Ashley’s Story – Fluoroquinolone Toxicity

/ Lisa / 2 Comments

I only recently came across an article about quinolones that finally made everything over the last 22 years make sense.  I feel like a complete idiot for not putting it together long ago but I feel like that’s where my case is a little different.  But oh how hindsight is to crystal clear.

Around 10-11 years old I began having frequent UTI’s, one early on was very severe and I ended up in the local children’s hospital on IV antibiotics.  It was then that one pediatrician had a hunch and performed an ultrasound and found both kidneys loaded with small stones.  I remember hating it when the nurses came around with new bags of antibiotics because it made me feel so terrible while it was running.  I eventually recovered from the infection but strange things began to happen around that time.  I still had frequent infections that my mother was taking me to a urologist for, they would always treat me with the same course of meds.  After having to take them so often my mother would just give me the bottle and remind me to take it since I was so responsible with it.  I only ever remember having Cipro or Levoquin when they got really bad.

I remember sitting with my mother one night in the recliner (I was a very tiny child) and out of no where I had overwhelming chest pain and feeling like I couldn’t breathe.  She gave me a few minutes to see if it would pass and it only got worse and in a panic she called 911.  They told my mother it was pleurisy and sent me home.  These episodes came and went and new symptoms came extremely sporadically, nothing made sense.  During this time I would have problems with:

Migraines

vomiting

diarrhea

constipation

muscle cramps

fatigue

prone to viral infections

poor coordination

increased incidents of sunburn

It would all come and go.  I do remember one doctor asking if I felt bad when on Cipro, I have never felt worse when I’m on it.  These problems I would have were coming way after taking the medications and I think that that is the reason we never made the connection.  I saw doctors ALL THE TIME, of all sorts.  They would all say the same thing, “she’s fine” or “everything shows she’s normal”.  By the time I was 14 I remember hating going to another doctor only to have them dismiss me.  If I wasn’t being seen for any of those things, I was being treated for a myriad of sprains, strains and broken bones.  I had serious coordination problems that every single doctor would tell my mother, “you just have a really clumsy kid”.

I had an extremely traumatic even happen when I was 14, I was assaulted and have a child as a result.  The only reason I mention it is because it does have some bearing on events pertaining to my health. (I have raised my daughter and she is a wonderful creature and my reason to live)

Before we knew I was pregnant I had hives for the first time, no obvious triggers.  They lasted for about 3 weeks with no improvements with antihistamines.  The only complication during pregnancy was having kidney stones for the majority of the time.
About a week after delivery I began feeling very feverish, malise and vomiting.  More hard hitting antibiotics for a staph infection of my uterus.

There was one new thing that pregnancy brought, hip and knee pain. So as one can imagine, the time following my daughter’s birth was extremely challenging.  I was deeply depressed and suffer still from PTSD.  But again during this time frequent infections were still plaguing me so I really don’t know how many times I have used quinolones.  Around 16 years old I changed urologists and around 17 was when I had the cystoscopy performed and they saw the stenosis of urethra and ureters.  The doctor then performed hydro-dilation, which worked very well for me.  I went from having infections every other month to only about 3-4 times a year.  But during this time I saw a huge increase of muscle pain, cramps, extreme fatigue.  I would either sleep for 12+ hours or not at all.  I began having nightmares that I consider to be more like night terrors.  I was so low the only thing I ever thought about was how much I wanted to kill myself.  And the only thing that kept me from carrying out those thoughts was that I couldn’t leave this poor child on her own, she didn’t ask to be here any more than I did.Insomnia has plagued me even before these drugs were ever given to me but I do think they made it even more severe.  I went through a lot of psychiatric drugs around that time, oh let me tell you just how broken things are with our lack of mental health care.  That’s where things start to get really hazy with what I do and don’t remember but I chock a lot of that up to the psych meds and trauma.Here comes the really fun stuff.  I began college in nursing.

In 2004 when I was 19, I woke up with an odd rash on my inner thighs, I took benadryl and went about my day.  The day passed pretty uneventful until that night. I was out with a friend at a coffee shop we went to frequently when I began to feel ill.  She took me home, I was vomiting and running a fever and felt in a way I still cannot explain.  I drove myself to the emergency room.  While waiting to be seen I started to itch, everywhere.  I went to the bathroom and lifted my shirt, I’m covered in hives all over my entire body.  I went and showed a nurse who got me back quicker since I didn’t initially present with that.  They asked me what had changed, food, soap, anything I could be allergic to…nope.  The had my history of UTI’s, no one ever put it together.  They gave me benadryl and oral Prednisone, a little later is when they gave me epinephrine. In a few short minutes I couldn’t breathe, I slumped over losing control of my body, vomiting profusely all over myself and the nurse is screaming at me.  I was still conscious, though I could hardly move or speak.  Everyone was there in a whirlwind. Nurses trying to draw blood with no success, I can’t breathe, portable chest x-ray, left lung infiltrated 100%, right lung 45%.  I’m coughing up hot liquid, hives got worse.  Heart rate over 200 bps.  I remember them discussing intubation, I can hear but not much reaction.  Every person I could draw breath to I tell them to call my mother.  They’re about to admit me, shift change 7 hours after my arrival someone finally calls my mother.  They take me upstairs to a room and a new nurse is taking history.  Nurse “Any allergies?” mom “not until last night”, nurse “What??”  my mother goes over events of what she was told.  Nurse tries to get BP on machine, no reading.  Manually, can’t get it.  Sonar, 60/40.  The last thing I remember is her flipping me on my head in the bed and yelling for help.

I woke in ICU, the doctor asks me what brought me in.  I went over all of it, they didn’t even have on the admitting forms the drugs they had given me.  I stay in ICU for 7 days because my vitals are so unstable.  I spent another 3 under regular observation.  All anyone can tell me is that it looked like I had an anaphylactic event.  I had never been allergic to anything at all.  Upon discharge I still had massive hives.

My hives would sometimes stay constant for up to 2 years.  Edema so bad that I couldn’t put a long sleeve shirt on, I had to wear my shoes as loose as I could. The hives were also across mucosal membranes, in my nose, mouth, eyelids. people in public didn’t even try to hide the fact that they didn’t want to come anywhere near me.  Cashiers didn’t want to take my money.After that life altering moment I sought out an allergist in efforts to never have this happen again.  It took months to recover.  After that even I had hives off and one and with them: vasculitis, edema, extreme abdominal pain.  So much so that one day when my mother was trying desperately to find me help I told her I wanted to die because I couldn’t take the pain anymore.  More ER visits.  Any time for no reason I would get hives and my BP would drop very low.  over 400 prick tests were performed chasing my allergy, nothing.  No one could give me any answers or relief.  The pain in my muscles became unbearable.  In seeking answers I began to be treated VERY VERY poorly by the medical community.  They would ask me if I had a psychiatrist or outright say I was faking it all, that it was all in my head.  That I was making myself break out in hives or making my blood pressure drop.  They would say I wasn’t in pain, they told me I was drug seeking.  All the while taking quinolone drugs several times a year. Family would act as if they thought that too.  I lost friends, relationships, job opportunities, college courses because I couldn’t  function.  I missed so much time from middle school all the way through college.  I never got a degree.I began working in my passion, in a veterinary field as an assistant.  My constant health problems and getting my body battered by working with animals took a heavy toll.  I missed a lot of time.  They would all say “she’s a great worker, when she’s here.”

Once my husband came home to find me unable to do anything other than lay there with my eyes like faucets, visible muscle knots across my body.  I couldn’t move, I was stiff all over, almost seizure-like.  He called an ambulance, they sedated me at the hospital after saying that 23 was too young to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia and saying I was abusing my meds.  the nurse told my husband I might not wake up, can he care for me in this state for the rest of my life? At that point I stopped seeking help, I stopped taking many of my medications.  I tried the whole suck-it-up-buttercup routine.  Doctors were rude to me, I would often leave appointments in tears asking myself “are you really this f***ing crazy?!” Was it all in my head?I often got bronchitis and “walking pneumonia”, they would give me Avelox.

