*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.
Tamara’s Recovery Story – Cipro Toxicity
On February 4, 2014 I went to the hospital with pain in the flank of my back. Having had suspected kidney stones and a couple kidney infections in the past I knew to head to the doctor right away. When I got there, they did blood and urine tests but did not find anything. They gave me an iv with Ceftraxione (non FQ antibiotic) and sent me for an ultrasound the following morning.
The ultrasound showed nothing on either kidney or my bladder. When I went in to get these results the doctor was quite rude to me, and barely looked at me at all, but made a fateful decision to send me home with a prescription for Cipro. 500MG, 2 times a day for 5 days.
I went home and took the first pill that night and went to bed. In the morning I woke up and took the second pill. My right leg began to swell. I then began to look on the internet for adverse reaction symptoms. I had an allergic reaction to another antibiotic called Azythromycin a year and a half ago, so I wanted to find out what I was up against. What I found horrified me. I started hyperventilating, basically freaking out, big time. I called the hospital and told them I thought I was having a reaction to the Cipro and I had read on the internet what could happen and the nurse laughed at me…a lot of help that was. I stopped taking the Cipro after only those two pills.
Two days after this happened, I was to move to a different province of Canada, where I live. I had previously been a dancer since I was 3. I had danced professionally for 10 years at this point and had co-owned a performance artist agency for the last 4 years. 5 days before I was floxed I had signed over my co-ownership to my two partners and had intended to move and pursue a new passion of teaching a healing dance system called Wu Tao. I was to start my training for this right away. I went ahead with my move.
2 days after my move, so 4 days after being floxed, my leg began to swell so much I went to the local emergency room. They tested me for blood clots and nothing came back. I mentioned that I thought it was the antibiotic but was looked at like I was crazy.
I decided to do my own research and I implemented some things in the very beginning that I think may have to do with my fast recovery.
1) DETOX DETOX DETOX! I began to drink a whole pot of Dragon Herbs Longevity Tea everyday for the first couple weeks. As I understand it this tea has saponins which help essentially “wash” your system. I had many detox symptoms from this. I also used the Dragon Herbs brand Schizandra and Goji tincture to help protect my liver during this time.
2) DIET I had already eaten a mostly vegan diet but in the first few weeks I really cleaned up my diet. No processed foods, no sugar. As many fruits, vegetables that I could get into my system I did.
3) No excess supplements. I did at the beginning take many supplements and I had pain over the area of my liver which led me to believe that my liver was being overworked trying to process so many toxins. I pulled back and only took what was absolutely necessary until I felt I had detoxed enough.
By about 3 weeks in, my leg was in such excruciating pain and so tight that I could not straighten my leg. Devastating for a dancer.
I met a naturopath who was trained in Myofascial Release. He began to treat my leg in the 3rd week of floxing. Slowly, over the next few weeks my leg began to release it’s iron grip.
At 7 weeks, I suffered a setback. I developed new symptoms. My left arm all of a sudden swelled up. I developed severe insomnia and panic attacks. I developed tremors, which did not stop all day and night, adding to the insomnia. I would get burning and shooting and electrical shock pains through my body.
I do believe there is some truth to the idea that the FQ’s get stuck in our tissues and as my naturopath was doing Myofascial Release he was releasing it into my system and causing other systems and processes to become affected.
It was at this point I started to add in other supplements again and I also started getting Gluathione IV’s from the naturopath.
Supplements I took:
1) Probiotics
2) Greens Supplements (Vege Greens but Greens+ is also good)
3) Protein in the form of Vega shakes
4) Magnesium pills and transdermal
5) High high dose vitamin C 4000 mg a day
6) CoQ10 and Omega 3-6-9
7) B Complex Vitamins
Glutathione was my magic bullet though. After my first IV I began to be able to straighten my leg. After the second, all of my neurological symptoms such as tremors and insomnia and panic attacks went away COMPLETELY.
I did do some physio but it seemed to flare up my condition. I held off on the physiotherapy until just recently.
At 99 days into floxing, I started to WALK 🙂 I had been on crutches for the entire time, and I also was thankfully able to spend my entire floxing on bed rest. I think this made a big difference as well in how much my body was able to heal. If you can, take as much time to rest and let your body do it’s thing.
