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Clindamycin for infection, more cheek swelling, is this normal??

K

keikokeiko

Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2019
Messages
20
Location
California
Hi there, this is my first time posting after lurking these forums on and off for about the last four years! Since then, I finally built up the courage to see a dentist (well, AFTER the extreme pain from my broken tooth and cheek swelling prompted me to...)

I was told I have an infection in my lower left jaw from my back molar which has been broken for years (maybe since 2012?) and was prescribed Clindamycin 150mg and ibuprofen 800mg on Tuesday. The first round I took I felt great, no pain. But 4 hours later the pain was coming back, so I took another dose.

The label says take four times a day, so every six hours, but the pharmacist told me every four hours. Since I was feeling pain, I went ahead and took it around the four hour mark. The first night I woke up a lot still in pain, and the next morning my jaw swelled up about 3x the size. My boyfriend called the dentist office for me, and they told me to just keep taking the antibiotics and do cold compresses on and off every 15 minutes. Luckily the pain isn’t as bad as the first night, but I woke up this morning and the left side of my lips got a little bit more swollen as well. I’m freaking out a bit because they said if it doesn’t go down I may have to go get it drained at the hospital... is it because I took the medicine too often, am I allergic, or is this normal?? My dentist also said I could double up the dose of antibiotics for the first 2 days after we called.

Ugh, I’m really worried... has anyone else ever been prescribed this before? I thought I would be prescribed amoxicillin since I had that back in 2012 for another infection, but i didn’t have swelling back then... I don’t know what to do! Help??
 
I was prescribed clindamycin for an abscess that continued to have infection even after a root canal and apicoectomy. It is strong stuff but does not work immediately. For me, I didn't stop feeling symptoms until I was on the last day (day 7), then it was immediate. The ibuprofen will help with pain and inflammation.

My doctor told me that it doesn't have to be spaces out exactly 4 or 6 hours. She told me to take one with each meal and then right before bed.

Oh and if you haven't already, start taking a probiotic. Clindamycin is really hard on your gut bacteria, and can cause really bad diarrhea and yeast infections. Probiotics will help combat that. Just take them at least two hours after the antibiotic so the antibiotic doesn't cancel it out.
 
MountainMama,

Thank you so much for replying! That makes me feel some relief. I hope that’s the case for me that it is indeed just slow-reacting. It sucks though because I’ve already missed 2 days of work, maybe even tomorrow because I’m so swollen. I have an event on Saturday that I’ve been preparing for for months, a court date on Monday, and then Tuesday I’m supposed to get the offending tooth pulled. I’m worried if the infection doesn’t heal by then and they pull it anyway.

Last time I was at a dentist was 4 years ago because my upper left wisdom tooth was broken and causing severe pain that my bf had to drag me into the office. Even after 5 rounds of injection I still felt everything and it was horrible :’( At least the dentist I’m going to now is VERY sweet and understanding, so I feel like I can trust her.
 
MountainMama,

Thank you so much for replying! That makes me feel some relief. I hope that’s the case for me that it is indeed just slow-reacting. It sucks though because I’ve already missed 2 days of work, maybe even tomorrow because I’m so swollen. I have an event on Saturday that I’ve been preparing for for months, a court date on Monday, and then Tuesday I’m supposed to get the offending tooth pulled. I’m worried if the infection doesn’t heal by then and they pull it anyway.

Last time I was at a dentist was 4 years ago because my upper left wisdom tooth was broken and causing severe pain that my bf had to drag me into the office. Even after 5 rounds of injection I still felt everything and it was horrible :’( At least the dentist I’m going to now is VERY sweet and understanding, so I feel like I can trust her.

Clindamycin was the only thing that helped my infection, as I had several rounds of amoxicillin with no results. It is kind of the superpower of antibiotics.
 
MountainMama,

Ahh again that is reassuring! I did have amoxicillin in the past along with Vicodin, so the pain subsided quickly, prob also because the infection wasn’t nearly as bad as this one, I’m guessing. I’m just gonna pray the swelling will go down quicker... I don’t have insurance so all my treatments will be out of pocket (luckily this dentist also offers discounts for non-insured patients) but missing so much work is having me worried. Thank you again for responding!
 
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