*The following is an individual’s story of surviving fluoroquinolone toxicity. It is not medical advice. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the story. Thank you, and please be cautious with all treatments.
Lisa’s Story
In the middle of November, 2011, I took Cipro to treat a urinary tract infection. I took 2 pills (500 mg each, I believe) a day for three days. I didn’t feel like the infection was gone, so I went back to the doctor and requested more antibiotics. He gave me macrobid and the infection subsided within a couple of days. Life went on as normal for the next couple of weeks, until December 2, 2011, at which time I got my period and started taking ibuprofen to help me to deal with the cramps.
Before I continue with my story, I would like to note that I had taken Cipro to treat a urinary tract infection approximately a year earlier. I had no notable side effects at that time. Though, looking back on things, I did develop an eyelid twitch at that time and some strange stomach cramping that came and went started then. I didn’t think anything of the eyelid twitching or the stomach cramps. I certainly didn’t think that they were tied to the Cipro. I took ibuprofen regularly after taking Cipro with no adverse effects.
On December 2, 2011 my legs started to itch. On December 4th I broke out in hives all over my body. I went to the doctor and was told to take Benadryl. I took more Benadryl than the box recommends and my hives got progressively worse. On December 5th my feet and hands swelled to the point that I couldn’t use them anymore. It was painful to walk, or even to just stand. I went back to the doctor and was put on prednisone. The prednisone suppressed the swelling and calmed the hives a bit. On December 7th my left leg went weak. For the next few weeks the following symptoms got worse and worse:
- Weakness in my legs. I could barely walk. The steps that I could take took a tremendous amount of effort and energy. I couldn’t stand for more than a minute. I had to drag a chair into the kitchen in order to cook rice because I couldn’t stand to stir the pot.
- Tightness of the tendons in my legs. I had inflammation, and possibly tears, in most of the tendons in my legs and feet. My hips, knees and ankles, to simplify things, didn’t work right.
- Loss of use of muscles / loss of strength. My muscles, especially the muscles in my legs, wouldn’t move like they used to. All of my movements were slow and deliberate.
- Brain fog. I couldn’t think straight. I felt stupid. I couldn’t concentrate. It was a struggle to do my job.
- Loss of memory. My short-term memory decreased significantly.
- Loss of peripheral vision. Large, black floaters entered my peripheral vision.
- Loss of appetite and weight.
- Loss of flexibility. I went from being able to do yoga several times a week to being unable to sit with my legs curled up under me.
- Loss of balance.
- Severe loss of energy. I felt like the plug had been pulled from my energy source. I wasn’t necessarily sleepy, I was just drained. The feeling was similar to the feeling that I have when I have a cold – weak and like I just want to collapse. Just slight exertion would drain me of my energy. Walking would make me tired for a whole day afterward.
- Dry mouth.
- Anxiety. I had an ongoing anxiety attack for the first couple of months after being floxed.
- Pain in my feet. I felt like I was walking on hot coals with every step I took.
- Loss of reading comprehension. I would read a page and have no idea what I had just read.
- Loss of social skills / connectedness. I felt anxious and scared in social situations. I lost confidence in both my physical and mental abilities. I felt very alone despite having a wonderfully supportive family.
I felt as if I had aged 20 years in just a week or two. I couldn’t move, think or eat. My body and mind were falling apart and I had no idea why. I didn’t think that the sudden decline in my health had anything to do with the Cipro. After all, I had stopped taking it a couple of weeks before my body started to fall apart. I thought that I had an autoimmune disease. My symptoms seemed similar to those of rheumatoid arthritis. I went back to the doctor and they ran every test imaginable on me. I was relieved to find out that I didn’t have an autoimmune disease, but it was somewhat frustrating to hear that all of the tests were showing that I was normal and healthy when, clearly, I was neither normal nor healthy. The doctors did not provide me with a diagnosis or a prognosis. Though I was desperately seeking a diagnosis and prognosis, I am thankful, in retrospect, that they didn’t misdiagnose me. If I had been mistakenly diagnosed as having an autoimmune disease, I may have treated it with pharmaceuticals that could have made me feel even worse.
I was desperate for some treatment, something to stop the downward spiral that my body, mind and spirit were in. The traditional medical doctors I saw provided no relief, treatment or healing. I started seeing an acupuncturist. He was able to stabilize my condition, calm my nerves and keep me from spiraling physically or mentally. After a few weeks feeling stable physically, I started to have days where I felt better than I had the day before. Mentally, I kept going downhill for a while, but, eventually my mental health stabilized and started to improve as well.