I am now at 106 days post floxing and I’d say I’m 97% better. I have been able to walk for a week. Physio measured my Achilles tendon last week and it was at an 85 degree extension while my good leg was at a 100 degree extension. I have a slight limp and I still need to build muscle.
However, I am able to drink alcohol, eat whatever food I want at this point, and my leg does not flare up in pain or swelling anymore.
I am not dancing quite yet, but I do believe I will be VERY soon. For now, I have taken to hula hooping!
I believe I will make a full 100% recovery at around the 4 month mark post floxing.
Do not give up, keep a positive attitude, imagine healing for yourself and trust that your body knows how to fix this. You CAN get better!
** 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.
You are very lucky to get past this in 4 months. Very good to hear. Hope you continue to improve. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your Story Tamara…. IF ONLY I had reacted at 2 Capsules in… I am sincerely, glad & relieved for, ALL who were saved any permanent Damage… I am writing from a Urologist’s Office, have seen blood in my urine 3 Days this week, have passed 1 of 2 Kidney stones this very Dr observed on the last Scan in the Fall… Now, both my Husband and this Dr don’t believe there will be anything show up, so I have already put off the MRI for almost a month, while struggling with severe pain in my Urinary tract &/or Bladder. My Legs are better than 3 yrs ago, but have Tendonitis in Both, spurs on both Knees, & fell on them the week before leaving for the 1st Vacation in 3 yrs… Missed much of Disney due to my Knee, & other Symptoms. It is getting very difficult to Be Positive in my Situation. But, just as if you were my real Sister, or Daughter, I am relieved you have not suffered any more than you have… And, wish I were waiting for Acupuncture for less severe Symptoms just now… I wish continued healing, & total Wellness to you… Thank you again for Sharing…
Where are you based at the moment? My experience has been very similar and more info would be great
tamera, thank you for sharing your story. Do you mind if I ask which brand of vitamin c you took? 4000 mg is quite a bit so wondering if it was liposomal or not, and again, what brand exactly? thank you!
JB
Hello Tamara, how many Glutathione IV’s did you have in total? I am four months out and with a lot of joint pain.
Mark,
Dr. Whitcomb (the longevity MD who worked with me post Cipro) said the majority of tendon ruptures happen in the first month. The longer you go out from that point the more your risk goes down.
FQ’s damage tendons through tendonosis not tendonitis. Cells are damaged through oxidative stress and those abnormal cells replicate forming more abnormal cells while at the same time the healthy cells seem to almost completely stop replicating themselves.
MitoQ and Idebenone (two things I take every day) were shown in a research study to stop this damage in its tracks. They did not help healthy cells to replicate any faster, so I added PQQ, shown to stimulate biogenesis of new mitochondria in aging cells.
FQ tendon ruptures are spontaneous ruptures. If it’s going to happen it happens even before you put your feet on the floor to stand up from that chair. Avoiding standing up only delays the inevitable. However, these spontaneous total ruptures usually happen very soon after taking the FQ’s and are very rare, often the result of a steroid combined with the FQ.
I know I had tendon degeneration in my left Achilles’ tendon, probably through the process described above. But it stopped getting worse and started getting better. Other tendons have been affected by tight muscles pulling on them constantly. The muscle contractions probably also cause ischemia and the chelation of magnesium wasn’t helpful either. But I’m four months out and I don’t really worry about a tear or rupture. I’m not doing plyometrics, but at my age that sort of thing is probably not a good idea anyway. I avoid running and jumping for the most part. But I’ve hiked and I canoed this weekend.
You can put magnesium oil right on the area of tendons you are concerned about, and your body will take the magnesium right through your skin to help heal itself. Vitamin C supports tendon healing. I have an ultrasound machine and that seems to help.
Are you having tendon pain in a specific area? My left Achilles didn’t really show damage until about two months out, but it’s been healing pretty well.
