Per Maria: tossicità da fluorochinoloni e prevenzione del suicidio,Maria. A prescribed antibiotic. A suicide no one saw coming.

 

Settembre · Mese della prevenzione del suicidio

Testimonianza

Per Maria, e per chi porta un dolore che nessuno vede

Settembre è il mese della prevenzione del suicidio, e ho deciso di raccontare la mia testimonianza. Quando si affronta il dolore di un gesto estremo, spesso si pensa di essere gli unici al mondo a provare quel dolore. Parlarne serve a dare voce a questa sofferenza e a far capire a chi sta male che non è solo, e a dare voce a battaglie che spesso nessuno vede, come quelle contro le gravi reazioni ai farmaci. Un impegno che continua il 22 ottobre, con la Giornata della Consapevolezza sulla Tossicità dei Fluorochinoloni, per accendere una luce su una realtà troppo spesso sottovalutata.

Era una di quelle giornate in cui il cielo sembrava non poter contenere altra luce, e la mia mente era piena di un pensiero: non vedevo l’ora di tornare a casa dopo una giornata di lavoro e trovare Maria, come ogni giorno, ad aspettarmi con il suo sorriso. Invece lei non c’era più, e io mi ritrovai nel vuoto, incapace di capire perché, di realizzare che cosa fosse successo. In quell’istante, tutto il mio mondo si stava sgretolando come sabbia, e da lì a poco…

Sono entrato in caserma come marito e ne sono uscito vedovo, travolto da una devastazione che ha il nome silenzioso e terribile della tossicità da fluorochinoloni, un farmaco che le era stato prescritto e che ha stravolto la nostra vita.

Il ricordo più feroce non è quello che mi dissero dentro, ma quando uscii e vidi che fuori non era cambiato nulla: c’era il sole, la gente camminava, le macchine passavano. Il mondo era identico a prima, io no.

Provavo una sensazione difficile da spiegare: il mondo era sempre lo stesso, ma io non sapevo più come starci dentro. È come indossare un vestito che è sempre stato tuo e improvvisamente non ti entra più. Solo che quel vestito era la nostra vita.

Non riconoscevo più il mondo, e non riconoscevo più chi ero io dentro quel mondo.

Non avevo perso solo Maria, ma il mio essere compagno, amico, confidente, marito, il nostro «noi» e il nostro futuro. Dopo un evento così, il mio cervello doveva imparare una verità enorme: Maria non c’era più, e con lei si era dissolto anche il nostro modo di esistere.

Ecco perché quel sole mi sembrava offensivo: avrei voluto che il mondo fuori mostrasse la catastrofe che avevo dentro. Invece la realtà aveva la stessa forma di prima; ero io che non avevo più la forma giusta per abitarlo.

Quel vestito non potevo più rimetterlo così com’era. Non significa metterlo via per sempre, ma rivederne il modello: decidere cosa tenere, cosa trasformare e cosa aggiungere, per farlo tornare a essere su misura per me.

Oggi so che il dolore non sparisce. Ma parlarne e tendere una mano a chi rischia di perdersi nel dolore è il primo passo per tornare a respirare; e anche se il domani fa paura, giorno dopo giorno si può imparare a trovare un nuovo modo di esistere.

September · Suicide Prevention Month

Testimony

For Maria, and for those who carry a pain that no one sees

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and I have decided to share my testimony. When one faces the pain of an extreme act, one often believes oneself to be the only person in the world to feel that pain. Speaking of it gives a voice to this suffering, helps those who are struggling understand that they are not alone, and gives a voice to battles that often go unseen — among them, the fight against severe adverse reactions to medicines. This commitment continues on 22 October, Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Awareness Day, to shed light on a reality that is too often underestimated.

It was one of those days when the sky seemed unable to hold any more light, and my mind was filled with a single thought: I could not wait to come home after a day’s work and find Maria, as I did every day, waiting for me with her smile. Instead she was no longer there, and I found myself in the void, unable to understand why, unable to grasp what had happened. In that instant my whole world was crumbling like sand, and shortly afterwards…

I entered the station as a husband and I left it a widower, overwhelmed by a devastation that bears the silent and terrible name of fluoroquinolone toxicity — a drug that had been prescribed to her and that upended our lives.

The fiercest memory is not what they told me inside, but the moment I walked out and saw that nothing outside had changed: the sun was shining, people were walking, cars were passing. The world was identical to before; I was not.

I felt something difficult to explain: the world was still the same, but I no longer knew how to inhabit it. It is like wearing a garment that has always been yours and that suddenly no longer fits. Only that garment was our life.

I no longer recognized the world, and I no longer recognized who I was inside that world.

I had not lost only Maria, but my being a companion, a friend, a confidant, a husband — our “we”, and our future. After such an event, my mind had to learn an enormous truth: Maria was no longer there, and with her our way of existing had dissolved as well.

That is why that sun seemed offensive to me: I wanted the world outside to show the catastrophe I carried within. Instead reality still had the same shape as before; it was I who no longer had the right shape to live in it.

I could no longer put that garment back on as it had been. That does not mean putting it away forever, but revising the pattern: deciding what to keep, what to transform and what to add, so that it may fit me once again.

Today I know that the pain does not disappear. But speaking of it, and reaching out a hand to those who risk being lost in pain, is the first step toward breathing again; and even if tomorrow is frightening, day after day one can learn to find a new way of existing.

22 October — Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Awareness Day
22 ottobre — Giornata della Consapevolezza sulla Tossicità dei Fluorochinoloni

Trish Lightwood’s story

 

Fluoroquinolone toxicity · In memoriam

According to public reports (notably the Daily Mail in October 2025), Trish Lightwood posted on Facebook on 14 August 2025 that she had travelled to the Pegasos clinic in Switzerland and that she would end her life that day. The articles state that she died the same day, a few hours after the post.

She was 59, a former teacher and mother of two. She attributed her ongoing suffering (constant pain, tendon and nerve damage, and related symptoms) to a fluoroquinolone antibiotic — ofloxacin, prescribed in September 2023. Her daughter Jen later spoke publicly to raise awareness of these effects.

Trish ended her life after years of agony caused by antibiotics prescribed to thousands every year

A healthy 59-year-old teacher from Liverpool took a nine-day course of ofloxacin after a routine procedure. She never recovered. On 14 August 2025 she died at an assisted-dying clinic in Switzerland.

Source: Nathan Kay, The Mail on Sunday, 5 October 2025

The Mail on Sunday, 5 October 2025, Health, page 48. Article by Nathan Kay. Photograph of the printed newspaper page.

It was only a few hours before her death that many of Trish Lightwood’s friends learned what she intended to do. On 14 August 2025 the mother of two posted on Facebook that she had travelled to the Pegasos assisted-dying clinic in Switzerland.

“Goodbye my friends. I will suffer no more. Today I will end my life.”
— Trish Lightwood, 14 August 2025

In that last post the former teacher was unequivocal about why she had made the one-way trip: debilitating, inescapable chronic pain brought on by a common type of antibiotic called fluoroquinolones.