Eventually, with the help of my acupuncturist, I connected my symptoms to Cipro. Once the connection was made, I realized that all of my symptoms were consistent with those of others who have been poisoned by Cipro and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics. I entered the scary world of being a floxie.
For about a year, I considered myself to be sick. Though the symptoms listed above were improving, slowly but steadily, I was still sick, and a long ways from the healthy, active, energetic woman that I was before I took Cipro. After a year, I started to put “sick” in the past tense. Though I wasn’t back to the level of health that I was prior to being floxed, I was getting better and, as far as most people could tell, I was well.
Following is a list of things that I did to help me to get well, to heal. I am not a doctor. This is a description of my experience and what helped me. I hope that what helped me helps you. Everyone is different though. What helped me may not help you. One thing that I know helped me and that I know will help you is hope. I hope that the fact that I have largely recovered helps you to have hope. I hope that the other steps that I took to get well also help you to gain hope and healing.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns, or to share your story.
Lisa’s Healing Tips
One of the many frustrating things about fluoroquinolne toxicity is that everyone’s body is different. Everyone’s symptoms are different and everyone’s body reacts differently to treatments. Following is a list of things that helped me. I hope that what helped me will help you, but it may not. I am including other people’s healing tips as well, in case their tips can help. Of course, please read these tips with the typical disclaimer in mind – I am not a doctor or medical professional of any kind. I am sharing my experience with the hope that others may find it to be useful. Please ask your doctor, or other trusted medical professional, for medical advice, and before taking any of my advice.
In no particular order, here are the things that helped me to heal.
- Time. With time, I have healed. Each day is better than the day before. Time will heal your wounds too. Eventually, you will get better. The poisonous reaction affecting every part of your body will eventually stop and you will begin to recover. I have heard several stories of fellow floxies having a timeline similar to mine – slow, steady recovery for about 2 years. Other people take more, or less, time to recover. Time does help though, and most people do end up getting better as time goes on. Very few people get worse and worse indefinitely. There may be bumps in the road, but time is your friend. Time will help you to return to a state of health.
Try to be patient with yourself. It will take time for your body and mind to heal. I see this whole ordeal of getting sick as a lesson in patience (and compassion, gratitude and health). Pushing yourself too hard too soon can lead to pain, frustration and injury. Try to give yourself the time necessary to heal, and, with time, your body and mind will, indeed, heal.
- Avoid NSAIDs and steroids like the plague. Both NSAIDs and steroids are contraindicated with fluoroquinolone toxicity. They will make your reactions and symptoms worse. There are some published medical articles on PubMed about the contraindication between NSAIDs/steroids and fluoroquinolones. Searching at the library or on Google will give you more detailed information than I can provide. Anecdotally, I know that my reaction was triggered by taking NSAIDs (ibuprofen that I took to help me to deal with menstrual cramps) and it was exacerbated by taking prednisone (a steroid). Please note that I did NOT take NSAIDs or steroids at the same time as Cipro. I took ibuprofen 2 weeks after I finished taking Cipro and it triggered my toxic reaction and I took prednisone 3 weeks after I had finished taking Cipro, after my reaction had started. I will never take another NSAID or steroid again.
Unfortunately, NSAIDs and steroids are the drugs that are the most commonly prescribed drugs used to “treat” fluoroquinolone toxicity. This is because the combination of NSAIDs/steroids and fluoroquinolones does not always cause a toxic reaction, the toxic reaction of combining fluoroquinolones and NSAIDs/steroids can occur even when the drugs are taken weeks or months apart, doctors and other medical professionals don’t acknowledge fluoroquinolone toxicity and so they don’t look for the contraindications and because many of the symptoms of fluoroquinolone toxicity are treated with NSAIDs and steroids. The pain killing qualities of NSAIDs and the swelling reduction qualities of steroids make them the drugs of choice for treating many of the symptoms of fluoroquinolone toxicity. Don’t take them though! In my nonmedical opinion, I suggest taking non-NSAID over-the-counter pain medicine like acetaminophen (Tylenol) for pain (or marijuana – which is probably better for your liver), and antihistamines for the swelling.