Trying to keep a medical journal with all of this was so depressing I had to stop.  No obvious pattern, again, I wouldn’t get any new or worsening symptoms until weeks after taking those drugs.  I was conditioned to trust these people, these doctors.My hearing has never been great, as a kid my best friend asked my why I always looked at everyone’s mouth when they were talking, or why was I always so loud.  Around 27 years old I had a sharp decrease in my ability to hear.  I was also on the cusp of my interstitial cystitis diagnosis.  They threw all sorts of drugs at me.  I had a hard time understanding men when they talk or I couldn’t understand dialog on TV no matter how loud it was.  It started interfering with work so I saw an ENT, low pitch hearing loss of unknown cause.  After being given Levoquin even though I had negative urine cultures, things got so much worse.I began experiencing tendonitis, I would get searing pain through my feet, dangerous when carrying an intubated and sedated animal.  I couldn’t hold the dental scaler without extreme pain.  I was in a very toxic animal clinic and made the decision to leave the veterinary field altogether because my body could no longer take it.  I had broken down enough to seek help, I couldn’t live with the pain.  While I hold no religious beliefs I will admit that sometimes it can’t just be coincidence.  After walking out of the job abruptly I landed a job with an acupuncturist.  I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

By 2017 I was fitted with my first pair of hearing aids, I have severe loss in my right ear and moderate/severe on the left..  A few months ago I stumbled across an article a friend had posted about FQAD.  Suddenly my entire life was in focus.  I was floored.  The very same people who treated me so miserably were the ones who had made me this way.  I was so angry.  My boss is from China, he was a surgeon there and told me how much he hated those drugs and never used them because of their danger.  I took this information to my GP who seemed like this had crossed her mind before but I got the feeling that she wasn’t allowed to talk about it.  She said “there is no way anyone can prove that this isn’t what’s wrong with you”.

My pain has been so significant since I last took a quinolone.  About 6 weeks ago I woke in the night with extreme pain on the left side of my neck, shoulder and arm.  GP said upon assessment that I have two bulging discs, absolutely no trauma to cause it.  I refused the steroid treatment my GP wanted to prescribe.  She wanted to send me for MRI and to a cardiologist about my worsening tachycardia but alas, no insurance.  She did say that it could have a lot to do with partially torn tendons.

So here I am present day, I would lie if I said that I’m more than just a little scared of the future.  I’ve taken so much for so long, the damage is very real and very in my face.  Keeping myself in a positive direction is challenging but essential.  My boss agrees about all that’s wrong with me and says he is very worried about my condition.  Since working for him my quality of life has drastically improved.  I do take Baclofen for my muscle pain, it’s a big help but doesn’t last very long.

Acupuncture has helped with a lot along a wide range but for very specific types of pain it doesn’t always help.  I sleep much better and am even taking my Ambien less often which is HUGE for me.  I’m no longer on Lyrica or antianxiety meds.  If I’m feeling anxious I use a chinese herb sold as Soothewell, works like a charm.  Formula 303 which is passion flower, magnesium and valerian root works well for some spasming and as a natural relaxant.  I have been getting massages for over six months, we have had to cut back on cupping and deep tissue massage due to the tendon problems but it’s been pushing daily pain down little by little.  There are Chinese herbs for just about everything and they have been a help as well.  I also get regular chiropractic adjustments and that’s been a help, I’ve seen a chiropractor for years.

Stretching daily helps with tightness, ice goes a long way to reduce inflammation and is very underrated.  Epsom baths with essential oils are very relaxing and can at least cut back on some of the pain.

And for many different infections be them viral or bacterial Chuan Xin Lian which is Isatis root, dandelion, and andrographis has kicked every UTI I have had over the last 12 months.  As far as pain goes, nothing beats cannabis.  No, it doesn’t make me pain free but it makes most days manageable. I have found that personally smoking it doesn’t come close to the benefit of eating it.

I find that mental well being effects all of the symptoms that I have.  I have cut away extra stress in all the ways I can.  I have had to cut off many people to focus on getting better. Finding something cathartic for yourself has done so much for me.  I love gardening, I can lose myself and shut out all else.  It’s a good problem solving tool as well.  Fresh air!  Not being kept up within four walls is cleansing, even if you’re just sitting.  I have to limit physical exertion but when that’s the case I turn to succulents, little outdoor tasks.  Pick up a hobby, when I’m confined to rest I crochet while listening to the TV.  It helps with restlessness, it makes time spent inactive worthwhile, you’re getting SOMETHING accomplished.  Reading can be great, exercise your brain when you can’t exercise your body.

Keep your home bubble calm, as it’s your daily retreat from the world. Believe in yourself, you can get through this.I think there is hope.So over the years I have experienced:

Tachycardia
Hearing loss
Tendon damage
Tendonitis
Poor grip
Widespread muscle spasms
Severe pain at muscle attachments
Muscle weakness
Fatigue
Difficulty concentrating
Brain fog
Memory loss
Anxiety
Depression
Suicidal thoughts
Insomnia
Blurred visioin
Chronic dry eye/mouth
Poor coordination
Numbness/tingling
Strange sensations in extremities
Sensitivity to hear/cold
Tremors and spasms
Photosensitivity
Joint pain
Pleurisy
Hives
Edema
vasculitis
Gastroparesis
Bulging discs

** 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 www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

Tikvah’s Story – Ciprofloxacin Toxicity

/ Lisa / 6 Comments

Feb. 1, 2014 I was taken to the ER for acute pancreatitis which was caused from my gallbladder’s acute inflammation.  They kept me in the hospital for 4 days, no food no water, to get the pancreatitis taken care of so they could get the GB taken out after that.  I was pumped full of 3 bags of ciprofloxicin which was toxic to my body.

In the course of just a little over 2 yrs. now [i.e. Mar. 2016]. I have gone from not being able to dress myself, nor get out of bed, nor turn over in bed by myself to being able to get up o/o bed by myself in the first 4 mos. after the surgery to then not being able to walk without help, or get up and down in or out of a chair or a sitting position without excruciating pains throughout my body.  I could hardly take care of my personal hygiene in the bathroom for the first 6 or 7 mos.

Then I graduated to more easily being able to dress myself, but still with struggles and to walking with a walker.  Still needing help getting up and down, in and out of sitting/laying positions.

Have never been able to sleep well for the past 2yrs.  And it’s gotten worse.  I also have tendonitis in both of my heels, left heel is worse, and it generates all of the way back up my leg.  My feet hurt terribly by the end of the day, each day and I can hardly walk.  I can not go up/down stairs easily at all.  I need something to hold on to, or someone, and I must take ONE step at a time with both feet on one step.

I went from using a walker for 1/2 a year to using a walking cane for a year.  Now Nov. 2015 I stopped using my walker, and can walk on my own, although I must take is slowly.

I am no longer able to uphold my duties as a wife sexually or the household duties.  I can go to the store and do some shopping but by the time I get home, I am in excruciating pain and must rest a complete 24 hours or more.

I have pains throughout my body that, in my opinion, mimic fibromyalgia and MS.  The pains in my muscles and joints are in my shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands and fingers, my lower and mid section of my back on the left side, my hips, knees, calves, ankles and feet.

My eyesight has been deteriorating and I have had 4 teeth fall out.  I have ALWAYS had a good healthy set of ALL of my teeth prior to this. I have also developed tinnitus.  I have also gained weight since I have been unable to perform daily activities or exercise.

I have bouts of depression from not being able to do the normal tasks of daily life.  I have to stay away from certain foods now, such as any meats wherein the animals have been given antibiotics as they tend to increase flare ups of inflammation and pain.

I supplement daily now with magnesium, D3, calcium, MSM, iron, and I have recently added in iodine weekly.

I also have a topical magnesium spray that I spray on my tendons in my heels that helps.  I can tell if I miss my doses of magnesium as the pain sets in.

So all in all then, in just a little over 2 yrs. I have gone from not being able to walk at all to using a walker, then a cane, now nothing.  But I still can not go up and down stairs alone, and it is still painful and slow moving to walk. and I have some symptoms that seem to be permanent.  The tendonitis, and the symptoms that seem to mimic fibryomyalgia and MS.  The tinnitus, the weight gain, and the loosened teeth.

I hope that my story, my input, and others will help to remedy the problems and get these type drugs off of the market for every day type infections in adults and children and only be used for what they are intended for and from what I understand that would be something that is life threatening and extremely serious in the family of a deadly plague.

Fast forward now ~ update January 18, 2018, the residual affects that remain are the problems w/ the tendons, especially in my heels and that go up to the hips, the sciatica, what mimics MS and fibromyalgia, the daily depletion of magnesium and vit. D from the body, among other minerals, the decay in my eyesight, and I still have problems with walking up and down stairs or for long periods of time.

I can go to the grocery store and shop, but by the time I get home, I can barely walk and get the groceries up the stairs and in the house and put up.  I am able to walk now without my cane, but in the winter, IF I have to go out, I take it along with me so I don’t slip and fall and I hold on to someones arm as I walk for safety.

I can dress myself now but I can’t get in/out of a tub by myself very easily at all, so opt for showers rather than sit baths, which I miss so much.  My hair has thinned.  I lost a total of 6 teeth in the back, but am taking extra good care of them and hoping that the extra care will help thwart the loss of any more.  Same with my eyes.

