Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox and all other fluoroquinolones are dangerous drugs that can have devastating effects that cumulatively I’ll refer to as Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome or Floxing. Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome/Floxing includes damage to connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, cartilage, fascia, etc.) throughout the body, damage to the nervous systems (central, peripheral and autonomic), and more. The damage done by fluoroquinolone antibiotics can destroy a person’s quality of life or even kill them.
http://www.hormonesmatter.com/fluoroquinolones-101-antibiotics-to-avoid/
Definitions –
Fluoroquinolone antibiotic (noun): A dangerous class of antibiotics with severe adverse side effects. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics include Cipro (Ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (Levofloxacin), Avelox (Moxifloxacin) and others.
Flox (verb): The act of suffering from an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone antibiotic.
Floxie (noun): A person who has been floxed. Floxies suffer in a myriad of ways and display a large variety of symptoms.
Being floxed can include the following, and more:
Peripheral Nervous System: Tingling, numbness, prickling, burning pain, pins/needles sensation,
electrical or shooting pain, skin crawling, sensation, hyperesthesia, hypoesthesia, allodynia
(sensitivity to touch), numbness, weakness, twitching, tremors, spasms.
Central Nervous System: Dizziness, malaise, weakness, impaired coordination, nightmares,
insomnia, headaches, agitation, anxiety, panic attacks, disorientation, impaired concentration or
memory, confusion, depersonalization, hallucinations, psychoses.
Musculoskeletal: Muscle pain, weakness, soreness; joint swelling, pain; tendon pain, ruptures.
Special Senses: Diminished or altered visual, olfactory, auditory functioning, tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
Cardiovascular: Tachycardia, shortness of breath, hypertension, palpitations, chest pain.
Skin: Rash, swelling, hair loss, sweating, intolerance to heat and\or cold.
Gastrointestinal: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
Typically, if a person suffers from one of the side effects listed above, they suffer from several. Floxing symptoms can appear immediately, or they can be delayed, sometime for weeks or months after a person is FINISHED taking the fluoroquinolone. Delayed reactions often lead to people not attributing their sudden decline in health to the fluoroquinolone antibiotics. People are commonly misdiagnosed as having a known autoimmune disease like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus or MS, or they are told that they have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, etc. Or they are disregarded and told that they are crazy, that they are imagining that their health declined markedly in just a matter of days and that there is no way that an antibiotic could lead to systemic damage. Those who disregard the victims of fluoroquinolones are wrong. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause all the damage listed above and more.
Despite the horrifying side effects associated with fluoroquinolones, they are prescribed indiscriminately and thousands of people have been adversely affected by them, often without the person knowing the cause of their pain, disability, anxiety, etc. The medical establishment, doctors, pharmacists, the FDA, etc. generally don’t acknowledge the damage done by fluoroquinolone antibiotics despite the fact that the devastating damage that they cause is reported throughout the internet, and in some medical journals.
That is the background of floxing. I will try not to dwell on it. This site is not about the pain that fluoroquinolones cause. It is about the recovery process. It is about hope. It is about people who have gotten better. It is about healing. It is about life going on. It is about time healing wounds.
When I was first floxed, I was hungry for stories of healing and hope. I needed some helpful and hopeful words of wisdom in order to calm my nerves and cure my anxiety. I hope that this site provides that for you.
My life has gone on. I’m 95-99% better and I have every reason to believe that eventually I will be 100% healed. In many ways, my life is actually better than it was before I got floxed. I had to learn how to cope with being sick and some of those coping skills have made my life better in other areas.
I want to share with other people what helped me, in case what helped me can help them. I’d also like to share tips and advice from other Floxies who have recovered. Please don’t hesitate to send me your story and I’ll put it up on the site.
My heart goes out to all victims of fluoroquinolones. They are evil, awful drugs and I know what it’s like to be adversely affected by them. You are not alone. Please have hope that you will be one of the people who recovers, who gets better, who heals.
This site is a compilation of stories from people who have been floxed and who have recovered. Their stories are their own and what helped them may or may not help you. Unfortunately, everyone’s recovery is different and there isn’t one thing that helps everybody (except, possibly, time, which seems to help most people). You will not find a magic bullet cure in this site. I wish that I could offer you a cure, but I can’t. What I can offer you is stories of perseverance, hope and healing. There are tips contained in each story and hopefully what helped the Floxie who recovered can also help you.
