One of my symptoms of fluoroquinolone toxicity was memory loss. For a while, I lost my short-term memory, and I struggled to remember basic information and tasks. I also felt as if I lost my reading comprehension, and I struggled to remember what I had read shortly after I read it. Completing work-tasks that had previously been easy was suddenly difficult, and I struggled to do my job.
I felt stupid and incapable, and I worried that I now WAS stupid and incapable.
It was horrible. The loss of mental capacity was the most worrying and anxiety-inducing symptom of fluoroquinolone toxicity that I experienced. I was worried about my body–going from being able to do Cross-Fit to barely being able to walk was scary–but I was more worried about my mind. I could cope with not being fit, but I couldn’t deal with being stupid. And I felt stupid.
Over time, my memory and reading comprehension improved. The post, Healing my Brain After Cipro, lists the things that helped me. I am now able to function mentally. My memory and reading comprehension are adequate enough to do my job, and I don’t think that I come off as a total nitwit when I converse with people.
I still worry a bit about my mental capacity though. So much time has passed since I took Cipro–I got floxed 6 years ago, at the end of 2011–that it is difficult to tell how much of my perceived reduced mental capacity is due to getting floxed, getting older, spending way too much time on the internet, eating foods that are inflammatory, lack of mental stimulation, or some other factor.
I tend to blame the internet, and my mild (or not-so-mild) addiction to Facebook, for a good portion of my memory and attention-span loss, and studies seem to back-up my hunch that the constant dopamine hit that social media gives us isn’t actually good for our brains–especially our memories or attention spans. I read The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr to learn more about, and reinforce, this notion.
I expected The Shallows to provide information about the deleterious effects of the internet on my brain (that IS the premise of the book), but I didn’t expect it to link antibiotic use to memory loss. Yet… this quote jumped off the pages:
“In the 1960s, University of Pennsylvania neurologist Luis Flexner made a particularly intriguing discovery. After injecting mice with an antibiotic drug that prevented their cells from producing proteins, he found that the animals were unable to form long-term memories (about how to avoid receiving a shock while in a maze) but could continue to store short-term ones.”
An antibiotic kept the mice from forming long-term memories! Whoa!
The antibiotics used in the referenced study weren’t fluoroquinolones, but still…. it’s an interesting connection, and I wonder if the link between antibiotic use and memory (or memory loss, or memory formation/lack of memory formation) has been studied further.
I experienced difficulty forming memories after taking Cipro/ciprofloxacin, and I have heard from many others who have had similar experiences. I wonder how wide-spread, or significant, this problem is. I don’t believe that the effects of fluoroquinolones on human memory formation has ever been studied. It should be studied though. Our cognitive abilities–especially our ability to form meaningful memories–are at the base of both our intelligence and our humanity. Wouldn’t it be horrifying for antibiotics that are given out by the handful to millions of people each year, to be deleteriously affecting our memory formation, our intelligence, and even our humanity? Ugh. That’s a somewhat horrifying thought. I appreciate that some mouse studies have been done though, and the connections are always interesting, even when they are scary. Maybe someday we’ll have more information about the significance of these connections. I hope so, even if the information is frightening.
Short Term Memory DEFINITELY is affected. I am a writer and I could not write for months. It was absolutely terrifying. But the thing with all this, which continues to plague, is NO ONE believes it when you tell them. Doctors are the most insensitive PIGS on earth. I have been to at least seven and they all deny these effects from Cipro. There is no humanity left in these doctors because all they can think about is “will this lady sue me?” Because doctors fear lawsuits they tend to lean toward “it is all in your mind”, but my inability to walk correctly because my cushion in my knee was eaten away, yes, eaten away very, very quickly and I took only 4 pills! When I went to emergency screaming in pain and unable to use my arms or legs and listening to my joints pop, I had no idea that all this was caused by the Cipro. And now the powers that be have made it so we cannot sue anyone for the loss of our lives. Very, very sad…but at least now my short term memory is better. Not perfect, but better. What are the long term effects? Who knows? I personally know of 6 women adversely affected by Cipro. All of us are miserable. All of us have no recourse. We can write all we want on these websites and those who wrote books can cash in on other’s misery, but none of that is going to change the reality. Ciprofloxin destroys lives. Doctors are the murderers of those lives by prescribing it when they know that there are those who will lose their lives from it.
