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Group sues FDA over Cipro warnings
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January 4 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A consumer group sued the Food and Drug Administration on
Thursday, charging the agency is ignoring calls for stronger warnings that Cipro
and similar antibiotics may cause serious tendon injuries.

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Hi!  I took Tequin too, 400 mcg, 10 days, Oct. 2005, and I had
delayed reaction to it also.  Still trying to recover.  I'm much
better though.--- In
Quinolone_Survivors@yahoogroups.com, "floxed_survivors"
<kcrefacer@...> wrote:
>
> I took 400 mg of Tequin a day for 10 days at the beginning of
January
> in 2006.
> I felt lousy
> through February, but did not start having scary symptoms until
the
> end of
> February. I
> think I am in the minority as far as having delayed symptoms - it
> made it very
> hard to
> pinpoint what was going on. The symptoms seemed to snowball - I
felt
> lousy,
> then I
> noticed clicking in my wrist and knees, then the ugly stuff
started.
>
> My symptoms were as follows:
>
> tingling/pins and needles pain in legs up to knees and in arms 1/2
> way up to
> elbow
> severe stiffness and pain in my right leg and foot (hard to walk)
> Sciatic pain in right leg up to my back
> fasiculations in arms and legs
> numbness in fingers, palms, and feet that moved around and came
and
> went
> Myoclonic jerks (is that what its called - once body about to fall
> asleep would
> jerk awake)
> Nightmares
> Severe anxiety and Panic Attacks (Never had before taking Tequin)
> Buzzing in my face
> Detached feeling at times
> Weakness in my legs and arms
> Shaking - arms and legs mostly, but sometimes my whole body would
> vibrate
> Severe pain in wrists and could barely pick up anything in the
> beginning
> Brain zaps a few times/head pressure
> Extreme fatigue
> Diarrhea in the beginning
>
>
> I laid on the couch as much as I could for the first 4 months -
then
> I was able
> to do a little
> more. At three months I started taking a low dose of Lexapro and
> chelated
> magnesium. I
> did not change my diet at all. I stayed on the Lexapro for 6
months
> until my
> anxiety was
> under control and the panic attacks had dissipated. I did a lot of
> stretching
> and learned
> how to relax my body from head to toe. I talked my husband's ears
> off - Thank
> the Lord
> he is a great listener and a therapist. He was a great sounding
board.
>
> At first I thought I had MS - and merely the thought of that would
> send me into
> a panic
> attack. After 2 MRI's the neurologist released me saying that he
> thought I had
> a virus that
> had affected my spinal cord and damaged some nerves. He said that
as
> long I as
> I slowly
> improved not to worry - that it could take a while.
>
> The only other thing I did was get orthotics for my shoes - since
I
> have flat
> feet anyway. It
> helped a lot with the pain in my feet.
>
> Symptoms NOW:
> Occasional numbness in tips of thumb and index fingers (comes and
> goes - and not
> always both hands - sometimes one/sometimes both)
>
> Occasional pain/stiffness in right leg (not so bad that I cannot
> function
> though - just
> irritating)
>
> Occasional buzzing in feet
>
> Occasional pain in wrists
>
> I would say I am at 98% recovered. My few lasting symptoms do not
> hinder me -
> they
> annoy the heck out of me. I try not to ignore them so that I do
not
> have any
> anxiety - and
> that seems to be working for me.
>
> Like everyone else here I think time is the best medicine for us -
> and this
> forum. It is so
> helpful to know that you are not going crazy and that you are not
> alone.
>
> I have listed flouroquinolones as an allergy in my files. My
regular
> doctor
> does not believe
> that it was an ADR because the symptoms began weeks after I
finished
> the Tequin,
> but he
> did not belittle me. He was a good listener.
>
> Thanks for listening to my rambling post. Best wishes for you all
to
> have a
> speedy
> recovery.
>
> Original Post:
> http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/37985
>

Thank you, Shelly.
It's nice to be appreciated.
This board is our way of thanking the Universe for our own recoveries
and to give hope for those behind us in their own arduous struggle
for healing.
Every day is Thanksgiving for us now.

Best wishes,
Bob and Jeanie


--- In Quinolone_Survivors@yahoogroups.com, Rachel Wiggs
<smilerach@...> wrote:
>
> I want to thank all of you that put your success
> stories on the forum this morning.  It's truly needed
> to help keep the hope that this will end some day for
> some of us.  My prayers go out to everyone on this
> Sunday!
>
> Shelly

Thank you Jake!  Us newbies need that encouragement!
All be well!
--- floxed_survivors <kcrefacer@...> wrote:

>
> I'm so sorry that you who have been recently floxed
> are going thru such
> trauma. Its a nightmare that may show no signs of
> abating, in fact it
> may even get worse over the coming months. However -
> and this is
> important - it can get better! I am proof of that. I
> was floxed in
> Feb 06. You can go back to my posts and see the
> increasing horror. I
> was 46 years old when floxed. Generally, younger
> people have a quicker
> recovery time. I'm now 48. Yesterday I pressed
> almost 400 pounds on a
> plate-loaded leg press. Today I ran a 5k. Last week,
> I was
> complaining of feeling weakness in my legs. This is
> what can occur a
> week later. Do not give up hope! Ever! From horrible
> insomnia to leg
> weakness, gastro issues, head pressure, aches and
> pains, and a whole
> lot more - I was 46 going on 90. Almost 21 months
> later things have
> improved 95%. Never ever ever give up hope. Grit
> your teeth and do
> your best to get by. You may feel this will never
> end. But I want you
> to keep the kernel of hope alive in the back of your
> mind that you will
> recover from this. Most people do. Be kind to
> yourself. Take it
> easy. You will get better.
>
> Jake
>
> To respond to this post, click below:
>
>
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/46087
>
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/46087>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>


      
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hi fellow-floxies.....haven't been on the forum for some time, due to
a variety of reasons.....but occasionally pop back to have a look-see
where everyone is up to. so, for the newbies out there......IT DOES
GET BETTER.........SLOOOOWLY SLOOOOWLY..... the body does repair. i
read somewhere once, that every cell in the body is replaced
throughout a 7 year period. don't know if this is an old
wives/husband's tale, but, it seems to make sense. although, seven
years does seem forever when you're in pain, eh? but, better than never?

for the newbies who don't know what my fq background is....

- for supposed uti (which i now think was a bruised kidney from moving
furniture, as i've never had uti before in 40 odd years???), i was
prescribed countless times with Noroxin from '98 for four
years....health went downhill, fatigue etc....diagnosed with
hashimotos.....health further downhill, more noroxin.....etc
etc....dr/myself blamed the chronic infection & the hashi's, not the
continued noroxin ! ! ! see, slow learner. then, with the continued
breakdown of my body's protein from the fq's, my autoimmune system
kicked in big-time, and i got systemic lupus/raynaud's, and nearly
died - lungs/veins/kidneys effected. not nice. scared the hell out
of me. went alternative, as a friend of ours had just died from the
side-effect from the drugs that are supposed to save your life from
lupus ! ! refused anymore antibiotics, until 2 years later, when i'd
finally started to improve a bit, then a uti??? meant more noroxin.
old symptoms returned with a vengeance, and the immunologist clicked
that it was a reaction to the fq's. and then i found fqresearch, and
this forum. and here i am.

so, back to the 7 year theory - whatever we can do to help the body
repair faster rather than slower, has got to be important. and,
hearing about everyone's personal experiments with various remedies is
the most important thing about this forum, that is, until a definitive
protocol can be forumulated. i know for myself, omega 3 oils, to
reduce inflamation has been the most important additive to my
programme of all things i've tried. it, along with natural vit. e, to
help with the absorption. amino acid complex to help the body repair,
magnesium, of course.