Often, fluoroquinolne toxicity is misdiagnosed as an autoimmune disease. In particular, it is often misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. Many of the drugs that are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis are NSAIDs. Don’t take them.
- Acupuncture. I credit my acupuncturist with saving my life. I can only guess how I would have fared without my acupuncturist, but I imagine that I would have ended up in the emergency room, pumped full of steroids and antidepressants, having a massive anxiety attack and unable to walk. That didn’t happen though and there really isn’t any point in surmising about what could have been. I do know that acupuncture stopped my downward spiral and got me on the road to recovery. Both the acupuncture needles and the herbs that he provided gave me immense relief. I don’t know why or how acupuncture works, but I do know that it worked wonders for me.
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Supplements. I have taken more supplements than I can remember. 90% of them had no noticeable effect on my health. Here is a list of supplements that I think helped me.
Iron. I take a low dose iron supplement – only 5 mg. – daily. The brand of iron supplement that I use is Pur Absorb, but I’m guessing that other low-dose iron supplements will work equally well. Within just a couple days of starting taking the iron supplement, my energy levels increased dramatically. I could walk a mile without being exhausted afterward. In addition to improving my energy level, the iron supplement seems to make my muscles and tendons more supple and malleable. When my tendons are feeling tight, a dose of iron helps to loosen them up – within just a couple hours. Too much iron is really bad for you, so please be careful with supplementing it (ask your doctor, yada yada), but it helps me immensely.
Magnesium. I take 250 mg of chelated magnesium daily. I don’t necessarily notice that it makes me feel better, but I do notice that I feel worse when I don’t take it. My muscles twitch if I don’t take my mag.
Zinc. I take zinc when I get around to it. I remember feeling mildly better when I started taking it. It doesn’t seem to affect my health dramatically though.
Chlorophyll. I take chlorophyll about every other day. It seems to help with my energy level and mental functioning.
I also take fish oils, resveratrol, a probiotic, a joint supplement, CoEnzyme Q10, vitamin B12, chlorella, glucosamine, brewer’s yeast and some other supplements. They may help. I can’t say that I feel a difference using any of them.
- Meditate. Meditating has so many amazing, positive benefits for your brain, your life, your spirit, etc. that I can go on about it ad nauseam. Meditation helped relieve a lot of the mental symptoms of my fluoroquinolone toxicity. My anxiety, inability to concentrate, inability to connect with others, depression, loss of reading comprehension, decreased mental acuity, etc. were greatly reduced (or improved) through meditating. I meditate about 10 minutes each day. I should meditate more like 20-30 minutes a day.
Meditating helped me to gain compassion for myself and my situation. It also helped me to let go of the anger that I felt toward the pharmaceutical companies and the medical culture that allows fluoroquinolones to be on the market. The pharmaceutical companies and the medical culture are both messed up and blame of them is justified, but anger and blame were not serving me mentally, emotionally, spiritually or physically. I needed to let go of my anger and blame in order to move on with my life. Meditating helped with that.
I learned to meditate through taking a class called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction that was offered by my health insurer. It was an excellent class based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn. Many Buddhism centers offer Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction or Meditation 101 classes.
- Get off the internet. Most of the information available on the internet about fluoroquinolone toxicity is horrifying. Fluoroquinolone toxicity is horrifying. It is scary. It is completely unacknowledged by the medical community – the doctors, nurses, etc. who we go to in order to make sense of things when our body goes hay-wire – so we seek answers on the internet. Unfortunately, most internet sites devoted to fluoroquinolone toxicity do not provide a balanced picture. They show the harm and the horror of fluoroquinolone poisoning, but they don’t show the healing and hope that most people eventually experience. I am writing and distributing this in order to provide the perspective of hope and healing. Some people are permanently disabled from fluoroquinolones. My heart goes out to those people and they have every right to scream their story on the internet. However, their story is not your story. My story is not your story either. But if you’re going to look to the internet for a prognosis, it’s better to find a hopeful prognosis than one that is full of doom and gloom.
When I participated in the online forums for Floxies, I noticed that my anxiety levels increased significantly. Even after I was 90% recovered and I thought I could handle it, my anxiety levels would go up simply by reading about people being floxed. Inducing anxiety is one of the worst things that someone suffering from fluoroquinolone toxicity should do. Anxiety makes all symptoms worse. I would slowly relapse and my symptoms would get worse every time I participated in the online forums.
