Feeling a mixture of stupid, fussy and a general pain in the. Asked the simple question 'do we have any sun screen as the doxy info and surgery advised I use it outside even going to the car' .....really wish I hadn't asked because - we are in the UK it's not summer, it's raining outside......etc etc etc.
Could someone who has used this in the UK and it's fine to agree I'm making a fuss - I just need a clear balanced view from experienced people. Thank you
uV levels from late January to early November are high enough to produce a skin reaction even in Scotland (when it's not raining), on a cloudy days too!
If you go to Accuweather, it can give you the uV index for your location through the day - up to 4 (moderate) here today ! 11 is extreme. xxx
Thank you eekt I will get some sun screen.
Doxycycline is contraindicated in people with SLE is it creates flares.
Oh ! I very specifically asked them to check this because I remembered seeing something about it and she got her drug book out and then said no it's fine won't be a problem. She has given me just a 5 day course as she said they used to give an 8 day course but found just 5 worked the same. I have noticed my face is rather red this morning and skin feels tight and rough but as my sinuses are so sore it could just be that rather than the doxy. The lack of a butterfly rash on my face has always made the gp say no it's not lupus but now waiting to see rheumatologist. Looking in the mirror though now it looks just like wings across my face. Oh blow a bit stuck this is the third antibiotic they are trying and if she says no to lupus I doubt she will be willing to talk about it. Think I will see how it is tomorrow as don't want to create a fuss if not needed.
I had various GPs tell me that there was nothing wrong with me for 32 years. It was only when I saw a rheumatologist that she said I'd had it since birth!
I've take a photo of your face to take as evidence if you see a specialist.
Hi, I'm replying to something pretty old here, but hope you see it. You say Doxy causes flares. Does this suggest that if I get a bright red burning face while taking doxy I might have Lupus? Or does it do this with other conditions too? I've not been out in the sun it just happened with my first dose of Doxy, taken at 8 pm indoors. It was particularly scary because I've only just lost all the skin on my neck from a rash that started with a big red burning face. Hope you see this - thanks!
Hi! I have seen it! 😃.
If you read the leaflet it often says in the side-effects that it can "cause a lupus-like flare." Now if you get a lupus like flare it doesn't necessarily mean that you have lupus, it means that you are having some of the symptoms of lupus induced by a drug.
It will also say in the leaflet under the "do not take if.." section. It will say Don not take if you have SLE.
So in answer to your question, it is impossible to say that you have lupus because you are having the side effects that mimick lupus. Or are you having a flare up of lupus symptoms because you have underlying lupus and the doxy has brought this out?
I suspect that there is a lot more to your story so my advice would be to get a good night's sleep. Post on here with a brand new post about your current situation and why you are concerned that you might have lupus and you will get alot if support and replies.
BTW, Doxy is a great antibiotic but it's also pretty nasty as it causes gastric inflammation if you don't take it properly.
Sorry to sound like I'm teaching you to suck eggs but do make sure you take it on a full stomach and stay upright for at least 3 hours afterwards. No laying down. The leaflet and pharmacist will say 1 hour but I've seen the inflammation in many people who have osophegitis (permanent) because they didn't protect their GI tract when taking Doxy. But it does work as an effective abx. I presume you have a chest infection?
Hope that has been helpful. 🌷
Thank you so much for that. My insert doesn't mention 'lupus like flares', only not to take if you have SLE. As I've just had a very similar reaction, I feel very uneasy about using it. I also have oesophagitis but desperation made me override the warnings and try a dose anyway. Big mistake - it's hurt like hell ever since I took it (5 hours ago now) and I have to keep eating to keep it at bay. I don't feel confident taking more of it now, unless I can somehow stop it hurting by taking Omeprazole, for example? Not sure if that is sublimely stupid though. Maybe best quit while I'm ahead.
I'm taking it for a chronic UTI. It was prescribed for a sinus infection and I discovered it by accident today and thought I'd try it (it does say it is used for UTIs). I've had the UTI since about May, I think, it just won't get better. Could not face phoning my docs. I hate phoning at the best of times and just now, overwhelmed and drugged up as I am, it feels monumentally unattractive to me. I'd rather suffer, as this damn UTI shows.