i ended up with not being able to walk properly, with burning pains in
leg muscles, intense fatigue, cold extremities, followed by
burning/pain, fasciculations, ulcerated mouth/throat/ear/nose,
parotiditis, dry throat (sjorgren's?), intracranial hypertension (head
pressure/headaches, pulsatile tinnitus, hearing loss/sensitive to
noise, aching eyes, blurred vision, floaters,memory loss, foggy
thinking), polyglandular problems, which resulted in uterine fibroids,
requiring a recent hysterctomy (when one hormone [thyroid] is out, the
rest are effected). continued inhibition of cyp450 pathways [unable
to exrete various drugs, including caffeine. developed pulmonary
hypertension, causing heart to work overtime, and unable to perform
any resistance exersise [eg walking up stairs, hanging clothes]. and,
the monster of all.........INSOMNIA ! ! !

now, after 2 years since i last got floxed, i have relief from the
intense leg pains/fasciculations, and have put most of the autoimmune
stuff into remission (had a slight flare recently after the surgery,
but not as bad as the drs were expecting? which is a celebratory thing
! ). so am not plagued by the rashes/ulcers/kidneypain, pleural stuff,
vasculitis issues like i was. and expect that my body will repair
after this surgery once again, and i'll be fine as before it? i have
also found that the heart murmur i had developed due to pulmonary
hypertension has responded to taking extra amino acid - L-Arginine,
which is a precursor of nitric oxide, which relaxed the endothelium
cells in the veins, allowing blood to get thru' easier. unexpectedly,
this has helped with the intracranial hypertension, which makes me
assume that the veins in my brain were effected as well? i am still
unable to undertake exersise like i used to, but believe that one day
i will? as my body continues to improve, there is no reason to
believe anything other. i have been lucky that the only cns problem i
have been dogged with has been the insomnia, and have not had big
probs with depression like lots of folks do. i attribute that to the
luck of genes, along with the fact that i've always had a good healthy
diet, and have always had homegrown fruit/veges etc, and have not
filled my body with a lot of preservatives etc over the years. i have
continued throughout to have perfect cholesterol levels, perfect
bloodpressure, and by bone density if fine, and all vitamin levels
tested are fine as well. so my basics have held me in good stead,
along with the supplements i've taken.

anyway, i do hope that this is useful to some out there, and even
though my beliefs have been developed upon "ancecdotal evidence" which
some on this forum seem to belittle, it has, like i said, stood in me
in good stead. and, i would like to take this opportunity to thank
the people who continue to contribute to this forum, as i do still pop
in and glean useful info. and it does help to know that i'm not alone
in the world with this hellish problem to deal with. helps keep the
perspective. and, remember floxies........keep hoping......bea.

ps sorry this post is so damned long, but, it is probably shorter in
words than what i would've posted over the past year had i been
posting ! !

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I am posting because I know how I, in the earliest days of my floxing,
wanted to see how other's turned out long term. I wish I could post
one of those "I'm 100% and great" posts, but I can't yet. It isn't
however, all doom and gloom.

Background: I got floxed with cipro and levaquin prescribed for
prostatitis. Doctor gave it to me without testing, and it turns out I
didn't have a bacterial cause, so got floxed for nothing. I took
cipro or levaquin for about 3 weeks. I started having reactions right
away (leg pains and aches, mostly), but I figured they were from the
prostatitis, not the quins. Once I stopped, things seemed to be okay
for about 2 months. In months three and four, I got hammered. I had
muscle aches and twitches so bad I would sit in bed and moan while my
whole body jerked around. Went from wanting to do nothing more than
sleep to not being able to sleep. Terrible anxiety all the time.
Every test you can dream of, including 2 tests for MS and ALS (which I
was sure I had). Terrible peripheral neuropathy.

Suddenly, in month 5, it seemed like everything just went away. I
felt like I did before the floxing. Like many others, I mistakenly
thought the nightmare was over.

Month 8 brought on the old symptoms plus new. I developed tinnitus
(which I still have and will likely have forever, although it has
diminished some). Migraines headaches so bad that my eyes and even my
ears hurt. Shooting leg pains. My joints would crackle like popcorn
every time I moved. My legs felt like they would collapse at any
moment. This bad cycle lasted for about 6 months. Then things slowly
diminished.

In month 12 I was hit with the gastro problems many others have
written about here. I was lucky enough to avoid them earlier, but
they came on with a vengeance. I was diagnosed with IBS, and had a
colonoscopy done.

What helped (or didn't): I want to first say that, if you haven't
realized it yet, what helps some people often doesn't help others. I
am telling you what I discovered, not telling you what to do.
Epsom baths: a big help for muscle aches and twitches. Make the tub
as hot as you can, stay in for at least 20 minutes. Even if it does
nothing else, it will relax you and help you sleep.
Glucosamine: I took it when my joints were crackling. It seemed to
help, but it may have just been coincidence.
B12: I started on B12 shots for the PN. They seemed to help a lot
with severity, but not frequency. I bought some sublingual B12 tabs,
and if I took them when an attack started, they seemed to help.
Ativan: prescribed for anxiety. It is great stuff, but I understand
it can be very addictive. I took it at night for about 2 weeks, then
only when I really needed it.
Antidepressants: I tried 3, and all of them had side effects I didn't
like. The biggest problem with them is that they take 3-4 weeks to
even start having a positive effect (whereas the side effects start
almost immediately), so you really can't decide if the side effects
are worth it for about a month.
Probiotics: I took these for the gastro problems. They helped a lot,
but it takes about a week to really feel the results. If you take
them, spend the money for good brands like FloraQ. The cheaper ones
from Walmart, Costco, etc didn't help at all.
Excedrin Migraine: it was the only non-prescription thing that helped
with the horrible headaches. But it has caffeine, which aggravates
things like PN in some people.
Fiorinal: I got some from a relative, and it was a total godsend for
the headaches. I only took it on the worst days.
Accupuncture: I got this for the headaches and leg pains. It was
very helpful. It took about 3 weekly visits to knock the pain down by
about 75%. If you do it, find a doctor who does traditional Chinese
accupuncture.
Heating pad: helped a lot for short-term relief of leg and back pain.
Saw Palmetto: my prostatatitis would flare up every so often, and
this was a great help. Give it about a week to start really working,
though.
REST: this is, in the end, the only thing that really helps (along
with passage of time). The easier you can take it, especially in your
worst months, the better you will feel and the less chance you have of
hurting yourself worse by overexerting.

Things that made the symptoms worse:
Stress: pretty much impossible to avoid, as being floxed means months
and years of fear, doubt and anger. But to the extent you can stay
calm, it will help keep the neuro symptoms down.
Soap / shampoo: I went through a phase of about 4 weeks when even the
slightest wiff of soap, cologne, shampoo, even deodorant gave me
headaches and PN. I went to Trader Joes and got organic soap, shampoo
and deodorant and only used those. That helped a lot.
Processed foods: I had less food problems than many on this board
did. The only things that caused me problems were heavily processed
foods (like TV dinners, canned stew, etc), shrimp and soy products.
The problems lasted about 4 months, and the only one that remains, and
is very minimal now, is soy. A lot of people swear chicken is loaded
with quins and causes problems, but it never caused me any problems at
all.
Spending too much time on this board: it sounds hypocritical, but if
you find yourself on this and other boards for hours a day,
desperately looking for answers, you are hurting yourself. You have
to accept that you have been floxed, but try not to let it dominate
your life. I say this admitting I did just the opposite. It wasn't
until month 10 or 12 that I finally told myself I wouldn't look at
this board any more than once every 2 weeks. These days I look about
once a month, and only to see if there is someone here I can help. I
know most of you are sick of being told you are hypochondriacs and are
imagining all of this. I have been there. But I will tell you that
at some point you have to stop getting tests and wondering if you have
lyme, MS, or whatever, and move on. Sometimes this board got so
negative I just couldn't stand it anymore.
Taking tons of supplements: I was at one point taking 22 different
supplement pills each day. I think at least part of my gastro
problems were caused by this as much as the floxing itself. There is
no magic bullet. In hindsight, I should have taken a good
multivitamin each day and left it at that. BTW, Costco's brand of
multivitamin is one of the best out there.
Booze: really caused a lot of pain at first. Now I can drink pretty
freely, but I still keep it to a min.