“I was happy and healthy until I took an antibiotic that damaged me beyond repair, left alive but unable to live. I’m in constant unrelenting pain. I cannot function. I’ve spoke with seven GPs, three top professors, three pain specialists, a neurologist, three psychiatrists and psychologist. There is no cure for this. The medical profession knows this. You can only protect yourself from this by knowing the risks.”
— Trish Lightwood

Four hours after sharing the post, Trish was gone. She was 59. Her 60th birthday would have fallen three days later.

A precaution that destroyed a life

Until September 2023 Trish, from Liverpool, had never had any health problems. Her daughter Jen, then 23, a care worker, told The Mail on Sunday: “She loved exercising and followed a healthy diet. She was a very happy person as well.”

Everything changed after a hysteroscopy — a minor camera procedure to inspect the uterus. The test showed no disease. Trish had no complications. As a precaution against infection, a relatively common risk after the procedure, her doctor prescribed a nine-day course of ofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone.

Within days the side effects began. They never left.

The most debilitating was excruciating pain in her joints and tendons. She could not walk. She could not lift a glass of water without agony. When she needed to leave the house, the family took her in a wheelchair. “If there were any bumps in the path, she could really feel it through her body,” Jen said. “Any jolts she’d feel in her tendons. She would describe it as a constant pulling sensation.” Severe insomnia made it worse: she could not rest her body.

Her family — Jen, son Sean, then 21, and husband Mark, then 59 — had to rebuild daily life around her constant pain.

She saw specialist after specialist. Scans and blood tests were done. An MRI showed inflammation on her brain. Two specialists eventually diagnosed fluoroquinolone-associated disability — a catch-all name for the cluster of severe, lasting harms linked to these antibiotics. They told her there was no effective treatment.

Experts still do not know exactly what causes the condition. One theory is mitochondrial damage: the drugs injure the tiny powerhouses inside cells that generate energy.

The only guidance she was given was that in about eight out of ten patients, symptoms begin to fade after roughly nine months. When that mark came and went, Jen says her mother began to despair.

“She said, ‘I am probably going to be stuck like this forever, I don’t want to be like this.’”
— Jen Lightwood

Around Christmas 2024 Trish considered ending her own life, then pulled back. Soon after, she discussed with her family travelling to Switzerland, where she could legally access assisted dying. She chose the Pegasos clinic because she had read that other people with fluoroquinolone-associated disability had ended their lives there.

Jen said: “She knew what she wanted to do. Even when we were there in Switzerland, I said to her multiple times we could just go home. But she was so determined to do it.”

On the day, a nurse prepared an intravenous drip containing Nembutal and inserted it into Trish’s arm. Patients normally turn a small wheel to release the infusion. Trish’s joint pain made that impossible, so the clinic set up a cord for her to pull. Jen says her mother was calm. “I think it was very quick. The last thing she said to me was, ‘I’m going to sleep now.’”

Still prescribed to thousands, every month

Fluoroquinolones — ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ofloxacin and others — are among the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in the UK. They are used for serious infections of the bladder, lungs and elsewhere. For most patients they are described as safe and effective. Research and regulator files show a minority can suffer severe, lasting injury: tendon and joint pain, muscle weakness, burning or tingling, dizziness, brain fog, and in some cases psychiatric crisis including suicidal thoughts.

Since 1990 the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has linked more than 10,000 adverse reactions and at least 100 deaths to ciprofloxacin alone. In 2024 the regulator told NHS doctors that systemic fluoroquinolones should be prescribed only when other commonly recommended antibiotics are unsuitable.

Despite that warning, NHS figures cited in the article showed more than 20,000 fluoroquinolone prescriptions still being handed out every month in England.

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, University of Liverpool: “If you are being prescribed a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, ask your prescriber whether an antibiotic is really essential. And if it is, ask are there any other antibiotics that could be used instead.”

Jen believes fluoroquinolones should carry a prominent health warning: “This drug should be used as a last resort for life-threatening conditions.”

The Lightwood family started a petition calling for strict rules on the prescription of these antibiotics:

Sign the petition — regulate fluoroquinolone antibiotic use

MHRA statement, as published. Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said the agency acted in January 2024 to tell healthcare professionals that systemic fluoroquinolone antibiotics must now only be prescribed when other commonly recommended antibiotics are inappropriate, after reviewing evidence on disabling and potentially long-lasting or irreversible side effects. Anyone with suspected side effects should speak to a doctor and report them via the Yellow Card scheme, and should read the Patient Information Leaflet.

That is the official language. Trish’s language was shorter: she was happy and healthy until she took an antibiotic that damaged her beyond repair. Left alive, but unable to live.

Her last public act was still a warning. She used the hours she had left to tell other people what these drugs can do. That is why this page exists — so the newspaper cutting does not stay in a drawer, and so another family does not have to learn the name “fluoroquinolone-associated disability” only after it is too late.

If you are in crisis: UK — Samaritans 116 123 or samaritans.org. Netherlands — 113 or 0800-0113 or 113.nl. Belgium — 1813. This post is not medical advice. It is a documented patient story and a public-health warning.

Source: Nathan Kay, “Trish ended her life after years of agony… caused by antibiotics that are prescribed to thousands every year”, The Mail on Sunday, 5 October 2025. Newspaper photograph reproduced here for commentary and patient-safety advocacy, with credit to the original publication and to Trish Lightwood’s family.

The story of Trish Lightwood.

Trish Lightwood

Trish Lightwood, 59, a former teacher from Liverpool, was the wife of Mark and mother of Jen, 23, and Sean, 21. Until September 2023 she was healthy, active and followed a healthy diet.

After a hysteroscopy with normal results and no complications, her doctor prescribed a nine-day course of ofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, “as a precaution” against possible infection. Within days the side effects began and never went away: excruciating joint and tendon pain so severe she could no longer walk or lift a glass of water, severe insomnia, and brain inflammation visible on MRI. Two specialists diagnosed fluoroquinolone-associated disability (FQAD).

She saw seven GPs, three professors, three pain specialists, a neurologist, three psychiatrists and a psychologist. Nothing relieved the constant pain.

In her final Facebook post she wrote: “I was happy and healthy until I took an antibiotic that damaged me beyond repair, left alive but unable to live. I’m in constant unrelenting pain. I cannot function. There is no cure for this. The medical profession knows this. You can only protect yourself from this by knowing the risks.”

On 14 August 2025 she travelled to the Pegasos clinic in Switzerland. A few hours beforehand she posted her goodbye. Her daughter Jen was with her. Her last words were: “I’m going to sleep now.” She died three days before her 60th birthday.

This is a typical case of severe, irreversible fluoroquinolone toxicity after a precautionary prescription, not for a life-threatening infection.

The family started a petition for stricter rules on fluoroquinolone prescribing:
https://www.change.org/p/regulate-fluoroquinolone-antibiotic-use

Source article (Daily Mail, 5 October 2025):
Daily Mail — Trish Lightwood

Video interview with Jen and Mark Lightwood — THIS IS FLOXED — FOR TRISH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2_TZx-rvh4

Photos

There are very few public photographs of Trish. She was a private person. The only confirmed pictures are family photos given to the Daily Mail and stills that may appear in the YouTube interview above. Image searches often return other women named Trish, or fictional Lightwoods from books and television. Those are not her. The portraits the family chose to make public are in the two links above.

