I just started taking flagyl yesterday, and I have been a little nervous because there can be some bad side effects -- apparently it can cause *permanent* peripheral neuropathy (mostly numbness or tingling in the extremities, supposedly).
They say to stop taking it right away if you experience this. I haven't had any tingling, but last night I was sitting cross legged on the couch. When I got up, there was so much pain in my right hip joint that I couldn't walk. I could move my leg fine, but when I put any weight on it it hurt like hell.
The pain went away in about 10 minutes, and I figured maybe I had just been sitting in an awkward position and my hip joint had fallen asleep.
But it happened again this morning, when I was sitting in a normal position, in the other hip joint. The pain was not nearly as strong, and I can walk, but I still feel some pain.
When I started taking doxy, I experienced a big increase in migratory joint pain at first, which my doctor attributed to herxing as the bacteria started to die off.
So, the pain is not like the numbness or tingling in the extremeties I was warned about, but it is disconcerting. It certainly could be herxing from cyst forms dying off in my hip joints. Or it could be atypical nueropathy.
Has anyone else here experienced something similar? What did you do? I would call my LLMD, but the office will not be open again until Tuesday. Any advice for the panicky?
Thanks Kim
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
no experience on that!
i was on flagyl for 4-5 days most and had horrible herx affecting my eyesight seeing blue/red lights, etc. and many others things where i couldn't type either.
STOPPED immediately; called/emailed my llmd who never called/emailed back. check w/my pcp; stated STOP IMMEDIATELY! that was the end of flagyl for me.
up we go for others experiences to HELP you on your question; good luck! hugs
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
I don't want to tell you the wrong thing, but joint pain and neuropathy seem like two very different things to me. (one is muscular/skeletal and the other is nervous system)
So if I had to guess I would say it is a herx.
If you are really worried, check with your doctor or pharmacist. I am neither!
Posted by kimwg (Member # 19094) on :
Thanks Betty and Hoosiers! I'm inclined to think that joint pain is different than neuropathy, and I *really* want to stay on the flagyl if I can.
Anyone else?
Posted by nenet (Member # 13174) on :
I know at least some LLMDs recommend that if you experience strong reaction to Flagyl (which is very common), to start out taking just a sliver of the pill for a while, and ramp up.
Did you start out with a tiny dose first?
I'm sorry I do not have experience taking this yet, and can't say whether what you are having is a strong Herx or a side effect, but wanted to let you know (in case you weren't already aware) that Flagyl is one of the biggest heavy hitters when it comes to harsh Herx response.
Many people have to start out with it very slowly, and some are still never able to work their way up to what is considered a "full" dose. I don't recall that this is bad though, as the drug can still be effective at lower doses. Someone please correct me if I am wrong here - but this is how I remember it.
Posted by kimwg (Member # 19094) on :
Well, I've started with half a tablet, so hopefully that will keep things under control. So far things are going OK, and aside from this pain (which has subsided) and some weepy feelings (which could just as well come from situations other than flagyl) I'm doing OK.