Well, that's all for now. Hope some of you got something from this.
Feel free to ask questions, but please don't be upset if the answer
doesn't come too quickly. As I said, I'm just not on here all that
often.

All the best.

Will

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have read with mounting concern many 12 month reports from the
forum that are quite discouraging. I would like to add my report
from about 20 months out, perhaps that can render some hope here.

Timelime: 2 Avelox pills taken 2/13 & 2/14/06 for sinusitis..The
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre...

1st 3 months - absolute hell - over 30 ADRs...went from strength
training every 3 days / running 3 miles up and down hills every
other day to collapsing from the effort of walking across a parking
lot. Near complete insomnia, leg weakness, tremors, all over pain,
significant weight loss, diahrrea, shooting feelings in legs,
chills, early satiety, anxiety, strange internal head feelings,
etc...progressivley worse over time...some stuff got better (pain),
other symptoms popped up (anxiety). lots and lots of doctors visits
to rule the bad stuff out - nothing found.

Months 5 & 6 - thought I was recovering, back to doing many former
exercises at gym near full strength.

Month 7 - Horrible relapse - dreaded cycling - felt ill and many
symptoms coming and going over months.

Months 8 - 15. Just felt bad - broken sleep - no dreaming (probable
lack of REM sleep) - on off leg weakness, morning surge - tests
found high morning cortisol and high ACTH. First western tests
showing something was off in my body.

Month 16 - 18 - felt better but still sleep issues, lack of
dreaming, other assorted symptoms. Diahrrea came back.

Month 19 to now - floxing symptoms not presently noticable.
Certainly nothing that stops daily activites. I am taking PT for my
right shoulder (floxing injury from tennis match a year ago) for sub
acromial(sp?) bursitis. May need cortisone shot/scoping if PT does
not work. Also have had pain in back of right hand/wrist for
several weeks. Have had palpitations/skipped heart beats for
months. This has gotten worse with exercise. However, I had that
prior to floxing. I am dreaming again which to me means the damage
done neurologically is healing. Have had pain/tenderness in upper
part of left groin for 3 days. Off my high bllod pressure med.
Floxing had my blood pressure elevated at a consistent 140/90 for a
year. I went on Lisinipril in May, stopped it in early September.
My average pressure is now 127/75.

After effects and personal beliefs: I am back to working out 5 days
a week. However, my stamina is not the same, even to what it was 6
months after floxing. My running is much slower. I used to lift
weights for 45 minutes to over an hour. I find I get tired at 35
minutes. Tiredness in the morning...previously I could get up and
run or head to the gym. Now I feel worn out trying to exercise
early. Its not possible or not worth it. So I typically wait until
late morning/afternoon/evening. On off leg weakness/leg tiredness.
On/off diahrrea. Probably stems from microscopic colitis - an
Avelox gift I was diagnosed with a year ago. However, I no longer
believe all the come and go medical issues I get are due to floxing.

I truly believe that floxing brings to the surface and magnifies
underlying medical tendencies or issues we may have. I also believe
that time is the only cure. Nothing I ever did was worth a damn for
relief - with one exception. I had a colonoscopy which stopped the
diahrrea for nearly a year. I think it was the prep solution that
may have done the trick. Exercise was a key psychological element
for me. Never gave it up, sometimes to my detriment physically, but
never mentally. I often think of how my life would have been so
much different (from a quality of life) had I not taken the Avelox.
Instead, its been playing catch up. Thats life, we stumble and move
forward, when possible.

Sometimes I wonder when my next cycle will happen, how long the good
days will last before I am hit again. That line of thinking
probably plays into all floxies thoughts. Maybe this is finally the
road to health and I am leaving the floxed world of symptoms
behind. I can only hope.

Many people have the pain as their worst symptom. My worst "pain"
was always CNS related - weak legs, insomnia, etc...

For those of you a year out, do not despair. I was feeling awful a
year out, even 13 months out. Constant ill feeling. Most days I
actually feel myself again, with little reminders here and there
that a bit of a journey still awaits. I pray your journey is a
short one.

Jake

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It has been three years ago today since I took one pill of levaquin. The
first
six months were pure torture. I suffered with rapid and irregular heart
beats,
anxiety attacks, stomach pain, weight loss, burning, tingling pain
throughout my
entire body and I thought I was having a heart attack. This all happened
within
two hours of taking one pill. I ended up in the emergency room twice,
and a
large hospital associated with the mayo clinic for 6 days. No one could
figure
out why my heart rate would increase from 65 beats a minute up to 150 +
per
minute in a matter of only a few minutes while lying in a hosptial bed
at rest.
I would shake uncontrollably at times in the beginning with legs jerking
so hard
while laying down that they would actually rise of the bed 3 to 4
inches.

At the six month point I saw improvement. Things settled down, and when
I was
having an anxiety attack, or as my doctor calls them "adrenaline rushes"
I would
take a propranolol which he prescribed and within 20 minutes my body
would relax
and my heart rate would return to normal.

So many times I thought I was going to die. And in the beginning I was
sure
what ever was happening to my body was going to kill me.

At the year marker the anxiety attacks had really diminished, and I
started to
feel pretty normal. In the last year I have only taken 10 propranolol
pills.
The anxiety has fallen way off, to a point that I consider them
practically gone
compared to what they were before. I just keep that little bottle of
pills with
me all the time.

Keep a positive attitude. Even though it sounds impossible. Time is the
best
healer for a reaction to quinolones, along with watching what you put in
your
body for food and drink.

Good luck to all of you, and I hope your outcome will be as good as mine
has
been.

Mary

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi to all

Sixteen month ago I thought my world as I knew it had ended. Ten
days of Avelox were enough to change my life completelly. If you see
my first posts, panick attack, dizziness, insomnia, nightmares,
neuropathy, two surgeries one to remove my appendix and the other my
gallbladder and so many other problems that it's best not to
remenber.
This forum gave me hope to go on living by reading some inspiring
stories of recovery and I would ask God when would be my day. No one
knows what a sick person goes through but another who has gone
through similar experience.
Well my time has come to tell everyone, who is at a desperate stage
of this crazyness, that time heals. I can say that all my symptoms
but that of my cold feet and hands have desappeared. I may have a
bad day and a nightmare may come ones as a reminder but I can say
thanks to God and your support I see the light of a great big tunnel.
To anyone who may be desperate at this moment, pray to God and keep
coming for support because I can really say that you will find truly
brothers and sisters in this forum. God bless you all

Leo

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'm so sorry that you who have been recently floxed are going thru such
trauma. Its a nightmare that may show no signs of abating, in fact it
may even get worse over the coming months. However - and this is
important - it can get better! I am proof of that. I was floxed in
Feb 06. You can go back to my posts and see the increasing horror. I
was 46 years old when floxed. Generally, younger people have a quicker
recovery time. I'm now 48. Yesterday I pressed almost 400 pounds on a
plate-loaded leg press. Today I ran a 5k. Last week, I was
complaining of feeling weakness in my legs. This is what can occur a
week later. Do not give up hope! Ever! From horrible insomnia to leg
weakness, gastro issues, head pressure, aches and pains, and a whole
lot more - I was 46 going on 90. Almost 21 months later things have
improved 95%. Never ever ever give up hope. Grit your teeth and do
your best to get by. You may feel this will never end. But I want you
to keep the kernel of hope alive in the back of your mind that you will
recover from this. Most people do. Be kind to yourself. Take it
easy. You will get better.

Jake

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Here's a recovery post I like....