I think if you take antioxidants to stop the damage and then give your body what it needs to heal itself it will do so. You probably will have to be careful for awhile, but there’s no reason to assume you will have a tear or rupture. Moving normally is a good thing, in my opinion. For me it stimulates healing. If you become immobile everything gets weaker and you heal even more slowly. But you just have to listen to your body while at the same time not letting fear paralyze you. A rupture is a scary thought, but the odds of it not happening to you are strongly in your favor. Active range of motion has always helped loosen up my tight calf and ankle muscles. Playing the pedals on the organ at church really seems to help. Range of motion without weight bearing seems to work the best. Sometimes the tendon pain is just from tight muscles pulling on the tendons. Massage to my calf muscles worked really well to loosen things up also.
hi mark, is your tendon pain only in your achilles or other tendons? do you have pain in your hips at all?
Mark,
You’re doing exactly what I did– move about until I get pain, then stop. I would ice my Achilles and my ankles to reduce inflammation. Having an ultrasound machine helps too. Massage to tight muscles helps. Pretty much that is what Dr. Whitcomb said to do– use it if you can, because through normal use you will get more tissue turnover and healing. But you just want a little soreness, not overdoing it. Sometimes I’ll have a little pain and then it will just work its way out and I can walk more. I do tend to get more stiff after exercise than before, just in the areas where I was affected by the FQ. Stretching has helped me, but you have to be very gentle with this, especially at first. Consistent, gentle, long stretches– like 30 seconds or more and no bouncy stretching. You shouldn’t do that anyway, it just makes things tighter.
Sometimes I’ve found that moving when it feels like an overuse injury actually loosens it up and then it feels better. Not moving enough is going to make you stiff without the FQ damage, so I would err on the side of moving. But we’re talking gentle range of motion, walking around the house a little, that kind of thing. Your body will tell you when it is ready for more. I believe that becoming completely immobile will only cause other problems, delay healing and may not prevent a rupture. Because although this damage feels like an overuse injury, it is not. Keep taking your antioxidants– that’s your best defense against a rupture. If it ruptures it’s going to happen because oxidative stress damaged cells which then produced more damaged cells. Antioxidants kill off those damaged cells and stop them from replicating, while protecting other cells from damage from the oxidative stress still going on in your body.
The more I research and write on this and work at healing my own damaged body I just can’t believe doctors use these drugs as a first line agent. If it were a life or death situation, I would have no problem dealing with tendon issues four months later. But I had a minor sinus infection and now I wake up every day feeling like I sprained both ankles. This is so nuts.
Ruth
Mark,
How about you?
How many weeks out are you?
Well, “months” is a bit more appropriate. I’m at 12 months. but as you know, everyone’s reaction is different. at 8 months i was walking, doing my own shopping, driving to the supermarket and cafe’s– i almost had my old life back — i felt 80 percent recovered. then in jan, at 9 months, i began walking more and doing light exercise. well, that might be good for some, but for me it was not. i had a strange reaction where i got very weak and could not get off my sofa. then all my symptoms came back with even new ones. new places/joints/tendons of pain. and now 12 month (almost 13) post flox, i’m having trouble walking anywhere but outside my house as it’s now my hip adductor tendons, which never hurt until a couple months ago. now, if i walk even around my house all day, i’ll feel pain that is 8/10 even while sitting. so i’m doing that fine balancing act, that i think we all know and debate about, do i walk more to build tissue, or do i stay put so i don’t do permanent damage. I’ll say this, most all of my symptoms from the first 6 months have gone away except for a little dizziness and certainly, i don’t have the “thinking stamina” i once had, being on the phones all day hustling up work as a writer. All this said, i do feel i’ll improve again and that i will regain my old self, but i’m just one of those whose recovery will be measured in months and years rather than weeks. and in response to the idea of walking, use, or going immobile, stretching, i would just second that you should be very careful. i actually believe my mito is at such a point that by beginning to stretch and exercise even lightly pushed me over the “threshold” set by the drug and i had that jan reaction. who knows. but i do try to walk every day and i actually walk till it hurts a little. but for me, that is walking in my home, making my own food and doing dishes, or walking 100 feet in the sunlight to go look at the beach i can no longer swim or surf in (temporarily!!). and the sun does help. i think it’s important to get outside, even to stand in the sun and be thankful this toxic “medicine” did not kill me. 