Of course, the people participating in the online forums are seeking to help fellow Floxies, to commiserate and to participate in a support group. It is not their fault that my anxiety levels increased when viewing their sites and/or support groups. After all, most people on those sites are trying to be helpful and supportive. However, the net result of participating in the forums for Floxies is that my anxiety levels increased and my health declined while I was on those sites. I am healthier and happier not participating in the online “support groups” than I was while I did participate in those groups. Of course, this is my experience only. Many people find solace in the Floxie community and if it helps you, great!
The people who have worked hard to create a community of Floxies to support one another should be commended. It is because of their hard work that thousands of people have realized what is going on with their bodies and that they are not alone. The community of Floxies is full of wonderful people. However, you need to do what you need to do to take care of your health and if you find that hearing other people’s stories increases your anxiety levels, get off the internet. For you.
- Diet. I lost 11 pounds in 18 days when I first got floxed. My body was going hay-wire and it seemed like an allergic reaction. I had no idea what I could possibly be allergic to so I stopped eating almost everything. I didn’t eat sugar (including fruit), gluten, dairy, soy, anything non-kosher or anything spicy, or drink any alcohol or caffeine, for a month. I only ate vegetables and organic meat. It’s a highly effective way to lose weight, but I don’t think that restricting my diet severely helped me to heal. Restricting my diet gave me a sense of control, and that’s not a bad thing when your body is self-destructing, but I don’t think that it made me feel any better physically. After a month of only eating veggies and organic meat, I started to add normal foods into my diet. As soon as I started eating an appropriate number of calories, I started to feel better. Not only was I Floxed, I was also wasting away when I wasn’t eating normally. Getting enough food is an important part of healing. Of course, it’s generally good to be on the “don’t eat junk” diet, but I didn’t find that cutting my food intake significantly helped me to feel better.
Many Floxies develop GI problems. I was lucky in that I didn’t have many GI problems. Many people seem to be helped by cutting gluten, sugar and/or junk food out of their diet.
I notice that I feel slightly worse than normal when I consume sugar and/or caffeine. I think that most people do, I am just now accustomed to paying closer attention to my body.
The only food that makes me feel noticeably better is beets. For some reason, beets make me feel great. I just boil them and eat them.
I’ve heard good things about the benefits for Floxies of eating broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables. I love broccoli so I try to eat a lot of it. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’ve noticed that it makes me feel better.
- Swim. My tendons and muscles feel significantly better when I’m in the water, and for several hours after I finish swimming. Swimming in the ocean feels especially therapeutic. There are so many minerals and trace nutrients in the ocean, I surmise that they’re helpful for healing. Unfortunately, I don’t live near the sea, so I swim in a pool. I feel better when I do so.
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Pilates. I started doing Pilates about 7 months post-floxing. Pilates strengthens the core, something that is generally important, and gently stretches muscles, tendons and ligaments, something that is particularly important for Floxies. I started slowly and gently and didn’t push my tendons, muscles or ligaments too much. I feel that gently stretching helped my tendons, muscles and ligaments to heal and return to (close to) their pre-floxing capacity. Take it easy though.
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Healing arts. I love to dance. I’m not a good dancer, but I love to do it. About 16 months post-floxing I started to dance again. Dance has been healing for me. I feel spiritual, strong and joyful when I dance. I’m not sure if it’s the dancing itself that I find to be healing, of if it’s the joy that I feel when I dance that is healing. Either way, it helps. I surmise that other forms of expression would have similar healing qualities. If you love to sing, sing. If you love to paint, paint. If you love to write, write.
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Attitude tips.
Try not to compare yourself to how you used to be. I used to hike 20 miles in a day. I can’t do that anymore, but I can hike 3 miles today and I couldn’t do that when I first got floxed. Compare yourself to how you were yesterday, not to how you were before you got floxed.
Do something – anything – to work toward healing, every day. Walk a little further than you did yesterday. Meditate. Take an Epsom Salt bath. Get an acupuncture treatment. Do a puzzle. Whatever makes you feel good – do it. Every little step helps.
Don’t kill yourself. Have hope. You will get better.
You’re not crazy. You’re sick. Have hope. You will get better.
You’re not stupid. You’re sick. Have hope. You will get better.
Try not to identify yourself as sick. The mind is a powerful thing so try to stay positive. It’s hard, I know. But try, because it’s worth it.
