I have horrible stomach and esophagus pain when I swallow water or food since taking this drug. Similar to labor pains, it comes every 12-20 minutes when standing or sitting. Relief when lying on my side. My er doctor prescribed this drug for bronchitis and a migraine infection. 100mg 2x daily.
I just did a stomach ultrasound/full blood panel. Normal. My regular doc. thinks this drug caused a small ulcer. Is this common?
Can the drug doxycycline cause a ulcer in stomach/esophagus?
- Posted:
- 27 Feb 2010 by michelle50
- Topics:
- pain, doxycycline
Details:
Answers (2)
kimmie19 Mar 2010
Its called Doxycycline-induced esophageal ulcer. Its not common. I have been taking Doxy for many years for acne without any complication. Then one night I took a single pill, drank half a glass of water, and went to bed. I woke up with mild heartburn. A few days later, I was in immense pain. I felt burning up and down my whole chest. I was bloated, gassy, and couldnt burp. The pain was so severe, it caused me have a migrane. The pill dissolved in my esophagus, and caused an ulcer. It was my fault for not drinking a full glass of water, and going straight to bed. Im in treatment now, and am scheduled for an esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Im feeling a little better already after the first day of treatment, but ulcers take 4-8 weeks to heal. Good Luck.
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Eugeneparis...
I have the same issue. On day 8 of my 10 day prescription, I started with chest pains. It was next to impossible to swallow, drink, or eat. I couldn't do it due to the pain as if someone was twisting a knife in my chest. I took "Carafate" which alleviated all the pain.. However, after 2 weeks with no pain, the pain started again. I'm now on my 2nd prescription of Carafate but am scheduled next week for an EGD to scope my esophagus. The original date of symptons started April 2nd. It's now May 18th.. How long did your pain last ? Is everything back to normal now ? Thanks for any response.
ron2011, the Doxy didnt persay cause the Ulcer, but moreso the fact that it dissolved in my esophagus from not drinking enough water, laying down horizontally - so gravity couldnt help the pill go down, and then not salivating during sleep, to wash down any acidic or harmful chemicals down. so what happened was the pill never passed my lower esopageal sphincter which is formed by a combination of specially adapted smooth muscle and the mechanical "pinching" effect of the diaphragm on the esophagus. since the pill didnt pass, it disolved where the pinching occurs creating something like a kissing ulcer, so basically two ulcers rubbing against eachother, opening and closing, repeatidly. needless to say, swallowing and eating were painful since thats when the esopagus is most active. do you have a similiar experience? i had taken Doxy on and off for over ten years and only experienced this once.
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the migraines were a side effect of the ulcer medication, so a few days later during my checkup the doctor gave me a different medication. as far as how long it took to get better, well i would say maybe a week in all, but it was the most excruciating pain i have ever felt in my lifetime. after taking the new medication, the pain had subsided the next day. the medication was to heal ulcers and to reduce acid activity in my stomach. your best bet is make sure you are eating the right foods during treatment. you may have real bad ulcers and/or really bad acid reflux. you really need to reduce the acid activity in your stomach during treatment. as far as your symptoms stopping then returning, how are you taking your medication - or are you not taking Doxy anymore? To answer your question, after treatment the pain almost immediately subsided, and after that i ate what i normally do and didnt notice anything during the healing time of 4 to 8 weeks. im fully recovered and there was no scarring.
Thank you for the response.. You are correct that I too took the Doxy right before going to bed for probably 2 nights with very little water. It never mentioned on the bottle not to take prior to bed. :( I had the pain so severe that I could not eat hardly at all because the pain was not worth it. Sounds like you were pretty lucky that the pain subsided relatively quickly. My pain started on a Saturday, and starting Sunday could not really eat or drink anything. I started the Carafate meds on that Thursday, and was finally able to eat the following Monday with minimal pain. After 14 days of the Carafate, I felt that I was healed with NO pain at all. However, 10-14 days later it kicked back in. I go next week for the EGD. He said it could possibly be the "pill ulcer" or the fungus bacteria. However, he said typically your healed in 3 weeks. Originally I felt I was, but since it kicked back in, I'm not sure what is going on. Again, thanks for your response.
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I was thinking originally that you meant you had the pain for 4-8 weeks, and if so, then I figured maybe that was why it was still hurting my chest as well, that it just takes time to heal.. I'm just hoping it's nothing too bad that time won't heal it.
sorry for your pain. there may in fact be a warning on the bottle to take the medication with a full glass of water. not sure. if you took tylonel, aspirin, or any other medication, the same thing would happen if you let it sit in your esophagus. after taking the medication for the ulcer, the pain should start subsiding pretty quickly- in a day or so. but if i remember correctly, i think i ate like a baby for a while after, eating farina and drinking only water (no soda, juice, or anything acidic). as far as the esophagogastroduodenoscopy is concerned, the doctor will look to see if they are surface or deep ulcers and whether or not he sees scarring. when i got mine done i had many many small ulcers, but they were not deep.