🙂 i beat it there and i’ll beat it now…just as we all will. and make no mistake, the idea of “i know this medicine has helped many people and…blah blah” is flat out wrong. FQ’s are not fully understood, and do damage to our mito and joints and tendons and cells in ways we do not yet fully understand (though this are mountains of data on the harm we do know it does). It was even invented before we knew about or understood our own mitochondria. In most if not all other cases of where this drug is “last resort” there is an alternative of other alternative medicines, colloidal silver, platinum, and other alternative medicines as well as combinations of antibiotics and other medicines. i will never believe there is not a worthwhile alternative and if there truly is not, then the percentage of people must be so small as to be nearly infinitesimal and regardless, the FDA should make it clear and mandatory that the drug is only used under those conditions (as thalidomide is now for certain cancers, after it was taken off the market in the 60s for disabling so many babies.) I’m a bit off task but i’ll end with the hope part, which is the great wonder and benefit of this site and Lisa’s hard and unbelievably altruistic work — it does seem that most people recover and that certain supplements can be helpful in this, and the harder we work to understand and counteract what has been done the better chance of recovery we have. And most importantly, we have to work hard to get the message out there so no other people get hurt. We have to tell everyone we can and in that, there is hope for others and for ourselves. our community and support for each other is our hope and I get a dose of it every day, every time I come to this site.
wow, that’s good to know. i keep reading how vitamin e is one of the 3 most powerful antioxidents toward ROS, after vit c and before vitamin a. so i thought it was helpful to us.
Gonna post this here as well:
Just got a call back from a doctor my mother knows (she is also a doctor).
This doctor had a daughter that got Cipro for 10 days and had the same side effects as me (tendon-, muscle- and joint-pain, mild depression, tinnitus, etc…)
This doctor said that his daughter is cured 100%, meaning she is doing sports again, pain free, etc…
He treated her with Ibuprofen 3x600mg and pantoloc daily.
NOW I’M CONFUSED.
This doctor is the head of the the microbiologic department at a well known hospital and also the head of the “infectious disease working circle”, so he must know what he’s doing.
BUT isn’t Ibuprofen supposed to be counter-productive and even bad for Cipro sufferers.
IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Who here has tried Ibuprofen and maybe Pantoloc to go with it?
Did it help you?
Any worsening side effects?
Please @ all and Lisa let’s try to make this a long list of Ibuprofen experiences here, the way it sounds it was a complete treatment for this girl.
Mark
Hi. I’m new here. I can very well relate to the awful symptoms of Floxin exposure. I’m a 55 yr old mom of two and was prescribed Floxin in 1991 for a sinus infection and have never been the same since. I live in an area where Lyme Disease is high. Tested negative but was put on IV Rocephin, oral Pennicillin and Minocycline. Took the oral antibiotics for about 15 months. I was getting worse.
Over the years I was given antibiotics on and off for “Lyme, bronchitis, etc. In 2007 I had surgery for a billiary stricture, developed MRSA, hospitalized for three weeks and given IV CIPRO. In the hospital ,while being treated ,I experienced a torn rotator cuff.
While all this was going on I developed tendonitis of both shoulders, peripheral neuropathy, arthritis? in my thumbs. fingers, bones in my feet ,achellies tendonitis, and
just yesterday was diagnosed by my orthopedic surgeon with a right medial knee miniscus tear.
I also suffer chronic tender points, rib pain and insomnia etc………
Question:
is there any evidence that ligaament and or tendon rupture can occur
years after taking quinalones?
Thanks- Carolann
Major depersonalizations and dizziness
Hey mark, we have to stop meeting like this. People are gonna talk! I make you brave enough to try the ionic magnesium again but I did it for about three or four days because I actually thought the dizziness was from something else. And frankly I don’t know what caused it. But it was pretty scary. You should look into the Angstrom magnesium as that is supposed to be Angstrom size, the smallest magnesium molecular magnesium you can bye. Supposed to get into the cells even faster than ionic. That’s why bought the two. http://Www.angstrom-minerals.com sounds good in theory, but one or both of these really screwed me up. I was also taking colloidal platinum in water. As that is supposed to have massive healing properties. So it could’ve been the combination. Or it could’ve just been old Mr. Levaquin rearing his ugly head and giving me a new symptom in month 13. Who know. 13. Has always been a lucky number for me so I’m thinking this is my turnaround month. I’m going to kick Mr. Levaquin and the teeth!
