http://fqwallofpain.com/
http://fqwallofpain.com/2014/12/04/lisas-story-avelox-effects/
http://tinyurl.com/bml6rbd
The Fluoroquinolone Wall of Pain Victim & Survivor Stories Part 1
The Fluoroquinolone Wall of Pain
DEAD
Dead !!!
1 levaquin
.........................................................................................................................................................
12 oktober 2012
http://www.devitofuneralhomes.com/book-of-memories/1351497/Newell-Oliver/obituary.php
https://sites.google.com/site/fluoroquinolonetoxicity/
Oliver Newell died on September 21, 2012
Important Medication alert! Be careful with antibiotics like CIPRO for treatment of infections. CIPRO and similar drugs may cause Fluoroquinolone Toxicity. It made my dear friend Oliver Newell suffer terribly for 9 months and eventually may have contributed to his death. The document below was prepared by Oliver's family so others may be aware of the risks involved as these risks are often not made obvious.
Please share this broadly in your network as a public service to raise awareness.
https://docs.google.com/
.........................................................................................................................................
DEAD
Dead !!!
1 levaquin
Summary
Paul Levine Rest in Peace
State or Country of residence: Colorado
Sex: Male
Age: 57
Quinolone taken: Levaquin
Reason for the Quinolone: Prostatitis
Was a safer antibiotic tried first? : No
How long was the Quinolone used for? : 1 Pill
The following was originally posted on www.fqvictims.org
Paul's Story
Paul's story is particularly a hard one for me to put up. I talked with Paul on the phone several times - and I could hear the desperation in his voice. Paul suffered many of the same symptoms I have so I can relate to the severe mental torture he was enduring. Paul went night after night without sleep - and I can tell you that alone is enough to drive a person off the edge. Fluoroquinolones can shut down sleep for years. The victim becomes a zombie living in a half world of reality. This is where Paul was spending his life. In mental agony (anxiety, panic), sensitive to foods and it a great deal of pain all over his body. To make matters worse - Paul was all alone. Paul was a loner by nature - but as I found out after his death - he was a very talented musician who wrote music for children. I came to find out Paul was a soft, gentle man who loved and lived a simple life until he was prescribed ONE LEVAQUIN for a prostate infection. The incredible agony he put up with all alone eventually drove Paul to suicide. With Paul's story I'm going to put up the posts he made on the Yahoo Forum, Emails he sent to me and the thoughts of other's. -Bob
Twelve years ago, while living in Boulder, Colorado, my wife, Lucille, took our four-year-old son, Brenden to a music fair at a park in the foothills. They heard some beautiful songs written, composed and sung by a small, gentle man named Paul Levine. They both fell in love with the music and the musician. They bought his tape and practically wore it out during the next few weeks. Lucille brought him home for dinner, as she does so often (and so well) and we met and felt a love between us that seemed to have existed forever. We became the best of friends and, even though 2 years later we moved cross-country to the Florida swamp, we stayed in close contact over the phone. Sometimes Brenden and he would talk for hours. He came twice to Melrose FL. to visit us at our lake house.
Last May he took a Fluoroquinolone antibiotic that he had a severe reaction to. (see http://fqresearch.org/ ) Symptoms got progressively worse and he became very sensitive to many foods and other environmental factors. The pains increased and he wasn't able to sleep. His mental, emotional and physical condition worsened and in the last few months he was calling on his close friends to stay on the phone with him through his toughest times, sometimes for hours during the middle of the night. He couldn't bear the pain any longer and felt that there was no one on Earth that could help him. At midday on Wednesday, March 3, 2004, he took his own life.
Paul had so much wisdom and insight that he shared with so many of us. Lots of people considered him their mentor. He also had wonderful creative capacities in music and photography. If you go to
his website at www.siriusmusic.org/
You can listen to any of his songs on Real Player. If you don't have it, a link is supplied to make it easy to obtain it without any spyware or adware. Friends in Creation (song #7) is the song he sang at our wedding renewal, and so is one of my favorites. His creative photography is also available on this site, and I have more if you're interested.
Please listen to a little of his music or read the lyrics of one of his songs and say a prayer for his passage and for those of his friends who are processing this great loss.
Paul Levine Rest in Peace
State or Country of residence: Colorado
Sex: Male
Age: 57
Quinolone taken: Levaquin
Reason for the Quinolone: Prostatitis
Was a safer antibiotic tried first? : No
How long was the Quinolone used for? : 1 Pill
The following was originally posted on www.fqvictims.org
Paul's Story
Paul's story is particularly a hard one for me to put up. I talked with Paul on the phone several times - and I could hear the desperation in his voice. Paul suffered many of the same symptoms I have so I can relate to the severe mental torture he was enduring. Paul went night after night without sleep - and I can tell you that alone is enough to drive a person off the edge. Fluoroquinolones can shut down sleep for years. The victim becomes a zombie living in a half world of reality. This is where Paul was spending his life. In mental agony (anxiety, panic), sensitive to foods and it a great deal of pain all over his body. To make matters worse - Paul was all alone. Paul was a loner by nature - but as I found out after his death - he was a very talented musician who wrote music for children. I came to find out Paul was a soft, gentle man who loved and lived a simple life until he was prescribed ONE LEVAQUIN for a prostate infection. The incredible agony he put up with all alone eventually drove Paul to suicide. With Paul's story I'm going to put up the posts he made on the Yahoo Forum, Emails he sent to me and the thoughts of other's. -Bob
Twelve years ago, while living in Boulder, Colorado, my wife, Lucille, took our four-year-old son, Brenden to a music fair at a park in the foothills. They heard some beautiful songs written, composed and sung by a small, gentle man named Paul Levine. They both fell in love with the music and the musician. They bought his tape and practically wore it out during the next few weeks. Lucille brought him home for dinner, as she does so often (and so well) and we met and felt a love between us that seemed to have existed forever. We became the best of friends and, even though 2 years later we moved cross-country to the Florida swamp, we stayed in close contact over the phone. Sometimes Brenden and he would talk for hours. He came twice to Melrose FL. to visit us at our lake house.
Last May he took a Fluoroquinolone antibiotic that he had a severe reaction to. (see http://fqresearch.org/ ) Symptoms got progressively worse and he became very sensitive to many foods and other environmental factors. The pains increased and he wasn't able to sleep. His mental, emotional and physical condition worsened and in the last few months he was calling on his close friends to stay on the phone with him through his toughest times, sometimes for hours during the middle of the night. He couldn't bear the pain any longer and felt that there was no one on Earth that could help him. At midday on Wednesday, March 3, 2004, he took his own life.
Paul had so much wisdom and insight that he shared with so many of us. Lots of people considered him their mentor. He also had wonderful creative capacities in music and photography. If you go to
his website at www.siriusmusic.org/
You can listen to any of his songs on Real Player. If you don't have it, a link is supplied to make it easy to obtain it without any spyware or adware. Friends in Creation (song #7) is the song he sang at our wedding renewal, and so is one of my favorites. His creative photography is also available on this site, and I have more if you're interested.
Please listen to a little of his music or read the lyrics of one of his songs and say a prayer for his passage and for those of his friends who are processing this great loss.
- Karen Long Matthews, Jacquelin Carolyn Matthews en Zadet Hozdevila vinden dit leuk.
- Lori Lambert King So sad. I can't imagine what he must have been going through!
Je vindt dit leuk · 19 april 2011
Name: Kristen
Parent's Names: Gary and Ruth
State or Country of residence: Ind.
Sex: Female
Age: 23
Quinolone taken: Avelox
Reason for the Quinolone: Persistent cold
How long was the Quinolone used for? : Days
Was the Quinolone listed as the cause of death?: Yes (Prime contributing factor)
Kristen's Story
The following story is By Chris Adams and Alison Young Knight Ridder Newspapers Washington Bureau 4 November 2003
Gary and Ruth Pettijohn, of Batesville, Ind., hold a photo of their daughter, Kristen, who died after being prescribed a powerful antibiotic called Avelox. RANDY AMICK, KRT
The drug Kristen Pettijohn took was called Avelox. It's part of a family of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones.
Those powerful but risky drugs are intended for patients who are fighting particular bacterial bugs. But they're widely prescribed off-label for less serious illnesses, sometimes even to treat viruses, which can't be killed by antibiotics.
A study this year funded by the National Institutes of Health reviewed 100 emergency room prescriptions for fluoroquinolones and found that only 19 were written for appropriate conditions and only one was given in the correct dose and for the proper duration.
The FDA long has been aware of the possibility that Avelox could be misused.
Just before it approved Avelox in 1999, a member of the agency's expert review panel — Robert Danner, a critical care expert at the NIH — offered a warning: "This is exactly the kind of place that you get into trouble. … I am absolutely convinced that the drug will be used differently once it's marketed frequently."
Avelox was approved, however, and marketed hard by Bayer Corp. In 1999 and 2001, the FDA admonished company officials for encouraging unapproved uses.
This past May, Pettijohn, a gregarious 23-year-old nursing student from Batesville, Ind., who recently had gotten engaged, picked up the persistent cold that had been running through her family. "Her version was a little worse than ours," said her father, Gary Pettijohn. "I would say it was moderate at best."
Early in the morning of May 15, Pettijohn's mother took her to an emergency room. Going there, Pettijohn told her mom, would be quicker than waiting for an appointment with their family physician.
Forty-two minutes later, Pettijohn was on her way to the drugstore. The doctor had diagnosed her with acute bronchitis and prescribed Avelox. The potent antibiotic's label says it's approved for cases of chronic, or long-term, bronchitis, and only after blood tests have been taken to identify the bacteria causing the problem. Her medical records show no blood work was done.
That was a Thursday. By Sunday, Pettijohn was nauseated and suffering abdominal pain. Her mother packed a plastic bag with the remaining Avelox pills and took her to the hospital.
Over the next five days, Pettijohn was incoherent. She had a burning rash and her skin began peeling off. She slipped into a coma, resting on an air bed, totally wrapped as though she were a severe burn patient.
By Wednesday, a doctor approached Gary and Ruth Pettijohn.
"Our problem just got twice as difficult," he said. "She has two life-threatening conditions simultaneously."
Pettijohn's liver was in full failure, and she was experiencing a form of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare and extreme drug reaction mentioned on the Avelox label.
She had a liver transplant on Friday. The doctors reported that her old liver had turned to mush and fallen apart in their hands.
Soon after the operation, Pettijohn had a heart attack, then another. Her death certificate cited Avelox as the prime contributing factor in her death.
The hospital had no comment about her death. Bayer had no comment beyond saying the death "was promptly and accurately reported to the FDA," and that it thinks its antibiotic should be prescribed only for approved conditions
Parent's Names: Gary and Ruth
State or Country of residence: Ind.
Sex: Female
Age: 23
Quinolone taken: Avelox
Reason for the Quinolone: Persistent cold
How long was the Quinolone used for? : Days
Was the Quinolone listed as the cause of death?: Yes (Prime contributing factor)
Kristen's Story
The following story is By Chris Adams and Alison Young Knight Ridder Newspapers Washington Bureau 4 November 2003
Gary and Ruth Pettijohn, of Batesville, Ind., hold a photo of their daughter, Kristen, who died after being prescribed a powerful antibiotic called Avelox. RANDY AMICK, KRT
The drug Kristen Pettijohn took was called Avelox. It's part of a family of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones.
Those powerful but risky drugs are intended for patients who are fighting particular bacterial bugs. But they're widely prescribed off-label for less serious illnesses, sometimes even to treat viruses, which can't be killed by antibiotics.
A study this year funded by the National Institutes of Health reviewed 100 emergency room prescriptions for fluoroquinolones and found that only 19 were written for appropriate conditions and only one was given in the correct dose and for the proper duration.
The FDA long has been aware of the possibility that Avelox could be misused.
Just before it approved Avelox in 1999, a member of the agency's expert review panel — Robert Danner, a critical care expert at the NIH — offered a warning: "This is exactly the kind of place that you get into trouble. … I am absolutely convinced that the drug will be used differently once it's marketed frequently."
Avelox was approved, however, and marketed hard by Bayer Corp. In 1999 and 2001, the FDA admonished company officials for encouraging unapproved uses.
This past May, Pettijohn, a gregarious 23-year-old nursing student from Batesville, Ind., who recently had gotten engaged, picked up the persistent cold that had been running through her family. "Her version was a little worse than ours," said her father, Gary Pettijohn. "I would say it was moderate at best."
Early in the morning of May 15, Pettijohn's mother took her to an emergency room. Going there, Pettijohn told her mom, would be quicker than waiting for an appointment with their family physician.
Forty-two minutes later, Pettijohn was on her way to the drugstore. The doctor had diagnosed her with acute bronchitis and prescribed Avelox. The potent antibiotic's label says it's approved for cases of chronic, or long-term, bronchitis, and only after blood tests have been taken to identify the bacteria causing the problem. Her medical records show no blood work was done.
That was a Thursday. By Sunday, Pettijohn was nauseated and suffering abdominal pain. Her mother packed a plastic bag with the remaining Avelox pills and took her to the hospital.
Over the next five days, Pettijohn was incoherent. She had a burning rash and her skin began peeling off. She slipped into a coma, resting on an air bed, totally wrapped as though she were a severe burn patient.
By Wednesday, a doctor approached Gary and Ruth Pettijohn.
"Our problem just got twice as difficult," he said. "She has two life-threatening conditions simultaneously."
Pettijohn's liver was in full failure, and she was experiencing a form of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare and extreme drug reaction mentioned on the Avelox label.
She had a liver transplant on Friday. The doctors reported that her old liver had turned to mush and fallen apart in their hands.
Soon after the operation, Pettijohn had a heart attack, then another. Her death certificate cited Avelox as the prime contributing factor in her death.
The hospital had no comment about her death. Bayer had no comment beyond saying the death "was promptly and accurately reported to the FDA," and that it thinks its antibiotic should be prescribed only for approved conditions
................................................................................................
19 april 2011
Kim's Story
On May 23, 2002, our 38 year old daughter, Kim, was prescribed Cipro by her Primary Care Physician for what was thought to be bronchitis or possibly pneumonia. No sputum tests were done, no chest x-ray.
Our daughter had both kidney and liver problems -- due to damage from radiation for cancer years ago. On the morning of May 25th, I called the Dr. to ask for something for our daughter's cough. Methylpred-nisolone was prescribed -- and the Dr. said: "she should be much better by Monday!" (That was Saturday morning) Six hours later our daughter complained of extreme tiredness -- laid down to rest, and in a matter of seconds stopped breathing! Paramedics were unable to revive her -- and she was pronounced dead.
Two days later her Physician called and said he did NOT know the cause of death -- and assumed it was a Massive Heart Attack! We have talked with several nurses who are familiar with Cipro and the Methylprednisolone -- and all agree she should NEVER have been prescribed either of those meds, with her history of kidney and liver problems. We will always believe the medications caused her death -- though the Doctor will not admit that.
On May 23, 2002, our 38 year old daughter, Kim, was prescribed Cipro by her Primary Care Physician for what was thought to be bronchitis or possibly pneumonia. No sputum tests were done, no chest x-ray.
Our daughter had both kidney and liver problems -- due to damage from radiation for cancer years ago. On the morning of May 25th, I called the Dr. to ask for something for our daughter's cough. Methylpred-nisolone was prescribed -- and the Dr. said: "she should be much better by Monday!" (That was Saturday morning) Six hours later our daughter complained of extreme tiredness -- laid down to rest, and in a matter of seconds stopped breathing! Paramedics were unable to revive her -- and she was pronounced dead.
Two days later her Physician called and said he did NOT know the cause of death -- and assumed it was a Massive Heart Attack! We have talked with several nurses who are familiar with Cipro and the Methylprednisolone -- and all agree she should NEVER have been prescribed either of those meds, with her history of kidney and liver problems. We will always believe the medications caused her death -- though the Doctor will not admit that.
..............................................................................................
23 september 2012
Rest in Peace...http://
.jpg)
I am C&P-ing Def Leppard sometimes-Keyboardist Dick Decent's wife's comments:
Sara Beardes · Moseley Comprehensive
...Hello, I'm Sara, Dick's wife. I just want to say thank you so much for all your heart felt comments. There is to be an inquest into Dick's death and rest assured I will be speaking out for Dick and every other victim of these disgusting drugs. Dick was a very intelligent and articulate man and over a period of time wrote a very detailed report of every aspect of his illness, I will be submitting this along with 4 carrier bags full of drugs that he was either prescribed by doctors, or natural medicines he bought him self and with the help of his wonderful family and friends. Dick had every symptom we have read about so was a severe case. As a musician every aspect of his life had been taken away, his voice, ( throat problems) his ears, (terrible tinnitus from day one) his fingers, (they just wouldn't do what he wanted, and curled up with pain) his wonderful brain, ( brain fog ) and his legs, (tendon and muscle problems meant he could not walk far or do anything very strenuous).
Please don't give up, keep fighting, keep moving and keep hoping.
Love and light to you all. Sara. xx
Doin' The Decent Thing Pictures..http://www.facebook.com/
Def Leppard gig to aid stricken friend
Members of legendary rock band Def Leppard will step on stage in Birmingham this weekend to raise money for their “sixth member”, who is from the Black Country and fighting a devastating illness.
http://
I am C&P-ing Def Leppard sometimes-Keyboardist Dick Decent's wife's comments:
Sara Beardes · Moseley Comprehensive
...Hello, I'm Sara, Dick's wife. I just want to say thank you so much for all your heart felt comments. There is to be an inquest into Dick's death and rest assured I will be speaking out for Dick and every other victim of these disgusting drugs. Dick was a very intelligent and articulate man and over a period of time wrote a very detailed report of every aspect of his illness, I will be submitting this along with 4 carrier bags full of drugs that he was either prescribed by doctors, or natural medicines he bought him self and with the help of his wonderful family and friends. Dick had every symptom we have read about so was a severe case. As a musician every aspect of his life had been taken away, his voice, ( throat problems) his ears, (terrible tinnitus from day one) his fingers, (they just wouldn't do what he wanted, and curled up with pain) his wonderful brain, ( brain fog ) and his legs, (tendon and muscle problems meant he could not walk far or do anything very strenuous).
Please don't give up, keep fighting, keep moving and keep hoping.
Love and light to you all. Sara. xx
Doin' The Decent Thing Pictures..http://www.facebook.com/
Def Leppard gig to aid stricken friend
Members of legendary rock band Def Leppard will step on stage in Birmingham this weekend to raise money for their “sixth member”, who is from the Black Country and fighting a devastating illness.
http://
- Hello to all on the wall of pain, I realized a few weeks ago that people did not know how my husband Dick Decent died. It's very hard for me to tell you, and I've had to come to terms with it my self. His life had become unbearable, he not only had very severe floxing but also had chronic prostatitis which gave him pain 24 hours a day on top of every thing else. Prostatitis was the reason he took the cipro in the first place, but it didn't work.
On the 19 September, Dick took his own life. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, please don't let this take hope away.
My fight against Bayer has not ended, for Dick and all of you. I'll post when I have something to tell you.
Love and light. Sara. xx
...............................................................................................
http://www.devitofuneralhomes.com/book-of-memories/1351497/Newell-Oliver/obituary.php
Oliver Newell died on September 21, 2012
Important Medication alert! Be careful with antibiotics like CIPRO for treatment of infections. CIPRO and similar drugs may cause Fluoroquinolone Toxicity. It made my dear friend Oliver Newell suffer terribly for 9 months and eventually may have contributed to his death. The document below was prepared by Oliver's family so others may be aware of the risks involved as these risks are often not made obvious.
Please share this broadly in your network as a public service to raise awareness.
https://docs.google.com/
.........................................................................................................................................
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. I can even remember visiting him in the hospital as a young girl. Doctors could never figure out the cause of the infections until he was diagnosed with cancer at stage 4. He had a very rare Urachal cancer. He did everything he was told to do, never questioned the doctors, and never missed a doctor appointment. He was old school he believed. I will never understand how this was missed for 40 years and he had many doctors involved in his case.
Urachal cancer
http://en.wikipedia.org/
By the time I figured out what happened to me it was too late for my Dad he was already a full-blown Floxie. He always complained this thumb hurt, he had hypothyroidism, he had no memory and he lost his hearing. He had test done on his brain and he would joke they found nothing. He would just zone out and he could not remember anything. Dad never questioned this until he started a facebook page and was reading my post. Dad pointed out to me he was taking 250 mg of Cipro for ten years which kept his bladder infections under control sometimes he had to have Cipro in IV’s. Needless to say I flipped out. A few months later Dad said the doctor took him off Cipro and that is when he went downhill. Do I feel guilty …HELL YES.
To sum this up what a bunch of bullshit that my Daddy suffered at the hands of these monsters for years I know we all must pass away but so many doctors never gave him a chance. Yes, there is much more to this story I just want to share the basic information. Read this information and think what you may I just hope you learn something. I know I did. I will miss my Dad for the rest of my life. Dad passed over a year and half ago it has taken me a long time to share this. Thanks for listening Tami Lucas
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. I can even remember visiting him in the hospital as a young girl. Doctors could never figure out the cause of the infections until he was diagnosed with cancer at stage 4. He had a very rare Urachal cancer. He did everything he was told to do, never questioned the doctors, and never missed a doctor appointment. He was old school he believed. I will never understand how this was missed for 40 years and he had many doctors involved in his case.
Urachal cancer
http://en.wikipedia.org/
By the time I figured out what happened to me it was too late for my Dad he was already a full-blown Floxie. He always complained this thumb hurt, he had hypothyroidism, he had no memory and he lost his hearing. He had test done on his brain and he would joke they found nothing. He would just zone out and he could not remember anything. Dad never questioned this until he started a facebook page and was reading my post. Dad pointed out to me he was taking 250 mg of Cipro for ten years which kept his bladder infections under control sometimes he had to have Cipro in IV’s. Needless to say I flipped out. A few months later Dad said the doctor took him off Cipro and that is when he went downhill. Do I feel guilty …HELL YES.
To sum this up what a bunch of bullshit that my Daddy suffered at the hands of these monsters for years I know we all must pass away but so many doctors never gave him a chance. Yes, there is much more to this story I just want to share the basic information. Read this information and think what you may I just hope you learn something. I know I did. I will miss my Dad for the rest of my life. Dad passed over a year and half ago it has taken me a long time to share this. Thanks for listening Tami Lucas
- 11 februariWayne Bernard Geist March 14, 2011
Lodi Memorial faces suit by widow
By Joe Goldeen
Record Staff Writer
December 30, 2011 12:00 AMSTOCKTON - Lodi Memorial Hospital is facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of a 57-year-old patient who died March 14 following an allergic reaction.
...
The family contends the hospital knew from a previous visit that an antibiotic used in his treatment had previously caused an adverse reaction.
The lawsuit filed earlier this month by Kelly Ann Geist of Lodi names the Lodi Memorial Hospital Association and Does 1 through 50 in seeking unspecified damages for negligence and negligent credentialing that the suit claims led to the death of her husband, Wayne Bernard Geist.
According to the suit, Geist was admitted to the 214-bed hospital on Feb. 24, at which time his "severe allergy" to the antibiotic Levaquin was noted.
"Hospital records indicate that in a previous visit, when Mr. Geist was given Levaquin, he suffered a peripheral neuropathy and lost the use of his legs for three months. With time and physical therapy, Mr. Geist regained the use of his legs, but retained a significant limp," the lawsuit stated.
When he went back to the hospital for an unspecified reason Feb. 24, his "hospital wristband clearly stated he was allergic to Levaquin." Two days later, according to the suit's description of events, Geist was given the maximum intravenous dose of Levaquin despite the reference to his allergy in his hospital records and on his wristband.
"No less than three opportunities passed for medical personnel ... to note that the patient had an allergy to the specific medication being ordered, without anyone realizing the mistake," the suit stated, referring to the prescribing physician, the pharmacist filling the prescription and the nurse administering the dose. The lawsuit did not name those individuals but left open the opportunity to add them at a later date.
Soon after the Levaquin had been administered, Kelly Ann Geist and the couple's daughter entered Wayne Geist's hospital room and immediately notified the doctor of his allergy. According to the suit, Geist told his wife and daughter he didn't feel well and his breathing became increasingly labored. Less than three hours after the dose was administered, Geist was transferred to the intensive care unit and placed on a ventilator. His condition continued to deteriorate and he died 16 days later on March 14.
Woodbridge attorney Randy Thomas, representing Kelly Ann Geist, said the description of events specified in the lawsuit pretty well sums up his client's case against the hospital. He said the family was not prepared to speak publicly at this time.
"It's a sad situation. The gentleman had some serious illnesses before he went into the hospital," Thomas said, declining further comment.
Carol Farron, representing the hospital, said "because of the nature of litigation, Lodi Memorial Hospital will not comment on any pending litigation."
Levaquin's manufacturer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., affiliated with Johnson & Johnson, was not specified in the lawsuit, but spokesman William Foster provided the following statement:
"Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. extends its sympathy to the plaintiff regarding the loss of her husband. Levaquin is part of an important class of anti-infective prescription medications that have been used for more than 20 years to treat infections, including those that may be serious or life threatening. When used according to the product labeling, Levaquin has been proven to be a safe and effective medication."
An outside pharmacy expert unfamiliar with the case said it raises a number of questions, not the least of which is whether or not there was a compelling reason to use Levaquin that overrode the risk of an adverse reaction.
"Was it an infection that was overwhelming? What other drugs was he on? Was there no other alternative? What exactly do they know about that previous reaction? It depends on how they coded it when they wrote that he was allergic. And how many other allergies did he have? You would need all the medical notes," said Robert Gold, author of "Are Your Meds Making You Sick? A Pharmacist's Guide to Avoiding Dangerous Drug Interactions, Reactions and Side Effects." Gold is a veteran clinical hospital pharmacist and affiliate instructor of clinical pharmacy at Purdue University in Indiana.
A case-management conference in front of Superior Court Judge Lesley Holland has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 14.
Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/goldeenblog.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=%2F20111230%2FA _NEWS%2F112300316
- Ronda Bowen That is really heartbreaking and scary - It worries me!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In December 2012, the Dannelly family posed happily for their Christmas card photo blissfully unaware that it would be their last. One month later Levaquin changed their lives forever. Chris Dannelly (beloved husband and father), came down with a bad cold and went to see a doctor over the weekend. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and was given two pills of Levaquin. Unfortunately, he had an immediate adverse reaction to the fluoroquinolone antibiotics, and began experiencing excruciating limb pain.
Kathy Dannelly (Chris's wife) took him to see their family physician the following Monday. At that time his doctor saw no sign of pneumonia, but it was too late, he had already taken two pills of Levaquin unnecessarily. The following day he had to be rushed to the emergency room at the John's Creek, Georgia Emory location with increasing pain. They administered multiple doses of morphine to no avail...the pain never stopped.
Tragically, by Wednesday Chris coded and was charged 18 times in an attempt to save his life. He went into a coma and his death was officially called the following morning on January 17, 2013 at 8:15 am. After reviewing the autopsy report, doctors stated that "all signs point to Levaquin" as being the cause of death. Mr. Dannelly was survived by his loving wife Kathy of 12.5 years, his 7 year old son, and his 4 year old daughter. The last time his children saw him alive he was crying in a wheelchair in unbearable pain.
Chris was a healthy, active man in the prime of his life. He worked out five days per week, and enjoyed playing both indoor and outdoor soccer regularly. Within a matter of less than a week's time he went from being perfectly healthy, to losing his life...all because he took two little pills of Levaquin.
Kathy Dannelly, has courageously decided to share her husband's story in an attempt to educate the public about the risks involved with taking fluoroquinolone antibiotics. She feels that their family's happily ever after was stolen from them, and she doesn't want to see this happen to any other families. Media sources may reach Mrs. Dannelly at katdan05@bellsouth.net . We would like to express our condolences to Kathy and their precious children. We are so very sorry for your loss. Please know that your efforts to raise awareness are greatly appreciated, and that what happened to your husband will not be forgotten. May he rest in peace.
www.facebook.com/FluoroquinoloneToxicity
www.saferpills.org
www.levaquinhurts.com
www.myquinstory.com
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Chrissie.
I have been suffering with a severe reaction to the fluoroquinolone antibiotic moxifloxacin (brand name=Avelox) for more than 5 years now. I was first given Avelox (along with some other medications, including NSAIDs) by my PCP in October of 2005 for bronchitis. I had an immediate reaction after the first pill, and proceeded to the emergency room. The doctor on staff was of the opinion that my reaction was caused by another medication I had also started that day. I had no idea of the dangers of fluoroquinolone antibiotics at this time, and accepted the doctor's opinion as fact. Blood work showed that I didn't even have bronchitis, but a virus instead. I was taken off all medications and was informed that I would be ok after a few days, once everything had a chance to get out of my system. I went home and proceeded to suffer through day after day of progressing pain. I knew something was VERY wrong, but no one could pinpoint the exact cause of my illness. All physician visits proved to be futile and my condition continued to deteriorate in spite of various testing and "treatments" (including more NSAIDs and steroids). In late December of the same year, I developed severe pain in my lower abdomen, and made a trip to a nearby urgent care facility. The doctor on staff issued me Avelox and off I went back home. I again took just one pill, and had the same immediate horrifying reaction, except this time it was much, much worse. I made several emergency room trips during the next few months due to several extremely painful symptoms, including neuropathy, joint pain, severe tendonitis, acute panic attacks, depersonalization, and much more. It seemed as though new horrors popped up daily, and I had still no idea what was going on because the symptoms were all over the place, affecting every system. The fact that some were delayed and some cycled on and off did not help in diagnosing the cause of my condition. During this entire time, I became unable to walk, lift my arms above my head, grasp objects, drive, or do any other normal things. Seriously, it hurt to even breath. All I could do was lay in bed and cry uncontrollably. About 6 months in from my second dose of hell, I was going through my medical records and made the connection. I began to feverishly research this class of antibiotics, and was absolutely appalled at what I discovered! I visited many doctors during the next year, trying to share this information with them, and they all either didn't believe this type of reaction was possible, said it was very rare, or they accepted it, but couldn't offer any treatment that was in the least bit helpful. After being shot down or disappointed so many times, I withdrew from the mainstream medical community. I concentrated on what I could do to try to heal myself. I tried all kinds of things, but all of it either didn't make one bit of difference, or made me much more ill. Time. That is the ONLY thing that is on our side. That is the ONLY thing I have seen so far that helps us try to overcome the massive damage that FQs cause. This whole sickness is like an unraveling ball of twine, it never seems to end, and you never know which direction it will go. Even at the 4th year mark, I was STILL developing new issues due to this POISON. Now in my 5th year, I have come to understand the cycles and rhythms of this syndrome, and try to do everything I can to keep my head above water. I have probably seen about a 20% healing rate thus far. That's being generous. The short list of my main symptoms include: body-wide neuropathy, glucose intolerance, tremors, vertigo, joint inflammation, severe tendonitis, clicking and popping joints and ligaments, muscle fatigue, depersonalization, panic attacks, light and sound sensitivities, slow scar healing, intolerance/allergies to MANY MANY foods, and severe environmental and chemical sensitivities. Again, that is the short list; there are many more, but this would turn into a longer novel than it already is. I sit here a little past the 5 year mark, with the newest piece of awesomeness, which is large chunks of my hair falling out, and wonder how the person who saw these same reactions during clinical trials and still approved this drug to market anyway can possibly sleep at night! It sickens my heart! I look to the little things and remind myself to be thankful. I can walk again. Maybe not any far distance, but I will take it nonetheless. I can listen to music again. I can sometimes pursue my passion of photography on a “good” day. I can sit and have a conversation with family and friends. I can make trips to the grocery store again. Little nothings to most people, but it means everything to me. I am also thankful that so many of us have made the connection that fluoroquinolones are what destroyed our bodies and have each other to lean on in this most difficult challenge of our lives. I see the various floxie communities linking together and advocating and spreading awareness about just how dangerous these drugs are, and it makes me so proud! I am hopeful that one day we will receive the recognition, research, justice, and treatments we all so sorely deserve!
19 april 2011
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25 maart in de buurt van Los AngelesHello Friends,.............................................................................................
In the third week of January 2013 I was given Cipro for my inflamed intestines (turned out it wasn't bacterial) without a stool sample to prove that it was bacterial. I finished my prescription of 14 cipro pills. Then 6 days later I was supposed to get on a plane for my Grandpa's funeral. I could barely walk as my ankles were incredibly inflamed and weak. Two days later I had mild insomnia and brain fog, then came the migraines and mild neuropathy. Next came general anxiety and knee pain, followed by all sorts of strange symptoms such as skin sores, jaw aches, veins popping out on hands and feet.
I took two weeks off of work in the beginning and then I had to get back to living life or I would have succumbed to depression. So I forced myself to walk and talk and work. I am not a month and a half out and feel like I am slowly healing. I have good and bad days, but so far I have been able to make it in to work and do a decent job. Having an office job where I can occasionally work from home has been a blessing. I try to distract myself from my condition as much as possible, though as we all know some days this is more difficult than others.
I wish you all the best in this struggle. I know I will recover from this and you will too!
Gigi Byrne 03/03/2013
I just wanted to let everyone on this page know that I was also a victim of fluoroquinolone poisoning almost five years ago. This picture was taken about 6 months after I took Cipro. I was in awful pain in the picture and had to wear compression hose in order to walk short distances. I was going through complete hell, visiting numerous doctors and spending endless amounts of money with no answers ...to why my body was withering away. The black dog in the picture is a rescue dog I adopted during this horrible ordeal. I named him Fletcher and concentrated on him instead of solely dwelling on my physical state. He was full of fear and needed me desperately. The little bit that I could give him during that time frame was enough to make him the amazing dog that he is today. He needed me but most of all I needed him. I really believe that once I adopted him I was able to heal more quickly. It's been five years and I am finally almost fully recovered. I say almost because I do have some permanent damage in my ears and back. It was the worst couple years of my life but at the same time I found this doggy soulmate who now has a family who will move a mountain for him. Sometimes good things can come out of bad experiences. I wanted to share this with everyone going through the same thing. Never give up and if you don't own an animal maybe you should think about adopting one. The love and healing you will get is priceless. It will help you get through this. Take care, Gigi Byrne
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02/12/2013
Hello, my name is Elisabeth. It was the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin that destroyed my life. It made a cripple out of a previously healthy and active 32-year old woman who was prescribed it for a suspected bladder infection.
The true side effects of these antibiotics are only vaguely mentioned in the package insert, and there is absolutely no mention that these can be long term. The side effects that I am suffering from include nerve damage, rheumatoid arthritis-like and pins and needles feelings in my extremities, numbness, electro-shocks, burning and tingling sensations, neuropathy, sensitive and fragile skin, brain fog, loss of memory, insomnia, anxiety, sensitivity to cold temperatures, sensitivity to sounds and smells, phototoxicity, rashes, TMJ and hearing issues, tinnitus, dental pain, vertigo, floaters in my vision, difficulty swallowing, feelings of paralysis, and such pain in my joints, muscles and tendons that I walk around like an 82-year old woman. It causes me to suffer other physical restrictions, such as not being able to stand in place, drive for any length of time, walk for any distance or lift any objects.
It has been 15 months since taking the last pill, and I am still suffering from the debilitating side effects which limit me in every aspect of my life. I have developed extreme food intolerances and cannot eat out anymore. My career has taken a blow as I can no longer work full time. I have no strength to pursue a social life and am falling into isolation. I have spent tens of thousands on alternative treatments because conventional doctors cannot find anything wrong with me and do not attribute my condition to the use of the antibiotic at all. I have talked to so many deaf ears and have had to endure insults on my mental state.
I am, however, not alone. If you type the words "Fluoroquinolone Toxicity" into the internet, you will see the stories of thousands of others who are suffering as I. What has gotten me through this is a support group on Facebook. We have all experienced the same symptoms, the same disregard from the medical community. For the most part, we were all previously relatively healthy individuals. There are many more sufferers who are not on these forums - sufferers who don't know that they are suffering from this because the effects of the antibiotics are often cumulative or do not show up until after the course of antibiotics had been completed. These other sufferers often believe they have fibromyalgia, lyme disease or chronic fatigue syndrome. In my particular case it was cumulative. I was prescribed Levaquin in 2008. I suffered an immediate reaction in the form of ankle problems after only two days. I made my doctor switch me to another antibiotic and forgot about it. In the weeks that ensued I developed extreme TMJ and had to seek treatment from many medical specialists such as an HNO and a dentist and was prescribed massages and heat treatment. At the time, I didn't associate my problems with the antibiotic but rather with with the stress I was under. Looking back, I was already mildly "floxed". Then at the beginning of last year I was prescribed Ciprofloxacin for a suspected bladder infection. I spent the entire summer suffering weird effects and phantom illnesses that I again did not attribute to the antibiotic. These included interstitial cystitis which basically feels like a bladder infection and for which I was prescribed more antibiotics (eventhough no doctor could ever find any bacteria), nerve sensitivities in my extremities and an extreme intolerance of cold. However, I still led a "normal" life and wasn't yet aware that my issues had been caused by the antibiotic. Then one year ago, I was again prescribed Ciprofloxacin which proved to be the final straw which broke my back, and accumulated levels sent me into an acute stage of poisoning. The reaction was so severe and immediate, that there was no denying on my part what caused it. So, be careful. If you "tolerated" it once, you might not again.
In my opinion fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as Levaquin and Ciprofloxacin should only be taken if all safer therapies fail. Take it from me - I lost the life I had when I swallowed the pills. My old self died then.
About 13 months after my severe floxing, I began making videos to document my experiences with this condition. Making these videos gives me a purpose and gives me the feeling that I am making the best of my situation and helping others at the same time. I've learned a lot, and I am glad that I can share. These videos can be accessed by going to my youtube channel - Lizmik1980 (http://www.youtube.com/
Hello, my name is Elisabeth. It was the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin that destroyed my life. It made a cripple out of a previously healthy and active 32-year old woman who was prescribed it for a suspected bladder infection.
The true side effects of these antibiotics are only vaguely mentioned in the package insert, and there is absolutely no mention that these can be long term. The side effects that I am suffering from include nerve damage, rheumatoid arthritis-like and pins and needles feelings in my extremities, numbness, electro-shocks, burning and tingling sensations, neuropathy, sensitive and fragile skin, brain fog, loss of memory, insomnia, anxiety, sensitivity to cold temperatures, sensitivity to sounds and smells, phototoxicity, rashes, TMJ and hearing issues, tinnitus, dental pain, vertigo, floaters in my vision, difficulty swallowing, feelings of paralysis, and such pain in my joints, muscles and tendons that I walk around like an 82-year old woman. It causes me to suffer other physical restrictions, such as not being able to stand in place, drive for any length of time, walk for any distance or lift any objects.
