Reactions to Vancomycin?

My son just got home from a 10 day stay in the hospital for iv vancomycin. He had the usual mrsa/staff infections causing pft's to decline, felt like crap, hurt all over, low energy, no appetite, the usual. Every couple of years my son would go in, have 10-14 days of vancomycin and be happy, healthy and bouncing off the walls. Last vanc. was 2 yrs ago. Never any issues.
This time Joe developed "red man syndrome" where he threw up, turned red in splotches and was extremely itchy. I was told it was very common, they treated with benadryl along with slowing the rate of the iv down to a 3 hour drip plus flushes to being hooked up for 4 hours on and 2 hours off meds along with increasing benadryl to the max.
My son got severe stomach pains and headaches after 7 days, had to pull the meds because he was just moaning in pain the entire time he was hooked up. I asked for meds to stop and could we do anything else? DR said red man syndrome was common, but the level of stomach & head pain my kiddo got was rare. I asked what to do next time as this go-round didn't restore his health very well. He said the team would have to "think about it." Told there are other iv antibiotics for treating mrsa & cf lung infections, but they're not used much and they've all got their own side effects to deal with.
We're going in for a 2nd opinon next month and iv meds will be a big question for me. Has anyone else had bad reactions to vancomycin? What did you do instead? Are there other common iv meds that are used for lung infections for those with CF?
I'm afraid we've crossed the bridge from a kid with general good health and has cf issues once in a while to dealing with pain, feeling crappy, coughing and poor health daily. He's 12 yrs old, in his first year of middle school and he's hardly been to school. I was hoping for the vanc iv stay at the hospital to do its usual magic and he'd be uber healthy for a few years more, but it looks like I need to create a new version of our baseline/norm health levels. He's not much better than when he went in to the hospital 2 weeks ago. cf sucks.
 
My son just got home from a 10 day stay in the hospital for iv vancomycin. He had the usual mrsa/staff infections causing pft's to decline, felt like crap, hurt all over, low energy, no appetite, the usual. Every couple of years my son would go in, have 10-14 days of vancomycin and be happy, healthy and bouncing off the walls. Last vanc. was 2 yrs ago. Never any issues.
This time Joe developed "red man syndrome" where he threw up, turned red in splotches and was extremely itchy. I was told it was very common, they treated with benadryl along with slowing the rate of the iv down to a 3 hour drip plus flushes to being hooked up for 4 hours on and 2 hours off meds along with increasing benadryl to the max.
My son got severe stomach pains and headaches after 7 days, had to pull the meds because he was just moaning in pain the entire time he was hooked up. I asked for meds to stop and could we do anything else? DR said red man syndrome was common, but the level of stomach & head pain my kiddo got was rare. I asked what to do next time as this go-round didn't restore his health very well. He said the team would have to "think about it." Told there are other iv antibiotics for treating mrsa & cf lung infections, but they're not used much and they've all got their own side effects to deal with.
We're going in for a 2nd opinon next month and iv meds will be a big question for me. Has anyone else had bad reactions to vancomycin? What did you do instead? Are there other common iv meds that are used for lung infections for those with CF?
I'm afraid we've crossed the bridge from a kid with general good health and has cf issues once in a while to dealing with pain, feeling crappy, coughing and poor health daily. He's 12 yrs old, in his first year of middle school and he's hardly been to school. I was hoping for the vanc iv stay at the hospital to do its usual magic and he'd be uber healthy for a few years more, but it looks like I need to create a new version of our baseline/norm health levels. He's not much better than when he went in to the hospital 2 weeks ago. cf sucks.
 

Havoc

New member
I've gotten red man syndrome on vanc. Last time we pre-medicated with 75mg benadryl IV and 10mg atarax PO. It prevented any reaction, although my reactions were not as bad as your son's (all I had was blotches and severe itchiness).
 