I feel it's time to go now, seeing most symptoms have subsided. I
still cycle, and still have some GI issues, but I feel most things
have resolved. Here is a list of symptoms I had dating back from
january of this year, after taking only one pill of levaquin, 500 mg.
I should also include, I had taken floxin, and cipro back in the
late '90's -- '97-98ish. I found this out from my doctor when I had
asked if I was ever perscribed FQ's before. The only thing I had
complained about was a bad headache and neck ache with the cipro...I
rarely even remember this. So nearly 10 yrs later I am perscriped
levaquin, and my body rejects it compeltely. I will no longer be
using her as my primary doctor. However, here is the list of ADR's I
had, and which ones resolved and to what degree.

unusually cold hands and feet (one hand would always be colder than
the other) -- MOSTLY GONE
dry mouth, dry eyes, burning skin, extremely dry hands -- GONE
burning, chapped lips -- GONE
strange skin rashes (vasculitis like) -- GONE
the feeling of the heart pounding harder than it should --
INTERMEDIATE AND ON OCCASION (I really hope this resovles 100%)
shortness of breath, dizziness -- MILD -- DIZZINESS -- GONE
heaviness in chest, and under both arms -- GONE AFTER FIRST MONTH
rib pain, right side (elevated bilirubin) -- MILD
elevated blood pressure (135/90 to 160/100) this was at times of
anxiety, it was not consistantly this high. My blood pressure was
115/70 before this, and since my floxing has returned to normal -
115/70 - 125/85
anxiety, panic attacks -- first 3 months it was severe, now it's MILD
back pain (upper and lower) -- GONE
muscle spasms -- MILD
pain in the back of the leg, and ankle (feeling of it being swollen)-
-
GONE
severe constipation -- GONE
upper GI problems (acid reflux, tightness of the throat)
INTERMEDIATE/ON OCCASION

I still avoid fatty foods, and soy -- and all supplements!
Supplements made my cycles worse (brain fog, dizziness) I did have
food sensitivities... mainly tuna, caffeine, and chocolate. Hopefully
this will resolve over time as well. The only issues which still
frighten me from time to time are the heart flutters which I've never
had before. Went to a cardiologist at my 2nd month when I felt the
worst and had an echo/ekg and stress test. Everything came back
normal. My blood work showed up that I was slightly anemic. Funny,
the practitioner said it was because I had mediterranean blood...
What a smart woman she was, seeing I'm irish and welsh and not a
trace of mediterranean blood in my genes. What a FOOL. Ah whatever,
I'm just glade most of my issues have resolved. I am about85%better,
& I would like to thank all of those who helped me out... among the
few strange, and rather negative emails I recieved from certain
members in this group for whatever reason, most of you were nice and
very helpful. I thank god I found this place.
Thank you: Todd Plumb, Joe, Gigi, Jane, Jack, Laura and a few others
I really can't remember right now. I appologize for that.
You've all been a tremendous help and I mean this from the bottom of
my heart. I wish you all the best of luck with your recovery! :)

Signing off for good...

~Joshua Locantore.

We seem to be making some fantastic progress as far as getting the
word out. If you were to do a Google Search for "fluoroquinolone"
you will find that Fqresearch.org has secured the third spot out of
803,000 WebPages only to be bested by Wikipedia. Teo Boomer's site
came in at number eight.

If you do a Google Search for "fluoroquinolones" then Teo Boomer's
site has secured the number two spot out of 899,000 WebPages.

This site here has achieved the number three spot under the search
term "quinolones" out of 961,000 pages as well as the number two spot
under "quinolone" out of 1,130,000 WebPages. Fqvictims has achieved
the number seven spot under "quinolone" as well.

As such a whole lot of people are reading what we have to say on
these four sites, as they are all now in the top ten, with three of
the sites making it into to the top three. Wikipedia still remains
number ONE under all four search terms. I guess someone at Google
has taken a shine to us, for in the past we were buried under a
mountain of manufacturer's propaganda. Now we have become
the "Headliners". Guess we better watch what we say for now on as
the whole Internet appears to be watching us now thanks to Google. :)

dave

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Well, it has been two years and one month since I was given 1000mg a
day of IV Cipro for six weeks combined with an NSAID. Holy********
what a wild ride. Almost committed suicide three times, could
barely work, almost went into the hospital 5 times, and have been to
the emergency room so many times I have lost count. I look back now
and wonder how the **** I got through that 24 months of hell. I
cannot express how important it is to have good doctors who believe
you. I have a real good University Psychopharmacologist that is
knowledgeable about Quinolone CNS toxicity and who would listen to
me during my roughest times. My wife, John, Bob and Teo Boomer were
also there on the telephone for me and E-mail. I went surfing three
times last week for the first time in two years. I am actually
going out to social gatherings with my wife now and my personality
is coming back with the help of an anti-depressant which I use to be
able to never take. It helps now though. What have I learned? Stay
away from caffiene, sugar, soy, PK Protocol, and pray as much as you
can no matter how sick you feel. Most important, don't lose hope,
no matter what! The loss of hope is what almost did me in. It will
get better. As for the debate of the Benzos if your about to end
your life because the anxiety is so hellish take them if they help.
If they don't toss them. Stay on a low dose if you choose to use
them. I am in no way out of the woods yet but my severe cycling has
finally stopped and I think I can see some light. My EEG is still
abnormal showing temporal abnormalities. I will never, ever take
life for granted again, most of all I will do everything in my power
to spread the word about these dangerous and powerful drugs. I will
also pray for all of you that are in the acute phase and also those
who are still suffering. I will never forget when I went to see Dr.
Flockhart and I was in tears. He said "Tom this will end." I didn't
believe him. I was so sick I barely was able to fly. Swim as much as
you can for those who are not in severe joint pain. Swimming helped
my anxiety and minor joint pain. My sleep is still off and on, but
I can live with that. Also, my achilles tendons burn after a run.
Flockhart said this may never get back to normal and my triathlon
days are over. The emotional scars are the worst. The nightmares
that I am in the hospital receiving cipro by accident visit me on
occasion. Maybe one day they will leave. Until then I am just happy
to be alive. Things will get better for all of us!!!!! Todd thank
you for all of your information also. May God bless you all and
recover quickly.

Tom

To replay to this post see the original at:
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This past August was 3 yrs post Levaquin (5day x 500mg). Wow, I
thought I'd never see the day. Well, I've made it through the
majority of the ADR's with a little bit of scarring. Let's see what's
left:
+ Occasional Fascillations when my diet is bad (normal)
+ Burning sensation on back left shoulder (lasts about a minute then
gone)
+ 3rd person disassociation (feeling like watching myself on a movie)

My knee suffered a bit due to a previous injury. I really believe
that the Levaquin exacerbated an existing problem to the point of
surgery (had to have it scoped and now the knee is constant annoyance).

I gave narcotics a try for the past year and 3/4's. That helped to
take my mind off a lot of the symptoms. But I wouldn't recommnend it
for just anyone. You really need to be able to handle the laundry
list of side-effects. Some make the Quin ADR's seem like a picnic.
However, it certainly does help with the muscle pain and other strange
manifestations. I'm now on day 3 of a kick and I have decided to go
EDGE (no booze, no pills, no pot).

I remember praying for relief from the ADRs and hoping that these
would just go away. Most have.

I also have made a point of letting every person I know understand the
risks associated with these drugs. My docs still play dumb to it tho.
It's the ole 'don't implicate the drug' position or they'll be
violating their oath. I feel sorry for these guys that buy into the
crap the detail people feed them.

Now, I have accepted the remnants and I'm damn happy that I got away
with the majority of me intact. Another 3 yrs and who knows, I may be
a 100% symptom free. I remember watching Discovery channel and seeing
that the human body rebuilds itself multiple times over a life.
There's hope!

God Bless and keep your faith.

'C'

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: Hello, I am new here.
--- In quinolones@yahoogroups.com
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/post?postID=tkk1Eaw2qbX\
Pi1GbZjOFr0DvUYtw4ZCjjPouU5xii5JIG-rMoMzLoIT-XqcUTxvjY9PWv3BlCxOEaLaIH8g\
3_lk> , "sandrabops" <sandrastinkham@...>
wrote:
>
> I was severely poisoned by FQs 1 1/2 yrs ago, still struggling,
> disabled, I am 28 and used to run marathons. Are there any success
> stories, I need lots of encouragement.

