Scared about being prescribed Clarithomycin for H Pylori

[AchyCorazon]

Hi, scared about the situation I am in and would appreciate people's thoughts.

I had a stent fitted last December and have had pains in my chest which seem to be stomach related (after a lot of visits to A & E and a gastrocsopy). I had a gastroscopy in February which found I had erosive gastritis. I got a letter a couple of weeks ago following this saying I had tested positive for H Pylori (which can cause ulcers). I forwarded this to the GP and they prescribed Metronidazole & Amoxicillin. Unfortunately I had started getting a prickling sensation in my chest, back & throat and my face fell warm. This happened twice, one evening after another, and seemed to be getting worse. I went back to the GP and they prescribed Clarithomycin & Amoxicillin, as I had taken Amoxicillin before without problems.

I then discovered Clarithromycin is associated with increased risk of cardiac arrest and other heart issues-among other things it can lengthen the QT interval, which is dangerous if you have arrhythmia. I am not aware of having any arrhythmia but I suffer from migraine and the 2 are often associated. I have an ongoing problem with unsteadiness on my feet that started in February which has not yet been diagnosed, which also means I am less than confident I do not have arrythmia. While I have had several ECGs, these are snapshots that could easily miss something transient.

I am feeling quite scared, as looking at the various studies on the internet, taking Clarithomycin seems to significantly increase (up to double) your risk of sudden cardiac death. It may be doubling a small chance but this is something I would like to avoid if possible.

The GP surgery has not been particularly sympathetic and just seems to be working through the NICE guidelines without giving them much attention. They suggested Levofloxacin when I raised my concerns about Clarithomycin, but that seems even more dangerous-it also causes QT elongation and can cause a host of other issues including damage to heart valves.

Tetracycline seems to be an option but the GP did not suggest that, I am going to go back to them on Tuesday to chase this.

I sent a query to the cardiology team, and they just said both Clarithomycin & Levofloxacin should be safe as I have no pro-arrhythmic conditions. They suggested taking a baseline ECG and another ECG while I was under treatment, but it takes a week & half to get an ECG and then potentially 1-2 weeks for the results, so that does not seem to work for a 1 week course.

Sorry for such a long post, and thanks if you have made it to the bottom of this! Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Hidden]

Contributors on here are not medical experts. You have apparently raised your concerns with health professionals and they have given their opinions, so that's likely the best advice you will get.

[AchyCorazon in reply to Hidden]

Yup, you're right. Just worried and casting about. Thanks for replying

[MountainGoat52]

I was interested to read that Clarithromycin can potentially increase the risk of cardiac death. I was prescribed it for a possible wound infection after my bypass operation as the incision in my chest was weeping. I had had a heart attack and stents the previous year.

As it turned out, I only took one tablet. The GP that prescribed it unfortunately didn't do his homework and I had a severe reaction as I was on Eplerenone at the time. It is now on my black list.... maybe it should stay there even though the Eplerenone is long gone.

I hope that you get the answers that you need from your GP. I'm pleased to see that you are proactive as regards what you are being prescribed.

All the best,

Gerald

[AchyCorazon]

Thanks for the encouragement

[EMBoy]

If I were in your situation, I would go with what your cardiology team said. They are supposed to be the experts, and would not give you any wrong information. I hope you can get it sorted out. I haven't had H. Pylori, but an old colleague/friend of mine was diagnosed some years ago. After treatment, he said he felt like a new man.

[AchyCorazon]

Thanks