My prayers go out to anyone who is affected by this nightmare. Hang in there. Try Detox Tea. Continue to work on your mind/memory. Take magnesium and Vitamin D. Eat grapes. Do everything you can to detox your body. But deep in my heart I know that this poisoning will be with me now until I die. I am just grateful I didn’t kill myself in the beginning. You WILL have those thoughts, but don’t do it! Things WILL get better. Have faith. Pray……
I also had that problem, mental fog and short term lost of memory and ………….::::, I hohe I will be ok one day , I got floxed 20 months ago
I’m at almost four years out and I think my memory is the same as it would have been without my getting floxed. I have difficulty learning the kids’ names at the school where I teach now, but there are a lot of kids, and I think initially learning new names has always been hard for me. I have assigned places for them in my music classes and honestly I think I memorize that seating chart pretty rapidly. Connecting the name with the face is slower, but I think it always was. I don’t actually have prosopagnosia, but I suspect there is a continuum between people who are actually face blind and people who are great at remembering faces. I have realized recently that I use other cues like voice, height, build and hairstyle to tell students apart more than I focus on their faces.
The temptation is to blame this on the Cipro, but I think I always was that way. Just like I always had anosmia but didn’t know it until ten years ago when we learned cranial nerve testing when I was studying physical therapy and I failed the olfactory nerve test. I could tell the sample was there but I could not tell citrus from peanut butter from vanilla. I finally understood why my female friends in middle school would get so into perfume, scratch and sniff stickers, scented lotions and candles and all that crap. I would pretend to be able to smell whatever they stuck under my nose, and sometimes I could detect something, but I couldn’t tell one scent from another. I thought they were weird. I would pretend to get all excited about whatever scent they were raving over. I thought they were pretending to smell it too, I think. I never realized there was something wrong with my sense of smell.
My mild prosopagnosia and fairly severe anosmia are longstanding– well before Cipro. I accept these things about myself. For awhile I did not accept my poor ability to connect names and faces because I worked with a coteacher who berated me about it, saying I should know the kids’ names better without using a seating chart. I assumed my difficulties were due to having been floxed and it was very upsetting to me to suspect that.
As more time has passed and I feel more like myself I realize I am about like how I always was, and to get upset at myself for failing to recognize a face is like getting upset at myself for not being able to differentiate between odors I can barely detect.
This summer I had some difficulty keeping track of my stuff while working fireworks shows– I was always looking for my e-match or my shooter’s scissors or the tape or you name it. And when someone would hand me a wire to plug into a cue I would likely forget the cue before I could plug it into the firing module and have to ask again.
There was one pyrotechnician on a couple shows who berated me over this. I felt that my memory issues were Cipro damage and I was absolutely crushed. I got myself a tool belt to stick my stuff in and I worked on concentrating harder and I was able to improve a bit.
But what made me feel better was realizing that I didn’t have a poor memory, I had a distracted brain, and it was distracted by my body feeling absolutely amazing. My body has always liked a lot of physical activity and fresh air and sunshine. I was feeling twenty years old again and surprised to find that I had more stamina than some of the younger members of the crew. We did a twenty hour day followed by a ten on three hours sleep and I felt fine. I also felt stronger than I had in a long time. After feeling so weak and dealing with so many neurological symptoms for so long and then to suddenly have strength and stamina and to feel completely normal– my brain couldn’t focus on keeping track of anything because it was going “Woo Hoo!!!!” I was too happy to think. That’s a good thing.
I have begun to forgive myself for things I did not do well after I got floxed, for times I lost my temper or underperformed on the job. I look back at what I went through and I want to just be kind to the poor soul who endured all that. It’s ok that my suffering affected my ability to handle stress, to remember things and to function normally. And it’s ok that I was really really happy to feel good again and couldn’t concentrate. I did a lot of the heaviest grunt work and dirtiest jobs on that fireworks show where that one guy was complaining about my poor memory. My body felt good and I pushed it and I worked really really hard, so he can just stick it. I don’t care. I went through hell and came back whole on the other side. I wasn’t cognitively perfect before Cipro and it is healthier to accept that I will forget things and make mistakes and even people who were not floxed forget things and make mistakes.
