especially my left eye. The acuity in my left eye is getting worse and worse and my eye doctor doesnt know why. My neurologist doesn’t know either. She blames everything on mysterious virus and denies that metronidazole can cause these symptoms even after I told her about medical literature and FDA warning about the dangerous side effects of this medication. My new doctor believed me that metronidazole caused my neurological symptoms but like you said there is no medication oppose metronidazole take it out the system. So now, I just have to fight for my life and hope to recover. Please, Dennis don’t get discouraged and keep faith that you can and will recover!!!! Sincerely, Galina

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Betty (# 1297)

CNS = Central Nervous System = Brain, Spinal Cord mostly

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Galina (# 1306)

Thanks for the post Galina. Yes I have been on a Thiamine (B1) plus Magnesium regiment for the last 8 months with minor dosage tweaking along the way. At first I thought it helped but sadly it was a false positive. The difference is, I had a pre-existing condition apparently that was being evaluated by a neurologist for lower extremity issues at the same time I had a intestinal issue. These were two separate and unrelated conditions, a simple case of bad luck timing. There were no symptoms of the head at all, just in my lower left gut... Flagyl was the wrongly given for my intestinal issue by a young arrogant ER doctor even though he was warned up front that a carried a MedAlert card for antibiotic toxic sensitivity, that only two antibiotics were on my okay list, with Flagyl not one of them. I also told him I was being evaluated for an unknown neurologic condition of the brain. Nonetheless he ignored both concerns and insisted I take the Flagyl without protest nor any instructions in case I suffered from an adverse event. Within 3 days I was literally destroyed, it felt like a bomb went off in my head. Freaking out I called all my doctors and only one told me the truth, to STOP immediately as the damage is irreversible in those who have preexisting CNS diseases of the brain. I can say without any doubt... that yes, it is irreversible... sadly.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1311)

Hi Dennis, Thank you for your reply. It is so bad that FLAGYL effected your health so badly. I wish that there is something that can help us to regain health or to improve to some point where we are not so debilitated by the side effects. I hope time and God will help us. I also have a lot of neuropathy in my feet, legs, and hands and some in my head. I think my nerves in the head got damaged. After I finished the medication, I felt zapping in my head and I had a lot of twitching in my body which have improved over 5 months. But now I have my feet and legs are burning very bad. At this point I don’t know how my vision will be changing over the time but I hope it will not go down any further. I hope I don’t have MS but my doctor doesn’t believe that the metronidazole can cause such a bad neurological symptoms. He said that a lot of people have MS and they don’t even know. I let him talk but I know that the medication caused me to have these horrible neuropathy and before this medication, I did not have any neuropsychological problems. Dennis, I hope you get better soon and will regain a better quality of life. Hang in there and thank you for your reply!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1314)

Hello Dennis, Thank you for your reply. I can’t believe that your doctor gave you FLAGYL knowing that you had a preexisting CNS symptoms. I think that the doctors completely negligent when they prescribe these strong antibiotics such as FLAGYL, Cipro, and more. They completely ignore the patients current health status and other factors such as weight and prescribe the antibiotics just because it is convenient. Dennis, thank you for letting me know about your neuropathy. I am glad that at least you don’t have it in your lower body but it is still very debilitating condition. I hope you get relief from your symptoms over time and so do I. Have a good day and God bless you!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Betty (# 1346)

Hi Betty, I am glad that you are taking Vitamins D and B12. I think by taking them in a long run will help us to repair the nervous system. I see that the larger dose of Vit D help you feel better and you don’t have any side effects from the larger dose. I think I will also slightly increase my dose and see if it helps me too. I guess from this point where we are already doing everything to help our system, we just have to take a day at the time and hope that the time and faith in God will help us to recover! We just have to be very patient, kind and respectful to our body!!! I hope you have a great day teaching your students!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1353)

Hi Dennis, How are you doing? It’s been a few months since we posted here. Is your neuropathy in the face lessened? How is your vision now and issue with the migraine. I still have a mild nerve pain in my head but it is not too bad. The vision in my left eye has been worsening. I don’t know what to think of it. Last time I saw a optometrist, he did not find anything wrong with my eye at all and could not explain why my vision is still worsening after I stopped metronidazole. I wonder what your doctor said about your eyes’ vision. Did he or she connected the eye vision damage to the FLAGYL. Did you have a luck finding a good neurologist or other doctors that admit that the medication caused the damage to your body. My conventional family practitioner believed me that the metronidazole caused severe nerve damage to my body but of course she did not know how to help me. The Naturopatic doctor and the neurologist denied that the Med can cause such a damage. So at this point I don’t care what they says and I just do my best every day and hope to recover fully one day. Dennis, Merry Christmas to you and hope you are doing much better!!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Betty (# 1352)

Metronidazole DOES cross the blood-brain-barrier. There's a hefty pile of medical literature AND the FDA label that addresses this drug's neurotoxicity.

Metronidazole affects the cerebellum, brain stem and nerves. The most common symptoms include:

Cerebellum: difficulty speaking (dysarthria), difficulty walking (ataxia in the legs), dizziness, difficulty concentrating, brain fog, altered mental state

Brain Stem (autonomic nervous system): dysfunction with: respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, swallowing, salivary glands (dry mouth/white mouth), temperature regulation, etc. It also controls you fight-or-flight response, so dysfunction can cause constant anxiety and/or depression.

