Clarithromycin for Tonsillitis/Pharyngitis User Reviews (Page 2)

• bad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 29, 2017

"On day 4 of 500 mg twice daily of clarithromycin for throat and chest infection. Throat not as painful, but not completely cleared yet. The bitter taste in the mouth is very unpleasant and tinges everything I eat. Hard to sleep as the taste is worse at night, so very tired all of the time. Furry, yellow tongue. Hoping today is the turning point in recovery."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 6, 2018

"Was given this for tonsillitis as I’m allergic to penicillin. I’m on day 3, and the side effects are unbearable. The metallic taste was so strong it woke me up in the middle of the night, gagging. My stomach feels sore and uncomfortable. Loose stools, extreme nausea, palpitations, shaking, excess salivating, tight throat. You name it, I’m experiencing it. Going back to the doctor in the morning, as this drug is just intolerable. Nobody seems to have a good word to say about it! Use with caution!"

• Wil...
• November 4, 2018

"Received granules for oral suspension, which were ready made up. The taste is absolutely horrendous. I cannot explain, I could not even take the full recommended amount as it made me sick and left me heaving and coughing all night. When I did finally sleep, I kept waking to the awful taste, no matter what I tried, I couldn't shift it. I would rather suffer than have to cope with this medication. I will be going back to the GP in the morning for something else, as I have never had trouble taking medication and actually like the taste of amoxicillin. Do not recommend."

• FiG...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 3, 2019

"Attended my G.P. and informed I have tonsillitis, who prescribed 7 days of clarithromycin antibiotics (500 mg), which are working. I am well improved today and can now eat and drink. Although the taste in my mouth 1 hour later is terrible and without paracetamol I have a numb headache, however, this is a side effect of the medication. Overall, though, it has worked wonders!"

• Did...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 9, 2019

"I was put on a 5-day course of 500 mg clarithromycin for tonsillitis, and I found it to be wonderful. I haven't experienced any upset stomach or funny taste in my mouth. The tonsillitis was much more comfortable within 3 days. I just have to wait now to see if taking this medicine will stop my immune system from causing guttate psoriasis, which has happened several times before after tonsillitis."

• God...
• December 10, 2017

"I have really bad swollen tonsils. For some reason, my left side seems to be more swollen and hurt more, causing my left ear to hurt as well. I can barely eat or open my mouth from being in pain. Every morning, I wake up, the pain is worse. SMH. I went to urgent care Monday and was prescribed azithromycin 250 mg for 5 days. By the 3rd day, I was back at urgent care. The worst doctor told me to stop taking it and put me on prednisone 10 mg for 7 days and clarithromycin 500 mg for 10 days. So this is day 5 for me, and although the right side of my tonsils is okay now, the left side feels worse. I can’t take the pain. I've been having to take Motrin as well just to get rest. Is there anyone that can recommend something to help the swelling go down and pain?"

• Ace...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 10, 2018

"Allergic to penicillin, so prescribed this for double tonsillitis. I've been taking it for 4 days now (prescribed for 10), and not sure if it's working. Side effects seem to be a lot of sweating and occasional nausea. And the metallic taste in my mouth, but this is mostly at night. Best way to eliminate this is to eat just before you take the tablet and make sure you swallow it with a lot of water."

• De ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 7, 2019

"I am on day 4 of a five-day course and have never felt so ill. I started with tonsillitis, which progressed to vomiting, diarrhea, dry mouth, a terrible metallic taste, headache, feeling like I was going to pass out, stomach cramps, the list has been endless for me. The tonsillitis actually seemed to get better after 2 days, and I don't understand why I have been prescribed a medication that has made me feel so ill."

• Ama...
• March 23, 2016

"I am on these tablets now, my throat has nearly cleared up, and it's the only antibiotic I can take. I had shits for the first 2 days, and I keep getting the awful taste and out of breath, but they work."

• Bac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 20, 2020

"Had two 7-day scripts of clarithromycin 250 mg twice a day with food and have now started my third go after a two-week break. No side effects, not sure it's working either, hopefully, it does! Running out of options."

• Fra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 1, 2022

"This is the only thing that does work for me! I have tried penicillin several times, and it never works. After 2 days on clarithromycin, I feel much better and don't have to cough or have such an issue with swallowing. It starts to take effect pretty quickly after the first day. The major downside at first is how big the pills are, as they can be hard to swallow whilst really suffering, but I honestly don't think there is a better/quicker alternative than these."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 22, 2024

"I am halfway through my dose and the taste in my mouth is awful. Metal taste. I also have an upset stomach, wind, and loss of appetite. BUT... my tonsils were a million times better after 3 days. So it's working well. Just hoping the next few days go quickly, lol."

• Riz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 25, 2018

"I have a fever with infected tonsils. The doctor prescribed clarithromycin 2 times a day with omeprazole before meals and paracetamol every six hours. Today is the second day, and the fever broke down to normal. The doctor cautioned me about the taste, which I have to tolerate. Everything else is under control."

• Sal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2019

"I have severe tonsillitis, and I went through 10 days' worth of penicillin, and that didn’t work. I also took Aspalgin (aspirin 300 mg and codeine phosphate 8 mg), and that made me feel exhausted. Then I was prescribed the holy clarithromycin - 2 tablets a day for 10 days. I had only taken one, and my body broke out in a full itchy rash. I have ulcers, and for some reason, I have no taste buds left? I don’t recommend it, I'd absolutely decline if offered again."

• Lol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2022

"I am allergic to penicillin, so I get clarithromycin to combat the tonsillitis I get at least three times a year. I get the metallic taste in my mouth and occasionally diarrhea, but now I take it with probiotics, and I have been fine. All antibiotics have side effects, but I’d rather a day stuck on the loo and the metallic taste over tonsillitis. It knocks the tonsillitis out, and yes, I get tired, but that’s more than likely the virus."