I do think my ability to play the organ is better now than it was preflox. I am also improving on piano, which is amazing at my age. So obviously a floxed brain can recover. It can even end up working better than before thanks to good nutrition and supplements.
Hi everyone. 27 year old male here. Already posted this elsewhere but I’m trying to max out on info around these parts. I was prescribed 500 mg levaquin for ten days for chronic sinutis. After the third dose I started feeling like my tendons in my wrist were weak and hurting. Started hearing voices and became extremely paranoid and anxious as well. I then went on to read if this could be the medicine doing this to me, and was horrified by what I read. I called the doc the next day, and she said stop taking the levaquin immediately. I did and thought because I had only taken three I wouldn’t be in the trenches long. But Christ was I wrong. Both physical and mental effects. Tendons in both wrists, shoulders, knees, and ankles are hurting bad. Not excruciating, but notably bad. And I’m afraid to exercise and weight lift again. I’m also feeling this burning sensation on my skin all over. Feels quite like a sunburn. There’s no redness or rash. My face will get red right after the shower, but after applying moisturizer, it goes away within 10-15 minutes. Anyone relate to the burning thing?
Three Saturdays ago I went to a bar (piss poor choice I know) because a good friend of mine was home from California for Christmas. I, for no reason at all, just started to have a complete anxiety attack at the bar after three beers to the point where I had to leave the bar and go for a 20 minute walk just to be able to go back in to sip on water for the rest of the night. My anxiety is the worst part about all of this so far. Constantly overwhelmed by doom and gloom. Also have been having weird dreams every night non stop. Don’t know if this is at least partially self inflicted going nuts about all these symptoms, but it’s really fucking terrifying me.
I also feel like I’m highly sensitive to sound, like every clank of a glass and every bass drops hits me like an elephant on the chest. That’s gone a way a bit since, but still lingers, and again, can’t tell if it’s because of my remaining sinus issues, the levaquin, or both.
I’ll also be overwhelmed by malaise and fatigue. I’ll be fine throughout the day, and just out of nowhere this weakness hits and I’m out for the count. And again, like the broken record I am, II don’t know if this partially due to the remaining affects from my sinus infection because i do still feel like I have a sinus headache. But I’m scared shitless.
I’ve always had some lingering anxiety but NOTHING like this. I was otherwise in decent health. Took and been taking Tylenol sinus, Zyrtec for allergies, mucinex 12 hour for
Medicine and biotin, vitamin C, magnesium 250 mg, CoQ110 maximum dose, Gaba pills, probiotics twice a day, and one a day men’s health for vitamin in take. It’ll be four weeks Monday since my last dose, and I know this all sounds like small potatoes compared to the other horror stories I’ve read. But I’m still scared shitless and am desperately looking for advice and relatable discussion. I’m just praying this isn’t permanent. NOBODY in my life seems to believe that I have all of these symptoms from levaquin, but I swear it’s the only thing that adds up.
My physical pain in these two and a half weeks have been on and off. One day my arms (including hands, arms, elbows and shoulders) will feel sore, tenor and inflamed, then it’s my legs and feet, then it’s my hips, butt and back, then it’s all, then it’s nothing. I’m considering talking to my ENT next Monday about getting sinus surgery, and also have an appointment with my allergist on Friday. Also have an appointment with a neurologist on February 1st.
Any advice and/or words of encouragement will be unbelievably appreciated. It is nice to know I’m not alone in this. Do people (more or less younger people) generally tend to power through this and fully heal? Right now I’m having big doubts about that…
Thank you so much Ruth! I was taking nature made b-12 not b-6 but I’d have to check the bottle to see if it was methylated. I’ve also been taking magnesium 250 mg, vitamin c, biotin (don’t know if that’s hurting anything, was taking it for years before this fun train began and only notice bad changes when taken with the b-12) coq, and turmeric. I was taking all of these except the coq and turmeric for a significant time before the flox as well as during. I will try and look into your other recommendations and hope for the best. I’ll keep you posted and again thanks for all the detailed responses. Best of luck to you on your contibued healing as well.
