Disclaimer: I’m not asking for medical diagnoses, more I’m trying to find some hope and peace of mind in the chaos that’s become my brain-
I REALLY hope I can find some help here.
So to start off, i am on the spectrum. So maybe not as default, but I think my depression/anxiety stems from this which can’t be helping my situation at all, but to get to the point….
I have a pretty bad sinus infection. Can’t say for certain how long I’ve had it, but my best guess is several years up to a decade or so. I’ll say though, that it’s not even CLOSE to how bad I’ve read it can get. I can breathe through both nostrils fairly well, and it’s only slightly restricted. Only recently it’s gotten bad enough to go see someone about it- who seemingly wants to jump right to surgery. Another source of extreme anxiety.
And to add- I also apparently have one (or more) infected teeth. As of now, my ENT is uncertain which caused which, but I have an appointment to have a scan done to see what needs pulling/fixing.
So here comes the part with the problem:
Thursday night I took my first dose of a new antibiotic prescribed after the fist round (can’t remember the name) did nothing.
The new one? Doxycycline.
The problem? Several hours after taking it my entire world became a living hell.
Absolute panic, disassociation, stress, fatigue and insomnia that has lasted until current and seems to wax and wane through the day. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I only took the one pill- ever. Nothing more after that aside from Fluticasone. Which I’m understanding can ALSO be a contributor via something called Steroid induced Psychosis.
To that- I’ve been on the nasal spray for about two-three weeks, and occasionally doing more of it than prescribed. 3-4 doses per day as opposed to the suggested 2. This is due to ignorance on my part of not kowing it was a steroid treatment. (Didn’t know you could just by something like that off the shelf)
So to get to the point…
I don’t know what to do. I’m having seemingly severe mental reactions to almost all medications I’m given, but need to get this infection handled before I can even think about having a tooth extracted. (Or possibly sinus surgery) And this absolute shitshow of a health crisis has got my mind reeling with panic and doom/gloom. I feel like I’m up against a wall and I can’t find a way to get through it. On top of that, I’m barely sleeping.
Does anyone out there have experience with adverse side effects of doxycycline and/or Flonase? If so, how did you get through it? How long did it take? Are there any permanent effects?
Or…
Am I just WAY overthinking this? Because it doesn’t feel that way. The panic, disassociation, doom and gloom, anxiety, depression… it all feels very real to me.
Apologies for the life story, I’m an info-dumper on a good day- today… I’m an absolute wreck!
Thanks in advance for any/all advice!
Total speculation here. I am not a doctor.
It could be that your antibiotics have disrupted your gut microbiome.
You might try taking some probiotics at the same time as your antibiotics round.
I was advised once by a pharmacist that it would be useless to do so, because the antibiotics would just kill the good bacterial Im introducing, but another doctor told me that it is NOT useless because before the bacteria die they do some of what they do. You just have to keep replacing them.
Among other things that gut bacteria can do, they can literally synthesize and excrete serotonin.
Mood regulation is highly affected by gut microbiome content.
As for flonase steroidal treatments I have no idea.
Only other advice is to meet with multiple doctors and if they want to go straight to surgery tell them that scares you and you’d like to avoid it, and ask them why they’re recommending it as a first step.
They likely have a good reason.
I will say that I had a tooth infection that went untreated four years ago, and the pain from that infection permanently affected my mental health in a negative way. Is in, it rewired my brain.
So please do ask the doctors why they are urgently in favor of surgery, because they might have a very good reason.
Some doctors are really, really bad at describing the pros and cons of things. It might be that they know you really, really need that surgery ASAP, but they’re too empathetically dampened to raise their voice in emphasis.
To put into perspective how bad the effects of the untreated tooth infection were, I would gladly trade two fingers and four toes to undo the effects it’s had on my life.
Despite the fear you must be in touch with your doctors.
And get some basic off the shelf probiotics from the grocery store and DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES OPEN THE PILLS OR CHEW THEM OR DO ANYTHING TO RELEASE THE POWDER IN YOUR MOUTH BUT RATHER SWALLOW THEM WHOLE. The good bacteria might help with emotional regulation during your antibiotics treatment.
Honestly, I really do not think either of those drugs could have this effect- but what it could be is a placebo effect and is still very real. You should talk to the doctor who prescribed the antibiotics though just to be safe.
Both are well known to have severe mental health related side effects. There’s even case reports of suicides as a result of doxycycline. As far as the steroid bit- I even had a nurse confirm to me that that absolutely happens.
