After taking sulfa medication I became ill from head to toe, thru and thru. Never felt so horrible in all my life. No, I did not have rash or hives. I was just "PLAIN ILL", no other way to describe it. My doctor at the time told me to NEVER take sulfa again. This was many, many years ago and I still remember how ill I was.

Sulfa is in some diuretics and also acne topical meds. I do take diuretics and have no problem. I am now using a topical med with sulfa on face for Rosacea and so far so good.

Medical bracelets are not just for diabetics, they are for any medical condition that could prove dangerous for you in case you are unable to speak for yourself. I wear a jewelry looking medic alert bracelet with all my problems: Co2 defficient, diabetes, penecillin, codeine, aspirin, latex, sulfa, caffeine. Abbreviations are used for some of the words, just the common known abbreviations, complete words for others.

It is not worth taking a chance on taking sulfa again, next time could be fatal.

Hi Linda,
Thanks for replying. The symptoms aren't sudden and brief. This has gone on for a few weeks, getting better then worse at various points. Right now, I'm okay, but I've taken a couple of days off. Although, last night, I was too tired to move. I'm an athlete, and have been a distance runner for 13 years. To get out of breath climbing stairs... not normal.

I've got a mild case of asthma, and have been diagnosed with anemia a couple of times in the past. I'm not a vegetarian, and I do take vitamins, including a basic iron supplement. (The company I work for makes SlowFE, amongst many other things. Good iron supplement.)

As for getting health care on a sliding scale... I live in the Boston area. The cost of living is sky-high. I make enough to keep a roof over my head (small basement apartment is all I can afford), but by national standards, I make good money. If I lived ANYWHERE else, I'd have more than enough money to pay for basic medical care out of pocket. My earnings are significantly above the national poverty level. However, living where I live, I don't have money to spare. And moving isn't an option - I moved into the city because I couldn't find a decent job anywhere else (I'm a biologist). I'm actually the manager of a major cancer research lab, overseeing the labs for 120 research scientists. Sadly, I work as a contractor, and they don't see fit to give me health insurance. Lovely, huh?

So, anyway, I make too much money to qualify for free or sliding-scale health care, but not enough to be able to afford it on my own. Gotta love how I'm just sliding through the cracks, yes? I'm feeling the crunch more than ever right now, especially as I've been trying to get ANY clinic, hospital, or women's health service to give me a free or reduced-rate mammogram, as I have a golf-ball sized lump in my left breast, but I don't qualify for any of their programs. And even before I can walk into a hospital and try to pay for a mammogram ($300) out of pocket, I need to get a referral, and that appointment will cost at least $200 out of pocket first. I'm too young, and not quite poor enough. Nobody will give me any "discount" on medical services. And when I *briefly* had this pathetic insurance plan, I tried to take care of certain things, and the doctor ordered a bunch of tests that proved useless, and maxed out my insurance in three visits. No answers, no solutions. Not even a new prescription for an inhaler for my asthma (which has since run out, and I'm praying that I don't have an attack). I'm still dealing with the bills for those tests.

Anyway... lately, over the past few weeks or so, I've just been so exhausted, weak, occasionally dizzy or light-headed, with general aches through my abdomen with the occasional sharp pains, and so on. It gets better sometimes, then worse. It just reminded me of what happened after I took that dose of sulfa antibiotic, so I decided to start "hunting" there. I'll keep in contact, but right now, I can barely afford to take care of the most pressing issue (breast lump), so everything else will have to wait.

Misty, thank you for letting me know that I'm not the only person to have that type of reaction to sulfa. Did your doctor give you any other information about your reaction? Oh, and on that list of yours, I'm also allergic to codeine and latex. Interesting.