Ciprofloxacin poisoning?
Posted , 76 users are following.
Hi All - I was prescribed a course of Cipro and Diclofenac (NSAID - apparently not a good idea)
and after day one I had to call my GP as I had anxiety, stomach problems and shaking - of course they said can't be the Cipro keep taking it. After 5 days I couldn't go on, so agreed I would stop - then after a couple of weeks the pain hit - severe muscle cramps, pain in joints, leg pain, headaches, neck pain, and worst of all severe anxiety, some of this has cleared up but 5 months later I'm still suffering.
I noticed there haven't been any posts on here for a while - is there anything happening in the uk to make people, Doctors etc more aware of this poison, are there any known legal actions against the makers by someone in the uk?
It seems Cipro is prescribed as a first line drug for relatively minor problems when something else would be better - to be honest I would rather have put up with the original symtoms than go through this. The worrying thing is how long will it go on for - it is very difficult to function at work when you feel this way
regards
Mike
7 likes, 266 replies
Kbanana mike_7
Posted
I just started taking ciproflaxin because my teeth have become really bad due to hereditary periodontal disease, which I didn't know we had and because I'm disabled the medications I have to take have destroyed my teeth. Anyway, I normally take Amox/Clav which works wonders, however, I just had a round of it, due to cellulitis in my legs. My teeth were also hurting so bad I cldnt take it anymore so I went for the ciproflaxin refill I had left. NEVER AGAIN. OVER THE PAST 4 DAYS, my body is aching and my joints hurt and I feel awful. Yes the tooth pain is gone, but this is even worse than the pain I have peripheral neuropathy, a plate in my neck, spinal stenosis, spina bifida, scoliosis and every disc in my body is ruptured except for T2, T3, TX, which they cannot operate on, because it's to close to the heart and lungs, therefore the description I just gave you is called Degenerative Disc Disease. I have a torn acl, meniscus, and ligaments in my left foot. I'm falling apart and I'm only 46. I have a black cloud over my head. Yesterday I dropped all my pains meds, cause I cldnt get the cap off and they went flying all over the bathroom sink, toilet, shower, floor, which I stepped on. I cld cry😢 😢 thank God I put a few away each script so I was lucky enough to have it covered till my appt tomorrow. Anyway, I just wanted to give you an idea of what my medical problems are to let you know your not imagining this stuff. My whole body aches, my joints ache, I'm a mess and right now I'm the black sheep of the family and have been waiting for months for my mom to take the classes so she cld get paid to take care of me, but she's put it off, so I called the coordinating center, they handle everything I need as a person whom is disabled and I said 4get it, if she's going to take her good old time. I'll take whomever they send me I need help. I didn't have these aches and pains b4 taking the ciproflaxin. So I say we shld all complain and get this awful drug off the market. Even my scalp hurts. I have flexiril for muscle pain, but that's not even working like usual, so I know it's THIS Ciproflaxin. Don't feel alone. I truly hope your feeling better and I hope my Dr will be able to take care of my meds, or I'm going to to be going thru hell for at least a month with NOOOO HELP AT ALL.
Kbanana mike_7
Posted
jane22097 mike_7
Posted
Hi, found this site randomly and thought I'd respond. In the past 9 months I've taken 3 rounds of Levaquin and now with symptoms similar to yours and others- has me wondering if this could be the culprit of my monthly bouts of weakness and aches, comes in cycles. I've seen every specialist and still no answers. And doctors won't admit it could be this class of drug. So have things gotten better for you at all? Does anything help?
miriam65408 jane22097
Posted
Hi Jane,
It's good that you've found this site, and Levaquin could well be the cause of your symptoms - especially since you've had 3 rounds of it so far. The most important thing is to make sure you never take another fluoroquinolone (Cipro, Avelox etc). It's rare to find a doctor that will admit the FQ did it, but there are some. I'm guessing you're in the US? Have you looked at Floxie Hope yet? It's a very good site with lots of info and articles. Or there's a special thread on this site set up by the Moderator with info about sites at
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/fluoroquinolone-toxicity-syndrome-427305
The sites mentioned and the discussion on that page will tell you more about being floxed and hopefully you will find some advice as to what might help.
Good luck, and I hope you find this information useful.
jane22097 miriam65408
Posted
Thanks for the response. I checked out that site. Yes, in the US and looking for help. Never heard of problems with this drug before, I took Cipro once or twice in my life with no problem, but this year my run with the Levaqin was 19 days! Didn't make it to 30 due to a reaction. And I'm allergic to penicillin so I'm already limited with what they can give me. Crazy to read that some people react after just one dose, and I've had truck loads of this med! Well thanks for the info. I just know there's something more to my symptoms here that docs aren't acknowledging...
miriam65408 jane22097
Posted
That was a quick reply! I always suggest Lisa's site as I think it's the best one for help and advice, and she often replies to comments as well!