** 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 www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

Kim’s Story – Ciprofloxacin Poisoning

/ Lisa / 3 Comments

I am a 42 year old male (a husband and father of three children) from Tasmania, Australia. I have been suffering from suspected epididymitis since May 2017. After taking a number of courses of antibiotics (such as doxycycline) on and off over several months with some improvement, but no full cure, I was referred to a urologist. After a very cursory appointment of around 5-10 minutes he prescribed me Ciprofloxacin. No mention of any possible side-effects was made. Three days into taking this course of Ciprofloxacin (12 February 2018) I began getting pain down both shins. My legs also felt weak/heavy. By Day 5 the pain was considerably worse and had begun to spread to my ankles and feet. I decided to stop taking any more Ciprofloxacin tablets as the timing seemed to be too much of a coincidence (had now taken 10 tablets – 5 days of 2 tablets per day). I also read a number of peer-reviewed medical and research articles online and many other thoroughly researched articles online (from the US, Canada and Europe) that document thousands of cases of people who have had serious adverse reactions to Fluoroquinolone drugs – many whose initial symptoms were almost identical to my own. Over the next few days the pain continued to spread into my heels, ankles, feet, toes, shoulders, arms and elbows, with shooting pain in my tendons and muscles. I also started experiencing tingling sensations in various parts of my body – like little shocks of electricity that continued to move about the body – particularly limbs and face. My legs started to lose strength and I had difficulty walking. I also began to experience numb feet and toes. I have also experienced brain fog and considerable fatigue since this time.

On the 23 February 2018 my condition deteriorated rapidly. I was at work (I am a high school English teacher) and was walking to my classroom when my left ankle begun hurting much worse than I had been experiencing over the last few days. I was barely able to walk and just made it to my classroom by hopping. I went home and later that day to my GP, who referred me to Accident and Emergency. A number of tests, including blood tests were conducted there and the following week an MRI of my brain and spine was conducted. All results returned negative for other possible causes of my symptoms. A physician detected a lack of neurological sensations in my peripherals, particularly lower legs and feet. It is his opinion that my condition is fluoroquinolone toxicity caused by the Ciprofloxacin tablets I took.

I continue to have ongoing side effects. The pain has become more concentrated in my joints, especially ankles, shoulders, elbows and wrists, but I continue to have pain down my shins and arms. Just walking from my office to my classroom is difficult and painful as my ankles and lower legs become increasingly sore and weak with walking. Simply holding light objects such as a book for any period of time causes increased pain in my shoulder, arm, elbow and wrists. One of the side-effects that only emerged two months after the initial toxicity is a severe shivering/skin crawling that is very uncomfortable and bordering on painful (perhaps this is due to the weather cooling). I am taking the pain-killer amitriptyline (Endep) daily.

I have had to make the difficult decision of reducing my working hours to try to cope with the effects of this toxicity and give my body a greater chance to recover.

Other than my current physician and one other GP a few months ago who mentioned an antibiotic that might cure my epididymitis but could cause Achilles tendon ruptures (which he did not name but I now assume was Ciprofloxacin), all the other doctors I have seen have had no awareness of the well-documented and researched serious side effects of this drug. After speaking to two of the doctors, they (to their credit) went away and researched Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome and came back to me apologising that they had not previously been aware of this and intimated that this is likely what I am experiencing. In many countries this drug has been removed due to the acknowledgement of its serious and long-term side effects. In other countries, such as the US, this drug has the strongest warning label possible (black box warning), following pressure from many medical professionals and this issue resulting in court cases. The US has also already taken a number of other fluoroquinolone-based drugs off the market. It appears that currently Australia is considerably behind much of the developed world on this issue and it is my great desire that changes can be made in my country to avoid other people experiencing what I am experiencing – through the medical profession being made much more aware of the dangers of this drug, increasing the warning labels for this drug and prescribing this drug much more judiciously and as a drug of last resort (if at all).

I am grateful that I have a supportive wife, understanding children and a Christian faith and church community to help me wrestle with this condition. One of the most challenging aspects of this toxicity for me is the uncertainty: what will the next hour be like?  What will tomorrow be like? What will the next few weeks or months be like? I am still quite likely at the beginning of this journey (having read numerous people’s stories – many of whom are now years into their toxicity). I know that some have made almost complete recoveries within a few months and so am trying to be hopeful and realistic at the same time.

I would love to hear from any Australians who have suffered FQT, sharing what their experience has been like and whether they were able to get support from the medical profession or from others within Australia.

 

** 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 www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

 

Jon’s Story – Tinnitus from Fluoroquinolones

/ Lisa / 6 Comments

In December 2016 I fell from a ladder and fractured my Coccyx, one of the complications that came on about 2 weeks after the impact were symptoms of a non-specific urinary tract infection and blood in my semen. I was prescribed by my doctor a 1 week course of Ciprofloxacin, 2 tablets a day. I’m usually reluctant to take antibiotics but due to the worrying nature of the symptoms I started the course in good faith.

Mid way into the course of treatment (having taken 9 out of 14 tablets), I returned home from work that day feeling dizzy and unwell and went to bed at 9pm. At about midnight I woke with the most alarming ringing in my ears, completely deafening in volume that made me leap from the bed and shout to my wife in a highly stressed state. The ringing subsided slightly over about 15 minutes so I tried to calm down and return to sleep. As soon as I started to fall into a light sleep the ringing would return to maximum intensity and wake me with a fright. This was the start of an alarming cycle which meant I was getting no more than about 30 minutes light sleep before waking up due to the tinnitus.

I called my doctor the next day and as my infection symptoms has subsided he agreed I should stop taking the Ciprofloxacin and that my tinnitus should disappear as the medicine left my body. However this was not to be the case, during that first day I was aware of a constant hissing in my left ear and a higher pitch whistle in my right ear. That night when I tried to sleep the same cycle continued, on falling asleep the tinnitus would ‘spike’ and wake me a short time later at such a loud volume if felt like a pressure valve going off in my head. It would subside over several minutes, I’d fall back asleep but the same pattern would continue. After a few days I became increasingly exhausted and distressed, the hissing ‘soundstage’ would remain during the day and at night the spikes continued I’d have the most terrible time sleeping. I couldn’t work and returned to the doctor several times in those first couple of weeks who said I was experiencing an acute stress reaction to the sudden onset tinnitus. I returned to work after about 3 weeks but had never felt so broken and at a low ebb.

The months that have followed have been tough. The tinnitus is always there during the day and still very loud during the night, I’ve found that it is quieter in the morning and builds throughout the day in volume. It also varies in intensity in each ear day to day and this changeability makes it very hard to habituate. I’ve been seeing an ENT consultant who reported my reaction to the drug and carried out an MRI scan to check if there was anything underlying that could have caused the problem – there wasn’t. He confirmed that my hearing has been affected and I’ve experienced moderate high frequency hearing loss in both ears.

I’ve had some cognitive therapy treatment from a hearing specialist working with tinnitus sufferers which has helped a little. I’ve found coping techniques such as playing ocean noises at night have helped improve my ability to sleep which has meant life has returned more or less to normal. I do however feel my tinnitus symptoms are gradually worsening over time, I seem to have more bad days and nights than I used to in the early months. Recently I’ve had a head cold and that seems to have worsened them still and at times i struggle with daily life and feeling positive. My ears are very sensitive to loud noises now. My wife and I sleep in separate rooms because of the sleeping issues, this has impacted on our relationship and the ease of doing things we used to enjoy such as nights away. What saddens me most is that my life feels compromised, my wife see less of my fun side and not able to be the strong one in our relationship any more.

My wife recently became pregnant for the third time and we were concerned that my health issues along with some other significant pregnancy health risk factors affecting my wife that a third child (3 under 3 years) would put both too much risk and pressure on our family. We made the unbelievably difficult decision in December 2017 for an early termination of the pregnancy to ensure we can focus our love and attention on our 2 young boys already here. Whether we would have made the same decision if I’d never taken Cipro and the challenges that this has brought into our lives is something that will haunt me to the grave.

My wife and I both felt something positive needed to come from our sad decision so this year I’m committed to getting the support i need to help me with my tinnitus starting with a local tinnitus support group and audiology assessment later this month. I’m focusing on the loved ones in my life and being thankful every day for what i have. I’m making sleeping separately the exception rather than the norm (trialling a sleep headband that plays sound). I’m eating healthily, drinking in moderation, going to bed earlier and doing more structured fitness all which helps with my mood and general well being. I’m determined to live life to the full and bring happiness to those i love despite what has happened to me.