Dear Lisa,
Thanks so much for lighting hope on our dampened soul from taking Cipro. I took 20 pills of 500Mg cipro for a suspected diverticulum (finished course of antibiotic on 17/11) and side effect only showed up on 29/11. since then i started to have mild tendon pain at knee, ankle and constant tinnitus. i felt my life is ruined. many times, i wanted to play with my girl and be a good mother to the family but i lost the spirit . like many, we took Cipro with faith that it can only heal us but it is looking it’s destroying our hope. don’t u think this world is so unfair? those seeking treatment like us are destroyed while those who indulge in drug, alcohol and smoke are protected? but that separate topic aside..
what is so scary is i took 20 pills! oh gosh!! before my side effect surfaced. some are already collapsed at first few dose and managed to drop off this poison early. but my body is not doing me favor and only after i finished this course of antibiotic did i realize how damaging this can be! utterly sad and totally speechless
i just want to be healed. i am now seeking treatment from my acupuncture (glad to know your acupuncturist saved your life! yes western medicine can’t handle our problem, we need altnerative medicine healing already)
thanks for telling me we can get healed, we need it so much!
currently my treatment is
1. acupuncture – yes i believe in the power of Chinese TCM to fine tune a damaged system as it seeks to work the core of problem than masking pain with medicine – TOXIC only!!
2. multivitamin + mineral + CO Q10 + fish oil
i will keep you posted of my progress! 🙂
Love
Jarene
Dear Lisa,
again, i am so lost really so lost. i really hope i can walk out of this life changing event with recovery. every night i cried myself to sleep.
i am very happy to read you believe in your acupuncturist. like you said, we need to call out for help to save our lives.
what do you think is the reason why some people just “never recover”? when you posted the article on “permanent”, you are so good to share “no side effect is permanent until one is dead”
no to devil poison anymore.
Love
Jarene
Dear Lisa,
I hope you have a good night rest 🙂 Thank you again for your sweet note , send some smile to my troubled heart 🙂 Yes i will keep you posted again of my recovery progress and share new finding to make recovery look better .
Love and Hugs,
Jarene
Hi Dear Lisa,
Thanks once again, with your belief, i will survive on :-D!
Just yesterday i bought the Magnesium Oil (magnesium chloride) that said will raise our cellular level. Useful to rub on swollen and painful feet, joint. Hope it helps too 🙂
Love
Jarene
Lisa,
Thnx for all that you are doing to get positive message/s out to the many who are suffering from the adverse reactions of these drugs. I have recently joined the ranks, after taking only seven 250 mg. Cipro. I pray that I caught it in time. I was prescribed 14, I stopped taking it, for I knew that what was happening to my body was not good. To share, I live in VA and am a 64 yr. female, and I have suffered from failed back syndrome and all that goes w/it. My hub and I were involved in a head-on collision in 2012, hit by a drugged out boy! We were nearly killed, and we are both permanently disabled. If I can get thru these, I will “endeavor to persevere” and meet this enemy head on and chin up! I have a phone call in to Dr. Jay S.Cohen, In Del Ray, CA and I am waiting to hear back from his contact. His website is MedicationSense.com.
To all, God Bless and keep your hopes!
Judith
I have been floxed for 10 years now along with having type 1 diabetes for 44 years. I can only say that I hope all of you that have been affected by fluroquinolones find a way to cope.
Very true! I have learned so much about myself having these two diseases and learning to cope as painful as it it. It will definitely teach you compassion. 🙂
Take care
I have been suffering for 19 months, the tendon problems are somewhat better but the neurological issues are difficult. I live in constant fear that it will cause a terrible disease and I will never recover. I read the stories of recovery and they give me something positive to hold onto. I just want to be normal again. Thanks for the hope, we all need it.
I was just prescribed Levaquin last week for an infection and took the first dose of the antibiotic before doing much research. I then got on the internet and read all of the horrible stories and stopped taking the medication immediately. I pray that I am not affected as so many on here have been. Based on your experiences Lisa, will only taking 1 500 mg dose decrease my chances of going through these side effects? I am quite scared and wish I had researched first. Thanks for the work you do.
I am glad I found this page. I am fresh off of Cirpo. I was supposed to take it until Monday, but I can’t stand the intense nausea, loss of appetite, horrible diarrhea. I told my doctor of the side effects and she told me to take a probiotic. I can’t sleep. My knee is killing me. And I am extremely anxious and paranoid. I was in the hospital for three days and received Cipro intravenously. Was off it for one week, then the doctor put me back on it. I took four 500mg pills and was slammed with side effects that I didn’t have in the hospital. I can’t function. I can’t tell the difference between the side effects and what I was supposed to be wary of (loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea). I know it’s the medicine, though. I didn’t feel this awful the week I was off medication. Everyone keeps telling me to take the medicine until the course is over, but I just can’t. I foresee a very rough road ahead since I’m allergic to most other antibiotics.