You will have bad days. They will pass. This all will pass. It is not permanent. You are strong – present tense. You were knocked down, but you weren’t killed. You will get better.
Don’t quit your job. Try to maintain as much normalcy in your life as you can.
It is not your fault. Even if you knew better, even if you demanded the most powerful drug possible from your doctor, even if you self-medicated, even if you coerced your doctor into giving you the fluoroquinolone antibiotic, even if the infection that you were treating was something that you got because of doing something stupid, or from sex, even if you continued to take it after you started to get sick, even if you floxed your child/parent or other loved one – IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. You are sick. You are poisoned. You are not to blame for your sickness or for the fact that you are poisoned. Who to blame is a discussion that I don’t want to get into because I want this to be positive, but it is not you. You are not to blame. You are a victim. It is not your fault.
Lisa’s Life now
Life is good. I don’t consider myself to be sick any more. I’m not quite up to my pre-floxing capacity in a couple of areas. I don’t have the endurance, energy, strength or flexibility that I used to. However, I’m pretty close to my pre-floxing capacity in those, and other, areas. I’m about 99% better. Not being capable of intense exercise since December, 2011 has left me a bit out of shape, but I’m working toward being able to exercise intensely again and my stamina, strength, energy, etc. are increasing. I can’t hike 15 miles with a backpack on quite yet (something I could do before I was floxed), but I am capable of most physical and mental activities that would put me in the “normal” or “not sick” categories.
I can work full-time. I am grateful for the fact that I have a job that is not too demanding physically or mentally because I was able to hold onto it through my worst times. My boss and coworkers were wonderfully understanding and they claim not to have noticed that I couldn’t think straight for about a year. I even got a promotion about a year post-floxing!
I can do Pilates 4 times a week, swim 2 times a week, dance once a week and walk daily.
When I was unable to walk a block I told myself that I would consider myself to be “better” when I could dance all night in heels (my feet hurt like hell when I was sick), I can do that now. I never liked high heels, but I can wear them now.
My memory isn’t quite what it used to be, but it’s good enough to do well at my job and to maintain my relationships.
In many ways, I’m a different person than I was before I got floxed. This has been perplexing for me and my loved ones, but it’s not an altogether negative thing. I’m a much more spiritual person than I was before I got sick. I was a pretty firm Atheist before I was floxed. Now, through meditation, dancing, believing in alternative therapies that focus on energy, etc., I’m finding some spiritual outlets that I didn’t have, need or want in the past.
I have become a more compassionate and patient person. I now empathize with people who have mystery diseases. I used to have the attitude that I now find so frustrating in medical professionals – that if there isn’t a way to diagnose or treat an ailment, it doesn’t exist. Now I know that people are genuinely suffering and that there is a real cause for their pain – regardless of whether or not it is acknowledged by the medical community. My heart goes out to those in pain.
I had to become more compassionate and patient with myself as well.
I like some things that I didn’t like before I was floxed and I don’t like some things that I used to like a lot. I hated swimming for the first 32 years of my life. Now I love it and consider it to be an important aspect of my healing. I used to like working out in an intense way that got me dripping with sweat. Now I like to do exercises like Pilates that are focused, slow and deliberate. I used to love hiking, camping and backpacking. I miss loving those things so I’m going to try to get back into them, but I’m not sure that they’re my passions any more. Drinking used to be one of my favorite pastimes. My tolerance for alcohol is shot now and I don’t really enjoy it any more. I missed it for a while even though I knew that it was for the best that I wasn’t drinking like a fish. My appetite has changed as well. I used to be able to eat a lot of food and I loved to eat. I still eat, of course, but I don’t eat as much as I used to and I don’t eat with as much gusto. This is probably a good thing seeing as I’m not into exercising intensely any longer.
Even though I would do just about anything to turn back time and not take Cipro, the place that I am in life isn’t bad, and I probably would be someplace different if I hadn’t gotten sick. It sucks that I had to gain empathy for people who suffer from pain, mystery ailments and debilitating fatigue, but it’s probably a good thing that I now have more empathy. I would like to think that I’m a better person from going through this. I’m not a stronger person, but maybe I am a better person.