Thank you again for taking time to respond. You are correct where the bottle did say to take with a full glass of water, it was my stupidity that I did not. The first 7-8 days I took around 8pm, so i think I drank enough. It was only the 2 other days that I took prior to bed without enough water. I just hope this doesn't cause any "long term" affects. In other words, I hope that everything heals and I can get over this soon. I don't know much about how well the esophagus heals, and I hope I don't have to take Prilosec or anything like that for life. I've never ever had heartburn or chest issues like this in my life, but just my luck. :)
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On this second time around, I'm able to eat fine. However, it's that almost constant burn that is bothersome now. Ironically it don't hurt while sleeping, just after waking up. I have been sleeping with a couple pillows under the mattress in the hopes that helps some too. Again, thanks for your response. I'm crossing my fingers that maybe the ulcer (assuming it's that) is stubborn and taking the 8 weeks to heal.
no problem with taking the time out and i really dont mind giving you my experience as it was one of the most dreadful things that ever happened to me. im glad to help. just to make you feel better, i 99.9% believe that you will be fine and have no long term problems. i dont think the Doxy can have done that much damage and it definitely would not cause you to have permanent heartburn. Some people actually have permanent heartburn, but i think thats more genetic or chemical imbalance. ive had heartburn like 2-3 times overal in my life. im in my thirties. try to get the EGD as soon as possible to ease your worries. but i think you will be fine. make sure you get a medication for ulcers and acid reduction. i think i only took one med for both. and definitely watch your diet for the next few weeks. basically, only drink water and eat soft bland foods.
Thanks again. I'm scheduled for next Tues for the EGD. I met with the doctor this past Tues. He didn't say much other than it could be the fungus or possibly the "pill ulcer". He wasn't for sure. He said it could be something else, but until he scoped it, he wouldn't know for sure. The only thing that scared me was that the pain re-occurred after almost 2 weeks of NO pain. My gut instinct is that it's related, and I hope it is. :) But, hoping it's fixable and fixable relatively quick. Thanks again.
I have the exact symptoms you have described. What tx. are you receiving exactly? Been in pain for 6 days & cant eat or drink which makes me nauseated & develop a migraine. They gave me Lidocaine/Mylanta & Tylenol with Codeine. Not much help & makes me more nauseated. Took Doxycycline 2 months, cleared my acne then woke with the chest pains. I also took before bed. Why in the world would the Derm not mention that this could happen? GI Dr. said 2 wks should feel better. He said he sees many women who feel like they're having a heart attack due to the extreme chest pain that's actually due to this sticky capsule that I should have taken in the morn with lot's of water.
Well, many medications can result in the same complication, not just doxy. Medications in general are harsh on our internal organs, such as the esophagus, liver, and kidneys. On the pill bottle, it will say drink with a full glass of water, and most likely will say take with food, or do not take before bedtime. Its just a common mistake to make. If you cant make an appointment to see a Gastroenterologist, then go see your family doctor and ask if they can prescribe to you ulcer medication and acid reducer (thats if in fact they determine that you do in fact have an ulcer). But, once you start the medication, you will feel relief fairly quickly. Just a note though, the first medication I got gave me migraines, so I had to take something else, but when I did, I almost immediately felt better.
Yes, I only took doxycycline for 10 days. But on the 9th day I took it right before going to sleep with a large sip of water, which probably wasn't enough. I woke up in the night with what felt like extreme heartburn. I felt a burning sensation every few minutes where it feels like my esophagus and stomach meet. I felt it all the next day too, but not as horrible. Then for the next 4-5 days it seemed to get a little bit better because it wouldn't constantly hurt. Only when I would drink something. I only drink water and tea (no soda). Then after those days it would still hurt when I drank but only a little but. BUT I started to get a stomach ache. Almost just a like a small dull pain in my stomach(not esophagus), but all the time, and it was really uncomfortable to be full after a meal. That went on for almost 2 days and now the esophagus seems all better but I can't even eat without my stomach hurting really really bad.
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Tried to drink some pure aloe and it seems better
My questions are... Is this an Ulcer?? If so, is it in my stomach or esophagus or both? Will it go away on it's own? Do I have to go to a doctor? (i really don't want to, I've been sooo much in the last 30 days) Is aloe good for it?
The same thing happen to me I have been on Carafate since 4-12 I feel better but it still hurts to eat. Does any rememeber home long it took to be able to eat?