Prescription Alternatives
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• You have or have had asthma, hay fever, or an allergic reaction to this type of antibiotics.
• You have kidney dysfunction or kidney disease.
• You have a problem with excessive bleeding.
• You have liver dysfunction or liver disease.
• You have colitis or any other problem with your digestive tract.
What Are the Interactions with Food? Do not take these drugs with food. Food delays or reduces the absorption of these drugs into your system. (Cephalexin, Duricef, and Ceftin are exceptions.)
What Nutrients Do They Throw out of Balance or Interact With? Vitamin K, copper, sodium, vitamins B6 and B12, zinc, amino acids, calcium, folic acid, magnesium, and potassium may all be depleted by antibiotics.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs. Take supplements of the preceding nutrients and be sure to use probiotics. See the section on natural alternatives at the end of the chapter.
Examples of Fluoroquinolones
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)
Enoxacin (Penetrex)
Gatifloxacin (Tequin)
Lomefloxacin (Maxaquin)
Norfloxacin (Noroxin)
Ofloxacin (Floxin)
Sparfloxacin (Zagam)
What Do They Do in the Body? These drugs are synthetic antibacterial agents with specific components not present in antibiotics that enhance their ability to efficiently destroy some infections.
What Are They Used For? Patients over 14 years old who have cystic fibrosis and who experience exacerbated lung problems from infection, with malignant external ear infections, or with tuberculosis.
Patients over 18 years old who have lower respiratory infections, skin infections, bone and joint infections, urinary tract infections, infectious diarrhea, typhoid, and gonorrhea.
Cipro is the first-line treatment for inhalation or skin anthrax infection.
What Are the Possible Side Effects? Allergic reactions—particularly to light of any kind. The reactions include skin burning sensation, redness, swelling, blisters, rash, or itching. Other allergic reactions can range from serious to fatal. They include loss of consciousness, tingling, water retention in the face, dizziness, drowsiness, and itching. There have also been reports of cataract development.
Numbness and pain in the hands and feet, convulsions, tremors, confusion, and hallucinations have occurred with these drugs.
Colon inflammation and diarrhea that can occur from these drugs ranges from mild to life threatening in severity and can result in chronic diarrhea or constipation. These drugs are hard on the eliminative systems and can cause kidney damage and kidney failure as well as jaundice and hepatitis.
These drugs can also cause respiratory problems, heart attacks, vaginal infections, intestinal bleeding, and stomach disturbances.
These drugs also caused lameness in immature dogs from permanent cartilage lesions and joint destruction. People who take these drugs have a very real risk of ruptured tendons, even for some time after the drugs have been discontinued. If you must take these drugs, you should be extremely cautious about exercise, and inform your physician if you experience any type of pain or swelling after taking the drugs.
Canadian health officials report serious swings in blood sugar in people taking Tequin.
CAUTION!
Think Twice About Taking These Drugs If . . .
• You are allergic to these drugs or other antibacterial agents such as cinoxacin and nalidixic acid.
• You have eye problems such as cataracts or are sensitive to sunlight or to light from sunlamps.
• You have pressure from fluids or growths under the skull.
• You have or suspect any brain disorder such as severe cerebral arteriosclerosis, epilepsy, or other factors that make you susceptible to seizures.
• You have diarrhea or colitis.
• You have kidney disease or kidney problems of any kind.
What Are the Interactions with Food? Food in general delays the absorption of these drugs. Take them two hours after a meal. (Cipro is an exception. It is absorbed better without food but may be taken with food to avoid stomach upset.)
These drugs interact poorly with mineral supplements of any kind. Take them two hours after taking a mineral supplement.
Avoid coffee or tea while taking these drugs. Fluoroquinolones intensify the caffeine effect and can give you jitters, insomnia, and heart palpitations. Check labels for products that contain caffeine that you may not be aware of.
What Nutrients Do They Throw out of Balance or Interact With? Acid/alkaline balance is often upset. Vitamin K, amino acids, calcium, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins B6 and B12 can all be depleted.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs. Plenty of water! Take supplements of the preceding nutrients. Take two hours after ingesting these drugs. Also, be sure to use probiotics during and after taking them. See the section on natural alternatives at the end of the chapter.
Other Tips on These Drugs. If you are taking these drugs for a prolonged amount of time, your physician should periodically assess your kidney and liver function as well as your blood chemistry.
Do not take antacids within four hours before or two hours after taking these drugs.
These drugs require sufficient fluids to ensure that you maintain the correct amount of water in your system and enough urine to eliminate required amounts of these drugs from your system.
Since these drugs can cause dizziness or light-headedness, do not drive or perform tasks that require alertness or coordination.
Examples of Tetracyclines
Demeclocycline (Declomycin)
Doxycycline (Doxychel, Vibramycin, Monodox, Doxy Caps, Doryx)
Methacycline (Rondomycin)
Minocycline (Dynacin, Minocin)
Oxytetracycline (Uri-Tet, Terramycin)
Tetracycline (Achromycin, Arestin, Sumycin, Spectracef, Tetralan, Panmycin, Robitet, Teline, Tetracyn)
What Do They Do in the Body? Tetracyclines inhibit the multiplication and the growth of bacteria but do not kill the bacteria.
