Z-Max (Rated PG13 for Strong Language)

[PM_Mama00]

Z-Max is the fucking devil.

I will take the 2 hour coughing fits and 3 ER visits over the nausea, insane stomach cramping..... and other things that I will not mention.

It went away, and it came back. It started while I was sitting in a spa chair, awaiting my pedicure. Poor guy didn't even get to paint my nails or anything. Now, 5 hours after taking it, I still feel like I'm dying. My mom told my doctor that if I didn't feel better by 11, she was going to take me to the ER.

I've tried: toast (lots of it to try to soak up whatever is in my tummy), walking around, bathroom, almost throwing up, Maalox. NOTHING HAS WORKED.

This is a new antibiotic apparently or something. DON"T be fooled by the whole "ooh la la u only have to take one dose of it". Fuck that. DON'T EVER TAKE THIS MEDICINE. YOU WILL REGRET THAT YOU WERE BORN.

the above might sound crazy or not make sense but I don't care. i don't even apologize for the strong language because this is how crazy this medicine has made me.

BTW... I do feel like I'm dying, and tryin to read GC is kinda making me forget the pain. But no.

[BobbyTheDon]

why are you taking it

and what the hell is it. i googled it up right now and all i foudn was car lubricant. are you taking car lubricant Phildo? maybe thats why you aren't feeling good?

[AGDee]

I've been on it dozens of times and so have my kids and we haven't had any reactions like that at all. It was a wonder drug for me many times. I hope you're not having an allergic reaction to it or something.

Feel better.

Dee

[lifesaver]

I have never had that problem, but I dont have insurance and will not pay $130 for the convienience of only having to take 5 pills.

For those not in the know, its a regualr ass antibiotic where you take two pills the first day, and then only one a day for the next two (or three, I dont remember) days. Then you are done.

It is the exact same thing as amixicillin, et. al. I have told my doctor NUMEROUS times that I will NOT take a Z-Max pack. I'll take the generic Amoxicillin for $12 over the $130. I am not 4. I can remember to take 2 pills a day for 10 days no problem.

[AGDee]

It's actually more similar to erythromycin than amoxicillin.

[PM_Mama00]

Mine was in liquid form in a bottle. You only took one dose, at one time. You drink it and it tastes not so great. Banana strawberry my ass. It emphasized to take it on an empty stomach 2 hours after a meal or an hour before a meal, so I took it 2 hours after a meal. Apparently they decided not to put in there that you HAVE to eat an hour after or you'll end up like me. I haven't been this sick since I had a bacterial infection/food poisoning a few years ago. 17 hours after taking it, I still feel like crap. Since you guys had no effect, I'm thinking maybe it's just the liquid form? This only cost $48 but since it's new my doc had free vouchers so it was free. WAS NOT WORTH IT. I'll take my yummy tasting liquid amox. ANY day over this Z-Max crap.

[alphaxikt]

Originally posted by lifesaver


It is the exact same thing as amixicillin, et. al. I have told my doctor NUMEROUS times that I will NOT take a Z-Max pack. I'll take the generic Amoxicillin for $12 over the $130. I am not 4. I can remember to take 2 pills a day for 10 days no problem.

It is NOT the same thing as amoxicillin... I'm taking Zithromax right now, and I'm allergic to the whole penicillin family. So for some people, it's not a frivolous expense but a much better option than anaphylaxis.

If you're having digestive problems related to an antibiotic, it can sometimes help to eat yogurt. I know it sounds weird, but really powerful antibiotics can destry the good bacteria in your gut and eating yogurt with active cultures can help put them back. It worked really well for my mom!

[kddani]

That sucks, I've taken the Zpac once for strep throat, and it killed my stomach the first day. However, Pitt's student health stopped prescribing it because it had such a high failure rate. The one time that I did take it I ended up taking good old penicillin two weeks later when my strep throat came back.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally posted by kddani
That sucks, I've taken the Zpac once for strep throat, and it killed my stomach the first day. However, Pitt's student health stopped prescribing it because it had such a high failure rate. The one time that I did take it I ended up taking good old penicillin two weeks later when my strep throat came back.

Dumb question... is Zpac the same as Z-Max? I don't know much about medications because I've always been on amox. when I get sick, or good ol cough meds.

Has anyone ever taken the liquid one dose form?

[kddani]

Originally posted by PM_Mama00
Dumb question... is Zpac the same as Z-Max? I don't know much about medications because I've always been on amox. when I get sick, or good ol cough meds.

Has anyone ever taken the liquid one dose form?

My doctor called it the Zpac- I think people call it that because of the bubble thing it comes in- like a pack, but it was Zithromax. I didn't know that it came in a liquid form. Ewwwwww... well, I don't even do cough syrup so of course i'd say ew.

[KSigkid]

I actually love the stuff; I have an allergy to amoxicillin (and probably penicillin, although I haven't risked it), and it's worked great for me.

[AGDee]

My kids get the liquid form, but I've always used the pills. Do you have trouble swallowing pills?

Different antibiotics work on different bacteria. Strep does tend to respond better to the penicillin family in general. When my daughter was getting strep every month though, they ended up putting her on a couple antibiotics at once to finally knock it out of her system for good. In the olden days, they would take a throat culture, find out what strain it was and then prescribe the appropriate antibiotic. We don't want to wait for that process these days!

[PM_Mama00]

Originally posted by AGDee
My kids get the liquid form, but I've always used the pills. Do you have trouble swallowing pills?

Different antibiotics work on different bacteria. Strep does tend to respond better to the penicillin family in general. When my daughter was getting strep every month though, they ended up putting her on a couple antibiotics at once to finally knock it out of her system for good. In the olden days, they would take a throat culture, find out what strain it was and then prescribe the appropriate antibiotic. We don't want to wait for that process these days!

Yeah I def have problems swallowing pills. Did they take the liquid kind that you take all at once and that's it? My sister in law said that she's done the pills and the liquid and it worked great. This is 2 days after I took it and the cough hasn't really gone away. My inhaler works a lot better.

[navane]

I've never even heard of Zithromax - I wonder why it has never been prescribed for me. Though, I can tell you that I am most definitely allergic to amoxicillin! So, since I was young, I've always been prescribed erythromycin. We also think that I might be allergic to sulfa drugs. Pah....just give me erythromycin and I'm good to go....


.....Kelly

[AGDee]

Originally posted by PM_Mama00
Yeah I def have problems swallowing pills. Did they take the liquid kind that you take all at once and that's it? My sister in law said that she's done the pills and the liquid and it worked great. This is 2 days after I took it and the cough hasn't really gone away. My inhaler works a lot better.

My daughter has a wicked upper respiratory virus right now that the doc said is going around. She also said that people with allergies/asthma are having a really hard time because the upper level winds from the hurricanes brought particles of pollens that we don't usually have to deal with up here. AND, the fact that we haven't had a frost yet isn't helping either. We almost always have a first frost in October which kills off lots of the allergen loaded plants. My girlie is doing breathing treatments several times a day, taking Robitusson pills, her Singulair, her Zyrtec AND sudafed and it's just keeping her from feeling totally awful.