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.
If you would like to receive the Floxed Friday updates directly from Michelle, please subscribe to the Floxed Documentary email list. You can subscribe through THIS LINK. Subscribing also helps Michelle to gain funding for the Floxed Documentary, and she doesn’t send out spam.
The following was written by Michelle:
I’m writing this next to a large window and a view of falling snowflakes, gently floating down to the ground below, causing accidents and exciting skiers everywhere.
Skiing is a big, big deal for me. I learned when I was 4 years old in the middle of the woods in Upstate New York. My dad, a trophy-winning freestyle skier, known for his backflips and helicopters, gave me a pair of used thrift store Rossignols with the chickens at the top and gave me poles meant for a much taller child as we hopped over sticks and fallen trees together.
After racing on a team in high school and teaching skiing for 6 seasons, it’s easy to see that I’m enamored with the sport.
Skiing was and still is one of my favorite activities. When I was floxed, I couldn’t walk or hike for awhile. I was one of those floxies who crawled to the bathroom and lost 20 pounds in merely weeks.
I was no professional athlete floxie, but come winter, I was terrified that I would never ski again.
I was one of the lucky ones. While many floxies remain forever disabled, forever unable to walk again or run again, I got better and could ski again. To be fair, skiing is not a tendon-heavy sport, so it was easier to get back into it than, say, rock climbing or weight lifting or running or whatever other people do to stay fit.
I’m not bragging about it at all, but I was able to go backcountry skiing a couple days ago after we got a huge snowstorm and discussed my *former* disability with another skier I met there.
“Why don’t you sue?”
He actually didn’t ask me that question, but most people do when I talk about getting floxed. The answer is a complex one.
Many have tried and many have failed to win, including successful lawyers with floxed loved ones or doctors who have been floxed themselves. Lawsuits, including class action ones, have come and gone since the late 70’s, but fluoroquinolone antibiotics are still on the market because “there is enough warning for patients,” and “look at all those black box warnings!”
We disagree. We think that there needs to be much more education about Fluoroquinolone Toxicity, for medical professionals especially, but also better informed consent for patients.
It’s easy to blame the doctor who prescribed the antibiotic, but the fact of the matter is that many doctors are not adequately warned of the risks themselves. Doctors, like Mark Ghalili, DO, have been floxed. If that’s not an example that they are not properly informed, I don’t know what is. Today, Fluoroquinolone Toxicity is regularly taught in medical schools all over the USA, but I want it to be a mandatory lesson.
It’s regular practice for pharmacy technicians to remove the lists of warnings and pamphlets about the drug in order for it to be “easier” for patients, or so they say.
Who is to blame, really? Is it the drug itself? The drug had no intention. It’s an object, a creation. Is it pharmaceutical companies? Pharmacists? Investors?
Many floxies choose to blame themselves. “I shouldn’t have taken that drug,” they lament. “It probably happened because I’m too old, I was too sick, I took ibuprofen for a headache, I didn’t read the pamphlet, I have the MTHFR gene, I didn’t Google it, etc. etc. etc.”
It’s easy to blame the victim, even when the victim is never at fault . . . so who is to blame?
Instead of focusing on the blame, I’m focusing on solutions. Our team is focusing on how we can end this floxie epidemic once-and-for-all, with adequate educational campaigns and, hopefully, a huge, awesome documentary. Let us know if you want to help with the campaign and we’ll add you to a list for when the time comes.
Look out for YET ANOTHER podcast (originally recorded in June, I think!) coming out next week. We talk about how I became a filmmaker and get a little more into what it’s like to work in the film industry.
Have a great weekend and thank you for your continued support!
Best,
Michelle
Floxie, Director, and Producer of ‘Floxed’
#nonewfloxies #floxeddoc
*****
I’ve never met a lawyer who wasn’t a clueless Judas Goat leading sheep to their death, so what has to be examined here is the list of the accused when bothering for a ‘legal’ solution. Any suit that names a fictitious corporation will lose. The NAMES OF LIVING BEINGS NEEDS TO BE ON THE COMPLAINT. That would mean the doctor that prescribed it despite the faux altruistic apology that they Know Not What They Do. If they don’t then they should have their licenses removed and put in a Turkish jail. Name them by name. Then name all involved in the drug company. Then name them all in the FDA that let the poison pass. Then name the government oversight players who are supposed to watch the watchers. Only then will you have a snowflake’s chance of getting anything done.
I tried to sue, found a group suing, but I didn’t recognize peripheral neuropathy in me, so I wasn’t a candidate to be represented. The bottom of my foot itches a lot, so I guess that is peripheral neuropathy. I am not diabetic, so what could have caused such a thin?
If suing doctors, pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies and health agencies for medical malpractice and negligence was as easy as suing for a slip and fall or car accident, justice would be delivered for just about everybody who frequents this website. Unfortunately, the legal and judicial systems aren’t setup in our favour. They’re setup to protect these individuals, companies and agencies. So what we have is millions of victims with varying degrees of injuries, not to mention who knows how many deaths, and no justice being served against the criminals who are responsible for their pain and suffering. C’est la vie.
I would be willing to add my testimony to the documentary when the time comes.
One of the best yet I’m not active on the sites but severely floxed and still struggling to walk nearly 4 years after 5 pills Keep up the good work I will never give in and it wasn’t mine or my doctors fault this happened to me
Andy
I have torn the Achilles on my left foot. The other feels strange. What would I possibly do with two torn Achilles?
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Andy Perks, 5 pills. That’s what it took me. I think, no, that could not have happened in five lousy pills. I could not pick up my arms on the third day. Still I thought it can’t be so bad. Then I eye drops, used one drop in each eye and the next morning I could not walk.
Fluoroquinolones are the first line of defense fit eye infectious as per my eye doctor. Beware.
Patrick, second exposure that I knew about, after one Cipro a tendon tear, nerve pain etc – what is it exactly that you are looking for? At the very least, some of the prescribing doctors knew they were over-prescribing by their response of discrediting and gaslighting patients they floxed.
What if you were on a cruise ship, and they gave you a bottle of Levofloxin, with no warnings whatsoever..it was not even a normal hospital. No paperwork, nothing. I had gone in with a UTI, given one IVof Cipro, vomited, and then given the Levaquin(10 500 mg). They never mentioned anything. Not even the word TENDON, of which I found out later that the 6″ tendon rupture I had in 2010 was due to Cipro. All of this hell could have been avoided if I was told oreven given the black box warnings. I am positive if I saw tendon rupture I would not have forgoten the long siurgery and very long recovery process learning to walk again!! Do I sue the cruise line? Is it really worth it? I will note that soon after being floxed this time, I ordered my CC company to halt the 1500.00 payment to the ships hospital and they one with the above information given to them.
Patrick, do you have a legal background?