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Macrobid report #SELF-3608
Female patient reported the following Macrobid side effect(s):Shortness of breath and the next morning (July 27th) woke up feeling much worse with severe shortness of breath, a high fever of 101.3, muscle pain, headache, pain in extremities, fatigue, abdominal pain, cough, cardiac arrhythmia, tachycardia and bloodshot eyes.
I was prescribed Macrobid 100mg as needed on July 15th, 2009 for recurring urinary tract infections. I took my first dose on July 25th, 2009. The next day I felt progressing shortness of breath and the next morning (July 27th) woke up feeling much worse with severe shortness of breath, a high fever of 101.3, muscle pain, headache, pain in extremities, fatigue, abdominal pain, cough, cardiac arrhythmia, tachycardia and bloodshot eyes. That evening I went to urgent care suspecting development of pneumonia. The physician mentioned that she heard wheezing and decided to test for flu and put me on a nebulizer. The flu test was negative and the nebulizer did not help. When she applied the pulse oximeter, it read a pulse of 170 and and an oxygen saturation of 75%. My pulse fluctuated from 170 to 44 bpm then back up to 160. The urgent care physician then called an ambulance to transport me to the nearest emergency room. There, my potassium was low, white blood cell count high, anemic, and the d-dimer was high so they suspected a pulmonary embolism. I had x-rays, a contrast ct scan and an EKG. The ct scan was negative for a PE and the EKG showed abnormal tachycardia and abnormal waves. The x-ray was unclear, but the physician felt it was atypical pneumonia. I received intravenous Zithromax and was sent home with a 5 day treatment of oral Zithromax. My breathing did not improve with the antibiotic treatment but recovered on its own a couple days after finishing the Zithromax. I took my second dose of Macrobid on August 12th, 2009. About 1.5 hours after taking the dose, I immediately felt shortness of breath and developed a fever. This episode progressed very quickly and I visited the emergency room about 4 hours after taking the Macrobid. I had extreme shortness of breath, a fever of 101.8, facial swelling and flushing, tachycardia, arrhythmia, pain in neck, back, and legs, fatigue, headache and bloodshot eyes. I had x-rays and a high resolution ct scan. My heart rate maintained a pulse of 150-170 for 10 hours. The x-rays and ct scan showed an unclear abnormality and the physicians suspected hypersensitivity pneumonitis and called in a pulmonologist. I was admitted to the hospital and saw the pulmonologist the next morning. He did not see hypersensitivity pneumonitis, but saw a thickening of the connective tissue surrounding the lungs. The blood-work during the stay showed elevated brain natriuretic peptide, glucose, white blood cells (neutrophils). Anemia was also present. I was discharged the afternoon of August 13th, 2009 with shortness of breath still present and have a follow-up with the pulmonologist next week.
Event date: Wednesday August 12th 12:00:00 AM
Dosage: 100mg
Frequency: As needed
Age: 22
Weight: 120
Other medications: Levothyroxin, Loestrin-fe
Diagnosis: Recurring urinary tract infections
Pre-existing conditions: Hypothyroidism and hyperlipidemia
Hospitalized? Yes
Life-threatening? Yes
Disabled? No
Birth Defects? No
Was intervention required to prevent damage? No
Other serious medical events? No
Died? No