Here is the story of Trish Lightwood.

Trish Lightwood

Trish Lightwood, 59, a former teacher from Liverpool, was the wife of Mark and mother of Jen, 23, and Sean, 21. Until September 2023, she was healthy, active, and followed a healthy diet.

After a hysteroscopy with normal results and no complications, her doctor prescribed a nine-day course of ofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, "as a precaution" against possible infection. Within days, the side effects began and never went away: excruciating joint and tendon pain so severe she could no longer walk or lift a glass of water, severe insomnia, and brain inflammation visible on MRI. Two specialists diagnosed fluoroquinolone-associated disability (FQAD).

She saw seven GPs, three professors, three pain specialists, a neurologist, three psychiatrists, and a psychologist. Nothing relieved the constant pain.

In her final Facebook post, she wrote:

"I was happy and healthy until I took an antibiotic that damaged me beyond repair, left alive but unable to live. I'm in constant unrelenting pain. I cannot function. There is no cure for this. The medical profession knows this. You can only protect yourself from this by knowing the risks."

On 14 August 2025, she travelled to the Pegasos clinic in Switzerland. A few hours beforehand, she posted her goodbye message. Her daughter Jen was with her. Her last words were:

"I'm going to sleep now."

She died three days before her 60th birthday.

This is a typical case of severe, irreversible fluoroquinolone toxicity after a precautionary prescription, not for a life-threatening infection.

Petition

The family started a petition for stricter rules on fluoroquinolone prescribing:

Regulate Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic Use

Sources

Daily Mail article (5 October 2025):

Daily Mail — Trish Lightwood

Video interview with Jen and Mark Lightwood — THIS IS FLOXED — FOR TRISH:

Watch on YouTube

Photos

There are very few public photographs of Trish. She was a private person. The only confirmed pictures are family photos provided to the Daily Mail and still images that may appear in the YouTube interview above.

Image searches often return other women named Trish, or fictional Lightwoods from books and television. Those are not her. The portraits the family chose to make public are available through the two sources listed above.

Notition of me they did to me Antonino Troisi

 What did the doctors do when I was floxed? Did they help me?

No. They attacked me.

They falsified my medical file. They wrote that I was a hypochondriac, a liar, that I was exaggerating. They downplayed the tinnitus caused by Avelox by claiming it had come out of nowhere, that one could easily live with it, that it was not important, that it was temporary and that it would pass.

They contacted my previous doctors to spread lies about me and claim that I had said things against them. They even contacted my ex-wife to tell her that I had said serious things about them.

In 2010 I was in a specialized hospital for the tinnitus caused by Avelox. This tinnitus appeared very quickly and it is extremely disabling: 45 to 60 decibels at 7000 hertz.

They telephoned the hospital in Antwerp, the team of Professor Dirk De Ridder, the greatest tinnitus specialist in the world. They said that I was a hypochondriac, a liar, that I was attacking them, that I was insulting them and that I was provoking them, while they presented themselves as caring doctors who only wanted what was best for me.

Result: in Antwerp they objectively diagnosed that my neurons were hyperactive on the opposite side of the tinnitus, and that I had hearing loss in the right ear, exactly where the tinnitus is located. Professor Dirk De Ridder also found intracranial pressure and pressure in the right ear. He directed me to an endocrinologist.

But because of their constant harassment — them and the doctor’s wife — who kept calling and harming me with every doctor I saw, the doctors blocked me. In Antwerp they finally told me: “We will no longer help you, we will no longer treat you, go somewhere else.” The professor refused to complete the diagnosis and the follow-up was stopped.

The doctor even called me at home to insult me. He was taking revenge because I had said that Prozac had destroyed me. In 1994 they had prescribed me Prozac even though I already had eosinophilic asthma, tachycardia and diabetes. They had sent me to psychiatry.

I had to wait for years before I could get any care somewhere. During that time my wife cheated on me with her boss while I was floxed and poisoned. She did it twice. I was floxed twice, she betrayed me twice, then she left and left me with debts. I was four thousand euros in the red when she left.

I was never able to really rebuild myself, because the doctors never stopped attacking me.

That is what they did.
They did not help me.
They destroyed me a little more.What did the doctors do when I was floxed? Did they help me?

No. They attacked me.

They falsified my medical file. They wrote that I was a hypochondriac, a liar, that I was exaggerating. They downplayed the tinnitus caused by Avelox by claiming it had come out of nowhere, that one could easily live with it, that it was not important, that it was temporary and that it would pass.

They contacted my previous doctors to spread lies about me and claim that I had said things against them. They even contacted my ex-wife to tell her that I had said serious things about them.

In 2010 I was in a specialized hospital for the tinnitus caused by Avelox. This tinnitus appeared very quickly and it is extremely disabling: 45 to 60 decibels at 7000 hertz.

They telephoned the hospital in Antwerp, the team of Professor Dirk De Ridder, the greatest tinnitus specialist in the world. They said that I was a hypochondriac, a liar, that I was attacking them, that I was insulting them and that I was provoking them, while they presented themselves as caring doctors who only wanted what was best for me.

Result: in Antwerp they objectively diagnosed that my neurons were hyperactive on the opposite side of the tinnitus, and that I had hearing loss in the right ear, exactly where the tinnitus is located. Professor Dirk De Ridder also found intracranial pressure and pressure in the right ear. He directed me to an endocrinologist.

But because of their constant harassment — them and the doctor’s wife — who kept calling and harming me with every doctor I saw, the doctors blocked me. In Antwerp they finally told me: “We will no longer help you, we will no longer treat you, go somewhere else.” The professor refused to complete the diagnosis and the follow-up was stopped.

The doctor even called me at home to insult me. He was taking revenge because I had said that Prozac had destroyed me. In 1994 they had prescribed me Prozac even though I already had eosinophilic asthma, tachycardia and diabetes. They had sent me to psychiatry.

I had to wait for years before I could get any care somewhere. During that time my wife cheated on me with her boss while I was floxed and poisoned. She did it twice. I was floxed twice, she betrayed me twice, then she left and left me with debts. I was four thousand euros in the red when she left.

I was never able to really rebuild myself, because the doctors never stopped attacking me.

That is what they did.
They did not help me.
They destroyed me more. and more



How many times did they call me a softy, a pussy, tell me I was exaggerating, that I was having panic attacks, that I was hyperventilating? How many times did the female nurses and caregivers, especially in the emergency department, say things like “You men are all pussies” and other humiliating remarks?

These people insulted and humiliated me over and over again. It is unbelievable.

And then on television you constantly see reports about patients attacking doctors, patients attacking caregivers, patients being the problem. Meanwhile these people cause us so much harm. They are complete hypocrites.


My American floxie friends,

Remember one thing The Netherlands where i life not my country (i am Proud Sicilian Italian)

The beautiful image, the propaganda of a civilized, caring country that looks after its people is completely false. It is pure propaganda. They place themselves at the top of the statistics, but they are hypocritical liars. The care is disgusting.

In my city, I am telling you, they are not even capable of measuring tinnitus. Before my consultation with the ear doctor, I asked the receptionist at the desk: “Can you measure tinnitus? Are you able to measure tinnitus?” She started laughing, “hahaha,” and said: “No, it is impossible to measure tinnitus.”