** 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 www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

Steve’s Story – Cipro Induced Chiari Malformation

/ Lisa / 11 Comments

I was poisoned in June of 2015 by cipro and it led to Chiari decompression surgery: taking a chunk out of the back of my skull, removing back half of my C1 vertebrae, and removing a piece (and then putting back) of the lining of my lower brain. IT CAUSED DRUG-INUCED CHAIRI. Then I had to fly to Barcelona, Spain to have the bottom of my spinal cord released to help reduce pressure on the bottom of my brain. Since the cipro I have been diagnosed with the following which I never had before taking the drug: chairi malformation, tethered cord syndrome, heart nodules, start of lymphoma, limpoma in groin, central apnea, obstructive apnea, peripheral neuropathy, cervical instability, and now a possible abdominal aortic aneurysm. Oh yeah, and I have gotten to spend the past two and a half years in bed.

Laura’s Story

/ Lisa / 7 Comments

i am currently 26 with SLE Lupus, liver disease, asthma, major back problems seizures, auto immune disease, unable to walk or stand. wheelchair bound severe nerve pain and numbness and tingling that get’s worse everyday. severe back pain my body starts shaking out of no where. i took cipro a few times for UTI but didn’t have any severe symptoms till the last time 2015. i had surgery ended up having a UTI gave me cipro after having to come back from an allergic reaction to percocet and morphine caused me to have seizures again after being seizure free for 10 years. i couldn’t stay awake and don’t remember much except what my family said that they gave me cipro through IV very high dose. i was hallucinating really bad having excruciating pain in my legs and bleeding it wasn’t my period either i took it till i got out then i stopped it cause it was to much. about a month later the pain in my stomach returned and i started losing feeling with sex and started having more pain every day. i was in so much pain i couldn’t work and the seizures started getting to the point they were every minute or less and i would have a long where i wouldn’t be able to talk and lose all my strength and energy that happened 5 times in in 2015.

my memory was going on me i felt so sick all the time didn’t want to eat sometimes. then i found out i had sever fatty liver disease 84% fat that was september 2016 and my gall bladder was severely diseased and had to come out. i was very sick after i got it removed and a month after i started having bladder problems where i couldn’t control my bladder and going all the time and starting having pain again in my stomach not as bad but some pain. may 2017 i was working at out of no where i got exhausted and couldn’t stay awake i finished my shift but barely able to stay awake or walk my husband had to help me to the car. next day i was extremely slow slower then a snail barely able to move and no energy. and then i couldn’t walk i went to sleep and went in a coma for a day and a half i couldn’t wake up i could hear off and on but couldn’t wake up. then i started having breathing problems while i was in the coma and started choking and shaking really bad and thought i was going to die i couldn’t catch my breath. i woke up ate a little something then went into another coma for almost 3 days and it was harder to wake from my whole body was shaking i couldn’t stay awake. since may i still haven’t got my energy back i’m exhausted and been in a wheelchair june i found out i have Auto immune disease july i found out Sle lupus.

August i started losing feeling in my feet and became tingly then my legs and worked up to my arms and hands and face. august 26th i was unable to move at all i started choking and not being able to breathe my whole body started shaking and my whole body became paralyzed i couldn’t move anything not even my mouth i couldn’t talk i was drooling and couldn’t stay awake. my entire body has been numb since until a few days ago where i started having nerve pain all the time feels like electricity is being run through me from my back , finger tips, arms, hands, legs, ankles and toes it’s to the point where i am starting to have to take pain medicine cause of how much pain i’m in. i am currently in rehab right now trying to get strength back so i can walk again i’m very weak and this pain is making it really hard. i also feel like an old person and wake up every day wondering what obstacles i’m going to face each day and will i wake up I hope your feeling better and get better my friend told me about this i never realized but it makes sense now.

Erin’s Story – Disability from Ciprofloxacin

/ Lisa / 1 Comment

Erin’s story was originally published on http://pointsnorthatlanta.com/important-questions-to-ask-your-pharmacist/. Thank you for sharing your story, Erin! 

As I left the gastroenterologist’s office in late July 2015, I did so with hope. I’d been experiencing unexplained nausea and bloating for a few weeks and, while hospital test results showed normal white blood cell counts and I had no fever, I was sent home with antibiotics as a ‘ just in case.’

I’d be better in no time; I just knew it.

The following day, I experienced numbness in my hands and feet, but was encouraged to continue my course. I did so, but the following weeks saw multiple trips to the emergency room, presenting with increased and body-wide symptoms.

No doctor could figure out what was wrong. The symptoms continued to pile on, and I was baffled. Neither I nor my doctors made the connection to the ciprofloxacin antibiotic I’d been given.

I was hospitalized by mid-August, given more antibiotics, iron and steroids.

I have been disabled ever since.

Prior to taking the ciprofloxacin, I was a 34-year-old newlywed and world traveler whose career was going so well, I decided to strike out on my own. But that bout of nausea — which was later resolved by a simple proton pump inhibitor — and that fateful prescription for antibiotics set me on a course of 24/7, 365 pain that has not resolved.

The numbness became excruciating, burning nerve pain in my hands and feet. I spent all day in bed, covered in ice packs. Overnight, my previously perfect vision became light sensitive and blurry, and I developed a rare condition called visual snow. Head pressure, ear pain and popping became a ceaseless tinnitus. I was suddenly unable to sleep. At all. Ever.

At the same time, my blood pressure became unpredictable. My heart rate and body temperature vacillated wildly. When I stood, my heart rate would spike, and I would feel dizzy or faint.

I saw countless specialists, but none could help me. Most did not believe what was happening to me. I didn’t want to believe it either, but the evidence was all there: dozens of studies detailing the potentially permanent, debilitating side effects of Cipro and other antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone class. But I, like so many others, was never warned.

In March 2016, the body-wide joint, tendon and bone pain began. Suddenly, it became painful to walk, type or lift even light objects. My skin, eyes, nose and mouth became impossibly dry. My hormone levels were all over the place. My hair fell out by the handful. I was horrified. What kind of medication continues to affect you six months after you take it?

The answer: fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

In November 2015, the FDA held hearings with people like me who have become permanently affected, and, in some cases, profoundly disabled, from fluoroquinolone antibiotics. This year, the FDA issued a warning that these drugs should not be used except as a last resort where other antibiotics have failed. Risks cited include permanent musculoskeletal, nerve and central nervous system (brain) damage, for which there is no cure. What I, and many others, suffer from is called Fluoroquinolone Associated Disability.

Up to July 2015, I was a woman with no significant diseases or health problems. Today, I am a 36-year-old woman who has filed for Social Security Disability because I was given what I thought was a run-of-the-mill medication.

I tell my story to spare others the pain I continue to endure, and to encourage medical researchers to seek a cure.

** 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 http://www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

What gets me through

/ Lisa / 1 Comment

Another teen devastated by a fluoroquinolones. When is this going to stop??

CIPRO...A RX FOR DISASTER

My name is Catherine.  I am a sophomore at Christopher Newport University, in Newport News, VA.  Until the summer of 2016, I was a healthy, active college girl, and maybe just a little klutzy. I love to be outside, hang with my friends, worship, and have been working hard toward my undergraduate degree, to reach my goal of being, of all things, a Pharmacist.  Cipro, an anti-biotic known as a Fluoroquinolone, has derailed me, in many ways. Physically, emotionally, academically, socially…The irony is not lost on me.

This is my story…

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Although I may appear fine, I am not. Nothing going on inside of my body, and sometimes on the outside, is fine. Rather, it is like an active volcano, with daily eruptions of hot lava surging through me.

Imagine your mom walking in and finding you on the bathroom floor…

View original post 430 more words

This antibiotic will ruin you.

/ Lisa / Leave a comment

Mountains and Mustard Seeds

4739Hi there, we need to talk. I have almost written this post at least 20 times and got too overwhelmed and abandoned it. Well here goes…

The antibiotics you took or are taking for your sinus infection, UTI, skin infection, laser eye surgery…ect…may have already damaged you.

Cipro, Levaquin, Avalox, nearly every generic ending in “quin”, “oxacin,””ox,”…are all part of a large family of antibiotics called “Flouroquinolones.” The FDA finally updated their warning on these antibiotics as of July 2016. They site “multiple system damage that may be irreversible. Permanent you guys. Here is the link for the warning if you are a doubting Thomas  https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm500143.htm. Take a gander real quick if you are reading this with an eyebrow raised. Trust me, I wish I had been given the opportunity to soak up this information before it was too late.

In 2010, I took Cipro for a UTI and it changed…

View original post 1,351 more words

Dear Doctors: A Letter from a Patient

/ Lisa / Leave a comment

dear-doctor

Written by S:

The following is what I have written in the hopes to one day be able to travel and see doctors and nurses in the eye and talk and see that we are human too. I am getting worse I am out of money and waiting for my long term disability to be approved to get more testing done. Till that time I hold on to hope I get my IV once a month and I look forward to a day when this will be but a memory and a issue I have over come. I really do think that now all over the world people are crying out for change. I believe in every part of what we currently use for process for the world to move forward this change must occur in all parts of government to the medical system the banking system etc… It’s hard for me to sit and do nothing. I can’t do much but I can try to help push for change. So if you like what I have written what has taken me months to properly formulate due to my symptoms please share. 