It has been 15 months since taking the last pill, and I am still suffering from the debilitating side effects which limit me in every aspect of my life. I have developed extreme food intolerances and cannot eat out anymore. My career has taken a blow as I can no longer work full time. I have no strength to pursue a social life and am falling into isolation. I have spent tens of thousands on alternative treatments because conventional doctors cannot find anything wrong with me and do not attribute my condition to the use of the antibiotic at all. I have talked to so many deaf ears and have had to endure insults on my mental state.
I am, however, not alone. If you type the words "Fluoroquinolone Toxicity" into the internet, you will see the stories of thousands of others who are suffering as I. What has gotten me through this is a support group on Facebook. We have all experienced the same symptoms, the same disregard from the medical community. For the most part, we were all previously relatively healthy individuals. There are many more sufferers who are not on these forums - sufferers who don't know that they are suffering from this because the effects of the antibiotics are often cumulative or do not show up until after the course of antibiotics had been completed. These other sufferers often believe they have fibromyalgia, lyme disease or chronic fatigue syndrome. In my particular case it was cumulative. I was prescribed Levaquin in 2008. I suffered an immediate reaction in the form of ankle problems after only two days. I made my doctor switch me to another antibiotic and forgot about it. In the weeks that ensued I developed extreme TMJ and had to seek treatment from many medical specialists such as an HNO and a dentist and was prescribed massages and heat treatment. At the time, I didn't associate my problems with the antibiotic but rather with with the stress I was under. Looking back, I was already mildly "floxed". Then at the beginning of last year I was prescribed Ciprofloxacin for a suspected bladder infection. I spent the entire summer suffering weird effects and phantom illnesses that I again did not attribute to the antibiotic. These included interstitial cystitis which basically feels like a bladder infection and for which I was prescribed more antibiotics (eventhough no doctor could ever find any bacteria), nerve sensitivities in my extremities and an extreme intolerance of cold. However, I still led a "normal" life and wasn't yet aware that my issues had been caused by the antibiotic. Then one year ago, I was again prescribed Ciprofloxacin which proved to be the final straw which broke my back, and accumulated levels sent me into an acute stage of poisoning. The reaction was so severe and immediate, that there was no denying on my part what caused it. So, be careful. If you "tolerated" it once, you might not again.
In my opinion fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as Levaquin and Ciprofloxacin should only be taken if all safer therapies fail. Take it from me - I lost the life I had when I swallowed the pills. My old self died then.
About 13 months after my severe floxing, I began making videos to document my experiences with this condition. Making these videos gives me a purpose and gives me the feeling that I am making the best of my situation and helping others at the same time. I've learned a lot, and I am glad that I can share. These videos can be accessed by going to my youtube channel - Lizmik1980 (http://www.youtube.com/
02/12/2013
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16 mei 2011
Memorial Weekend 7 years ago began my journey to Hell and back at 38 years old. I had a mild sinus infection and was given Levaquin 500 mg 10 pills and steroids. By the 3rd pill, something was very wrong. I did not put it together with the Levaquin and took several more pills over the next few days, finally ended up throwing 3 pills out. I had intense pain all over, especially my back. Leg pain, ulnar neuropathy, electric shocks in feet and legs, vibrating feet like standing on a motor, hot streaks (nerves I guess) numbness left side of face, arm and leg. My elbows to pinky fingers were numb. Feet felt like concrete blocks and like I was walking on springs every time I took a step......just a vibrating zzzzinngggg sensation. Anxiety and insomnia through the roof. Did not sleep for almost 30 days to speak of. Was to scared at that time to take any other meds to treat this. Ended up in the bed not having a clue what was wrong. Doctor ordered MRI of brain, neck, thoracic and lumbar. Some dessicated discs, but nothing to cause the MS like symptoms. Then my neck and muscles all over were so stiff and weak. My feet hurt so bad and Achilles were so sore I could barely hobble. Foot doctor said I had Achilles tendonitis. Too bad I did not MRI those, because I missed out on a lawsuit for lack of evidence of tears. I ruptured a small tendon on the outside of right ankle. Eye pain, sensitivity to light, floaters. My tongue was so sore........like a muscle sore with fasiculations. I had difficulty talking from weakness in throat and tongue. Had twitching all over my body. Still do. Used to work for a Neurologist and Neurosurgeon and knew just enough to convince myself I had ALS. Had all the symptoms. I could barely lift a muscle. Got to the point where it felt like I had to make myself breath. Later was told I probably had mild Guillian Barre syndrome. My daughter drove me to work all Summer as I just got worse. Luckily, I only worked part time (10 hours a week) or I would not have been able to work at all. One day about 2 months into it, i was showing an apartment to a tenant and my legs just went numb and he practically carried me to my office. Went to ER, and by the time I drove an hour there, it was better. Saw to a neurologist and he "suspected" a neuromuscular disease. Ordered an EMG/NCV, found some nerve damage and issues with my back nerves. I was told to go home and come back in a year. Long year, went back and he repeated tests and told me if I did have ALS I would be in a wheelchair by now. In the period between these visits I keyed my symptoms in and found the FQ sites and forums. Saved my life for sure. I thought I was dying. For 6 months I got worse, from 6-12 I leveled off not getting new symptoms and at 18 months I seemed to turn a small corner. I started getting better finally. I developed a sensitivity to coffee with caffeine and some spicey foods. I can't focus anymore or spell very good for some reason. Sometimes when I eat, I get tremors. I am probably leaving out lots of stuff. I got on board with the food things and did not eat chicken, etc. I tried to take calcium/mag and it made my twitching so much worse. I eat what I want and have for years now, except the coffee bothers me. I did finally start B12 shots as mine was very low almost 2 years ago (hubby gives them to me) and it has helped my feet burning so much. Right after I took this, they issued a black box warning or something regarding neuropathy......too little too late! I finally gave in to muscle relaxers PRN for the chronic stiff muscles and still have lots of pain and do take some pain pills now. I also took a benzo at night PRN for 2 years for sleep issues. I no longer take that as I try to take the muscle relaxer and it helps with sleep too. I went from taking nothing to taking quite a bit just to deal with the pain/muscle issues caused by this junk. I got most of my life back. But, there are two parts to my life......before levaquin and after levaquin. I am having chronic tendon issues right now in my feet and legs, BAD back pain. Scheduled for a repeat lumbar MRI to see if anything there or just more of the gift of Levaquin that keeps on giving. I am NOT the same person as I was, but I function fairly well. I learned to live with the pain and take meds when I need to and adjust my level of activity to that of an old person (or at least it feels that way)! I am 45 now and getting older, but feel much older with the pain. My tendons in my knees bother me too. I hope some of you newbies take solace in the fact that some people get better. It takes TIME and you will probably never be the same, but hope is there. I rate my reaction moderate-severe based on the old FQ info I used to read.
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2 juni 2011
Hello. My name is Mary Ann Anderson. I am 63, a wife, mother, daughter, sister and a grandmother. Here's my Levaquin story. In April of 2007 in New Jersey, I married my second husband. Five months later on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we were heading back home on his motorcycle after a nice full day of riding. I was his passenger riding on the back. Without any warning, the car in front of us slammed on its brakes for no apparent reason. We slid to the left of the vehicle to keep from hitting its trunk. The rear rubber inlayed bumper of the car caught my right lower leg. It caused a 3rd degree friction burn that I was not aware of at that time. It just looked like a big white bruise. Five days later I was in an emergency clinic with black eschar over the wound and was told that would have to be removed by a plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon debrided the wound, but the wound became infected with pseudomonas bacteria. He placed me on ten days of Levaquin 500 mg. I was in a tremendous amount of pain. This was now the end of November 2007. The plastic surgeon told me I had fibromyalgia and placed me on Lyrica for a while. In January 2008 the wound had to be debrided a second time and once again I was placed on Levaquin for the infection. One evening in February 2008 I was lying in the bed when all of a sudden I felt a "Charlie horse" in my left thigh. I jumped out of bed. When I did that, it felt like a hundred rubber bands popping in that thigh. The upper portion of the thigh looked sunken. In March 2008 I started to get up off the couch and my right knee locked up in a sitting position. A few days later my left knee locked up just like the right knee. I had now become wheelchair bound. Purplish black ulcerations began appearing inside that thigh and on the inside of my left knee. They turned out to be deep & necrotic and they had to be debrided. I have never felt such excruciating pain in my life. Changing the bandages was absolutely horrible because of the pain. While I was in the hospital for this I was given Cipro. I don't know how long I was on it, probably the entire 10-day stay. I was also given physical therapy for my knees, but it did not help. I began seeing a new PCP in June 2008. She diagnosed me with hyperthyroidism and high blood pressure. She sent me to a thyroid specialist who confirmed the hyperthyroid. I was placed on medication for both the thyroid and high blood pressure. In December of 2008 I began seeing more of the necrotic ulcerations appearing. They were on my buttocks, my right hip, and beginning in the top of my left foot. My left foot & ankle was beginning to hurt pretty bad whenever I would try to put weight on it when transferring from the wheelchair to the bed. I had also noticed the same "rubber band" feeling in my right thigh and the lower part of the right side of my abdomen. I was once again hospitalized. My abdomen felt like chunks of cheddar cheese, which really had the doctors baffled. They took a biopsy of the thigh and abdomen, but came to no conclusions. They debrided the necrotic ulcerations. Before my admittance to the hospital this time, my PCP had sent me to a pain management doctor, who placed me on a medication that put me into a state of hallucinations. I had also been hospitalized at this same time for this. They took me off of that medication and the hallucinations were disappearing little by little. After ten days I was sent home. In February 2009 I returned to the hospital for a second debridement of the same necrotic ulcerations. This was another ten-day stay. By this time I had developed constipation and a bladder problem.
In August 2009 I moved from New Jersey to my home state of Arkansas. I began seeing a new PCP who is treating me for high blood pressure and hyperactive thyroid. But, my blood pressure readings are always way too high and my thyroid tests come out too high or too low. My PCP sent me for a colonscopy that showed I have ulcerative colitis, probably brought on by medications, and I am now being treated for this. I also had to have a bladder sling to control my bladder. I had a MRI of my left foot that showed necrotic bones, which probably occurred, according to the doctor, back when all the other necrotic things were happening. I went to a diagnostic center last week for a thyroid scan which shows I now have Grave's disease and will begin radioactive iodine treatments next week. I am still on high blood pressure medication, which will be adjusted to bring my blood pressure back down. I am still in a wheelchair and will be starting another six weeks of physical therapy beginning tomorrow.
To sum it all up: My quality of life was taken away from me without warning. I was a newly wed. I was very active. I loved the outdoors. I loved for my grandchildren to come and stay the weekends. I loved to cook and keep my house nice and clean. I cannot do anything any more that I enjoyed. I even have to have help to take a shower. Because of all the scars from the debridements I have trouble sitting, even lying down. I just cannot get comfortable. It's hard to believe I was at the best health I'd ever been when the 2007 accident took place. Look at me now….. I've been royally floxed!
In August 2009 I moved from New Jersey to my home state of Arkansas. I began seeing a new PCP who is treating me for high blood pressure and hyperactive thyroid. But, my blood pressure readings are always way too high and my thyroid tests come out too high or too low. My PCP sent me for a colonscopy that showed I have ulcerative colitis, probably brought on by medications, and I am now being treated for this. I also had to have a bladder sling to control my bladder. I had a MRI of my left foot that showed necrotic bones, which probably occurred, according to the doctor, back when all the other necrotic things were happening. I went to a diagnostic center last week for a thyroid scan which shows I now have Grave's disease and will begin radioactive iodine treatments next week. I am still on high blood pressure medication, which will be adjusted to bring my blood pressure back down. I am still in a wheelchair and will be starting another six weeks of physical therapy beginning tomorrow.
To sum it all up: My quality of life was taken away from me without warning. I was a newly wed. I was very active. I loved the outdoors. I loved for my grandchildren to come and stay the weekends. I loved to cook and keep my house nice and clean. I cannot do anything any more that I enjoyed. I even have to have help to take a shower. Because of all the scars from the debridements I have trouble sitting, even lying down. I just cannot get comfortable. It's hard to believe I was at the best health I'd ever been when the 2007 accident took place. Look at me now….. I've been royally floxed!
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8 april
Joshua 04/07/2013Hello, in January my roommate, Domestic partner, whatever, we've lived together for 7 years and dated on and off. She had a simple urinary tract infection, they gave her Levaquin, developed as a drug of last resort, doctors hand it out like candy for infections.
A few days into treatment she developed, rashes, tendon pain, muscle pain, eye pain, suicidal thoughts, etc. She discontinued the antibiotic and I took her to the ER because I had never seen her in this type of pain. She was swiftly diagnosed with a Migraine, shot up with dilaudid, which didn't alleviate the eye pain, just made her high as a kite and unable to stand up on her own. Dismissing even the possibility that Levaquin which they prescribe all day every day could cause such things, even though it's in the warnings that come in the drug package.
The symptoms continued to get worse, it was the weekend, so we ended up at urgent care, where we finally find a doctor that acknowledges that it's likely a reaction to the antibiotics, and that there's nothing they can do aside from antihistamines to try and stop the progression of the rash, which can turn fatal. The next week we see her family doctor, he sets us up with a neurologist, that has some knowledge of it, and suggests a full compliment of vitamins, especially magnesium(the drug depletes magnesium in your system, causing tendon issues) and B complex as well as Alpha Lipoic Acid. Which seemed to alleviate most of the physical symptoms after a few days aside from tendon issues that can take months or years to regenerate.
At this point she's physically ok, but now the full extent of the neurological issues are evident. Previously she was a extroverted sales person who majored in English and French who also has an event planning business and runs a dance organization. But at this point she's fearful of people, has anxiety, panic attacks, ended up starting a bar fight because she couldn't control herself, nearly drove off the expressway, can't remember French, can't spell or compose proper sentences in English, and when she's doing something she can't remember what it is or why by the time she gets started. The Neurologist sends her for blood work, an MRI, and a Lumbar Puncture, all tests come back negative for anything treatable, he has nothing to offer but a referral to a psychiatrist.
Through my own research I find that not much is known about the effects of Quinolones(Cipro) and Flouroquinolones(Levaquin)
I tried giving her every brain boosting supplement I could find at the drug store, Ginko, DHEA, L-Carnatine, etc. All making her issues much much worse, to the point where she nearly attempted suicide due to lack of impulse control, she called me up hysterical because she had no desire to die, she just couldn't control the impulse.
I'm a medical Marihuana grower in Michigan, one night she was helping me trim the plants(removing the leaves from the flower) and she seemed relaxed and happy. The next day she called me from work, which normally means I need to drop what I'm doing to go get her. She tells me a coworker said she smelled like pot and asked if she was high. She was completely calm telling me this, not even a hint of panic in her voice. The little bit she had absorbed from contact had relieved her symptoms. It was at this point where I realized that the cash crop I was growing in my spare room was able to treat her symptoms, all of them, neurological and physical. Something the medical profession cannot do. And can't event study because "Marihuana has no medical benefit" according to the federal government.
Now she's self medicating by ingesting approximately 1/8th gram of unprocessed marihuana with each meal and before bed. This is one of the weakest form available, as thc isn't fully available until it's been heated. She has no "high" she's just the person she used to be, until it wears off.
An important thing to note, I'm not sure if it's her underlying brain chemistry, or a change caused by the reaction, but, her reactions to marihuana are reversed from what they should be. Sativa's that are known for their paranoia type effects relieve her symptoms. Indica based strains known to be relaxing and anxiety relieving make her symptoms much worse. I suggest anyone looking to try it as a remedy have both options available and use it with an experienced and trustworthy user, as the wrong kind will push you into a very bad place.
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6 april
Hi FQ,
Thank you for the work you are doing.
In 2010, I was experiencing recurring strep throat. After the strep recurring for the thrid time, I was put on Levaquin, and I had a prescription for 2 weeks. During the first week, I started experiencing pain throughout my body, but mainly concentrated in my neck, shoulders, hips, and legs. The act of just walking was so painful, I had to buy a cane. I went to my doctor and told him what was happening. He actually shrugged his shoulders and told me I was probably just tired from battling the strep and keep taking my medication. The pain got worse. After I had taken all of my Leviquin I went back to my doctor who looked in my throat and said the strep was still active and he would not give me anymore medication. He said that I would have to ride this out. I then went to 2 other doctors who basically gave me antibotics and when they didn't work., they also gave up on me. Finally, I found an ENT who performed a toncilectomy. When I told him of my body pain, he told me to find a rhumetologist who then diagonised me with fibromyalgia.
My current doctor told me that I do not have fibromyalgia, but was poisoned by Leviguin and I would more than likely be in pain and on medication for the rest of my life.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Bernadette Bosley
Catherine Blackwell Summers...03/24/2013
I was given Cipro a flouroquinolone last spring 2012, 3 rx's in pill form the iv 2 days over a several month period. I now have chronic feet pain daily from peripheral neuropathy. A broken left shoulder tendon that hurts every day. I now have hypercoagulation (severe bllod clotting), insomnia-severe..can go days with very little sleep, muscle wasting...lost 50lb in about 3 and 1/2 months. I have worsening short term memory problems, and chronic fatigue issues. I am now disabled unable to work at age 59. Never was warned about black box warning on Cipro by any doctor.
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Claire !!
4 maart
26 februari
02/25/2013
my name is Donna Schutz and Admin of this pg ...i am a possible Floxie ,
19 ys ago i had a severe electrocution burn that got badly infected . so had emergency surgery and was put on very strong Antibiotics ...i do not know the name .. a yr later after getting what i thought was Arthritis pains in my shoulders ,wrists, elbows,knees and ankles also difficulty sleeping ,muscle loss a rhumatoligist ...diagnosed me with Fibromayalgia ...since then i have damaged tendons and nerves ...in 2001 i was put on the ear drops above for an ear infection i had for over a yr ...3 yrs ago i was put on Disability pension for my Fibro and other condition Adenomyosis as im unable to work ...ill never 100% know if my almost 20 yrs of joint pains and injuries are from Fluoroquinolones but as most Fluoroquinolone victims are diagnosed with Fibromalgia and my love getting floxed 5 wks ago severely from Levequin ..i guess it is highly possible im a victim too..so im a possible Floxie
a few other long term symptoms i have had are , had an MRI for constant headaches yrs ago ...still get many but not as often ...if i get a cold or flu it becomes severe and nearly get hospitalized...any cuts or scratches leave scars and take ages to heal as well as i bruise so easy...sometimes not knowing how. also have almost nightly restlesss legs ..they jump around out of my control ...im sure now being aware of this so many things over the yrs im going to question
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Claire !!
4 maart
03/03/2013
Im Claire Hering from France, I am 36 years old, I was floxed during my last pregnancy for a sinusitisby 4 pills of levaqu in 500mg in december 2011! I never take any antibiotics, the doc insisted...it was the last time because my pregnancy was a nightmare with anxiety attacks, tendons pain, popping, vertigo, dizziness, heart palpitations, paralysis! my baby boy Charlie born on summer 2012 is perfectly healthy! here in France I felt me so lonely with this! the doctors, my family and my husband didnt believe that 4 pills can do that! so they thought I was depressed and suffering of post partum psychosis! the only persons that support me were the FQ victims here in France and Americans Floxies!! without my new americans friends, I couldnt get through all this! (excuse me the faults, I come from France!) today Im
better, but I suffer of terrible vertigo right now and it doesnt pass...I hope it will in the future because I have two little boys to take care! with floxing, I have realized that my husband had no compassion, he cannot imagine what I had endured! so Im separated, I left him the last week! its very hard for me to understand that I have lost my energy because of levaquin! but Im sure I will recover! I never never give up!
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Im Claire Hering from France, I am 36 years old, I was floxed during my last pregnancy for a sinusitisby 4 pills of levaqu in 500mg in december 2011! I never take any antibiotics, the doc insisted...it was the last time because my pregnancy was a nightmare with anxiety attacks, tendons pain, popping, vertigo, dizziness, heart palpitations, paralysis! my baby boy Charlie born on summer 2012 is perfectly healthy! here in France I felt me so lonely with this! the doctors, my family and my husband didnt believe that 4 pills can do that! so they thought I was depressed and suffering of post partum psychosis! the only persons that support me were the FQ victims here in France and Americans Floxies!! without my new americans friends, I couldnt get through all this! (excuse me the faults, I come from France!) today Im
better, but I suffer of terrible vertigo right now and it doesnt pass...I hope it will in the future because I have two little boys to take care! with floxing, I have realized that my husband had no compassion, he cannot imagine what I had endured! so Im separated, I left him the last week! its very hard for me to understand that I have lost my energy because of levaquin! but Im sure I will recover! I never never give up!
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26 februari
02/25/2013
my name is Donna Schutz and Admin of this pg ...i am a possible Floxie ,
19 ys ago i had a severe electrocution burn that got badly infected . so had emergency surgery and was put on very strong Antibiotics ...i do not know the name .. a yr later after getting what i thought was Arthritis pains in my shoulders ,wrists, elbows,knees and ankles also difficulty sleeping ,muscle loss a rhumatoligist ...diagnosed me with Fibromayalgia ...since then i have damaged tendons and nerves ...in 2001 i was put on the ear drops above for an ear infection i had for over a yr ...3 yrs ago i was put on Disability pension for my Fibro and other condition Adenomyosis as im unable to work ...ill never 100% know if my almost 20 yrs of joint pains and injuries are from Fluoroquinolones but as most Fluoroquinolone victims are diagnosed with Fibromalgia and my love getting floxed 5 wks ago severely from Levequin ..i guess it is highly possible im a victim too..so im a possible Floxie
a few other long term symptoms i have had are , had an MRI for constant headaches yrs ago ...still get many but not as often ...if i get a cold or flu it becomes severe and nearly get hospitalized...any cuts or scratches leave scars and take ages to heal as well as i bruise so easy...sometimes not knowing how. also have almost nightly restlesss legs ..they jump around out of my control ...im sure now being aware of this so many things over the yrs im going to question
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19 april 2011
Jenny Frank
· I am 2 and a half months into a Levaquin reaction and I have never felt so disgusted with the medical profession. A doctor I trusted for 13 years prescribed Levaquin knowing that I had had a bad reaction to Cipro 3 years prior. She assured me it was safe to take and did not inform me of any of the side effects, later claimed she would not have even mentioned joint pain, because she had never "seen" that reaction before. When the 8th dose sent me to the ER in an ambulance, she acted like I was crazy to have called 911 even though I told her I almost passed out and couldn't breath. Thre weeks later when my joints started hurting, she told me I had arthritis or a strep infection in my joints. She prescribed NSAIds, which made everything worse. I made an appointment to see her and arrived at her office in a wheelchair only to be informed that "the doctor doesn't need to see you." When thr MRI results came back, she lied about the results, not knowing that I had picked up a copy of the report and read it before her nurse called. Then she proceeded to recommend that I combine Motrin with the NSAID she had prescribed, which the pharmacist specifically said not to do. I have a new PCP who at least acknowledged that my reaction was caused by the Levaquin, but so far no one has a clue what to do. Has anyone else had a similar experience? What have you found that helps joint and tendon pain?
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· I am 2 and a half months into a Levaquin reaction and I have never felt so disgusted with the medical profession. A doctor I trusted for 13 years prescribed Levaquin knowing that I had had a bad reaction to Cipro 3 years prior. She assured me it was safe to take and did not inform me of any of the side effects, later claimed she would not have even mentioned joint pain, because she had never "seen" that reaction before. When the 8th dose sent me to the ER in an ambulance, she acted like I was crazy to have called 911 even though I told her I almost passed out and couldn't breath. Thre weeks later when my joints started hurting, she told me I had arthritis or a strep infection in my joints. She prescribed NSAIds, which made everything worse. I made an appointment to see her and arrived at her office in a wheelchair only to be informed that "the doctor doesn't need to see you." When thr MRI results came back, she lied about the results, not knowing that I had picked up a copy of the report and read it before her nurse called. Then she proceeded to recommend that I combine Motrin with the NSAID she had prescribed, which the pharmacist specifically said not to do. I have a new PCP who at least acknowledged that my reaction was caused by the Levaquin, but so far no one has a clue what to do. Has anyone else had a similar experience? What have you found that helps joint and tendon pain?
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- 19 april 2011
9 april 2011
Sondra Lareau 03/29/11
Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome
I was floxed in October of 2005. I had an ear infection or a sinus infection.. don't remember which. I was given Avelox. I never finished the script.
... I didn't have the slightest idea what was going on. It started with what was an apparent panic attack in Lowes and shit just went downhill from there. I had never had a panic attack before..so I thought I was having a heart attack. lol
Driving to the store I thought I was going to pass out..I pulled over and a complete stranger drove me to the ER. They said it was my blood sugar although they couldnt swear to it.
I had a few more trips to the ER and my doctor.. never any answers. I just kept getting worse.
I ended up with tremors 24/7, panic attacks, vertigo, floaters, headaches, sound and light was painful, twitches, moving was painful, I couldn't drink coffee or dark soda, couldn't sleep and then slept all the time. I had pretty much lost control of my body aside from functions at the time.. I lost those about 6 weeks later. I was bedridden for close to 2 months. I laid in the dark, alone with no radio or tv for about 6 of those weeks. I couldn't drive, I couldn't take care of my kids or myself. I was on klonopin. I went for a brain MRI and they found an arachnoid cyst the size of a fist..but that is actually unrelated and doesn't do a whole lot. Still a scary thing to find out..
Anyway.. I had been doing some internet research and found FQ Toxicity. When I saw a neaurologist I mentioned it to him and he pulled out this huge book and he said yes.. that could be it. But my regular doctors didnt want to hear anything about it. It didnt exist..lol
I saw a brain surgeon and he said if the cyst it isn't giving me any trouble.. leave it alone. I went for a heart stress test. I have a leaky valve in my heart.. doesn't mean much now..but something to watch. Blood work out the wazoo.. and they still couldn't figure out WTF was wrong with me.
I lost 40 lbs.
Cried all the time.
Life totally sucked.
And then.. my husband at the time told me that he didnt want to be married anymore. He couldnt handle it.
Anyway..
Later it got to where I couldn't eat, drink, sleep, use the bathroom..that lasted for 4 days.
To make a long story short.. I ended up in the hospital with my organs shutting down. I was in the hospital for 6 days and was prescribed paxil for depression( you would be too at that point!) BUT..it stopped the tremors and all the other CNS issues. The paxil interrupts the messages from my nerves to my brain.
So I can survive like a relatively normal human being again. I have alot of joint pain and nervousness. Certain noises hurt my ears. I get chest pounding sometimes.I am tired 24/7. I could sleep..and sleep.
I am different now.
Im alot more cautious, I cant do certain things or take certain meds.
Its been over 5 years now. I'm still on the paxil, cant get off of it or the CNS stuff all comes back
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Connie and Mike July 16, 2009,
"I am also a victim of Cipro," says Connie, "because I am tortured from not being able to help Mike, my husband." And to make matters worse, Mike can't sue Bayer, the manufacturer, because the state of Louisiana has a two-year statute of limitations. "Although there is nothing we can do about it, I urge people with any Cipro injuries to file a claim now," adds Connie, who has also discussed Cipro side effects on Internet message boards (moniker Ciprovictimalso), warning the public that "this stuff is poison".
In 1998, Mike, a former Marine, was in perfect physical condition when he came down with flu-like symptoms. "Mike asked our doctor to 'Give whatever it takes to get me well fast,' so he was prescribed Cipro," Connie says, adding that they don't blame their doctor because he "wasn’t told the truth either".
"About a month after taking Cipro, Mike had terrible pains and thought he was getting rheumatoid arthritis--every joint in his body hurt," says Connie. " It slowed him down at work and he got depressed. He thought arthritis was pay-back for working so hard all his life. Then his legs started twitching: He kicked me so much in his sleep I couldn't stay in the same bed…
He had personality changes. Mike became very agitated, irritable and hot-tempered. And I was scared to go anywhere because of the way he drove—crazy. He had never acted this way before; then the nightmares and panic attacks started.
Ruptures started occurring 11 months later. The tendon in his calf became completely loose—he looked like someone with polio—but we thought it was just an accident. The next year (2000) the quadriceps ligament tore at the kneecap and in 2001 the muscles in his thigh tore completely apart. Then he had ruptured tendons in his arms. Six tendon injuries? Something was definitely wrong, but there is worse...
Mike tried to commit suicide three times after taking Cipro. On his last attempt he put a .38 in his mouth and pulled the trigger, but God intervened. Mike told the police he should have died; instead he shot a bullet through his cheek.
There's more. He had really bad rectal bleeding. I know this was related to Cipro because it also happened when he took Cipro the second time. Everything got worse when he took it again in 2004, but it wasn't until 2006 that we linked all these side effects to Cipro—when I found out about Cipro tendon rupture lawsuits online.
I called the FDA and asked if tendon ruptures could happen 11 months after taking Cipro. 'Yes', someone replied. I was astonished; who knew about these horrific side effects? I believe that Bayer, the manufacturer, is aware of everything: I wrote them a detailed letter about Mike and someone at Bayer contacted me last year, wanting to know about his injuries. That was the last I heard from the drug company.
Now, Mike is completely disabled and rarely leaves the house; he needs help just to get out of his chair. Cipro took my husband's health away and it has ruined both our lives."
Add a caption
Bastrop, LA: "I am also a victim of Cipro," says Connie, "because I am tortured from not being able to help Mike, my husband." And to make matters worse, Mike can't sue Bayer, the manufacturer, because the state of Louisiana has a two-year statute of limitations. "Although there is nothing we can do about it, I urge people with any Cipro injuries to file a claim now," adds Connie, who has also discussed Cipro side effects on Internet message boards (moniker Ciprovictimalso), warning the public that "this stuff is poison".
In 1998, Mike, a former Marine, was in perfect physical condition when he came down with flu-like symptoms. "Mike asked our doctor to 'Give whatever it takes to get me well fast,' so he was prescribed Cipro," Connie says, adding that they don't blame their doctor because he "wasn’t told the truth either".
"About a month after taking Cipro, Mike had terrible pains and thought he was getting rheumatoid arthritis--every joint in his body hurt," says Connie. " It slowed him down at work and he got depressed. He thought arthritis was pay-back for working so hard all his life. Then his legs started twitching: He kicked me so much in his sleep I couldn't stay in the same bed…
He had personality changes. Mike became very agitated, irritable and hot-tempered. And I was scared to go anywhere because of the way he drove—crazy. He had never acted this way before; then the nightmares and panic attacks started.
Ruptures started occurring 11 months later. The tendon in his calf became completely loose—he looked like someone with polio—but we thought it was just an accident. The next year (2000) the quadriceps ligament tore at the kneecap and in 2001 the muscles in his thigh tore completely apart. Then he had ruptured tendons in his arms. Six tendon injuries? Something was definitely wrong, but there is worse...
Mike tried to commit suicide three times after taking Cipro. On his last attempt he put a .38 in his mouth and pulled the trigger, but God intervened. Mike told the police he should have died; instead he shot a bullet through his cheek.
There's more. He had really bad rectal bleeding. I know this was related to Cipro because it also happened when he took Cipro the second time. Everything got worse when he took it again in 2004, but it wasn't until 2006 that we linked all these side effects to Cipro—when I found out about Cipro tendon rupture lawsuits online.
I called the FDA and asked if tendon ruptures could happen 11 months after taking Cipro. 'Yes', someone replied. I was astonished; who knew about these horrific side effects? I believe that Bayer, the manufacturer, is aware of everything: I wrote them a detailed letter about Mike and someone at Bayer contacted me last year, wanting to know about his injuries. That was the last I heard from the drug company.
Now, Mike is completely disabled and rarely leaves the house; he needs help just to get out of his chair. Cipro took my husband's health away and it has ruined both our lives."..
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09/27/12
My name is Ronda, I’m 34. I’m an editorial consultant in California. I’ve always been a pretty athletic and active person. As a kid and teenager, I took many dance classes. Walking 5 or 10 miles in a day has never phased me, as I’ve never owned a car, and I’ve always walked where I needed to go. I had muscular legs that always got me where I needed to go. From August 2010 to March 2012, I lost 80 pounds after beginning a running regimen. I have participated in two firewalks – one before floxing and one after. That’s the kind of person I am. I’m sorry if my story is a bit long, but I feel like I have to get it all out. In March 2012, one morning, I woke up at around 3am in a lot of pain. It felt like a UTI, and I’d had them in the past. I’d drink some cranberry juice and that would be that. I had cranberry juice, but the UTI didn’t seem to go away. A day later, there was blood in my urine. My then boyfriend, now husband, took me to Planned Parenthood, since I didn’t have any health insurance. They ran a culture, but found no bacteria. They gave me Sulfa “just in case”. I took most of this medicine, but not all because I tend to have sensitivities to medications/chemicals and this one gave me a nasty headache, hives, asthma the works. It was making me pretty darn sick, and I was really mad because they weren’t supposed to give it to anyone who had a history of asthma/lung problems. I was feeling worse than I had when I started it. I figured it was fine that I didn’t take the last two doses since things had cleared up and there wasn’t any bacteria anyway. Not quite a month later, I woke up in that same awful pain. Only this time, by noon, not only did I have blood in my urine, but there was tissue in it as well and what looked like pus. Now, let me say that I knew it wasn’t a miscarriage – both b/c I’d just menstruated and because the birth control device – a diaphragm – was still in place. (I’m sorry if this is TMI, but it’s relevant, I swear.) So…reluctant go to Planned Parenthood again after they’d already messed with me so much, we went to the local clinic. However, we were turned away because I didn’t have any health insurance. After going to the hospital’s clinic and being told it would be a few hours before I could be seen (and seeing how dirty the waiting room was) and the fact that I was hunched over, unable to stand up straight, we reluctantly went to Planned Parenthood again. The nurse said that I must have a really nasty UTI and that it must have really nasty superbugs since they hung out since the last time. Once again, I gave a urine sample. I had no reason to believe otherwise; after all, it felt like some of the UTIs I’d had. The only difference was the tissue. She gave me a 3 day 500 mg course of Cipro. Since I believed that I must have a really nasty infection, I didn’t question the authority or whether I should wait to start the antibiotic regimen until when they received the results of the culture. They were sending out for it, and they would have it back on Monday. I went in on a Thursday, and began my course immediately. I read the box warning, and made note to call as soon as I had a reaction, and I followed all the rules – still thinking I had some sort of superbug multiplying in my bladder. After taking the first dose, about an hour later, my head began to hurt. I associated it with the bladder infection, not the medication. The headache continued the next day, though my then fiancé and I went for a walk anyway. I’ve always been one of those unless it’s actively killing me, I’m going to get out and do stuff people. The third day, Saturday came, and I felt worse. I hurt everywhere. Honestly, I thought it was because I’d pushed myself too much the previous two days, so I rested. I never associated it with the medication even though I had read all the warnings. I wasn’t sure that the medicine was causing the kind of pain I was having. I had only one dose left anyway – Sunday’s morning dose. The clinic was closed until Monday, so I couldn’t call my physician to ask whether I should stop taking the medication. Still thinking of the superbug, and figuring that if it was the medication the pain would go away after that last dose, I took the last dose Sunday morning. What happened about an hour later, myself and my now husband will never forget, because it changed our lives forever. I got up and had breakfast, and as I ate, I progressively felt worse and worse. After eating, I went to lay down in bed again. Within about twenty minutes, I was screaming in pain. I gave birth, vaginally, to a 9 pound, 11 ounce kid with a 22 centimeter head when I was 20. That pain had nothing on this. It was the worst pain I’d experienced in my entire life. I began screaming. My fiancé came running in. I couldn’t move. I was completely weak, and I felt like I was paralyzed from the neck down. He helped me get up anyway. I was in tears. He thought if I could stand up, then maybe I was okay. It was almost impossible, but he brought me to a standing position. I felt as though I’d been hit by a train, backed up over, then run over again. Everything in my body hurt. Since I didn’t have insurance, I refused to go to the hospital – knowing that doing so would mean that he and I would be paying for it for the rest of our lives... and thinking, still, that the pain would go away in a few hours when the medication got out of my system.
Monday morning, I was still in excruciating pain, and by then I’d developed a tremor in my right arm. Planned Parenthood called. I didn’t have any bacteria in the culture. I told them about the reaction. The nurse told me it would go away in a couple months and that it was stupid of me to have continued the medication – even though she told me to make sure I took all of the medication when I’d picked it up and by the time I realized I was having a reaction to the medication, I only had one dose left and I was under the impression, because she told me, that I had some sort of superbug in my system! By this time, I’d found the stories online, and I was feeling pretty darn hopeless that it was going to just go away. I’m a Googler. I just wish I had googled it before I took it.
By Wednesday, what I call the rotating pain and the “foot thing” had begun. The pain was no longer all over. Instead, it was random zaps of pain that would make me squeal out. IT would move. My feet became ultra-sensitive, and I couldn’t stand touching the floor with them. They would go from feeling like ice blocks to like they were on fire to like they were being tickled. The tremors got worse. I’d lost all strength in my arms. Monday, I wasn’t able to move the espresso machine, something I’ve moved thousands of times, when cleaning the kitchen. Tuesday night I wasn’t able to lift a pan of turkey meatloaf out of the oven. I was in tears. I couldn’t cut a sausage. It was bad! So my fiancé took me into the clinic that had originally refused me. They told him we would have to pay up front. He said, no problem, we need to figure out what’s going on. I went in, and the doctor made me feel worse than any doctor has EVER made me feel. He treated me like a criminal. He used a Levaquin pen to take notes, and there were advertisements for cipro and levaquin around the office. He tried to convince me that I had Lupus though I already knew I didn’t have that. He still insisted on drawing blood for it. By the time we left the office, I was in tears. My fiancé was outraged. We were both certain it was cipro that had done this – and the gaul of that guy! My legs would hurt and curl up on me and shake. I was still barely able to get around by myself. I work from home, and up until this point, I was able to keep house while my fiancé was at work. I couldn’t do that. I wasn’t able to sit for more than 10 minutes. The headaches were horrible. I would cry out in pain. I was scared. My fiancé and I started looking at how to get me health insurance, as no one in our town would touch me with a ten foot pole to diagnose me without it. The worst part? I was still having pelvic area pain. A month later, with no improvement, we determined since we were engaged anyway, and since my fiancé had good health insurance – I was self employed, and so this being a situation where because I don’t have any employees I wouldn’t be exempt from the no prior conditions clause…well to insure myself and my son it would be astronomical, for just basic coverage…I wouldn’t qualify for any state assistance because as a household, we made too much. It was clear. We got married a year and a month earlier than we had planned. My husband began setting up appointments for me with everyone from a dentist to a family doctor.