That is completely wrong. It is perfectly possible to measure tinnitus. But in my city they are idiots, completely incapable.

My Story – Robert Montez

Date: 10/01/12

My name is Robert Montez. I am 17 years old. Before this happened, I was a very healthy teenager. I was highly involved in school, maintained excellent grades, and was on track for an early graduation. My plan was to enter a five-year nursing program after finishing high school.

I have always had a deep passion for music and art. Growing up surrounded by many genres of music, I felt fortunate to experience such diversity and set goals of becoming a musician. I learned to sing, play guitar and bass, and music became an essential part of my daily life. Eventually, it inspired me to pursue plans of forming a band.

Aside from school and my hobbies, I had been in a four-year relationship with my high school sweetheart, Alycia. This experience has affected her deeply as well. We spent much of our relationship discussing our future plans and goals after high school. She was very important to me, and this illness has devastated many of the dreams we had together. It struck at what should have been one of the happiest periods of my life, just as all my plans were about to become reality.

I often think about how my life seemed to end just as it was beginning.

On May 25, 2012, my life changed forever. One morning while bathing, I discovered a lump in my testicle. Concerned because cancer runs in my father's side of the family and because I was experiencing severe pain, I quickly scheduled an appointment with my doctor.

After examining me, my doctor ruled out cancer and diagnosed the problem as an epididymal cyst. He then prescribed Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) 500 mg, twice daily for ten days.

That same day, as I was beginning my summer break from school, I picked up the prescription and went home. I only took two pills before realizing that something was terribly wrong.

While lying on my bed, I suddenly noticed an unusual sensation in both Achilles tendons. It felt as though all the nutrients had been drained from them, leaving them brittle and weak. When I tried to walk, it felt as if they might snap beneath me.

Soon afterward, I experienced an overwhelming sensation that every ounce of life had been sucked from my body, accompanied by an intense panic attack. I did not feel like myself. The world around me seemed strange, unreal, and dreamlike. It was terrifying.

During the following days, I felt extremely weak, flu-like, frightened, and helpless. After reading the medication leaflet more carefully, I discovered some of the listed side effects. I immediately began searching online for information about Cipro side effects and was horrified by what I found. To this day, it still feels like a nightmare from which I have never fully awakened.

Symptoms I Experienced After Taking Cipro

• Severe head pressure
• Tendonosis and tendonitis in both Achilles tendons
• Partial hearing loss in the right ear
• Tinnitus
• Tendonitis in both hands
• Damage to multiple tendons throughout the body
• Hundreds of eye floaters of various shapes and sizes
• Disturbances in smell perception
• Dental problems
• Arthritis-like pain in knees, hands, and wrists
• Premature skin aging
• Poor wound healing
• Brittle nails
• Severe constipation
• Frequent urination
• Extreme anxiety and panic attacks
• Depersonalization and feelings of unreality
• Suicidal thoughts
• Depression
• Frequent crying spells
• Feelings of emptiness
• Severe mood swings
• Peripheral neuropathy affecting multiple limbs
• Severe nerve pain, especially in the legs, knees, and feet
• Chronic fatigue

At the time of writing, I am four months into my recovery after being floxed. My symptoms come in cycles, varying greatly in intensity and duration. Around six of these symptoms affect me daily. Some days are manageable, while others are extremely difficult. Certain weeks bring intense flare-ups.

Mentally, I feel more normal than I did during the early stages, but I still do not feel like myself. Pain in my legs often makes walking difficult, and both Achilles tendons continue to trouble me, particularly the left one. The nerve pain is unusual because it constantly changes location.

Overall, I do feel better in some ways, although in other ways I sometimes feel worse than I did earlier. Recovery has been a constant cycle of progress and setbacks, much like many other floxed individuals describe.

I have tried a variety of approaches recommended by other sufferers, including:

• Whey protein
• Magnesium supplements
• Vitamin C
• Hot Epsom salt baths
• Vitamins A and D
• Cellfood
• Lemon water
• Apple cider vinegar
• Reverse osmosis water
• A healthy diet whenever possible

Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether I am moving forward or backward in recovery because of the dramatic ups and downs. However, I understand that everyone heals differently, and despite being far from my old self, I am grateful that I have made some improvements during these four months.

Knowing that there are many others going through similar experiences saddens me deeply, but it also gives me comfort because it reminds me that I am not alone.

I know I have a long road ahead, as many of us do. I believe that time plays a major role in recovery. I am still frightened about what the future may hold, but I continue to live, hope, and pray every day for healing.

If there are any other young floxies who can relate, please share your story. In fact, anyone is welcome to share. I believe that by standing together and raising awareness, we can help prevent this terrible illness from happening to others.

~ Peace & Love ~
Robert Montez

I Only Took Two Pills of Cipro – Robert Montez, 17 years old, From Healthy Teen to Floxie in 48 Hours – Robert’s Testimony (2012)

Floxie Testimony

I Only Took Two Pills of Cipro – Robert Montez, 17 years old

Written 1 October 2012 · 4 months after being floxed

Before this I was a very healthy teen. I was very involved in school, always keeping my grades high and was on track for an early graduation. I was planning on getting into a 5-year nursing program after finishing high school. I have also always had a big passion for music and art since I was very little. Growing up around many genres of music, I always felt very blessed to have heard them and set forth goals to become a musician. Having learned how to sing, play guitar and bass, music became a part of my everyday life and soon inspired me to want to form a band.

Aside from school and my hobbies, I have been involved in a 4-year relationship with my high school sweetheart Alycia, who this has very much affected as well. We spent much of our relationship being very committed, discussing after-high-school plans and goals. Being so important to me, this has devastated much of my plans and dreams, striking me at the most joyous time of my life — the time when all my plans were to be set into action. I often think about how my life has ended as soon as it started.

On May 25, 2012 my life was forever changed.

One morning while bathing I discovered a testicular lump. Soon after I scheduled an appointment with my doctor. I was very alarmed because cancer runs in my father’s side of the family and I was in an extreme amount of pain. After a visit with my doctor, he ruled it out as being an epididymal cyst and was quick to prescribe me a round of Cipro 500 mg twice a day for 10 days.

That same day I was starting my summer break out of school. I picked up my prescription and headed home. I only took two of those poison pills!!!

I quickly noticed something was wrong. I did not know what hit me at all. I was lying on the bed when I suddenly noticed a very odd sensation in both my Achilles tendons, as if all the nutrients had been sucked out of them and they became extremely brittle and weak. I tried to walk and felt as if they were going to snap right beneath me. Then followed a horrible feeling of every ounce of life being sucked out of my body, with a very intense panic attack. I was lost on how to describe how I felt next. I felt like I was not myself. I felt like the world around me was different and dream-like — but this was terrifying.

For the following days I was feeling very flu-like and very weak, and very scared of everything around me, like a helpless animal. After I read the package a bit more I came across some of the mentioned side effects. I very quickly started a Google search on Cipro side effects and was extremely horrified by everything I read. I was very scared and to this day feel like this is a nightmare that I have not been able to awake from or accept.