• Jen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 8, 2020

"Was put on this clarithromycin med for sore throat infection that I’ve had for 2+ weeks. Sore throat resolved with the first 1-2 doses. But the side effects so far on Day 2 are harrowing. Constant bad (metallic) taste in my mouth, constant burning in stomach, and now horrendous stomach cramps that make me curl up in a ball. I feel as though the throat issue is quickly being resolved only to now have a stomach issue. Have many more days to go - fingers crossed that my body acclimates to this med and the stomach issues subside."

• Goo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 3, 2022

"I’m on day 4. The metallic taste it leaves in your mouth is horrendous, it wakes me up at night from how bad it is. My tonsillitis hasn’t gone down and is still so swollen. Day 1, 2, 3, the night sweats were horrific, I thought it was part of my tonsillitis, but from other reviews, it’s the antibiotics! My bed would be soaking wet every hour I’d wake up. I still have 3 days to go, so maybe then my tonsils will go down and the lumps in my neck will go!"

• Age...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 13, 2022

"I suffer with tonsillitis quite badly, fever in the 40s, white patches on both tonsils, straw-sized gap in your throat, etc. 3 tablets into treatment (12 hours between each), fever stops, I can eat a light soup. By the time you eat the 6th pill, you are able to eat solid food. It does give me the runs, but that's better than the pain tonsillitis brings, and as long as you drink a minimum of 3 liters a day, you're fine."

• AMU...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 15, 2021

"This medication isn't the greatest but also not as horrific as some reviews might have you believe. It does the job and gets rid of infections, and if you're allergic to penicillin, then you don't have much choice! Sure, the metallic taste in the mouth is deeply unpleasant, the nausea can be avoided by not taking it on an empty stomach (although when it hits... bleurgh), and the insomnia isn't all that fun. But I only have to take it for a max of 10 days, all of this is manageable and far more bearable than its counterpart, Erythromycin, which ruined my Christmas dinner, and Penicillin, which I'm allergic to. 500mg x 2 per day."

• GCa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 25, 2020

"My doctor prescribed me this antibiotic because I had a mild infection on my tonsils. He said I must take it for 7 days. Everything was fine up until day 5 when the side effects kicked in, just after taking my evening dose. When I went to bed, I started feeling weird, I was randomly jumpy, seeing a flash of light, but when I rubbed my eyes, it went away. I had insomnia, feeling like a panic attack would start, and when I got up out of bed, I felt dizzy. Luckily, it started towards the end of my course, so I didn’t have to go through that for too long. It was horrible! I still have a very mild pain in my throat when I swallow, so I'm not sure if it worked. I will be going back to the doctors."

• Yaz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 5, 2021

"This was my 3rd antibiotic after having completed amoxicillin twice, and the infection didn’t want to go away. With this tab, I only took 1 tablet out of the 7-day course, it was that bad! I started shaking after 30 mins of having this tablet, and then later the symptoms kicked in: bad headaches, nausea, weird stomach aches, bitter taste in my mouth, heavy breathing. That evening, my heart started beating quite fast, but luckily it didn’t last long, and throughout the night, the symptoms settled. Also, I couldn’t sleep much that night. I was extremely tired, my eyes were closing, but my body didn’t want to sleep. When I woke up the next day, I felt slight heavy breathing. Then, throughout the day, I felt the reaction had stopped and the symptoms of the infection started. I called up the doc, and they told me I had a reaction, and it’s good that I stopped. Now I’ve been given co-amoxiclav."

• Pl1...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 16, 2016

Clarithromycin "I was put on Biaxin a couple of days ago and though my tonsillitis has cleared up quite a bit, I'm still noticeably sick. I get extreme headaches, dark urine, upset stomach. I've been able to get little to no sleep and I have no appetite. I can't walk without feeling like I have no center of gravity, I constantly shake, and just today I started throwing up. It also leaves a bad metal taste in your mouth. I'm going to go see my doctor and try to get him to put me on another antibiotic because this one has a lot of side effects. I was previously on Biaxin XL and had no side effects with that."

• N46...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 3, 2017

"I had terrible hip and rib pain and sensitive-to-the-touch pain in the bones there. Lower back pain and discomfort in the lower bowel area. This was like nothing I had experienced before. I am still having pain in those regions even though I stopped the drug 3 days ago after taking 8,500 mg tablets over 5 days prior. Pain started on day 2 of taking the med and got progressively worse until I stopped taking the drug. There was also a terrible metallic taste constantly in my mouth, especially worse at night. I don't recommend ever taking this drug."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 8, 2021

"I don't recommend this drug, personally. My doctor wouldn't see me due to COVID, and despite my listed symptoms swaying me towards tonsillitis, my doctor seemed adamant I had an ear infection. So we compromised and I took this, as it treats both. It's a large pill to swallow, you do wake in the night with a dry metallic taste, and it upsets your stomach; but my major gripe was that I ended up giving myself not one, but two ear infections in the short window of 48 hours. It did get rid of my tonsillitis, and for the shortest five hours, I had relief, but that was quickly replaced with an ear infection on the opposing side. Then, after spending the night draining my right ear and sitting upright to avoid the pain, I then had to go through that AGAIN on the third night in my left ear, where my tonsillitis had originated. I feel like if my doctor had just seen me to confirm or had taken my assumption as more accurate, I'd have been on amoxicillin and this wouldn't have happened."

• Use...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 7, 2020

"Due to my intolerance to all antibiotics, this is the only one I can take. I put up with the metallic taste, insomnia, hunger pangs, and the occasional upset tum to get the job done."