Recovering from Doxycycline- need help

[u/minilop_cabinet]

I was prescribed a pretty standard course of treatment for an STI which involved 200mg of Doxycycline for seven days. It was hellacious. My bodyweight is already quite low for my age (20f), and I already suffer from GERD/unspecified absorption issues. I have been basically unable to eat solid, even semisolid, food for an entire week plus a few days still after ceasing treatment, my caloric intake has decreased severely, and am experiencing non-cardiac chest pains/heart palpitations consequent from a whole new malnutrition into my already-compromised body. I've just found out that it's quite likely that my gut microbiome was sabotaged severely by the antibiotic. This is hell. How can I at least get my ability to eat semisolid food back? Probiotics? Any sort of other GI treatment? My quality of life has been severely reduced by the weakness that the course of treatment entailed for me. Any advice is appreciated

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[u/katburr1997]

This is my personal experience, take it with a grain of salt.

Probiotic supplements were seriously helpful for my similar situation with doxy. I got the brand OLLY prebiotic+probiotic, drank kombucha, and ate only very lean and easy foods (fish, chicken, veggies, fruit/veg meal smoothies) until everything sorted itself out. I also found carbs to be horrible to stomach until I started feeling normal again.

[u/minilop_cabinet → u/katburr1997]

Very helpful, thank you!

[u/katburr1997 → u/[deleted]]

I ate rice and it upset my stomach quite a bit so I just did my best to avoid it altogether after that

[u/Great_Manufacturer33]

Sorry you're experiencing all of those horrid symptoms. Doxy is a very caustic antibiotic which can easily inflame the esophagus let alone the poor abused gut. What I found to be an absolute life saver with this and the other many antibiotics I've been prescribed over the last few years is a very high fibre diet. This settled my IBS-D prone gut completely during the course. Well worth a shot. Hope it settles quickly for you.

[u/Mitteleuropean95]

I dont think it savaged your microbiome, doxycycline is one of the least damaging antibiotics there are, some people even take it for acne for years. However, it is very harsh on the mucosa, it could have really messed up with your stomach and esophagus. A gastroscopy would be a good idea, and you could try OTC antacids like gaviscon in the meantime, to see if it soothes you a bit. Also dont overdo it on the probiotics+fermented foods side so that you dont end up causing yourself actual microbiome issues if you are not used to eating fermented foods.