Eric's Beijing Diary

One of my neighbors referred me to an herbal treatment for stomach disorders called, "Berberine." I'm pretty sure that is the same stuff I took last year when I was in Zhengzhou and didn't have my antibiotic with me. I can't really tell you if it worked...results were certainly not as quick as they would have been with Cipro. But I am starting to have questions about Cipro. Shortly after I came back from Suzhou a month ago, I got a very severe case of diarrhea. That doesn't happen to me very often in Beijing, but I wasn't surprised, because I had just been on the train from the south. I took some Cipro, and the diarrhea disappeared immediately, but I started to have really weird symtoms. My heart beat was very strange. It reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe's "Telltale Heart." I could feel every heartbeat. I was a bit surprised by this, because I had not recalled reading anything about heart problems associated with Cipro. Curiosity got the best of me, so I went to Google, and typed in "Cipro" and "heart," and brought up a plethora of complaints about the drug. Many of these were the type of thing I wouldn't have paid attention to if I had not been feeling such strange symtoms myself. Still not sure what the deal was...some say that caffeine intensifies the drug, but I think it is probably the other way around. Cipro probably intensifies the effect of caffeine.

Anyway, the experience gave me pause. I would say, "Be sure you talk to your doctor," but I don't think that works, because most of the complaints I read were from people in the States, where Cipro is a prescription drug. Presumably then, their physicians were not aware of the problems. The only difference I can identify between the Cipro I took and the stuff I brought from the States when I first came to China, was that the stuff from the States was dispensed in 1000mg time-release capsules. The stuff I bought here is in 250mg capsules, which you take two at a time. I did get a larger dose the first day, because I didn't take the evening dose until 2 am, but I don't think that would be the problem, because I have seen information recommending 1500mg the first day.

So I really don't know what to advise. Definitely do not drink any coffee at all if you take Cipro. And try to get the time-release capsules if you can. I think they might introduce the drug into your symptom in a more gradual manner. Since my first study, I have tried to get more information...I Googled "quinine" instead of Cipro. Sure enough, arrhythmia is listed as one of the side effects. If you take Cipro and start having heart problems, stop taking it right away. I am not one of those types who preaches against antibiotics. The main reason I don't like to take them has nothing to do with the side effects. It is that they are "killers," and I would much rather coax my body to develop natural resistance to problematic stomach bacteria. But if you get really sick, then it seems to me that it would be good to kill the thing that is killing you. So I am not absolutely opposed to antibiotics. I carry them with me for extreme cases. But if they are going to make my heart go wacky, then I think I would rather put up with the creeping crud.