Just after some advice really.ive had an awful cough for weeks now,I’ve had 2 lots of antibiotics and 1 of steroids,the 2nd lot helped slightly,but not much.
Last week I was bringing up a small amount of blood with green sputum,so went straight to my docs.
She sent me for a chest X-ray,and sputum test.
The results are,x Ray.Atelectasis
Sputum.Haemophilius influenzae.
She said the sputum test is not 100%complete as they are uncertain at the moment as to which bacteria it contains,so have to keep ringing to see if results are in.
As my cough is disturbing my sleep all night,every night I asked her for some meds to help,and although she didn’t want to as she’s keen to wait until the final result,she prescribed me ciprofloxacin,which I am now reluctant to take😪
I am hearing all sorts of horror stories about this drug,people actually never being the same again after a course,being bedridden for months on end,I’ve decided to wait until my final results are back before taking anything.
Has anybody else on this lovely site had this diagnosis?
I am so scared I’m going to die because of this.
Thank you.x
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Fantasy3
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Haemophilus is a monkey to get rid of and sometimes it colonises. This hospitalised me last year for 10 days with IV. Don’t worry they will sort you. Worst thing you can do is imagine. It still raises its head so back on antibiotics and steroids for weeks have a break then repeat. You get used to it. Honestly you do. You might not like it but worrying is not going to help you.
Take your meds that’s why they were prescribed it won’t clear without.
Last month I’ve had doxycycline for 2 weeks coamoxyl for 32 weeks steroid for 5 week.
It’s still not right. Cipro is ok I’ve had them quite a lot in the past. If you have a reaction to any you just ring your Gp but I believe if she’s prescribed them she thinks it’s best for you to take them. Sometimes you have to trust then and don’t read the side effects.
Cipro is the wrong antibiotic for haemophillus. It is generally used against pseudomonas. I have been taking it since 1986 with no ill effects.
in reply to
Whilst it’s primarily used in pseudo, cipro is effective against h.influenzae because it’s a gram negative infection. It’s a fluroquinolone, and similar to cefotaxime which is usually the first line IV treatment, but it’s normally only prescribed for h.influenzae where culture shows resistance to the more commonly used penicillin based antibiotics.
in reply to
And it needs to be kept back for the little devil pseudomonas which evades all of the others.
I haven’t had what you’ve got but I did take Ciprofloxacin for years to stop water infections. I took it so long that I became resistant to it. It never harmed me in any way. It’s one of two antibiotics I can take without feeling sick.
My 10 yo has probably spent the equivalent of 3 years on cipro since being a toddler - she has a chronic psudomonas infection, so it can’t be cleared completely but it can be controlled through a combination of measures, including cipro if her sputum cultures it but also as her secondary antibiotic for coughs and exacerbations. Never had any problems or side effects beyond nausea, and that was quickly solved by making sure she eats a decent breakfast an hour before taking it. The only thing to be very conscious of is photosensitivity - if the sun is out, I’d advise you need to slather yourself in decent factor 50 and reapply regularly, even if it’s the middle of winter.
When did the sputum sample go in? Most ‘normal’ bacteria will be picked up within 7 to 10 days max. The sort of cultures that will take longer are for things like mycobacteria and some fungi, so if they’re checking for those then an AFB smear (the test used) can take up to 8 weeks to be fully complete. In contrast to another reply, cipro absolutely *is* effective against h.influenzae, but is more commonly used where culture shows the bacteria is resistant to the more commonly used drugs such as amoxicillin and clarithromycin. It’s a fluroquinolone and works similarly as the drugs used IV to treat it. I would absolutely start the tablets.
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