Havoc

New member
I've gotten red man syndrome on vanc. Last time we pre-medicated with 75mg benadryl IV and 10mg atarax PO. It prevented any reaction, although my reactions were not as bad as your son's (all I had was blotches and severe itchiness).
 

beleache

New member
Hi Christine,
I am glad that you are going for a second opinion.. I think their are always options & they should be explored..
I haven't been given IV Tobramycin (which I believe is in the same family as the Vanco) since I went into renal failure due to the Tobramycin.. My drs. seem to come up with several different meds .. Although Im not sure which abx are best for which bugs ?? I just think there has to be ways to get around things..
I hope your son feels better soon !! Sucks to go through so much at a young age <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> Thank God for loving & caring parents like you !!
Take care & keep us posted <3 joni
 

beleache

New member
Hi Christine,
I am glad that you are going for a second opinion.. I think their are always options & they should be explored..
I haven't been given IV Tobramycin (which I believe is in the same family as the Vanco) since I went into renal failure due to the Tobramycin.. My drs. seem to come up with several different meds .. Although Im not sure which abx are best for which bugs ?? I just think there has to be ways to get around things..
I hope your son feels better soon !! Sucks to go through so much at a young age <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> Thank God for loving & caring parents like you !!
Take care & keep us posted <3 joni
 

JENNYC

New member
My daughter has gotten redman syndrome a couple of times from the vanc, but nothing like you said although she has an extremely high pain tolerance. As far as I know she did like Havoc, just redness and itching. She also sometimes takes Gentamycin but it has a rough side effect...hearing loss. She's been on it several times and so far we have avoided that side effect unless it is something that shows up down the road. Not sure what bugs the Gentamycin fights though. Abby usually has the same bugs as your son. Good luck and I pray for your sons speedy recovery. CF definately sucks, I would rather be sick 100 times over than for my baby to be sick. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">
 

JENNYC

New member
My daughter has gotten redman syndrome a couple of times from the vanc, but nothing like you said although she has an extremely high pain tolerance. As far as I know she did like Havoc, just redness and itching. She also sometimes takes Gentamycin but it has a rough side effect...hearing loss. She's been on it several times and so far we have avoided that side effect unless it is something that shows up down the road. Not sure what bugs the Gentamycin fights though. Abby usually has the same bugs as your son. Good luck and I pray for your sons speedy recovery. CF definately sucks, I would rather be sick 100 times over than for my baby to be sick. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">
 
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alluneedislove

Guest
I had the same problem with Vanco. It really sucks because their isn't much out there for MRSA/Staph that is also my main problem. They have tried Linazolid/zyvox but i get really sick on that too. Last time I would get bloody noses and lung bleeds randomly. I found out that it was the med my platelet count kept dropping and i would start bleeding. Super scary! In 1 week i had been to the ER 3 times and had my nose cauterized from the bleeds. Currently the only med for me is Bactrim and sadly its not working as well anymore. I hope your son gets better soon! and that you figure out a better med for him.
 
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alluneedislove

Guest
I had the same problem with Vanco. It really sucks because their isn't much out there for MRSA/Staph that is also my main problem. They have tried Linazolid/zyvox but i get really sick on that too. Last time I would get bloody noses and lung bleeds randomly. I found out that it was the med my platelet count kept dropping and i would start bleeding. Super scary! In 1 week i had been to the ER 3 times and had my nose cauterized from the bleeds. Currently the only med for me is Bactrim and sadly its not working as well anymore. I hope your son gets better soon! and that you figure out a better med for him.
 

coltsfan715

New member
I had red man syndrome with Vanco as well - it wasn't anything like what you described however. For me two alternatives worked if I had to use Vanc and that was to dose with benadryl and keep the med at the normal dosage speed or to cut the dosage rate in half with no benadryl.

My docs alternated me between Vancomycin and Zyvox for my MRSA before my transplant. I LOVED Zyvox. I had no notable side effects with it any of the times I took it, which was often. It was always the drug I asked for or had a preference towards. I hope that they are able to come up with a resolution for your son. It sucks to be on meds regardless but even more so when they make you feel worse than when you started.

Lindsey
 

coltsfan715

New member
I had red man syndrome with Vanco as well - it wasn't anything like what you described however. For me two alternatives worked if I had to use Vanc and that was to dose with benadryl and keep the med at the normal dosage speed or to cut the dosage rate in half with no benadryl.

My docs alternated me between Vancomycin and Zyvox for my MRSA before my transplant. I LOVED Zyvox. I had no notable side effects with it any of the times I took it, which was often. It was always the drug I asked for or had a preference towards. I hope that they are able to come up with a resolution for your son. It sucks to be on meds regardless but even more so when they make you feel worse than when you started.