A list of all my side effects from this antibiotic:

I am 4 months out from my initial floxing and I have many cycles of my symptoms. All vary in duration and length, but about 6 or so of the ones I mentioned I have on a daily basis. Some days go okay and others not so smooth, with some weeks them peaking in intensity. Mentally I feel more normal than early floxing but still not myself. I experience much pain in my legs, making it hard to walk sometimes. Both Achilles are still a bother, with my left still being acute. Nerve pains are very strange because they seem to shift to different locations.

Overall I do feel better in some ways and sometimes worse in others than early on. This really is a back-and-forth thing, like many other floxed people have described. I am trying certain suggestions from other sufferers, which I change up: whey protein, magnesium supplements, vitamin C, hot Epsom salt baths, vitamins A & D, Cellfood, lemon water, apple cider vinegar, reverse osmosis water. I try to eat as healthy as I can, but it’s sort of hard when you have to rely on your mother and money has to stretch.

At times I don’t know if I have gone back in time in recovery or forward. It’s very hard to tell with all the major ups and downs. But I know we all heal to our own degree, and I do feel thankful that at 4 months — although nowhere near my normal old self — I have made some improvement.

Knowing that there are many like myself highly saddens me, but at the same time offers comfort that I’m not alone. I have definitely a long road ahead of me, as do we all. But I believe time is a big factor in our recovery. I am still very scared about the future but must keep on living, hoping and praying every day for recovery.

Please, if any other young floxies can relate, share your story — or anyone, it does not matter. I believe as long as we all stick together we can prevent this horrible illness from happening to anyone else.

~ Peace & Love ~
Robert

Original testimony written by Robert Montez, 17 years old, four months after being floxed by only two tablets of Ciprofloxacin 500 mg in May 2012.
Shared here to keep the voices of young floxies visible.

Kate ¡Destruida!

KATE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WOjOnau7MQ 

https://www.youtube.com/@antibioticostoxicos

https://destruida-los-restos.blogspot.com/

Kate Before FLOX
https://destruida-los-restos.blogspot.com/p/kate-alive-before-quintoxication.html

Oliver Newell., A LIFE TAKEN BY CIPRO

 

 **A LIFE TAKEN BY CIPRO**  

**Oliver Newell & Wayne Geist – Two Lives, One Tragic Pattern**

### OLIVER NEWELL  

**Died September 21, 2012**

**IMPORTANT ALERT!**  

Be careful with antibiotics like CIPRO for treatment of infections.  

CIPRO and similar drugs may cause Fluoroquinolone Toxicity.  

It made Oliver Newell suffer terribly for **9 months** and eventually may have contributed to his death.

**FLUOROQUINOLONE TOXICITY**  

These risks are often not made obvious.

**PLEASE SHARE**  

this broadly in your network as a public service to raise awareness.

---

**Donald Mabrey 05/05/2011**  

***Rest in Peace***

“This is one thing I told myself I would do this year. I am going to tell the story of how Cipro changed my Daddy’s life.  

My Dad lived with me during the last years of his life after Mom passed away. He dealt with chronic bladder infections for over 40 years.  

Doctors could never figure out the cause until he was diagnosed with cancer at stage 4 – a rare Urachal cancer.  

He took Cipro (250 mg) for ten years which kept his bladder infections under control – sometimes he had to have Cipro in IV’s.  

A few months later Dad said the doctor took him off Cipro and that is when he went downhill.  

**By the time I figured out what happened to me it was too late for my Dad – he was already a full-blown Floxie.**”

---

### WAYNE BERNARD GEIST – MARCH 14, 2011  

**A PREVENTABLE DEATH**

**WHAT HAPPENED?**  

- Wayne Geist had a **SEVERE ALLERGY** to Levaquin (previous visit caused peripheral neuropathy & loss of use of his legs for 3 months).  

- His allergy was clearly noted on his hospital records and wristband.  

- Despite this, he was given the **MAXIMUM IV dose** of Levaquin.  

- No less than **THREE** opportunities were missed to prevent this deadly mistake (doctor, pharmacist, nurse).

**Timeline:**  

- **FEB 24** – Admitted to Lodi Memorial Hospital. Allergy to Levaquin noted.  

- **FEB 26** – Given **MAXIMUM IV dose** of Levaquin despite allergy.  

- **LESS THAN 3 HOURS LATER** – Breathing became increasingly labored. Transferred to ICU and placed on a ventilator.  

- **MARCH 14** – Died after 16 days in the hospital.

A husband, a father, a loved one – gone because warnings were ignored. This could have been prevented.

**THE LAWSUIT CLAIMS**  

- Hospital knew from a previous visit that Levaquin had caused a serious reaction.  

- Negligence & negligent credentialing led to his death.  

- Seeking unspecified damages.

“Was there a compelling reason to use Levaquin that overrode the risk of an adverse reaction?”  

— Pharmacy Expert

---

**FLUOROQUINOLONES (Like CIPRO & LEVAQUIN) CAN CAUSE:**  

- Tendon rupture  

- Peripheral neuropathy  

- CNS effects  

- Muscle & joint damage  

- And more...

**RISKS ARE REAL. WARNINGS MATTER. LIVES DEPEND ON IT.**

**LEARN. SHARE. SAVE LIVES.**  

Educate yourself and others about the real risks of fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

**FQ100 FOUNDATION**  

Fighting for recognition, research, and protections for FQAD survivors.  

www.fq100.org

**MY QUIN STORY**  

Evidence-based education and resources about fluoroquinolone toxicity.  

www.myquinstory.org

Remember Oliver.  

Remember Wayne.  

**NEVER IGNORE THE RISKS.**

---

**Compiled by Teri Koko** – FQ Patient Advocate since 2013  

Design & layout created with AI assistance.

---

### Concrete summary of what happened

**Oliver Newell (died 21 September 2012)**  

He was given Cipro (and similar fluoroquinolones). He suffered severe fluoroquinolone toxicity for nine months. The toxicity is believed to have contributed to his death. The infographic presents him as a clear example of how these drugs can cause lasting, sometimes fatal harm even when used for ordinary infections.

**Donald Mabrey’s father (story shared 5 May 2011)**  

He had chronic bladder infections for more than 40 years. Doctors never found the underlying cause until he was diagnosed with stage-4 urachal cancer. For ten years he was kept on Cipro 250 mg (sometimes intravenously). When the doctor finally stopped the Cipro, his condition deteriorated rapidly. By the time his son understood what fluoroquinolone toxicity (“Floxie”) was, it was too late — the father was already severely affected.

**Wayne Bernard Geist (died 14 March 2011)**  

This is described as a completely preventable death.  

- He already had a documented severe allergy to Levaquin: a previous exposure had caused peripheral neuropathy and loss of use of his legs for three months.  

- The allergy was clearly written in his hospital chart and on his wristband.  

- On 24 February he was admitted to Lodi Memorial Hospital; the allergy was noted.  

- On 26 February he was nevertheless given the maximum intravenous dose of Levaquin.  

- Within less than three hours his breathing became severely labored; he was transferred to ICU and put on a ventilator.  

- He died on 14 March after 16 days in hospital.  