I couldn’t get in to the doctor for another month. When I did, he took me seriously! I was surprised. He had me do labs. Meanwhile, I was to drink as much water and Gatorade as I could stand. I got my wisdom teeth out. I got my eyes checked. I was given vicodin for the wisdom teeth. As soon as it wore off, it would be that darned hit by a truck feeling. I stopped taking the vicodin. I didn’t take any of the advil or aleve or anything, because it made everything worse. I drank lots of water. Things got way worse. I started itching everywhere. Things got better. Things got worse. Then…depression kicked in. Then, things got really worse. I’d been unable to consistently work for months. I was upset. But the pelvic pain got way way worse. At the same time, all my lab results came back. Everything was great – except for the fact that I had a severe vitamin D deficiency. The good news was I didn’t seem to have any muscle damage. Great – but what was causing all the pain then? Things got better again after taking Vitamin D. My husband, son and I took a trip. But things were inconsistent. One day I’d feel okay. The next day I’d be on my back. We went hiking through Oregon’s waterfalls. One moment I’d be okay. The next my right side wouldn’t be listening to me. My strength was back…sometimes…That was in June and July. The order of events are fuzzy to me. By the time I got into the doctor’s office, I went from 185lbs and a size 6/8 in March to 225 and a size 14/16. I was told it was safe for me to run again. I tried. My husband and I took walks together. Again, it was all inconsistent. Some days I would be fine, other days I wouldn’t. It made no sense. Things were starting to get back to normal, but then I had another setback. I’d started to have horrible periods. They were just large clots. I had a LOT of pain in my pelvic region (and still do). We went in again. An ultrasound was ordered. We got it – there was a mass in there…the doctor said it looked like a fibroid, but if I was still having problems in a couple weeks, to have another ultrasound. At this point, I started having sores that wouldn’t heal on my arms…from bug bites. I fell completely apart. My poor husband! He’s a saint. One day I would feel fine. The next day I wouldn’t. I can’t remember a day for the last couple months where I didn’t cry at least once. The tremors in the right arm have been consistent enough for me to have what I call “stupid hands.” Where I’m holding onto something and it flies out of my hands because I start tremoring again. I’m a writer/editor and I can barely focus long enough to work. The thought that something was wrong with my reproductive system was too much. It sent me over the edge into what I think is full-blown depression. I just try to deal with one day at a time. Finally, the time came for the second ultrasound. It was a polyp, not a fibroid. Sigh. So…referral city here we come. The doctor suggested I try Recharge instead of Gatorade since I appeared to be allergic to something in Gatorade. Recharge is all natural and contains no MSG. I’ve been drinking the Recharge at the rate of two bottles a day for the past week. For the most part, my symptoms were completely under control – I thought “WOW this is great!” until Monday. Monday morning, I woke up with that familiar hit by a train feeling. I had a meeting with my son’s school, where I had to walk 45 minutes. Even though I felt awful when I woke up, I thought, “Well I’ve been doing pretty well, lately, so I should be able to make it, and my husband will be picking us both up afterwards.” Boy was I wrong. Even though last week, I was able to go on a 45 minute run/walk with my husband, after only 5 minutes of walking, I was in pain. By the time I was halfway to the school, I was having to drag my right foot along, because it wouldn’t move on its own. My son had my cell phone at school. I had no way of calling anyone and no choice but to continue to the school, since I was on a bike path. I got there, had the meeting, and when I saw my husband, I burst into tears. I couldn’t step up onto a curb. The pain in my legs continued – pain that I hadn’t felt for a while – and the leg bending began again. That wasn’t the worst of it. At 1:00 am Tuesday morning, as my husband and I were settling into bed, I was paralyzed by chest pain. When I was finally able to talk again, I asked my husband to grab me a tums – thinking it was heartburn. The pain continued into the following day, feeling like anxiety…going into my arms…etc. At a couple points during the day I thought about going to the hospital. I took a baby asprin and figured I’d wait to see what happened. The pain went away within a few minutes of taking the asprin. My husband got home, and we were making dinner. I went to grab bowls out of a drawer (mixing bowls). Both arms began to tremor. I started screaming for him to grab the bowls because I couldn’t stop my arms from shaking. He grabbed the bowls, one had broken – that’s how violent the tremor was. It subsided. We finished dinner and went to WalMart to get my son the final part of a costume for a speech he was giving today. At walmart I felt sharp pain in my right shoulder and all of a sudden my legs wouldn’t move. It subsided, and we got home. My chest was still hurting, and now, I was short of breath. My husband called our doctor’s practice and spoke to the on-call doctor. He advised us to go to the emergency room, so we did. They took me in right away and hooked me up to an EKG. The EKG came back normal. They did a battery of tests. My tests all came back normal and showed me to be in perfect health once again. We were there from 12am until 5am. It was suggested I do a follow up with my family doctor to see what might be going on and do a stress test. I was asked if I’d done any heavy lifting or heavy cleaning, because it seemed as though maybe if it wasn’t my heart it might be musculoskeletal in nature. I hadn’t done any heavy lifting or cleaning. Sigh. So, I tell my story out of frustration. I’m now at 248 pounds. I don’t know why I’ve gained so much weight in such a short time other than the inability to be consistently active. Most the time I just deal with the symptoms. I hurt, but I went out to dinner and dancing with my husband for the 1 year anniversary of when we met. I danced as long as I could until my legs gave out. I hurt the next day, but my thought has been this throughout the whole experience: If I’m going to hurt anyway, I’d rather be in pain living my life to the fullest extent than be in pain lying around. I have good days and I have bad days. I went run/walking with my husband. I kept feeling like my legs were going to crumble under me, but I did it anyway to build my strength back up. I was glad I did it even if the next day was spent on the couch. Most of last week was good. Monday, Tuesday, and Today have been horrendous, but my husband has been there for me through it all as my cheerleader and as the person who pushes me to go a little further than I think I can go. It’s like the ocean…you’ve just gotta keep riding the waves out. I look forward to running a 5k again…one day, I will be better enough to run a marathon – and I will do it because I can. I can’t wait to hike again. You can bet, when I’m able to, I’m going to enjoy every second of it. I have faith that this hell will end. The photo is of my husband and I at the Pacific Science Center on our trip to Seattle in June/July. The side of my right leg had a muscle spasm and it had swollen up. Even though I was in a LOT of pain and had to sit down a lot while we were out at museums, I was smiling. It was great to see all the wonderful sites and exhibits that we saw around Seattle in those two weeks.
Ashley Nicole York
Hello my fellow floxies and other inquirers,
My name is Ashley, I am 25 years old, when I became “poisoned” by Levaquin I was 24. I will briefly explain my story in hopes to raise awareness and to help soothe those wounded hearts that are still scared and aren’t sure what’s going on. My husband is in the military so of course I went on post to see a doctor (as the appointment setter referred to the NURSE PRACTIOTIONER as), needless to say I was suffering from a crappy run of the mill sinus infection. When I got to the “Doctors”, the woman referred herself as Nurse Practitioner so and so. I was a little irritated as I wanted to see a real doctor, not doubting that some NP’s aren’t phenomenal but in my instance I have had bad luck.
I told her my symptoms and she said I’ll put you on Levaquin, I mentioned I had been on it once before for a severe infection when I was about 16 years old, and was she sure that I needed that strong of a med. She reassured me it was fine and then asked me the most unprofessional and horrific question EVER. She says I can put you on 750mg for 10 days or if I want to get over it quicker she’d do 1000mg for 5 days…my heart was telling something didn’t sound right, so I asked what the difference was and she replied with, nothing just depends if you want to get over it faster. I knew it sounded bizarre so I took her up on the 750mg for 10 days….still trusting that she had some decent insight as to what she was prescribing.
Three days into taking the prescription, I was hanging curtains in my new home it was about 9 at night. I started feeling strange, like my heart was racing and just feeling very out of touch with my surroundings (not crazy) but just feeling that sense of weirdness like something wasn’t right. Well something WASN’T RIGHT.
I went to bed and the next morning I woke up and couldn’t feel my left hand, it was numb and my wrist was tingly severely. I woke my husband up to tell him something didn’t feel right. Later that day my hand turned from numbness to pure muscle aches and pains, hot and bright red palms. I asked my husband to massage the knots out he did for hours and nothing was relieving. That evening when I would usually take the dose I decided to skip it as I had a gut feeling something wasn’t right (AND GOD AM I HAPPY I STOPPED ON DAY 3). Symptoms became worse within the next couple days, I couldn’t even pick up a carton of milk as my wrists and fingers were so weak, driving was especially hard, when switching gears in my car it would pain me to do so. This was not right, and I knew it, I have always been a healthy, active, person, doing all sorts of outdoors sports, to extreme sports, hiking, climbing, snowboarding, jet skiing and everything in between. So I knew something was happening to my body. The next day I woke up and could not get out of bed, I was in so much pain all over my body as if I had participated in 10 triathlons with no preparation. Even worse I felt like my bones and muscles and everything inside ached, I felt like an 80 year old woman. The following day I was still sore but tried getting up, I went downstairs slowly turning my body in ways to make it more manageable to get down them, coming back up the stairs my husband literally stood behind me with his hands on my back pushing me back up. It was sad. I was scared and that’s when I started researching, low and behold, what I found was to my dismay as we all know the horrifying effects this TOXIC drug can do to one’s body. After becoming informed I rushed to the hospital where I was told by an Army Lieutenant doctor that it must be the stairs making me ache, I got very serious with her and told her I have lived with stairs my ENTIRE LIFE and that something was awfully wrong with my body. She looked at her little blackberry script application and said well there is nothing in here saying it causes any kind of ligament or muscle damages. I told her she needed to become a more educated doctor if she planned on staying in the profession, she didn't like that. She then had me lay on the medical chair thing, and was lifting my legs and arms all around asking if it hurt, (my husband is a witness to the next event) she bent my right leg back so far I let out a little scream, and her exact words were “OH COME ON”! She then took my wrists and jerked them downwards very forcefully and that’s when my husband interjected and told her to stop touching me.
About a week later the symptoms began to subside a bit, I was sitting on my couch doing homework and when I stood up my tailbone was in excruciating pain, which to this day has not gone away, even with proper and careful care. I was diagnosed with a damaged coccyx, but with no reasoning, I never fell on it, nothing. It just became damaged….hmm, how does that happen? About a month later I noticed my lower back began to start going out frequently, I would just be doing something normal and BAM I’d get a sharp pain that would lunge me forward, after that and not much time later, the pain crept up to my neck and shoulders. I have now been dealing with these three things for a year. It’s very frustrating and painful, for a woman my age to feel so poorly at times it breaks my heart. Recently I had to get a doctor’s note from attending class for a week due to unbearable pain in my back. I refuse to take harsh narcotic pain killers as I am heading towards a more holistic life style approach, I do not want any more poison put into my body. I am in physical therapy 3 times a week, trying to correct my spine and muscles; if that does not work my new California doctors will start looking deeper and get to the bottom of my actual diagnosis. In time I hope and pray that this will all go away, but I don’t have that answer. Only time will tell. I just have one piece of advice and please if you got nothing else out of this story PLEASE NEVER EVER allow yourself to be put on an quinolone drug, I have made my family very aware especially as they are older and the side effects can attack those even more so who are over the age of 60. Do not take this, in fact on my medical history it is stated that I am allergic to quinolone drugs. This is only appropriate when the circumstance outweighs the possible side effects of this drug, but there are other options. Please educate yourself and others on this matter. I personally want to take the pharmaceuticals or FDA, whoever is allowing this to proceed to the Supreme Court….I hope one day, we can all make a big enough uproar that it will come to that. I believe if we stand together we CAN and WILL get this drug off the market. Please help me, and the others.
Thank you for reading.
ASHLEY YORK
QUINOLONE AWARENESS!!!! LET IT BE HEARD.
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3 mei 2011
My name is Ariana. Writing this story is difficult for me. I never expected a medicine to affect my life the way this one has.
One month ago today, on april 3rd, I took ciprofloxacilin for a suspected kidney infection (it wasn't a kidney infection). My doctor wrote me the prescription and I went to fill it with no problem. It was 500mg tablets that I was to take twice a day for 10 days. The pharmacist informed me that I shouldn't exercise while taking it. That was fine with me. I didn't exercise much anyway.
I went home and took the first pill and took a nap. I woke up feeling dizzy with a rapid heartbeat. My stomach was fluttering so I took some maalox. I thought that I was just hungry since I hadn't eaten all day. I ate a bit of rice because I didn't think I would be able to keep anything else down. After that I went back to sleep, my boyfriend woke me up to take my second pill. I took that and went back to bed. When I woke up the next morning I was feeling better, the pain in my side was gone. I took my third pill and got some breakfast. After eating I felt like I was going to faint, so I went to lay down. The package insert for the ciprofloxacilin was on my night stand so I figured that it was as good a time as any to actually read it. Reading it made me very scared, I couldn't believe that my doctor would give me a medicine that could cause tendon rupture, blindness, or death! I hopped on my laptop and decided to do some googling, I couldn't believe that the side effects would be that bad. I was shocked to find all the horrible reviews. I called my doctor right away and told him that I refused to take anymore of this drug and that I wanted something else. He prescribed bactrim. I went and picked it up and prayed that I wouldn't have any side effects since I'd only taken 3 pills. Boy was I wrong...
The next day I woke up in so much pain. It felt like someone had lit my skin on fire from the inside, my heart was racing and I was shaking like a leaf. My boyfriend cut on the fan for me and gave me some ice water. It didn't help. I took a hydrocodone that I had and it helped a bit. My body felt so tense and stiff. I couldn't even get out of bed. I lay there and cried. I took a couple of sleeping pills and went to sleep in pain. I woke up about three hours later. The burning pain was slightly alleviated and the stiffness had settled in my shoulders. I went downstairs to grab a bite to eat. By the time I made it down my staircase, my heart was racing so fast that I thought I would have a heart attack. It felt like I couldn't take a deep breath. My fingers and toes felt like they were being electrocuted, this then spread up my arms and legs. I was home alone and I didn't know what to do. I hobbled to my sofa and sobbed. I was in so much pain. I lay on the sofa until my boyfriend got home. He fed me some applesauce and grits, my hands were shaking so bad that I couldn't feed myself. I then asked him to carry me upstairs, I couldn't believe how exhausted I was. I went to sleep and woke up in a panic, I could barely breathe. My boyfriend drove me to the ER, it was 1 in the morning. They took my blood while I was there and told me everything was fine, I was just having an anxiety attack. I told them that I had never had an anxiety attack before, it was the cipro. They didn't believe me and sent me home with a prescription for pain meds, I didn't fill it. My symptoms got worse as the weeks went on, I lost weight, my body would twitch, I had to wrap my ankles with ace bandages because I could feel my tendons ripping as I walked, I was always very hot, my legs and arms were numb, I was always anxious and on edge, my joints creaked and popped, my shoulders were painful and stiff, I always had a headache, I had insomnia, I cried all day, I had floaters in my eyes, ringing in my ears, weird metal taste in my mouth.
Today, I am better, but still not back to my old self. I still have body twitches, I still keep my ankles wrapped, my joints still pop,I have pressure in my ears, I cry almost everyday. I have developed sensitivities to soy.
I refuse to let this beat me. Magnesium, vitamin c and water have helped me quite a bit. Sunshine helps me as well. Hope is the most important thing to have I think, hope is everything.
Feel free to email me: arianalyons@yahoo.com
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Brandy Chandler 03/29/11
In January 2011 I was just starting to feel better after a battle with Thyroid Cancer. It took 3 years to get the medications just right so I could just have a “normal” day. My photography business started booming and I just felt like my life was finally BACK!!!!
February 17th, 2011 I ended up in the ER due to severe pain in my head and nausea. My husband did not want to take any chances so we went to the ER. Turned out to be a severe case of sinusitis. They gave me an IV of morphine and sent me home with Prednisone, Levaquin, Phenergan, and Ultram.
Four days later I developed foot drop in the left foot. At the time I just thought I must have “tweaked” my foot somehow and then the next day my vision was very distorted. I looked at all of the inserts for the medications looking for a blurry vision side effect. That is when I saw the warnings for torn tendons for Levaquin. I immediately made an appointment with my regular doctor to have my foot checked out since the pain in my foot had escalated tenfold.
From there I deteriorated pretty fast. I started having electric shock pains in my arms and legs about every 1 to 3 minutes (causing embarrassing “jerking”) and swelling and pain in all joints from my shoulders to my fingertips and from my hips to my toes (one day I could not walk at all due to the hip pain).
I went through so many tests. The EMG showed nerve damage and that is when I just broke down. I spent 3 days in bed just crying from the pain and the emotional toll it was taking (it’s a tough pill to swallow that you beat cancer only to be taken down by an antibiotic). I also had to start cancelling my photography jobs because I cannot hold my camera (or brush my teeth, or write, etc……). Thank the Lord I can still type (holding my hand straight) because then I could not do my “day job”.
I then found your page and it has really helped not feeling so alone. I have GREAT doctors and I just happen to work in neurology so I am EXTREMELLY fortunate that my symptoms and issues were not ignored or discounted as something else all together. I started Amitriptyline this past Friday and even though it makes me feel like a zombie the pain has decreased by at least 60% (I actually slept 13 straight hours!!!)! I’ll take it! J
I am attaching some pictures – of course they are of me smiling before being “floxed”.
Please let me know if there is anything I can help with. I have already submitted my complaint to the FDA.
Thank you again for your page,
Brandy K. Chandler
Brandy K. Chandler
Child Neurology Residency Program Coordinator
Department of Pediatrics | Division of Child Neurology
6431 Fannin | MSB 3.153 | Houston, TX 77030
713 500 7142 tel | 713 500 7101 fax
http://ped1.med.uth.tmc.edu/ divisions/neurology/ index.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neusa Costa Rutledge
I'm another victim...
I took Cipro in 2009 for 10 days, I took it again in 2010 for another 10 days and I just finish taking Levaquin few days ago for 10 days Im in so much pain right now...
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19 april 2011
Angela A Thomas Bates From Oregon-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there, I am Angela and I am a 41 year old mother of two grown children. About 16 months ago I was given Cipro several times for a UTI and began experiencing severe muscle loss and weakness in my legs and arms and a rash all over my body as well. During this time and many Dr visits due to this, I was prescribed more Cipro and was told I was having diabetic neuropathy. I was scared because I am only 41 and had no other pain or anything and thought this was way to sudden and severe. I trusted my Doctor. A few months later I had a staph infection and was not doing well. I was weak and had really out of control blood sugars and infection was bad. I was given Levaquin in an IV form by the same dr who had been treating my UTI's. This was given to me without any discussion of the potential harm and as a first drug of choice. I got a severe rash and was taken off and given a different drug. I was not told that the drug caused the severe rash and was sent home three days later with a prescription of Levaquin in pill form now and at least 5 rounds of Cipro 10 days each. Less than a week after being released I woke to a burning pain all over my ENTIRE body and felt like I was being burned alive. Trembling and severe jerking and twitching all over my body. I felt frost bitten from head to toe. I sweat so much I drenched my clothes and sheets. Throwing up and not able to eat for over 16 days. I looked like I was a cancer victim on my death bed. My taste is gone now. even today a door shutting hurts my skin. I can hear and feel everything and it is painful. I had such intense pain in my left ankle that I cried out in pain and drew up in a fetal position and begged to be put out of my misery and this lasted for months. I get frequent flares of this even today. I have to use a walker when this happens. If I do feel like attending a function I have to be pushed in a wheel chair now. Although the pain is not as intense now I have chronic and severe pain 24/7. Like all the others who are poisoned I have sleep issues now and severe vision problems. I have low blood pressure and digestion problems. The list is too long to list. Anything that nerves are involved with I am broken now. I have been to many many specialists and am over 20 thousand dollars out of pocket on getting a diagnoses and some treatment to heal. All to be told I need counseling. One doctor told me "I need to learn to look at my glass half full rather than half empty". As he said this to me I was wearing pj's due to not being able to tolerate the clothes on my skin and I had to wear socks into the drs because I could not get shoes on my feet either. I was humiliated as I had always been so put together as I am a hairdresser. My mother was sitting there crying seeing me like this and wanted help and answers. Therapy was what I was told I needed. At 41 suddenly Stress caused this physical breakdown to a successful happy woman? I have had to take my health in my own hands and figure out how to heal on my own. All while being unable to even get to the toilet on my own. My home looks like a nursing home now. Rails on toilets and bathtubs and forget about a shower as the spray hurts my skin as my skin now feels so sensitive to touch. Married less than five years before this happened I now have to be in a room all alone. No noise or stimuli is tolerated. Never mind making love to my husband. I cry as I type this. My whole life was taken from me. Being a woman was taken from me. I am now catheters, adult diapers at times, heating pads, barf buckets, port a potties, tall toilets for handicap and soft loose clothes and no shoes in over a year because of the neuropathy caused by these drugs. Not being able to walk and exercise had greatly affected my diabetes now and thus this vicious cycle. In their early 20s, my children are not able to go explore life and have fun and live their own lives as they are caretakers to their mother. This breaks my heart. Having my daughter wash my hair while I sit in a bath and cry because the water hurts my skin. My son watching his mother not make it to the toilet in time and having to help wash my clothes afterward. All my dignity is gone. Trying to stay hopeful and strong enough to try and heal is a huge job in itself. Fighting the urge to just end this suffering is a job as well. I was active with my dogs and husband before all this. I do not remember a weekend being home in years. Camping, hiking, riding our motorcycles and boating. I can not even make it to the mailbox now. So many loses for me and for my loved ones after being given these antibiotics. So much financial devastation as well. I tell you this story not for sympathy but because I want the word to get out and make it to someone who will actually DO something about this. STOP giving this out as a first line of defense drug. Never to a baby or to the elderly! My life is filled with sharp edges now. No peace. It is hard to be happy and fill your life with positiveness when you are this ill. Imagine trying to get up and live life every day with the flu? Now times that by at least 20. I swear this is no exaggeration! Having cared for the dying this is what most people feel at "end of life". It prepares you to LET GO. What happens when you have to live like this permanently? Thank you for reading a bit of my story. If you can make a difference PLEASE HELP to stop this from happening to anyone else! Angela From Oregon
Darcy Harmon
It's harder then I thought to re-capture the last 8 years, to put it in written order. I can relate to everyone's story posted here; I also have been poisoned by Fluoroquinoloes! I actually found a bottle of Levaquin dated May 16, 2002 ..I'm not sure if that was the 1st time it was prescribed to me, or if there was more prior. So far, my story goes back to May 2002. Between 2002 - 2009, I was prescribed Levaquin, Cipro & Avelox (at different times) approx. 3 or 4 times each (total 9 - 12 times) for sinus infections. Given approx. 5 - 7 injections of Dexmethasone during the year of 2003 for inflammation in my jaw, sinuses & lower back. I was put on daily prednisone 2.5mg - 5mg from 2004 - Dec. 2008; 4 yrs straight. I'm trying to fill in the missing pieces of this puzzle, it's all making sense to me now. All the times I kept getting sick.. off & on from having a weakened immune system, all the pain through-out my body, the continuous cycle of medical problems that didn't make any sense to me, but yet controlled my LIFE!! Diagnosised with Peripheral Neuropathy March & June 2007. I can't drive now, cause my feet are so numb from the Neuropathy.. they never wake up! (I don't trust my foot's touch to the pedals) The last time I drove my car was the end of June 2010. I miss driving, bowling, eating normally & walking like I used to. I miss so many other things I can no longer do. The chronic daily pain is so overwhelming!! ..it's hard to stay focused on anything else. This is just part of my story ..I'll be adding a more complete story VERY soon, it's almost finished. Thanks for reading, pray for less painful & good days ..DarcyAdd a captionDarcy Harmon-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce
Three times this year, I took Cipro, an antibiotic in the same Fluoroquinolone class as Levaquin and that comes with many of the same risks. The last time, I took at it the same dose I did for Salmonella 10 years ago when I was in my 20’s. Three days after finishing, I developed patellar tendonitis in one knee. “Great,” I thought, “I’ve had that before and can work it out in two months. Antibiotics clear the body in 3 days so I’m safe from other side effects from here out.”
What I didn’t count on was the quadriceps tendonitis the next day, followed by the same in my other knee plus disabling arthritis for each. Since then, every few days brings another tendonitis, arthritis, or other injury, while the old never heal. I’m at 3 months and 44 tendinitis, 6 arthritis, eye problems, and more. From Fluoroquinolone groups (Facebook has 801 members), I can see I won’t be returning to work for at least 3 months, best case.
Levaquin and Cipro act as a topoisomerase inhibitors, blocking the replication of DNA and cutting the DNA strands leaving the cells in an inoperable state known as apoptosis. Similar acting medications include Doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug best known for putting people on waiting lists for heart transplants. Cipro has, in fact, been used experimentally to kill bladder cancer tumors. Once I learned that I had been given a chemotherapy drug, I understood why my body is in such bad shape.
I took Cipro for a minor intestinal bacterial overgrowth where a targeted antibiotic that isn’t absorbed into the bloodstream like Rifaximin is considered the best and most widely used treatment, but it wasn’t covered by my health insurance. It was like using a nuclear weapon to clear a traffic jam downtown. The cars are gone, but there is no downtown left to return to.
Now I collect thousands of dollars in disability money and rarely leave my house. It seems like an expensive cost shift for taxpayers to pay the results of not covering the safe medication that I really needed. Rifaximin has no support group on Facebook, and no need for one.
Bruce, Fluoroquinolone victim
Southern CA
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Dan Rivera
The themes of hopelessness, injustice, anger, hatred, and unbelievable pain in the personal accounts of the floxed will, hopefully, never lose their impact to redundancy. These drugs cause unbelievable pain. Tendons turn into suicidal knives intent on stabbing themselves and surrounding tissues. The nerve pain can reach even teeth, to the point where (in my experience) closing your mouth feels like chewing on a lit light bulb. The full body stinging I can only describe as acid. Thinking is clogged shut, higher thought becomes sporadic, and remembering the first pill becomes a traumatic experience. These drugs steal lives without warning. These drugs changed me. These drugs, it seems, will never lose their impact to redundancy.
In February of 2010, I was diagnosed with non bacterial epididymitis. But just to be absolutely sure that no further complications would present themselves, Doctor wanted to prescribe Ciprofloxacin, a powerful fluoroquinolone antibiotic. "Sure, sounds good," I did not know what a fluoroquinolone was. I did not care. I was already in pain, and if germs were the cause, the germs must go. This is what antibiotics do, right?
Doctor dropped his tone, "It's a very powerful antibiotic." That statement keeps replaying in my head day after day. Each time I say, "No. I don't want it." At the time, all I could think was:
Uh, Okay, This hurts so bad you don't even know. Give me the pills! GIVE ME THE CURE.
Within hours of the first pill, the way I reacted to this drug became too overpowering to ignore. The nervous tingling I had noticed around the back of my thighs and back had bloomed into the sensation of ghosts pouring pots of acid down my body. It is not something a human mind is equipped to deal with, as evidenced by how my head fell into my hands chanting, "Why is this happening to me, god? This isn't fair? What did I do!?!?!?" The anxiety, panic, and pain worsened to the point where they were the whole of my thoughts. I tried to go on walks to clear my head, only to find that the pain in my legs and ankles multiplied. On the second day, I wobbled awkwardly out of my house past the stabbing sensations in my legs. Within thirty minutes I could no longer extend my legs in front of me. I almost fell face first; Both Achilles, both hamstrings, both patellar tendons felt like they were undergoing surgery without anesthesia. The walk back home was the most painful thing I have ever done.
Upon getting home, the pain in my arms had grown so intense I could barely open my door to let myself in. I went into my room, cried to myself and the ghosts even more, and stayed there. "We should see if this goes away," I was thinking. Surely, it must be a short term side effect. The bacteria must go.
The next morning, the sensation of acid being poured down and in my body grew so intense I fell down in the shower. My right arm felt like it was being rejected by my body, like my shoulder was ready to launch it away and be done with it. Mentally, physically, I was disconnecting. The plugs were being ripped from every socket. I barely knew where I was. I had managed to age 100 unkind years in a manner of six pills.
Somehow, I managed to figure out a way to drive myself to a different doctor, I received what I learned was the proper treatment for epididymitis should it even be bacterial. "No more cipro!" she told me. Gee, I had not thought of that advice myself. I am thankful that health professionals are capable of making such useful observations.
I waited for my symptoms to recede. They worsened. A week later, I went to the ER because I still could not walk. I was looked at like an offensive idiot when I mentioned Cipro and tendon issues, was given Hydrocodone for the pain, and went sent away with a leg brace. As you can imagine, this did absolutely nothing for the tendinopathy in my wrists, biceps, hamstrings, patella's, and achilles. I lost my ability to move my body in any meaningful way, even for such sedentary acts as typing, for the period of about a month and a half. Looking back at my thought processes and interactions with others, I wonder if there was any legitimate brain damage from taking these pills. I still do not feel the same.
The first doctor I saw after the ER berated me for "reacting to Cipro like a child," denied the validity of peer reviewed published research regarding fluoroquinolones and tendon/nerve issues repeatedly, and generally did much discourage me from ever finding help. A second doctor didn't believe me at all, until after 5 visits in his office for the same problem, he sent me to a sports med doc who had given this a diagnosis; Fluoroquinolone Induced Tendinopathy.
"HE KNOWS!" I screamed joyfully, in my head of course.
Tens months out, I'm still forced into a sedentary lifestyle (the bane of my existence) because of the pain. Every time I try to push myself to walk like a normal person, the sensation of a tendon ripping sets me back for days, and sometimes weeks. Both semitendinosus and semimembranosus junctions, both achilles tendons, and both underarms are still affected. I am hopeful physical therapy will be rehabilitative. To become something like this after extreme athleticism is simply derogatory.
Hill repeats and 50 milers on my bicycle were the norm before riding into work. Lifting weights in between kept me busy. I was awaiting the arrival of a custom steel bicycle I had dropped a year's savings for (I have super long legs, most factory bicycles don't fit well). I had a lot to look forward to this year, and, in short, absolutely no reason to expect any downtime from my lifestyle or my life.
Being mentally able to finish my novel was stolen, being able to do the only thing that gave me lasting pleasure (cycling) was stolen from me. I am hopeful, when the day comes, that I will be able to run. I pray that I will be able to use my bicycle. It stands by my front door, waiting.
All we can do is hope that we heal. Faith healing, it seems, is all we have until Doctors and PT's get over the fear of being berated during peer review in the case studies they should be performing regarding this toxicity.
I suppose my purpose, for now, is to warn others. Although not optimal, it is fair enough.
It's better than giving up.
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Alan
Je vindt dit leuk · 19 april 2011
Redd, 45
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/jul/12/local-man-warns-antibiotic-side-effects/KU professor Alan Redd is pictured in May in his Lawrence home. Redd believes his health has deteriorated from the use of quinolone antibiotics. Some of the various side effects Redd says has been a loss of energy and aching tendons throughout his body.
In January, Kansas University anthropology professor Alan Redd, 45, was a healthy, active father of two who hiked and rode his bike to work everyday.
Six months later, Redd doesn’t bike anymore, as his legs have lost strength and muscle, along with the rest of his body. He’s constantly tired, has severe pain and says he feels “like an old man.”
“I feel like my tendons are becoming unglued,” he said. “I hurt in my shoulders, my elbows, my knees, my Achilles.”
Redd blames his health problems on two common antibiotics, Cipro and Levaquin.
It started when a dull pain in his abdomen was diagnosed as a urinary tract infection. His doctor prescribed Cipro — which has been prescribed for more than 300 million patients since 1987 — to treat the infection. Redd said that as soon as he began taking Cipro, his symptoms and the pain intensified. After a few days, he stopped taking Cipro and was prescribed Levaquin, which along with the brand name drugs Avelox, Proquin and Factive, are antibiotics classified as fluoroquinolones.
The Levaquin didn’t help, and he stopped taking that after a couple days. Ever since, Redd’s experienced a wide range of health problems, from anxiety and insomnia to pain and fatigue.
The problems have had a devastating impact on his life.
“‘My daddy used to chase me up the stairs but he can’t do it anymore because he took quinolones,’” said Redd, relaying comments from his 5-year-old. “The family’s been impacted by this in a big way.”
In doing research into the medications, Redd found an active online community dedicated to raising awareness about the potential side effects of fluoroquinolones. There’s a term used to described the problems — getting “floxed.”
Those who’ve had side effects say they’re pushed aside by a medical industry that hasn’t acknowledge the scope of problems patients can have from the drugs.
“Nobody takes you seriously,” said Sally Court, a Connecticut woman who took fluoroquinolones five years ago, but still has life-altering effects she attributes to the medications. Court has battled doctors for years, trying to convince them that her health problems are related to the drugs.
Cipro and some of the other fluoroquinolones have an FDA mandated “Black Box” warning, the agency’s strongest advisory, for consumers taking the drugs. The warning is related to tendon weakness and possible rupture, and there are warnings against prescribing the drugs to children and the elderly.
Cipro is considered a strong antibiotic, and has been used for people exposed to Anthrax.
Despite the issues described by Redd and others, medical professionals say consumers should be cautious, as with any drug, but warn not to necessarily avoid the drug when it’s needed.
“You always want to weigh the benefits and the risks,” said Allison King, a drug information specialist with the KU Medical Center. But “I don’t think it should stop a patient from taking (Cipro).”
Pharmacist and owner of Sigler Pharmacy, Jeff Sigler, said he hasn’t heard of widespread problems from customers about Cipro or other fluoroquinolones. He said wading through all the potential side effects of drugs is a complicated task for consumers, but he advises learning as much as you can about a drug before taking it.
There are alternatives to fluoroquinolones , Sigler said, but those medications also carry risks.
For him, the benefits of drugs like Cipro outweigh the negatives.
“We don’t want to go back 150 years ago when we didn’t have any antibiotics,” he said, but adds that exposing the problems consumers like Redd have had helps educate the medical community.
Redd said he hopes his symptoms subside in the coming months, though his doctors haven’t been able to give him a prognosis. Some who’ve had such a reaction to the drugs report effects that never go away, while others say that the health issues subside with time.
Reed said he wanted to share his story with others, so they know what he wishes he knew before taking Cipro and Levaquin.
“The consumer is at risk,” he said. “Their health is at risk.”
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Geoff Robinson
Cipro Poisoning: Have You Been Floxed?
http://www.cipro-poisoning.com/ 2010/07/ symptoms-from-another.html
I was a 78kg athlete, now I'm a 62kg Cipro victim (plus prescribed nsaid) since last Nov age 39.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nancy Rondina
My husband had a severe reaction to Cipro in December 2010. The symptoms started almost immediately but he didn't stop taking the antibiotic until a few days later.He took 500mg 2x day for 3 1/2 days. By the time he stopped taking it he was in severe pain from the reaction.
What we did that worked.This formula came from a combination of internet research and doctor advice. I hope some of this will help others. Pay special attention to the last one. Bone Soup~
1.Immediately started taking magnesium supplements. 3 x a day with food (total 400mg a day) and have not stopped taking the magnesium.
2. Emergen-C pack 2-4 times a day. Very helpful and very important!
3. Used magnesium oil on all sore joints daily. Best if you can apply after a shower and use all over the body.This really helped after continual use.It does not need to be massaged in..simply apply to skin.(it's not oily)
4. Sam-E and Probiotic~2 x a day on empty stomach.(morning and night)
5. He had a cortisone shot (4 days out of taking the cipro) followed by a steriod pack. This helped the inflammation very much. We were hesitant to take the steroids but really were in bad shape and needed something to work. And it did help reduce the pain and inflammation.
6. After the steroid pack was finished...he began aspirin therapy. Aspirin 3 x a day for inflammation (for 3 weeks). Blood work began to get back to normal about this point.
7. Recently started taking B-12 supplements (1000mcg under the tongue)due to low energy. This helped with the energy!
8. Joint Vibrance~he drinks one 8 oz glass of joint vibrance mixed with juice each and every day. This helps rebuild cartiliage and is an overall well balanced supplement for joints. This is from the very beginning. All I can say is that he is doing much, much better.
9. Recently starting taking a good multi-vitamin in addition to all other supplements
10. Bone Soup! This was awesome and he had the soup every day for the first couple of weeks. It gave him energy and "life". How do you make Bone Soup??
a. Simmer beef "marrow" bones for 24 hours (we did it in a crock pot) Use grass fed beef bones, filtered water, add a little vinegar (we used about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar) to draw out the nutrients from the bones, add a little beef boullion for flavor.There is no exact formula for this...just do it.
b. Strain the broth, cool broth in refrigerator then skim the fat off the top.
c. serve warm over rice or with noodles.
This bone soup was a life saver. If you're at the end of your rope, try drinking the bone soup each day until you start feeling better! Can't say enough good things about the bone soup!
All symptoms are subsiding. Tendon pain lingers and we are hopeful that with time the tendons will heal. Vasculitis was a strange and scary symptom. It has healed, Thank God. And speaking of God. Prayer was the #1 most helpful thing. We pray and have asked others to pray for healing. It really does help!
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Jessi Maurer
Levaquin. I don't know what all is wrong with me yet. I've either been in a cast or a brace for my thumb tendon since the day I stopped taking the shit in February of 2010. My toes turn blue when I sit. My typing is now really weird like my brain isn't connecting right to my hands. My right fore arm and hand tingle all the time. I've been rushed to the ER because I passed out cold. ER Dr wanted me to stay in the hosp because my EKG is now irregular. I owe the Drs collectively over 5 Grand now. No insurance so can't see any other doctors.
I was perfectly Healthy the day I went in to the Urgent Care office for a cut on my finger. There was some swelling. The Dr said "Oh, you have good insurnace, I'll give you the good stuff". Ya, I had a good insurance company but a poor policy that paid for Nothing. 7 days on 500mg of Levaquin now my life sucks. Can't even brush or wash my own hair.
Seems I have No recourse either. WTF country do I live in anyway?
I know, not a nice post but it is just getting worse and today is a very painful day. Sorry ...