Dear Doctors,

I’m 36 years old and I have been damaged severely by antibiotics.

I know these words will make you tense some of you may have already stopped listening but I ask you to think why you are so afraid to hear my words, to quickly discount me, to try and silence me.

I am 2 years out from this and have gotten worse. I had zero of my current symptoms prior to taking the medication and yet Drs are quick to look at other possible reasons for my symptoms that have lead to me becoming disabled rather than accepting the fact that side effects from pills caused this.

My question to you is why? That is something that each of you must answer for yourself. It may be fear that you have indeed done harm by prescribing these antibiotics to others, it may be ego, it may be because me standing here telling you that the rates at which people are being damaged by pills is growing and that offends you because how dare someone who has not gone through the training you have dare question you.

I know that it is a difficult job to be in the field of HEALING. I use that word because that is truly the field you have chosen. It is to heal. My question to you is then why are we floxies so scary? Why do you want to discount us? I may be one person but I represent thousands of men, women, and children who have been harmed. Who are continued to be harmed. We looked for healing and because it is called the “medical” field and not the healing field and because Drs are encouraged and trained to see as many patients as quickly as possible do not become attached don’t see me as a human I am discounted and marginalized. I am quite real and there is a problem with the way we look at healing today.

I ask and would love the answer as to why naturopathic and holistic healing are not combined in a larger scale today. Why patients are not allowed to choose to have an IV or oil of oregano as their antibiotic rather than one made by the pharmaceutical industry. If it’s really all about healing than why can’t these worlds be combined and outside companies who have not been tainted be used to see if integrative methodology of healing is truly the best form? When you laugh or smirk at this that is your ego talking. No one person knows everything and yet naturopathic and holistic healing is consistently down played in western society as a whole. My question is it ego that is preventing this integration to increase, is it pressure and power from the pharmaceutical industry to only use their methods, is it lack of knowledge about natural and holistic healing? My belief is that it is a combination of all three and I am sure other issues such as the question has healing become a business and when you turn people away due to lack of funds  or when the billing department dictates who gets to be seen by a Dr based on insurance and not need what message does that send.

I ask that you look at me as see I am very real, I am human and I deserve and every person on this planet deserves to be treated as such. When you marginalize me or say well side effects happen all of the time you are telling us that we are an accident and we do not count. We do count I can assure you the pain and the frustration alienation that we receive are very real. The message to us is very clear that we scare you that we are a reminder that western medicine does do harm and you want us to go away. I am here to say please stop fearing us and let’s all work together to find a way to minimize damage to create better methods to hold those that create drugs that do damage accountable and to get back to healing everyone by using the safest and most effective method.

-S

** 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 www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

Vicki’s Story – Levaquin induced Transverse Myelitis

/ Lisa / 6 Comments

vicki-fqwall

In Sept 2007 I was given Levaquin for a sinus infection. My sinus infection returned through November and in December I developed Bronchitis, for which my Dr. prescribed Cipro, with a follow dose of Levaquin. On Dec 28, 2007 I sat down to dinner and felt a “shot” in the back between my shoulder blades, and it felt like fire shooting out through my breast bone in the front. I was immediately hit with spasms around my rib cage that made it difficult to breathe. I thought I had coughed so hard that I ruptured a disc. I knew I would have a difficult time being seen at the ER, so I took a muscle relaxer and went to bed. The next morning I woke up and the first thing I remember is that my legs were ice cold. I tried to get up and go to the bathroom, but soon realized that I I had lost the use of my legs. I also lost control of my bowel and bladder function. My husband took me to the ER of our local hospital. After sitting in the waiting room for 7 hours, the hospital filled up and went on diversion – sending me home without having seen any medical official. We went to our local medical college, where I was taken straight to an ER room. I was there 17 hours, had 3 MRIs, and saw a dozen doctors (some were residents). The ER doc requested a Neuro consult, but since it was New Year’s weekend, the orthopedic dept was taking their calls. So I never saw a neurologist. I believe if I had, they would have correctly diagnosed me. As it turned out, the docs at MCG had no idea what was wrong with me and sent me home with some Valium. I continued to decline, and the nerve damage spread further up my spine. In March 2008 I finally got in to see a neurologist, who took all of four minutes to recognize that I had Transverse Myelitis caused by the Levaquin/Cipro which were given along with steroids – which have since been proven to make severe neurological side effects more likely. I was paralyzed from the chest down for about six months before I began to recover some feeling in my toes. Over the next two years I had almost continuous physical therapy, as well as Radiofrequency Ablations to my spinal cord to help deal with the intense burning nerve pain. I continued to recover some function during that time, and in 2011 was able to stand and walk on my own again – although not up to normal standards. Now it is 2016 and I still suffer from burning pain in my thoracic and lumbar spine, have decreased strength in my legs, and balance issues. I’ve fallen six times over the last 4 years, and my spine has begun to degenerate at an accelerated rate. I also continue to have bladder retention, and bowel incontinence. This condition has completely changed my life. I feel blessed to alive and to have recovered as much as I have, because the majority of people who get TM either parish, or remain in wheel chairs or nursing homes the rest of their lives. However, if I had known that these fluoroquinolone antibiotics had the potential to cause such life changing damage to my central nervous system, I would have never taken them. I’m glad the FDA put a black box warning on these drugs this year, but I still feel it needs to be stronger and more clearly describe the type of life changing or lethal effects these drugs can cause.

I know there is no cure for the neurological pain that I have. I have to take a ton of other medicine now -Gabapentin, Baclofen, and Skalaxin to control the pain and spasticity; Celebrex for inflammation, Valcacyclovir to ward off viruses, Singluar to control allergies and asthma. The acute treatment for TM is high doses of IV Steroids, followed by high doses of oral steroids until the TM is in remission. All those steroids wiped out my immune system and I was diagnosed in 2013 with CVID – Common variable immunodeficiency, Then I had to start getting monthly infusions of Immunoglobulin. In 2014 I had a reaction to the IVIG infusions, so now I can’t have them any more. My IgG is still hundreds of points below normal, so I pretty much stay in isolation at home. I am able to go to stores during off peak times of day, but I avoid anyone with a cold or illness, and avoid being inside a room with a crowd of people. That means that I am not able to go to church as I did before. Another side effect of the TM is that now I’m allergic to most antibiotics except 2 oral and I IV antibiotic that I rely on when I do get sick. Thankfully, I’ve avoided additional sickness for the last 3 years, since I don’t have the immune system to fight it off. I’ve also had anaphylactic reactions to most pain meds, so I have to rely on the Gabapentin to control the pain. It comes with its own side effects, but thankfully I’ve learned to manage them and live with it. I have a faithful and loving husband. We now have 3 grandchildren, and one on the way in May 2017. I have a loyal Cocker Spaniel and this year I have begun to draw again. I look for joy in life every day, but at the same time I am always aware that I am not the woman I was before taking the Fluoroquinolone. There is never a morning that I don’t wake up in pain, or a night that I don’t lie down packed in ice packs to deaden the pain so I can sleep – or when I don’t wake up at least twice in pain and have to change positions or get up to replace the ice packs. There are still days when I have such brain fog that I can’t put two sentences together. Even on good days, I’ll start to tell somebody something and get to the end of my sentence and can’t find the word that was just on the tip of my tongue. I used to be a productive member of society, active in my community and in my church. I’ve learned to live with the isolation and loneliness that comes with being disabled like this, but there are still days when it is a heavy load to bear. I still love my life, my family and friends, but what wouldn’t I give to go back to that day and know better than to take that Levaquin. I wish I could warn everyone in the world about the dangers of these drugs and avoid somebody else going through what I have. Thank you for reading this.

** 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 www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

Andrew’s Story – Life Devastation from Cipro

/ Lisa / 18 Comments

andrew-fqwall

This is my story.  Add it to the other terrible stories on this website to show the world what kind of devastation these antibiotics are capable of.  I never intended to write on the wall of pain because I always thought I would recover, and quite frankly in doing this it brings up more pain.  FYI –  this is a long post.  Don’t read it if you are newly floxed.

I’ll start with describing my life prior to Cipro.  I used to enjoy SO MUCH that life had to offer.  I probably had too many interests and activities.  Some of these were:  snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking the rockies, playing soccer with my daughter, (anything involving being active with my daughter), road biking, lifting weights and playing ice hockey many times a week.  I was in a few adult hockey leagues.  I also enjoyed trying to learn the banjo.  I was really into art.  I used to do pastel drawings but my main passion was sculpting and I had plans of retiring as a sculptor.  I was in pretty good shape.  I was intelligent, sharp, and witty with a good sense of humor.  I was social.  I was confident.  I was generally happy.

