Hello –

I would like to start this story by commending you for reading this and reaching out for support during this time.  I was floxed on July 8th. I had gone to an urgent care center for a suspected UTI. My urinalysis came back clear so it was sent off for a culture but the physician decided to treat me with antibiotics in the meantime. When I filled the cipro prescription and saw the black box warning I was hesitant to take it. I called the physician to discuss my concerns and was assured its prescribed all the time and she has only had one patient in 15 years complain of side effects.

Despite my own reservations I figured I was overreacting and took one of the pills. I woke up the next morning with mild aches and called the physician again. She told me to stop the medicine and said we would wait until my culture came back to determine an alternative treatment.  The good news is my culture came back clear later that week but unfortunately I was still experiencing aches that were progressively getting worse even though I had only taken one dose. I had visited the Floxie Hope website and knew that it might take a while and more symptoms could occur.

My sleep was also becoming very interrupted. The fourth night I had a panic attack around 2am and had a few hives on my stomach. I have struggled with anxiety before but the panic attack was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I had spasms in my calves and at night my hips would hurt so bad I could barely sleep.

Over the next few weeks the symptoms would come and go. I would have pain in my ankles, then it would be my hips, and the calf spasms were intermittent.  Luckily I did not have another panic attack.  Around 5 weeks after I was floxed I felt confident saying I was symptom free. Now it has been almost a full 8 weeks without symptoms. During the worst of my symptoms I did not have to miss any work since I have a desk job. The biggest disruption to my day to day was the smallest chores (dishes, laundry) would give me insane lower back pain.

Below are some things I felt helped ease symptoms and speed recovery.

  1. Prayer and meditation  –  Getting your mind in the right state is over half of the battle. Do not let hopelessness overtake you. Pray a much as you can. Overwhelm yourself with the truth of who God is.  Also don’t punish yourself- I was incredibly hard on myself for taking the medicine despite my own reservations so I blamed myself or the doctor all the time. Blaming yourself or someone else doesn’t speed up your healing and only adds to mental anguish so just don’t do it.

  2. Eat as good as you can. Low to no sugar. Absolutely no caffeine – it made me feel crazy. I’m just now able to tolerate caffiene again.  I incorporated spinach and almonds into my meals every day. Both are high in magnesium which helps with joints/muscles.

  3. Epsom salt baths. Very relaxing and the external magnesium is great on the muscles.

  4. Serene Slumber Tea by the brand Lifestyle Awareness. It’s a mix of skullcap and chamomile and was the only thing that saved my sleep. However do not take if you consider yourself to be depressed or if you are on prescription medication for a mood disorder.

5.  Tart Cherry Juice. The all natural unsweetened kind. It is phenomenal at reducing inflammation and is a great alternative to OTC painkillers which can exacerbate the symptoms.

  1. STAY OFF GOOGLE. Your story will likely be different in some ways than everyone elses. Don’t scare yourself to death or try to compare your journey to others. I did find a lot of great women by searching #floxiehope on Instagram and everyone was so kind and willing to message with me on my worst days. My Instagram handle is itslizholland and if you need someone to talk to – feel free to DM me.

  2. Yoga and light stretching. This may not be possible all days but do it when you can and to a point that feels comfortable to your body.

I wish you all the best and pray for healing and a peace that surpasses all understanding in the meantime. “In this world you will have trouble but take heart – I have overcome the world!” – John 16:33

* 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, affect 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.