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I'm now at week 12 of Cipro fallout and am finally getting in to Virginia Mason in Seattle on Thursday to see a neurologist. I have read enough now to prepare myself for anything from complete dismissal to a best guess diagnosis. As I try and prepare my long list of symptoms, I am lacking a word I know of to describe t...his problem: Even on days where the pain is minimal, I might get up to walk and after a few steps feel as though the battery has been unplugged from my muscles, even to the extent that it becomes a little laborious to breathe. I literally have to sit back down before I fall down. Is this common with anyone else and is there a name for this? The word fatigue just doesn't seem to fit the situation.
Add a caption
I'm now at week 12 of Cipro fallout and am finally getting in to Virginia Mason in Seattle on Thursday to see a neurologist. I have read enough now to prepare myself for anything from complete dismissal to a best guess diagnosis. As I try and prepare my long list of symptoms, I am lacking a word I know of to describe t...his problem: Even on days where the pain is minimal, I might get up to walk and after a few steps feel as though the battery has been unplugged from my muscles, even to the extent that it becomes a little laborious to breathe. I literally have to sit back down before I fall down. Is this common with anyone else and is there a name for this? The word fatigue just doesn't seem to fit the situation...
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Brenda Franklin
Dear Sir or Miss,
I am the 46 year old woman who recently had arm surgery (Nov. 23rd, 2010) and am now having severe feet pain, insomnia, joint pains, eye problems etc. These problems started 1 1/2 months after my first surgery. I thought that I had been floxed by an antibiotic. (Especially after seeing your site on FB The Wall of Pain.) My antibiotic was called Cleocin and is not on the list. Recently I had another surgery to remove the pins and screws in my arm, I used Tetracycline to make sure I did not get floxed again. This was 3 weeks ago, my pain is worse and all of my symptoms are wayyyyyy worse. I started doing more searching and found a link between fluoride based anesthesia causing fluoride toxicity . I am suffering and feeling way worse. My arm has basically healed, but my feet are excruciating. I've already been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis from my Primary Physician. He says it is no way related to any of my surgeries. I've never had foot problems in my life and was a 3 mile per day walker, at this point I feel like an old lady. I think that I have been floxed again, because I know I wasn't exposed to any fluoride based antibiotics since I told them specifically about my foot pains and said that I was basically allergic. Have you heard of an anesthesia link to these same problems at all? Thanks much for any help, feel free to forward this to anyone else.
Thanks,
Brenda Franklin
Dianne Sullivan
OMG. just went to primary care DR. for nerve/sciatica pain flare up for 6 weeks. He gave me prednisone shot. Didn't help. Prednisone injection was approx. 1:45 PM @PST now is 3:31 AM @PST. Went into bad fibro like pain about 6:00 PM that hadn't had for months. 4 hours after injection. But no FQs since 2010. But had FQs prescribed intermittantly since 1999, w. subsequent "fibromyalgia" symptoms. Then FQs 3x in Early 2009 w. severe deterioration and tendon issues. No FQs since 2009 but much disabilty
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Alexa
Had the displeasure of taking one Levaquin pill a week ago to treat a UTI. I'm twenty years old and was born with various heart diseases (including one involving my heart being stiff) so the effects of the 'antibiotic' have been particularly crippling. I'm just glad I'd only taken one pill and hope to recover.
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Elliott Tobias
03/01/11
I too have been stricken with the terrible side effects of Levaquin. Had multiple courses of the drug for pneumonia before getting hit with all of the terrible toxicity impacts in mid-January. Since getting off the drug I have been fortunate that things have gotten better a little at a time. I know my life has changed, but at least... I am not dealing with the debilitating pain of feeling like an 80 year old man when I am only 50.
I will write my story more fully to share with others....but wanted to share some of the things that have helped me. First and foremost was reading "The Levaquin Tendonitis Solution" by Kerri Knox. It was eye opening and pointed me down some valuable paths. Here are some things I did that I believe have helped me eliminate most of the pain. Hopefully I can exercise again soon
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Susan's story"
Hi,
My name is Susan Price, I am a victim of Levaquin and have had 14 surgeries to fix torn tendons. I have been floxed forever! I am attaching a picture of myself and youngest grandson. I pay for days after holding him in my
arms. I think the drug companies involved should be held accountable and responsible for the damage and devastation they have caused, by releasing
this life altering drug, hiding the information, and financially benefiting at other people's expense.
~Susan
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Michael Murphy
Long story short, I was on high levels of Cipro back in 1993-94, I came down with severe neck and back problems in 2003 and went undiagnosed with CFS till 2008 where I got a reluctant diagnosis of Fibromyalgia from a Rheumatologist. I finally got tested for XMRV in August and learned I was XMRV positive in September 2010. I did get sick on the Cipro with low fever and rashes and was taken off it by my local Doctor. I am trying to learn wherther my spinal pain is connected to the tendons in my back (cipro?). I have many pains in joints and bursitis in hips and shoulders, sciatica and some nerve entrapments.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was once a hard working English teacher working in L.A. For 15 years I contributed to society. Not only was I a teacher, but a published writer of textbooks, an artist, photographer and singer. I was an honor student throughout my life and did everything the right way. During the anthrax scare of the early 2000's, I was put on cipro for a bladder infection. I wondered why a heavy duty antibiotic would be used for just a bladder infection that was minor. I began to get sick and not know why. I was given Cipro some years after that for again, a benign reason. I became weak and had pain throughout my body. I lost a lot of brain function. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and couldn't work anymore. I could only sit for an hour at a time and required a lot for pain medication. I didn't know what it was. 8 months ago I finally discovered I was allergic to fluoride. I have had to eliminate all fluoride which is impossible to do. I then discovered that I received an extraordinary, against federal guidelines amount, of fluoride in the Cipro that I had taken. Each pill contains a toxic amount of fluoride. Now ANY bit of fluoride I am allergic to. As well, my nerves are shot and basic processes of cell functions are destroyed by the fluoride lodged in my bones that I cannot get out. I haven't worked in three years. Before that I had to quit working full time and started to sub as I deteriorated slowly. I cannot hold down any job at all currently. I live in poverty conditions and do not have enough money to eat. I wait in charity lines at churches. All because of a pill. It took my life away. Now even simple fluoridated water burns my skin and eyes and I cannot use the water. I have to bathe with distilled water. I live in a prison of being over toxed from fluoride by Cipro. Even though I have done chelation and every means possible to get the fluoride out, there was too much given to me and therefore cannot be taken from my bones. The manufacturer of this pill destroyed my life. I live in pain everyday and every night. I have had to sell a lot of what I own to eat. I am running out of things to sell. What disturbs me the most is that the manufacturers KNEW that fluoride was toxic in these amounts and that the government that the medication go to the public. Why?
-Lara A
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Helen
My name is Helen Russell, and my daughter's life was destroyed for months (at the very least) after taking Cipro twice in late January and early May of 2010. Heather was a HEALTHY, ACTIVE, 16-year-old before taking Cipro. Knowing what I know now and looking back on the situation, she began experiencing insomnia after the first round (750 mg. X 2 for 10 days) in January. The first pill she took in May, however, was "the straw that broke the camel's back". About 5 hours after this first pill, she suddenly jumped up off the couch in a panic--her chest hurt, her neck hurt, her heart was racing, her back hurt, and the list goes on and on. She thought she was dying, and we rushed her back to the E.R. that gave her the Cipro. They clearly thought she was crazy, and that her dad and I were as well. After about four E.R. visits in as many days, we finally came to realize this was anxiety. (I will not use the term "attacks", because this was a constant state for her at this point.) In spite of telling all the doctors what the others had given her, she ended up on Hydrocodone, beta blockers, and Atarax. We finished out the remainder of the Cipro (3 days total), because we had not made the connection at this point. She slept constantly for a week, and I could barely wake her up.
Heather's severe anxiety continued throughout the summer, as did numerous bouts of illnesses with sore throats and swollen lymph nodes/salivary glands. At one point, she was given a steroid pack for swelling, and soon thereafter, developed tendonitis in her wrist. By this time, we had made the connection, and refused to give her the NSAID that was prescribed. For the most part, this issue resolved itself in a few weeks with the help of a brace. It will still flare up, though, if she does a lot of writing in school. By August, the anxiety was somewhat better, but she started having SEVERE abdominal pain. Originally, this was thought to be kidney stones. When it flared up a second time, she was admitted to the hospital for tests, and kept on IV pain medication for 2 days, and oral pain medication for 10 days after that. This time, it was determined that Heather had complicated ovarian cysts, which apparently eventually ruptured. After coming off the pain medication, the other CNS problems set in--tingling and twitching in limbs, ringing in ears, a "clicking" noise in sinuses, painful muscles and joints, severe muscle spasms (especially neck), feeling that her throat was closing, and trouble swallowing. Even in the hot weather, her feet felt like ice to the touch, and she was always either too hot or too cold. Her body temperature was significantly lower than normal--oftentimes 96.0 degrees or lower. Her heart rate continued to be somewhat elevated. Needless to say, I could not keep her in school. Fortunately after a few weeks of this, we found a website of 400+ others who had suffered the same symptoms and more. We were able to pick up some tips that would prove very useful in managing Heather's condition. (Four months later, that 400+ has almost doubled.)
Heather still has symptoms, but they are coming further apart now and not lasting as long. While we are very relieved, we still feel like we are "waiting for the other shoe to drop". We try to avoid any reminders for her of what she has been through, and even though she knows she has come a long way, she often has periods of depression now.
The doctors do not necessarily agree Cipro caused her problem, but they DO agree she should not have been given Cipro at the age of 16 for a SUSPECTED UTI.
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Sally
I am a clown, and a children's entertainer. And I feared that I would never do what I loved ever again. My Fluoroquinolone story started on December 7th, 2004 when I was prescribed Avelox for sinus infection/bronchitis. After my first dose, I got severe flu –like symptom and could not stand. I laid down and became concerned that the nausea and severe fatigue was too sudden. The next morning, I took my second dose of Avelox. After the second dose, I got much worse. I ached, couldn’t stand and felt extremely weak and nauseated. I called the doctor and told them that I believed I was having a reaction to the Avelox. They immediately had me stop taking it and prescribed a non-fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Within a day I began to feel better, I assumed, because the drug was out of my system. However, in the month ensuing I began to develop joint pain and fatigue. To my surprise, I began to lose weight. Not less than a month after the ingestion of the Avelox, nerves and muscles throughout my body began to twitch. It was maddening! Then the god-awful burning nerve pain began. I lost all my stamina and wasn’t able to stand more than 5 minutes. I had to stop working as I had no strength and the pain made my life unbearable. My PCP doctor (same office that first prescribed the Avelox) sent me to a neurologist who also gave me a brain MRI to look for Multiple Sclerosis. It was negative. I was also giving a multitude of blood tests looking for the diseases that are similar to an FQ poisoning: Lupus, Lyme and a few exotic diseases. All negative. My doctor finally put in my notes information about my personal life, inferring that I was having some sort of emotional breakdown. I was furious! In fact, prior to this, I was very, very happy and content with my life. The pain was so bad that my husband took me to the emergency room at Uconn hospital. They, calling my PCP, came back with a request for me to see psyche! They called a psychiatrist down to see me! At this point, I felt like no one was believing me and I felt despair. They sent me home without anything to address my pain. It had been weeks of this and I was feeling like I didn't want to live. I couldn't get out of bed. I hurt everywhere and I felt like the medical community had given up on me. Two days later, I was balled up in the fetal position crying because the pain was so bad. My husband took me to Yale-New Haven emergency room. Only this time, they called the head of Yale School of Medicine department of Neurology. I told the doctor that I believed that I had had a reaction to Avelox. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard him say, “I’ve seen this before!” What a sense of relief to be believed! He said that there was nothing they could do but treat the symptoms. He put me on hydrocodone for pain and Ativan to quiet down my nervous system. After Yale contacted my PCP, my doctor prescribed Cymbalta for the nerve pain (though I still think he prescribed it because he thought I was nuts.) Throughout this ordeal I dealt with the following: Central Nervous System damage: Dizziness, insomnia, weight loss (35lbs in 6 weeks), twitching nerves and muscles, tremors, body wide, sensitivity to light and sound, anxiety. I experienced brain fog, could not concentrate and short term memory problems. Peripheral nervous system damage: Pain in legs, feet, arms and hands. Migrating pain throughout the body. Chest and back pain. Severe neck pain. Pressure in my head and behind my eyes. Nerves twitching in the abdomen. I had the following test: Brain MRI, Cat Scan of heart, Cat Scan of Abdomen, Complete Blood work up. Neurological work up. The could not find anything as is the case with most FQ poisoning. A year prior to ingesting the Avelox, I found out after the fact, that I had taken Cipro for a sinus infection. Immediately after taking Cipro I had rectal bleeding and developed GERD. I never connected the abdominal problems to the Cipro until after I took the Avelox and my doctor had looked back in my records. During that year, my abdominal health deteriorated. I could not digest food. I had all kinds of very yucky tests to find out that my gut was not moving the food through my system fast enough. In fact, it was moving very slowly. I went on a mostly vegetarian diet that year just to live each day! Oddly, I did seem to recover slowly from this up to the ingestion of Avelox. A health care professional told me that it looked to her that I had suffered nerve damage in my gut. So it all began to make sense to me. I am now 6 years out from this horrific experience and though I have had some remarkably recover, I am now faced with chronic pain, short term memory loss, vertigo and some eye problems. I think I am luckier than many who have suffered the effects of these horrific drugs. But I was dependent on pain and anxiety drugs for several years after this just to help me recover. I have to pace myself to this day being very careful not to get fatigued or overly stressed as we do relapse more severe pain. The brain fog and the memory problems persist and I’ve learned to work around them but they are still maddening and very tough on my husband and those around me that just don’t understand or forget that I am permanently damaged. Doctors, by and large, don’t affirm us. Many make us feel as though we’re nuts. Even though the possible damage is right in the drug literature. We don’t understand the medical communities reluctance to see this as a terrible problem. There are literally thousands of us. After I suspected that Avelox had damaged me (which was fairly immediate) I went to the internet to research the drug and found a whole community of people going through the same thing. Now there are dozens of groups and blogs trying to get the word out and to get the FDA to take action. PLEASE! If you are giving Avelox, Cipro or Levaquin and you are NOT on your death bed, ASK FOR SOMETHING ELSE! Tell the doc to reserve these chemo-therapeutic antibiotics for life and death situations. Otherwise, you are playing Russian Roulette with your life!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bijna Dood !!
Erin Wilson
May 5, 2004. I was having dinner at Le Cirque at the Belaggio Hotel in
Las Vegas. It was my wedding anniversary and I was in one of the finest
restaurants in town. I had a $58.00 steak and payed the price for 6
years. Eight hours later I was rushed by the hotel security to a cab
because they didn't think an ambulance would get there in time to save
me. The description of what Ecoli is like is too gruesome to share. I
was taken to the ER and shot up with Levaquin. The E-coli nightmare
stopped. I was to take 500 mg twice a day for 7 days. OK, I can do that,
not a problem. I slept for 4 days straight in a hotel room and boarded a
plane and went home where I was kept on Levaquin for a total of 14 days.
I could not get out of bed for 2 months. No one even recognized me
because I looked so deathly. I was sure it was the E-cloi. I struggled
with the diarrhea and cramping,the rashes, the memory loss, sore body
and broken mind. Surely it was the E-coli. Then the eight month came. It
began with itching and my lips and eyes swelling shut. Well, I do have
allergies so maybe that's it. I began to have severe reactions to every
food I ate so I became very selective. As my food choices narrowed my
diet adjusted and i eliminated almost everything. Doctors had no idea
what this was an kept giving me cortisone shots and telling me to take
Advil for pain. They knew as much about Levaquin as I did. I had
developed full blown angioedema, a severe, and can be life threatening
condition, that makes everything from the neck up swell so badly that
the windpipe can swell shut. I couldn't go anywhere. I needed to be
within 15 minutes range of a hospital at all times. I was down to being
able to eat rice , milk products, apples and green vegatables. I did this
for 6 years. No meat, a very hard task for a carnivore like me. I WAS
lucky enough to have a good marriage and a husband who watched me go
through all of this in disbelief and give me complete support.
"This too shall pass". I lived by this for 6 years. And then, without any
sign it was going to happen, it did pass. The constant eternal burning of
my neck and face and the looming threat of the angioedema causing
anaphylasis quietly came to an end. Relief at last. Three months later I
ended up in the ER with a nasty case of cellulitis. I have run out of
standard antibiotics due to severe allergic reactions and so Levaquin,
once again was the drug of last resort. After my very verbal protest as
to how horrible my last round of Levaquin was the ER Dr. actually told me
that it was this or nothing at all. OK???? It was actually the only drug
that could get me out of there with a pill rather than an IV administered
drug that had to be done once a day for 4 days as an out patient. Cost is
everything here. With the thought of loosing my leg looming, I said OK,
maybe this time it will be better. " I could not have been more wrong.
I took one pill and immediately checked out mentally. I have very few
recollections of the 7 days of 500 mg once a day. All I knew was that I
was determined to finish this pill and go on with my life. My symptoms on
the medication ranged from extreme nightmares, inability to sleep,anxiety
attacks, missing time, delerium, fever for 2 hours after I took the pill,
then dropped to 96.2 degrees and I was unable to get my body temp up,
frozen to the core, inability to empty my bladder, itching, tinitus, hair
falling out, burning skin, irregular heartbeats, shaking so bad that I
could barely feed myself, semi-hysteria, depression, suicidal thoughts,
my skin literally hung from my bones, lost 15 pounds (not in a pretty
way) my vision was gone almost overnight. I now have to wear glasses
because my vision was so damaged I struggled to see my own hand in front
of me. My bones hurt. My tendons snapped. My body ached. My joints
swelled. A week after I stopped the meds, I suffered a severe tendon pull
from opening a bottle of water. The same arm had tendionitis of the
shoulder and felt like it would fall out of the socket. I could not
extend my arm for 3 months. It burned like fire from the pull and my
elbow filled with blood. My thyroid pill was blocked by the medication
so all of my hypothyroid symptoms returned on top of the medication
symptoms. The first two month after the discontinuation of the drug was
hell, really hell. My blood pressure was so high it terrified my doctor.
I was a stroke just waiting to happen.
It took me four months to regain my memory. I still remember very little
of the floxing week. I do remember freaking out over the periods of
missing time. I did tell every one around me that I was having dark
thoughts and voices telling me to kill myself. Fortunately, no matter how
out of my mind I am, I know in my soul that God determines my check out
time , not me.
It has been 8 months since the cellulitis. Here's the good news. The
first time I was poisoned I knew nothing. I did everything wrong and
allowed Drs to do everything wrong to me. The first time I was given 3
cortisone shots for the rashes and told to take Advil for the pain. A
more appropriate recommendation would have been to dowse myself in
gasoline and have a cigarette.
Here is what has gotten me recovering faster than the first floxing.
No Nsaids, no cortisone, no drugs.
The digestive issues for me have been resolved very quickly with Greek
yogurt. Not commercial yogurt (Activia, Yoplait) but real Greek yogurt
made only with milk. The two brands I use are Chobani and Voskos. Sugar
and corn syrup taste delicious but are not good for the digestive tract.
Floxies need good bacteria to stop the diarrhea/constipation cycle. My
first floxing I experienced very severe, long lasting digestive problems.
This go round I was eating 3 yogurts a day for the good bacteria and it
was virtually eliminated.
Bluebonnet Whey Protein Isolate ( wwwbluebonnetnutrition.com) High in
protein to rebuild the damaged tendons, muscles and connective tissue. It
has calcium and magnesium that is easily digestible because of it's
powder form and amino acids that help your central nervous and peripheral
nervous system recover.
Benadryl helped the severe shaking (central nervous system damage) and
helped me sleep. I tried this at night because Benadryl has proven
helpful to Parkinsons patients for the shaking experienced by this
disease. One pill a night and my uncontrollable severe shaking resolved
in a month and I discontinued its use.
Do not eat commercial meat. Find a source for meat that has no
antibiotics. All commercially processed meat has been given a dose of
these drugs before they are released for slaughter as a preventative for
illness. All the meat we buy at the grocery store has been floxed 3 days
before market. This is why I developed a severe allergy to meat, I was
being given a small dose of antibiotics every time I ate meat. In
California, Foster Farms chicken is antibiotic free and my grocery
carries a small amount of antibiotic free beef. This is an example of a
small cattle ranch who sells and ships their beef www.alderspring.com/
(copy and paste).
Ask your local grocery store if they carry antibiotic free beef. Organic
means nothing in this case, antibiotic free is what is needed.
NO tap water. Even filtered water has the antibiotic residue that remains
in water after processing. I only drink Crystal Geyser because it comes
from a mountain spring vs Aquafina which is filtered Los Angelas tap
water. Also, tap water is full of chlorine and chlorine is very bad for
the digestive tract.
I have found that there is no miracle, no pill, and no cure. Keeping a
close watch on my body and writing down progress and set backs gives me a
logical pattern of what works and what does not.
I am nobody special. I am a 47 year old woman who refuses to sit down and
shut up. If you are reading this, we are in the same boat. I read so much
online about people who are angry, outraged, desperate and at the end of
their rope. I cry when I read about a young person struck down by this
for something as simple as a bladder or sinus infection. This is what I
ask of you as the reader. Take your anger, frustration, outrage and
feelings of helplessness and become an advocate for others like you. Help
others who are in this boat with us. Blog, use Facebook , register online
with groups of others. Don't waste you time bitching about it. Yes big
pharma is corrupt. Yes, this IS actually a drug of last resort and
should have never been given to you. It is horrible and your recovery
will probably be one of the hardest things you do in your lifetime. Pray
for the strength to accept the things you can not change and the strength
to change the things you can.
Feel free to contact me with questions about what worked for me. I drop
everything to help a fellow floxie.
Very Best Regards,
Erin Wilson
willnerin@volcano.net
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It will be 4 yrs. this July since I was given Avelox and also had many adverse side effects... along with severe pain in muscles, tendons in legs... which is still with me 24/7 and makes walking very difficult....I have also been homebound...... but do continue to have hope that I too will get my health back...I am glad to hear that you are seeing some improvement and hope you also fully regain your health back...I will never take a fluoroquinolone again ... and putting the warning out ...they are very toxic antibiotics and not worth the risk of suffering such adverse side effects!!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My name is Troy. On January 24th, 2011, I went in to see my brother’s mom, a nurse practitioner, for some pain I was having in my lower right abdominal area. I gave a urine sample and was told I had a UTI (which was actually just a suspicion), and she prescribed me 6x250mg of Cipro. I was told about the tendonitis issue, but was to...ld that it only affects the Achilles and I asked “So I should just not exercise for a week after taking it and I’ll be fine, right?” -- She said yes. Having no medical history and no medical background, I simply trusted her judgment and took the pills as directed. Unfortunately I am now paying the consequences.
I used to be very flexible with no physical problems or injuries. I could eat anything I wanted without discomfort or problems. I had no allergies to anything. Four days after I took the Cipro, I developed severe GI issues that haven’t resolved to this day. It used to be that I could sleep anywhere I wanted, and in any position that I wanted, for as long as I wanted. Now I’m suffering from insomnia and can only sleep in one position – on my back, with my legs and my torso elevated. I can’t sleep on either side due to my shoulders, can’t sleep on my stomach due to my neck, and I can’t sleep directly on my back due to the incredible ACHE that develops after I’m sedentary for a couple hours. My temperature is constantly low and fluctuates everywhere between 96 to 99.5. I have to get up in the middle of every night to pee, no matter if I stop drinking liquids at 6:30pm or 9pm. Over the past week I have started to develop floaters in my vision. I even developed tinnitus for a week or so, which is thankfully about 90% gone. I’ve lost 10lbs, mostly muscle (from 155lb down to 145lb).
I discovered FQ Toxicity about 3 weeks ago. Prior to that I thought I was going crazy because I was noticing so many things wrong with my health, and all the doctors blamed it on anxiety. One of the other main symptoms were the cracking & popping in my joints. I never used to crack a bone in my body, but now my joints crack & pop all the time. Hips, shoulders, knees, wrists, neck, back, you name it… it probably pops. I started noticing all this popping and HOPED “it was all in my head,” but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. All of this has caused me so much anxiety and overall, depression & depersonalization.
I’m a 24-year old college graduate just beginning my career, and this has set me back quite a ways both mentally & physically. I am approaching 3-months out and hoping for the best. Every day is mentally tough for me because I can’t help but think how such a SIMPLE thing could cause so many problems. The nurse practitioner that prescribed me these pills did NOT culture the urine for bacteria – the clinic simply used a dipstick test (the results were given to me in 5 minutes). I’ve been told by two MD’s that it was a mistake to give me an antibiotic without culturing the urine of a male patient with no history of UTI’s in the past, which certainly doesn’t make me feel any better about the situation. The day I gave my urine sample, I was pretty dehydrated and had to drink water in the clinic to produce it. I always catch myself thinking “If only I would have drank more water that day…”
The only thing we can all do now is inform, help each other, and share our stories. I will be sure to give everyone an update once I fully recover -- because I WILL recover. It might be 3 months from now, it might be a year from now. Heck, it might even be more… but I will recover.
Troy
24, Oklahoma
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Michael Adler
I had an adverse reaction to levaquin
A friend just "liked" this on FB, so I thought I'd share my story. I stopped taking it on the 9th day of a 10 day course of treatment for a terrible sinus infection, which it cured. I stopped taking it because of stomach pain that was inc...reasing over the course of treatment. The stomach pain subsided after I stopped taking it. A few days later, an old back injury flared up worse than it had ever been before, and in a different way. It had not bothered me a bit in at least 5 years. When the levaquin (assumed) caused the flare up, it would hurt from sleeping (almost any position). It would wake me up and prevent me from getting back to sleep. When I would get up and walking around, it would feel better, and usually go away by the time I went to bed the next night, which would cause it to come back. After a month of this I saw a doctor and was prescribed a course of physical therapy. It started going away before I started therapy, and it was gone by the next month. I'm not sure if the therapy did anything for the back problem, because I suspect it was just going to go away on its own, but I took the opportunity to get therapy for my knees also, which has been helpful (but only if I keep doing it). That's a whole separate story though, and not related to this class of drugs
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Michelle Scott MacKinney
I share my story with the hope of saving others from a life of being floxed.
Because I have widespread tendonitis, my story will be brief in effort to save my hands from pain.
I was prescribed Cipro in April of 2009. The test result showed that I didn't have an infection, but was given Cipro and told to take it "Just to be safe". Little did I know the next five pills would change my life forever.
I felt off the next couple of weeks, almost in a daze with increased anxiety and fatigue. I contributed this to over extending myself at work and fought through it knowing that summer was just around the corner. Then I woke up one morning and had severe pain in my fingers on my dominant hand. Within a week I had this crawling/tingling feeling in my forearms and was unable to perform any repetitive task without getting this extreme nauseous feeling. Within three months my lower body was experiencing similar symptoms as my upper body. Other than my core my connective tissues throughout my entire body felt like string cheese and as the days passed I felt I was being pulled apart physically and emotionally. The next year would bring a long list of side effects including: widespread tendonitis, hives, joint pain, extreme muscle aches, pulsating nerve pain and the list goes on. Because I had been athletic and active all of my life with no prior health problems my symptoms became quite alarming.
I was then misdiagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and given more prescription medication (Prednisone and Sulfasalzine). Some of my symptoms improved while others became worse including my hope for returning to health. When answers from my doctor didn't make sense I went searching for something that did. On one of my darkest days and the one year anniversary of taking my first Cipro pill, I opened my medicine cabinet and found the Cipro bottle staring back at me. I never did take all ten pills that were prescribed because of how sick they made me feel, but I also never connected the dots that this antibiotic could be the cause of my living nightmare and literally poisoning my body. The research began and quickly I discovered the answers I had been so desperately searching for. These answers made perfect sense and put light back in my life giving me strength to press on. Throughout this entire experience the worst was the unknown and though I was terrified reading others stories, I also felt comfort in knowing that others had survived and some even recovered.
I now have an extremely supportive doctor who has set up a team of specialists who are hopeful for my recovery. The loss of what Cipro stole is overwhelming and has affected every aspect of my life, but each day is a day closer to recovery. My faith will remain strong and my determination to save others from Cipro will never end.
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avelox
I have been living with what I KNOW is being floxed for almost 2 years. 3 times my doctor prescribed this med to me along with steroids...I
made no connection until I received an email from a law firm "have you or someone you love taken the prescription antibiotic levaquin?" Finally,
I was able to put a "name" to what was going on...since my first dose of levaquin to my last 2 pill dose of avelox that I stopped when my
ankles flared up again, I have been to the doctor and the ER at least 15 times and still going.
I used to NEVER have to go to the doctor but now...everything hurts...from the physical to the mental, hallucinations, nightmares that I dare
not mention to the same doctors that shrug their shoulders and say there is nothing wrong with you...I need not list the wide array of the problems,
it would almost be endless because it seems like there is a new symptom appearing every day. Lets just say it has effected me from top to
bottom...from my head to my toes literally. I try to find some logic in all this, find what the purpose is...I fight anger every day, I fight depression
every day, I cry every day...
I can only describe this drug as chemical warfare, the battles that rage within me as my body struggles for survival, are some days too much to
take. That is my life now, daily survival, no living....no enjoyment. I have to be careful how I walk, turn, go down a step, get out of the car, so as
to not pull or pop anything. I wake up stiff and in pain every day. I have to wrap ace bandages around my ankles then put on ankle supports just
to be able to walk and try to not have a tendon rupture. I cannot see at night to drive anymore. I have been diagnosed with possible rheumatoid
arthritis (ruled out with blood work), fibromyalgia, MRSA, chronic fatigue syndrome, IBS, muscuoskeletal pain but not once have they specified
tendons...several times I have tried to discuss with doctors, one got angry when I tried to show him the FDA report. The rest of them quickly
dismissed my claims because they believe once it is out of your system you no longer suffer any affects. They ALL say it is rare..ok well RARE
doesn't mean NEVER!! I PAY you, I pay you ALOT for my health care so why won't you listen to me?? Why won't you take time to read at least
or research a little more since I am paying you almost a 100 bux each time I am here!!! $1000's have been paid to the hospital for visits, tests, 3
times I have went to doctor and ER because my lymph nodes were very swollen, my thyroid also, one doctor now has me on thyroid med, helps
a little, another doctor put me on adderol which is nothing but prescription SPEED!!! so I can get out of the bed every day...a slew of pain meds,
muscle relaxers, steroids....even when I tried to discuss the steroid/quinolone issue with them they all think I am looney or grasping for straws.
They all think there is a LOGICAL explanation for all of your symptoms yet WE don't know what it is!
Yea.....ok.....sooooo it seems to me I am the ONLY one who (it sounds to me) HAS a logical explanation yet Mr. M.D. who is a HEALTHCARE
PEOVIDER you shake your head at me, you slam your pen down on the counter, you smirk and ask, "is there ANYTHING that DOESN'T
hurt?" You grin wide and say "there is no way this could be related to levaquin because you aren't taking it anymore", I hear "don't believe everything
you read on the internet"...yada yada yada... You constantly prescribe me meds to treat all these symptoms, something for vertigo, I do not
have vertigo, muscle relaxers, I do not want to take those cuz I can't take them during the day anyway, pain meds I HATE the way they make me
feel and which ones are safe??? Up the dosage of blood pressure medicine, give me a script for IBS, give a script for hypothyroidism altho my blood
work was fine!!!! Run numerous tests, xrays, cat scans, blood work because of my lymph nodes ALL over my body are enlarged....Yet you do not
even show the slightest interest in finding out the CAUSE of all these symptoms that did NOT occur until AFTER I disgested levaquin!!!!!!
I told the last doc you need to READ more about the quinolone issues before you ASSUME just because I am not taking it anymore I am not
having related issues...how scary it is....to have to wonder every single day what this toxin is going to leave you with in the aftermath....will I
recover? EVER??? have some sense of normalcy to life again?? Will I have a heart attack or stroke because my blood pressure tops sometimes
at 178/110???Will my kidneys fail? Is my liver damaged?? Will I get worse? Will I EVER sleep again...you know all night, it takes the body at
least 7 hrs and so much sleep for our bodies to be able to heal themselves. I am so tired all the time....I never seem to get enough sleep. And for
GOD'S SAKE!!! I don't WANT ANOTHER FREAKIN' MEDICATION!!!! When I went over the list of medications NOT recommended to
be taken by people who have had reactions to quinolones I HAVE BEEN PRESCRIBED 11 OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is so messed up.........
Don't get me wrong, I do count my blessings altho sometimes that gets very difficult. And I know there is always someone worse off than me
BUT it ANGERS me that I WAS NOT GIVEN A CHOICE!! I was not given a chance to make an educated decision as to take this or not to take
this...I had faith in my doctor, I had trust in my doctor to KNOW everything he needed to before he prescribed medicine to me...boy did I get
fooled...now I am paying dearly for it.
I went to discuss the possible legal issues with a local attorney, I showed him the pictures of my bruising that happens after I overuse a tendon
in any part of my body....HE asks.....is there any abuse in the home...can you believe.....and he goes on to say how many tens of thousands of dollars
it takes to prove medical malpractice etc. and it is not worth the time or effort....am I NOT WORTH IT??? My life and health is not worth
fighting for no matter what the cost????
What angers me is other countries have restricted and/or banned these drugs because of their studies!! How does that get ignored?????????? WHY
was that ignored??? because "we" have to do our own studies before "we" can make an informed decision???? So now WE are the guinea pigs because
why...."we" don't test on animals except maybe rats? God forbid us to test on other animals!! If I am wrong about that I want to know. Now we can't
eat MEAT from animals because they may have been treated with quinolones...WTF?????? is REALLY going on here????? I would have thought
America was smarter than that...I always thought we were ahead of the game...
Sincerely,
Jackie Matthews
Yet another UNNECESSARY QUINOLONE TOXICITY VICTIM!!!!!!!!!!!
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Rose Terry
Telling my story if very painful. I've cried a swimming pool full of tears and I feel so old now disabled at only 56!
It was March 20, 2007 when I was handed a package of 10 antibiotic pills called Levaquin which I faithfully took for a bronchial condition and possible pneumonia. No tests were taken and I trusted the Doctor as I had always trusted Doctors. But I didn't get better and actually felt worse; extremely tired, couldn't sleep, very dizzy, sore feet, joints & muscles, just all over miserable and frustrated with Doctors as this was the second round of antibiotics, the first being a common one such as Amoxicillin.
I was fed up with regular Doctors by this time so decided to go the route of an alternative Dr of Naturapath - but had to wait a while to get an apt... meanwhile the pneumonia got better, but the rest of me didn't! I still hurt all over! Sleep disturbances like I never had before. And my darn feet hurt!
This Dr checked me out thoroughly and recommended many changes that actually made me feel better... other than those darn feet, joint pain, sleep problems... things to complain about, but nothing so alarming to make me think something serious was wrong....yet. By my second visit a few weeks later I began to mention the feet in particular as they were worsening... I thought the Dr could fix it. Throughout summer they worsened by the week, as we tried a few things that didn't help. A simple Yoga class that summer made me feel older than the seniors in it, because I had to sit down a lot from tiredness, joint/muscle pain & especially my very sore feet. I was just 53 then and everyone was quite a bit older than me in the class.... this really concerned me.
By the end of summer I was very concerned because nothing made sense as the pain mostly in my feet was getting out of control. More natural treatments, chiropractor adjustments didn't help at all. I was loosing interest in anything physical including my job by this time because I just couldn't do it!
Sept/Oct were months I'll never forget because by then my feet felt like bone crunching knife stabs with large areas of cigarette burns or scalding hot water burns as well as these pains extending up the top and ankles and beyond! It was progressing at an alarming rate and I was scared! A lot of other strange feelings had happened like ear sounds, eye sight changes, popping joints, face & hand sensations that finally just landed me in the hospital after my own Internet searches came up with possibly Peripheral Neuropathy of all things which scared me to death!
Yup, the hospital Neurologist confirmed it, I was right, Peripheral Neuropathy! I went home completely in shock, but determined to figure out why in the heck a healthy, working, busy mom & wife could possibly have this! I couldn't sleep at all anyway due to the pain getting so much worse, so after beginning some medications that helped little, I spent my nights (I slept on average 3 restless hours a night) and days researching over 200 causes for this horrible condition that only worsened by each month to come. Diabetes was out first because I had no blood sugar problems as of early May 2007 blood tests.... that being the #1 cause of Peripheral Neuropathy. I then began what felt like a life and death search for why... what was the cause. Obviously by this time I lost my job that I loved so much and the ability to take care of my family!
Tens of thousands of dollars later even after medical insurance, and over 15 different specialists, blood tests until I had no more veins, upper & lower GI's, painful EMG's-Nerve Conduction tests, etc. Since I had earlier lost my job, half our income was gone now! My young teenage daughter felt tremendous stress as she thought her mom was gonna die, and my poor husband landed in the hospital in the middle of this mess because stress affected his heart so badly worrying about me and money! We finally went through ALL our savings, and nearly lost our home (and my mind)!
Not one single Specialist could tell me what caused this severe Peripheral Neuropathy and I was further miserable because of all the medications and pain pills I had to take along with their side-effects.
It took me over 1 year but I FOUND IT! I bumped into a small little record of my medications at the pneumonia stage which fit exactly in my medical records when pain began. I then searched out the word LEVAQUIN, a strong antibiotic in the Fluoroquinolone family and THERE IT WAS! I CRIED FOR HOURS! I had TRUSTED my Doctors and had been POISONED by the antibiotic Levaquin they gave me! An antibiotic caused my severe adverse reaction which affected my entire nervous system destroying my nerves as it flowed throughout my body!
Since then I have suffered like never before in my life. I now have severe Peripheral Neuropathy in my legs, feet, arms, hands, shoulders and more. I've used just about every drug possible to help the pain, but it is always there 24/7. Drugs just take a dent out of it and that's about it.... other than of course, the added unpleasant side effects & dependencies of these "aids" which I detest! Accepting that I now have a severe and permanent disability is devastating!
Depression is certainly a concern for the first time in my life... how do human beings cope with this?! Severe stabbing, burning, electric jolts, terrible insomnia, severe multiple joint pain, muscle spasms and twitching, arm & legs weakness, numbness, Carpel Tunnel, Ulnar elbow neuropathy, impaired coordination, memory loss and forgetfulness, extreme fatigue, palpitations, blurred vision, temperature control in all limbs completely out of whack, and more! Sometimes the pain is so severe I writhe in bed crying! I was once what I considered a very strong woman.
