Two weeks ago my girlfriend got a little sick. Sore throat and a very mild cough.  Then she got better.  Then she got worse.

Headaches.
Mild body aches
Severe coughing
Green mucus
Stuffy nose
Sore throat(probably from coughing.)


Doctor gave her:
GENERIC NAME: TELITHROMYCIN - ORAL (tell-ITH-row-MY-sin)
BRAND NAME(S): Ketek

Doctor said it might be Bronchitis and lets hope its bacterial so the anti-biotic can get it.

She took one last night.
Woke up and is not coughing and feels a bit better, but has bloody stool.  Which all the websites say is a rare side effect and you should contact the doctor ASAP if it happens.

Doctor gets in in 30 minutes and she is going to call him.  Then I also suggested calling another doctor for a second opinion just for the heck of it.

Prayers welcomed.
Advice and tales of experience welcomed too.

She is so scared, and so she is making me scared.  I know there is no point and I need to keep a level head.

Nurse here....bloody stool very not good. GO TO THE DOCTOR!  Don't kill your self getting there, but go to ER or docs office when it opens.
You don't mess with stuff like that.

Doctors office opened at 8:30.  I have not heard update from her yet.

When you talk to her, be sure thay do a blood workup and a throat culture. There are a lot of serious illnesses with those symptoms. Lazy ass docs just throw antibiotics at you and never bother finding the underlying causes of illnesses.

Sorry, don't want to sound like I'm doc bashing. Most docs that accept insurance plans don't make near what they need to cover expenses. Insurance companies come in and bargain them down. Subsiquently, docs have to see patients at the rate of a fast food drive thru just to make ends meet. Many are getting to the point of telling their patients to go to the ER if they don't feel better in a day. Costs the insurance co. more money. Didn't know it until I was in the ER a while back, the ER is actually subcontracted by lowest bid. Yeah, socilized medicine is going to help us

prayers ... and tag for outcome

Still no update.  Which is sort of good.  She said she would call if she needed help with going to the doctor or something was really bad.  I want to call her but I can almost guarantee she is probably sleeping and I will just wake her up.

Probably won't make you feel much better, but rectal bleeding is one of those things that is often from a completely harmless source......hemorrhoid or lacerated bowel wall secondary to hard stool. It needs to be investigated promptly and throroughly, don't get me wrong, but in a young, otherwise healthy person it is very often caused by something with very few or no long term health implications.

Second opinion in this situation will likely not help out here....besides, her PCP will almost certainly consult a gastroenterologist or general surgeon;  standard of care, IMO, for 1st episode rectal bleeding is colonoscopy. (Some might wish to debate that, I suppose.)

BTW, I don't see rectal bleeding listed anywhere on the P.I. for Ketek. Could you cite the website(s) where you found a reference to rectal bleeding and Ketek?

Best of luck to you and your GF.