I took Cipro in late December 2011 through January of 2012.  I was on 500mg twice daily for prostatitis.  I had never had anything like prostatitis before but I knew I wanted it gone asap.  After being on the medication for well over a week with no issues I started to develop pain in my forearms.  Initially this didn’t bother me and I attributed it to a long round of puck shooting when I went to skate days prior.  This forearm pain got worse to the point I started to wonder if it was the Cipro.

I started to google info on my forearm issue and I ran across horror stories online about how cipro had “ruined” people’s lives.  That word “ruined” kept coming up in these stories and I couldn’t really believe it.  I had been a pharmacist for years and never heard of lives being ruined by fluoroquinolones unless it was torsades related.  I didn’t believe these people on the internet.  Their stories didn’t match up with the FDA approved package insert.  At that time I trusted the FDA.  I took the med a few more days with the idea that if the pain stayed or if it progressed I would quit the Cipro.  The prostatitis still hurt worse than the forearm pain.  What was the worst that could happen?  A torn tendon?  I woke up one day with achilles and right shoulder pain.  Ok that was a definite warning sign.  I immediately stopped taking Cipro.

My forearm tendonitis got worse but thankfully the achilles and shoulder pain went away within a day or so and it made me wonder if I had quit Cipro unnecessarily but I stuck with my decision.  Eventually my forearms hurt so bad it was difficult to open doors, wash my face and brush my teeth.  My forearms hurt like this for at least 6 months (to this day they have never fully recovered) but hey at least nothing like that crazy stuff on the internet happened to me… right?  Life went on and I completely forgot about Cipro.  I continued to be very active playing hockey, going on backpacking trips, hiking etc.  That summer I hurt my right shoulder doing pull ups but chalked it up to the fact that I hadn’t done them in awhile.

Near the end of 2012 I wanted to start working out again since I had quit for most of the year but my nagging right shoulder along with my still  recovering forearm tendonitis prevented me.  I finally started an intense workout program in March of 2013 after my shoulder felt better and that is when I noticed that my shoulders felt loose and crunchy.  I felt grinding and popping in both of them.  This is when the wheels started to fall off.  I had to quit working out not even a week into my program because of the sharp pain in my right shoulder.

It was also  in late 2012 and early 2013 that I started to experience anxiety and brain fog.  I had trouble focusing at work.  I really didn’t think too much of it.  I had shoulder issues and forearm issues but that was it.  Then in the summer of 2013 I developed knee pain.  Then in the winter of 2013 hip pain, along with dry eyes, dry skin, ringing in the ears, TMJ in my jaw and the occasional strange flash of light comet type thing.  I developed floaters.  In 2014 my autonomic dysfunction (that I had prior to all of this) got worse.  I started to feel like I was going to pass out or die when I exercised.  I started to feel more lightheaded and foggy at work.  I started to feel like I was going to pass out especially when I got in a tense situation that involved a lot of stress.  I started to notice a correlation with this brain fog with my coffee drinking (even though by this time I had intense brain fog all of the time).  I soon realized that I couldn’t tolerate coffee anymore.  I developed a fibrillating feeling in my chest that corresponded to feeling like I was going to pass out.  The lightheadedness and fibrillating feeling continued despite me quitting coffee.

In 2015 the pain spread to my hands.  I noticed that I could no longer play my stringed instruments because my hands would get so painful so quickly.  Mainly this was in my thumbs.  I could no longer sculpt because of this and the fact that my eyesight was getting worse.  I started finding it hard to read.  It seemed like parts of my vision were missing.  I went to eye specialist after eye specialist and they could find nothing.  I still have this problem.  For example I have to look at my wife’s right eye if I want to see her whole face.  If I look at her left eye part of the right side of her face is missing.  You would think this would show up on eye tests but it doesn’t.  It reminds me of the strange vision some people get with migraines.

In the summer of 2015 I had a little reprieve from some of my symptoms.  I got on my road bike and through pain I went on a few 20 mile rides.  I thought I was getting better so I went hiking with my wife and went many miles.  After this hiking trip my knees were never the same.  They have since become loose with some strange popping.  The backs of them hurt bad all of the time.  I feel like I can hardly walk a few blocks now without feeling some major pain and a swelling feeling.  In late 2015 I started on testosterone and glutathione injections.  (My testosterone levels were low for the first time in my life)  I developed some pretty severe hamstring tendonosis despite not being that active at that time.  Since last fall/winter of 2015 I have become inactive.  I do nothing physical anymore.  I feel like my body breaks down when I do.  The new addition to my pain, which has far surpassed my torn right shoulder labrum, both my torn hip labrums, my right knee torn meniscus has been my back.  I feel nearly constant back pain from my lumbar to between my shoulder blades.  It seems to be getting worse.  I feel like the glutathione and testosterone might have made me worse but I’m not sure.

I have been to many Dr.s, family drs, orthopedic surgeon, 2 rheumatologists, many eye docs, a neurologist, a regenerative medicine Dr.  I have had MRI’s, some of my brain.  I have had many tests which nearly all come up normal.  Nobody so far has been able to help me.  I failed a cognitive function test with the neurologist.  I have severe brain fog to the point of feeling like I have dementia at times.  I am no longer social as I have problems carrying on a conversation.  My mind blanks out a lot.  I have problems with word finding.  I even feel like I have to fight slurring my speech at times.  I have problems with typing now.  I used to type very fast.  I have problems with reading comprehension and find myself re reading things a lot.  I get confused often.  I feel like my mind plays tricks on me.

I don’t know why all of the information says that fluoroquinolone toxicity can develop as late as 6 months, or even many months.  It seems like it is still developing with me.  Nearly all of my symptoms came OVER A YEAR after I took this evil poison.  This whole thing has been so bizarre.  In a million years I could never have dreamed up a worse nightmare for myself.

People don’t understand what it’s like to be floxed.  People look from the outside and see normal.

What is it like to be severely floxed?  You wake up every day in a nightmare that you can’t get out of.  You wake every day in pain.  You become fragile and weak.  You injure yourself easily.  You feel 100 years old.  Your IQ feels like it is dropping by the day.  Your body creaks, grinds and pops.  You can no longer do any of the things that made life fun and enjoyable.  You no longer exercise.  You try all day long to find Dr.s, information on the internet, anything that will help you.  You spend countless hours on floxie hope, various facebook groups trying to find help.  You look into candida overgrowth.  Fluoride poisoning.  Leaky gut.  Mercury poisoning.  You become obsessed.  You become paranoid.  You think  “what other types of evil chemicals has man concocted and are they in my food, water supply etc”.  You read many studies on fluoroquinolones that don’t help you.  You cut out gluten.  You cut out GMO’s.  You try various diets.  You cut out anything that has antibiotics in it.  You eat only organic.  You can no longer go to a restaurant with your wife on a date.  You buy books.  You read them.  They don’t help.  You take 40 supplements a day to try to reverse this horrific nightmare.  You avoid people because your brain isn’t working.  You lose friendships.  You become isolated.  You find yourself crying at work or at random times.  You want to do fun things with your family but you can’t.  You can only watch tv and movies now.  You used to be the active dad that played soccer with her daughter and all of the other kids but now you watch.  You watch life go by from the sidelines.  You want intimacy with your wife but your body doesn’t always work like it used to and you don’t have the drive you used to.  You stop going to church because being social is too stressful for you.  You become forgetful.  You can’t remember things you did earlier in the day.  You find yourself falling behind on yard maintenance, things around the house, bills etc.  You feel like you are failing your family.  Mowing the yard is a workout and painful.  You can barely make it through the day at work.  You avoid contact with coworkers because you know your aren’t right anymore.  You become silent.  You aren’t funny anymore.  You don’t have a personality anymore.  People start to think you are weird, antisocial, lazy but really you just can’t think and you hurt all of the time.  You want to walk out of work, out of your life but you have bills to pay and a family to provide for.  You are anxious.  You are beyond stressed out.  You pray for healing constantly.   Eventually you start to pray for death, for terminal cancer, anything that has an end in sight.  Anything that will end this nightmare.  Anything that will end the pain.  You start to think about suicide.  You start to fight suicidal thoughts.  You are hanging on by a thread, every single day and most of the people around you have no clue.  You are no longer you.

This type of thing shouldn’t happen from taking an antibiotic 4.5 years ago but it did.  Sadly, it will continue to happen to others.  How many people (especially the elderly) are out there going through the same type thing but have no clue it was an antibiotic they took years prior??  The majority will be women and elderly because that demographics gets fluoroquinolones the most.

It won’t always be like this, the pain and suffering.  If you are fortunate to have good health, that won’t last either.  I have to remember that.  Inevitably our bodies will deteriorate to the point of death and then eternity begins.  I like to think that the real life will begin.