Not exactly a success story but I am in a helluva lot better shape
than I was eight years ago. (Talk about being totally f'd up) But
any number of members have reported that they have gotten over the
worse of these adrs with few lingering effects. Average time for
mild cases seems to be about two years. Moderate cases I would
venture to say about four years. Severe cases? Continuing to
evolve.

But everybody is different. There is no way of telling how long this
is going to take. But people have survived this and I hope that you
will be one as well. About all I can tell you is that this too shall
pass, but nobody can tell you when. But yes, we have had our share
of success stories here on the forum.

If you stick around long enough, perhaps you will prove to be one too.

dave
For original post or to reply see
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<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/45449>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is not going to be one of the nightmare stories about Levaquin.
Nor is it going to be a miracle recovery report.  It's an account of
my cumulative reading and experience over an eleven week
partial-recovery period.

I'm 53 years old, not overweight and active (tennis, hiking, biking,
etc.)  Eleven weeks ago I took Levaquin for 14 days,  750mg.  I had
only slight tendon side effects during the treatment period. After
medication, instead of subsiding, the side effects got much worse –
pain in the load bearing ligaments behind the knees and, as with most
affected people, the achilles heels.  The initial pain was crippling
(i.e. I could not walk.)  Fortunately, I am retired and could stay at
home (otherwise, I may have ruptured my achilles heels which is
common.)   For the purposes of this account, I will refer to time in
weeks since I quit taking medication.

After one week as the pain increased, I went to the Internet and began
reading forums, physicians' accounts, etc.   This reading would
continue for the next five weeks. The majority of these stories will
scare the hell out of you – ruptured tendons, recovery periods lasting
years, etc.    The following were, in reflection, the most relevant to
my situation: 1) One physician's case history stated that he had four
elderly patients with ligament side effects from fluoroquinolone
antibiotics.  Of the four, one recovered in three weeks and all had
recovered in three months.  2) A physical therapist provides an
excellent and detailed case history of treating a patient. (You can
Google this case history using the words "Dr Greene physical therapy
levaquin tendons".)  In this report, the 41 year old patient sees his
first physical therapist for four weeks with poor results.  He begins
with Dr. Greene.  For the next seven weeks the only goal is to protect
his heels and there is little progress toward recovery.  However, over
the next four weeks they begin the process of "loading" his tendons
and he improves greatly. At 5˝ months, he is fully recovered.  This
was the most helpful report on the Internet. 3) Every persons recovery
period is unique.  Some recover in days, others weeks, months or
years. But, all seem to recover.  4) Recovery is not linear.  You will
experience improvement one day only to have it reversed the next.
You will feel better around noon, only to find yourself in pain at 3
pm.  You can plateau for weeks at a time with little or no progress.
  5) You have no idea how you will recover.  Unlike a broken arm where
you know in six weeks the cast will come off and you'll start your
life anew, there is no timetable to recover from this side effect.
(Items 4 and 5, are very frustrating and cause a great deal of
anxiety.) 6) This is a small item, but worth mentioning: Before
injury, I owned some high quality hiking sandals (Columbia) with
spongy soles and adjustable straps.  During my recovery period, these
have been lifesavers since I can wear the sandals with the back straps
very loose with no pressure on the achilles heels.  7) Everybody and
his bother will offer advice, but they have no idea what you are going
through or how to cure the condition.  FYI: I've taken the following
medicine and supplements: Aleve, collagen, magnesium, calcium,
chondroitin and a multivitamin.  On the advice of a heart doctor
friend, I discontinued Lipitor since he has seen patients develop
muscular problems.  I'll continue Lipitor after recovery. 8) Soaking
in hot water may not do heal you, but provides temporary relief.   If
you can afford a hot tub, get one.

My case report:
Weeks one and two - I was flat on my back always uncomfortable or in
pain. If I had owned crutches, I would have used them.

Weeks three to four - I could move around the house with sore leg
tendons and stiff painful heels.  Most nights I went to bed in pain,
waking up feeling stiff and sore but better.  Soon feeling worse.  Not
being able to leave the house even to go to the mail box without
increasing pain and feeling tired and pain in the legs.  At this
point, I had given up the notion that I was going to be one of the
lucky ones who recovered quickly, but was frustrated and anxious not
knowing how long the recovery would take.

Weeks five to six – Some improvement, now moving around the house with
only stiffness and soreness.  Went to supermarket but had to set down
at register and paid for the experience with several days of increased
pain.  Still, frustrated and anxious, sometimes to tears.

Weeks seven and eight – No change.  Now it looked like recovery was
going to take more than three months.  Very, frustrated and anxious.
At this point, I filed an FDA Med Watch Report stating that I was
housebound with only rare painful trips outside.

Weeks nine and ten – A little progress, both leg and heel tendons
remain tight and sore.  Still tire easily.  Despair is starting to set
in.  I'm starting to consider life as a cripple.

Week eleven – Out of nowhere, a burst of unexpected improvement.  The
first day of the week, Sunday, started out tight and sore as usual.
Later I felt better and rode my bike a very short, flat distance (this
is easy on the heels but hard on the ligaments behind the knee).  When
I returned, my legs were tired but within a couple of hours they felt
better.  So, I took my young son to the tennis court and hit balls
softly to him.  The legs got tight and achy, but there was no
carryover pain to Monday.  On Monday, I rode the bike again for a
little farther.  Later, I went over to the tennis courts to hit a few
balls with some friends.  I couldn't cover a lot of ground and after
about 15 minutes was done.  But again, no carryover pain.  Tuesday,
rode the bike again going further than Monday.  Later, played doubles
(pretty much standing in one place) with some boys on the high-school
team.  I managed to play about an hour still stiff and sore the whole
time from the knee down.  On Wednesday, I went shopping to several
stores.  Still sore and tight, but recovered in an hour or so.  Later,
I hit balls for a couple of hours again with restricted movement but
for the first ˝ hour, with little soreness or pain.  Later, the heels
tightened up.  But, after sitting down for 15 minutes, I could
continue for another hour.  Again, no carryover pain to the following day.

Conclusion:  You never know with this problem whether tomorrow will be
worse or a tendon will rupture, but as of today, I can go to the
supermarket, bike or play "old man" tennis with a little soreness and
premature fatigue.  Still, at least there seems to be light at the end
of the tunnel that wasn't there a week ago.  I'm now hoping for full
recover somewhere between the three and five month period noted in 1
and 2 above.

Hope you'll find this encouraging and helpful.  Good luck.

After achieving 99.8 % recovery without a single cycle after 8 months
(20 months out of seven 750mg Levaquin) I have decided to stop
visiting the quinolones group but not without saying goodbye and thank
you to all you.

This has been a hell of a ride but it is manageable just hang in there
and let time do its thing. You can always e-mail me with any
questions you may have and I will be more than happy to assist you in
any way possible.

God bless.


Original Post:
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<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/42566>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I was poisoned by Levaquin 3 years ago Memorial weekend. It also hit
my nerves and muscles. I had 4 MRI's from top down, emg/ncv. I had
most of the symptoms you have. I got worse for months. My kids drove
for me for awhile due to the muscle weakness. You can pull up my
posts by searching under ruffin. Finally, after about 1 1/2 years my
feet started feeling like mine again. I am now at 3 years and quit
posting about 7 months ago. I feel normal again for the most part.
The cold weather will trigger something in my feet still. But,
basically I consider my self back to normal and very lucky to have
survived this.

The first 6 months brought more and new symptoms, cycling, etc. 6-18
months I was gradually healing. It has been a long road. If you look
at the Boomer reporst, I think I had a moderate-severe reaction.

Good luck.

Michele   Original Post:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/42639
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/42639>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello everyone -

I wanted to write and encourage all of you - you can read my wife's
story under the many floxedwife posts. 2 years + 1 month ago, she
took one pill of Levaquin and it all began...

I am happy to report that after 2 years, she is essentially 100%
better. The whole thing did take a little out of her, but she is now
fully functioning (is swimming, canoeing, hiking, etc... as well as
eating normal and no meds) - she is a little weaker mentally and
physically, but to those who are not married to her, this would be
completely unnoticeable.