Okay sorry about the not making total sense. I won’t use Siri on my iPad anymore to post :/ did you feel the ionic magnesium got you healing right away? Did you have any dizziness at all?
Mark, one other thing. Supposedly magnesium l threonate is the only mag with molecules so small as to enter the brain or access mitochondria. See mercola website. Have you ever tried it?
Mark,
I started magnesium immediately after my seventh pill (last dose) of Cipro because I was getting tinnitus and I had read that sometimes magnesium helps people with tinnitus.
Then I started reading more about Cipro and got the scare of my life. I ordered MitoQ, but it takes a long time to arrive because the company is based in New Zealand. I probably started MitoQ at two weeks out. I started Vitamin C at two or three days out– waited too long on that. I just didn’t realize that humble vitamin C could really do so much for me.
I had trouble finding Idebenone so I didn’t start that until sometime in month two. PQQ was even later than that– I didn’t find out about it right away.
My tendon got bad sometime in month two. Up ’til then I had tight gastrocs pulling on tendons, but I didn’t seem to have actual tendon damage. Then I started getting very intense, very localized pain. I’d feel a sensation like something tore, like a very thin layer of cells gave way, and then the pain would stop. This happened a few times. But then after a couple weeks of that things started to go the other way. The localized pain and the tearing sensations stopped, but my tendon got sore with almost any activity. Over time I could tolerate more and more. There is still a palpable bumpy place, but no pain and it tolerates normal activity just fine. It gets very mildly sore for a short time if I over exert now.
Right after my last dose of Cipto, the very next morning both Achilles’ tendons were so tight I could barely walk around or stand. The tendons felt brittle and crunchy. Just not normal at all. Whatever damage I had started then and continued because I was in oxidative distress without realizing it. It just took a month or two to start to really show up, as more damaged dells replaced healthy ones. But the antioxidants, magnesium and doing ultrasound turned the tide. It didn’t happen overnight, but it did go from becoming more and more damaged to gradually healing.
Mark,
I took various brands of Vitamin C– just whatever was handy at the drugstore. Magnesium was the same initially and I took all kinds, just magnesium oxide at first, then better absorbed kinds. Now I take magnesium malate. The brand is Thompson– it comes in an orange bottle. Dr. Whitcomb sold it to me and said it would be better absorbed than anything else I’d taken.
I did order some angstrom magnesium and I have taken some of it, but I didn’t notice any difference from that compared to other types. Whatever type of magnesium I’ve taken has steadily helped me. I know some types are better absorbed than others, but I know that it ALL helped.
Also dietary magnesium is important. I eat salmon, yogurt, almonds and mozzarella cheese to increase dietary magnesium. Epsom salt baths and magnesium oil also help. I think it’s important to be aggressive with your magnesium therapy and just get as much into you as you can: dietary, topical and supplements (not just one or two, but all three) and to keep this up for at least six months to a year. That’s what the e-book on Levaquin tendonitis I bought recommended. I think they are right. You can’t stop pushing magnesium, even if you feel better. Not for at least six months, probably longer. No matter how severely or mildly floxed a person was, I think that rule applies: push magnesium for six months to a year. I think vitamin C is probably a close second, also requiring supplementation for an extended time.
I never reacted to Vitamin C, Mark– only magnesium at times. I take probably 4,000 mg or more of Vitamin C a day. I started out at just 2,000. It seems like increasing it helped my tendon.
Ruth
Thanks for the info about the Mag and Vit C. I had done different kinds of Mag, Nothing worked but will try again. Also, Vitamin C puts me into some sort of herxheimer reaction with
worsening of insomnia. Probably a yeast die-off. I have tried many different supplements, which I could not tolorate.
Does anyone know the mechanism of action and how it relates to tendons,and ligaments?
Also, my dear sister has end-stage Multiple Sclerosis. I wonder if she had ever taken
floroquinolones in her life time. I wonder if there would be a connection.
Thanks to all