Serious question: Has anybody had a bad reaction to a Tetanus shot? Augmentin?

[szh]

Cliff Notes: Infection -> Tetanus Shot -> IV Antibiotic -> 15 days of Augmentin antibiotic ... resulting in tingling in extremities, pain moving from left arm and hand to jaw to neck.

Three weeks ago, my wife got a small cut in her foot and got it infected, so it created a small abscess (about 5 mm x 7 mm by 2mm deep) and also started spreading up her foot inside the veins (red streak about 2-3 inches long). Emergency room diagnosis: Staph infection.

During the first trip to the Hospital Emergency Room, she was given an IV antibiotic and a Tetanus shot, and 15 days of Augmentin (antibiotic) which she has finished.

The foot infection is cleared/clearing up (not sure if it is totally gone), but she has been having bizarre tingling and muscle pains for many days now.

First she got tingling in her hands and feet, then a few days later, pain in her left arm and hand. Then a few more days, pain in her jaw. So far, three total trips to the Emergency room and nothing that they can tell, except a possible "reaction to the Tetanus shot". No cardio problems, but they want her to follow up with a cardiologist and a neurologist.

Just an hour ago (11:30pm here), she woke up saying that the pain had gone from her jaw (not totally gone away) to her neck and she felt like someone was choking her. "It is moving around ... from arm to jaw to neck now".

We waited a while, it did not abate, so we have decided to take her to the Emergency Room again. My brother-in-law flew in earlier today and drove her to the hospital, so that I can deal with my young son when he needs to get up for school in the morning.

Question: Has anybody had any reaction like this to a Tetanus shot, or Augmentin or a Staph infection (in the foot or elsewhere) similar to this? If so, can you please describe what happened, the symptoms, how long it lasted, what was the final diagnosis and cure?

Thanks,

Z

[s14_girl]

Sorry you guys are dealing with that It sounds really scary. I do have a bad reaction to Augmentin, but not like you describe. I just can't keep it down, makes me really sick. I will run this by one of my parents (physicians) tomorrow and see if it anything comes to mind. Good luck!

[szh]

Sorry you guys are dealing with that It sounds really scary. I do have a bad reaction to Augmentin, but not like you describe. I just can't keep it down, makes me really sick. I will run this by one of my parents (physicians) tomorrow and see if it anything comes to mind. Good luck!

Thanks very much!

I do not expect your parent to diagnose "over the phone", of course, but if she/he has some knowledge of something like this, or has heard about similar reactions to anything like that, that would be awesome info for us to do our research further.

Yeah, it is scary ... my wife has stopped driving too much, in case one of these mini-seizures (that is what one of the Doc's is now calling it) happens while she is behind the wheel. Yikes.

Z

[s14_girl]

Just talked to Dad, and unforunately, he said that it doesn't make much sense to him either. Definitely follow up with a cardiologist and neurologist just in case. And maybe talk to her family and see if anything like that has happened to anyone else in the family? I'll keep you guys in my prayers that everything gets better.

[szh]

Thanks, Amy! I truly appreciate the follow-up.

Cardiologist cleared her - no problems there ... next step is neurologist this coming week.

The recent good news is that the symptoms are slowly starting to go down ... but, we are concerned about future recurrences (or if she has to take antibiotics again), so we will keep making the rounds till we figure it cause and cure (if possible).

No known family history of this kind of reaction, unfortunately.

Z

[W661335PF]

What you describe is not normal; however, it is known that if the person has in the past experienced seizures/convulsions or other central nervous system problems, there is very small possibility that the reaction you mention is part of the side effect profile. This is extremely rare, but has happened. Also, if she has developed a high fever from it, the fever can sometimes cause problems (not the vaccine itself), which is why we often recommend Tylenol to our patients following the shot.

Hope this helps.

Go to webmd.com and you can get more answers
Modified by W661335PF at 6:38 AM 4/24/2008

[szh]

What you describe is not normal; however, it is known that if the person has in the past experienced seizures/convulsions or other central nervous system problems, there is very small possibility that the reaction you mention is part of the side effect profile. This is extremely rare, but has happened.

She has had both Tetanus shots and Augmentin without any problems in the past ... in fact, she had taken Augmentin for an ear infection about three to four months ago and another series for a UTI a few months ago. No problems then, so we are leaning more towards the Tetanus shot than anything else.

