Had my first UTI, not sure if it's gone after 3 weeks!

Whatever you do avoid a fluoroquinolone antibiotic -Cipro is the one often given for UTIs. They can have devastating delayed side effects like tendon ruptures or permanent neuropathy.

Hi Madge - I thought that was my own post at first as that's what I keep saying!  Have you been floxed?

Yes. I believe I had problems from being given antibiotics many years ago but as I have moved countries and the UK destroys medical records after 10 years I cannot find out if I was actually given a FQ at that time. I was given one by drip along with Flagyl in Oct 2014 when in hospital for acute diverticulitis. Of course nobody gives you an insert like you get in a box of pills when you are on a drip. I had pain in my Achilles tendon on the right leg within 24 hours but it was not severeand I made no connection to the drugs I was receiving so I did not mention it when the nurses asked me if I had any pain. I thought they meant abdominal pain. Within 48 hours I felt very ill with chest pains and severe pins and needles in both arms. The gastroenterologist called the cardiologist and they did an ECG which they said was normal but the bag I am sure now was Cipro disappeared from the drip stand. The hospital doc should have told me I was having a FQ reaction and warned me not to take one again and should have informed my GP. She did not and has since lied about the treatment. When I was discharged I had an attack of tachy that lasted for 3 hours. I did not connect this with the Cipro but thought it was due to the Flagyl that I was still taking orally. My GP was puzzled as I had had no alcohol and said he would expect that reaction with Flagyl if alcohol was taken but not without. In August 2015 he prescribed Cipro for a suspected UTI. I took one pill. Within2 hours I had some of the side effects (mainly visual disturbance) that I had experienced in the hospital and I read the insert more carefully. When I came to the bit about Achilles tendon rupture the penny dropped. Luckily I stopped there and then. Within the next week I had no ill effects other than mild pain in the Achilles again. However one week later I was rushed to hopspital in an ambulance with a heart rate of over 150 and diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. I have since done a lot of reading on floxie websites and realised that a lot of the health problems I have had over the last 25 years are probably due to repeated floxings. Luckily I am nowhere near as badly affected as many I have read about. But I do have recurrent tendon problems in many different sites, also some neuropathy, recurrent costochondritis and blurry vision in my right eye. These problems do cycle. In the past I have also had blood sugar problems but that seems better now.

Hi Madge, after meeting people on here who had been floxed I started a Facebook page for UK floxies (as you know, there are lots in the USA). It's for sharing information and ideas -, also moans and groans! If you're in the UK now, and are interested in taking a look, or even joining us you can find us by searching on Facebook for Quinolone Toxicity Support UK.  There's also a pinned post on this forum titled Fuoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome with other useful addresses.  Lots of us in the group get the long lasting effects you've mentioned - and more, so we're actually trying to raise awareness - hence my posts to this Forum!

I'm not on Facebook ( really!) and I now live in France. There is very little info in French on FQ toxicity and so far I have only come across one website for floxies. What I have gleaned from the many American sites is that there is very little point going toa conventional doctor about this as they have no clue how to fix it and often make things worse with cortisone prescriptions. After my hospital floxing in 2014I started with headaches and scalp pain. My sed rate was also high and my GP was worried I might have temporal arteritis which can cause blindness and for which the treatment is very high dose steroids. Luckily the other blood tests were negative and he held off on the steroid scrip until all the results had come back from the lab. I am sure this was a side effect of the Cipro now. If only he had said to hold off on the Cipro in August until the urine analysis came back (it turned out negative). I am so glad I only took the one pill. Even so the effects were bad enough. I ended up on Bisoprolol another drug that makes you feel like death warmed up and a blood thinner. Luckily I am now off both of these.

Hi Madge, There seems to be very little info on FQ toxicity anywhere in Europe.  The USA do seem to be getting somewhere at last.  Have you seen the Floxiehope website?  I think Lisa, who runs it, is very good and there's lots of info and articles that might be of interest and help to you.  Especially the scientific papers that she breaks down into easily understood chunks so you can get to grips with what's happening to you. You are so right about conventional doctors as most haven't got a clue and might do you more harm than good. 

If I can help at all, or you just want to 'chat' you can private message me on this site via the little envelope on the left under my stars!  I've also had a French lady contact me if you're interested?

 

I found the floxiehope site a few weeks ago. After the reflox in August I came across an account so horrifying I had to stop reading it as I was terrified the same might happen to me. I quit looking into it till my own cardiologist did a Holter moniter test and told me I could come off the Préviscan ( a sort of French warfarin) and come off the Bisoprolol later.

Part of the problem is that I have hypothyroidism- I suspect that I was first floxed in the early nineties when living in Brum and that this lead to my thyroid disorder. When I was whisked to the cardiac intensive care in August they said the afib was due to taking T3 and that my TSH was far too low. They have taken away the T3 and cut the T4 and my endo ( who I suspect was given a bollocking by the hospital cardiologist) seems to accept this scenario even though she was perfectly happy with my blood test results before and has refused to put the meds back up. From what I have read on a site link on floxiehope and my own instinct I feel this is adding insult to the injury of being floxed. I tried clicking on the enveloppe nothing happened. I will try again. I would be happy to contact the French lady.