Susan’s Story

*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. 

Susan’s story – written by Susan –

I’m sitting here in total shock at what I’m reading.  It’s like reading my life’s nightmare all over again.  I have experienced just about everything all these people claim they went through.

I was a normal very happy girl and very active. I was always on the go. Working and having fun.

My story happened back in 1986. 1 month before my 38th birthday.  I woke up with pain in my thumb and lower back.  I went to the ER where they claimed I hurt myself on the job but I told them I didn’t.  They gave me pain pills and sent me on my way.

The next day I went to work even though the pain pills didn’t really work.  About half way through the night I left because I couldn’t take he pain anymore.  What normally took 5 minutes to get to my car took 1/2 hour.  I drove home at 4am crying all the way home I was in a total pain.  When I finally got home I went to get out of my car and I suddenly felt a ton of pain in my upper thighs and legs I could not stand on my two legs at all and fell to the ground.  Screaming in the street in pain no one was around at 4:30am to help. I ended up crawling from the street to my sidewalk and up the stairs. I unlocked the door and opened it up and started screaming to wake up my roommate.  She came running downstairs to help me and rushed me back to the ER again.

The ER called the CDC, and had a 3 way conversation with Georgia, Washington DC, and California. Trying like crazy to see if I had something contagious.  They gave me a cortisone shot and sent me on my way.

2 days later I was sent to a workman comp medical facility. That day my foot was in so much pain my son had to carry me in.  The doctor on duty made me walk from the waiting room to the x-ray room I cried the entire way using my toes from my one foot and pain in the other foot. It took me a long time to get there.  After the x-rays the doctor requested a wheel chair for me complaining it took me too long to walk.  He gave me steroid prescription and said there was nothing wrong with my foot. I told him he was a quack I wouldn’t be in this pain if there was nothing wrong with my foot.

The next day I woke up my foot was swollen it looked like a balloon (I’m not kidding) my toes were sticking up and my whole foot was swollen.  I went back where the doctor said it was all in my head.  He was not working today.  I requested to speak to the man in charge and he came out and I told him what happened the day before and what his doctor said to me.  Then I showed him my foot.  His eyes about popped out of his head, he said that doctor will never work here again.  He asked me to come back so he could take care of me.  I said I had enough medical treatment from this crack pot place and you are not going to touch me you’ve done enough damage already. With that said I left.

2 days later I was back in the ER again. My arm was in total pain. I was given more prescriptions for steroids and sent home.  I always refused pain killers. Everyone was offering pain killers but all were addictive I was not going that route.

2 days later it finally hit full force.  I was now in pain from head to toe. It felt like pins and needles over my entire body. I called my doctor.  He put me in the hospital for 4 days worth of testing.  I cried in pain the entire time there was no relief, my clothes hurt my skin the sheets hurt my skin. I couldn’t go without clothes. I had to suffer.

I had every test you can imagine. They took tons of blood every 4 hours. I had to drink solutions and get MRI’s and x-rays and cat scans. I was put in tunnels, I had to lay in painful positions etc. I passed every test, there was nothing wrong with me.  No one could tell me why I was in level 10 pain from head to toe. Again I was sent home with more prescriptions for steroids. I went from a healthy 115 pounds to 199 in 2 months they gave me so many steroids. And the steroids didn’t even take the pain away! I started to lose my vision. That drove me nuts I HAD perfect vision.

I went to a rheumatologist in a wheel chair. He said what I have no one knows what it is and there is no known cure. Try anything and everything but keep in contact with him before trying things. And most importantly keep a diary of everything. So I did…..

My work called me and I went to see them. I had my finger in a brace, my arm in a sling, my foot in a medical boot and I was using crutches to try and get around even though every movement hurt. They took one look at me and said you can’t work anymore you look like you’ve been hit by a mac truck. I said I felt like I got hit by a mac truck. I told them there was one job in the plant I could still do.  Because I still had my left hand working.  I could sand burrs off of the end caps of the parts that we had to stop the press when we ran out.  He was shocked I wanted to still work after missing 6 weeks.  I told him I had too many medical bills so I had to go back to work. He didn’t want me to but he gave in.