I hope that my tips and words of advice are welcome and helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
** The story above is truthful, accurate and told to the best of the ability of the writer. It is not intended as medical advice. No person who submits his or her story, nor the people associated with Floxie Hope, diagnoses or treats any illness. The story above should not be substituted for professionally provided medical advice. Please consult your doctor before trying anything that has been mentioned in this story, or in any other story on this site. Please also note that people have varying responses to the treatments mentioned in each story. What helps one person may not help, and may even hurt, another person. It is important that you understand that supplements, IVs, essential oils, and all other treatments, effect people differently depending on the millions of variables that make each of us unique. Please use appropriate caution and prudence, and get professional medical advice.
I would love to find an acupuncturist
In New York City area. I need one who knows how to treat Floxies.
Dan
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/06/05/la-sante-physique-dun-homme-deperit-apres-la-prise-dun-simple-antibiotique
we did advise the peoples by the newspaper but doctors continue to give the bitter pills
I’m so sorry for the suffering all of you are going through. I’m writing an article for a small newsletter about fluoroquinolones after having just read about them and the horrific side effects and found your site. Want to get the word out to my friends and neighbors.
I’ve also recently been telling everyone I know about magnesium deficiency, and when reading about fluoroquinolones – and then the list of “floxed” symptoms, I was surprised that it read like a list of magnesium deficiency symptoms. So I thought – hm-m, fluoroquinolones contain a form of fluoride and fluoride binds to magnesium and depletes it. Could there be a connection? Maybe this is part of the puzzle. The fluoride is used to increase delivery and effectiveness of drugs.
I discovered more about magnesium, which is involved in around 300 body processes, several months ago after having read “The Magnesium Miracle” by Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, who is an expert on the topic. 70-80% of people are deficient and most people don’t know it. Difficult to get enough from food, even organic. I found a topical spray from amazon.com. It helped calm my nervous system, anxiety, heart palpitations and leg cramps and worked fast. Better than oral for me – no gastric distress.
THINGS THAT DEPLETE MAGNESIUM
1. Fluoride in your water, toothpaste and medications – over the counter and prescription
3. Stress depletes it daily. BIG TIME
4. Depleted soil – even those eating organic – unless soil has been treated with magnesium.
Have any of you been tested for magnesium deficiency? The serum blood test used by most MDs doesn’t show it because only a small percentage of magnesium is stored in the blood. The rest is stored in bone and tissues – muscles, etc. The recommend dosage is 300-400 mg daily, but Dr. Dean recommends that most need 700-800 mg DAILY especially when under stress. And sometimes it takes months to get your levels to normal and then you can reduce the dosage. Dr Dean’s book mentions an available test but don’t know how many labs do it. I think it’s available by mail.
I use the magnesium spray daily. Several of my friends are using it with good results. (No I’m not affiliated in any way with any company.) Each spray contains around 26 mg magnesium chloride. Dr Mark Sircus also has a topical magnesium called magnesium oil, but I found that one burned when I applied it.
There may not be one solution, but perhaps this information may be helpful for some. Always check with your health care provider.
I wish all of you the best.
Thank you for this, Joann. I found this recipe for magnesium oil and was planning on making some tomorrow. Soaking my feet in a bin with magnesium chloride has really helped with inflammation, so am encouraged to use the oil spray too after reading what you said. Thanks again.
Sorry I forgot the link, so here you go: http://wellnessmama.com/5804/make-your-own-magnesium-oil/
Thank you so much for posting this. My wife was given cipro and has all the side effects you described. It has been a troubling time. I’ve been reading about cipro for some time now. The pharma industry is criminal in their practice. Thank you for giving us hope
Thank you for this, Lisa. It’s the first hopeful post about floxing that I have found, and I needed it. I’m a runner, or I was. Now walking the dog is enough to make me feel like my Achilles is about to rupture. I can’t live without exercise; I can’t live without running. Thank you for your story of recovery; it’s given me the hope I needed.
Thank you for sharing your story. I am now fighting this sickness, you have given me hope! Thank you and God bless!
Hi Antonia!
Yes,I was on amoxicliln but didn’t clear my uti either. I was also on amoxicliln 2 weeks earlier for strep throat I got from my daughter, so I built up resistance there. Yes,that also flared my nerves but settled down once off the drug.
The antibiotic that did clear it was a cephalasporin antibiotic called “cephdinir”. I had zero side effects and it worked quickly. I read floxies do well w those so I think you’ll do well if amoxicillin still fails.