Nerves: burning, tingling, numbness, and/or pain of nerves, usually starting in the hands, feet and then face

Misc symptoms: anorexia (losing the will to eat), muscle weakness/atrophy, head pressure/headaches

You might get only one or two of these symptoms or all of them.

Metronidazole causes thiamine deficiency disease. All the symptoms I just listed are symptoms of metronidazole neurotoxicity and also thiamine deficiency. Look up metronidazole and thiamine in your search engine and you'll see the information. If you decide to supplement thiamine you must also take magnesium; thiamine will not absorb into the cells without it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Dennis (# 1361) --

Here's my blog and it has links to my references:

metrogirlblog.wordpress.com/treatment/

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1364)

Hi Dennis, I can definitely say that this drug is an evil and don’t understand how doctors easily prescribe this poison and say that it is a SAFE drug! After what happened to me, I’ve learned a lot about the doctors and big pharma ‘genuine’ intentions and I am not planning to take any of the prescriptions. I would rather die than take the poison they call SAFE to take. Dennis, when I saw my Naturopatic doctor, he mentioned one of his patient that developed Lupus after taking Cipro and he treated her with glutathione IV for some time. This doctor is very familiar with Cipro toxicity but not with metronidazole. So basically he has no knowledge about metronidazole / FLAGYL toxicity. But he recommended me to eat as clean as possible, reduce the stress level, and time, time, time. So I hope that as time passes we all get better. I pray to God that he helps all of us who is still suffering. Have a good night and hopefully you start getting better soon!!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: BAH (# 1413)

BAH, you may have a hypersensitivity or allergy to ginger. I drink a ginger lemon tea but only one mug a day. I don’t want to overdo it either. I think drinking a lemon water with cranberry is a great idea. It is very beneficial for kidneys. BAH, hang in there!!! I know it is not easy but we don’t have any other choice. I don’t think that doctors can help us with metronidazole toxicity. My family doctor immediately diagnosed my with metronidazole/FLAGYL toxicity but she told me that there is no cure for it and I have to wait and hope that my symptoms will go away overtime. Even my neurologist said that with time it should get better but she doesn’t know how much time it will take to recover. I will see her next month and talk more about my condition but do not expect any help from her since she does not believe that metronidazole can cause a neurological symptom. she actually blamed my neuropathy on mysterious virus that she doesn’t know about. She is not a good doctor but I don’t have any other neurologists near by to go to. BAH, try to keep your chin up and do what you can every day. I hope that slowly but surely we make it over the hump!!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1428)

Wow!! I've never heard of that and would like to know more about it. And whether or not your doctors have given you the diagnosis with or without any suggestions of how to help even if it can't be cured. I'm so annoyed with doctors because they are not paying attention. It took me almost 2 yrs to figure out that the reason I was having so much trouble walking without being winded when all tests showed I was FINE, was varicose veins!!! Poor circulation!! I don't know how many doctors I told this to that basically just ignored it. Figured it out on my own after a casual mention from my chiropractor that I had a severe circulation problem in my lower legs. Is there a support group for people with this condition that helps one cope?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1428)

Look what I found here. I'm sure you've probably already seen this but hopefully others will look at it too now that I've posted it here... There are, according to this info, 200 drugs that can cause this. Most of it talks about hearing loss or damage which effects balance. It would be helpful to be reminded of your particular experience?

asha.org/public/hearing/ototoxic-medications

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Dennis (# 1428)

Hello Dennis, I it so good to hear from you. It’s been a while since you posted here. I feel so bad that you got such a bad damage to you inner ear. I truly hate this drug and what if has done to our life. I cannot even describe how this drug changed the quality of my life. I am just greatfull that I am not bedridden and can walk. Dennis, have you noticed any improvements or it has gotten worse over time. Have some symptoms improved or not at all? Can you walk or your balance is very bad?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I used flagyl almost 4 months ago for 7 days. I still have a terrible, sometimes salty, sometimes metallic taste in my m...

3 REPLIES

I have a tingling sensation all over the body! ## Has it changed or improved any yet? Learn more Metronidazole details h...

24 REPLIES

Hy,i am 13 weeks preg,and i had an abdomen pain so I went to the clinic the nurse gave me Bio-metronidazole 400mg,she ad...

5 REPLIES

I was on Metronidazole for 7 days & finished it 3 days ago. I experienced some nausea & even vomited a couple of...

5 REPLIES

My doctor provided me with this and i dont know what the side effects are? ## Hello, Ladypink! How are you? The side eff...

1 REPLY

Ive been on pliva334 for 4 days now. I have noticed a change in the color of my pee, it the normal? ## Metronidazole is ...

3 REPLIES

I have been taking this medication for three days now, 3 times a day for 7 days. I have noticed an increase in my appeti...

1 REPLY

I am on metronidazole 500 mg, 3 times a day, and doxycycline 100mg, twice a day. I am almost finished with them. But can...

2 REPLIES

I had to take plan b in early November, and ended up having two periods a week apart from each other. 11/14-11/18 and 11...

2 REPLIES

## what is this? ## WHAT DOES THIS DRUG DO TO ME.......... ## There are several brands with this active chemical; Please...

5 REPLIES