Z pack ?

[Jances13]

Hi everyone , recently I have been fighting sinusitis and I was put on Levaquin . Unfortunately Levaquin didn’t kill the bug. So now my Dr gave me a prescription for Z Pack . Even though I know there are a lot of warnings concerning that it can cause QT even though it is rare but I have paroxysmal a fib so I wanted to know if anybody has had any problems with it . I am desperate to finally start feeling better this has been going on for a month now .

[wilsond]

Have you tried the old-fashioned inhaling treatment? Bowl of steaming water ,Towel over head and bowl,breathe in slowly ( and out of course!) For several minutes. Then sit up with head slightly forward and two your face with the tips of your fingers in a semi circle under yo u r eyes,gradually widening the circle to your top jaw. Hope I've explained it so you get the idea! You can repeat several times. It clears the mucus .

Worth a try? Xx

[Jances13 in reply to wilsond]

Thank you Wilsond , I have done the steam inhalation and saline rinses but I will try the doing the semi circles .

[vauxhal]

Also you could try a daily salt water nasal douche. The warm/tepid/blood temp salt water should be salty like seawater. I had bad sinusitis for months and this along with using nasal strips at night - i have a deviated septum - sorted it out without drugs.

[Jances13 in reply to vauxhal]

Thank you , Vauxhal I have done saline rinses like the neti pot , it does help but recently my ear started to hurt so I stopped . I have an appt. with an ENT on Friday so I hope for a good outcome .

[Auriculaire]

Levaquin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic and is probably about the most dangerous antibiotic your doctor could have given you for sinusitis. I do not know what country you live in but both the FDA and more recently the European Medicines Agency have advised that this class of antibiotics should not be given for banal infections like sinusitis. One of the most insidious effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics is delayed reaction. This can happen days ,weeks or even months after finishing the course and can be precipitated by other drugs. You should particularly avoid any NSAID and steroids such as prednisolone. You also need to look out for any tendonitis particularly in the Achilles tendon as ruptures have occurred even several months after taking a course. I am surprised you were given this as Fluoroquinolones can provoke arrythmias especially long QT. I had my first episode of afib after being given Ciprofloxacin. Try steam inhalation with a drop or two of oregano oil . I have taken oregano oil capsules by mouth sucessfully as a natural antibiotic for UTI and know of others who have used them for sinusitus. I would be wary of taking a fluoroquinolone again as the more often you take them the more likely you are to be "floxed".

[Jances13 in reply to Auriculaire]

Thank you Auriculaire for taking the time to answer my email . Unfortunately , 2 days after taking levaquin I was getting up from my sofa and I felt a slight twinge in my knee. I didn’t think anything about it till the next day my knee was swollen and painful but I could walk on it and bend it . The doctor said it was either I made a wrong move or the antibiotic. My joints and muscles were also painful. And I felt like an elephant was sitting on top of me. My knee is still a little sore some days better than others. I don’t think I will ever take it unless it is absolutely necessary. I have taken it in the past but never had side effects like this time. I am going to check into the oregano oil . I have heard of peppermint oil but not oregano. Am seeing an ENT on Friday because my ear also has been bothering me so we will see. I will keep you posted. Thanks .

[Auriculaire in reply to Jances13]

Fluoroquinolones rob the body of magnesium so many floxies advise baths with magnesium choride or Epsom salts . Not having a reaction before unfortunately is all too common. It seems that each person has a threshold for FQ damage . Some are badly damaged by one or two pills , others can take many courses before the bomb goes off. It looks like you have reached your threshold and you should not take Fluoroquinolones in the future as the floxing usually gets worse. Personally in a life or death situation I would be inclined to choose death than have a worse reaction to the one I have now. It is now over 3 years from my last dose of Cipro and I only took one pill and my tendonitis is not improving though some other symptoms have improved.

[Jances13 in reply to Auriculaire]

I am so sorry that you are going through this. I really appreciate all the info that you have passed onto me and others. I am very new to all of this ,it’s only been 2 weeks for me and I am already getting frustrated. My taste has all of a sudden disappeared not sure if this has anything to do with being floxed . I can’t imagine having to deal with tendinitis for over 3 years.Please continue to educate all of us . I hope and pray that things will get better for you .