We asked her relatives and one good point both you and Amy's Dad made was that she had indeed had an allergic reaction to some medication when she was a kid - with slightly different symptoms, but also close. Unfortunately, no one recorded what medication it was and now that it has been decades, no one remembers!

Also, if she has developed a high fever from it, the fever can sometimes cause problems (not the vaccine itself), which is why we often recommend Tylenol to our patients following the shot.

She did not have any fever, fortunately. No pain-killers were given after the shot, but she was prescribed Motrin ... of course, my wife hates the idea of taking pain-killers, so she did not take anything. When she did try Motrin a few weeks later for the pain in the left arm, it did not help.

Right now, she is taking a half-dose of a muscle relaxant (Soma) to help with the pain in the jaw and left ear (see below). Helps her sleep at night, but is not curing it per se.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, yes! I appreciate the input for sure.

Go to webmd.com and you can get more answers

You bet ... we have been scouring for information everywhere! Other than one rather extreme case of Tetanus reaction - way more different and intense compared what my wife is experiencing, we have not found anything that resembles her situation. I will keep looking.

The pain has gone down a bit, but is now moved to her left ear ... been there for a couple of days now, so she is heading to another doctor this morning. Two days ago, our family GP recommended she also see a TMJ expert, so this is today's trip.

We need to track this down for sure!

Thanks again,

Z

[W661335PF]

Good luck, I'd have a much better idea in person. You're at least having her fully assessed, which is more than many folks will do for themselves. Good luck to you.

[szh]

Thanks much!!

The TMJ expert visit today had them saying she needs to straighten out a mis-aligned jaw situation that has been aggravated by chewing on one side only. So, she needs re-alignment of her lower jaw.

This doesn't quite make us comfortable yet ... the source of the pain is still fuzzy, IMHO, but we will keep at it.

Z

[Mark Linkous]

Z,Best wishes and a speedy recovery to your wife.Mark

[szh]

Thanks, Mark!

Z

[Jmjones108]

Szh,

I know this post was a long time ago. I am currently having a bad reaction to a tetanus shot and I am trying to find someone who has had a similar experience. I mainly have burning/tingling in legs feet and hands. It has been almost 2 months since my shot. Also have leg weakness. Did you wife ever find answers or improve.

Thank you,
Jeremy

[szh]

Szh,

I know this post was a long time ago. I am currently having a bad reaction to a tetanus shot and I am trying to find someone who has had a similar experience. I mainly have burning/tingling in legs feet and hands. It has been almost 2 months since my shot. Also have leg weakness. Did you wife ever find answers or improve.

Thank you,
Jeremy

My wife definitely improved - the tingling went away after a few weeks or so (as I recall), but we were never able to figure out the true cause.

There are a few other possibilities that we also suspect. First, that this was perhaps stress related (worrying about our son and his school). Second, the two issues were perhaps not connected - the pain in the neck and jaw was due to TMJ issues, aggravated by teeth clenching while sleeping. Third, high blood pressure caused by stress.

We think the third was the likely thing - she has had recent repetitions of that high blood pressure and is now on medication (low dose of Lisinopril or some such thing) to keep the lower number below 90.

Unfortunately, back in 2008, in an effort to reduce the headaches, etc., my wife was put on a steroid (Prednisone, I think). Bad news! It elevated her blood pressure when she tried to wean herself off it after the headaches went away - I had to fly overseas in a hurry and help her fly back at the end of that summer to get my son back for school (they had gone on vacation).

Bottom line: we cannot fully attribute the tingling and pain to the Tetanus shot per se. It remains one of the possibilities.

Z

[Jmjones108]

Thank you so much. I am glad she improved. I have been under extreme stress form work too maybe the combined shot with stress over stimulates your body. I appreciate the reply.

[szh]

Indeed, stress can be a major contributor to all kinds of body reactions ... in my case, I break out with skin conditions. My forehead gets quite red from Rosacea, including cracks in the skin on my nose, and the palms of my hands become dry and quite scratchy.

Best to learn to meditate ... that helps me always. Even closing my eyes each day and deliberately slowing my breathing and heart-rate seems to work well for me. Lowers my blood-pressure too.

Z

[szh]

Thank you so much. I am glad she improved. I have been under extreme stress form work too maybe the combined shot with stress over stimulates your body. I appreciate the reply.

Thanks, yes. She has improved much.

Although there was a bout of high blood pressure literally this morning ... meant a trip to the Urgent Care folks. Anxiety and stress driven.

Z