The improvement seemed to begin around the 1 year mark and has been
up and down to this point. I do not believe that it is impossible
for symptoms to return, I do believe it is now unlikely.

She will never take a fluoroquinolone again and for better or worse,
neither will I (I just couldn't, even if I could be relatively sure
I'd have no reaction).

One question as we have reviewed all of this - my wife had had a
particularly bad conversation with her mother immediately prior to
taking her first pill - we have always wondered if this hadn't in
some way made her susceptible to a reaction. She was completely
healthy before Levaquin (absent the respiratory infection she was
fighting), it being her first trip to the doctor in about seven
years... anyway, just wondering whether there is any common-ish
thread here - some way to figure out "why?" did she have the
reaction!!

This forum was so helpful, thank you!

Don

Original Post:
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello all,

I haven't posted here in a looooong time. I see that,
unfortunately, there is a ton of new people posting and this is
really discouraging. Nevertheless, I just wanted to let you guys
now that 3 years after my encounter with the quinolones I can say
that Thank God! I am 99.9 percent back to my old self. All the
fascilulations have dissapeared completely. The pain, the insomnia,
and all of the other horros that this medicine from hell caused me.

I can relate to so many of you as I had about 50 different symptoms
including "abnormal blood patters" suggesting Lupus. At one point I
thought that this medicine had caused my body to start attacking
itself (which was actually the case), but after the last two tests
coming back negative, and me relatively feeling better and better
then I know is a won battle.

I just want everyone out there to never loose hope as Time is really
your only Allied. For most of you, your body will conquere back its
original state or at least close to it. Take hope from all of those
who have posted their recoveries and believe that it can happen to
you. Eat well, rest, and have faith. Live as normal as possible as
this will help you get better faster. This is all I did, I didn't
take ANY pills for anything. I decided to let my body fight symtoms
and the toxins that Levaquin gave me. Thank God it worked. I know
that when you are in extreme pain you just want to get relief and in
those cases I DO recommend to take some pain killers that "will not"
cause you any other kind of liver problems.

I hope that many of you get better soon.

Take care everyone.

Brian

Original Post:
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<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/40090>



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Hi: on the coattails of Pastor, yesterday was my six-month anniversary
for
being floxed. needless to say, I didn't know what hit me and I well
remember
all of our conversations 'back then' AND hearing from veterans about how
we
WILL get better.

That was mighty hard to believe but honestly, I have. Not that I am out
of
the woodwork but the insomnia is better, certainly the achy joints and
legs
and the crying on the couch is behind me. I am left with odd things from
time to time and then odd things crop up.

BUT I agree with Pastor that YOU, dear friends, are the best thing that
could ever happen to any of us. For those new to the forum or feeling
discouraged, keep on talking, keep on praying, keep the faith, and never
ever forget, your suffering will one day allow you to give others the
compassion and love that newbies will need, wherever the great Adventure
of
Life will take you.

Jane

Original message:

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

For those of you who remember me and are still on the forum, I wish
to give thanks to you all for the awareness and 'breathing new life'
into my being. Thanks for passionately giving of your personal
experiences, no matter how difficult. Thanks for being there at all
hours to get me through what felt like a hollow shell of a brain. It
has been five months since my desperation. All of your collective
efforts and the passing of time has greatly affected my progress to
a point where only the constant tinnitus and shin pain remain.

The brain zaps, head pressure and all of the multitude of horrific
adr's have passed with time. Those of you who were like me, or who
are new to this dilemma, please take my advice and stick with this
group of tremendous, giving, real people. They and time will get
you through it. I wish everyone the recovery I have experienced, or
even better. In short, thank you all, and I'll see you at Six
Months!

Love,
Pastor

Original message:

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The most disheartening thing I find on the forum is how helpless most
new members feel. Thinking that they will never live a normal life
again after these reactions. But I have to tell them, in all honesty,
I felt the very same way when I signed on here years ago.

But I have found, for the most part, you will get better. I offer
myself up as living proof. I am one of the OLD OLD OLD timers back
when we had a couple of hundred members. I was a medical mess to say
the least. You name it and I had it. But things did improve. It
took time. Lots and lots of time. Years in fact. Am I a hundred
percent success story? No, not by any means. But I have survived and
you will too, and there are 100% success stories out there.

It may not seem like it at the moment that you will ever get better.
The pain is constant and the worry and stress is neverending. But it
is always darkess before the dawn as the old saying goes. Your going
through the rough stages at the moment. The worse of it if you
will. But one day things won't seem so bad. Eventually this will
all be a bad memory. Trust me on this. THIS TOO SHALL PASS. If you
told me this seven years ago I probably would of flipped you off. I
did not believe that this would ever pass. But it did.

Am I a hundred percent? No. I still have problems but they are
manageable and something I have learned to live with. But you CANNOT
give up. You have to fight this every day from morning till night.
You cannot allow what these drugs have done to you to win. Is it
easy? Hell no. It will be the hardest damn thing you have ever done
in your life, but you'll get through this and the sun will shine once
again.

So quit worrying. If your one of the lucky ones you will get back to
a hundred percent eventually and your troubles are over. If your not
then you will improve to the point that you can accept your
limitations. Either way things will get better regardless and
worrying is not going to change things one bit. This does not last
forever even though you would swear that it does. You'll survive
this one way or the other.

Your half way there just by joining this forum. We have all "been
there and done that" more times than we can count. We are here 24/7
to help you along so do not feel abandonded. I survived this and
emerged stronger than I would have thought possible. Life ain't fair
for the most part and this is just another screwball tossed at your
head. So do not ever give up and think you have been crippled
forever.

Fight this like you would fight any other tragedy life tosses your
way and one day you will be writing post like this one to the latest
crop of newbies. I count on you to pick up this torch cause I bore
myself silly saying the same things to the newbies year after year.
How can I retire if you give up on me now?

I was one of the worse this forum had ever seen and I honestly
believe that this too shall pass for you as it had for me. You gotta
believe this as well in order to get better. And you will get
better. I promise. But quiting on me is not an option.

Original message:

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<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38835>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Well, it has been 6 months (Sept. 14th) since the last Avelox Pill.
I have seen a lot of improvement so for any newbies please know that
it does get better.

In the beginning I really felt like I was dying. I know this sounds
dramatic but I am a very stoic person so if you knew me personally
you'd now that it takes a lot for me to say anything like that. I am
a very high energy person and very up beat.

This took me to a place that was life altering and terrifying. It
was so incredibly horrible so to think that I have come this far in 6
months should be encouraging for everyone who is just starting out in
their recovery.

I originally had many, many ADR's.

Dizziness, high blood pressure, high pulse rate, fever, shakiness,
weakness, tremors, muscle twitches, tinnitus, extreme anxiety,
depression, shortness of breath, nausea, flushing, headache,
diarrhea, dry mouth, dry eyes, insomnia, joint aches, painful tendons
in groin and outer hips and many many other aches and pains including
burning thighs and neuropathy in my calves and/or shins. Everything
was to the extreme and I had an overall feeling of being so extremely
ill that I didn't not know if I could make it through the day.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some but that's a long enough list. Quite
honestly, I don't like to think on it too much because it actually
traumatizes me to some extent as it was so extremely difficult and I
am moving forward from this so I try to think for today and how I can
make it better.

The better I feel the more I am able to get past this.

OK, so now I am much better. I still have many ADR's but to a much
lesser extent. The tinnitus, muscle twitches and cramping, some
insomnia from time to time (could also be hormone related), some
breathing issues, aches and pains still and fatigue but overall it
has improved greatly which I am very grateful for. I still have
symptoms everyday but to a lesser extent and I am cycling where I
will have a batch of symptoms that worsen only to abate again.