Bitterness against the Dr and the Drug Company causes so much more pain - not good at all. I have to use a cane now because I am unable to walk more than a short distance, and the few times I do get outside the house I use an electric wheelchair which has crushed any ego I had left. I just don't trust Doctors anymore, but I have to use their prescriptions just to cope along with their nasty side effects like weight gain, dizziness, foggy brain, sleepiness, confusion, etc. This chronic invisible illness has changed my life forever!
This is no way for anybody to live! I don't deserve this! I hate to think of anyone else living with this horror! On top of all that I have lost, my job, all my income, all my families savings, some of my husbands health, along with the severe pain I live with 24/7, I've lost the ability to be a good wife & mother, and that hurts me to the core! Watching the pain in the faces of my family is the saddest of all.
My heart aches for those who have Peripheral Neuropathy, and have the diagnoses of "idiopathic" meaning without a known cause... and that makes me really wonder just how many people never link their health problems back to the antibiotics called Fluoroquinolones such as Levaquin, Cipro, Avelox, Floxin, etc. and don't even know it due to delayed toxicity, mislead-lead Doctors, and greedy pharmaceutical companies who covet money over human beings!
God help us!
Rose Terry
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AVELOX
My name is Asha Colvin and this is my story...
"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity."
-Carl Jung
Before October 2009, I was your normal suburb mother of 2. I was active, healthy and insanely happy. I volunteered at my sons school as room mother of his class and I'm on a few PTA committees. My husband coaches our sons soccer team. I ate healthy foods and ran on the treadmill 3-4 days a week. We live in a beautiful home. I loved to bake and coom for my family. I have dinner waiting on the table most nights before my husband comes home. I love being with my kids and my husband but I also love to have a night out with all my girlfriends. I thought I was doing everything I should've been doing and basically, my life was as perfect as I ever could of asked for.
The crisis you have to worry about most is the one you don't see coming.
- Mike Mansfield
On October 7, 2009 I went to American Family care because I had sinus issues. I had only been sick for a couple of days, but we have 2 small children & I don't have time to be sick. I'd been to this clinic several times, but I'd never seen Dr Syed Hassan before. I told him I basically wanted to 'nip this in the butt' before I get my entire family sick. My son has asthma, so any kind of sickness will trigger an asthma attack.
I spent 1 1/2 hrs in the lobby and exam room, then spend 5 mins with the dr. He said you have acute sinusitis. He handed me my prescription of Avelox and a $20 coupon for the Avelox. He never mentioned anything about this drug or that the FDA put a black box warning on it stating that it could only be used as last resort medication, and only when all other medications fail. He knew I hadn't tried any other prescribed medications for particular sinus issue.
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."
- Jim Rohn
I left, took my prescription to rite-aid, and had my husband pick it up on his way home from work. I took my first dose around 7pm and the 2nd dose first thing after breakfast that next morning. At 7am I walked my son down our driveway to meet the bus like I do every morning. When he got into the bus I noticed my legs were getting sore. I'm not overweight (I'm 5'4 and 125lbs) and I use my treadmill frequently. My driveway is up a hill, but it is very short, there was no way I should have felt soreness in my legs. I went in, laid down and waited for my then 2 1/2 yr old to wake up for the day. It just kept getting worse and worse.
Around 1pm I called the same Drs office that I had been to the day before and they said that I needed to come back in. So I dropped my daughter off at my best friends house, made bus riding arrangements for my son, called my husband, and headed back to the Drs office. My husband meets me there and an hour later we see a new doctor, Dr. Pair. He was a very nice, sympathetic man with a good bed-side manner. By this time, I'm crying, screaming, limping, and barely able to move, much less walk. I've had an appendectomy and 2 c-sections, but this pain was worse than any of these. The doctor drew blood, gives me a shot of what I think is Demerol and tells me that I have drug-induced lupus. He sends me home with prescriptions of 30 loratab 7.5's and 30 Etodolac's (which is NSAID), and I leave in a wheelchair. I explain that my stomach doesn't handle painkillers well. He tells me to fill it anyway just in case, but to take an over the counter NSAID instead. I find out later you are NEVER supposed to combine NSAIDs and Quinolones because it enhances its toxicity. So in 1 day I have one 400mg Avelox, two 400mg Etodolac's, two advil's, and one half of a loratab after midnight. I ended up vomiting up the loratab because I took it on an empty stomach. I knew that might happen, but it was 2 am, the pain was so intense, and I was desperate.
Pain is such an uncomfortable feeling that even a tiny amount of it is enough to ruin every enjoyment. ~ Will Rogers
Later that week I get my blood results back. Dr. Pair said that they were inconclusive. He also said after a few weeks if things were not better he would refer me to a rheumatologist. After two weeks it did get better and I feel like I was getting back to normal. We had planned to go to Gatlinburg, TN with my family for Fall Break. My legs did really well, but I noticed I started having a burning pain in the tip of my left thumb. Over the next few months it would come and go. But I shrugged it off as a pinched nerve. It gradually kept getting worse. The pain was now in my whole thumb and slightly in my wrist. Sometime in August 2010, my hair started to come out in handfuls. I eventually saw a therapist for depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. I just thought I was 'losing' it but I was told I have a lot of underlining stress in my life; meaning I'm a stay at home mom, emotional 'scarring' from my parents divorce (which is almost a laughable understatement), & difficult teenage years. But seriously, who doesn't statistically fit into any or all of those categories?
On March 7, 2011, ironically almost exactly one and half years after taking Avelox, I'd had enough. I called American Family Care & specifically asked for Dr. Pair to give me a referral to the rheumatologist, like he promised. The nurse said he wouldn't give a referral because it had been over a year. They're are several American Family clinics within 15 miles, so I requested to only see him. They told me what clinic he would be at the next day and told them I would be there first thing in the morning.
After an hour and a half, he graced me with his presence. Dr. Pair was again, caring and thoughtful, but being 'nice' doesn't always make you a knowledgable doctor. He didn't remember me at first, but when I reminded him who I was and what had happened, he quickly remembered. He said "I've thought of you many times, how are you sweetie?" Considering the time that had pasted and that they see roughly 50 patients a day, it solidified how traumatic my reaction to Avelox had been.
I went on about on about my thumb and even asked questions about Avelox being the culprit and he said was doubtful because it had been to long since taking Avelox and diagnosed me with Tenosynovitis. I asked about the Rheumatologist again, and said that this wasn't rheumatoid arthritis. He wrote me a prescription again for thirty Loratab 10's and thirty Etodolac's. And again, I told him about my intolerance for pain medication...again. He was persistent, and one way or another I was leaving his the exam room with pain pills. When I got home I noticed that this time there was a refill on the Etodolac, which I was sure I'd taken before. Either my brain or heart, or maybe both just couldn't let it go. I searched tenosynovitis. Some tendon issues can be caused by quinolone drugs, which Avelox belonged in that family and that was when I had my 'light bulb' moment.
"From error to error one discovers the entire truth."
- Sigmund Freud
When I started putting every puzzle piece together, I requested all of my medical records from American Family Care. I was diagnosed with onset acute sinusitis. I did my research and the FDA restricted Avelox use to only last case scenarios and when all other medications have failed. I told him I hadn't tried other medications, it even stated that in my medical files. My blood work after my second dose avelox showed: positive ANA, Positive Sjogrens anti-ss-b, RA factor was negative, high white blood count and other irregularities he never mentioned. He also never mentioned he should have never prescribed me Etodolac (a non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; a NSAID) because it enhances the toxicity. Nor did he inform me that Avelox ranked the highest in its class for toxicity in your Central Nervous System and could be permanent. This damage can be described as burning pain, cold, stinging, tingling, or numbness. As I feel the panic pour over me, I quickly realize that I was 'medical oops'.
It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
- Epictetus
I go see a so-called orthopedic doctor, Dr. Goodson. He didn't believe the avelox did this to me, even after I told him my symptoms and how similar they were to Quinolone toxicity. He rushed me in & out. I brought all my medical records and blood test. When I handed them to him, he kept talking and made it seem like he didnt need a medical history or a CBC (complete blood count) to diagnose Carpal Tunnel & Tendonitis. They did xrays and an emg/ncv on April 6, 2011. Which concluded I have carpal tunnel and Tendonitis. I agree with him, I probably have CTS and Tendonitis, because I now know these are known side effects of quinolone drugs. What I disagree with is his poor bed-side manner. He made me feel like I was some sort of junkie looking for my next pain pill or I was insignificant because this was not work or sport related. I'm a stay at home mother, that's has limited my lifting and cleaning because of my chronic pain. I don't believe I just all of a sudden, one day, wake up with carpal tunnel symptoms. When he denied Avelox's involvement with my pain, he asked what I did for a living, I told him I'm a stay at home mother of two. He tried to be witty and said with a chuckle "Well...that most definitely wouldn't cause Carpal Tunnel". I didn't find his casual humor to be very humorous.
I returned to my car and after calling my husband, I called my mom. She immediately apologized because her coworker mentioned that her good friend was Dr Goodson, a 'excellent' orthopedic surgeon. Second to my husband, my mother has been my backbone. She has never wavered in helping, listening, or understanding me in this recent ordeal. I never blamed her. She did what she always did, and that was to help me in any way she could? But looking back, I knew you could be a really good friend but lousy in their profession. These characteristics can always be interchangeable.
When I got home I cried, cried, and cried some more. Then I got up, dusted myself off and decided I had to dry it up and move on. I know my body and I also knew in the pit of my stomach and from the bottom of my heart that something wasn't right and things just weren't adding up. I needed a new doctor and I would find one who could help, or at least pretend to listen to what I was saying.
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you knock long enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
- Longfellow
Luckily for me, it didn't take long. My best friend referred me to her doctor. When I first met Dr. Ligon, she smiled, shook my hand and said "welcome to our practice, what can I help you with today" More importantly, she looked into my eyes when she talked to me and it was a breathe of fresh air. I explained everything in detail. After that, she said "first things first, you know your body better than anyone else. You are the team leader here, and I'm more like the detective". She happily asked to review all my records and blood test and agreed this should have been further evaluated. Contrary to what Dr. Goodson said, Dr. Ligon told me I had serious muscle weakness in my left hand, arm and wrist. She also said she rarely prescribes any quinolone drugs because they are so powerful and there is usually safer options. Dr. Ligon ordered more blood test and did a x-ray. She also said that she knows when she's over her head and if she or I ever felt that she was, she would happily refer me to a rhuematologist. She asked about previous pain management. I told her my stomach doesn't handle pain medications well. I told her I used IcyHot, Excedrin, and Advil. She asked how I felt about alternative treatments for pain management, and I told her I was just about open to any and every treatment. She raved about vitamins and supplements, but mostly fish oil. Currently, pain is somewhat manageable without them considering I removed my wrist brace 3 days ago. Plus, I'm more skeptical to what I put into my body.
I go back tomorrow, April 12, 2011, to her office to get my blood test results.
" Never underestimate your problem or your ability to deal with it "
- Robert H. Schuller
Today at almost 27 years old, I can't sit or cross my legs for to long periods of time because my legs go numb. When it's cold, rainy or rarely use it to much, my thumb, wrist, and left arm burns, almost like an electric shock. It is excruciating and overwhelming. The pain has flowed over to my right arm and both legs. I do not run on the treadmill anymore, strictly walking. I've worn a wrist brace with a thumb spica for a month at a time. My body feels exhausted all day, and at night i suffer from insomnia. I'm continually dropping things because I have lost almost all of my grip in my left hand. My thumb still burns as if I were getting several bee stings periodically through out the day. At times I feel like this has taken over my life. I use icy-hot religously, Excedrin or aleve every morning, Tylenol or Excedrin pm every night, and constantly use a heating pad. Ice packs are the worst for me because my nerves are hypersensitive to anything cold, even filling a cup with ice or getting things out of the freezer. I refuse to be another victim of an addiction to painkillers. Dr. Ligon swears by fish oils. I will try those soon, but I also understand that they're are no cures to what Avelox & Dr. Hasan did to me. These are only temporary solutions to a seemingly permanent problem.
We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
- Walt Disney
There are rare days where I feel my old self peeking through. On my most recent good day, my now 4 year old daughter said something profound to me as I was buckling her up to go get frozen yogurt. She looked me straight in my eyes and said "Mommy, you're back". I smiled and kissed her on her cheek. I didn't want to respond. I didn't want to give her false hope or to 'jinx" myself. That day I learned to live everyday as it comes. No matter if you've been 'floxed' by your medication or if you're completely healthy, take it day by day. You never know what the day has in store for you. You have to wrap the good days around and brace yourself for the bad ones.
My name is Asha Colvin and this is my story... "Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity." -Carl Jung Before October 2009, I was your normal suburb mother of 2. I was active, healthy and insanely happy. I volunteered at my sons school as room mother of his class and I'm on a few PTA committees. My husband coaches our sons soccer team. I ate healthy foods and ran on the treadmill 3-4 days a week. We live in a beautiful home. I loved to bake and coom for my family. I have dinner waiting on the table most nights before my husband comes home. I love being with my kids and my husband but I also love to have a night out with all my girlfriends. I thought I was doing everything I should've been doing and basically, my life was as perfect as I ever could of asked for. The crisis you have to worry about most is the one you don't see coming. - Mike Mansfield On October 7, 2009 I went to American Family care because I had sinus issues. I had only been sick for a couple of days, but we have 2 small children & I don't have time to be sick. I'd been to this clinic several times, but I'd never seen Dr Syed Hassan before. I told him I basically wanted to 'nip this in the butt' before I get my entire family sick. My son has asthma, so any kind of sickness will trigger an asthma attack. I spent 1 1/2 hrs in the lobby and exam room, then spend 5 mins with the dr. He said you have acute sinusitis. He handed me my prescription of Avelox and a $20 coupon for the Avelox. He never mentioned anything about this drug or that the FDA put a black box warning on it stating that it could only be used as last resort medication, and only when all other medications fail. He knew I hadn't tried any other prescribed medications for particular sinus issue. "Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." - Jim Rohn I left, took my prescription to rite-aid, and had my husband pick it up on his way home from work. I took my first dose around 7pm and the 2nd dose first thing after breakfast that next morning. At 7am I walked my son down our driveway to meet the bus like I do every morning. When he got into the bus I noticed my legs were getting sore. I'm not overweight (I'm 5'4 and 125lbs) and I use my treadmill frequently. My driveway is up a hill, but it is very short, there was no way I should have felt soreness in my legs. I went in, laid down and waited for my then 2 1/2 yr old to wake up for the day. It just kept getting worse and worse. Around 1pm I called the same Drs office that I had been to the day before and they said that I needed to come back in. So I dropped my daughter off at my best friends house, made bus riding arrangements for my son, called my husband, and headed back to the Drs office. My husband meets me there and an hour later we see a new doctor, Dr. Pair. He was a very nice, sympathetic man with a good bed-side manner. By this time, I'm crying, screaming, limping, and barely able to move, much less walk. I've had an appendectomy and 2 c-sections, but this pain was worse than any of these. The doctor drew blood, gives me a shot of what I think is Demerol and tells me that I have drug-induced lupus. He sends me home with prescriptions of 30 loratab 7.5's and 30 Etodolac's (which is NSAID), and I leave in a wheelchair. I explain that my stomach doesn't handle painkillers well. He tells me to fill it anyway just in case, but to take an over the counter NSAID instead. I find out later you are NEVER supposed to combine NSAIDs and Quinolones because it enhances its toxicity. So in 1 day I have one 400mg Avelox, two 400mg Etodolac's, two advil's, and one half of a loratab after midnight. I ended up vomiting up the loratab because I took it on an empty stomach. I knew that might happen, but it was 2 am, the pain was so intense, and I was desperate. Pain is such an uncomfortable feeling that even a tiny amount of it is enough to ruin every enjoyment. ~ Will Rogers Later that week I get my blood results back. Dr. Pair said that they were inconclusive. He also said after a few weeks if things were not better he would refer me to a rheumatologist. After two weeks it did get better and I feel like I was getting back to normal. We had planned to go to Gatlinburg, TN with my family for Fall Break. My legs did really well, but I noticed I started having a burning pain in the tip of my left thumb. Over the next few months it would come and go. But I shrugged it off as a pinched nerve. It gradually kept getting worse. The pain was now in my whole thumb and slightly in my wrist. Sometime in August 2010, my hair started to come out in handfuls. I eventually saw a therapist for depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. I just thought I was 'losing' it but I was told I have a lot of underlining stress in my life; meaning I'm a stay at home mom, emotional 'scarring' from my parents divorce (which is almost a laughable understatement), & difficult teenage years. But seriously, who doesn't statistically fit into any or all of those categories? On March 7, 2011, ironically almost exactly one and half years after taking Avelox, I'd had enough. I called American Family Care & specifically asked for Dr. Pair to give me a referral to the rheumatologist, like he promised. The nurse said he wouldn't give a referral because it had been over a year. They're are several American Family clinics within 15 miles, so I requested to only see him. They told me what clinic he would be at the next day and told them I would be there first thing in the morning. After an hour and a half, he graced me with his presence. Dr. Pair was again, caring and thoughtful, but being 'nice' doesn't always make you a knowledgable doctor. He didn't remember me at first, but when I reminded him who I was and what had happened, he quickly remembered. He said "I've thought of you many times, how are you sweetie?" Considering the time that had pasted and that they see roughly 50 patients a day, it solidified how traumatic my reaction to Avelox had been. I went on about on about my thumb and even asked questions about Avelox being the culprit and he said was doubtful because it had been to long since taking Avelox and diagnosed me with Tenosynovitis. I asked about the Rheumatologist again, and said that this wasn't rheumatoid arthritis. He wrote me a prescription again for thirty Loratab 10's and thirty Etodolac's. And again, I told him about my intolerance for pain medication...again. He was persistent, and one way or another I was leaving his the exam room with pain pills. When I got home I noticed that this time there was a refill on the Etodolac, which I was sure I'd taken before. Either my brain or heart, or maybe both just couldn't let it go. I searched tenosynovitis. Some tendon issues can be caused by quinolone drugs, which Avelox belonged in that family and that was when I had my 'light bulb' moment. "From error to error one discovers the entire truth." - Sigmund Freud When I started putting every puzzle piece together, I requested all of my medical records from American Family Care. I was diagnosed with onset acute sinusitis. I did my research and the FDA restricted Avelox use to only last case scenarios and when all other medications have failed. I told him I hadn't tried other medications, it even stated that in my medical files. My blood work after my second dose avelox showed: positive ANA, Positive Sjogrens anti-ss-b, RA factor was negative, high white blood count and other irregularities he never mentioned. He also never mentioned he should have never prescribed me Etodolac (a non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; a NSAID) because it enhances the toxicity. Nor did he inform me that Avelox ranked the highest in its class for toxicity in your Central Nervous System and could be permanent. This damage can be described as burning pain, cold, stinging, tingling, or numbness. As I feel the panic pour over me, I quickly realize that I was 'medical oops'. It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. - Epictetus I go see a so-called orthopedic doctor, Dr. Goodson. He didn't believe the avelox did this to me, even after I told him my symptoms and how similar they were to Quinolone toxicity. He rushed me in & out. I brought all my medical records and blood test. When I handed them to him, he kept talking and made it seem like he didnt need a medical history or a CBC (complete blood count) to diagnose Carpal Tunnel & Tendonitis. They did xrays and an emg/ncv on April 6, 2011. Which concluded I have carpal tunnel and Tendonitis. I agree with him, I probably have CTS and Tendonitis, because I now know these are known side effects of quinolone drugs. What I disagree with is his poor bed-side manner. He made me feel like I was some sort of junkie looking for my next pain pill or I was insignificant because this was not work or sport related. I'm a stay at home mother, that's has limited my lifting and cleaning because of my chronic pain. I don't believe I just all of a sudden, one day, wake up with carpal tunnel symptoms. When he denied Avelox's involvement with my pain, he asked what I did for a living, I told him I'm a stay at home mother of two. He tried to be witty and said with a chuckle "Well...that most definitely wouldn't cause Carpal Tunnel". I didn't find his casual humor to be very humorous. I returned to my car and after calling my husband, I called my mom. She immediately apologized because her coworker mentioned that her good friend was Dr Goodson, a 'excellent' orthopedic surgeon. Second to my husband, my mother has been my backbone. She has never wavered in helping, listening, or understanding me in this recent ordeal. I never blamed her. She did what she always did, and that was to help me in any way she could? But looking back, I knew you could be a really good friend but lousy in their profession. These characteristics can always be interchangeable. When I got home I cried, cried, and cried some more. Then I got up, dusted myself off and decided I had to dry it up and move on. I know my body and I also knew in the pit of my stomach and from the bottom of my heart that something wasn't right and things just weren't adding up. I needed a new doctor and I would find one who could help, or at least pretend to listen to what I was saying. Perseverance is a great element of success. If you knock long enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody. - Longfellow Luckily for me, it didn't take long. My best friend referred me to her doctor. When I first met Dr. Ligon, she smiled, shook my hand and said "welcome to our practice, what can I help you with today" More importantly, she looked into my eyes when she talked to me and it was a breathe of fresh air. I explained everything in detail. After that, she said "first things first, you know your body better than anyone else. You are the team leader here, and I'm more like the detective". She happily asked to review all my records and blood test and agreed this should have been further evaluated. Contrary to what Dr. Goodson said, Dr. Ligon told me I had serious muscle weakness in my left hand, arm and wrist. She also said she rarely prescribes any quinolone drugs because they are so powerful and there is usually safer options. Dr. Ligon ordered more blood test and did a x-ray. She also said that she knows when she's over her head and if she or I ever felt that she was, she would happily refer me to a rhuematologist. She asked about previous pain management. I told her my stomach doesn't handle pain medications well. I told her I used IcyHot, Excedrin, and Advil. She asked how I felt about alternative treatments for pain management, and I told her I was just about open to any and every treatment. She raved about vitamins and supplements, but mostly fish oil. Currently, pain is somewhat manageable without them considering I removed my wrist brace 3 days ago. Plus, I'm more skeptical to what I put into my body. I go back tomorrow, April 12, 2011, to her office to get my blood test results. " Never underestimate your problem or your ability to deal with it " - Robert H. Schuller Today at almost 27 years old, I can't sit or cross my legs for to long periods of time because my legs go numb. When it's cold, rainy or rarely use it to much, my thumb, wrist, and left arm burns, almost like an electric shock. It is excruciating and overwhelming. The pain has flowed over to my right arm and both legs. I do not run on the treadmill anymore, strictly walking. I've worn a wrist brace with a thumb spica for a month at a time. My body feels exhausted all day, and at night i suffer from insomnia. I'm continually dropping things because I have lost almost all of my grip in my left hand. My thumb still burns as if I were getting several bee stings periodically through out the day. At times I feel like this has taken over my life. I use icy-hot religously, Excedrin or aleve every morning, Tylenol or Excedrin pm every night, and constantly use a heating pad. Ice packs are the worst for me because my nerves are hypersensitive to anything cold, even filling a cup with ice or getting things out of the freezer. I refuse to be another victim of an addiction to painkillers. Dr. Ligon swears by fish oils. I will try those soon, but I also understand that they're are no cures to what Avelox & Dr. Hasan did to me. These are only temporary solutions to a seemingly permanent problem. We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney There are rare days where I feel my old self peeking through. On my most recent good day, my now 4 year old daughter said something profound to me as I was buckling her up to go get frozen yogurt. She looked me straight in my eyes and said "Mommy, you're back". I smiled and kissed her on her cheek. I didn't want to respond. I didn't want to give her false hope or to 'jinx" myself. That day I learned to live everyday as it comes. No matter if you've been 'floxed' by your medication or if you're completely healthy, take it day by day. You never know what the day has in store for you. You have to wrap the good days around and brace yourself for the bad ones.
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Back in November I was prescribed Levaquin for a mild dose of pneumonia. Within two days i was having difficulty walking, checked out the website and immediately stopped taking the drug.
>
> By late december I was ready to die i woke up in more pain, in all my joints and back, than i went to bed and each day it got worse.
> By February i was thinking of selling my car because it was undriveable i had no idea what was going on.
> My business was suffering because my memory was failing fast and I had constant headaches. my computational skills had also badly declined. I felt as if i was a 93 year old guy.
> I looked on the internet and pow.. found a bunch of people with the same problems. Great i'll find a way out of this.. But wait no known cure? All of a sudden I' m now a full time doctor person, every week i'm seeing someone, i've had over 30 different blood tests, seen an acupuncturist herbalist, Arthritis specialists.
> I can no longer cycle 8 miles every day, I cannot do tae Kwon do any longer. I can barely walk a mile without repercussions.. Oh and by the way this doesn't exist I'm a whiner, its all in my head.
>
> I am spending over $300 a month in supplements alone, the pain is subsiding, but then i get a little to mobile... and suffer the consequences.
>
> Have you ever pulled the ligaments on a severed chickens foot? imagine an invisible hand doing that to you. I sat watching tv one evening and watched every tendon contract in my legs and my muscles were rippling, it scared the hell out of me, oh and hurt too.
>
> I hope someone comes up with a magic spell to straighten all this out..
>
> All I can say is never take anything a doctor gives you without first checking on the internet.. and remember they call it Practicing Medicine,because thats what they're doing, and they're a long way from getting it right.
>
> Simon.
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It's been two years since I took Cipro for two weeks. I've been in pain ever since. It started with the Achilles which made me stop taking the pills. Then I developed what seemed like sudden arthritis - swollen, spongy joints that hurt and ached. Virtually all joints and movement was very difficult. That lasted a month or so and then disappeared, thankfully never to return. But what has it done to me?!?! My knees were badly affected for about a year but they too seem to have recovered mostly - say 95%
Slowly the Achilles seem to have healed 90% As I write, both ache slightly but they have lost that initial extreme pain. It was the oddest sensation. Like nothing felt before: an intense stinging sensation would be the best way to describe it. My doctor did an ultrasound scan - because he initially thought I had a DVT - and found swelling, fluid and minor tears of the Achilles. But, as I say, things have got better.
From the above it might seem that I'm well on the way to recovering. I thought so too, until Christmas 2010 came... I started getting awful pain in my right shoulder and the noise and sensations! Crackling and clicking and crunching!!!! Gradually the pain got worse but the noises stopped... But so did movement. My shoulder has frozen solid. I've had steroid injections, intensive physiotherapy and started working out more at home. I've recovered a little movement but it is sloooooowwww going. A couple of months ago I started getting pain in the other shoulder. You can imagine the fear... One frozen arm... Pain in the other. So I threw myself into exercise and it helps!!!! Maybe that helps others too. I see that some say keep moving - absolutely right!!!! No matter how bad the pain or how tired you feel, push through it!!!! The pain in the left shoulder lurks but is held at bay by exercise.
But now the hips have started... But according to blood tests and scans there is nothing there. Doctors do not believe...!!!
And the tiredness.... Bone aching, mind-numbing fatigue that washes over you like an ocean just wanting to drag you down into the depths.....!!!!
People here talk of suffering for years!!! How long does this go on?!?! Do new symptoms keep appearing? What has this stuff done to us?!?!?!
Regards
Kevin
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in 2006 around july time i had cystis didnt think much of it and stacked up on barley water and bought some over the counter stuff you mix with water, after few weeks it got so bad i remember havin to get up in the night in agony
over a peroid of a month i went downhill tried a few presciptions but it eased for bit then came back so bad i ended up in hospital thanx to a friend of mine as doctor said just sleep it of
There i had my first dose of cipro im pressuming i had it on iv, They kept me in for just under week and i was sent home with a 2 week 500mg course of cipro tablet form.
I started to feel dizzy on and off but just thought it was because i had been terrible ill. after a month i started to get worse again bad pains in my back and feeling the need to go to the loo alot and very tired so went back to doctor and again they gave me cipro that happened for a further 4 more courses of cipro over a peroid of 6 months after intial kidney infection. I remeber the doctor saying this is like bleach it will kill everything. I wish i took note then but trusted them.
Finally in june 2007 my parents paid for me to see kidney specialist to find out why i was ill all time and he said my kdneys were ok and i didnt need anymore antibiotics he said my bladder had become so dry for some reason and that was causing problem.
In that time i begain to feel like i was so anxious and couldnt keep still my whole body was shaking and my daughter noticied my head would shake too, went back to doctors who prescibe me antidepressants which im glad i never took.
I was a keen athelete and thought getting back into the gym would do me good. not so after a few classes i begain to feel pain in my rotor cuff and began physio and then my neck started to bother me at first intermitent and then i noticied i couldnt turn to the left when walking.
this got so bad i remember tying a scarf around my neck as i felt like the ercorsist and my head wouldnt stop turning im sure if my neck would have let it it would have gone round and round.
Again i went back to doctors and told them again they said it was nerves and only after i kept complaining they sent me for xray.
no signs of a problem so they said.
but the whole thing just got worse and worse and i began looking for a answer i came across cervical dystonia and eventually got to see a nuro which my parents again payed for. by this time i begain to feel dizzy more and more.
Then in september time i was at my parnets having dinner i sudenly became very ill feeling got up and my legs went at bottom and everything went wierd and i begain havin some sort of siezure and i couldnt talk it was all comming out wrong like going over words but not getting them out right. my parents called ambulance and they rushed me in thinking i had stroke.
Spent 3 days in hospital and they just couldnt find out what had caused it.
by this time my wieght was plumeting i think i was down to 7 stone.
These siezures came alot in the next few months and the vertigo became really bad with vision disturbed.
I had countless tests and to date 4 mri scans all they could find was small cyst or break in membranes on t7 section of spinal cord which my neuro dosent think will cause anything above that area or siezure or dystonia. so tests have been put of to investigate it untill now.
Over the past 4 years i have spent 3 weeks in hospital i also had termination last year as i have felt so bad and didnt know what was wrong with me that i just couldnt bring a child into the world. This really upset me as i always wanted another baby.
They have always flattley refussed to accept it is anything to do with cipro as i have asked since start as before the kidney infection i was very fit attending gym atleast 4 times a week for over 8 years.
The last few months im now expericencing problems with my knees and my legs burn in calf area so bad it feels like there being boiled. and i feel like im standing on moving floor most of the time.
I can only descibe my other tendon problems like im a puppet and have strings all down my body and someone just keeps tightening them in waves, like im hooked up and i cant move properly.
I missed out the muscle twithching i have had this in first few months so bad after the last 2007 dose of cipro you could visiable see them moving around under skin and my fingers have moved around on own and no my small toes on right foot move outwards. The vertigo has been like someone smashing me over head with brick and i cant speak or move and it comes in waves my legs feel weak when this happens too, although since christmas this year i found ginko helped with this, although i have ongoing balance issues.
I probably left loads out but its about the gist of things.
Its been a journey of hell and i wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy.
My doctors dont want to know me and last time helped me back to my car with nurse and script for valium. why give that to someone with extreme vertigo i will never know and have complained but i think because of all the tests i have had done and no answers they must have me down as mad or something.
Its destroyed my life and sometimes i think about ending it and then i have a good day again and it saves me,
Through all this i have kept my job as hairdresser but only do my regular clients and when im really bad i try to do a few at home it a strange way it helps me to keep going as i think that would be last straw.
I dont go out anymore i dont drink and i watch everything i eat, i cant go to the gym or shopping or even taking the dog out on my own because of my balance im scared i wont get back. I dont know what to say about improvements i guess my dystonia has become more managable and i dont have botox anymore as im scared to put anymore poisen into my body.
the tirendness and anxiety and most of the muscle twithching has gone.
the smashing over the head feeling and bad vertigo is more or less gone.
I guess its just time i cant say anything has really helped and i have tried alot of things.
my heart goes out to you all.
I guess my reaction was slow but more neurological.
stay strong keep as active as you can and dont let it beat you
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Just like you, I was floxed, by Enoxacin and Levaquin. For the last 7 weeks, my life has been a living hell. It started out as a small pain in the right calf, and has worsened to include excruciating ligament, muscle, tendon, joint pains in more and more areas of my body. Not only that, neurological problems have increased, from simple pinched nerve feeling to pins/needles to tingling to popping to electrical burning. More recently, the problem has spread to my ears, eyes, and tongue. I have a constant hissing in both ears, sporadic ringing, pain in the jaws around the ears, pain deep in the ears, pressure changes like riding in an airplane, and sensitivity to loud noises. Black dots and wavy vertical lines have appeared in my vision, outlines/patterns of objects stay in my vision after I close my eyes, as well as having eyeball and eye socket pain. My tongue also burns easily. I'm easily startled, and easily get emotional and teary-eyed. Lately, pain has spread to my gallbladder and heart.
Antioxidants such Alpha Lipoic Acid and N-acetyl-L-cysteine have helped quite a bit, but the symptoms continue to degenerate and increase in variety and number. I've had to up the dosage several times.
The quinolone expert I've found is in the US, but may not be near you. But if you're like anything like me, you've gone to many doctors and have either been misdiagnosed numerous times, have been dismissed, or they simply don't know what to do. The expert I've found is a researcher as well as having treated numerous quinolone patients, but may not have seen some of the most severe cases, especially the degenerative or ones that keep worsening over weeks and months. The most common are tendon problems, which we all know are just a scratch of the surface.
Regardless, if you'd like to contact him for advice, consultation, or to see him in person, I can provide you with his contacts. I cannot post it here because he will simply get bombarded.
If you're interested, just send me a Facebook message and let me know your story. I can provide you with his email.
Also, if you're a member on other forums or groups, please feel free to repost my message. The more varied cases this expert sees, (especially the multi-symptom and degenerative ones) the more attention we will gain in the quinolone research community.
God bless,
-Boyang
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Gail
I went to the doctor with an exacerbation in February and was prescribed 60mg of prednisone a day, and Avelox 400mg for 10 days - I started having major issues within a couple days of starting the Avelox and even called the Pulmo's office begging to be seen 3 times because I KNEW this was not my normal reaction to prednisone. She didn't have an opening, after calling my PCP's office begging my PCP's office to give me an appointment, they told me to go to the hospital. I have been hospitalized twice since then - and they have run every test that could be run - still have the breathing issues, and have been miserable with multiple symptoms ever since with no explanation.
In the months that have followed, I have been treated by 9 different doctors the only one who knew I had been given the Avelox, let alone the combination, was the original pulmo. I had no idea Avelox had these effects so I had never mentioned it to any of them as we all thought we were only dealing with COPD issues and the complications of COPD.
My own symptoms - several of these can be attributed to COPD and prednisone - many cannot - Short of breath, tightness in the chest, swelling of the face, and eyes, numbness in legs and face, tingling, pain, and weakness of the neck, arms, hands, legs, hip joint pain, chest pain; fainting; fever, chills, irregular heartbeat, confusion, depression, severe muscle weakness; sore throat; pounding in the chest; red cheeks; severe persistent dizziness; extreme constant fatigue, lethargic and general all over feeling of weakness; at times blurred vision; yellowing of the whites of my eyes. At times a feeling like my brain and body aren’t connected, like I am in a daze. Severe lower back pain when standing, swelling of legs and feet.
I haven't been able to return to work...I fear my career is over, who wants a broken cop?
I continue on the quest for a doctor who can help me.
Gail
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Rebecca Hallmark
My "story" is well over 100 pages long :) Here it is in a nutshell -
I was the picture of a healthy and active 30 year old - 3 kids, great marriage and had a job. Life was great. This all changed in March 2007.
I was hospitalized after vomiting for 5 days and unable to keep any liquids down. 4 days into my hospital stay, the doctors could not figure out why I was ill. An x-ray revealed possibly a uti. I was given an IV of Cipro (500mg). Soon enough, I could eat, yet I could not bare weight on my legs. We thought perhaps I was just too weak.
I was sent home within 12 hours with a rx for 500 mg of Cipro. I never questioned taking it. I still assumed I was too weak to walk, I was unable to get to the counter at the pharmacy and collapsed. My husband helped me back to the car.
The following day we found out it wasn’t a “suspected” uti but Campylobacter food poisoning and I was to continue taking my Cipro. Yet, my neurological symptoms increased. I had crawling sensations in my legs and feet, they were extremely cold & felt like electrical zapping in them. Plus, I could not sleep. I did a little bit of researching and read up on Guillain Barre Syndrome as it is related to Campylobacter. We insisted on seeing my doctor. She immediately referred me to a neurologist who concluded it was an atypical hit of Guillain Barre and I was treated for it.
Unfortunately, 2 months later, I was hit by another flare that was far worse that the initial symptoms. I was struggling with my legs and I continued to move myself, but my upper arms became very weak…soon my neck flopped, speech slurred & I struggled to breath. I was tingling from head to toe. This all happened within minutes. We immediately went to an ER where a doc said it was a panic attack. Hmmm…I was fine mentally when it happened but sure I was panicked at this point ! I never experienced anything like this in my life!
We saw numerous doctors over the following year or so. In all 13 providers, not including several during hospital visits. Not one doc could tell me what was happening but most of the traditional neurological doctors told me this was psychosomatic. Yes, I did see neuropsych’s! My symptoms seemed like the were at there worst at about 6 months into my ordeal - muscle weakness, brain fog, fatigue, vomiting (weak digestion) to name a few. I never struggled with pain, and feel terribly for those who do.
At one point I had floaters - severely - almost like watery bubbles floating in my vision. It was then that I did some serious research on Cipro and found this is a common symptoms. I couldn’t believe it!
We did talk to our regular provider about this and she said she thought that the Cipro could have been an issue but passed me onto the neurologist! No, she wouldn’t take the fault!
Someone once made the comment, “Well, if they hadn’t put you on Cipro, you would have died from the severity of your food poisoning!”…hmmmm…dying after 30 wonderful years?? Or struggling with muscle weakness daily for possibly the rest of my life - which feels like hell at times….did we make the right choice?!
I have lost my job, many relationships as people don’t understand, and am considered disabled. It really has taken a toll on my family.
The most improvement has been help with naturopaths and environmental doctors. I have two great recommendations for anyone in WA State. But to be honest I have become my own best doctor. I am constantly experimenting with vitamins, supplements, lifestyle, and dietary changes. I have discovered foods and chemicals that flare up my symptoms and try to avoid them.
3 doctors, including a neuropsychiatrist have diagnosed this as Myasthenia Gravis although I am sero-negative. I do have 2 docs who are 100% sure the Cipro did this to me. The only thing I test positive for has been low potassium and anemia.