Revelation 21 :

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

I struggle to have hope for this life but what keeps me going is my amazing wife (who I’ve only been married to for two years, she’s been through so much with this), my daughter and most of all my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior and thoughts of the afterlife.  If you don’t know the good news about Jesus Christ contact me through Lisa if you want to learn.  If I didn’t have these in my life I would be 6 feet underground by now for sure.  I would have taken my own life.  I understand why this class of medication has a fairly high suicide rate.  There are worse things in life than death.  I continue to pray for a miracle because I do believe in that sort of thing.  Hopefully, God willing, there will be healing in this lifetime.  I also look forward to the next life where there will be no greed driven corruption that destroys other people’s health, quality of life, relationships, and families for the price of a prescription.  The drug companies and the FDA have known about these quality of life destroying reactions for years and years but didn’t warn us adequately until this year, and still the warning isn’t good enough.

** 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 www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

James’ Story – Life After Levofloxacin Poisoning

/ Lisa / 27 Comments

2016-09-02_01-53-36-1

My name is James and I wanted to share my the experiences that I’ve had over the past two years and eight months, since taking 5 simple doses of levofloxacin 500mg pills.

If I wrote a story of my life prior to January 7, 2014 it would look like this:

I am 34 years old. I have a busy life. I’m married to my wonderful wife of 12 years and have a 9 year old daughter and a 5 year old daughter. Between working full time as a construction engineer, running my girls to girl scouts and dance, playing on a men’s softball team from May through September, being a volunteer firefighter, and being active in my community, I leave little time for myself. However, I have the energy and mental awareness to pull this all off and live a happy life. I don’t eat the very best diet, but I try to balance it out. I ride my bike as often as I can – usually for 18 to 20 miles every other day. I do situps, pushups, jumping jacks, and stretches every day. I have toned muscles, and am fortunate that I have been able to be in decent shape without really having to work out aggressively like others that I know. I like to go out with friends. I enjoy spending time with my family. We go camping and take family “mini” vacations a few times a year. Life is good for me. I have always had asthma, but it’s controlled with daily maintenance inhalers and has never prevented me from exerting myself.

I could go on and on about how great it was because it’s true. I was happy and healthy, and enjoying life.

The only major medical issue that I had in my entire life, aside from asthma, was that I was diagnosed with papillary micro carcinoma of the right lobe in my thyroid. This was found during a routine annual physical, which I always have done just to be sure that I am in good shape. I felt a little dizzy when taking the deep breaths while the doctor was listening to my lungs. As a result, he decided to to an EKG that was normal. He also felt my lymph nodes and there was nothing wrong there either, but he did notice a small lump in the right lobe of my thyroid. I had no history of thyroid cancer in my family, but he wanted to have an ultrasound done to check it out further. This happened in August of 2012. Between that time and December 2012, I had three repeat ultrasounds and two fine needle aspirations (biopsies where they stick a needle into your neck to collect a sample of the growths to be tested for cancer). Results were in, positive for cancer, and I had surgery on December 30, 2012 to remove the right lobe of my thyroid as well as the isthmus (the center connective tissue that joins the left and right lobes). The surgeon didn’t notice and other lumps and tested what was removed to triple check that it was, in fact, cancer.

Good news for me! Cancer was gone and my thyroid levels were not affected enough to warrant supplements. I was healthy again. I weighed about 235 pounds and it was mostly muscle with minimal fat.

Back to my current reality:

I experience confusion or clouded thoughts. I forget things a lot. My joints ache and pop all the time. I have flushed skin and rashes all over. I have IBS with diarrhea. My muscles ache. I am not social. I do not enjoy volunteering in the fire company, and have not been active with them for about a year and a half. I quit softball. I don’t have energy to play with my girls, who are now 12 and 8 years old and need a dad that can be active. My wife and I argue due to the fact that I just don’t have the will, strength, or energy to do just about anything. I’m not doing well at work, and most coworkers and supervisors notice it. I used to supervise a staff of my own and had that taken away from me due to my inattentiveness and disorganization.

I have low self esteem. I know who I used to be, and I am no longer that person. At least physically, and I a somewhat bitter about that.

How did this happen?

On New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2013, I was enjoying watching the New Year’s festivities on TV with my wife and daughters. We even stayed up until the ball dropped to watch the fireworks from our back kitchen window. It was a lot of fun, and we all went to bed feeling a little tired but happy.

The next morning I woke up to complete body aches and what I figured was the flu or maybe bronchitis. I spent the next 5 days laying in bed or on the couch before I started to feel better. I had a little difficulty breathing still and I figured that it was due to my asthma, which never bothered me before. Since it was a little concerning that my breathing felt a little labored, I went to an urgent care center (my doctor’s office was closed and the on call suggested that I go there if this was really bothering me).

At urgent care, after checking everything else out, they thought that my breathing sounded a little raspy when listening to my chest. They did an x-ray and found a small amount of fluid in my right lung. They said that it was pneumonia and that I needed an antibiotic.

I’ve heard of many different types of antibiotics before, and even had taken some for infections in the past. It was always septra, amoxicillin, or penicillin. When they told me that they were prescribing Levaquin (I got the generic version – levofloxacin), I had never heard of it. They told me that it was the “big gun” of the antibiotics and that I’d be feeling great in a few days. I was prescribed 7 pills of 500mg to be taken once daily, starting that night.

After three days I was already feeling great. My breathing was normal again and the other symptoms of the flu or whatever it was that I had were gone. I took the fourth pill and later that day I noticed that my head felt like I was in the “fog” so to speak. I took the fifth pill and that feeling intensified later that day and I also started feeling very weak. I decided that I was over the pneumonia and threw the remaining two pills out.

From that point forward, I began to have all of the feelings that I mentioned above: dizziness, confusion, pain all over, popping joints in my hands and feet, brittle fingernails and toenails, weight loss, rashes all over my body, irritability, mood swings, lack of interest in things that I normally enjoyed doing, etc. My wife and I would argue a lot due to this. I felt like I was becoming useless. I felt horrible and knew how it felt to feel good, but I didn’t feel good.

I went to see my primary doctor in mid February after these issues got worse. I weighed 204 pounds – which I hadn’t weighed in almost 20 years. I had diarrhea daily since taking the pills. I was weak and my doctor was suspecting that maybe I had some form of cancer or infection that was causing all of this. He sent me for every blood test known to man, and it all came back normal.

I went to see him about every other month, not feeling any better, but put weight back on and was up near 250 by July 2014. It was mostly fat now, not really any muscle tone. The repeated blood tests kept coming back normal.

Frustrated, I insisted that it was hypothyroidism since all of the symptoms seemed to fit and I did have half of my thyroid removed when I had cancer. Those tests also kept coming back normal.

Over the next two years, I insisted to him that I had never felt this bad until I took the levofloxacin prescription that was was given at the urgent care center. He dismissed it each time that I complained about it. Almost like I was insulting his family member.

It wasn’t until this past July, when I told him that I wanted another doctor to look over my history, that he sent me for a blood test for low testosterone. I was now 37 years old and low testosterone wasn’t even on my radar. How could I have low testosterone??

Surprise, my levels were as low as an 80 year old man. Another surprise, he now told me that he is suspicious that my low testosterone might be caused by damage to my pituitary glad and that the levofloxacin may have caused the damage. He apologized for not looking into this sooner, and also for dismissing my idea that it was an antibiotic that caused this. He is now looking into this with other patients who have taken similar drugs and have mystery diagnoses.

A lot of the symptoms of low testosterone parallel the symptoms of hypothyroidism as well as those that I’ve read that are caused by being poisoned by levofloxacin.

Today is August 31, 2016 and I am due to see my primary again on Friday September 2 to get my prescription for a testosterone supplement. If all goes as I’ve read, I should begin feeling better within a week or two. I’m really hoping that’s the case. I’m tired of being tired all the time. I want to feel like I used to. My family needs be back. My employer needs me to perform.

While I don’t definitively know if levofloxacin caused my testosterone to drop so low and make me feel like I do, I suspect that it did. I had never felt as bad as I do now until I took it and have no other risk factors that could contribute to this.

It’s been a physical and mental struggle for me and my family during the ordeal. I feel like they sometimes resent me, but I know that they love me and want me to get better.

I will keep you updated.

Sorry for the novel!!

-James P.

December, 2016 update from James:

I wanted to share some supplements that have been helping me to have enough energy to get more active. My dad introduced them to me, and he is an older man who still runs marathons.  These keep him going.

Hammer Nutrition is the manufacturer. The three that I’ve been using for a few weeks now are:

1. Premium Insurance Caps

2. Mito Caps

3. Race Caps Supreme

They are not quite life changing, but pretty close to it – considering how bad I’ve been feeling in general.