Many thanks for your help. I appreciate it.
Doxy won't do anything for a UTI, it's not broad enough. You would need Co-amoxiclav, cefalexin or Ciprofloxacin or nitrofurantoin. Don't have trimethoprine as it is contraindicated in SLE.
If it were me I'd stop the doxy immediately. You need treatment for UTI and gastritis/oesophagitis. You can only get that via a doctor and you need treatment.
Don't delay treatment for a UTI. I have had sepsis 4 times from one because of reoccurance.
You must be careful with abx. Just because something is an abx it won't necessarily target the bug or part of the body that is affected. Taking Doxy will have also potentially compromised any culture that is essential to ensure you are put on the right treatment.
Speak to your Dr asap. Fess up to what you have done and get the right treatment. No one wants to be admitted to a hospital right now and UTIs assend very quickly and become a kidney infection and they can be impossible to get rid of with lupus.
Take care.
Yes, I only took it because it said it was used for UTIs and I've tried so many different ones already and hadn't had that. Co-Amoxiclav didn't work, Trimethoprim NEVER works for me and didn't this time either, and I can't take Ciprofloxacin (it gave me tendonitis). I believe I had good results in the past with Nitro so that might be one to try. And I don't know Cefalexin. I'll look that one up. Looks like I will have to endure more doctors' calls. Thanks for all your help. X
Go for nitrofurantoin. It is kinder to your body than cef. Make sure your GP gives you an extended course. Lots of people with AI conditions become multi resistant to abx because the GP treats them like Joe Bloggs instead of someone with a screwed immune system.
I do wonder if you have a connective tissue disease as you developed tendonitis with cipro. That's a red flag.
I had decided to do got for Nitro this morning when it was still hurting when I got up - great minds think alike! I couldn't face any more Doxy. I shall hand it in for disposal at the chemist's so I'm not tempted to take it again!
Can I ask why you think it is a red flag that Cipro gave me tendonitis?
People with connective tissue disease get very lax tendons and ligaments when on cipro. Achilles rupture is a common complaint after being put on cipro. It's a good antibiotic if needed but best avoided for us or at least given with caution. It can also cause long QT syndrome (lethal arrhythmia) if taken at the same time as Hydroxychloroquine.
Ah, thank you. I was given it in 2014 or 2015, I think, and only had one or maybe two tablets then was changed to another tablet in hospital (I was hospitalized for low blood sodium during a UTI) but around this time I damaged both achilles tendons running for a bus. My left one never recovered and I eventually had to have orthotics made in 2018, I think it was. It was only afterwards I put two and two together that it had happened around the time I'd had Cipro. I've met a lot of scepticism from doctors when I've refused it since, including "I've never heard of that!"
It doesn't matter whether it is the UK, summer or winter, raining - there are still UV wavelengths in the light penetrating the clouds so we can see at all. It is the wavelength you react to - not the sun's rays in that sense.
I just wear SPF50 year round, because my rheumy shouted at me about it after seeing a selfie of a butterfly rash. She was a very scary lady!
Thanks I have added it to the shopping list 
I wear it 365 days a year instead of moisturiser. Supermarket lighting sets me off terribly if I occasionally forget to use my factor 50..
I bought some today but might find another make as I smell like a sweet shop
I was on Doxycycline a few summers ago and made the mistake of going to the beach on it in the bright ol’ sun! It made different parts of my body completely numb, I became very nauseas, and my palms and bottoms of my feet developed minor but painful burns. Be careful while on it and definitely try to stay indoors, use an umbrella when in the sun etc.. just until your done taking it
Thank you for that advice
No problem! I didn’t really notice a problem until I was right in the full, HOT summer sun, so I think if it’s cloudy, rainy, and dark sunscreen will suffice just keep your eye on that sun! Wearing longer sleeves, pants, or a hat would help too probably!
Rosacea/Doxycycline with Lupus
Should Lupus UK be trying to get involved re plans for those on long term sickness benefits
Move it or lose it! But take someone with you when you do 😜
Photo sensitivity 
LUPUS EUROPE survey about hydroxychloroquine and it's availability during the pandemic