It is crazy that some people can take load and some react after just one pill. My husband's reaction was after 3 Cipro tablets on his second course. The first course a year earlier didn't bother him (or so we thought!). The toxins stay in your cells and build up to overload. My theory is other drugs or chemicals - or toothpaste - (many things contain fluoride) can start the build up and then the FQ comes along and wham!
Wishing you all the best,
Miriam
Kbanana mike_7
Posted
Mike, I'm not sure why 2 of my posts were deleted. I wish they Wld tell you what you did or said so you know not to do it again. They give you a list of about a dozen things a person cld do wrong, so I'm at a lose. I went to the Dr's Wednesday and my Dr said even though it's rare to experience the side effects such as ligaments tearing, etc. I just happen to be one of those one in a million ppl who just happen to get the rare side effects . I have to now go for another CT scan on my left foot. I went to get up and heard and felt a snap in my foot and now I can barely walk. This totally sucks. How are you doing?
miriam65408 Kbanana
Posted
Kbanana, Mike hasn't responded to comments on this thread for a long time! Maybe you mentioned a product or tried to give a link?
At least your doc has said that you are suffering from the effects of the Cipro, most doctors deny it completely.
Be aware if they try to send you for physio that the usual sports-injury type physio methods can do more harm than good, as your tendons won't repair themselves in the same way as they do after a sports injury. Have you looked at the Floxie Hope site yet? If you look there you can enter 'physio' in the search box and you should get a couple of papers that tell physios and other therapists how to treat a floxing injury. You can find the address on this link here, plus other useful sites.
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/fluoroquinolone-toxicity-syndrome-427305
Good luck!
angelina138 mike_7
Posted
miriam65408 angelina138
Posted
Hi Angelina, Mike hasn't been heard of for a very long time but a few people still post on this thread.
In my experience people eventually get over their symptoms but it can take years.
If you click on this post by the moderator -
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/fluoroquinolone-toxicity-syndrome-427305
you'll find lots of information and useful addresses (I can't post addresses in this reply!). The site called floxie hope has loads of stories from people who've been affected so you'll get an idea of both symptoms and recovery times.
Have you been affected? If you want to say what happened I might have some tips or be able to point you somewhere.
Best Wishes
gillian37107 mike_7
Posted
Carlina mike_7
Posted
Hi
I have been on Cipro for 2.5 years. I'm required to take it for life because I contracted a pseudamoma during surgery. I got fibromyalgia symptoms first, I have quite a few symptoms that could be attributed to Cipro. Today I'm home from work with Bursitis in the hip.
I have a 20% chance of being in a life threatening situation if I cease Cipro.
Bit of a quandry yeah?
chris64921 Carlina
Posted
Carlina chris64921
Posted
They didn't even warn me about the increased sun sensitivities caused by it. I am an avid gardener - got burned on top of my head through hair.
miriam65408 Carlina
Posted
Hi Carlina,
I'm guessing you've joined this discussion as you've seen there can be severe problems with taking Cipro yet you've been told to take it for life. As you say, it's a bit of a quandary.
Cipro and the other fluoroquinolones are a unique class of antibiotics. Unique because the way they kill bacteria is that they actually go for the bacterial DNA and prevent it from replicating. The manufacturers rightly say that they don't interfere with human nuclear DNA which is true....BUT, they conveniently forget to mention that we humans have teeny tiny organisms in our cells called mitochondria which generate our energy for us. Mitochondria have their own simple DNA (something to do with our beginnings in that primeval swamp!) and it's this DNA that's damaged by the FQs, along with the bacterial DNA.
This means that, little by little, your mitochondria will be being depleted. There are thousands of them in every cell (except your red blood cells) so gradually losing them will become a problem to every system in your body - heart, lungs, muscles, nerves you name it. Some people are much more susceptible than others with some being affected by the very first tablet and others (like yourself) taking repeated courses of Cipro for many years (one lady on here had taken over 50 courses!).
There are other effects they have and you've already met one of them. I would look at the information starting with the links you can find here:
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/fluoroquinolone-toxicity-syndrome-427305
especially regarding the dangers of tendon damage, also look at the FDA announcement made last July. I suggest you go back to whoever told you you must take Cipro for life and ask for a different antibiotic which is actually targeted to the pseudomonas strain of bug. FQs are broad spectrum so will kill anything (including you) while psuedomonas is gram negative so ask for a better suited AB. Also, it quickly forms a resistance to any AB taken long term so it's never a good idea to take the same AB for a long period. Cipro is increasingly in the news because so many bugs are resistant to it - what will they do if you develop resistance and have an emergency? Better to change to something else before it happens!
There is some discussion that gallium (similar to iron) tablets can help get rid of pseudomonas, apparently the bugs take it up thinking it's iron and it suffocates them! This sounds worth a try!
Doctors do save your life but they don't always know everything. If you're unhappy about taking long-term Cipro (I certainly would be!) then remember it's your body, you must take control, do some research and tell your doctor you want to rethink your treatment. Good luck!