It has now been over 4 years since this began I like to think I am getting better, perhaps I‘m use to it? More in tune to my body? My flare ups cycle but my leg weakness is a daily occurrence. The tingling has dissipated except during PMS. I am constantly fatigued. I rarely have problems with my neck weakness & my speech slurring. I can’t say if it’s just time, but I’m pretty sure it’s the supplements I am on. I keep a detailed journal. I have learned a lot about my body through it - what helps & what triggers me symptoms.
This picture is during a flare. It literally sucks the life out of my face. I didn’t understand what my family meant when they said this until I saw this photo!
Thanks for doing this FB!
Rebecca Hallmark
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My name is Elizabeth Hamill. I was an active healthy mother of 3 who exercised regularly. Then I took 4 pills of Ciprofloxacin in Feb. of 2007 for sinusitis. I had a severe reaction. I had pressure in my head, couldn’t walk without holding onto something, was disoriented, and extremely fatigued but couldn’t sleep.
Once you stop taking the medication that made you sick you’ll be fine as long as you don’t take it again – right? That was what I thought. I was wrong.
I felt better after I stopped taking the Cipro but then I began having chills during the night so bad that I couldn’t get warm. I went skiing and had less endurance even though I’d been several times. I developed sore knees and quit jogging. I was losing pilates holds I’d done for years. As time went on the weakness got worse and new symptoms developed. I had strange burnt orange colored urine which I later learned is a sign of rhabdomyolisis and would explain why I was losing muscular strength. I developed right foot drop, right leg weakness, and my eyes became highly sensitive to sunlight. The next winter I could barely ski 3 hours before my legs would shake so badly I had to stop. My skin aged seemingly overnight and I developed IBS and other digestive track issues. I had trouble holding a glass or utensils, had muscle twitches, difficulty sleeping, vertigo, extreme temperature sensitivity, tinnitus, blurred vision, memory loss, overwhelming fatigue, difficulty speaking, random shooting pains, cramping/muscle spasms in my legs, and sensations of chills or vibrations running up and down my legs. It was all I could do to get through a day at work. The cold caused my legs to stiffen up and I developed tremors that would come and go and I had no idea why.
Two years after the Cipro I went to a neurosurgeon thinking I had a back problem. Next came a neurologist. All my tests came back normal or negative; MRI’s, blood work, spinal tap, emg, etc. I was told when I got worse they could diagnose me but I had a degenerative neurological disorder. I was desperate so I tried acupuncture and regained some muscular strength. But the fatigue and leg cramps got worse and I had anxiety and mild depression. But then who wouldn’t? I went to an orthopedic next for my right hip. He took x rays and told me to see a neurologist. So I saw a specialist in multiple sclerosis who told me that I did not have MS but a neurological disorder and gave me names of other neurologists to see.
I turned a corner when two and a half years out my acupuncturist suggested I take vitamin B12 and calcium with magnesium. Within a couple of days I felt considerably better. Previously I had asked doctors if I could be nutritionally deficient. The response was always “no” even though my primary diagnosed me as severely vitamin D deficient. Over the next few months I gradually added other nutritional supplements and my symptoms improved. I then went to a hip specialist who ordered an MRI of the hip and discovered a labral tear. The tear occurred during a non weight bearing movement without any traumatic event. Shortly after this a friend of mine ripped a calf muscle doing mild activity and had nervous system damage 6 months after taking Avelox. That was when I discovered the cause of my health problems. It was 3 years since I’d taken Cipro.
Today a year out from hip surgery, I have a limp and arthritis in the hip. My ortho recently told me he wants me to see a neurologist to get retested for MS because he doesn’t like my gait. I still can’t even walk fast from the nerve damage but I have improved from my worst. I have occasional chills/vibrations in the nerves of the legs but they are milder. I have random nerve pains that come and go, joint pain/popping, and I remain very sensitive to cold. I also still have the tremors and balance problems which come and go. I have recovered from the brain fog, memory loss, anxiety, speech problems, tinnitus, depression and my fine motor skills have returned. I am still trying to regain muscular strength and flexibility. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about what I’ve been through. I was always a glass is half full person so I hope that I will continue to improve. On my more realistic days I know that this is my life now – permanently physically damaged from a medication that was supposed to be safe.
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Gregory King
Hi I took avelox
for a sinus infection in may and things have been hell ever since. I was prescribed 400mg for 10 days and they had to take me off after 5 days because I was having burning sensations in my arms. Then a couple of days later my knees stiffened up and know it's been 2 months of stiff legs it's brutal. Plus I had bouts of Panic and Anxiety attacks. Is there something to deal with this?.. will this go away?
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The road to recovery.
I was first floxed in December of 2010 from a 6 day cocktail of flagyl and cipro. I had symptoms of food poisoning. I took two 500mg cipro a day and 3 flagyl a day for 6 days until I started feeling worse and having a pain in my left flank, rib area. I went to the ER and was told to stop the medication because my infection it was treating was gone. I was prescribed a 10 day course.
I Started feeling better the next day and felt fine about 4 days later.
In mid January I got a sinus infection, didn’t have any money to go to the doctor and could not afford to miss work again. I decided to take the cipro again as I had taken cipro for sinus infections before with no problem and had concluded that the pain I got in my flank previously was caused by the cocktail of cipro and flagyl together. I had 8 pills remaining, and decided to take one a day instead of two. On the 5th or 6th day I went to the ER in the middle of the night sick as I have ever been. I was having severe heart palpitations, tachycardia, high blood pressure, parastesia, racing thoughts, anxiety, diarrhea, throwing up, anorexia, suicidal thoughts, nightmares, lower back and flank pain, etc. They diagnosed me with low potassium and high calcium and despite me bringing the meds I was taking with me to the ER, they did not correlate it with the cipro. 8 visits to my doctor and 3 visits to the ER and no answers, all tests were normal except for low potassium once and high calcium once.
After about three weeks I found out about FQ toxicity. Another couple weeks of tests to rule out other possibilities (cancer, MS, ALS, lyme, diabetis, etc.)and I was convinced I was poisoned by cipro. Since then I have focused on healing.
Its now 4 and ½ months out from the second floxing and I am feeling much, much better.
I had mostly CNS symptoms the first 6 weeks (the worst was the suicidal thoughts and feeling's of hopelessness), and then I got moderate tendonitis and other connective tissue related pains after that. The symptoms have cycled from the start. I felt good for one day the first two weeks, then 5 days the next two weeks, etc. My last cycle of symptoms was this weekend and was very mild and not debilitating, lasting only three days. It consisted of mild parastesia, some flank pain and a little anxiety and cold feeling in the mornings, loss of appetite, and slow digestion. I had been feeling very good for an entire 2 months before this, only having very mild tendonitis and pains that last only seconds. When I am feeling good I am 98% normal, and my cycles are improving significantly.
Things that may have helped me-- Drinking a lot of water, Eating a lot of broccoli, carrots and eggs, salads, apple cider vinegar, Muscle Milk, Fish, Vit.C, magnesium citrate, calcium citrate, Vit.D, Fish oil, Probiotics, Epsom salt baths, meditation, low impact exercise (bicycling), sunlight, a good hobby (gardening), staying active.
Almost forgot, I stay away from the doctors, and I don’t do anything stressful to my body anymore, like CT scans, x-rays, blood tests, etc. I think those things were slowing my recovery.
I can remember many times looking back at the weeks and seriously wondering If I was getting better, I can remember thinking it was hopeless many times. It was easy to do considering I had never been sick longer than a few days at a time in my entire life. But now I know it is never hopeless.
The only constant in existence is CHANGE, nothing stays the same for long. Tomorrow will be different, something will change, it may be your mind, your body , the pain; something is going change and it will be different and it will be BETTER as you learn to deal with the changes. Hang in there everyone, you going make it threw this!
Brandon-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve's Story:
The first time I took levaquin I started to have foot pain went to the foot doctor he said I have plantar fasciatus continue to go a couple weeks severe foot pain in severe cramps in my legs
1 day I saw on tv a commercial for a law suit on levaquin achilles tendon rupture. So I ask the foot doctor if that could have any thing to do with this.he said absolutely not
and he told me levaquin is absolutely safe 08 or 9 months later I started to feel better cannot run no more back to the gym I'm starting to feel good 3 years later got sick went to the doctor. The doctor is the pescription for levaquin so I took it the biggest mistake of my life. This time I had pain from my head to my toes when I woke up in the morning. I had to get on my hands and knees craw I felt like I was 100 years old 9 months later I. Can walk Not far Trying to go back to the gym I still have pain. Everyday's a battle.
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Lori Kimbro McCandlish
www.floxedbylevaquin.com Levaquin
Sept 9, 2010:
On July 17, 2010, I entered Alice's rabbit hole~ Well, pushed is more like it. I am still falling down that hole, and don't feel I have hit bottom yet. I have entered a world I don't recognize. Even my own body is different. Nothing is the same, I have to learn about the all new, not necessarily better, me. My body no longer reacts to things the same way. I am losing hair, my body has gained, lost, gained, and then lost weight again from the tailspin it is in now. I sometimes walk as if I am drunk. My body protests with weakness and pain if I do even the slightest activity. This is not me! I used to work out daily, I painted the whole inside of my house by myself. I used to walk my dogs, work in my garden beds! What do you mean my body is exhausted just by getting dressed every day?!? What happened!?! Snap out of it!! LEVAQUIN happened! Just like when Alice drank from that ever famous bottle that said "drink me", and changed her body and her surroundings, that is how I feel Levaquin has affected me. I am now trapped in this unfamiliar world, that I now have to make familiar.
On July 17, 2010, I woke with a case of food poisoning which was relentless. My husband took me to an immediate care emergency clinic, where I was given 3 bags of IV fluids because I was so dehydrated. Since my WBC count was extremely high, the physician decided I also needed an IV antibiotic, "out of precaution". I was given the medication Levaquin through the IV and had an immediate adverse reaction. I began experiencing extreme pain, in my hips, back, and head. By the time it was over, I was extremely weak, and felt as if I was moving through thick mud or concrete. I was then given predinosone through the IV to help counteract the reaction from Levaquin, but was made worse. For eight days, I felt as if acid was coursing through my body.
Over the past two months, my symptoms have increased. I have been having severe joint pain in every joint, muscle weakness and neuropathic pain in my feet. After multiple trips to the neurologist, he saw I was getting worse, instead of better. He referred me to a Rheumatologist to help rule out other disorders. I have been given a cervical MRI, multiple blood tests, nerve conduction/EMG test, full body scan. All came back negative, except for one. The nerve conduction test showed that I am having demyelinization of the peripheral nerves in my body.
Sept 14, 2010:
One of the many side effects of Levaquin is, yes, uncontrollable crying. For weeks, I would not even take phone calls, because I literally could not control the tears. It is hard to explain, and probably only those who have experienced it can even begin to understand. My family would sometimes resort to laughter, because they did not know any other way to respond. I did not fault them, because if I had not been crying, I would have been laughing too. It was ridiculous the amount of tears being shed. I think I could have filled Alice’s hallway, plus some. Well, now I no longer have the uncontrolled crying, but I still have frequent tears. Usually, they are brought on by the intense burning pain. However, sometimes it is out of pure frustration. Frustration, that I can’t do everyday things. Frustration, that my hair is coming out in clumps every time I wash it. Frustration, that doctors really don’t know how to help those with such an adverse reaction from Levaquin! Frustration of how are we going to get through this??
Oct 11, 2010:
I have been poked and prodded by 5 different doctors, been given every blood test there is under the sun, MRIs, nerve conduction tests, EMGs, and full body scans. All of this was done just to conclude I have no other underlying conditions. All test came back normal except one blood test indicating I had inflammation in my body (duh, kind of new that) and the nerve conduction/EMG test. My muscles no longer respond normally and the peroneal nerve in my right leg has been damaged. The final verdict- I have a “drug-induced neuromuscular disorder”.
Dec 13, 2010:
(My neurologist) proceeded to tell me that I did indeed have both large and small fiber neuropathy with sensory, motor, and autonomic involvement. What does that mean? My peripheral nervous system is now a mess. The good news- the large fiber nerves, those with myelin, usually repair themselves. To what degree is unknown until it happens. The large fiber nerves control the skeletal muscles. I already see improvements in my right foot where my large fiber nerve (peroneal nerve) is damaged. I can move my toes more and also have increased movement in my ankle. I can heel walk now. Not that heel walking is a very useful thing. I don’t exactly go around walking on my heels, but it does show improvement. My cane has also not been used now for the past few weeks.
The bad news- small fiber neuropathy usually does not improve, and that is what is responsible for all of the burning pain I have in my arms and legs. I asked him about my other symptoms- numbness in my feet and hands, the constant feeling of a low voltage current running through my body, freezing feeling of hands and feet. Yep, all related to small nerve neuropathy. More bad news, small fiber nerves also control cardiac and smooth muscle (autonomic function). More questions- Is that what is causing everything just feel “slow” in my body? Is it causing the digestion problems, the no sweating, and the changes in my blood pressure, resting heart rate, and temperature control? Yes, all small fiber. Oh that is not good! But, you know I felt relieved in a way. It was all validation for what is going on...He wants to know- Did Levaquin cause one big explosion in my body and I am left dealing with the aftermath, or did it cause an explosion that has now started a progressive disorder, or one that will not allow improvement? That is a question only time may tell.
My initial symptoms of my adverse reaction from Levaquin (symptoms vary person to person):
extreme fatigue, muscle weakness/fatigue, most significant in upper body; muscle pain, joint pain (joints popping and grinding); Numbness in hands, fingers, feet, and toes; A burning feeling in arms, legs (like being burned by acid from the inside-out); Muscle twitches, spasms, cramps; Myoclonic jerks; Tremendous insomnia; extreme fluctuations in weight; inability to concentrate or stay focused (initially could not read, or follow TV programs, it has improved some); emotional lability; heart racing and palpitation; hypersensitivity to sounds, light; nausea; shortness of breath, especially when really tired, difficulty producing a voice; numbness/tingling in face/lip; Raynaud's syndrome; Difficulty walking long distances, spasticity increases in leg muscles; Decreased balance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic Toxicity (Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, Floxin)Jennifer's Story
, allergist, immunologist, nephrologist, opthamologist) able to find any pathological reason for my symptoms. The gradual deterioration with declining overall strength and increasing pain caused panic attacks, as I knew something was very, very wrong:left tennis elbow, weakness in knees with buckling when walking, overall fatigue (didn't want to move), significant lower body sudden weakness, joint pain overall, right quad tear, right shoulder impingement, right tennis elbow, floaters, vision changes, high blood pressure, heart palpatations, rapid heart beat/pulse, intermitent insomnia, nerve pain, muscle tightness, overall stiffness, broken blood vessels throughout body, raynauds syndrome in toes and fingers, coldness overall, poor circulation, decreased sweating, mild intermittent dry mouth/eyes, and jaw pain.
During this journey, I have seen overall worsening of symptoms with days when I could not stay at work. There is slow "2 step forward, 1 step back" progress, which, gratefully, continues. I have longer periods of wellness with shorter periods of exacerbations.
I am very proud to say at this point, I can live my life, doing what I need to do. I can stand and wash the dishes with no elbow pain or leg spasms. I can go food shopping and not have to worry about how long I'll be waiting at the deli counter, because soon i'll need to sit down. I can stand up and teach a lesson for 30 minutes. i can stir sauce in a pot and not have wrist and elbow nerve pain. I can sleep through the night. I even exercise with low resistance with about 3-4 days to recover. I have ridden my motorcycle with time to recover after each short expedition as well. I am at a point where I tend to do too much, and pay the price, as I want to do so many things I love...
I will not state the fears which you undoubtedly have yourself. I will not live as a victim of this poisoning. I choose to be a survivor of fluoroquinolone toxicity.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had taken cipro many times before. It is only now that I realize each time I had a minor toxic reaction. Most recently, I took Cipro in April and June 2010 for a suspected sinus infection that was so "persistent" I had actually scheduled surgery for it. Turns out, it was a gluten allergy that caused severe gastric reflux which was responsible for all the stuffy, swollen, severe congestion. Therefore I took last resort medication (after taking 2 rounds of z-pak) when no bacterial infection may have ever even been in existence. At the time I was a very active, strong, toned dancer/yoga weight lifter. I was an avid motorcyclist. I consider myself lucky to have been so strong when i set upon this path.The symptoms, you will recognize. The slow persistent onset, peaking around month 10 from the first round of drugs, (I hope it was the peak...) progressed as follows below, with no doctor (neurologist, cardiologist, rheumatologist, allergist, immunologist, nephrologist, opthamologist) able to find any pathological reason for my symptoms. The gradual deterioration with declining overall strength and increasing pain caused panic attacks, as I knew something was very, very wrong:
left tennis elbow, weakness in knees with buckling when walking, overall fatigue (didn't want to move), significant lower body sudden weakness, joint pain overall, right quad tear, right shoulder impingement, right tennis elbow, floaters, vision changes, high blood pressure, heart palpatations, rapid heart beat/pulse, intermitent insomnia, nerve pain, muscle tightness, overall stiffness, broken blood vessels throughout body, raynauds syndrome in toes and fingers, coldness overall, poor circulation, decreased sweating, mild intermittent dry mouth/eyes, and jaw pain.
During this journey, I have seen overall worsening of symptoms with days when I could not stay at work. There is slow "2 step forward, 1 step back" progress, which, gratefully, continues. I have longer periods of wellness with shorter periods of exacerbations.
I am very proud to say at this point, I can live my life, doing what I need to do. I can stand and wash the dishes with no elbow pain or leg spasms. I can go food shopping and not have to worry about how long I'll be waiting at the deli counter, because soon i'll need to sit down. I can stand up and teach a lesson for 30 minutes. i can stir sauce in a pot and not have wrist and elbow nerve pain. I can sleep through the night. I even exercise with low resistance with about 3-4 days to recover. I have ridden my motorcycle with time to recover after each short expedition as well. I am at a point where I tend to do too much, and pay the price, as I want to do so many things I love...
I will not state the fears which you undoubtedly have yourself. I will not live as a victim of this poisoning. I choose to be a survivor of fluoroquinolone toxicity.
My Cipro Story-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AVELOX
June 17, 2011
My name is Gordon Thatcher, I am a 75 year old male in Houston, Texas. I have taken Cipro several times in the past, I believe it was around 2004 but I’m not sure of the dates. Around that time I developed pains in my wrists and thumbs and had “brain zaps”, those annoying electrical shocks to the brain just as I was falling asleep, and some pain in my hips. I had no clue as to what caused these pains until I again took Cipro (500 MG twice a day) in late July 2009. After taking it for about 5 days I awoke one night with severe pain in the bottoms of my heels and Achilles tendons up through my calves and the pain in my wrists and thumbs became very severe and ran up my arms through my biceps. I also had a feeling of pressure in my head and ringing in my ears (tinnitus) and pains in my tongue and teeth which didn’t last very long but would come and go. After looking up side effects of Cipro on the web I knew what the problem was. I talked with my Dr. about it and he assured me Cipro wouldn’t do that and sent me to a rheumatologist who didn’t find any problems, of course. Over the next few months the pains worsened in the Achilles tendons and calves, quadriceps, knees, hamstrings, wrists, arms and shoulders as well as the head pressure and tinnitus. At about 8 months out the pains began to subside and I was able to live a normal life. I still have all of the same pains but to a much lesser degree. Last week I developed teeth pain in my left jaw, sometimes upper teeth, sometimes lower. I went to the dentist and he can’t find any problems. I hope this goes away soon. All in all I am doing well and not restricted in my activities.
Gordon
Hello my name is Sue Madison and here is the link to my story written by the legal correspondant for the website, lawyersandsettlements.com
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.c om/articles/ avelox-antibiotic-tendon-ru pture/ interview-avelox-side-effec ts-16555.html?ref=staf
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I had taken cipro many times before. It is only now that I realize each time I had a minor toxic reaction. Most recently, I took Cipro in April and June 2010 for a suspected sinus infection that was so "persistent" I had actually scheduled surgery for it. Turns out, it was a gluten allergy that caused severe gastric reflux which was responsible for all the stuffy, swollen, severe congestion. Therefore I took last resort medication (after taking 2 rounds of z-pak) when no bacterial infection may have ever even been in existence. At the time I was a very active, strong, toned dancer/yoga weight lifter. I was an avid motorcyclist. I consider myself lucky to have been so strong when i set upon this path.
The symptoms, you will recognize. The slow persistent onset, peaking around month 10 from the first round of drugs, (I hope it was the peak...) progressed as follows below, with no doctor (neurologist, cardiologist, rheumatologist, allergist, immunologist, nephrologist, opthamologist) able to find any pathological reason for my symptoms. The gradual deterioration with declining overall strength and increasing pain caused panic attacks, as I knew something was very, very wrong:
left tennis elbow, weakness in knees with buckling when walking, overall fatigue (didn't want to move), significant lower body sudden weakness, joint pain overall, right quad tear, right shoulder impingement, right tennis elbow, floaters, vision changes, high blood pressure, heart palpatations, rapid heart beat/pulse, intermitent insomnia, nerve pain, muscle tightness, overall stiffness, broken blood vessels throughout body, raynauds syndrome in toes and fingers, coldness overall, poor circulation, decreased sweating, mild intermittent dry mouth/eyes, and jaw pain.
During this journey, I have seen overall worsening of symptoms with days when I could not stay at work. There is slow "2 step forward, 1 step back" progress, which, gratefully, continues. I have longer periods of wellness with shorter periods of exacerbations.
I am very proud to say at this point, I can live my life, doing what I need to do. I can stand and wash the dishes with no elbow pain or leg spasms. I can go food shopping and not have to worry about how long I'll be waiting at the deli counter, because soon i'll need to sit down. I can stand up and teach a lesson for 30 minutes. i can stir sauce in a pot and not have wrist and elbow nerve pain. I can sleep through the night. I even exercise with low resistance with about 3-4 days to recover. I have ridden my motorcycle with time to recover after each short expedition as well. I am at a point where I tend to do too much, and pay the price, as I want to do so many things I love...
I will not state the fears which you undoubtedly have yourself. I will not live as a victim of this poisoning. I choose to be a survivor of fluoroquinolone toxicity.
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ffi's Story:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I used to be naive. I used to think that if you had an illness you went to the doctor, they told you what was wrong with you, and they fixed it. Unless they couldn't fix it, and then they told you what was wrong with you and how long you had to live. It's rather embarrassing that I was this naive up until being poisoned by Levaquin. I was never very healthy, a pack of camel lights, crappy food, and too much beer will do that to you. I constantly had some sort of upper respiratory "infection". To my doctor's credit, he said, cut down on the smokes, Buffi. In the meantime, here, take some Levaquin since nothing else seems to work for you. He should have just kicked me to the curb, said wise the hell up and start treating your body better, no antibiotic is going to save you. But that would be real medicine. Take some Vitamins, smoke organic tobacco without the thousands of poisons, eat organic, etc. But that pharmaceutical rep that went into his office before me had on a nice suit, a convincing smile, and some free packs of Levaquin I'm sure.
I'm not blaming this all on my doctor. I was naive only to a point, I knew what I was doing was wrong. But this was 2007, no black box warnings, hardly any of the side effects they list now. The only thing I feared was that I would become resistant to antibiotics and if something really went wrong, well, I guess the doctor tells me how long I have to live. We all have to die sometime, right?
I'd probably been prescribed Levaquin 10 times over the course of a few years before I noticed something was very wrong. One day at work I found that if I turned my head the room would spin. I couldn't drive myself home from work. This dizziness lasted a week and then the twitching started. I thought I had Parkinsons or something, I mean, if Alex Keaton got it, why couldn't I? A few days later I couldn't walk a straight line, my knees started to give out. Work was hell. It was embarrassing and awful. And I couldn't THINK. Then my skin hurt to touch, like it was bruised but worse. And I could barely walk without holding onto walls. I went to a neurologist. He said I probably had MS, but don't worry, people live "perfectly normal lives with MS". I believed him!! Then I went to the Cleveland Clinic- "MS division", saw the people suffering from the disease, almost shit my pants in fear.
Eventually I couldn't work anymore and had to go on short term disability. I had blood tests, MRI, Spinal Tap, etc. etc. etc., well, you guys know. And nothing. My last visit to the neurologist he said I seemed depressed and prescribed me some other poison to make me feel better, like this was the cause of my problem. Hey, doc, if you couldn't walk, I think you'd be a bit depressed yourself, assuming you are human, which I SHOULD NOT ASSUME. I did mention that I suspected it could've been the Levaquin causing this, I'd found one website where so many people were reporting my same symptoms. The Neurologist rolled his eyes. "You can find a website for anything."
By the way, the anti-depressant gave me the first migraine I'd ever had in my life, and I stopped taking it.
Eventually, after a few months most of the pain went away, slowly but surely. I got my life back. A few spasms every now and then, a zap, a zing, a knee gives out every once in a while, my left hand goes numb about once a month, no big deal, this I can live with. It's all in my head anyway, right.
Still, I suspected the Levaquin and told my doctor I wouldn't take it anymore. He prescribed it to me anyway one time and I just stuck it on a shelf, I didn't want to touch the stuff, I had a gut feeling. It was almost exactly a year later when my throat started to hurt and, damnit, I was getting on a plane for vacation the next day. No time to see the doc. Grabbed the Levaquin off the shelf, shuddered a bit, I'm such an idiot, and popped one in my mouth. The next day my whole left arm was numb and I could barely move my hand. So dumb, still so so confused. But eventually, a few hours later, LIGHTBULB, I googled Levaquin again. BLACK BOX WARNING!!! All of these side effects I'd experienced listed on hundreds of websites. Luckily, after about a week, the effects wore off.
I've grown a lot since then, I've opened my eyes, I know that black and white are only horrible shades of gray. I only eat organic food, antibiotic hormone free range meats. I roll my own all natural organic tobacco cigarettes and smoke about 5 a day (sidenote: it's not the tobacco that's so addictive and harmful, it's all of the fucking chemicals they add).
But then, about two months ago I got a little flyer from Omaha Steaks, they made me an offer I couldn't (duh, SHOULD"VE) refuse. I bought a LOT of meat. Yummy (not really, not as good as what I was used to) filets and sirloin. I started to get really depressed, crying for no reason. Then my knees started giving out, more and more often. And here I am AGAIN. I emailed Omaha Steaks customer service after someone on this board suggested it could've been something I ate. Yes, they buy from distributors that use hormones and antibiotics but "the FDA says they are completely safe" so that CANT BE IT, right? Assholes. Then did some more research and surprise surprise, fluoroquinolones are one of the most COMMONLY USED antibiotics in livestock feed.
With all that I know, with all that I've learned about the world around me, I'm ashamed that I was so foolish yet again. And as I sit here in my bed, in pain, finding it hard to type because my hands hurt, I want somebody to pay for THIS, for all of this suffering. Not just mine, not just yours, there is so much worse that the evil bastards of this world inflict upon us slaves.
I want to sue the FDA. Can't we get a bunch of different groups, all hurt by the FDA and what they condone (make their living from), in so many different forms, and sue? It's not enough just to raise awareness. Yes, that's good, let's raise awareness. But the dumbing down of America is too rampant. Aspartame, MSG, transfat, fluoride, etc...... THEY DON"T CARE until it's TOO LATE. Let's make someone pay! Even if it's just to admit that they are worth less than the pooh on the bottom of our shoe. Let's make them ADMIT THA
CIPRO
Lynn's Flox Story:
At the of beginning of March, My daughter had contacted 5 th disease, I began displaying symptoms and had swollen lymph nodes. My doctor put me on Arithromycin. The whole month was nothing but bowel issues that led to painful swollen pain where I was unable to have a bowel movement. The doctor had then prescribed Ciprofloxin 500 mg. I took this pill for 2 days. 4 pills total. After the 4th pill I awoke at about midnight shaking, tremors, heart pounding, chest tightness, tingling arms and legs and an extreme sense of doom. My husband took me to the ER with our kids and I kept breathing deep as to not pass out or die (as I thought). He dropped me off at the front door as I was losing feeling in my hands and mouth. I ran in and had the pills in hand and told them I needed assistance. They gave me a shot for a panic attack and sent me home even though my heart was still pounding and my skin was still sore and shaking.. Something was extremely wrong.
The next couple of days/weeks, I was in the ER 7 times with Palpitation’s, burning skin, tremors, metallic taste in mouth, EXTREME dry eyes and mouth/skin,weakness, heightened senses, felt like everything I was seeing and doing was just overload. I could not follow a movie or a conversation. I would break down while shopping because the lights and people would overwhelm me. Trying to pick out food was a joke. I would come home from shopping crying and hyperventilating. This was not me. I am normally very laid back and this all seemed to stem from this antibiotic. My kids became extremely overwhelming to me as there constant need for their mommy was just more than I can take. I can tell you that this was the worst part of this whole experience is when a mom realizes she is no longer sane/strong enough to handle her kids. I nearly dropped my then 6 mo old down the stairs due to extreme muscle weakness in my arms and could not bend over to pick her up due to my extreme back pain.
I wanted to die and thought of ways to end it. Not having the guts to do it myself, I would think of doing stupid things in the hope it would lead to death like running in front of a car. I became extremely paranoid and if our family pet would look at me I would think it could sense my time was running slim and I was going to die. I always felt like something was out to get me and had so much energy from my adrenaline rushes that I just wanted to pull my hair out. I ran away in the woods several times and just wanted to stay there to die. I hated my family seeing me this way and no one knowing what was happening. I was obsessed with the computer after the 7th unsuccessful ER visit that I started seeing if I was alone with this reaction. To my surprise, MANY were experiencing almost the same textbook reaction. I was angry but relieved that I did not probably have a new deadly disease. How was anyone going to help me if these people had no help? I had bouts of extreme anxiety followed hours later by crying, depressive episodes. Everything seemed hopeless. Life itself seemed pointless. The thoughts that went through my mind were so scary and disturbing but none the less, they stayed for a long time. I worried about all diseases, could not read the paper or watch the news as any sad story would set me into deeper depression and anxiety.
I had vertigo an horrible muscle aches, A pain in my upper abdomen almost like butterflies but worse.. just a spinning nauseous feeling kind of like I was being chased and running feeling. The ER kept saying it was IBS and dismissed it. I suffered for months with severe diarrhea which had a horrible deadly smell even though I barely ate. I also had this horrible phlegmy cough develop and had black specks coming out of my stools and my phlegm. My urine smelled like ammonium. I had a horrible pressure behind my left side of my neck and cranium. I startled very easily from loud noises and had horrible hallucinations. Some of my constant and worse symptoms i had were:
Panic/Anxiety
Deep depression
Weight loss/ stomach problems
Horrible vision changes
tremors
depersonalization
painful skin- burning skin
chest tightness
back pain
dry skin, eyes, mouth
fatigue
headaches
tendon swelling
insomnia
vibrations in body
muscle jerks
Phlegm cough
Neck swelling
Furry tongue
Breathlessness
Breakouts
Intolerance to many meds previously taken with no problems
Tingling in all weird spots on body
Easy bruising
Ext Naseau
Anorexia/weight loss ( lost 50 lbs in 2 mo)
Feeling faint/dizzy all the time
Heavy legs
Halo’s/ squiggles in my vision- gotten so much better. Was really bad the whole time
Ear pressure
Loss of movement in Toes
Loss of feeling in scalp
Leg giving out while walking
Fingers swelling in middle of night where could not get rings off/cut off circulation
Extreme sensitive skin ( blood pressure machine left line for an hour on my skin.. thought was going to die while it was closing on my skin)
Constant urination
Shaking hands for hours after weekwacking
Things have gotten better since about 12 month out where I am finally able to care for myself and my children.. I still cannot believe the long term/possible permanent effects this drug has on the body. I lost a year of my life in which I do not remember but feel fortunate to at least be able to take care of what needs to be done now. I have spent 10,000 dollars out of pocket in natural healing to get better even though I have top notch insurance because no one in the medical community knows how to handle this reaction. The reaction from this drug has scared the hell out of me and my family from ANY medications. The entire year has been about me and my family not being certain I was going to survive and ever be able to function again. I am very thankful that I am functioning. I find it hard to believe that this line of antibiotics is still being overly prescribed by doctors knowing the effects this line of antibiotics can cause on the body for YEARS> Then to top it off, scared and alone, The medical community dismisses you because they are not trained to handle the reaction.
I am very glad that an organization has been established to research these drugs and the effects on the body. Now we have hope and a way to begin weeding out who should receive this antibiotic and who should not. I hope to help in any way I can. I spread the word on the dangers of these drugs everyday!
Thanks
Lynn Kurdziel
Swollen on back of knees
Things have otten better to where i am able to
Sore temples
Memory loss
Night sweats
Arms would fall asleep sporadically like I was resting them on something.
Deja vou
Yawning a lot
Urine leakage
Hand pain
Blurry vision
Nightmares
All of these symptoms have gone but were very scary!!.
I began seeing a natural doctor who practices muscle testing and confirmed that my adrenals were hit. From what I believe, it damages your sympathetic nervous system which controls your sensory receptors. Everything was amplified almost like I was taking in too much info all day long. She worked on adrenal support to keep my adrenals up which helped a lot and I believe got me on recovery from the anxiety/ palpitations. She also has me on iodine to support my thyroid and I have always been on magnesium and vit d which were low after the floxing. Every time I go off these, my levels plummit . We are now working on my stomach issues which are so much better. My stomach actually feels better than before this happens and most days my mind feels better than before this happened. It is going on 15 mo and overall I feel fantastic.. Quite a miracle from where I was.. This is to give hope to everyone effected by these drugs that there is hope.. Things may be better than you obviously can imagine right now.. You have to hang on and listen to your body. Keep busy if you can. Work with the symptoms as they will pass and beat this thing.. It is very possible but if you would have told me last year the same thing.. I would have laughed in your face. I still talk to many that have recovered too!!. Stay positive.
A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
- Opening scene of "Faust"
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CIPRO
Michelle's story:
July 21st.2011 a day I will never forget. The day that I had my severe adverse reaction to Cipro.
The day prior I had went to my Dr.'s office because I felt the onset of a UTI, my children were in town and I didn't
want to be laid up in pain.
The Dr. asked me if I had taken Cipro before, I said "no."
She then said to me really fast "If you feel pain in your arms let us know". Then headed out to see the next
patient.
I took 3 pills.. a dose and a half. An hour or so after my last pill I took I was so weak to lift my finger felt heavy.
My body ached everywhere. I then became so tired ... It took my husband about 10 minutes to wake me up..to even
get a reaction out of me.
Ever since then I have experienced heart racing, seizure, temporary hearing loss, stinging, buring, tingling, and numbing in my
arms, legs, wrists ankles fingers shoulders...everywhere.
I have been up for hours at night crying in so much pain everywhere I just wanted to die.
So weak, exhausted. I have had loud ringing in my ears, my blood pressure has elevated to 140/100. I have never had
high blood pressure. I am loosing about 3 pouds a week. I have a huge loss of appetite.
I feel as though acid is running thru my veins and my body is burning inside.
These are just some of the things I have experienced , certainly not all.
Prior to Cipro I was active, loved to laugh, loved to go on walks. I smiled all the time. Now I am lucky if I can walk down 3 aisles at the store
without stopping. It takes so much energy just to laugh.
Cipro has robbed me of me. Sucked everything out of me.
I didnt want my kids to have to deal with me in any kind of pain while they were here, I was doing the right thing by seeing the Dr.
What they ended up seeing was me in devistating pain, tears that will not stop and wondering if I was going to make it.
The Dr. didnt try anything else prior to giving me Cipro, didnt tell me that it had huge risks.. didnt even give me the option to choose.
I am forever scared of Dr.'s and they're intent from now on.. never will I trust them.
I have told everyone I know to never take this , Those closest to me have seen the devistating effects of Cipro. For I have felt pain where I never knew pain existed..
My life has done a complete change.. the life I once had is gone. The mental anguish this has given me is beyond words..
everyday something new..the pain never stops.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AVELOX
My name is Karie and I had been prescribed Avelox for an ongoing sinus infection January 7,2010. I couldn't get in to see my primary doctor so I was seem by the nurse practioner as I was still experiencing symptoms of a sinus infection that had been ongoing for about 2-3 months; so she said she would write a prescription for me. Now I had just finished taking a Zpack and steriods to try to get rid of this sinus infection so I was hoping against all odds that this would take care of it. I picked up my prescription of Avelox and another round of steroids from the pharmacy and I can remember reading the pamphlet of "warnings" for the Avelox and I read them to my boyfriend. I was truly scared by what I was reading and he reassured me that I would be fine as most of those symptoms are very rare. So we get home I take my steroid pill and my Avelox after we ate some dinner. ONE pill that is all it took to take away my life as I knew it.
Within a half hour of taking Avelox I started having adverse reactions. It started with uncontrolled blinking and then went to facial twitching. At this point my boyfriend contacted poison control to see what they wanted us to do, they told him to take me to the nearest ER. So he gathered me up because at this point I began having severe sensitivity to light and sound which was making me disoriented. By the time we got to the ER I could no longer get most of my words out. I knew what I wanted to say but couldn't get them to come out of my mouth. I had continued having the facial twitching and along with that I began to lose control of my head. I became like a bobble head toy.
To everyone in the ER and my boyfriend included they all thought I was having a stroke as I was also having extreme pain in my head. I was hospitalized and tested for everything, much of which I can't remember. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks most of which I can not remember anything that happend expect for the pain and numbness in my face and not being able to sit up and still not able to get all of my words out. I was scared and fustrated all at the same time. But none of the doctor's could identify what was wrong even though we told them that I was fine up until I had taken the Avelox. They did however make sure to tell me that from now on that I needed to inform any doctor's treating me that I was allergic to Avelox.