Please let me know how u are doing and if u have any more questions:)
Best of luck. I hate uti’s!!!! 🙁
Hi Trish,
Thanks so much for letting us know the cephdinir works without bringing back the cipro issues! I’m putting it next to my doctor’s phone number, so if another dreaded uti hits, I know what to do. Thanks again!
I had early bacterial meningitis 9 months ago, started as infection in my bloodstream. I took IV Vancomycin with oral Levaquin in hospital. Then 19 days of oral Levaquin and Clindamycin together a month later due to ongoing fever and aches after the main infection was gone- because they couldn’t find any other reason for my symotoms. Then last month another round of Levaquin for 10 days due to low fever and again no explanation for still feeling crappy. Through the whole ordeal up until now, I have episodes of severe weakness and flu-ish body aches. The bad days feel like the most debilitating flu ever, and the “ok” days in between the bad ones feel like I’ve just gotten over the flu. It comes in monthly cycles. Literally every specialist has run every in depth blood test and nothing abnormal. So now I’m wondering can this be some Levaquin toxicity after effects going on? I also get jittery, brain foggish, vertigo, and feel disconnected in general. The weakness and aches are the worst part, can’t even stand or hold my arm up without shaking and laying back down. I’ve gone to the ER during these episodes convinced I was dying and labs were still normal. The monthly cyclical nature of it has doctors perplexed because my infection is technically cleared, but these episodes still happen 9 months after the fact. Can a toxicity effect come and go in cycles like what I have going on? Any info. would help so much. I’m so tired of doctors prescribing antidepressants and sending me on my way. That’s not what I need!!!
I’m from the UK and have stumbled accross this article and it is so nice to hear so much positivity instead of all the horror stories as I too am suffering terribly after taking Cipro 🙁 I am a 28 yr female who was so active loved to walk/hike and camp and now I feel like my body is dying inside, confined to my bed and trying not to be sucked down into dispair. I’m trying not to be so angry at the doctor who prescribed these, I feel utterly stupid for taking them. I was only given these to warn off any infections I may pick up due to having a low white blood count, which over the past couple of weeks has gone up. I’ve been taking 1x 250mg tablet for 22 days out of a 28 day course. I’ve suffered with a low B12 count which I’m now getting shots for and have had some kind of viral infection which is still being investigated by the haematologist. Now I look back to when I started the anti biotics I can’t believe the symptoms I was feeling, I thought they were the virus but it was the Cipro. I was so stupid to carry them on. Neck stiffness/pain, flu like symptoms no fever, nausea, stomach cramps, deep aches in my legs, muscles feel like they have teared/stretched, burning senasations in my legs, feelings of anxiety increasing, shortness of breathe, palpatation’s, night sweats urg the list goes on. I’ve been off the tablets 4 days and I can’t stop crying due to the muscles cramping. I haven’t been able to walk or stand for very long for a few weeks with it becoming worse the past few days, sitting hurts my legs and now laying down hurts all over. I’ve researched into this and can’t believe how this drug is still around it is pure poison. I am absolutely gutted that I’ve had to get a sick note for work, I work in a nursing home and am on my feet for 12 hour shifts. In 3 months I will be going to university to study nursing and will be doing full time hours, I am truly terrified this is going to affect me. I’m trying to think positive thoughts. Have bought myself calcium and magnesium tablets which also contain zinc. Drinking pure spring water which is naturally high in calcium and magnesium low in sodium. Eating probiotic yoghurt. Booked in for a massage for my back but hoping this won’t make me worse as the muscles in my back/rib/kidney area are tender. Need to book an appointment with the chiropractor and for acupuncture. Going to try and meditate. Eating plenty of green leafy vegetables. Can feel my anxiety rising ( I had a slight bit before cipro) trying to read books on mindfulness. All I do is cry. It is so hard to be positive. Also after reading this article I’m going to try and not look on the Internet for symptoms and treatments. It has helped in my research but puts the fear back and anxiety levels rise. I’m going to try adding turmeric into meals and try vitamin C to help along with detoxing my body and my gut. Going to invest in some more Pro biotics too. Hope everyone gets through this and it’s so nice to know I’m not alone.
