What would you do (med question)

[daisyduckie]

I ended up at the Dr's office yesterday, and was diagnosed with a sinus infection and an upper respiratory infection. For some reason the Dr was insistent on giving me a drug that, while I am not technically allergic to it, it is a cousin off all of the cillians, which give me a rash. With the assurance that 90% of people who take it do just fine.

Of course, the minutes I was told that, I started scratching. I know it is all in my head. But I am a little freaked out. I have some Benadryl on hand, just in case. But we are also under a winter weather warning, and will be getting over 8 inches of snow today. So if I do have a reaction, it won't be that easy to get out and get anywhere if needed.

The pharmacy that filled my drugs is closed today, so I would have to go someplace else if I wanted to switch drugs. Would they even do that, just because I'm freaked out? Not to mention what they gave me in the first place cost over $200 and we already have a couple inches of snow. I'm contemplating not taking any more until Monday, but I know skipping doses is a bad idea.

I guess I'm just hoping for a little reassurance that everything will be ok.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Unless you're leaving something out, I don't know why that doctor was insistent on giving you a specific drug. There are plenty of drugs that treat sinus infections that are not related to penicillin/amoxicillin. There are also ones that cost far less than $200.

Honestly, unless you have a condition such as asthma or another respiratory condition and need to go on an antibiotic right away or else face major consequences, I wouldn't take it and would suggest that you call your doctor tomorrow. While not good to skip doses, it's better than having a severe allergic reaction for sure. If your doctor says go ahead, take the antibiotic, then you can rest easy. But your doctor might want to see you, or your doctor may recommend that you let it run its course. Sometimes sinus infections and upper respiratory infections go away without the use of an antibiotic, especially since they can be viral and therefore an antibiotic would do absolutely no good. So unless there's a dire reason that you need to be on an antibiotic right now, you might just want to hold off and see what your doctor thinks, especially since you are under a Winter Weather warning and I'm going to assume that you don't have an epi pen.

In situations like this, it's best to always go with your gut. If this comes up again, you should say to the doctor, "You know what, you say that I might not have a problem, but I'm not willing to take that risk. Please prescribe me something different." You have every right to say that as a patient.

The pharmacy that filled my drugs is closed today, so I would have to go someplace else if I wanted to switch drugs. Would they even do that, just because I'm freaked out?

A pharmacy cannot switch drugs without another prescription from a doctor. You would need to get another prescription to change antibiotics.

 

[daisyduckie]

Unless you're leaving something out, I don't know why that doctor was insistent on giving you a specific drug. There are plenty of drugs that treat sinus infections that are not related to penicillin/amoxicillin. There are also ones that cost far less than $200.

Honestly, unless you have a condition such as asthma or another respiratory condition and need to go on an antibiotic right away or else face major consequences, I wouldn't take it and would suggest that you call your doctor tomorrow. While not good to skip doses, it's better than having a severe allergic reaction for sure. If your doctor says go ahead, take the antibiotic, then you can rest easy. But your doctor might want to see you, or your doctor may recommend that you let it run its course. Sometimes sinus infections and upper respiratory infections go away without the use of an antibiotic, especially since they can be viral and therefore an antibiotic would do absolutely no good. So unless there's a dire reason that you need to be on an antibiotic right now, you might just want to hold off and see what your doctor thinks, especially since you are under a Winter Weather warning and I'm going to assume that you don't have an epi pen.

In situations like this, it's best to always go with your gut. If this comes up again, you should say to the doctor, "You know what, you say that I might not have a problem, but I'm not willing to take that risk. Please prescribe me something different." You have every right to say that as a patient.


A pharmacy cannot switch drugs without another prescription from a doctor. You would need to get another prescription to change antibiotics.

I do have asthma. I had been fighting the sickness by myself for going on 5 days when I went to the Dr yesterday.

I'm not sure why she was so insistent on this drug. I've been on Doxycycline before, but she said she wanted something stronger this time. She kept saying I looked worse that I was telling her I felt.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I do have asthma. I had been fighting the sickness by myself for going on 5 days when I went to the Dr yesterday.

I'm not sure why she was so insistent on this drug. I've been on Doxycycline before, but she said she wanted something stronger this time. She kept saying I looked worse that I was telling her I felt.

Okay, then yes, you need to be on an antibiotic. Not sure why you need something stronger than doxycyline, though. That's powerful stuff.

If you're worried about it, a search on the drug's information should put your mind at ease. Drugs.com is a pretty good source for information on various medications. I know your pharmacy is not open, but you might want to call another pharmacy and ask to speak to a pharmacist. Although they can't prescribe another drug, they can give you information on the drug and may be able to recommend an alternative for you to suggest to your doctor. They are experts, so they would be a good source.

If you do decide to go off of it, best thing you can do is keep taking decongestants and any oral steroids they might have given you (like prednisone). If you have an inhaler or a nebulizer, you should use that as often as you can (about every four hours is the usual) even if you are not having asthma symptoms. It helps break up any mucus in your chest and can prevent asthma symptoms.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I do have asthma. I had been fighting the sickness by myself for going on 5 days when I went to the Dr yesterday.

I'm not sure why she was so insistent on this drug. I've been on Doxycycline before, but she said she wanted something stronger this time. She kept saying I looked worse that I was telling her I felt.

I don't know where you go for medical care, but, there are hardly any today that do not have on call physicians. Call them and express the same concern that you have with us. One of two things will happen, either you will be assured that nothing bad is going to happen or they will attempt to redo your RX.

 

[SnarkyMonkey]

What did the pharmacist say? I find they are the best people to ask about these situations.