What Are They Used For? Severe acne, infections in the excretory and reproductive systems, a type of conjunctivitis, different kinds of infections related to gonorrhea and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Sometimes tetracyclines are used to prevent diarrhea from occurring while one is traveling in foreign countries. They are also prescribed for early stages of Lyme disease. However, their efficacy has been questioned.
What Are the Possible Side Effects? Allergic reactions—particularly to sunlight and sun lamps, weakness, shortness of breath, heart abnormalities, headaches, dizziness, open sores, and rashes.
These drugs are very hard on both the kidneys and liver and can impair the function of both of these vital organs. Because of this, you may experience kidney impairment or liver poisoning, hepatitis, or an increase in liver enzymes. In fact, they are so hard on these organs that your physician should monitor your liver and kidney functions periodically. In addition, physicians are warned that prescribing an additional drug that is also hard on your liver could be dangerous to you.
Headaches and blurred vision are possible with these drugs. These drugs can also cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, sore throat, abnormalities of the tongue, colitis, hernias, discoloration of teeth and nails, and ulcers in the esophagus. It has also been reported that they can discolor the thyroid gland to a brown-black color.
There are increasing reports that minocycline, commonly prescribed for acne in young people, can cause a lupuslike reaction that can last for more than a year after going off the drug. It’s not worth it.
Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medicines That Contain Caffeine
* * *
CAUTION!
Think Twice About Taking These Drugs If . . .
You are allergic to sulfites. Allergic reactions can be life threatening and can create severe asthmatic episodes.
What Are Their Interactions with Food? Eating food with these drugs decrease
s their absorption. (Doxycycline is an exception. Take with food.) Take these drugs with a full glass of water. Avoid eating dairy products within two hours of taking them.
Iron, calcium, magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin C, zinc, or any mineral supplements taken at the same time as tetracyclines can reduce their absorption as well as reduce absorption of these nutrients. Take these supplements two hours before or after taking tetracyclines.
Also avoid antacids, laxatives, or iron- or magnesium-containing products. If you must take an antacid, take it at least two hours before or after tetracyclines.
Caffeine enhances the effects of tetracyclines.
What Nutrients Do They Throw out of Balance or Interact With? Vitamin K, riboflavin, vitamin C, amino acids, copper, folic acid, potassium, zinc, calcium, and vitamins B2, B6, and B12 can all be depleted by antibiotics. These drugs can cause severe headaches when taken with high doses of vitamin A.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs. Take supplements of the preceding nutrients. Be sure to take probiotics during and after a course of antibiotics. See the section on natural alternatives at the end of the chapter.
Other Tips on These Drugs. Children under the age of 8 should not be given these drugs.
During long-term therapy, your physician should periodically monitor your organ systems, including kidney and liver functions and blood chemistry.
Examples of Macrolide Antibiotics
Azithromycin (Zithromax)
Clarithromycin (Biaxin, Biaxin XL)
Dirithromycin (Dynabac)
Erythromycin (Ery-Tab, E-Mycin, Robimycin, E-Base, Eryc, Ilosone, Eramycin, EryPed)
Troleandomycin (Tao)
What Do They Do in the Body? These drugs either kill or stop multiplication and growth of specific bacteria.
What Are They Used For? Tonsillitis, sinus infections, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, skin infections, ear infections, and acne; or for the prevention or destruction of bacteria and fungal infections in advanced HIV patients.
Azithromycin is prescribed for all of the preceding conditions as well as bacterial infec- tions of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or community-acquired pneumonia.
Erythromycin is prescribed for moderately severe upper and lower respiratory infections, whooping cough, diphtheria, conjunctivitis of newborn, pneumonia of the infant, genital infections during pregnancy, syphilis, Legionnaires’ disease, rheumatic fever, prolonged diarrhea, and early Lyme disease.
What Are the Possible Side Effects? The most frequently reported side effects are related to the digestive system. They include diarrhea, nausea, abnormal taste, upset stomach, abdominal cramping, headache, and vaginal infections. In children, side effects can include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, rash, and headache.
Allergic reactions can range from life threatening to mild. These can include loss of hearing, rashes, behavioral disorders, disorientation, dizziness, hallucinations, insomnia, nightmares, vertigo, palpitations, chest pain, liver dysfunction, abnormal heartbeats, and death. Allergic reactions have reoccurred in patients using azithromycin and erythromycin even after they stopped taking the drugs.
Erythromycin can cause life-threatening disturbances in heart rhythms.
Erythromycin (e.g., E-Mycin) and clarithromycin interact dangerously with many common drugs. For example, erythromycin interacts with some calcium channel blockers and the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin (e.g., Mevacor), as well as some not-so-common drugs such as vinblastine (e.g., Velban), a chemotherapy drug. These drugs should be used with extreme caution or not at all. They raise levels of many other drugs due to their blocking action on certain enzymes in the liver responsible for metabolizing the drugs. This means they could affect hundreds of other drugs that simply haven’t been studied yet and even substances such as coffee and alcohol. Your best bet is to stay away from these drugs unless you are in a life-threatening situation.