Hey Ruth. Thanks once again for the reply. Sorry for so many questions, this is all like learning a foreign language to me lol. A month ago I would never know what the hell a gaba receptor is. So basically, I understand weight lifting is not a good option for me right now. But six or so months from now am I inevitably going to feel crappy doing it, but just a less than now? Honestly I did try going back last week, and anxiety did go haywire but I thought that was at least mostly due to the c4. I definitely bit off more than I could chew, and thought I was better than I was. Physically I felt the worst the first week and then it’s been and on and off game of mild nuisance pain ever since, with some occasional pins and needles and numbness in my hands. I also notice that when it’s really cold and snowy out my “ring toes” feel a bit numb.(I live in Buffalo).
One thing that didn’t dawn on me till now is nicotine. I’ve been a smoker for about 12 years now, and have tried everything to quit. Patches, vapes you name it. I know nicotine is a stimulant, but with my anxiety cranked to 11, I can’t imagine trying to go cold turkey now. Is nicotine a big deal breaker for healing? I’m vaping as of now, and it doesn’t seem to have a big negative effect on my anxiety day to day. I’ve read a couple stories where some floxies have said that smoking actually helped them. Do some floxies get by on nicotine relatively unscathed? I’d be utterly screwed if I had to cut it out completely right now..
Yikes. Definetely gonna just narrow that down and stick to the nicotine. I am somewhat relieved that there have been floxed smokers that have eventually recovered though, for some reason I automatically assumed that’d make me a lost cause ha
Definetley going to look into those options. I’ve had a lot of sinus and allergy problems this past year for whatever reason so that’s what kinda puts me in a rock and a hard place. That’s really been my only big health issue. Otherwise I’ve been in good health.
If push came to shove and I had to use the Flonase, do you know of many (or any really) floxies that have healed with having to use it? They’re not necessarily as dangerous as regular oral ones right?
Again I’m gonna look into other options, I just wanna make sure I have a viable plan b in place.
I’m in Buffalo, NY. Even for us it’s been an extremely horrid winter.
Hey Ruth, if you’re still around, I know we talked about that burning sensation on my skin, but do you have any idea why my face gets a rashy like look all over right after my shower? The burning sensation all over my body subsided for the last few days, which makes it even more concerning. Right after my shower tonight though, I felt that burning sensation on my face, and there was the red rash again. It of course went away after 10-15 minutes like usual, but any idea what that is?
Also did your hair constantly feel and look dry no matter what? I use biotin shampoo and the front of my hair constantly looks dried out and lifeless. Any idea if that’s a temporary side effect or something permanent?
Hey Ruth, me again. The other day I noticed my left pinky knuckle hurting bad. Like someone smashed it with a hammer. The sinus pressure with my face also returned. I was off the Flonase for a few days, so I decided to use it last night. This morning I woke up with my left hand numb, left pinky still hurting, and my left foot feeling almost like it was broken. After about 10 minutes of walking around it all pretty much went away. But I’m wondering, is this just a brief relapse? Did the Flonase hurt me? The left pinky knuckle was already hurting me beforehand, but the left foot pain had me concerned. Also feel like the fatigue has somewhat returned.
If my Achilles’ tendon ruptured, I shouldn’t be able to walk, right? Dumb question I know but I’m just trying to cover my basis. Lol.
Also, gastro issues are bothersome again. Diarrhea just 20 minutes ago. I already had a gastro appointment, but if I had to have an endoscopy done, is that usually an issue for floxies?
Thanks again,
Bobby
And last thing: is fatigue something should be coming and going as a symptom? I was feeling really great in that regard, and now *poof* back to square one.
Yeah I do apologize for sounding like a hypochondriac, it’s just all so insanely frustrating. What’s worse is that no one believes this is real, or as severe as it is. Not my family, friends, nobody. I had one ENT doctor somewhat understand, but of course, there was nothing she could really do about it.
