I took Flagyl for occasional pouchitis over nearly 20 years. The last time I had a terrible reaction. Nausea, extreme difficulty concentrating/thinking straight, breaking down crying at work. It was bizarre. It also didn't help my symptoms. Needless to say, I don't take Flagyl anymore.

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The J-Pouch Group J-Pouch Community Forums J-Pouch Forums General Discussion Anyone experience sudden depression with

Thanks for your reply, my experience was so strange for me. I don't know if it was the combo of the two meds but it was not good. I did vomit the morning everything went bad, I had forgot about that. I will never take it again. It will be hard to explain to my doc since I don't quite understand what happened.

It could be an unusual reaction to one of the meds. I don't think it's likely to be a combination effect. If the Flagyl was fine for two months, I'm wondering why you're more suspicious of the Flagyl than the doxycycline.

Sometimes an infection (e.g. sinusitis) can itself cause unusual/unexpected reactions, too.

Kereen,
Sounds like the reaction I got to a new hormone treatment...either I was a weepy mess, Freddy from Friday 13th or ready to throw myself out the window...all extremes and no middles...You do bring up a very valid point though...a lot of us get strange reactions to antibiotics even when they work just fine for others...I've gotten severe joint pain, hives, headaches and nausea but can't remember if I got sad or depressed (usually the reason for the antibiotics was depressing enough!)....you should let your doc know about the reaction for his files...hope that you are feeling better.
Sharon

I would suspect the doxycycline over the Flagyl because that was the new drug introduced before the new symptoms, especially since the symptoms appeared abruptly. Doxycycline has a known rare side effect of anxiety. However, it is also quite possible that the combination of the two antibiotics is what sent you over the edge, and doxycycline by itself may not bother you at all. If you take it again, I would be sure that it is not combined with Flagyl.

Jan

Depression/anxiety have been documented as rarer side effects of both cipro and flagyl, especially with higher doses. As Jan suggests, it also could have been the combination of the two meds you were taking. You should report any symptoms to your doctor. There are other treatment options that might not cause such a reaction.

I will let my doc know at my next appt. I discontinued both meds and I'm starting to feel a little better each day but I'm still not quite myself. I have rarely felt like this and it came on so suddenly, I'm sure it's the combination of the two medications. I've been on weekly Humira for several months now and I've had almost daily low grade fevers and horrid headaches. I thought it was sinusitis and that's why I took the dose of doxycycline. Went in for my iron infusion yesterday and I had a temp of 99.4 again (I usually run 97) even after the course of doxy. I'm stumped?

There are no known drug interactions between Flagyl and doxycycline. While it's impossible to completely rule out a combination effect, we need all the safe & effective drugs we can have available to us in this category. Blaming both drugs may be overkill, although it's the approach most likely to avoid a recurrence of a nasty side effect. Speaking for myself, though, the cost of losing an effective antibiotic by being overcautious would be too high a price. I'd be alert while trying either one again, of course.

Good luck.