It took me 1 year to learn how to walk all over again. I was still in much pain but I kept pushing myself to keep going. It seemed like I was always taking 1 step forward but 2 steps back.  Each time I got a little further forward.

WHAT HELPED ME!
Nutra Joint was one of my first discoveries it helped me.
Protein Whey was the miracle for me.  Once I started drinking that I got my life back. It only took 8 years to discover the Protein whey.  After drinking it for 2 years they changed the formula and my pain returned. I called the company in tears asking what the changes were when they said they didn’t have anymore of the old stuff.  A lady that felt sorry for me gave me a list of the changes that were made. I was able to figure out after two weeks I needed to adjust amino acids.  I started taking amino acids and the pain went away right away.  So that’s how I keep my life normal I drink protein whey once every two weeks now and amino acids one a day.

INSTRUCTIONS: When I first started drinking Protein Whey the first week I started hurting MORE! The guy who told me to try it, said to keep drinking it, you might hurt more before it works.  I told him the pain was really bad and I would give it just one more week.  By the second week my pain was gone.  He said I was giving my body nourishments it was not use to getting which caused the pain to increase at first. I’m glad I didn’t give up I would not have my life back if I had. I started with 1 glass a day every day.

I started looking into other things.  For brain fog I take Lecithin (it works great!)
Chlorophyll to rid my body of toxins.
fish oil just because I heard many good things about it.
multi-vitamin WITH minerals…..
I found when I was in water I had no pain! If I squirted the hose on my feet I could walk with no pain. My friend loaned me their pool and spa daily to get an hour or two relief a day. I soaked in the tub as much as I could but I couldn’t live there as much as I wanted to.

SYMPTOMS:
memory loss (I even forgot where I lived 1 block away from home once)
forgetfulness
Pins and needles
burning pain
electric shock sensation
some flood lighting caused pain
some store alarms caused pain
muscle spasms
diarrhea
swelling
vision loss
I could predict rain and snow based on my pain. (I was better than the weather man)
Loss of appetite but gain a ton of weight due to steroids
Severe loss of energy due to lack of sleep. Pain wears you out.
After a while in pain you think your going crazy, you want to wake up from this night  –    mare that never goes away…..
I had to learn how to do everything with my left hand because I was right handed.
My right hand had more pain.
Loss of flexibility
Anxiety
Depression
Frustration
HAD TO LEARN HOW TO SAY NO I CAN’T DO IT! (That was the hardest)
Everything I tried hurt!
Restless Leg Syndrome
I even thought I died and went to hell because the pain was never ending.

GETTING YOUR FRUSTRATIONS OFF YOUR CHEST:
I got tired of hearing Dr.’s say it’s all in your head…. I finally told one off. I said, you Sir are a phony, the only reason your telling me it’s all in my head is because you don’t have a clue what’ wrong with me and you don’t know how to treat it. I have a fear of Dr.’s. Why in the world would I make this up to see what I fear the most in life? I wouldn’t! Any Dr. that would tell a patient it’s all in their head should not be a Dr. and should not be practicing medicine. And I do mean practicing….! Maybe someday if your lucky you’ll get it right.  A real Dr. would NEVER tell that to a patient. I’m leaving and I won’t be back and you can bet I’ll let everyone know what a phony you are.

Most everything went away…. after the first two years. I got down to a level 7 pain. After 3 years I got down to a level 5 pain. It took 8 years total to feel normal again and be pain free. Once in a while I might feel it coming back but I just drink the protein whey and I’m back to normal again. I tend to forget to drink it because I’m feeling so normal. I only really drink it now once every two week. Just don’t give up! There is something that will work for you. You just have to keep trying to find that remedy. Don’t give up!

 

Lisa’s Note – I asked Susan what FQ she was given.  She didn’t remember because it was 28 years ago that her story started.

 

** 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.