Azithromycin appears to be the safest of the macrolide antibiotics.
CAUTION!
Think Twice About Taking These Drugs If . . .
• You have heart problems of any kind, particularly those involving irregular heartbeats—please ask your doctor to reconsider prescribing this drug.
• You have colitis, inflammation of the intestinal tract, severe diarrhea, or constipation.
• You have liver or kidney disease or dysfunction—particularly if you are elderly.
What Are the Interactions with Food? Food delays the absorption of these drugs. Take one hour before or two hours after a meal. Acidic fruits or juices, carbonated drinks, sodas, wines, and syrups decrease the effectiveness of these drugs. Alkaline foods such as milk, dairy products, and vegetables also decrease the effectiveness of these drugs.
What Nutrients Do They Throw out of Balance or Interact With? Amino acids, calcium, vitamins B6 and B12, folic acid, potassium, and vitamin K may be depleted.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs. Take supplements of the preceding nutrients. Take two hours after taking macrolides. Be sure to take probiotics during and after a course of antibiotics. See the section on natural alternatives at the end of the chapter.
Examples of Ketolide Antibiotics
Telithromycin (Ketek)
The FDA approved this new type of antibiotic in 2004, so it is a relatively new and untested drug. By 2008 enough people had taken it to let us now know it can cause severe liver damage leading to liver failure and death.
What Do They Do in the Body? These drugs either kill or stop multiplication and growth of specific bacteria.
What Are They Used For? This drug is approved for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (of mild to moderate severity) due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, or Mycoplasma pneumoniae, for patients 18 years old and older.
What Are the Possible Side Effects? The most common side effects are nausea and diarrhea. It can also cause headache, dizziness, vomiting, and distortions in the sense of taste.
Other less common side effects can include a wide variety of gastrointestinal problems including abdominal distension, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, gas, constipation, and pancreatitis; a variety of liver dysfunctions, including hepatitis and fatal liver toxicity; and a variety of heart problems, including hypotension, atrial arrhythmias, and palpitations. Also, swelling of the face, oral candidiasis, glossitis, inflammation of the mucous membranes in the mouth, dry mouth, fainting, fatigue, sleepiness, loss of consciousness, insomnia, vertigo, increased sweating, anxiety, blurred vision, vaginal candida and fungal infections, various skin rashes and disorders, increased platelet count, bradycardia, elevated blood bilirubin, flushing, increased blood alkaline phosphatase, increased eosinophil count, paresthesia, and muscle cramps.
People with myasthenia gravis should not take this drug, as it can cause respiratory failure.
This drug interacts dangerously with many other drugs. Please read the prescribing information sheet carefully and talk with your pharmacist about any other drugs you’re taking before taking this drug.
CAUTION!
There doesn’t seem to be any good reason to take this drug unless you have a life-threatening infection that is resistant to all other antibiotics.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs. Be sure to take probiotics during and after a course of antibiotics.
Examples of Aminoglycosides
Amikacin (Amikin)
Gentamicin (Garamycin, Jenamicin)
Kanamycin (Kantrex)
Neomycin (Neo-Tabs, Mycifradin, Neo-Fradin)
Netilmicin
Paromomycin (Humatin)
Streptomycin
Tobramycin (Nebcin)
What Do They Do in the Body? They block proliferation of intestinal bacteria.
What Are They Used For? Suppression of intestinal bacteria. Because of the high potential for toxicity from these drugs, they are only prescribed for periods shorter than two weeks.
/> What Are the Possible Side Effects? The side effects of these drugs are serious. Therefore, monitoring of kidney and nerve function is critical. Eight to 28 percent of patients who took these drugs for several days or more developed renal (kidney) impairment. Toxicity is so prevalent that physicians are warned against prescribing additional drugs that are at all hard on the kidneys or the liver.
Hearing loss, fainting, ringing in the ears, skin tingling, muscle twitching, and convulsions. Hearing loss that occurs with these drugs may be irreversible.
These drugs also cause problems in the digestive tract and inhibit absorption of nutrients. This can produce nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and colitis, not to mention malnutrition.
CAUTION!
Think Twice About Taking These Drugs If . . .
• You have muscular disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. These drugs can worsen muscle weakness.
• You have open sores in your intestinal tract or have digestive problems.
• You have kidney or liver problems of any kind.
• You have hearing problems.
• You have an electrolyte imbalance.
What Are the Interactions with Food? Acidic foods taken with these drugs can increase the effects and length of effectiveness of the drug. Alkaline foods can decrease the effectiveness of these drugs.
What Nutrients Do They Throw out of Balance or Interact With? Magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin A, carbohydrates, and vitamin K.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs. Take supplements of the preceding nutrients several hours apart from taking an aminoglycoside, and be sure to use probiotics during and after a course of antibiotics. See the section on natural alternatives at the end of the chapter.
Examples of Antifungal Agents
Amphotericin B (Abelcet, Amphotec, Fungizone)
Fluconazole (Diflucan)