Lindsey
 

JustDucky

New member
I also get red man's with Vanco....they slow down the rate, give me lots of benedryl and run regular IV fluids rapidly to further dilute the med and it seems to work. That crazy itching is awful, especially on my scalp! There are other meds that are used for MRSA, a few of them that I know of off hand is Zyvoxx, and daptomycin. I know there are other meds in the pipeline or are fairly new but haven't had the privilege of being treated with them myself. I agree getting other opinions is a good idea considering your son is having such bad pain with Vanco. My stomach gets upset, but that's it and a hit of IV Zofran does the trick as a pre med for me along with the Benedryl for itching. I hope he feels better soon and good luck! Jenn 40 w/CF
 

JustDucky

New member
I also get red man's with Vanco....they slow down the rate, give me lots of benedryl and run regular IV fluids rapidly to further dilute the med and it seems to work. That crazy itching is awful, especially on my scalp! There are other meds that are used for MRSA, a few of them that I know of off hand is Zyvoxx, and daptomycin. I know there are other meds in the pipeline or are fairly new but haven't had the privilege of being treated with them myself. I agree getting other opinions is a good idea considering your son is having such bad pain with Vanco. My stomach gets upset, but that's it and a hit of IV Zofran does the trick as a pre med for me along with the Benedryl for itching. I hope he feels better soon and good luck! Jenn 40 w/CF
 

Cbegley

New member
My husband has an allergic reaction to Vanco too. But if they do decide to put him on it they cut the administration time down to half and also have him taking benedryl at the same time to put off the red/itchy effects. Most of the time though they just decide to use Zosyn instead to skip all that mess.
 

Cbegley

New member
My husband has an allergic reaction to Vanco too. But if they do decide to put him on it they cut the administration time down to half and also have him taking benedryl at the same time to put off the red/itchy effects. Most of the time though they just decide to use Zosyn instead to skip all that mess.
 
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LilyKate

Guest
Hi Christine!
Unfortunately, Vancomycin is an extremely harsh drug, as I have found out personally over the years of in-and-out hospital visits. While I have not always had an allergy to the drug, reactions gradually became much more common and much more frequent the more I was administered. Finally, because it was running over such long expanses of time, my doctors chose to take me off of it completely. (If I'm remembering correctly, I was switched over to Zyvox.) I later learned from a personal friend in the medical field that many doctors prefer to avoid the use of Vancomycin if at all possible due to both the harsh reactions that it causes and its possible long-term effects, which include harm to the nervous and skeletal systems and a possible loss of hearing, which may or may not be permanent. He assurred me that these side affects were extremely rare and would be monitered under the care of a doctor, of course, but he personally seemed to have a slight dislike of Vancomycin.
That being said, you may want to discuss the necessity of the drug with your child's doctors and inquire as to whether there may be alternative drugs. If Vancomycin is critical to his recovery, however, or if your doctors choose to continue administration, discuss slowing the rate of the medication, highering the dosage of Benadryl taken beforehand, and possibly adding other drugs to his schedule that can somewhat dilute the Vancomycin. Best of luck to you and to your son! I hope that he feels better soon!<img title="Smile" src="include/wysiwyg/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile.gif" alt="Smile" border="0" />
 
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LilyKate

Guest
Hi Christine!
Unfortunately, Vancomycin is an extremely harsh drug, as I have found out personally over the years of in-and-out hospital visits. While I have not always had an allergy to the drug, reactions gradually became much more common and much more frequent the more I was administered. Finally, because it was running over such long expanses of time, my doctors chose to take me off of it completely. (If I'm remembering correctly, I was switched over to Zyvox.) I later learned from a personal friend in the medical field that many doctors prefer to avoid the use of Vancomycin if at all possible due to both the harsh reactions that it causes and its possible long-term effects, which include harm to the nervous and skeletal systems and a possible loss of hearing, which may or may not be permanent. He assurred me that these side affects were extremely rare and would be monitered under the care of a doctor, of course, but he personally seemed to have a slight dislike of Vancomycin.
That being said, you may want to discuss the necessity of the drug with your child's doctors and inquire as to whether there may be alternative drugs. If Vancomycin is critical to his recovery, however, or if your doctors choose to continue administration, discuss slowing the rate of the medication, highering the dosage of Benadryl taken beforehand, and possibly adding other drugs to his schedule that can somewhat dilute the Vancomycin. Best of luck to you and to your son! I hope that he feels better soon!<img title="Smile" src="include/wysiwyg/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile.gif" alt="Smile" border="0" />
 
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