I have been back to work (own my own company) since the middle of
January basically because of no other choice but worked part time
throughout. Luckily, I have a home office but am out on site for a
lot of my jobs which includes a lot of physical activity for set ups.
(event industry)

Health background in a nutshell……I had preexisting endocrine
conditions including hypothyroidism and secondary adrenal
insufficiency plus am on other hormones due to an early
hysterectomy. I am currently 39 years old.

I was feeling pretty good prior to floxing after years of compromised
health mainly due to endocrine issues. I had finally gotten to a good
place with my health issues and then this happened but I've fought
through health issues before so I will fight through this too.

This has directly affected my hormones and have had labs done that
show these changes. I just had more labs done a couple of days ago
and am awaiting the results and am hoping that my levels look
more "normal" for me.

Perhaps with more tweaking of my hormone meds I can better achieve my
pre floxed status and hopefully get rid of more ADR's.

Also, as a note of interest….I know that I have taken Cipro in the
past at least two times maybe more. Had a bought of Cellulites some 7
years ago in which I might have taken a fluoro/quin. That's kind of
when my health turned with the endocrine issues. So, makes me wonder.

So in hindsight, I think perhaps some of my endocrine problems have
been compounded previously by taking fluoro/quinolone antibiotics.
Although, I do think I was definitely predisposed to having endocrine
abnormalities due to family history of thyroid problems and also
symptoms looking back into my early 20's even. So not necessarily the
quins fault in full.

Interesting to know when I had many symptoms in the past what were
fluoro/quin related and what were endocrine related as I would have
never related the antibiotics to the symptoms back then.

This time it was unmistakable as I was totally slammed a few days
after taking the Avelox.

That's pretty much my story and status at 6 months. I think I'm
doing alright and at least now I feel like I CAN get better.

I have taken vitamins and supplements throughout and have excercised
(walking) since about 3 months out. I have always excercised through
out my adult life so for me exercise has been a good thing but I try
to know when to back off when I am not feeling so well.

I am so grateful to the people on this forum that helped me through
this. My husband has been great too. Some people didn't believe me
but they were few and far between. I have not had a lot of testing
or anything done as my choice was to be patient (still going with
that). I have not taken any prescribed drugs etc during this recovery
period. Again, this is by choice and everyone is different .

I am in no way judging anyone else who has taken anything to help
them through. Each of us is different and we have to do what we
think is best.

So to all the newbies out there…..hang in there it WILL get better!
I wish full recoveries to all!

Try to stay as positive as possible because attitude really makes a
huge difference. I know it's not easy but nothing that's worth it
ever is!

Remember, when going into a cycle and you take a step back……this
too
shall pass. Time is our healer!

Best to all…….always,

Gigi

Original post:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38834
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38834>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi all:
I would like to add my voice to those that are feeling better. I'm
not 100% yet but I'd put it at 80%. I still have the neuropathy and
the tinnitis (sp?). It's been two years since I took 14 days X 400mg
of avelox for sinusitis. I had a delayed reaction - didn't start
feeling symptoms until June. So, I never put the two together. Thus
started a seven month odyssey into the jaws of medical testing and
specialists....finally my wife found the answer on the internet by
accident on Christmas Day. We found Boomer's website in Jan. of '06
and changed my diet and started feeling better. '06 was an up and
down year - i found out my thyroid had quit and had to start taking
armour and hydrocortisone.

Like all of you, this forum has been a tremendous help to me. Cindi
and others talking about hypothyroidism last summer got me to take
the saliva test and discover my problem.

The one thing I want to know is: Why doesn't anyone in the medical
profession - doctors, organizations, etc...include adverse reactions
to drugs in their diagnostic paradigm?? Why? I really want to know
that. In my seven months I went to the Mayo Clinic 3 times - nobody
ever thought to ask me what medications I had taken. Also made the
usual rounds to endocrinologist, neurologist, hepatologist, and I
can't remember who else. Boy this whole thing has really been an eye
opener for me as far as the medical / big pharma / insurance thing
goes.

I think it must be the duration of the adverse reactions...doctors
can't fathom that a reaction to medication could last months or
years.

Sorry to ramble, but sometimes I just have to get it off my chest.

Peace,

80 per cent Rick



Original message:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38979
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38979>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for bearing with my tirades of late. Sometimes I really can't
believe
the times we
are living in!

As some of you know, I took cipro at the beginning of July - 500 mg 2x a
day for
10 days
for an infection.

Afterwards I sustained some pretty serious damage and pain - everywhere
in my
body and
cycling through my muscles and joints throuout the day. The worst of it
was I
could never
predict where the pain would be or for how long. I was in my hips, arms,
butt,
chest, neck
(the glands) and especially focused in my left side - that arm and that
leg and
foot
especially. I also had other classic symptoms - a buzzing sort of
seltzer like
feeling under
my skin and in my veins, numbness with this seltzer water feeling (hard
to
describe but
you know what I mean) extreme anxiety and depression, a feeling that I
was
dying. In
short really really NOT FUN. These very very extreme symptoms were
pretty
consistant for
about six months. Of course I also had extreme reactions to meds, foods,
environment,
etc. A regular Jekyl and hyde but way more hyde. I also developed (and
cultivated!) my
magic weathervane butt which some of you are familiar with. Basically if
I ate
something
bad, my butt would light up like a neon sign saying YOU ATE BAD THINGS!
BAD,
BAD, BAD
GIRL! Thanks my butt, nice to know you care, even if I don't like your
information
management system. . .My butt was in agony with radiating pains if I ate
something
naughty. The moral of course : RESPECT THE BUTT. Some of you probably
have
similar
reactions in certain areas of your body taking on management positions
independant of
your say so. The glands in my neck and breasts also would react to bad
environments.
My neck glands told me to f*** off if I ate - say - black currant
candies from
England or
cremalita - anything with dyes and artificial flavorings. They throbbed
and
rebelled
immeidiately. Or chicken that was not organic or pork set them off
(along with
said butt).

I went to acupuncture in September (I think it was september) - and that
seemed
to really
work on the peripheral neurapathies (numbness) and seltzer water
buzzing. Also
it was
helpful in calming my anxiety. A sleep machine also helped me sleep (one
of
those silly
things from sharper image or wherever) I also gave up caffeine until
recently,
tried to stay
with organic meats (although lamb and beef never seem to bother me, even
non-organic),
took lots of magnesium and calcium right from the start, took omega 3
and alpha
lipoic
acid and acidopholous and sometimes milkthistle. I also took chondroitan
glucosemine
(which helped alot with joint pain along with the omega 3).

I still try to stick by the above supplements and dietary restrictions.
I just
started working
out again (lifting I mean - cardio has been back for a while) - the
lifting
still causes
soreness - mostly centered in my upper body. I will work with a
theraband and
gradually
build my strength back (pre flox I was a strong lil' 125 pound pitbull -
could
chest press
85 pounds and hold myself in a full arm extension plank for over a
minute - I
likes to keep
in shape). Other than that most of my symptoms are gone or almost gone
(knock
wood)!
I used to think I would never recover, but guess what? I am really
recovering!
I still get a
little blurry vison, some muscle soreness in the upper body, and my left
foot
gets numb
sometimes. I also get this weird lung tiredness feeling but I think that
is
related to my
acid reflux (diagnosed). And I still have dry sinuses (I irrigate now).
A
real benchmark is
that the other night I had Vietnamese food (delicious!) and the pork
chop over
rice was
just divine - thats right - I said pork chop! I ate a non-organic pork
chop
with no
reaction!

So - there you have it - my update. I still have a ways to go, but I
feel like
I am about
eighty five percent. I'm not where I was, but my health is finally
coming back.
I wanted
the new people who are feeling especially freaked out to know - you can
recover
from this.
I know how you feel and I've been there. It's been a long journey, but
finally
I feel I've
turned a corner.

Keep positive and keep focused on healing people.

