PN due to antibiotic use Flagyl
 

Hi I am new to this. I am scared because I have been having some numbness and weakness in my right foot. Finally got in to see a neurologist. She did a test on my feet EMG I think, shocks and needles to measure the conductivity of my nerves. She said my conductivity in both feet are slow. She did a whole batch of blood tests (I have not gotten the results back yet). But she said something about maybe CIDP but said not to worry until i get the blood results back. I mentioned to her that this all started after I started taking Flagyl for a BV infection. I stopped the Flagyl after about 7 days when I noticed the numb foot and pain in the foot after googling the drug and seeing rare side effect of Peripherial Nerve damage. My regular doctor thought I was crazy and wasn't on the Flagyl long enough to cause PN. But I swear, this all started after I started the meds. Has anyone else ever experienced PN after taking Flagyl for short term? How will i know if the Flagyl caused damage or if I have some disease like CIDP? She said we could do a nerve biopsy which I am against because I would have permanent numbness on the place where they took out the nerve. I am really scared and not sure how to proceed. She doesn't think MS because it is bilaterial (i don't have any symptoms in my left foot...just my right). Can the EMG test be done incorrectly so that she is getting incorrect readings on my nerves?

Any test can be done incorrectly. If suspect, demand re-testing.
Heavy duty antibiotics, even for a short term-can be a trigger.
If your system eventually was going to symptom, it could have been the trigger to have it happen now.

Welcome to NeuroTalk...

There is a chance that using Benfotiamine may help you.
The metabolic pathway of Flagyl is similar to alcohol. When both are metabolized, they lead to aldehydes which may build up in some people because of a genetic difference. Benfotiamine is a form of thiamine which is needed for the enzymes to perform this action.

You can start with regular old thiamine from a drugstore, which is typically not expensive. Take 200 or 300mg a day in divided doses for a month and see if you notice an improvement. If so you can bump up to the Benfotiamine. This needs to be ordered online ...many of us use iherb.com for it. I use the Doctor's Best brand. This treatment also works for diabetic neuropathy.

Benfotiamine used to be really expensive, but it has now come down in price quite a bit:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post653193-4.html

There are other threads on our subforum that may help you too.

Flagyl is not the only drug that causes neuropathies.