The FastDay Forum

Hi all. I'm really hoping someone will be able to help. I am all set for a nice low cal week with Tuesday and Thursday fasts carefully planned out all in anticipation of my monthly weigh in at the weekend. I'd had a headache for a couple of days then last night the pain settled into my ear and the dizziness started One trip to the doctors later and I have a weeks worth of antibiotics for an ear infection

My gut instinct tells me that fasting while taking antibiotics is not going to be a good idea but can anyone tell me if it's ok or not?

[carorees]

If the antibiotics say to take with food, then that could be tricky, otherwise I can't see any problem. You don't need much food, so a small snack would probably be enough. Which antibiotic is it? I had to take antibiotics a while back and fasted fine.

I took low-dose antibiotics for about the first 3 months and it was fine. But I was told they might upset my stomach as they were ones to be taken on an empty stomach.

If you're feeling really ill, I wouldn't fast as the body is under stress already. Saying that, I feel rubbish at the moment with a cold and I still fasted today after a week off, so I'd suck it and see...best thing is you can always change your mind and eat something.

hi Phoenix - I was on antibiotics for my skin for the first month I was on 5:2 and it didn't affect me fasting at all. However if you've got something like labyrinthitis, you might be feeling pretty rotten to begin with. However if you are, why not put off fasting until say thursday, when you will have been on the antibiotics for a couple of days - they might have begun to work by then and you might be feeling better and up to fasting. Hope you feel better soon - I've had this in the past, and it's not nice.

Thanks lovely people.

It's amoxicillin that I'm taking, just a bog standard dose. It says to take 3 times a day before food but I don't know how light a snack still counts as enough food. Will I get away with a 10 cal jelly or a few grapes or do I need more?

I don't have proper labyrinthitis Silverdarling just a mild nausea, dizziness and a little vertigo. I feel fairly rough though, I'm hoping I got to the doctors quick enough for it not to progress any further. I had a nasty bout of labyrinthitis a couple of years back and couldn't stand up properly for a couple of weeks.

The fasting is supposed to help the body heal and repair itself. Personally I would carry on with fasting, but, if I felt it wasn't right or felt sick without food to help the antibiotics down I would have a snack or two.

A lettuce leaf with some cottage cheese and a tomato isn't going to totally ruin a fast day.

Might be comforting to make up a low cal broth with lots of veggies in it and have that comfort and as food with your antibiotics, especially Phoenix if weather is cool where you are. I have fasted while on antibiotics and felt fine as Julieathome suggests there are lots of little snacks which will suit

Hmmm, food for thought. I think that maybe I'll go for 750cals tomorrow just to give me a little more leeway. I have previous experience of reacting badly to antibiotics (in a gastric sense). I still want to fast but the idea of stomach cramps, acid reflux and worse doesn't appeal.

Unfortunately too hot for broth here gillymary but I think lots of liquids are the way to go.

Thank you all for your help. I shall report back.

Last fast I had a very nice lunch munch on celery filled with low fat cottage cheese. You would get the coating to your tummy with cheese the crunch of celery also satisfying. Just check the calorie count for the amount of cottage cheese to use as the celery is endless really.

Why not ask your doctor?

Ooh, celery and cottage cheese sounds like a good plan and lots of liquid in the celery too.

I did try to ask my doctor Mary Ann but he's never heard of 5:2 and said something along the lines of just eat sensibly. I had been waiting over an hour to see him so didn't feel up to explaining what I meant. I just took the prescription and got out of there.

Anti biotics can destroy the good bugs we have in our gut as well as the bad boys! How many of us have had thrush after being on an anti biotic for a while, for example? So try and have some low or non fat yoghurt to help your stomach as well. But that's a problem whether you're doing this WOL or not! I can't see any reason not to fast unless you're feeling really rotten and it's just one more thing to bother with!

Michael Pollon's new book "Cooked" is brilliant on the beneficial bacteria in our gut! Fascinating!

Hope you feel better soon anyway!

I had the same thoughts , last month I had chest and throat infection and did feel rotten, to the point were I stopped 5:2 and just had a break for 2 weeks(antibiotics for 10 days).Sadly put on 4 pound but that came off when I restarted. Hope you feel well soon

Well, I answered my own question - the hard way I couldn't do it. I felt so dreadful I comfort ate whenever I didn't feel like throwing up. All week!! Feeling ill and depressed seems to remove my (fragile at the best of times) willpower and has me reaching for industrial quantities of chocolate, it's my biggest problem weight wise and I just can't seem to stop. I don't know what's wrong with me

I now fear that not only will I not have lost any weight on my monthly weigh in on saturday I might actually have gained

Why not just forget the weigh in then? Start again next week, or whenever you feel better or have finished the course. No point in making yourself feel worse, when you've no reason to, and when you've been feeling ill anyway. Leave the weigh in for say another 2 weeks or so.