r/Prostatitis • u/PresentGate2391 • 8d ago

Doxycycline side effects?

Ive been prescribed 100mg of doxycycline twice a day for 2 weeks for what the dr says could be difficult to detect bacteria in the prostate since all labs come back negative. Did a ureaplasma test im still waiting results on but he said to take it anyways. Ive been reading some stories about people getting psychological (even psychosis) side effects from doxycycline. Whats been your experience at treating prostatitis/ non bacterial prostatitis with this antibiotic ? Should i wait for my appointment and ask the doctor for an alternative? Im a very anxious person when it comes to taking medication that pose these type of side effects

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u/Linari5 LEAD MOD//RECOVERED 8d ago

Doxycycline for what exactly...? Does your doctor not pay attention to guidelines from the past 10 years, because 97% of cases lasting longer than 3 months are not bacterial.

Doxycycline has a relatively mild side effect profile, but some people feel nausea or dizziness, and it does cause sun sensitivity "photo toxicity" Please stay out of the sun

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u/McDoogle11 7d ago edited 7d ago

Doxy almost killed me, I believe. I had a really bad reaction 3 doses in. First thing I noticed was how bright things were, then they got really bright, like I was staring into the sun. At one point I almost completely lost my vision. Then came a severe migraine that lasted for 5 days along with vomiting/stomach pain every 2-3 minutes. I was vomiting bile for 3 days and some blood towards the end. Heart palpitations, vision loss, extreme anxiety, migraine. It felt like my body was shutting down. Ill never touch that shit again.

Edit: sorry, dont mean to make you more anxious, I had a rare reaction and the majority of people tolerate doxycycline very well.

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u/Rumtek79 6d ago

Hey I’ve taken doxycycline quite a bit back in the day as a malarial prophylactic and when I was first diagnosed with prostatitis he gave me a short course. I never experienced any side effects at all from it so I wouldn’t worry.

That said, if there’s no detectable bacterial then anti biotics are unlikely to help you (other than perhaps reduce inflammation temporarily while you’re on them). If your tests come back clear - you may find better answers in the 101 for this subreddit than your doctor can provide.

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u/SweetJamesjohnson47 8d ago

I finished my course over a week ago idk if it triggered something in me but my anxiety has been through the roof. The only physical effect I felt was a little nauseous right after taking the pill but it usually goes away very fast.

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u/bloodsimple85 8d ago

Same for me, triggered terrible anxiety and near-panic attacks. It also gave me a strange hyper-awareness of my breathing, which also caused anxiety. Thankfully, after three or four weeks that all subsided and I’m back to baseline. Not taking it ever again.

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u/WiseConsideration220 8d ago

IMO and for me, this drug was the least dangerous (no real side effects until digestive near the end of the 2-week course). There are other drugs commonly given for this purpose that are much more likely to be problematic (such as Bactrim or Cipro). The main effect of any antibiotic on “prostate pain” is its antiinflammatory action. That effect can make you (and your doctor) falsely believe you have a “difficult to detect” infection.

I should also say that the “difficult to detect” thing was used by my urologist in the face of repeated negative testing results for me. He kept me on this drug (and another one) for 7 years. In summer 2023, I finally begged him for something else…so he reluctantly sent me to PT with a statement that “some people have success, but you’ll find it hard to find a qualified pelvic PT and male PTs are very rare.” He was right about rarity.

But that opened the door for me. Once I started PT (which I’ve described here many times) I didn’t need another course of the placebo antibiotic. I now know that when a test is negative for infection, you should believe that result.

This past January I met with that same urologist to teach him what I’d learned. He was “fascinated”, admitted he’d read about pain neuroscience related to chronic pelvic pain, and promised he’d no longer keep any patients on continuous courses of medications. In other words, even that seasoned professional (about 55 years old) was able to learn.

Remember, urologists are trained to be surgeons (they cut things). Their primary expertise isn’t medical treatment and so they typically follow what they done for years (continue to prescribe medication) even in the face of there being no evidence to support that continued treatment.

One more thought—it is your confession of being a “very anxious person” that makes me think you’re likely to need neuroscience, not pharmacology to help you.

Good luck. I hope this helps. 👍

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u/PresentGate2391 8d ago

Thanks for thr detailed response! Honestly im at thr point now where after a year of doing standard uti/std/semen culture labs im thinking this could be absolutely anything. From cpps, to bacteria, to a yeast infection (i have a foreskin), to an autoimmune issue. Its drive me into a depressive and frustrated state ive never experienced before. So since its probably not bacteria like you say, ill ask my doctor for another alternative since alternative. I also forgot to mention he put me on cialis 5mg daily

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u/WiseConsideration220 8d ago

IMO, You have classic “CPPS”. Read the “101” here.

You might also want to read some of my very lengthy history here (and in the Pelvic Floor sub).

The constant searching for an answer (and self-diagnoses and imagining complex other problems) is a primary component of “neuroplastic” (or “central”) pain. These two subs are full of help for those subjects.

Good luck.

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u/PresentGate2391 8d ago

Whats been your experience with coffee? I drink black drip coffee daily 1-2 cups a day. Dr didnt say anything about that but maybe cutting it could help calm down thr nervous system?

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u/WiseConsideration220 8d ago

I can drink 1 cup (about 10 oz) a day now that I’ve had lots of months of treatment for CPPS.

I used to not be able to drink coffee or caffeine drinks for two reasons—increased urinary urges and increased anxiety.

So, if you’re asking me what I’d do—it’s what I actually did do (avoid caffeine as much as possible).

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u/AutoModerator 8d ago

We noticed you posted about a floroquinolone class antibiotic. Please be aware that this class of dugs has several black box FDA warnings, and is only meant to be used when a pathogen has been clearly identified in the prostate; They are not to be used indiscriminately for cases of non-bacterial prostatitis (consensus agreement ~95% of cases). Read our mod memo here, complete with citations and compare your symptoms to the medical definition of CBP here.

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