To this day it has been 1 year and 8 months that I have had to deal with on going symptoms and seeing multiple nuerologist/doctors. I suffer from complex migraines, vertigo, speech issues (which have gotten better unless I have a bad flare up), twitching of my right arm but most of the time the twitching stays in my hand, I have pain in my left hip ( which I never had before) my left knee now sounds like a box of Ricrispies with all the snap crackling and popping, I can no longer go for long walks because I tire easily and the pain in my hip gets worse along with the pain in my legs. There are days where I feel like I literally can not move because I am in so much pain or just so exhausted. I also suffer with insominia so I never get a full nights sleep. My body hurts so much at times to just to touch, and at times I feel like my whole body has been used as a punching bag and I have bruising all over. I constantly have pins and needles in my right foot. Every morning is a struggle as I never know if this is going to be a good morning ( minor aches and pains) or a bad morning ( severe pain/exhaustion) most days lately are filled with exhaustion and mild to moderate pain. I don't think a day goes by where I am not in pain. What I wouldn't do to wake up and feel like my old normal self and not have the pain and exhaustion. At night as I am feeling like I am falling asleep it feels like someone has attached a huge 9volt battery to my body as an electric shock goes thru my body some times causing my body to jump off the bed and/or the night continues with the electric feeling in my legs. I now wake up in the middle of the night freezing cold and it is at a low of 75 degrees. And if I try to be active not only do I suffer with pain but I suffer with humiliation because I now sweat as if I am running a marathon I literally get soaking wet from sweating. On days where I have major flare ups I have difficulty trying to talk which makes it hard to call a doctor to say I am having trouble or to call a friend and vent as I can't talk. (Thank goodness for the ability to text!!) There was a day recently where I litterally couldn't get my words out so I had to write down what I wanted to say to my boyfriend and as I did I cried because I feel as if I have lost control over my own life as I never know what adverse effects are going to stay with me when I wake up for the day.
Thanks to all of this I am now on medical leave and unable to do my job. A job I loved and was excelling at. I was physically active with my job and in my personal life. I can't enjoy being outside any more as the heat effects me as well. And no more fishing because well that would require physical activity and being out doors. I have begun to feel like I am living my life imprisioned in my own house because Avelox took over my body. If it wasn't for the love and support of my boyfriend and my many friends and family I think I would have given up and just curled up in a ball and just let the dark abess take over. But I have gained the energy and conviction to spread the word about what these "medications" do. I will not stop spreading the word about either as there is no reason anyone should ever have to feel their lives are imprisoned due to adverse reactions of these medications. We and I mainly mean myself are so naive as we think doctors have all the answers and they know what they are doing and they would never knowingly hurt a patient. Well they do!! I should of never been prescribed that medication for many reasons but I was and now my life as I knew has changed. However I am a fighter and now I am coming out swinging. I am greatful for the new found support I have found through this page and the people that are a part of it. I pray that thru those of us that have been damaged we can get the word out so no one else goes thru the pain and suffering we are.
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CIPRO
My name is Daz, I'm a 20 year-old from the UK.
On my 20th birthday, I had a severe pain in my testicle.
I had been told before that I had a varicocele but this pained more than before and so I went to hospital.
The urology team noticed a lump that was causing me pain.
However, after an ultrasound scan and blood test came back with nothing dangerous, the head urologist decided I'd need a course of antibiotics in case of a hidden infection.
I told him my medical history; of my rhinitis and severe allergies, my asthma and symptomatic trait of thalassaemia.
He prescribed me a course of Ciprofloxacin, 2 weeks of 500mg twice a day.
I started taking the course, but after about 5 days, my mentality changed and I became very forgetful.
I kept missing a tablet here and there, and overall I stretched out the course for about 3 weeks.
During this time, my family noticed my personality changing, they thought I had become mental.
About a week after finishing the course, I had settled down a bit, and out was walking with my family, as we occasionally do.
The path started to incline slightly and I felt a pain in my leg.
When I got home, I realised I had a swelling around my right tendon.
I thought it was a pulled muscle, but then the next day, I had a pain in my chest with palpitations and nausea and other pains in my body.
I didn't realise at the time that this was a panic attack, but it had come out of nowhere.
The anxiety this caused made me link it to my leg, and I thought I had a deep vein thrombosis thanks to the swelling and pain.
I went to hospital where tests found nothing wrong with me.
They told me I was anxious and gave me an injection of anti-sickness medicine.
Then I visited the doctor about what the leg could possibly be.
He said a muscle strain and told me to rest it and ice it.
After this, my panic attack that started with the leg didn't finished until days later when I started to look up panic attacks and how to stop them.
The adrenaline gradually subsided and I gained a control.
Panic attacks would come and go during the day for no apparent reason at all, even when I was happy.
But I would apply the same tactics and, beside palpitations, the nausea and heavy breathing would disappear in minutes.
I then had what felt like sinusitis; my head veins started throbbing, there was a huge pressure in my head, and I had lots of dark mucus.
I was put on two courses of antibiotics.
One morning when I turned my neck slowly, there was a bubbly popping sound.
I felt a painful hard lump which was growing all the way up the left side of my neck up to my face.
I went to the doctor who said I pulled a muscle by turning to far, but I knew this was not possible as I had only woken up and slowly turned my head when the problem started.
I asked the doctor if it could be a broken neck or pulled tendon, he said no because the swelling would be more noticeable and I wouldn't be able to move my head easily.
I visited the doctors again for another swelling, this time in my knee.
The doctors then sent me for blood tests for Vitamin D, thyroid and liver problems, and urea and electrolytes, to rule out deficiency as the cause of the joint problems.
These all came back fine, with only a slight Vitamin D deficiency.
After finished the courses of antibiotics for sinusitis, the pressure and dark mucus remained and my head was throbbing intensely.
By this time, I was having strange nerve pains too, all over my body.
I was feeling hot and cold burning sensations, electrical feelings that made me jump, and feelings strain when moving any joint in my body.
My testicle pains returned and it felt generally like my body was being electrocuted or poisoned.
Doctors told me I was anxious and depressed and my mind was making these symptoms up, and referred me to a counsillor who worked especially to keep their patients' mental struggles off their medical record.
When I was with the counsillor, she seemed to feel like I was mentally fine, and she genuinely believed my pains because of this.
At times I felt like she thought I was wasting her time or playing practical jokes.
And in a way I felt like I was wasting her time; I was twenty years old, optimistic and social, and I was all set to go to a wonderful university to persue my passion.
But I was in pain all the time, and then I would have random anxiety and fear when sitting comfortable watching my favourite shows or playing piano or playing videogames.
Anxiety was stopping me from sleeping.
Even when I was recalling my favourite memories and imagining my favourite songs (which was difficult with the pressure in my head and neck) I was just lying there with my eyes closed, until in the morning I would give up and just get up to start my day exhausted.
I would get pains and anxiety and my parents just told me to go to sleep, and that if I went to the hospital again they would probably refer me to a mental hospital, which was true.
I tried yoga, only to have aches and trouble breathing.
Somehow I managed to regulate my breathing in a way I still don't understand; it felt like I was hyperventilating when I was breathing normally, but now my breathing has returned to normal.
One night recently I found it hard to swallow, and my mouth went dry.
My neck ached and swelled all the way around, and became extremely difficult to move.
And my leg, the one I hadn't injured previously, had swollen up.
I went to the hospital in a panic, only to have the doctor tell me my neck looked normal.
He said the mobility was not so bad that I could have a serious problem, and he suggested I see a counsillor.
We told him that the counsillor had ended sessions with me because she couldn't see any cause for concern mentally.
We later found out that the swellings on my neck were in the same positions as on a lymph node diagram online, and we found other swollen nodes in my body.
After finding out about Ciprofloxacin's side effects, I went back to the urologist, who found that I had prostatitis.
He tried to give me Ciprofloxacin again, but I refused strongly due to my weird side effects.
I'm now on a course of Trimethoprim, which has extremely few side effects, and I wonder now why the doctor had not prescribed me these in the first place.
Over the last few days, my joints across my body have started weakening immensely to the point I am in too much pain to stand or even sit and I have to lie down.
After taking fish oils, my panic and anxiety seems to have subsided, although they had dwindled a bit before I began supplements.
I still have pressure in my head, which is blurring my vision and causing my ears to ring, and my nose and face to ache and become stiff, and I find it hard to make facial expressions which I used to pull naturally.
The nodes in my neck are causing my head to tense up and pain when I laugh.
My hips are in pain a lot of the time and it radiates to the whole of my legs.
My knees crackle and feel like they're about to dislocate.
My ankles are stiff and painful and my calves are swollen.
I get very bad circulation to my arms and legs, and when I go to sleep, I wake up with numbness in parts of my body.
I am quite badly fatigued even after a lot of sleep.
And most of my joints are hard to keep tensed, so I sometimes find myself slouching from back pain, and my neck is sometimes floppy with fatigue.
However, I'm pretty glad that my mentality and personality is returning, and I feel more focussed and alive again.
These are only the symptoms most significant to mydaily functions.
I have had lots of strange problems that had coincided with finishing my course of Ciprofloxacin.
I was completely healthy and ready to start university a couple of months ago.
I had a slight prostate which was found late, and I had a course of last-ditch antibiotics that I clearly didn't need seeing as the doctor found another set of strong antibiotics with almost no side effects.
And now I will have to attend university with grinding pains in my body, until my joints can't take any more.
I fear what will happen afterwards, but as an optimistic and resourceful person, I have many options and plans.
The people I am most upset for are my family, as they have had to watch me go through all of this, and have stressed over it so much that they are now becoming ill and anxious.
Even now, as hugely supportive as they have been to me, they are not sure if I am going mad or over-emphasising normal bodily aches and pains.
I'm feeling hugely optimistic after seeing how bad some other people have suffered from Fluoroquinolone poisoning. Hopefully my life will reach some kind of plateau again soon.
Noone should ever take these drugs unless they're on the brink of death. There are clearly other options. I wish everyone the best in hope that we will all recover from this soon.
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CIPRO
I was prescribed Cipro 500mg for 7 days. I ended up only taking 5 pills before this nightmare started, in which I immediately quit taking the pills. …Neither the doctors, or the pharmacists warned us of the potential dangers of these drugs, or that it was such a STRONG antibiotic and that it even has a black box warning on it, and after reading online, I had one of the pre-existing conditions it said NOT To prescribe these drugs for…and still, nobody warned us. We thought it was just another simple antibiotic that I’ve always taken. I am only 22 years old, and prior to cipro I was in relatively decent health. No medical problems, no physical issues….After taking just 5 pills…my life as I knew it has now been taken away from me. Instead of going out with my friends, or working to save up money to go off to college, I am now stuck at home in bed/on the couch, going to stores in wheelchairs, and watching all my friends and family go about living their normal lives while I’m stuck on the sidelines. This is my story, and I hope it will not happen to anyone else.
In the first week I had the severe toxic psychosis reaction, crying for hours every day, I had the debilitating suicidal thoughts which I’ve NEVER had before, extreme anxiety and depression..It is not as bad as it was in the beginning anymore, but I definitely am still battling the anxiety/depression from it all. I now have the wide spread tendinitis in my ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and hands. I cannot walk very far, and I have to use my hands carefully or the pain will get too bad. All my joints are severely swollen, and has been for a month now. I have the muscle wasting, and the muscle pain. I have the peripheral neuropathy nerve damage, but mine Is not as severe as a lot of peoples. I have the tingling, muscle twitching, and the severe pain from it on occasion. This past week my eyes are starting to go “bad”. They are hurting and out of focus. I’ve been switched to a gluten/dairy free diet to try and combat my digestive issues. Thousands of dollars in medical bills. I had to quit my job. I now spend every day at home on the couch or in bed, as I cannot walk anywhere else too far and it honestly is too much trouble and pain for me to get myself ready every day in most cases. I am scared of loosing everyone…I know relationships are hard to maintain when one is unable to leave her house and is not in the best of spirits or too sick to be “normal”. I do often end up crying because of the pain and disability just about every day, but I know I have to be strong if I’m going to get through this. I just honestly cannot believe this is happening to me at just the age of 22. It feels like I’ve been robbed of a life that I’m supposed to be living. But, again, I know others have it worst so I am being thankful for the small things I do have. But, I am hanging in there..I have a long road ahead and want to thank everyone who has been there for me, and for everyone who can make me laugh and smile and who can make me forget about this for a little while. I am doing my best to remain hopeful that I will fit in to the “months” category of getting better, but we never know. I’m living it day by day, and we can only hope, that one day I will wake up and all of this will be behind me. And when that day comes, I will never live my life the same again. It will be a glorious day! I am being positive. Some say that by my talking about not getting better means I’m making myself more depressed. but that’s not it. I’m just preparing myself because if it DOES happen, I do not want to be crushed out of nowhere. I am better when I am around other people. That is what helps me. People. Friends. You. Conversations! While each and every one of us live in our own personal hell every day, all we can ask for is compassion and for others to offer us their strength. We need the support of our friends and our loved ones to help us get through this time
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CIPRO
Hello all,
I'm writing this note of introduction/treatment sharing to the folks on the Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic Toxicity Facebook page but "publishing" for my friends to read if they wish to learn more about the symptoms I've been having.
Today marks 2 months post floxing. Over these past weeks, you may have seen my comments & bits of input here on the wall. I've not introduced myself, until now. My time has been spent franticallly researching what the heck is happening to my body and digging deeply to try and findsomeone who can provide us a cure. & I admit, the delay of officially coming aboard has been because I haven't wanted to acknowledge~Yes, I really AM a part of this group :/
I am a 40 year old professional visual artist. Happily married to my college sweetheart (also an artist). For 20 years, we have paid our bills by creating original fine art commissions/portraits/murals for the cruise industry, corporations and also for individuals. Art restoration is another way we have used our skills for income. We are Christian and so far during these adverse effects of mine, my faith has kept fear from getting the best of me. As I first started this journey of pain, a wise friend advised, "Faith and fear cannot coexsist". I choose faith.
My poison was prescribed for a UTI. I believe I was successfully curing my infection naturally but I decided since it was the day before I was to leave town for a week, I should get an antibiotic from my doctor just to be safe and prevent infection from moving to the kidneys. I was prescribed 500mg of Cipro 2xD for 7 days. 14 pills. The doctor (different doc than my primary but in same office) actually said, "don't look online at the side effects~the warnings are many". I took his comment as a brush-off to the concerns and I trusted him. Regardless of his words, I usually DO research any medicine I take & if I'd not been leaving town/my computer for a week, I certainly WOULD have found the warnings...& as y'all know all too well, the warnings are indeed many :/ At the time, I had no idea what a "black box warning" on the leaflet meant. Other than the feeling of extreme irritability and body agitation felt on the third day of cipro, there were no immediate signs of my toxicity. Five days after my last dose however, I awoke with extreme stiffness and pain in all hand muscles and tendons. The sides of my ankles hurt too, but my focus was my hands. Fortunately (I suppose), the smaller than is common lapse of time before symptoms hit me, enabled me to have a clue to think, "the cause was probably the Cipro". Some quick Google-ing immediately confirmed my suspicion. No longer "probable" in my mind. It was definite. Pain on tops of hands progressed to pains in most tendons, tops of calves and random muscle stabbing pains. Walking was more like shuffling but is now better. Weakness in arms, aching forearms & wrists. Severe weakness in my body, could barely brush my teeth because I couldn't hold tight to the toothbrush. Had to switch to showering instead of epsom salt baths because I could not lift myself back up once I was down. Twinges of pain out of nowhere all over body. Because of the hand pain, I had to back out of an illustration job but there was one mural gig I could not back out on. My husband, who has a full-time job separate from our artistry, was able to help me get through it & I definitely couldn't have without him. That was a few weeks ago and while my hands are currently much better, my aching wrists & arm weakness has prevented me from working on paintings. Thankfully, each spasm or neuropathy pain has been fleeting. A couple of times, the pain felt like a needle was stabbing through my thigh into my femur...like the needle of novocain injected into the gums. Spasms in my forearms that shake my entire arm. Not painful~but bizarre. When the pain does hit, I conciously choose to focus on calming myself with relaxing breaths of prayer and trust the pain will be brief. & So far, it has been. (Sorry I cannot say the same for this story! I write just like I paint~with full detail:)
Early on, my mind was incessantly thinking of where to search & how to find out what to eat & drink; what supplements to take, what alternative treatment options are out there. QTS was the very first thought upon waking and the very last thought before sleep. Overwhelming and consuming. The anxiety that seemed to be taking over, was also relieved by prayer. Prayerand educating myself to the symptoms I face. The education quickly came into play last night. What happened to me as I slept is what finally caused me to admit, by this documentation, I AM a card carrying member of this club called: "THE FLOXED". If I had not watched Certain Adverse Events on YouTube, I would have been horrified by what was going on with my body (By the way, "thank you" to the warriors who created the awareness videos~from the bottom of my heart). Horrified because, as I rolled over in my sleep, my eye caught the light of the t.v... I reached for the remote to turn it off and realized, my body felt as though each cell within it was ricocheting off of one another...I felt like I was vibrating super-fast... I paid attention to see if I was actually physically shaking and I don't believe I was. Again, I calmed myself with prayer, breathing, and the trustful knowledge~I would certainly survive this. About 45 seconds later, all was quiet. My neuropathy has been minimal but a daily occurence. I have had an opthamologist document my 20/15 eyesight because of the potential eye damage (this thought never fails to bring me to tears). My primary care physician has been changed to a new doctor but my first appointment was yesterday and he too, had never heard of our QTS! & before trying this new doctor, the original primary doctor (was not the actual prescribing doctor) so, I went to him right away thinking he'd be eager to help me since a doc in his practice had poisoned me so. I was not accusatory, I was seeking a detox plan of action. Well, he did not take my concerns seriously enough to even look up or research what I told him I had. Told me the Cipro was long gone from my system. Time was wasted while I was giving him the benefit of the doubt (and giving him some time to research it) and when I returned a week later for the results of my blood tests (all "normal"), he had not even looked up Quinolone Toxicity! I was infuriated & I told him so. He provided me my normal blood tests and I left.
Well, I'm not holding onto that fury. I've unleashed it on my grocery bill! I have transformed from a home-FRIED-cooking, butter-loving, coffee-CREAM AND SUGAR, beer-drinking southern lady into a full-fledged HEALTH NUT southern lady- who is now (within 1.5 months) 18 lbs lighter. I'm not trying to lose weight this fast because I know we floxies are in danger of muscle wasting. I've never been accused of being too thin so, for now I guess I can afford it. No alcohol, no dairy, no red meat no pork, no CHOCOLATE:(, no bread. No added sugar. No fluorodated water. Eating organic only chicken, veggies, and juicing every other day with beets, carrots, celery, cucumber, parsley, apples. Did a few courses of probiotics. Added coconut oil to diet as well as coconut water to my water every other day & believe the electrolytes helped with the muscle pains but not with the neuropathy. Began cooking with tumeric. I use Bragg's Liquid Amino's to season tofu, chicken, and bean delicious dinners with all kinds of veggies(cabbage, artichoke, onions, asparagus)....Bragg's is good stuff(we had already been using it in place of Soy Sauce). I eat chia for my omega 3's and it also helps with the constipating effects of the supplements. My dear sweet man has proven to be quite the chef! He supports the changes to our diet and says he is glad to be eating better but wonders when I'll be able to quit shopping at "Whole-Paycheck (Foods;)"..Honey, I wish I knew!
Current supplements:NAC~helps body create glutathione.
Milk Thistle~ to protect the liver.
Wobenzym N~ for inflammation joint & muscle.
B12~helped with my weakness.
B6.
Ester-C.
Chelated Magnesium.
ALA.
Well, for those of you who are still here reading after all of my details ~Nice to "meet" you...if only it weren't under these circumstances! Thank you for the attention you've given my story. I'll continue to monitor the Facebook wall for your informative posts and will continue to share as well. Your posts have helped tremendously.
With kindest regards for my fellow card carrying club members & prayers for us all,
Candace
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http://blog.garymoller.com/2008/03/my-doctor-has-poisoned-me-with.html
Shells Sealover-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welllll.... I was prescribed Levaquin(Levofloxacin) a Fluoroquinolone, twice in 2003 along with 3 pills of Avelox(Moxifloxacin) also a Fluoroquinolone, making a total of just 20 pills, to treat the same sinus I'd been battling. No warning.... no discussion.... just told that this (Levaquin) was a "powerful antibiotic".... I actually felt relieved, trusting that my Doctor really ca...red about my health. This was the first time I was ever diagnosed w/ a sinus infection.... I had never suffered anything more than a common cold or virus except for a bout of bronchitis once. I've always taken excellent care of myself, somewhat proud of staying active and physically fit well into my forties, and even after giving birth to twins at 40!!
You can read my actual words of horror and disbelief below.... this was originally an email I had sent to Gary Moller after reading an article he had written about Fluoroquinolones on his website. At that time, there were not too many online articles.... just mostly research articles or data. I had no idea he would publish my cry for help on his website, and in fact came across it by accident a few months after I had emailed him.
The words were from my heart.... the only thing I did not write was the subject line, which was added by Gary.... but I decided to leave it, since POISONING is what we're dealing with as far as the Fluoroquinolones are concerned.
Also note that this was "just the beginning"......
Gary has since contacted me several times for follow-up. Feel free to post a Comment.... his page on the Fluoroquinolones could use a little action!! And we need all the exposure we can get!!
Thank you Tami for putting up this FB page as well. My heart goes out to every one of you!! United we can make a difference!!
Keep the FAITH ~~
~Shells~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa's Story:
It has taken me along time to write about this.It still is so hard to grasp but it is real.Five years ago I started having stiffness and back pain and my big toe went numb...no problem so I thought it will go away.I had just had ciprofloxacin for an abcess and I was thinking great if this can get rid of anthrax it should be no problem getting rid of an abcess.I had nightmares and other unusual things like heightened anxiety but again I just put itdown to stress and when I had an attack of asthmatic bronchitis I was prescribed levaquin(funny I never had asthma before)I did have bronchitis once or twice so I blamed it on smoking.I started getting hypoglycemic moments and after the first time with cipro I developed bellspalsy. Every year after I either had asthmatic bronchitis or some other lung infection like strep in my lungs and weird leg rash(petechiae)that would go away with steroid cream then reappear.Meanwhile I was having dizzy spells that would last for days,chronic diarehhea,horrible head pressure,ear and sinus pressure,hypoglycemic moments and increasing brain fog.My skin burnt from the inside out or so it felt like.(anyone can ask my ex boss this)I called her one day and told her that I couldn't come in I wasn't well and that it felt like my skin was burning and I think she thought I was crazy.Well in the spring of 2010 I was on levaquin again for asthmatic bronchitis and it never did heal..It got worse and worse and by july 11th 2010 I had to go to the er and I was admitted for uncontrolled asthma..I was in there for 4 days and suddenly "the lights went out" I went into status asthmaticus,my lungs were filling up fast my husband said I called him and he had just gotten home from work or else I called him at work I can't remeber and I told him to come up to the hospital that I couldn't breathe and I thought this was it.All I can remeber is a serious of terrible nightmares while I was in a medical induced coma and then july 31st(my youngest grandsons birthday)I woke up.I couldn't move,I couldn't talk...I could barely focus cause I was on all sorts of pain meds. including fentanyl.I saw family and nurses around but I was in terror some of my nightmares were of the nurses trying to kill me(which they weren't).I didn't know how bad I really was.I was on the ventilator for 16 days or more cause I think I was still on it when I woke up.I had a treacheotomy and a feeding tube.I was told I was lucky my lungs were filling up as fast as they could drain them.I acquired aspergillus fungal and yeast lung infection plus bilateral pnemonia from the ventilator.I aquired c difficule from the multiple antibiotic Including(you guessed it)levaquin in iv bag I was on over twenty meds at one time including salumedrol,predinsione and theophylline.I acquired treacheal stenois from a poorly healed treacheotomy and polyneuropathy/myopathy,osteoporosis in my left foot.At the last neurology appointment I had emg and nerve conduction which showed the polyneuropathy/myopathy of the large fibers was gone but the podiatrist I see says I still have lingering small fiber polyneuopathy sensory from all that. As of today I have also been diagnosed with gerd,benign positional vertigo, and fibromyalgia. I can't work the job that I had before all of this because I can't be on my feet for over a hour or two and sometimes not even that because they hurt and the left goes numb and I am so slow.I have horredous knee pain that come and go and fast heart beat that comes and goes.taste loss or funny taste.itchiness,multiple cyst ovarian and one was on my hip that I had drained.I am sensitive to almost everything.My hair has turned alot of gray and it is kinky and wiry I looked like I have aged ten years in the last one year.Lets not forget the wart like lesions that were on my hands and chest tightness. I have had overnight ecg's and ekg's....thyroid tests,heavy metal tests,vitamin tests,brain mri,c spine mri.9 vial autoimmune blood tests,eye ears nose and throat,xrays,plus I am probably leaving out things. I am lucky to be here and I don't know if this is all fluroquinilones but I do know that I was never this bad since I took cipro for the first time.I spent years trying to figure it out and finally I found this site and found many others with similar symptoms .
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Susan's story:
I think I probably have always been a somewhat anxious person but still functioned normally going to school, work, traveling, never ever had I had a panic attack before. In 2005 I went to see my primary physician for what felt like a lump in my throat. He stated that it was severe problem with one of my tonsils and that I needed strong antibiotics and then put me on levaquin. I took 2 or 3 doses of levaquin before having a severe panic attack. After work I was just sitting on the couch, I started to shake and couldn't control my body, couldn't breathe. I had my sister take me to a redi-care because something like this had never happened to me. The doctor I saw was quick to take me off the levaquin stating that one of the common side effects of it was anxiety. Whew! At least I knew it wasn't just me!
I stopped taking the levaquin right away and the next day went to see my primary doctor to tell him what happened and to say I wanted a different medication. He stated he had never heard of anxiety being caused by levaquin which was more than frustrating. He made me feel like I was just making this all up. I couldn't even focus to go to work or things around the house, I was so anxious.
Right away I started on lexapro hoping that would help me recover and get back to my normal lifestyle. A few weeks later, there I was still laying on the couch, a nervous wreck, not being able to do anything, missing work. Finally the lexapro started to kick in and I was able to slowly return to work. To this day I still struggle with anxiety and had to move from 10 ml of lexapro to 20, although it's much better than it was in 2005. I do work now and go about a regular day for the most part.
I feel that taking just those few doses of levaquin ruined my life. I feel as if I won't ever be able to feel carefree, and that I will always have to take medication for my anxiety. I no longer see Dr. Strandmark as I felt he was irresponsible. Turns out I was just having allergies and didn't even need antibiotics in the first place.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom's Story:
This is my Cipro story, I am 14 months out. I’m writing some personal history, Cipro effects, and recovery..
History: I’m a 34 year old male, previously very healthy. I played football in high school, and was relatively active in my 30’s (weight training, skiing, etc). My only known allergy was penicillin. I probably took a prescription antibiotic once every couple years, (I don’t have a good medical history of prescriptions recorded, but the last antibiotic I’m sure I took was a one week course of Avelox in 2007, with no known side effects). I’m married, and have a three year old son (2 at the time I took Cipro). I have worked in the aviation field for the last 15 years, and have had no major medical problems. I consider myself independent in most of my philosophies, and probably “old school” when it comes to matters of health. One thing I find very ironic, is the amount of “illegal drugs” I consumed in my youth with no permanent side effects, and now I’m faced with life altering side effects from a prescription antibiotic. I have found my life has permanently changed from taking Cipro, some for the worst, and some for the better. You see, in the past I was running through life on autopilot, I had no patience for anything, work, money, and insignificant problems consumed my life, and in basic terms you could have called me an a$$h*le.
Cipro effects: In August of 2010, I visited a “family doctor” for a lower abdominal pain. I was concerned as it had lasted a couple weeks, and my profession involves exposure to high intensity radiation such as aircraft weather radar systems. The physician immediately prescribed two weeks of Cipro (500 mg per day, X2) for two weeks, suspecting a UTI. He also scheduled tests to confirm testicular cancer. I started the Cipro on 8/31/10. By the 3rd day I started experiencing side effects from the Cipro, severe anxiety, paranoia, brain fog, loss of appetite, fluctuating body temperature, and a general feeling my body was being poisoned. I was unable to contact my physician (as it was a holiday weekend), and because of my lack of judgment, and ability to reason, continued to take the prescription for another four days. I stopped seven days into the two week prescription, met with another doctor who confirmed I did not have testicular cancer, and told this doctor of my new symptoms. He said my original abdominal pains (which were now gone), were probably caused by a “tweaked back” and was “glad I had stopped taking the Cipro on my own, because it was poison”. I contacted my original physician back about the side effects, and he basically blew them off, and as you all have heard, said “Cipro could not cause them”. After 8 days (one day being off Cipro), all of my joints were extremely inflamed, cracking/popping, I had severe shooting/stabbing/pinching pains throughout my legs and arms, my ribs felt like they were being ripped apart by hot fish hooks, severe brain fog, anxiety, numb hands/feet, severe muscle aches, “electric shock” feeling in my legs, burning hands, stiffness, tendon pain, tinnitus, and was not able to walk without help. I missed the rest of the week of work, and when I went back, wasn’t much better. I would say my initial symptoms had me at about a “2”. (On a scale I use, 1 is your at the emergency room, 5 is severe symptoms effecting every part of your life, and 10 normal health). The first couple weeks were a complete blur. I am fortunate to have a lot of say in my daily work schedule, which afforded me the ability to keep my job. My severe symptoms lasted four months, and were a complete hell that only the people reading this can understand. I found myself unable to do common household chores, or pick up my 2 year old son. The mental effects of knowing your body is destroyed may be harder than the physical effects themselves. I am a very intense, and “hard nosed” person, and these side effects were destroying my life, my marriage, and my mind. I am not an “internet person”, (the only reason I have a facebook page is because of this), but thank god (and I’m not a religious person, but very spiritual) there is now information out there about these side effects. I spent countless hours researching everything that was ever written or put online about this. At first it scared the hell out of me, and I thought I would never recover. I do suggest to the newly “floxed”, research a ton, get all the info you can, make a plan, then turn your computer off. Four months in I actually talked to my wife about our future. One of my thoughts was to do something so drastic, that it would force the press to cover my story, and at the very least bring attention to this, as I seriously thought my life was over, (and I if I couldn’t raise my son, what is the point). Thankfully, I have the greatest wife that has ever lived, and she convinced me to keep fighting. If anyone gets to this point, and doesn’t have family to turn to, please call someone, anyone, me @ 303-956-7520. There is always something left, and something you can do, even if you are one of the people that has the most drastic side effects. I then reported my side effects to the FDA (Medwatch) which I recommend everyone do. I got a medical I.D. dogtag (stating severe “allergy” to fluoroquinolones). I’ve read the “Flox Report” too many times (which has very good info, but remember, all cases are different). I bought the Levaquin Tendonitis Solution book, and every other thing most of you have probably done. I did start taking Magnesium, and protein, one month in also. One of the best things I remember reading in my first three months of research was someone posted online, “If you can’t walk, roll out of bed, and crawl”. After talking to my wife at the end of month 4, I started a rehab workout. When I first started, I would do a few minutes on the treadmill, and my knees were so hot you could fry an egg on them, all of my muscles and joints hurt. I actually started working out with the bar with no weight, (which is a major blow to your mind). I worked out slowly, and carefully, with wrist supports, knee braces, shoe insoles, and anything else that would help my joints not come unglued. Within 8 weeks I noted a major improvement (60 or 70% recovery). In the middle, I did have a one week severe relapse of symptoms, but worked through it. Five months in I noticed my eyelids started uncontrollably twitching. They still do on and off to this day, not very noticeable, but very annoying. At 8 months I had a major 2 month relapse brought on by a cold?, which dropped me back down to about 50%. (I have had two colds in the last year, and both brought about a severe relapse of symptoms). Note* I have not been back to a tradition M.D. since the symptoms started, and have not even taken an aspirin, (just my philosophy now). I had seen a naturalist doctor about four months in, but they really weren’t much help, (they did confirm good liver and kidney function, and did a complete metabolic panel, which I do recommend doing at least once). After a year of hell, I now consider myself about 75% recovered on a good day (about 50% on a bad day or relapse). I have been fortunate to not have the complete laundry list of symptoms, but it is still a living hell. The brain fog and anxiety are a lot less, though my memory isn’t what it was. Most of the neuropathic pains are gone, and the muscle aches are a bit better. Still have the occasional numbness in my arms/hands. I still have the popping, cracking, sore, and weak joints, inflammation, twitching eyelids, and those occasional random pains. I still plan to try acupuncture, possibly ozone therapy, and plan to find a good homeopath. I consider myself fortunate. I have made a “to do” list for the future. I am still working out, and plan on running the Bolder Boulder (10K) next spring. I am not fully recovered, but am a little better, and know someday, I’ll be better than before.
Some of the things that may have helped my recovery: tanning bed (if your not having skin issues), eat organic meat (not treated with antibiotics), only drink organic milk, juice, and natural spring water, drink Muscle Milk protein, drink plenty of Probiotics (Good Belly), stretch @ least once a day, work out (carefully), get a massage, meditate (positive thoughts)…. I never thought I would say that. Some of the supplements I have taken: (disclaimer, I’m not a physician, so I can’t recommend you take anything, also I have a soul). GABA, Cell Food, Magnesium, Vit D, Osteo Bioflex, Cherry (inflammation), Fish Oil, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Cinnamon, (helps w/ circulation), Theanine, Cayenne, Bilberry, Garlic, COQ10, Lutein, Cranberry, Ginko, Amino Acids, Protein (lots), milk thistle, Topical Magnesium, copper, Biosil, Wobenzym N, Tumeric & (valerian, melatonin, and St. Johns, for rest).
I would like to thank countless people that I don’t even know for your support. Even if you haven’t had much recovery yourself, know that you are saving lives, take solace in that. Thank you Nikki (Surviving Cipro), Jen, David, Lori, Bob, Dr. Cohen, Bill, John, and others, I don’t know you, but I thank you, my wife, son, and soon to be 2nd son thanks you.
Other than the supplements, workouts, and things I have mentioned above, the most important thing I can suggest is patience, recovery is very slow, and there will be “cycles”. Also, take this horrific experience, and better yourself, in any way you can. Believe me, if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger. Take me… I’m not fully recovered yet, but I’m not such an a$$h*le anymore. Good luck, and “God” bless.
Tom Olmstead-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Janet's Story:
I got extremely sick in October of 2011. The pain level was so bad I was ready to commit Suicide. Right in the middle of recording a Double CD set and find myself doubled over in Agonizing Stomach Pain, I have no choice but to go to the local Emergency room. After CAT scans, I was told I have Diverticulitus. I was put back on Cipro.
Now this wasn't my first time! In the last 10 years, My Drs have continued to prescribe me this drug because of an Allergy to Pennicillian. Through these years I have fought sleep like I've never been to bed. My joints hurt all the time and I get. sick at the Drop of a hat. Bronchitis hits me to the point of pneumonia, and still they prescibe "more" Cipro, and tell me I have Systemic Lupus! Bad Cysts under my Arms in mt Lymph Nodes, Dental Abcesses in teeth that have nothing wrong, and that leads to root canals. Next, even those totally sheer the tooth and it breaks at the gum line! My lymph nodes in my neck stay swollen. My tendons and ligaments in my knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, hip joint shoulders, elbows and worst of all my actual neck hurt ALL the time, and now I get told I can't take Aleve or Motrin anymore because of stomach bleeding! So this last episode totally threw me for a loop! He hands me a prescription for Narcotics and says, here-take this junk for the rest of your life, along with this one for "1 more bottle of Cipro"! My memory is already to the point where I get lost in my sheet music! I can't remember what measue or what verse or if its the Coda or the bridge! And he wants me to be a junkie! Nevermind the fact he keeps giving me the cause, not the cure! And what is so bad is I'm expected to try and continue to function like this Yall. I don't want their sympathy, just a little smidgen of patiance. Its taking me 4 times longer or more what I used to be able to get done in 1day. And they still demand I perform Music with a smile. Its just expected, nobody wants to see a drama queen crybaby, so you fake smiles and pass out hugs, go on, and do your best...and the pharmaceutical companies only care about the almighty dollar!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorri's story:
I am not the best with computers but I will try to tell my
story. I was given cipro and flagyl in July 2011 for a
"suspected" bacterial infection by a nurse practitioner. I
have a history of anxiety/depression and IBS which she was
well aware of. I did not realize it but I had taken cipro
before in 2010 when I had a cyst removed. I felt so bad
after taking it, I asked for it to be changed after 2 days
and they did and I felt better. Well, after taking cipro in
July I got severe diarrhea after day 8 and I mean SEVERE. I
had taken flagyl once before about 3 yrs. ago and it caused
some stomach issues but it was nothing like this. I stayed
on the toilet for almost 8 hrs. Finally, I stood up, looked
in the toilet and saw blood (sorry if tmi). That was my
first trip to the er. ER doc said probably a fissure from
straining, go to your dr. on Mon. This was on a Fri. night.
On Sat., I completely lost my mind - had the worst panic
attacks and anxiety EVER. I had anxiety before but never
like this and I had it mostly under control with a natural
remedy. Well, not anymore! It was downhill from there to
the point where I was ready to die. Went back to np on Mon.
She said yes, probably fissure, my IBS was probably acting
up and guess what, my bloodwork was back (that was done 4
days after starting cipro). So.. no bacterial infection, I
never even needed an antibiotic! I told her about all the
mental problems I was having and asked if she could give me
something to control the horrible anxiety and she said that
was impossible, cipro COULD NOT cause those type of
reactions and she would absolutely not give me anything
addictive.(But, it was ok to give me poison!) Bloodwork
showed blood sugar was a little high so she said I was most
likely diabetic (what! never been high before) and I should
start taking something for it. Also, my bp was 140/90, so
she put me on bp meds and sent me to have an abdominal
ultrasound because of the severe diarrhea and stomach pain.
Ultrasound was ok and when I went back for followup, my bp
was 86/60. I took myself off of bp meds and changed dr.'s!
Before I could see the new dr. I had a severe panic attack,
thought I was having a heart attack and wound up back at the
er. I was very depressed by this time, thinking I was
headed to a mental ward. EKG was good, bloodwork good
except for blood sugar a little high but less than before.
I did not know what was going on, called my parents and
scared them to death, told them to please help my husband
with the kids because I was on the way out. That night I
started googling my symptoms and found "askapatient" which
eventually led me to this page and I was saved! Thank God!
I finally figured out what was going on. Went to new dr.