A lawsuit claimed the hospital knew about the previous serious reaction, that negligence (and negligent credentialing) caused his death, and that three separate opportunities (doctor, pharmacist, nurse) to stop the drug were missed. A pharmacy expert asked whether there was any compelling reason to give Levaquin that justified overriding the known risk of an adverse reaction.

The overall message of the poster is that fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro, Levaquin and similar drugs) can cause serious, permanent, and sometimes fatal toxicity — tendon rupture, peripheral neuropathy, central-nervous-system effects, muscle and joint damage, and more — and that these risks are often not made clear enough to patients or even to medical staff. The cases of Oliver Newell and Wayne Geist are presented as concrete illustrations of how ignoring or underestimating these risks can cost lives.

Floxed Levaquin - Bobby Caldwell, the iconic singer _ What You Won't Do for Love

Bobby Caldwell, the iconic singer best known for hits like "What You Won't Do for Love," "Next Time I Fall," "My Flame," and "Open Your Eyes," was enjoying life with his wife, Mary, until he visited an urgent care center for a simple head cold. He was prescribed an antibiotic called Levaquin. Within a few days, he lost the ability to walk. Not long after, he passed away. The tragedy of Bobby and Mary Caldwell needs to be shared so others do not suffer from "Bobby Caldwell syndrome"—bilateral Achilles tendon rupture and severe toxicity caused by fluoroquinolone antibiotics.#bobbycaldwell #fluoroquinolonetoxicity #health #antibiotics #medicine

 https://www.facebook.com/reel/1703566197367507

: LEVAQUIN • FLUOROQUINOLONE TOXICITY • SPINAL CSF LEAKS

 

MEET KAREN SHETTLER PADDOCK

Karen’s published journal tells the powerful truth of what she endured after being poisoned by the fluoroquinolone antibiotic

Levaquin® (levofloxacin). Her story includes fluoroquinolone toxicity, systemic tendinitis, chronic pain, intracranial hypotension,

and spinal CSF leaks.

• Saw 35 doctors before a diagnosis of spinal CSF leak in 2012.

• Endured numerous procedures and extraordinary pain.

• Died on August 7, 2013.

“There is nothing wrong with you. You are just doing this to get attention or pain pills.”

— Words Karen heard far too often.

KAREN’S JOURNAL

Karen’s Journal of CSF Leak Headaches and Chronic Pain

How Intracranial Hypotension and the Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic Levaquin® (Levofloxacin) Killed Me

by the late Karen Shettler Paddock & Robert Paddock

Bob preserved her words — more than 9,000 journal entries, diaries and emails — and turned them into a book so others could

benefit from her experiences. He receives no money from sales; 100% of royalties go to the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation.

KAREN’S JOURNEY — A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

October 1989 Car Accident

Karen was in a serious car accident. Headaches, neck pain and other symptoms began in this period.

2004 Levaquin® (Levofloxacin)

Karen was prescribed Levaquin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. According to Bob, symptoms they associated with the

fluoroquinolone exposure emerged approximately six months later.

2004 and Beyond A Long, Difficult Road

Years passed before they understood the connection to the antibiotic: Fluoroquinolone toxicity • Systemic tendinitis •

Intracranial hypotension • Chronic pain • Life-changing disability

2012 Spinal CSF Leak Diagnosis

After being evaluated by 35 doctors, Karen received a diagnosis of a possible spinal CSF leak.

August 7, 2013 Karen Passed Away

THE CONNECTION THAT DESERVES SERIOUS ATTENTION

63 PEOPLE

Bob Paddock has now heard directly from 63 people who report that their own CSF leak began after taking a

fluoroquinolone antibiotic.

• Karen’s published story explicitly describes fluoroquinolone antibiotic poisoning from Levaquin® (levofloxacin) and systemic

tendinitis as part of her medical history.

• Bob has spoken about the FQ–CSF leak connection within the CSF leak community, including presenting his observations

at the first CSF Leak conference. This brought the issue to the attention of many physicians who specialize in CSF leaks.

• Fluoroquinolones are known to cause serious connective tissue injuries, including tendinitis and tendon rupture. The spinal

dura is connective tissue. Connective tissue weakness is a recognized risk factor for spontaneous CSF leaks.

• Sixty-three patient reports should not be ignored. The FQ–CSF leak connection deserves serious attention, careful

documentation and dedicated scientific research.

THERE ARE THREE WAYS YOU CAN HELP

1. Donate Directly

Please consider supporting the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation. Donations help fund research, education, awareness, and support

for people whose lives are affected by spinal CSF leaks.

Donate here: spinalcsfleak.org/donate

2. Buy Karen’s Book

If you would like to learn much more about Karen’s experience in her own words, consider purchasing her book. Bob Paddock

receives NO MONEY from sales of Karen’s book — 100% of the royalties from the purple cover book (paperback or Kindle) go to

the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation.

Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (also in Kindle format).

3. Read Karen & Bob’s Story

Learn more about Karen and Bob’s journey and the mission of the Foundation:

spinalcsfleak.org/when-pain-is-relentless

KAREN LEFT BEHIND HER WORDS. BOB MADE SURE THEY WEREN’T LOST.

NOW WE CAN HELP MAKE SURE THEY’RE HEARD.

Read. Donate. Purchase the book. Share. Awareness may help the next person find an answer sooner.

SPINAL CSF LEAK FOUNDATION — Hope. Help. Healing.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/26685831937760973

https://www.facebook.com/reel/26685831937760973 

 

This is a Reel from the Facebook page “Fluoroquinolonas Alerta”.

In the video, Dr. Luis Alfredo Pérez (also known as Dr. Luis Pérez) discusses the case of Talia Smith (sometimes spelled Thalia), an American woman from Massachusetts.

Who is Talia Smith?

She is a woman who, in April 2021, took only 3 tablets of ciprofloxacin (Cipro) for a simple urinary tract infection. Until then, she was healthy, active, and the primary caregiver for her husband (a former Marine who became a quadriplegic).

After those few pills, she developed severe fluoroquinolone toxicity (floxing):

• She could no longer walk

• Intense neuropathic pain

• Massive weight loss (down to about 65 pounds / ~30 kg)

• She ended up in palliative/hospice care

• Permanent disability

Her story has been widely covered in the media (People Magazine, NewsNation, The Sun, etc.).

Who is Dr. Luis Alfredo Pérez?

He is a Spanish-speaking doctor who creates medical education content, particularly on TikTok under the account @conocimientoencapsulas. He comments on cases of fluoroquinolone toxicity, such as Talia Smith’s, to raise awareness about the risks of these antibiotics (Cipro, levofloxacin, etc.).

The page Fluoroquinolonas Alerta is an awareness/advocacy page about the dangers of fluoroquinolones.

“Destroyed by Fluoroquinolones: Rafał Habram’s Fight for Survival”

Rafał Habram. LoveU ❤️ BIG UP! 🙌 😘 😘

From 2020 to 2023, I suffered from chronic sinusitis. The only medication that did not help was ciprofloxacin.

I was hospitalized for nearly three weeks, lifting my head only to eat and go to the toilet. I was so weak that I could not even go to the bathroom normally. I also had a high fever and did not even feel the needle during the injection. Before the injection, my whole body felt strange, and I did not even feel the needle.