Thank you for listening. It’s good to finally find that I’m not alone or going crazy.
I have been diagnosed with viral arthritis by a rheumatologist. Although I have a suspicion that it might be the cipro poisoning. I am currently on prednisone to “get rid of the inflammation that’s causing the pain.” There’s really no way to know for sure which it is. I have heard that prednisone could either benefit those that have cipro poisoning or in most cases hurt them more. Because I have no way of knowing for sure if what I have is viral arthritis or cipro poisoning I have decided to continue to take the prednisone to see. Has anyone been diagnosed with viral arthritis or have taken prednisone?
I just found out about this Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome or Floxing because a cousin posted your article on Facebook. It never occurred to me that all my symptoms might be related to an antibiotic. In 2008, I was hospitalized for bacterial strep A in bad shape and I was loaded on antibiotics at high doses. The nurse told my husband they use the same antibiotics with AIDS patients. I don’t remember what prescription they gave me after I was discharged because I threw them away after a couple of days and went to get a large dose of vitamin C IV and loaded up on probiotics. But, life hasn’t been the same since. For a while after I got out of the hospital, I thought I was just dragging due to the impact of the infection I had, then I just didn’t know why I felt bad all the time. I can say I have about every symptom on the list above. And some were very bad after coming home from the hospital with anxiety and panic being very high. Since then, one thing after another all while fatigue plagues me daily. Even when I take a great multi-vitamin and lots of other supplements, it just gets me enough energy to make it through the day. I’m going to investigate my file and hope to find out exactly what they gave me and how much because I hadn’t take a antibiotic before or after since I usually do everything as natural as possible and avoid all pharmaceuticals. Again, that’s why it never occurred to me what’s wrong, but reading this, it all makes sense. If I or my husband were to mark a place in time when my health changed drastically, it was after hospitalization and I haven’t been the same since.
Thanks for sharing this information. Amy
I just wanted to share my frustration with the medical community that continue to deny problems with cippro. Recently my friend came down with a uti and was going to urgent care, I told her don’t let them give you cippro, she told the Dr what I said about the complications of cippro, she is 66 years old and I told her about the black box warning about giving to people over 60. The Dr told her I was crazy and she would take the cippro or get nothing, I told her keflex doesn’t cause me any ill affects, and she ask for that. The dr refused and wrote the cippro prescription. When she went to the pharmacy she told the tech about her concern and they called another Dr and got the prescription changed. Also when my 83 year old mom went for an infection her Dr tried to give her cippro, she told them I would not let her take it and the Dr told her I did not know what I was talking about. What is the problem with these Dr’s, do they truly not know about these side effects?
Drug company reps have been known to offer certain perks to doctors who lean toward prescribing drugs from that particular rep’s catalog. Just saying. If your doctor tries to give you something you don’t feel comfortable using, go get another doctor…at least for that particular prescription.
Dear Lisa, I live in South Africa took 3 Cibrobay tablets Jan 2014. Bayer distribute all Fluoroquinolones in SA with no black box warning and the disabling side effects are ignored and denied by most of our doctors and pharmacists. thanks to your site, I am healing slowly and steadily under the care of a wonderful Naturopath.Thank you so much for your encouraging site and for being steadfast in hope for us all. I will send my story when I feel confident and strong enough to call it “my healing story.”
Hi, I just found this page. I’m wondering if it could be some kind of antibiotics poisoning in my case. It all started a year ago after I had sinus suurgery and I was taking 3 different antibiotics for more than a month. But in my case it wasn’t Fluoroquinolone antibiotics…I took clarithromycine, doxycicline and amoxiciline. And three months after those antibiotics marathon my syptoms started (burning skin, tingling, tremors, ears ringing, twitiching, vision problems, and GI problems, dizzines, etc). My symptoms are very slowly improving. But my quesion is is it possible that other antibiotics (not floxie) could cause the same damage to my body?
Thank you for sharing your story and helping me to realize I had been floxed. I shared a lot of information found here with my Dr. (luckily she is very open minded and started to educate herself on Floxies).