I just feel stuck in a rut at this point. I tried going without the Flonase, and my sinus congestion became unbearable within 48 hrs. I’ve had bad joint pain in my left pinky knuckle for days, and don’t know if that’s what caused it, or if it was just the symptoms cycling. Either way this is the worst my joints have felt since week 1, but at least it’s only in a couple of places instead of literally everywhere (feet, toes, ankles, and my left pinky). My ent said it’s probably GERD, and now I don’t know how or even if I can properly treat it. It feels very damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
Again, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me Ruth. It just is utter chaos lol.
Is sharp rib cage pain common among
Floxies?
Oh wow. Had no idea. The first week I took ibuprofen for the first 2-3 days, maybe 4, but that was before I really realized what I was dealing with. I didn’t notice a bad or worsening effect then. But who knows why. I guess I was just lucky.
Oh I believe it’s true. I’m just surprised I escaped using ibuprofen unscathed back before I realized what exactly was happening week 1 (I’m on week 5 as of today) Is there a certain (average) point where they become safe to take again? Or is it donezo forever?
Well that’s terrifying lol. My left pinky knuckle of all things? I can’t think of any strenuous activity I did that would damage that part of my hand of all places. Same with my ribs. Wasn’t coughing a lot or anything. Man this is madness.
I am definetely convinced now that I somehow tore something in my left knuckle below my pinky. Every joint pain has come and gone except this one, and again. Or could it be arthritis? I know being floxed can mimic arthritis pain but could it actually give you arthritis?
Regardless, my question is if that’s true, can it heal on its own without the use of anti inflammatories? I’d go to the doc, but I already know are they’re just gonna say rest it, ice it, and take ibuprofen.
On another note, I had an anxiety attack this morning, first big one in several weeks (although I’ve had brief mini ones that go away within 10-15 minutes every 4-5 days or so) but it was much more manageable and much less intense than the Mac daddy one I had week 2. I don’t know if that’s a sign of me getting better or just me learning to adapt to it. It did suck because I couldn’t fall back to sleep afterwards, but I was otherwise fine after I got up and at least got 6 hours of sleep in.
And yet another question, so sorry Ruth lol. But something else dawned on me. Have many floxies with PRE flox general anxiety disorder and/or depression recover normally? Or at least back to their pre flox state?
I did have some problems being anxious and nervous in the past, just never to the extreme degree I’ve been post flox.
I’ve had weird experiences with alcohol up to this point, and then grew concerned when I’ve read other stories where alcohol didn’t have much of a big ill effect on floxies. I drank with a buddy who had been visiting for the holidays three days after I was floxed (before I really realized what was happening to me). I only had one IPA and two colors lights (which usually would’ve been nothing for me) and the next day I woke up really nervous and anxious. Then the next night I had four miller lights and was fine the next day up until night time where I first got the sound and light sensitivy and become so anxious and nervous I had to leave the bar the next night after one shot and one beer and go for a walk. I eventually got myself together and went back only to drink water for the rest of the night.
The next week we went out for New Years Eve and I had four beers throughout the whole night (11 PM-4 AM) and was drinking water in between. I was fine, but then again woke up with the same anxiety AND depression, although it didn’t last as long this time.
I haven’t had a sip of alcohol since, but it does make sense about the gut. At the time my stomach felt…weird. I wasn’t nauseas, but my appetite was out of whack. I could eat, but only when I felt it necessary. It didn’t make me sick or anything, I just didn’t care. I had absolutely no desire to pleasure eat. I would force myself to eat to maintain weight and just because I know I had to. Again, wasn’t because I was sick or throwing up, I had a bit of a stomach ache and some cramps that would come and go, but nothing major. just didn’t have much incentive. I was on amoxy clav before the levaquin, and amoxicillin about a week after I was floxed to get rid of the remaining effects of (at least what I thought was) the remaining symptoms of my sinus infection. I then started using pro biotics for the first time in my life. I’d say my old appetite is about 75-85% back and my stomach overall feels about 75% better. Is that a good sign I’d be able to handle a couple beers a bit vetter. I’ll be at 6 weeks floxed this upcoming Monday.