I’ve noticed more energy, less brain fog, less muscle fatigue and soreness, less frequent headaches, and slightly more productive/restful sleep.

The best is the energy and decreased muscle and joint pain/fatigue.  It’s allowing me to talk longer walks and actually work up up a sweat, and attempt to lose weight.

As for the testosterone, so far that TRT has produced ZERO results. My levels are actually lower now that I’m on it. These supplements at least get me moving the way TRT is supposed to.

Please feel free to share the info on the supplements. They are for men and women. I recommend them since they are the first things that have given me any hope or results in about three years.

March, 2017 Update:

I had another two rounds of blood work done recently.  My testosterone levels are still way below the low end of “normal” range.  Zero improvement even with doubling my dose and being on it for 6 months. Also, ALT levels were very high. My doctor attributed that to the very high levels of vitamin E in those Hammer Nutrition products (E being fat soluble and stored in the liver). I am back to taking standard daily multivitamins, vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, and now DHEA.  In the month that I’ve been on these, I actually better than I thought I would but I’m still not the person I should be.  The Hammer Nutrition products are working great for my dad and other people that I know, it just may be that people like me can’t take them because our bodies were “reprogrammed” and don’t process things like they should.

Some new news, finally, I am seeing an endocrinologist who will follow me for my thyroid, low testosterone, and (wait for it) pituitary glad.  Apparently, it’s possible that my pituitary gland was damaged (from levofloxacin?) and that could be causing all of my hormone and other issues that no one can explain. The endo will be testing my pituitary gland for damage and will help me out with that if it is damaged.

I never even thought of the pituitary glad, and now that I’ve researched it – it seems to make sense and could be the missing piece of my puzzle. It’s likely throwing my thyroid and testosterone levels off.

Time will tell…

Take care,

James

** 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 http://www.fqwallofpain.com, 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.

Perry’s Story – Liver and Pancreas Damage from Cipro

/ Lisa / 2 Comments

Perry

Ten years ago today I had a Liver Biopsy done that confirmed that I had a severe toxic reaction to the antibiotic called Cipro. A medication that should have never been given for a small bacterial infection that amoxicillin would have worked just fine for. Not only did this affect my liver but it damaged my pancreas. This is why I’m diabetic and have been for 6.5 years now. Just 3 days later, I was transferred from South Haven hospital and admitted to Borgess hospital with not only the liver issue but severe pancreatitis and between both issues I was given a very slim chance of making through that first night and those first few days. 17 days later I was released. I totally believe in prayer because of this. There was no way I should have walked out of that hospital alive and a couple of doctors flat out told me that. I know I get discouraged about things with my health these days and use that experience to reflect on. I still suffer from issues from that medicine. Diabetes for one but over the past 8 months I’ve had tests done that show signs of damage from chemo. I never had chemo, never needed chemo… cipro has products in it that is used in chemo. This is why I’m against cipro and other fluorquinolones. Unless it’s a life or death bacterial infection stay away from it. The damage it can do isn’t worth the risk for an uti or other small type of infections. I think it should be banned. It is for animals.

Anyhow on a brighter note, I have had my diabetes under control now for 6 straight years 🙂. I go in every 6 months to get my A1C checked. I was 7.6% when i was diagnosed with it. By the first 6 month check up i had it down to 5.9% and been running between 5.4% – 5.8% ever since. I only take one 500mg dose of metformin a day and the rest is diet. I can eat and drink whatever I want. I just carb count and offset with higher protein foods:). No matter how my legs feel or my back and at times can barely walk at least I’m winning the battle on the most dangerous issue I have. I just need to remember this everyday. But I’m still going to have my discouraging days but I need to remember when I feel like things couldn’t get any worse I’m only lying to myself. If I had uncontrolled diabetes it could get worse! Take care everyone.

** 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 their stories, nor the people associated with this site, 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.

Aaron’s Story – Cipro Toxicity

/ Lisa / 10 Comments

Aaron FQ Wall

I am finally ready to tell my story. On May 15th 2015 i was prescribed Cipro for a prostate infection. After the very first pill i had the worst insomnia i had ever experienced in my life. I used to think when you took medication the side effects were only temporary. How ignorant I was. I now also now know cipro is not a medicine, it is a toxic weapon of mass destruction that would probably be banned by the Geneva convention. The most sinister part of this poison is that for me the worst side effects came after the last dose. I began coming in to work late because i could not sleep well. One day i was eating my breakfast and 2 or 3 bites in i was literally sick and had no desire to finish it. My appetite was literally now non existant. I also had no thirst. Severe anxiety washed over me in waves. I got on the internet and started researching cipro side effects. What i read scared the hell out of me. This illness is degenerative and you will get worse for months or years before you get better IF you even get better at all. Thankfully I also found floxiehope and bought the fluoroquinolone toxity solution. I also read the Flox report cover to cover. I started suffering from severe chemical depression. The best way to describe chemical depression is “nothing you do brings you pleasure and you have no peace.” My heart began to race and palpatate. I literally thought i was dying. My wife was floxed at exactly the same time i was and was in a mental institution for attempting suicide. This is the first and hopefully only time my wife has ever attempted suicide. So other than help from my mother who is a saint and was very helpful. I was going through all of this alone. My son is nine years old, I hated for him to see me like this and I am sure it made for a bad summer for him. My legs hurt constantly. My joints were stiff and popped loudly. My mouth was constantly dry and i have braces. It is a very bad combination. I had not used wax on my braces since i first had them on but after cipro i had to wax them daily for months. My eyes were severely dry. My urine was and still is foamy because my kidneys are not recycling blood proteins like they should be. My skin was so dry it was peeling off in flakes like dandruff. I suffered sever tinnitus (constant loud ringing in my ears). My muscles twitched. I felt electrical shocks in my left shoulder blade. tingling in my lower back and finger tips. It always seemed worse when i was trying to fall asleep. I got a floater in each eye. I was seeing flashes of light and having blurry vision. I went to my eye doctor and he gave me that test where you look at a grid. The lines did not appear straight but were curved. This indicates optical nerve damage. I was refered to a specialist but never went since i figured it was just cipro damage and I did not think they could do a damn thing for me to fix it. I had brain fog so bad I literally wrote down every supplement i took and at what time and wrote down everything i ate and at what time. I had no appetite or thirst and a horrible memory so i had to force myself to eat every so often to survive. My muscles wasted away and i lost 30 lbs. in less than 2 months. After i urinated i had bladder leakage. I had sharp pains in my kidneys ( most likely cipro ripping holes in my nephrons on its way out. I could not stand up for any length of time without my constant leg and foot pain becoming more sever the longer i stood. I could not walk very long at all. I experienced what i have heard others call “wired but tired”. Wide awake yet exhausted mentally and physically. My hearing was hypersensitive and noises hurt my ears. My sense of smell was intensified. Women’s perfume would about choke me. I had a worsening of my existing acid reflux. Along with many other GI issues. I had tendonitis in my hands forearms and legs. I found Progressive Medical Center in Dunwoody Georgia and saw Dr. Malone who is awesome and knows about FQ toxicity. I recieved a Blood panel that revealed that my kidneys were working decent enough but my thyroid and adrenal glands were hit hard. My T3 was almost non existant. I received four Ozone UVB therapies. I would have had more but I did not really have the money and i also had to miss a day of work for each treatment. I am a department head for a small city and am glad i have that position. If my job was labor intensive i would not have been able to do it while going through my hyper-acute phase. I took a ton of different supplements the 2 that i felt an immediate improvement on were ASEA water and C60-OO. I took epsom salt baths very often. I read the recovery stories on floxiehope every day. I looked forward to my six month out point so i could evaluate myself and hoped i would not be severe. I have a water cooler and use Highland Mountain water. ( spring water) so i am not poisoning myself with flouridated water. I also use Tom’s toothpaste and Jason powersmile mouthwash all flouride free. I spent more time on the couch with my feet propped up than i ever have in my entire life. It seemed to reduce the constant pain in my legs. I watched a lot of Netflix. Six months came and I was thrilled at the results of my evaluation. With the exception of the floaters and foamy urine and im not sure about my adrenals or thyroid have not had another blood test yet, all of my other symptoms have improved or are completely gone. I was somewhere between mild and intermediate. It has been seven months now and the remaining symptoms are tolerable and i am hopeful that they will eventually be completely gone except for my floaters. floaters are permanent. I still suffer from foamy urine, a less reliable memory, minor tinnitus, minor and occasional foot pain. very minor and occasional neuropathy. more soreness than usual after excercise. No thirst. My appetite has returned but hunger feels different now. I just want to say thank you to everyone on this forum. Special thanks to Lisa Bloomquist and i would like to eventually tell my story on floxiehope. Special thanks to Bill Milligan. I related to your story thank you for sharing it.

** 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 their stories, nor the people associated with this site, 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.