(internist) who was great but didn't really believe what I
was telling him. He really helped me though, gave me
klonopin to help with anxiety, checked bp LOTS of times and
it averaged 117/75. No bp meds! Had me to check blood
sugars for a month, they were fine. I have slowly gotten
myself back after 4 months of pure hell. I got my stomach
under control by taking metamucil and probiotics. The
anxiety and "brain fog" is so much better that I am not
using the klonopin at all. I had mild acid reflux before
but after cipro it became BAD. That was one of the things
that made me think I was having a heart attack. It is
mostly under control now with prilosec. I have a LOT of
pain in neck, back of head, shoulders and upper back that I
never had before. Went to chiro and turned out I had a
pinched nerve- still working on that. The heating pad is my
new best friend! Before cipro I walked 2 to 3 miles every
morning, for a while I couldn't walk at all, then I could
walk but I felt dizzy, breathless, and faint. That has
gradually gotten better. I can walk about a mile now before
my calves and shins start to cramp up and burn. I am
feeling more like myself so there is hope! At one time I
was in complete despair. My whole family has suffered
through this as you all know and I have told everyone I can
not to take this horrible poison. I'm sure cipro has saved
people who have had bad infections and were at death's door
but it IS NOT for everyone and I think there should be a way
to screen for this BEFORE you take it. I also believe it
makes any health issues you have 1000 times worse and should
only be used as a last resort. This is my LONG, LONG story
and if you read it all- bless your heart! I would be glad
to help anyone I can if there are any questions you have,
just ask.
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Karen's story: I was given Levaquin in an IV for a back procedure on December 9, followed up with 750 MG Levaquin for 5 days. By the second day, my right calf hurt and by the 4th day, I could no longer walk. The pain management PA told me it was fibromyalgia or the flu--still will not admit that it is the Levaquin. I will never go back there. I cannot sleep, cry all the time, and have excruciating muscle, nerve and tendon pain and it feels like electric shocks are traveling all over my body. I had a total knee replacement October 19 and the pain from this is worse than the pain from my knee replacement recovery. I don't know what to do other than drinking detox teas, taking epsom salt baths and making vegetable juices that are supposed to have anti-imflammatory properties in them. I see my primary doctor tomorrow and am hoping she can help. She is more of a natural medicine doctor.
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Paul's story: I was given 10 days of Floxin in 1998. I woke up on day 11 and could hardly walk. very long story. Could write a book, it would be a horror story. My legs from the knee down to ankles in both legs
got very swollen, tight, tingling, deep pain to the bone and it got
worse as time went on. After a month, two tendon ruptures occured.
no doctor told me to get off my feet and rest. i hobbled from dr. to
dr. 13 years later, i'm on disability now for 3 years, the constant
pain when I walk and resting pain is unbearable to work and hard to
live with. I tried to change the system and do advocacy. I even bought
$2,000 worth of J&J stock and waited a year to submit a shareholder proxy
so shareholders would vote on strengthening warning on label about
severe delayed reaction syndrome.... and the drug co. is so powerful
that the securities and exchange commission lawyers decided to agree
with the company and NOT allow my proxy to go to public vote.
Disgusted with all gov. systems and private drug companies for telling
the truth to public, i'm trying to survive. the pain meds made my testosterone
low, and energy really bad... i was given Androgel for increasing testosterone
levels. it did, but after 1.5 years on that, it gave me aggressive prostate
cancer. One antibiotic... and all this happene and nearly killed me. I live
month to month getting my PSA readings. Floxin name was changed to
Levaquin... what i've learned about this evil company J&J is unbelievable.
THE ceo and past ceo's who marketing this, like Bill Crouse, (office in
Princeton NJ under Healthcare Investments) was CEO of Ortho McNeal
in the 1990's and greatly responsible for getting this approved and
marketed. The CEO and the board of directors from the 1990's should
be put on trial. A congresional investigation should happen but it probably
won't. I used to love this country.. now....?
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Sarah's Story:
On the date of April 22 2011 I was seen in the ER at Legacy Good Samaritan presenting with symptoms associated with a common Bladder Infection. The treatment I received was an antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin (I took 7 500mg pills over 3.5 days).
I informed the ER doctor treating me that I was an active student who rode my bike to school daily, lifted weights on occation and worked in the construction profession. I also informed her that I had a allergic reaction to Penecillin and was worried about the side effects that may be associated with Cipro. The doctor than assured me that it was safe and I should not by any reason be concerned about taking this antibiotic. After taking it for two days I bigan to feel pain in my left achillies tendon at first i though my feet were just sore or i was just tyred. They hurt more than usual when i was cooking dinner the first day i took them. Also i noticed that when i was at the gym was lifting 30 lbs less than usual. The second night i woke up hysterically crying and had shooting pains in my legs. I though it was just stress but I called the hospital and parmacist to see if I could be switched to a different antibiotic and told them what was happening. The receptionist in the E.R. transferred me to another doc who could help me with my question. I was told that they had not heard of the associated tendon pain and that I needed to follow through with the full course of Cipro. Following that advice I continued to take the antibiotic. The next day the tendon pain had spread. Not only did I have tendonpain but a litney of other side effects followed. The following day I went to my school clinic where they told me to immedieatly stop taking the antibiotic I had to leave the tutor center because I though i was going to pass out. . A few days later the symptoms were growing is serverity and I went to the E.R. again. At this time I saw a Doctor who told me that the symptoms should clear up in a few days. They did not. During the following weeks I returned to the E.R a few times after my initial visit afraid for my life. My eye site was now blurry and i could not more or get out of bed. I had charley horses when i tried to move. The days and months following have been detrimental to my health and well being. All of the intitial symptoms I had got progressively worse for about two months. Every doctor I saw after told me that they understood that this was a possibility when taking the antibiotic but that there was no treatment aside from rest and physical therapy. I met was also seeing a naturopath at the time who put me on a litney of supliments. It is six months later I am still walking with a limp have muscle pain fatigue and brain fog. I thought my life was over. My total side effects now included tendonapathy I had blurred vision, weakness, tingeling, depression,and nerve damage, and pain all over my body and my strength diminished, lots of stretch marks. I was also gaining weight because i was unable to exercise. The pain I experienced in the following months was so extream I spent nearly 2 months in bed unable to shower with out assistance. At the end of six month I was still unemployable. My current physical therapist has advised me to walk with a cain. I have no energy and struggle to do basic tasks through out my day. Soon after my adverse reaction I had to with draw from school and cancel my wedding. At six months am still unable to attend classes due to mobility issues and pain associated with my tendons along with mental fog, weakness and extream fatigue. I had lost my insurance about 3 months in. It is not my 8 or 9th month. I am walking with out a limp most of the time my muscles are growing back my energy and alertness are back my stretchmarks are fading. My vision is normal I dont have any more floaters either. I had one prefloxing but it is still there. This was the worst and hardest 9 months of my life. But I made it and i am living a normal life now and i get better and stronger every day. I credit my healing to trying to be positive my age possible 28 when i was floxed and 29 now, my great Naturopathic doc. , PT, and accupuncturist. feel free to message me on face book.
Ok, here is my list. It may be helpful for other people who've had a similar reaction:
d-dribose powder 3 times a day ,msm sulfer 3 times a day, 2 tumeric every three hours, fish oil 3 times a day, magnesium 3 times a day with calcium, glucosamine sulfate,bromaline 3 times a day, NAC, co q 10, st johns wart, joint tincture, ruta 30 -c, priority zyme that haszinc elemental (fluconate), pancratin amylase, lipase. protease, alpha-chymotrypsin, tyypasin, bromalain, papin, rutin , lysozyme, and cellulase. a pill called collagenics that has, vit c, b6, pantothenic acid, iron,magnesium,zinc,copper,horsetail, l-proline, l-glycine,l-cystine,l-glut amine,l-taurine,msm,l-lysi ne,d-xylose,alpha-ketoglut aric acid, than a seperate N-cystine, and L-glutamine, a multi, and d vit sublingual. glutamine powder 3 times a day. accupuncture 2 times a week. physical therapy yoga based, ultrasound therapy, laser therapy, IV therapy, i have been eating tons of meat, beer and smoking, (not necessarily recomended) , in the start for pain i took tramadol and smoked weed. I had msm cream and i used DMSO under traumeel. Sometimes i use cell food. Iced and did heat in painfull areas.
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Gloria's Story:
I was given levafloxin (sold as Tavanic here in Spain) in March 2010 as a prophylactic after spinal surgery to fuse part of my neck. I was given it without any warning or a leaflet to tell me of the risks although I am over 60 and take long term steroids for arthritis, both of which are mentioned as needing special care. Within 48 hours I could barely walk with calf and leg pain. My husband looked up the drug on the internet and told me to stop taking it immediately. We phoned the hospital to tell them of my reaction and the surgeon said ‘NEVER HEARD OF IT’.
Within days my right calf muscle had ruptured and both Achilles had partial ruptures with severe tendonitis. I also had agonizing shoulder pain. I was suicidal and my husband was afraid to let me out of his sight although by this time I was in a wheelchair. I had to undergo a painful tendon transfer in the left foot. This has never fully healed and I do not walk well. My calf muscles are still painful and I’ve not been able to recover muscle bulk.
After 18 months of shoulder pain I had an operation 3 weeks ago. The surgeon found all the tendons and cartilage were severely damaged with no full thickness in any place. I am in more pain than I could have imagined.
I am sure that there are Spanish people who have experienced symptoms because the drug is so widely used here. It would be nice to hear from them but the language barrier may be a problem.
It seems never ending yet the medical profession are in denial.
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Patty's Story:
My name is Patty. I am married and a mother of two children. I am 47 years old, and have not had any significant health problems until I took Levaquin.
In January of 2011, I went to my GP for what seemed to be a sinus infection. I told him I had trouble with penicillin and z-pack, I can only take bactrim or biactin. He said he'd like to give me Levaquin, and that if I had any pain in my Achilles tendon I should call him and to stop the medication. I took the first dose on Jan. 5th, 5 pills of 750mg. I still did not feel better after taking this round and went back to my doctor. During this time I was using a CPAP for snoring, and I started to think that maybe it had something to do with my sinus infection. I mentioned the CPAP to the GP on my second visit, he said it was impossible that a CPAP would make someone ill, so he wrote me another script for Levaquin. I took this second round starting Jan. 11, 5 pills 750mg. After this round, I still wasn't feeling better. I went back to the GP. I mentioned again that I suspect my CPAP, he said it was impossible. He wrote me another script for Levaquin and sent me to a Pulmonologist. I also started the third round on Jan. 21. 14 pills, 500mg. I had taken about 8 pills of this prescription and saw the Pulmonologist. I was explaining to him my story and when I told him that I was on my third round of Levaquin his eyes grew wide and his expression was extremely shocked. He told me to stop taking Levaquin because it's a very powerful drug and to stop using my CPAP. Within a few days I was well.
In Mid-March I started to get a dull pain in my left arm-pit. Very minor pain, so I thought I might be sleeping on my arm wrong. Then toward the end of April, I hurt my Achilles putting on my sock. And my shoulder was getting stiffer and stiffer. I started to think something was not right, so I made two appointments with Rothman Orthopedics for the different tendons. Both times I was told that Levaquin does not damage tendons. They took x-rays and sent me to physical therapy. At my first visit with the PT, she thought it was strange that a 46 year old in perfect health would just start falling apart all of a sudden. She asked me if I had taken any medicine. I told her Levaquin. She smiled and told me she was helping two other people with similar issues. I was given exercises to help both areas and my shoulder became stiffer and stiffer.
In July, I started to feel like my shoulder joint was going to pop out, because it was making noises and getting progressively worse. I couldn't lay flat on the floor because my shoulder needed more support, and when I tried to attempt my PT exercises, I had bad pain in my shoulder. I held my left arm like I was carrying around a baby. Leaning up against a wall was very painful, and if I accidentally bumped into something it was horrible pain. While at PT I was trying to do some of the exercises, nothing strenuous, and my arm started to have a pain like I've never had in my life. The nerves in my arm started to feel like they were on fire. Zipping up and down my arm like crazy, it felt like electricity was running up and down my arm. I left PT knowing something was really wrong. I rested and was hoping that I was going to be OK. That night I woke up at 2:00 am from a horrible nightmare drenched in sweat, skin burning, heart palpitating, anxiety, leg and arm muscles stiff and painful. I could not fall asleep, so I decided to search the internet about Levaquin. At that moment, I realized that I had been poisoned by my doctor.
The next day I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I still had burning skin, nerve pains in my arm, muscle pain all over my body. I had a feeling of being completely out of it. My speech was affected, I was tongue tied. My thinking was dull. My memory was terrible. That night I had the same horrible experience. I did more internet searching. I knew I was in big trouble. I saw an Alternative Chiropractor in my area, who gave me some supplements, and I didn't get any better. After about three weeks of hell, I told my husband that I felt like I was going to die. I gave him my plans for my funeral, and he was shocked. I hadn't slept, I had burning skin, anxiety, nerve pains in my arm, muscle pain everywhere, abdominal pain, and difficulty speaking and remembering. Toward the end of July, my husband drove me to a doctor that was an hour and a half from our home. The doctor was familiar with Levaquin poisoning and told me he could help. The doctor brought me to the IV suite at his practice. The place was gorgeous, big comfy leather recliners, about 30 of them. Nice soft music, warm blankets and pillows. The place was half filled with people, very nice people getting IV's. They were all very understanding, just being with people who understood was so comforting. After my IV, I felt a little bit better. My night time episodes quickly slowed down. Over the next several months, I got more IV's and my symptoms reduced down to the Ulner nerve pain in my arm, frozen shoulder with a tear and bursitis, numbness in hands, muscle and joint pains throughout my body. My doctor put me on supplements and I began to feel stronger everyday. New symptoms come and go while others stay longer.
Today I am 11 months out from being floxed. I still get two IV's a week, I take a lot of supplements, get plenty of rest, eat organic, drink reverse osmosis water, and I am on the Candida diet. I have recently started Prolotherapy for my frozen shoulder, bursitis and tear in the rotator cuff. My Ulner nerve arm pain is gone,as well as my numbness. The candida diet has helped stop most of the body and joint pains I was feeling. Some days I do get new joint and tendon pains that just take a while to go away. I have Tinnitus, and inner ear pain which is very annoying. Also I have noticed floaters in my vision. I would say I am about 70% healed. I think shoulder surgery will be in my future and I am looking forward to a complete recovery someday. I thank God, Jesus, my Husband, and my three guardian angels in heaven (Mom, Grandmom and Charlie) for my recovery.
I have learned the hard way about prescription drugs and the incompetent doctors who are prescribing them.Thank you for reading my story, I hope this can help give someone hope that recovery can happ
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I have had four knee surgeries and looking at two knee replacements that may or may not work, since taking 5 pills of levaquin almost two years ago. Is there any relief, Is there any help out there PLEASE
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Mirella Bond 02/09/13
Hello everyone! I would like to share my story. I am from Mexico, and was given cipro xr 9 months ago for a UTI. Only had 3 500 mg pills. and I got floxed. I had panic attacks, coudn´t eat at all, survived for a month with water and ice in my lips. Lost 35 pounds in a month, diarrhea for 3 months, throwing up the water I drank, mental confusion, pain all over my body. Had multiple tests done here in Mexico and the USA, and apparently for the drs. I just had anxiety...jaja what a joke! MRI, scans, blood tests, brain scans because they thought it was MS or an autoinmune disease. Had to go to ER almost every week. I cried all day long, insomnia, couldn´t express myself well....like the words where not flowing...thought that I was dying every moment...I was scared, depressed, tired. Then I started getting bruises in my legs and small red dots in my hands. One of my toe nails fell, as well as my hair. The list can go on and on, but there is HOPE! Yesterday for the first time in 9 months I went walking 1 mile!!!
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Donna Schutz 02/09/13
my fiance a 42 yr old man ..was prescribed Leviquin 3 wks ago ..was not given or told of any of the side effects. he took 8 days of it and same Dr wk before prescribed prednisolone as well ,5 day course ...2 days after taking Leviquin his wrist had swelled and the pain severe ...he thought it was from the Flu/Sinusitis/illness he was being treated for ...well now today his shoulder,wrists,hips,legs,ankles and feet are severely effected . each day more symptoms ...he is now bed ridden and having to live with his parents as i live in Australia hes in the US ...this drug is TOXIC and is breaking my heart seeing him go through this and knowing so many others are too ...Praying for all victims of this Toxic drug
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Steven Conroy 02/08/13
Levaquin crippled me 3 yrs ago, and it is still the same if not worse. Now I have added nueropathy to both shoulders, both heal tendons, and my right knee. I hope a settlement is in the Very Near future, I have gone through every dime we ever owned just to survive, and to top that off, my wife passed away and I suffered a lot taking care of her since she was bed fast for the last 3 years. I talked to CD&L in Nov 2011 and was told it would be another year, it has been 15 months since then and Not a word. I heard through the grapevine that they settled 1,000 of the 1,900, I hope it is soon, I may not have a Home in another 45 days !!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miriam Arden Brown 02/13/2013
42 years of Type 1 Diabetes and 9 years of being poisoned by Tequin and Cipro.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Adam Michalski 02/03/2013
Hello everybody! I would like to share my story...
I'm a new member and I come from Poland. I've been prescribed 2x500mg Cipro (it's called Cipronex in my country) daily for 10 days for prostatitis. Everything was fine... 14 days after I woke up with a pain in my left shoulder. It turned up to be a tenosynovitis and it has been proven by the orthopedic ultrasound. Two days later my horrible chronic insomnia started. I was unable to sleep even a single minute for 3 days. The next day I took 1/2 of Zolpidem (a sleeping pill) and eventually was able to sleep for a few hours. The next day I also took Zolpidem. After that I was able to sleep for a few hours (3-5) a day without it, but it was impossible yesterday, because the situation relapses. I was unable to sleep for even a single minute. Today I'll try to fall asleep without it... I also have on and off tachycardia but it seems it's more psychological-related than due to the FQ.
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11 februari 2012
Selene's story:
I write this in hopes that no one will make the same mistake that I did. Like so many here, I was prescribed Cipro for a mild infection without a second thought. I was never warned about the dangers, not even the basic "side effects" of nausea or the heightened risk of tendon rupture - but when I searched online, I was shocked to find the information that I did: story after story o...f ruined lives and unthinkable pain. I even read the stories on this Wall. This is where I made my mistake - I didn't think it could happen to me. Of course, I had serious reservations about taking the drug after reading these stories, and I shared them with my family. They reassured me. "Thousands of people take this every day, and most of them are just fine." Begrudgingly, I agreed. The stories were terrifying, but surely they represented just a small minority... and being an anxious person already, I knew I was prone to getting myself worked up in a frenzy over any hint of real or imagined danger. It was going to be fine, I said to myself. I took the pills.
I took them twice a day for four days - eight 500mg pills - before the fear got to be too much. I wasn't showing any symptoms, but the stories stuck in the back of my mind, and I couldn't bring myself to finish the rest of the prescription. I still have six pills in the bottle on my shelf, and I can at least say that I am glad they are still in the bottle.
One week after I stopped, I woke out of a sound sleep in a panic with my heart racing a mile a minute. Since that day, I have barely been able to sleep for more than a few hours a night.
More symptoms started cascading on me, starting with a mild tingling in my knee which has progressed to full-on neuropathy throughout both of my legs and feet. I felt flu-like, feverish, unreal, delusional. My eyes and mouth became dry as sand and my vision blurred. The depression and suicidal thoughts began to set in when I realized what was happening. All those stories I didn't think could happen to me - they were happening to me. It was a bad dream that I couldn't wake up from.
At only one month out from my last pill, I have no idea what the future holds. Some of my earliest symptoms have subsided a bit, but others progress and get worse daily. Sleep is a forgotten luxury. Even on the nights that I'm not kept awake by the tingling, burning, and twitching in my legs, my body simply feels unwilling to drift off into dreams like it used to. My 20/20 vision seems to be failing, and my eyes are clouded with floaters. I suddenly find myself squinting to read my laptop screen. Random dark bruises appear on my legs, and even minor scrapes and scratches fail to heal properly. My balance feels off, and I get dizzy easily. I take several showers a day just to warm up, because I constantly feel freezing.
I am lucky in that so far, my reaction has been mild in comparison to others here. I only pray that it will soon get better instead of worse. Despite my fear of what may come, I know that I am only 21 and I have my whole life ahead of me. I have faith that I will recover, though I know it will take time, and there will be setbacks. I have changed many of my old ways and started taking very good care of myself and my body. I have entirely cut out sugar, gluten, caffeine, soy, and alcohol, and am eating antibiotic-free meats and eggs and organic vegetables. I'm taking a variety of supplements: a multivitamin, a probiotic for gut health, vitamin C, vitamin D3, fish oil, chelated magnesium, ginkgo biloba, vitamin B complex, and milk thistle to support my liver. I use cocoa butter lotion with vitamin E, and coconut oil to moisturize my dry skin and help with wound healing. I use preservative-free eye drops for moisture. To help me sleep, I take melatonin and occasionally Benadryl, which seems to ease the neuropathic pains somewhat. I'm trying to avoid medications and use only natural supplements, and staying as far away as I can from NSAIDs and steroids. And of course, never, ever again will I take any fluoroquinolone antibiotic.
I am also lucky to have found this group and all its amazing members and advice. I was so foolish not to heed the warnings I found here in the first place, but as soon as my reaction began, I knew exactly what was happening and was able to react accordingly. I hate that we are all going through this, but I am eternally grateful for the support. Knowing what helps and what hurts is a big part of this battle, and I thank each and every one of you for sharing that information - it gives me hope that I can and will recover from this, just like many of you have.
However: if you are reading this before you take your poison, please take my advice instead. Set down the bottle, call your doctor, and ask for - no, demand - another antibiotic. Mild or severe, these reactions take more from you than your physical strength. They take away your knowledge of your own body and how it works, suddenly replacing that knowledge with uncertainty and fear. These drugs threaten our tendons, our muscles, our nervous systems, and our basic functional capacities, and they also steal away some of life's most simple luxuries. A morning cup of coffee, an afternoon catnap, a few glasses of wine at night - all things of the past. I would give anything to go back to that first night and refuse to take one more pill. I can't go back, but I hope that no one else makes the same mistake. Take my word for it: it can be you.
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I'm now at week 12 of Cipro fallout and am finally getting in to Virginia Mason in Seattle on Thursday to see a neurologist. I have read enough now to prepare myself for anything from complete dismissal to a best guess diagnosis. As I try and prepare my long list of symptoms, I am lacking a word I know of to describe t...his problem: Even on days where the pain is minimal, I might get up to walk and after a few steps feel as though the battery has been unplugged from my muscles, even to the extent that it becomes a little laborious to breathe. I literally have to sit back down before I fall down. Is this common with anyone else and is there a name for this? The word fatigue just doesn't seem to fit the situation.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I'm now at week 12 of Cipro fallout and am finally getting in to Virginia Mason in Seattle on Thursday to see a neurologist. I have read enough now to prepare myself for anything from complete dismissal to a best guess diagnosis. As I try and prepare my long list of symptoms, I am lacking a word I know of to describe t...his problem: Even on days where the pain is minimal, I might get up to walk and after a few steps feel as though the battery has been unplugged from my muscles, even to the extent that it becomes a little laborious to breathe. I literally have to sit back down before I fall down. Is this common with anyone else and is there a name for this? The word fatigue just doesn't seem to fit the situation...
Brenda Franklin
Dear Sir or Miss,
I am the 46 year old woman who recently had arm surgery (Nov. 23rd, 2010) and am now having severe feet pain, insomnia, joint pains, eye problems etc. These problems started 1 1/2 months after my first surgery. I thought that I had been floxed by an antibiotic. (Especially after seeing your site on FB The Wall of Pain.) My antibiotic was called Cleocin and is not on the list. Recently I had another surgery to remove the pins and screws in my arm, I used Tetracycline to make sure I did not get floxed again. This was 3 weeks ago, my pain is worse and all of my symptoms are wayyyyyy worse. I started doing more searching and found a link between fluoride based anesthesia causing fluoride toxicity . I am suffering and feeling way worse. My arm has basically healed, but my feet are excruciating. I've already been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis from my Primary Physician. He says it is no way related to any of my surgeries. I've never had foot problems in my life and was a 3 mile per day walker, at this point I feel like an old lady. I think that I have been floxed again, because I know I wasn't exposed to
any fluoride based antibiotics since I told them specifically about my foot pains and said that I was basically allergic. Have you heard of an anesthesia link to these same problems at all? Thanks much for any help, feel free to forward this to anyone else.
Thanks,
Brenda Franklin
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Audy Adam Baum 07/26/2013
On April 15 2013 I was prescribed Avelox. I had been on this drug many times for chronic sinus infections. This time was different. Within 10 minutes of the first dose I went into anaphylaxis. I stopped breathing, had numerous convulsions and two grand Mal seizures. Since that day I have suffered with seizures, convulsions, tremors, debilitating fatigue, muscle weakness, vision loss, severe neuropathic pain, vomiting, nausea, lack of appetite, tendon, and vein problems. I am not scared for my future because I will allow nothing less than happiness for myself. Diet, exercise, water, and rest have helped. When the symptoms push me. I push back. I will fight for my health every day because I love my life and everyone it. I will tell my story so hopefully others will not need to
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The Fluoroquinolone Wall of Pain heeft een foto gedeeld.
Update on Candace.....Today is my two year "Floxiversary"...hard to believe, two years ago I was a strong and healthy 40 year old when I was prescribed 7 days @ 2xD, 500mg (14pills) of Cipro for a minor UTI. Initially, I was affected with neuropathy pins and needle pain/twitching/spasms, musculoskeletal/tendon damage more than the anxiety or insomnia or digestive issues that so many of the FQ'd face. I am far better than I was during the first year and even though I'm 90% healed, I have a ways to go. I still have joint pain, muscle weakness/pain, brain fog (not as bad) and chronic fatigue. I did suffer depersonalization and have thankfully come out of the gloom to accept my life is now a constant attempt to remedy pain with nutrition (I DO find joy & happiness in the little things once again!:) I eliminated processed/ bad foods and have reversed course with my eating habits. I'm now a natural food nut. Proud to be. Nutrition is key. It is keeping me going and I highly recommend dietary changes to anyone suffering FQT. Godspeed to everyone fighting this battle. I am here to say~ we CAN get better!
Hello all, I'm writing this note of introduction/treatment sharing to the folks on the Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic Toxicity Facebook page but "publishing" for my friends to read if they wish to learn more about the symptoms I've been having. Today marks 2 months post floxing. Over these past weeks, you may have seen my comments & bits of input here on the wall. I've not introduced myself, until now. My time has been spent franticallly researching what the heck is happening to my body and digging deeply to try and findsomeone who can provide us a cure. & I admit, the delay of officially coming aboard has been because I haven't wanted to acknowledge~Yes, I really AM a part of this group :/ I am a 40 year old professional visual artist. Happily married to my college sweetheart (also an artist). For 20 years, we have paid our bills by creating original fine art commissions/portraits/murals for the cruise industry, corporations and also for individuals. Art restoration is another way we have used our skills for income. We are Christian and so far during these adverse effects of mine, my faith has kept fear from getting the best of me. As I first started this journey of pain, a wise friend advised, "Faith and fear cannot coexsist". I choose faith. My poison was prescribed for a UTI. I believe I was successfully curing my infection naturally but I decided since it was the day before I was to leave town for a week, I should get an antibiotic from my doctor just to be safe and prevent infection from moving to the kidneys. I was prescribed 500mg of Cipro 2xD for 7 days. 14 pills. The doctor (different doc than my primary but in same office) actually said, "don't look online at the side effects~the warnings are many". I took his comment as a brush-off to the concerns and I trusted him. Regardless of his words, I usually DO research any medicine I take & if I'd not been leaving town/my computer for a week, I certainly WOULD have found the warnings...& as y'all know all too well, the warnings are indeed many :/ At the time, I had no idea what a "black box warning" on the leaflet meant. Other than the feeling of extreme irritability and body agitation felt on the third day of cipro, there were no immediate signs of my toxicity. Five days after my last dose however, I awoke with extreme stiffness and pain in all hand muscles and tendons. The sides of my ankles hurt too, but my focus was my hands. Fortunately (I suppose), the smaller than is common lapse of time before symptoms hit me, enabled me to have a clue to think, "the cause was probably the Cipro". Some quick Google-ing immediately confirmed my suspicion. No longer "probable" in my mind. It was definite. Pain on tops of hands progressed to pains in most tendons, tops of calves and random muscle stabbing pains. Walking was more like shuffling but is now better. Weakness in arms, aching forearms & wrists. Severe weakness in my body, could barely brush my teeth because I couldn't hold tight to the toothbrush. Had to switch to showering instead of epsom salt baths because I could not lift myself back up once I was down. Twinges of pain out of nowhere all over body. Because of the hand pain, I had to back out of an illustration job but there was one mural gig I could not back out on. My husband, who has a full-time job separate from our artistry, was able to help me get through it & I definitely couldn't have without him. That was a few weeks ago and while my hands are currently much better, my aching wrists & arm weakness has prevented me from working on paintings. Thankfully, each spasm or neuropathy pain has been fleeting. A couple of times, the pain felt like a needle was stabbing through my thigh into my femur...like the needle of novocain injected into the gums. Spasms in my forearms that shake my entire arm. Not painful~but bizarre. When the pain does hit, I conciously choose to focus on calming myself with relaxing breaths of prayer and trust the pain will be brief. & So far, it has been. (Sorry I cannot say the same for this story! I write just like I paint~with full detail:) Early on, my mind was incessantly thinking of where to search & how to find out what to eat & drink; what supplements to take, what alternative treatment options are out there. QTS was the very first thought upon waking and the very last thought before sleep. Overwhelming and consuming. The anxiety that seemed to be taking over, was also relieved by prayer. Prayerand educating myself to the symptoms I face. The education quickly came into play last night. What happened to me as I slept is what finally caused me to admit, by this documentation, I AM a card carrying member of this club called: "THE FLOXED". If I had not watched Certain Adverse Events on YouTube, I would have been horrified by what was going on with my body (By the way, "thank you" to the warriors who created the awareness videos~from the bottom of my heart). Horrified because, as I rolled over in my sleep, my eye caught the light of the t.v... I reached for the remote to turn it off and realized, my body felt as though each cell within it was ricocheting off of one another...I felt like I was vibrating super-fast... I paid attention to see if I was actually physically shaking and I don't believe I was. Again, I calmed myself with prayer, breathing, and the trustful knowledge~I would certainly survive this. About 45 seconds later, all was quiet. My neuropathy has been minimal but a daily occurence. I have had an opthamologist document my 20/15 eyesight because of the potential eye damage (this thought never fails to bring me to tears). My primary care physician has been changed to a new doctor but my first appointment was yesterday and he too, had never heard of our QTS! & before trying this new doctor, the original primary doctor (was not the actual prescribing doctor) so, I went to him right away thinking he'd be eager to help me since a doc in his practice had poisoned me so. I was not accusatory, I was seeking a detox plan of action. Well, he did not take my concerns seriously enough to even look up or research what I told him I had. Told me the Cipro was long gone from my system. Time was wasted while I was giving him the benefit of the doubt (and giving him some time to research it) and when I returned a week later for the results of my blood tests (all "normal"), he had not even looked up Quinolone Toxicity! I was infuriated & I told him so. He provided me my normal blood tests and I left. Well, I'm not holding onto that fury. I've unleashed it on my grocery bill! I have transformed from a home-FRIED-cooking, butter-loving, coffee-CREAM AND SUGAR, beer-drinking southern lady into a full-fledged HEALTH NUT southern lady- who is now (within 1.5 months) 18 lbs lighter. I'm not trying to lose weight this fast because I know we floxies are in danger of muscle wasting. I've never been accused of being too thin so, for now I guess I can afford it. No alcohol, no dairy, no red meat no pork, no CHOCOLATE:(, no bread. No added sugar. No fluorodated water. Eating organic only chicken, veggies, and juicing every other day with beets, carrots, celery, cucumber, parsley, apples. Did a few courses of probiotics. Added coconut oil to diet as well as coconut water to my water every other day & believe the electrolytes helped with the muscle pains but not with the neuropathy. Began cooking with tumeric. I use Bragg's Liquid Amino's to season tofu, chicken, and bean delicious dinners with all kinds of veggies(cabbage, artichoke, onions, asparagus)....Bragg's is good stuff(we had already been using it in place of Soy Sauce). I eat chia for my omega 3's and it also helps with the constipating effects of the supplements. My dear sweet man has proven to be quite the chef! He supports the changes to our diet and says he is glad to be eating better but wonders when I'll be able to quit shopping at "Whole-Paycheck (Foods;)"..Honey, I wish I knew! Current supplements:NAC~helps body create glutathione. Milk Thistle~ to protect the liver. Wobenzym N~ for inflammation joint & muscle. B12~helped with my weakness. B6. Ester-C. Chelated Magnesium. ALA. Well, for those of you who are still here reading after all of my details ~Nice to "meet" you...if only it weren't under these circumstances! Thank you for the attention you've given my story. I'll continue to monitor the Facebook wall for your informative posts and will continue to share as well. Your posts have helped tremendously. With kindest regards for my fellow card carrying club members & prayers for us all, Candace
Hello all,
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Linda Landman 04/15/2013
January 4, 2013 I went to the ER with kidney stone pain and was admitted overnight and given an antibiotic one time via IV because my white blood cell count was elevated. I was released the next day, no prescription to get filled, just went home. ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................January 14,2013 I go back to the ER with kidney stone pain and was admitted to the hospital for 3 nights/4 days. I gave the ER/hospital all of my past medical information/surgeries and meds I take just as I had done the time before. I told them in 2011 I had a torn tendon in my foot repaired and 2009 a tear in my left shoulder repaired and 2004 a tear in my right shoulder repaired. While in the hospital I was having some shoulder pain which I thought was from not sleeping in my own bed. I was given an antibiotic for 4 days via IV. When I was released I was given a prescription of Levaquin 500mg to take for 7 more days. After I got home from the hospital I started to have pain in my foot and shoulder. I got the prescription filled and read the warnings and about flipped out! I was hoping that the hospital didn't give me Levaquin after I told them my past history of torn tendons. I began to have pain in both shoulders and both knees so I went to the hospital to copies of all my records from both times I was there. I could not believe it when I read they gave me Levaquin! I'm still SHOCKED! I'm also shocked because I didn't have an infection either, only a small amount of bacteria in my urine. Having the kidney stone issue and a doctor telling me I need to have part of my kidney cut off I went to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona to get a second/REAL opinion. I mentioned to the Mayo doc about the Levaquin and his exact words were " I don't understand why doctors continue to prescribe Levaquin or any of the Quins, they prescribe it like its candy". So as I sit here, happy I found you on FB, I've recently had one knee surgery and an MRI showing a new tear in my right shoulder and waiting to have MRI's on my other knee and shoulder. My life has gone down the tube, depression, mood swings, anxiety can't do the things I use to could do, I rarely leave my house these days. I'm 56 and have 2 young grandkids and now I'm so limited I can't stand it! I use to go on bike rides but now I do good to get up the stairs in my house! Why on earth would a doctor/hospital/ER give me a drug that has such a strong warning about tendon issues when I told them I had 3 past surgeries for torn tendons? What is wrong with some of these medical professionals and drug companies ? PLUS I still have a freakin kidney stone and I don't need part of my kidney cut off. What is going on??? I need a lawyer!
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Mary Walker Baker
One year ago today I started taking Levaquin for a sinus infection....Tendinitis in all my joints still and was diagnosed with myofasical pain syndrome causing referred pain in my hands and feet. As is probably the case with most people, I was very healthy prior to 2/1/10. A naturopath doctor/nurse friend who took Levaquin intervenuously 4 years ago has been diagnosed with leukemia. After doing alot of research on levaquin, she found a website that included leukemia as a possible side effect.
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Joseph M Johnson
http://nociproplease.wordpress.com/
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David Corbett
i was given cipro for a long time over 12 months on/off for prostate trouble and i was given NO warnings of side effects from Dr or pharmacist what so ever.i am an unhealthy 45 yr old who feels 85 now thanx to these drugs.ther are some very very careless Drs out there in hospitals and surgeries that i have lost faith in the caring medical world we should live in.
Christopher Dobbert
I was prescribed Cipro last April by the on-call surgeon before I was discharged from hospital after having emergency surgery. I was taking it for 5 days, when I went to see the surgeon who did the surgery. He was shocked that it was prescribed to me. He made a comment that it was a Nasty Drug....Didn't think much about it until I started having severe pain all over my body and in 50% increase in the number of Migraine headaches per month. Seen to Neurologist and severe Internal Medicine Specialist and until now I have basically been told that its my imagination. I just recently went to see a Rheumatologist, where I was told I have Fibromyalgia and possibly Sjogrens or Lupus. It was when I mention this to my friend, she told me of her friend that was having severe reaction to Avelox. I look it up and found that its same category as Cipro. Wow, I was shocked!
Could this answer my question as to why I feel like I am 80 years old when I am only 41. Please feel free to contact me with any information you may have or info for my doctors.
This information will help those suffering from Adenomyosis and Endometriosis, I was also a victim. I am excited to share this testimony, I was 3 years ago diagnosed of Adenomyosis and complicated Endometriosis. My medical condition was heart broken because it was causing my menstrual cramps,bloating before menstrual periods, lower abdominal pressure which result to heavy periods. I was subjected to different medications by my doctor for treatment such as Coenzyme Q10,ibuprofen, Danazol and many more. Despite my visit to several doctors my health wasn't getting better, all they could say was surgery. At the verge of giving up, I went to the internet to search for a treatment at least. But I found a cure instead. In the internet, I read a testimony of a lady who had Adenomyosis and Fibroid. She shared an e-mail address of the Doctor. Luckily everything seemed to be okay after I took the Herbal Medicine. I wish I could say that’s the end of it because I haven't had any symptoms since then.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenDo not expose yourself to more danger, use a herbal remedy that is safe and effective. If interested contact him: ronniemd70@gmail.com to find out more information and treatment.
My name is Sebastian Talar. I live in Poland.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMy story... is the same. I've taken Cipro for 9 days. After last pill - I' ve started feel pain in my body. Everyday is just waiting for a miracle. I have multiple symptoms. Now, I am after 2 months of hell. I had terrible insomnia, brain fog, suicide thoughts, problems with concentration, numbness, depression. But those things were just introduction to other side effects. My muscles hurt, my chest hurt.
I think my heart won't survive this. It hurts all day long. I can barely walk on stairs. I fell tired all the time. My eyes hurt, my mouth is dry and I have strange taste in my mouth.
I also can't sleep. I feel tired, but i just can't sleep more than 1 hour a day. Last night I've slept for 30 min, maybe. Now, after neuropathy, pain from muscles, hair loss from legs... my biggest problem is pain in chest. Constant pain from heart. It kills me. I don't think I will survive. This will be another victiom of toxicity. I am afraid my heart is damaged.
Also - no medical help ("everything is fine"), no medicine, no doctor. I am just alone, praying for one more day of life.
Take care everybody, greetings from Poland.
Sebastian Talar