I left the hospital very discouraged, thinking that time would fix everything. I took the prescribed medications and did psychotherapy. Unfortunately, it got worse, with no improvement at all. I saw many doctors who noticed nothing, only increasing the doses of gabapentin from three times two hundred to three times six hundred milligrams.

I sought help through osteopathy and neurological rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it got even worse. My body started hurting more, every touch felt like a burn, electrical paresthesias. After a while, I had stomach pains after taking the medications, and a sensation of electrical energy transmission from the head to the feet.

The search for a way out ended with MRIs, EMGs and other examinations. None of them helped, and the situation even worsened because of this electrical energy transmission.

I decided to go to a clinic in Germany. They made an additional diagnosis of small fiber polyneuropathy and performed a skin biopsy. I was given a Metypred infusion, and the problem got worse. The treatment was supposed to last three days, one thousand milliliters per day. After the first dose, I refused the rest, which made things even worse.

I felt terrible, my whole body hot, as if I could feel something inside. Burning and itching with red, painful fingers, and cramps that have accompanied me ever since. Burning on the face and almost the entire body. I developed terrible paresthesia of the fingers, feet and whole body, which did not exist before. Blood pressure is very high and muscle cramps are intensifying.

I stopped all medications and took vitamins C, B and D. Fighting for my life, I managed to get to the SOR at the UCK in Katowice, where I was admitted to neurology. A complete analysis was done, and I left in a wheelchair.

Today I know that this is the work of fluoroquinolone medications.

Since I started feeling this bad state, it has lasted six months, and my body has become more and more flabby. I have already lost my mind and remained unconscious. My leg has become more sensitive, and of a strong person like me, who was still there last June, nothing remains. I am systematically losing weight despite having an appetite, and new headaches appear, which confirms the effect of the medications.

Unfortunately, I know that my situation is very difficult, and I need a little help to survive a little longer. I have a small child who does not see what is happening to his father, terrified, who sees how I am becoming flabby. I have terrible itching, the skin has peeled off, and I feel terribly ill.

I wrote this in April of this year... today it is already a complete tragedy, he is no longer really alive. My skin, my bones, the constant pain, and my once fit body.

I really need help. I was recently in the hospital in Katowice Ochojec, in neurology, only to discover that they considered me “mentally ill”... They just did a blood test and an MRI or CT scan, and I was terrified because I am more and more destroyed after each stay. Now I am in the hospital in Łódź, where it is even worse. The doctors treating me are FQAD doctors: a Pole from Poznań, Doctor Michalak, and currently Doctor Stefan Piper from Germany.

Unfortunately, the medications have not changed the situation, which is becoming more difficult every day. My body does not accept supplements well. Along the way, I had many homeopaths and naturopaths who pushed me to take more supplements and medications. Once again, it is useless.

Today, every day is a struggle, and such a loss of muscle mass that I try not to move. Unfortunately, every activity causes muscle mass loss and nerve pain or a body cramp. I am on the verge of exhaustion because I no longer see any hope. I have the feeling that my body is dying, and I know that it is no longer fighting.

I have thought about suicide every day because of my condition, and I am waiting, unfortunately, for the courage, because no one can survive such degradation of the body to the end.

I ran a business, I had a beautiful family life before the illness. I lost everything!!!

Please help me and show the world what fluoroquinolone group antibiotics do.

Rafał.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Rafał Habram. LoveU ❤️ BIG UP! 🙌 😘 😘

Van 2020 tot 2023 leed ik aan chronische sinusitis. Het enige medicijn dat niet hielp, was ciprofloxacine.

Ik lag bijna drie weken in het ziekenhuis en tilde mijn hoofd alleen op om te eten en naar het toilet te gaan. Ik was zo zwak dat ik niet eens normaal naar de badkamer kon. Ik had ook hoge koorts en voelde de naald bij de injectie niet eens. Voor de prik voelde mijn hele lichaam raar aan, en ik voelde de naald niet eens.

Ik verliet het ziekenhuis erg ontmoedigd, denkend dat de tijd alles wel zou regelen. Ik nam de voorgeschreven medicijnen en deed psychotherapie. Helaas werd het erger, zonder enige verbetering. Ik zag veel artsen die niets opmerkten en alleen de doseringen van gabapentine verhoogden, van drie keer tweehonderd naar drie keer zeshonderd milligram.

Ik zocht hulp bij osteopathie en neurologische revalidatie. Helaas werd het nog erger. Mijn lichaam begon meer pijn te doen, elk contact voelde als een brandwond, elektrische paresthesieën. Na een tijdje kreeg ik maagpijn na het innemen van de medicijnen, en een gevoel van elektrische energieoverdracht van het hoofd naar de voeten.

De zoektocht naar een uitweg eindigde met MRI’s, EMG’s en andere onderzoeken. Geen van alle hielp, en de situatie werd zelfs erger door deze elektrische energieoverdracht.

Ik besloot naar een kliniek in Duitsland te gaan. Ze stelden een aanvullende diagnose van polyneuropathie van de kleine vezels en deden een huidbiopsie. Ik kreeg een infuus met Metypred, en het probleem werd erger. De behandeling moest drie dagen duren, duizend milliliter per dag. Na de eerste dosis weigerde ik de rest, wat de zaken nog erger maakte.

Ik voelde me vreselijk, mijn hele lichaam heet, alsof ik iets van binnen voelde. Brandingen en jeuk met rode, pijnlijke vingers, en krampen die me sindsdien altijd vergezellen. Branding in het gezicht en bijna over het hele lichaam. Ik ontwikkelde een vreselijke paresthesie van de vingers, voeten en het hele lichaam, die er eerder niet was. De bloeddruk is erg hoog en de spierkrampen worden heviger.

Ik stopte met alle medicijnen en nam vitamine C, B en D. Al vechtend voor mijn leven lukte het me om bij de SOR van het UCK in Katowice te komen, waar ik werd opgenomen op de neurologie. Er werd een volledige analyse gedaan, en ik ging weg in een rolstoel.

Vandaag weet ik dat dit het werk is van de fluorochinolonen-medicijnen.

Sinds ik dit slechte toestand begon te voelen, duurt het al zes maanden, en mijn lichaam is steeds slapper geworden. Ik ben al mijn verstand kwijtgeraakt en bewusteloos geweest. Mijn been is gevoeliger geworden, en van een sterke persoon zoals ik, die vorige juni nog bestond, blijft niets over. Ik val systematisch af ondanks eetlust, en er komen nieuwe hoofdpijnen bij, wat het effect van de medicijnen bevestigt.

Helaas weet ik dat mijn situatie erg moeilijk is, en ik heb een beetje hulp nodig om nog iets langer te overleven. Ik heb een klein kind dat niet ziet wat er met zijn vader gebeurt, doodsbang, dat ziet hoe ik slap word. Ik heb vreselijke jeuk, de huid is losgelaten, en ik voel me vreselijk ziek.

Ik heb dit in april van dit jaar geschreven… vandaag is het al een complete tragedie, hij is niet echt meer in leven. Mijn huid, mijn botten, de constante pijn, en mijn ooit fitte lichaam.

