Every Friday Michelle Polacinski, a Floxie as well as the Director and Producer of ‘Floxed,’ sends out a newsletter to those who have subscribed to the ‘Floxed’ newsletter. The Floxed Friday updates are always interesting and thoughtful, and Michelle has given me permission to share them here.
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The following was written by Michelle:
We’re in Los Angeles, home of the entertainment industry, the most prevalent researcher on Fluoroquinolone Toxicity, nostalgia, and the doctor that floxed me. Ahhh it’s good to be home… and it’s weird to be home.
We’re shooting two very important interview subjects out here and we are very excited about what’s to come. During every interview, we learn something new that we didn’t know before. Did you know that on certain tests that doctors have to take in med school, “Cipro” is the answer to “What do you prescribe for a UTI?”
That was the case back then, but it’s not the case now.
Before diving headfirst into the entertainment industry, I was on track for medical school. I attended a pre-med summer camp for interested high school students in Boston, where I wore pant suits and attended conferences with a coffee in my hand as if I were a full-blown adult.
In college, I took classes on Animal Behavior and Microbiology, auditing Immunology by accident, and making friends along the way.
A lot of these friends, but not all, ended up making it to medical school. I was eternally grateful when they flooded me with facebook messages, skype calls, emails, and texts asking me the details about what happened to me. They were both alarmed and very curious.
Early into med school, they didn’t know much about what to expect, but a few years later, those same people reached out to me again, “just to let me know” that they had just taken an entire lesson on Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome and that they were told only to prescribe fluoroquinolones in near-death situations.
Naturally, my former academic peers shared my floxed story with their classmates and later, I had messages from other friends in nursing school who learned about FQT/FQAD.
At Chowder Fest this year, a woman made a sly remark about my “intelligence” when I propped the door to the bathroom open with a garbage can and we ended up talking about Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome just for a girl who was peeing to raise her arm over the stall and scream, “Is that CIPRO?” She learned about it in a Biology class studying for her Bachelor’s Degree.
I know it’s hard to have hope if you’ve been floxed, particularly if you’ve shown no signs of improvement, but there is hope in education. There’s hope in the future.
We hope that once finished, we can use this documentary as an educational resource for doctors and other medical professionals alike. Just talking about it seems to spark awareness and hopefully, change.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Michelle Polacinski
Floxie, Director, and Producer of ‘Floxed’
*****
I am a believer in taking magnesium as an antidote to Cipro or Levaquin as soon as someone knows that they have been floxed. Cheated magnesium in particular hels slow the absorption of these drugs into the bloodstream. It helped me immensely once I figured out that I had been poisoned by Levaquin.
My first “floxing” happened in the late 1990’s and resulted in a what they called Spontaneous CSF leak from my ear. Took them almost three years to listen to me that I didn’t have an ear infection, just a plugged ear. Three tubes, suctioning, as well as several more antibiotics later and I had to tell the ENT to test the fluid and see if it was CSF. It was. Jump ahead to twenty years later, they’ve finally admitted that Cipro can cause these type of CSF leaks. The PCP I saw back then has since retired and I have no way of proving that he gave me Cipro. Nor can I prove that the After Hours clinic I went to under a prior physician had given me Cipro ear drops for a severe ear infection. Presently I’m all kinds of physically messed up with so many many health issues. I take Magnesium and so many other supplements daily. Some that I’ve tried help, especially the magnesium which I have to take daily. Then it really helps with the debilitating leg cramps. I keep trying new ones, when I hear they may help. One at a time for a few weeks to see if I have any adverse reactions first. Some help, most don’t. When after three to six months of seeing no difference, I will usually taper off the supplement. Like Bovine Colostrum my PCP suggested for immune health. I was still sick all the time. So after two years, I quit that and Echinacea as well. Recently started Cat’s Claw for two weeks, then started Alma Berry as the Medical Guru suggested, but one of them is causing several daily bouts of explosive diarrhea. Stopped the Cat’s Claw and still it continued, so I stopped the Alma Berry earlier this week. We’ll see, as it’s trial and error.
Interesting post Matt Pace. I am a floxie. Now that that is out of the way. A couple of years ago I was very sick and thought it was the flu. I finally decided it was best to get to the ER. There they took a urine sample and soon came back with the information that I probably had a UTI. The very next thing that happened was a nurse came in and hung an IV bottle containing (yup you guessed it) Leviquin. Then a chest x Ray was done and the doctor determined that I may have a lung infection so they needed to keep me in the hospital for “observation”. While I was there at 4 hour intervals they drew blood. Each time shortly after the blood draw they would bring a pill for me to take. Finally tired of the regular sticking for blood draw I became irritated and asked what the hell was going on. I was told that my magnesium level was low and they were working to bring it up. Bottom line. I was having a ruse done on me. The chest x Ray (which was actually negative) was a ruse to keep me in the hospital to try to pump me up with magnesium. The ER doctor knew that I needed the magnesium since she had just given me Levaquin. After 30 hours there I said I am leaving. Get me checked out. The total billing for the 30 hours came to $21,000. This is my after the fact observation of the money making ruse that was pulled on me. Needless to say that my “trust” in the system has been shaken. Maybe this story is a bit long but just an example of why trusting the system may not be wise.
Wow – thanks Don you just joined a few dots for me. Had pneumonia and they prescribed Levaquin 750mg. Go better then diagnosed with HBP – till this today 20 years later. I am taking magnesium daily and it does make a difference with me. Had a Cipro diet while they “fixed” things last year – been a rough road back…Thanks!
IMHO, All people Floxed by Cipro Antibiotic have (or had) a Dysbiosis problem in their Gut and probably in other places in their bodies.
Dysbiosis is a situation where bacteria immune to Cipro have become dominant in the Balance between ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ bacteria. This dominance of Cipro Immune bacteria will persist until it is managed. It can not be managed by Modern Antibiotic Pharmaceuticals because the bacteria are immune.
If these ‘immune’ bacteria spread around the body then infections can occur in all sorts of systems such as nervous, lymph muscle etc.. This can happen due to Leaky Gut in the intestinal system, where food and bacteria have leaked into the blood system.
There is a Huge Gaping hole in our Modern Medical Knowledge System as far as Diet and Bacteria’s effects on our health.
I would be available to be interviewed from my wheelchair. I’ve been told I’m a poster child from the massive amount of side effects pain and suffering from being repeatedly floxed thru IVs of both Levaquin and Cipro the past 20 years…a true survivors story to tell. My name is Diana Andriola 831-227-5958 I look forward in your reply.