In June this year I had a mild kidney infection. I’ve had them for years. But I had just moved to a different state and changed insurance and had a new PC Dr. who prescribed me Cipro. The day after I started taking this drug I went from a hint of blood in my urine to nearly solid blood. By the 3rd day I was urinating solid blood and I felt so bad and I knew something wasn’t rigght. I called the Dr. who told me it would be fine and just finish out the week of the Cipro. On the 4th day I didn’t wake up. I woke up 6 days later in ICU with no memory of what had happened. Even after I was admitted to the hospital they continued giving me the Cipro for 3 more days, until my liver completely shut down. I suffered and nearly died from complete liver failure due to this drug. After returning home I suffered all kinds of side effects. My family thought I was on some kind of drugs because I was acting crazy. 2 months later, my liver failed again. This time I was out for 8 days, again with no memory of anything at all. And, again, after returning home I went thru weeks of insane behavior. I’d pack a suit case and try to walk home (to another state), I was treating my family terrible but had (and still do not have) any memory of it at all. I’ve never been one to dream, but now I have the most terrible nightmares. I’d wake up screaming and it got to the point where my son would sleep in my room with me so he could wake me up before they got too bad. I also suffer constant joint pain, especially in my knees, and my hands go completely numb every night. Some times it’s like they’re alseep but with the most terrible pain. Since my liver has failed and is in such bad condition, pain killers are not an option for me. My son insisted I try cannabis and my Dr. agreed that it might help. It knocks me out for sure, but the next day I’m nausious and hung over.
I’d appreciate any suggestions from anyone as to how to deal with my pain without being able to take any drugs. No tylenol, alcohol or asprin products of any kind. I’m back in California and although the weather is warmer, it does still get cold here. The cold has made my joint pain unbarable and working is not an option. I have days where I can barely get out of bed. I sometimes go places and do things, but do not remember doing them. My family is monituring me and trying to make sure I’m “awake” before I go any where alone. I rarely drive myself any more out of fear of slipping into one of these walking black outs and not knowing what I did while I was out. I have an appointment with a nuerologist and plan to bring all the floxie info I have because I have yet to see a Dr. that knows anything about it at all.
Out of curiosity, I’m wondering has anyone actually been officially diagonosed with this? Is consider a syndrom, a side efffect? Most of the stories I’ve read it appears that most people just discover for themselves they’ve been “Floxed” and diagnos themselves into this group.
Thanks again for the site and to everyone that shared a story. It’s helped a lot in keeping me from feeling insane 🙂
Kim
Drs do know about it, they just act as if they don’t to avoid being sued .
Hi Lisa,
Thankyou for all you do.
I have been trying to download “Hacking Fluoroquinolones” for some time now without success. Any ideas ?
At birth, I was diagnosed with a congenital immune deficiency and was thereafter plagued with numerous life-threatening illnesses. However, despite my continued health problems, doctors did eventually tell my mother that my immune deficiency had improved. Nonetheless, I remained plagued by multiple health problems, including issues usually only experienced by people in their later years of life.
After YEARS AND YEARS of un/misdiagnosed maladies and needless suffering, I now know that I have MTHFR (methyltetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency); chronic subclinical infection with cytomeglovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr (EBV, mono virus), and the shingles virus, herpes zoster; rheumatoid arthritis and sicca syndrome secondary to the RA; and common variable immune deficiency (CVID). Taken together, these maladies make management of acute infections difficult.
In August of last year, I was prescribed Avelox as a prophylaxis after undergoing balloon sinuplasty. Over two months later, this was again prescribed for an acute upper respiratory infection after I failed to respond to oral and injected antibiotics. This infection had barely resolved when I became sick again in February of this year, and because of my prior failure to respond to other oral and injected antibiotics, Avelox was prescribed once again.
I was alarmed when I read about the potential for tendon rupture with this and similar medications, but resolved myself to be mindful of any unusual signs or symptoms which may be indicative of toxicity, and to seek medical attention accordingly.
In April of this year, I began experiencing pain with numbness and tingling in my right buttock and entire leg. I have a history of spinal trauma after being injured by a drunk driver who rear-ended me, so I initially thought it might be sciatica. However, I could identify no activating event, and the symptoms failed to respond to the stretches and trigger point therapies usually effective against this type of pain. I saw my rheumatologist last month and told her about the pain, and she also ruled out sciatica as there was no corresponding pain in my SI joint on palpation. She opined that I may have a labral tear of the hip.
Concerned, I searched the web for info about my signs and symptoms. I was alarmed to learn that Avelox and similar meds may be the culprit for these and myriad other problems.
The pain is relentless and, much of the time, incapacitating. I have an xray scheduled, as well as (I believe) an MRI. However, the pain is so intolerable and debilitating, I don’t know if I can wait until my radiology appointment.
What can you tell me about anyone who has experienced similar leg pain/tingling/numbness after Avelox? Does it resolve? I don’t know how much longer I can take this 🙁