Ik heb echt hulp nodig. Ik was onlangs in het ziekenhuis in Katowice Ochojec, op de neurologie, om te ontdekken dat ze me als « geestelijk ziek » beschouwden… Ze deden alleen een bloedonderzoek en een MRI of CT-scan, en ik was doodsbang omdat ik na elk verblijf steeds meer vernietigd raak. Nu ben ik in het ziekenhuis in Łódź, waar het nog erger is. De artsen die me behandelen zijn FQAD-artsen: een Pool uit Poznań, dokter Michalak, en momenteel dokter Stefan Piper uit Duitsland.

Helaas hebben de medicijnen de situatie niet veranderd, die elke dag moeilijker wordt. Mijn lichaam accepteert supplementen niet goed. Onderweg heb ik veel homeopaten en natuurgenezers gehad die me aanspoorden om meer supplementen en medicijnen te nemen. Opnieuw is het nutteloos.

Vandaag is elke dag een strijd, en zo’n verlies van spiermassa dat ik probeer niet te bewegen. Helaas veroorzaakt elke activiteit spiermassaverlies en zenuwpijn of een kramp van het lichaam. Ik sta op de rand van uitputting omdat ik geen hoop meer zie. Ik heb het gevoel dat mijn lichaam sterft, en ik weet dat het niet meer vecht.

Ik heb elke dag aan zelfmoord gedacht vanwege mijn toestand, en ik wacht, helaas, op de moed, omdat niemand zo’n aftakeling van het lichaam tot het einde kan overleven.

Ik leidde een bedrijf, ik had een mooi gezinsleven vóór de ziekte. Ik heb alles verloren!!!

Alstublieft, help me en laat de wereld zien wat de antibiotica uit de groep van de fluorochinolonen doen.

Rafał.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rafał Habram. LoveU ❤️ BIG UP! 🙌 😘 😘

De 2020 à 2023, j'ai souffert de sinusite chronique. Le seul médicament qui n'a pas aidé, c'était la ciprofloxacine.

J'ai été hospitalisé près de trois semaines, ne levant la tête que pour manger et aller aux toilettes. J'étais si faible que je ne pouvais même pas aller à la salle de bain normalement. J'avais aussi une forte fièvre et je ne sentais même pas l'aiguille pendant l'injection. Avant la piqûre, tout mon corps se sentait bizarre, et je ne sentais même pas l'aiguille.

Je suis sorti de l'hôpital très découragé, pensant que le temps arrangerait tout. J'ai pris les médicaments prescrits et fait de la psychothérapie. Malheureusement, ça s'est aggravé, sans aucune amélioration. J'ai vu plein de médecins qui n'ont rien remarqué, augmentant juste les doses de gabapentine, de trois fois deux cents à trois fois six cents milligrammes.

J'ai cherché de l'aide en ostéopathie et rééducation neurologique. Malheureusement, ça s'est encore aggravé. Mon corps a commencé à faire plus mal, chaque contact était comme une brûlure, des paresthésies électriques. Après un moment, j'ai eu des douleurs d'estomac après avoir pris les médicaments, et une sensation de transmission d'énergie électrique de la tête aux pieds.

La recherche d'une issue s'est terminée avec des IRM, des EMG et d'autres examens. Aucun n'a aidé, et la situation a même empiré à cause de cette transmission électrique d'énergie.

J'ai décidé d'aller dans une clinique en Allemagne. Ils ont posé un diagnostic supplémentaire de polyneuropathie des petites fibres, et fait une biopsie cutanée. On m'a donné une perfusion de Metypred, et le problème s'est aggravé. Le traitement devait durer trois jours, mille millilitres par jour. Après la première dose, j'ai refusé le reste, ce qui a rendu les choses encore pires.

Je me sentais terrible, tout le corps chaud, comme si je sentais quelque chose à l'intérieur. Brûlures et démangeaisons avec les doigts rouges, douloureux, et des crampes qui m'accompagnent depuis toujours. Brûlure sur le visage et presque tout le corps. J'ai développé une terrible paresthésie des doigts, des pieds et de tout le corps, qui n'existait pas avant. La tension artérielle est très élevée et les crampes musculaires s'intensifient.

J'ai arrêté tous les médicaments et pris des vitamines C, B et D. En luttant pour ma vie, j'ai réussi à rejoindre le SOR à l'UCK de Katowice, où j'ai été admis en neurologie. On a fait une analyse complète, et je suis sorti en fauteuil roulant.

Aujourd'hui, je sais que c'est le travail des médicaments fluorochinolones.

Depuis que j'ai commencé à sentir ce mauvais état, ça dure six mois, et mon corps est devenu de plus en plus flasque. J'ai déjà perdu la tête et je suis resté sans conscience. Ma jambe est devenue plus sensible, et d'une personne forte comme moi, qui était encore là en juin dernier, il ne reste plus rien. Je perds du poids de façon systématique malgré l'appétit, et de nouveaux maux de tête apparaissent, ce qui confirme l'effet des médicaments.

Malheureusement, je sais que ma situation est très difficile, et j'ai besoin d'un peu d'aide pour survivre un peu plus longtemps. J'ai un petit enfant qui ne voit pas ce qui arrive à son père, terrorisé, qui voit comment je deviens flasque. J'ai des démangeaisons terribles, la peau s'est décollée, et je me sens terriblement malade.

Je l'ai écrit en avril de cette année... aujourd'hui c'est déjà une tragédie complète, il n'est plus vraiment vivant. Ma peau, mes os, la douleur constante, et mon corps autrefois en forme.

J'ai vraiment besoin d'aide. J'étais récemment à l'hôpital à Katowice Ochojec, en neurologie, pour découvrir qu'on me considérait « malade mental »... Ils ont fait juste une prise de sang et une IRM ou scanner, et j'étais terrifié parce que je suis de plus en plus détruit après chaque séjour. Maintenant je suis à l'hôpital à Łódź, où c'est encore pire. Les médecins qui me traitent sont des médecins FQAD : un Polonais de Poznań, le docteur Michalak, et actuellement le docteur Stefan Piper d'Allemagne.

Malheureusement, les médicaments n'ont pas changé la situation, qui devient chaque jour plus difficile. Mon corps n'accepte pas bien les compléments. Sur le chemin, j'ai eu beaucoup d'homéopathes et de naturopathes qui m'ont poussé à prendre plus de compléments et de médicaments. Une fois de plus, c'est inutile.

Aujourd'hui, chaque jour est une lutte, et une telle perte de masse musculaire que j'essaie de ne pas bouger. Malheureusement, chaque activité provoque une perte de masse musculaire et des douleurs nerveuses ou une crampe du corps. Je suis au bord de l'épuisement parce que je ne vois plus aucun espoir. J'ai l'impression que mon corps est en train de mourir, et je sais qu'il ne se bat plus.

J'ai pensé au suicide tous les jours à cause de ma condition, et j'attends, malheureusement, le courage, parce que personne ne peut survivre à une telle dégradation du corps jusqu'au bout.

J'ai dirigé une entreprise, j'avais une belle vie familiale avant la maladie. J'ai tout perdu !!!

S'il vous plaît, aidez-moi et montrez au monde ce que font les antibiotiques du groupe des fluorochinolones.

Rafał.