Dear Lania,
You poor thing! It’s great that you’re doing a lot of things that will deal with all kinds of different aspects of taking that drug. Now try to see yourself as getting healthy again. The relaxation you get from that will really help. I know that with me I continued to have dips in my mood when the pain started in other joints, but mostly they would move on after a few days, and then something else would start up. If you’re like me, most of the issues will move on. Doing Meriva 500-SF by Thorne(a concentrated Curcumin Phytosome capsule, which comes from turmeric) helped me the most and the quickest, to deal with the inflammation. On those bad days I would also make a drink with a full teaspoon full of turmeric put in melted coconut oil, and then add rice milk and heat it up. You can also add honey to it. (It stains, so rinse your mouth out afterwards, and don’t get it on your clothes.) It’s a lot more turmeric than you’d eat in a meal, and it really helped with the pain and inflammation on days when I couldn’t close my fingers all the way. I also took Detoxication Factors Phase 1 and phase 2 support by Integrative Therapeutics. Both of those supplements were pricey, but I only had to buy one large bottle of each to get me through this 3 month period. If you’re going to only do one, I’d say do the Meriva for the more immediate results.
In 3 days I’ll be 3 months away from my last Cipro pill, and I’m feeling so much better that I’ve been adding in physical activities that I love like light hiking and Nia, and even played guitar again yesterday, which has really helped my attitude and is helping me to relax and let the little speed bumps of pain move in and out quicker. The anxiety is horrible when it hits, but try to not let it take over. Remember that anxiety is one of the side effects that they warn you about, so still hang onto beliefs that the anxiety is not you, and your body is amazing and can get you through this.
One other thing: My husband just bought me a deep tissue massage for my birthday and it was not only amazing for helping me get in touch with my body again, but this therapist was able to give me tips for how to break up the odd tissue and crunchiness that remains in my foot. He gave me hope that it can be normal again. It feels like a door is opening and I’m starting to be able to move away from this as part of my identity. I know I still have to start building muscles and endurance again slowly, but what a relief to be feeling progress!
I hope you are through this by the time you start your classes.
Best wishes,
Pam
Lania,
I forgot to tell you to add a pinch of pepper to the turmeric drink to aid absorption. Also, I found the turmeric in bulk at a natural food store, so it was a lot cheaper.
You’re so welcome. I really appreciate all the information and encouragement I got from you and your website! It helped me so much when I was getting hit so hard by all the symptoms. There are 2 more things I have found; one, is this information on turmeric I just opened in an email. (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric-and-curcumin.html) and the other is a recipe for magnesium oil, which you can spray on your skin, which helps get your magnesium level up. http://wellnessmama.com/5804/make-your-own-magnesium-oil/ The bonus is that it’s really easy to make and you may have time to spray it on when you don’t have time for a magnesium chloride soak. Dr. Dean recommends you get 700-800 mg a day, and I believe wellnessmama said a spray has 26 mg (depending on your sprayer) and you do 8-10 sprays at a time.
Hope it helps!
So super happy for this site! I was given Cipro for gall bladder inflamation to avoid infection. Also flagyl at the same time. So angry at the medical profession for doing this to me. Starting to feel it in my muscles. Not many other symptoms yet, but want to get it out of my system so I can start healing properly. What steps should I take?
Hi Barb,
For me and for lots of people it seems that a safe thing to start with is a magnesium supplement, which helps with pain (the drug leaches it out of our systems) but if you can, find an acupuncturist/Chinese herbal medicine practitioner to guide you. If they have not heard of this thing (FQ toxicity) they will at least believe you, and be sure to go with information to give them. Acupuncture is helping me, and the doctor guides me carefully on supplements. Don’t load up on supplements, start slow. Magnesium is a good place to start. I take 300 mgs of magnesium at bedtime as recommended by my acupuncturist. I also take a probiotic pill for digestion (it’s good to do that, even if you don’t notice anything happening there yet) and I also continue to take a vitamin C like I have. I’ve cut out sugar, alcohol, white flour, and I eat lots of organic vegetables, just a generally clean diet. It’s worth the money to see a competent practitioner to guide you in this. Research your area for one, or for a well-regarded naturopath. I wish you tons of luck.
Yes, and do every kind of probiotic you can, focusing on the good kinds, like Primadophilus, Inner-Eco and goat milk kefir. They all have more living cultures. They are in the refrigerator section of the health food store, or the health food section of the super market. It’s good you’re jumping on this fast!
Is progressive hcp70 good?
BCM-95 tumeric is good for inflammation. You be sensitve to gluten. that;s what happen to me. I would avoid gluten and dairy untel your tested.