[Auriculaire in reply to Jances13]

Thank you. Yes loss of taste or distorted taste is a floxing symptom. My tendonitis is not as severe as many suffer - I am lucky not to have had a major rupture and I manage to still pursue my passion for gardening though I have to pace myself a lot more and not do things like carrying heavy watering cans! I have actually been dealing with this problem on and off for 30 years! I am pretty sure I was first floxed in 1989/ 90 in England and again in 1999. But having delayed reactions I never associated my musculoskeletal problems with an antibiotic I took for sinusitisis and bronchitis . It is only since I moved to France and was refloxed in 2014 and 2015 that I found out that such a reaction existed.

There is a very good website called Floxiehope which has excellent info and stories from people who have recovered from very bad reactions. I would advise you to not eat any animal products that are not organic . Especially farmed prawns and salmon. The prawns that come from the Far East are very likely to be contaminated with Fluoroquinolone residues.

[Jances13 in reply to Auriculaire]

I am glad that you can still enjoy your gardening. I have taken levaquin at least 3 or 4 times in my lifetime and Cipro . I took cipro a lot for UTI and never did I have any problems. It’s amazing how so many people are having issues, you would think that something would change. I checked into the web site and I signed up , so much valuable info .Am overwhelmed ! But it’s nice to know that there is a place to get information. Thank you. I saw the ENT today. She did a culture and ordered a CT of sinuses. She didnt want me to take any antibiotics till the culture comes back in 1 week. She said it could also be allergies. She said that levaquin is what is used for sinusitis and it should of killed it. I told her about the knee pain and joint pain and she just nodded her head like she is aware of the side effects. So I am to continue the saline and if needed Claritin or Allegra till I hear from her. Everybody at work is having the same issues taking antibiotics and they don’t clear up the problem. So maybe it’s just in the air. It’s funny you mention the farmed salmon . I do buy farmed salmon from Norway so I will check into buying the wild . Thanks again and I will keep you posted .

[solarjdo69]

I used a zpak one time a year ago when I was travelling and my system was run down and didn't have my nebulizer. Didn't cause me any issues, but then I only take just 1 prescription drug - Diltiezem/cardiziem.

The steaming water thing is a pretty good thing as promoted by wilsond, but I use something that I feel works better. I use a nebulizer and in the small container I put in a few tablespoons of Colloidal Silver. Inhaling that in and out it gets not only into your sinuses, but also into your lungs too. I usually alternate breathe in through left nostril, then breathe out the right, then reverse. Do how works best for you multiple times left in / right out, or alternate every other breath., Then I also breathe it in through my mouth and then out through th nostrils, usually alternating left and then right. DO this for about 10m. When I am afflicted like you are I do this 2 - 3 times a day and in several days the infections will be dead., healthline.com/health/asthm.... Good fortune to you.

[Jances13 in reply to solarjdo69]

Thank you so much. I will check into the Colloidal Silver. I had a friend that truly believed in it. And it’s comforting to know that you didn’t have any issues with the Z pack . I only take metoprolol and baby aspirin so I am hoping for the best. I have an appt with an ENT tomorrow so we will see how it goes.

[Jt222]

My ep said NO to zpack for me. There are some risks, that wasnt a cardiologist huh? Talk to them first, PLEASE. There are much safer antibiotics than either of those two.

[Jances13 in reply to Jt222]

Thank you for your advice. My primary says that I should be ok with the ZPack. It prolongs the QT but I have paroxysmal a fib so it is different. But then you never know because a fib has a mind of it’s own . I have an ENT appt tomorrow so I will let you know how it goes.

[etheral]

Augmentin 875 mg twice daily would seem to be the recommended antibiotic if you are not allergic to Penicillin. There are no effects on afib and it hits most of the relevant bacteria.

[Jances13 in reply to etheral]

Unfortunately I am allergic to penicillin and since we have tried doxycycline, and Levaquin that’s why the dr. Suggested z pack. If you have any other suggestions I would surely appreciate it. Thank you so much .