Lots of love,
Moira

Original Post:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38976
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38976>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Wow that is amazing, I am glad that you eventually gotbetter.  I do
have a question where you off the leviquin for 5 months before you
went to Florida.  Does that mean that I will not be able to go in the
sun becuase I had a reaction to the levaquin, I have bad pain in my
legs knees arms even feet and hands.  THanks for the info





--- In Quinolone_Survivors@yahoogroups.com, "floxed_survivors"
<kcrefacer@...> wrote:
>
>
> Greetings and thanks for all the help you have all unknowingly
> provided to me since June of 2005. This is my first time posting
> anything anywhere. I am a 50 year old woman who used to feel like a
> girl!
> In August of 2004 I had a migraine over the left temple that
> lasted for 6 months. To make a long story short I was given several
> courses of antibiotics over a couple of months. I was given Cipro in
> October 2004. While on the Cipro my husband and I were walking in a
> local park and I looked up at the trees and everything was
> shimmering and got blurry. That lasted for almost a year. I also got
> some lightning bolt shocks down my left leg on the same walk that
> took my breath away. Later that day, my lower legs started aching
> and aching. I even called a nurse hotline because I thought it might
> be a blood clot. I never associated it with Cipro. I started with
> brain fog and dizziness. The headache was still there and I went for
> an MRI of the brain in early December that showed a lesion and
> demyelination. I also got a memorable bout of shingles on the left
> side of my face a couple of days before I found out about the
> lesions. In January I went to a neurologist who tentatively
> diagnosed me with MS. And I still had the headache, along with my
> upper arms swollen and hard, tingling in my fingers and numbness. He
> sent me for an MRI of the spine. I had three herniated discs in my
> neck and one in my lower back. And I still had the headache. The GP
> gave me a two week course of Levaquin in Jan. 2005. I had no idea
> what hit me. I did have an upper lung infection, but I had never
> been not able to walk before. I was on the couch for three weeks,
> for several days, I needed assistance to walk. I had no idea it was
> the Levaquin. My head felt wrapped in gauze. The GP had given me a
> steroid spray for the nose that would not stop running. I was also
> taking that. I took it for a week, it stopped the runny nose, and it
> hasn't run since! Everything dried up,my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my
> thirst was insatiable. I could not hold my head up, all my muscles
> were kaput. The pain was tremendous.
> The neuro advised me that my blood work had shown an elevated
> Rheumatoid factor, and elevated ANA's in the nucleolar and
> homogenous pattern. He did a lumbar puncture and it was clear and he
> rescinded his MS diagnosis. I was then diagnosed by the GP with
> Lupus with CNS involvement. I was told in my twenties when I had a
> bout of joint pain and fatigue that I possibly had lupus based on
> blood work then. Now I wonder if that was from medication also,
> because I could go months without pain or fatigue and then I would
> get it.
> After the Levaquin, I felt funny, vision off, but the
> headache was finally gone. My husband and I decided to drive to
> Florida, I thought the warmth would do us good. I drove all the way
> from Massachusetts with my vision impaired, my depth perception was
> way off. The vision scared me the most and it mostly cleared up
> about summer 2005. Like a lot here, it hit the fan weeks after,in
> Florida. I woke up one day and every joint was swollen and I had a
> rash, hence the lupus diagnosis, however, I have since found out
> about photosensitivy. It says right on the Levaquin bottle (Do not
> expose to sunlight or artificial light) I thought it meant the pills
> themselves and I kept them in a cabinet. What a dope!
> In June 2005, I looked up the meaning of the homogenous ANA
> association and it said drug induced LUPUS. The only drug I was on
> had been Levaquin and that's when I found this site and the others.
> The mystery was solved as far as I was concerned. I know that others
> have been through a similar journey, trying to find an answer that
> doesn't fit the questions. I have been following all of you
> everyday. I pray for all of you. My heart was sad for John Pharm Rep
> and I pray extra for him.
>
> I went to a specialist at a Boston Hospital in rheumatology.
> The first visit I don't even remember, like I don't remember most of
> 2005 and some of 2006, haha. On my second visit I brought up the
> possibly of the ADR. He didn't say much. On my third visit, I
> brought some paper work supporting what I believed was an ADR. I
> told him, 'My first visit with you I don't recall, the second visit
> we got to know each other, now I'm feeling better and this is where
> I can get annoying and I apologize in advance. I feel strongly this
> was an ADR to Levaquin and Cipro and I would like you to consider
> this." He turned to me and said it was possible I might be the one
> in ten thousand people that had a bad reaction, but he had never
> heard of it lasting that long. I asked him to consider it in any
> future patients that come in with unexplained pain, etc. and I
> handed him the paper work and asked him to review it when he got a
> chance. Six months after the Levaquin my bloodwork was clear, so he
> did not think I had an immune disorder. He did tell me that a
> photosensitive reaction to a drug can last for many years. I can't
> help feeling that photosensitivy has a large role in cycling and
> reacting. I would be interested in knowing how many people's big
> reactions came after sun exposure (UVA). For many months, I would
> get weak when walking in the mall, or in stores like Walmart and
> Home Depot because of the lights. My face would get red, my hands
> and feet would start tingling and swell. The chemical sensitivy was
> incredible, got a water purifier. The chlorine smell made me gag and
> I cannot tolerate any candles or cleaners. Go as organic as you can.
> These are also lupus symptoms.
> To all of you that are wondering how long, I can tell you
> that in August of 2006, about the 18 month mark, I noticed a major
> improvement. And I was sure I was a goner. I still have pain, but it
> has subsided drastically. I'm in a cycle now for the last few days,
> but for the most part, the brain fog comes and goes, but comes less.
> It greatly affected my job, but I made it through thanks to my co-
> workers who were very patient (and I'm sure sick of hearing about
> bad antibiotics, they put up with me ) and all of you will make it,
> too. I'm not 100%, I'm at about 80%, but I'm grateful to still be
> here. Funny how little things mark the progress. Like the day the
> waterworks in my mouth turned on. It only lasted a few minutes that
> day, but I knew it would come back. About a month ago I actually got
> in the car without my everpresent water bottle. I was up to eight
> bottles a day, now down to about 4 -5. The day I was driving with my
> girlfriend on the highway and I turned to look at the scenery and it
> was clear, my VISION was clear. Bless that moment. I cried. It
> didn't stay clear, but it was the sign, and sure enough, in a few
> months that was mostly gone. One day a few months ago, the pain in
> my neck and shoulders subsided.
> This is enough to say today. I've been saving it up for
> almost two years, so again, thanks for listening, THANKS FOR SAVING
> ME. God bless us all.
> Yours in floxyhood,
> Mary
>
> Original Post:
>
> http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38466
> <http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38466>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Greetings and thanks for all the help you have all unknowingly
provided to me since June of 2005. This is my first time posting
anything anywhere. I am a 50 year old woman who used to feel like a
girl!
In August of 2004 I had a migraine over the left temple that
lasted for 6 months. To make a long story short I was given several
courses of antibiotics over a couple of months. I was given Cipro in
October 2004. While on the Cipro my husband and I were walking in a
local park and I looked up at the trees and everything was
shimmering and got blurry. That lasted for almost a year. I also got
some lightning bolt shocks down my left leg on the same walk that
took my breath away. Later that day, my lower legs started aching
and aching. I even called a nurse hotline because I thought it might
be a blood clot. I never associated it with Cipro. I started with
brain fog and dizziness. The headache was still there and I went for
an MRI of the brain in early December that showed a lesion and
demyelination. I also got a memorable bout of shingles on the left
side of my face a couple of days before I found out about the
lesions. In January I went to a neurologist who tentatively
diagnosed me with MS. And I still had the headache, along with my
upper arms swollen and hard, tingling in my fingers and numbness. He
sent me for an MRI of the spine. I had three herniated discs in my
neck and one in my lower back. And I still had the headache. The GP
gave me a two week course of Levaquin in Jan. 2005. I had no idea
what hit me. I did have an upper lung infection, but I had never
been not able to walk before. I was on the couch for three weeks,
for several days, I needed assistance to walk. I had no idea it was
the Levaquin. My head felt wrapped in gauze. The GP had given me a
steroid spray for the nose that would not stop running. I was also
taking that. I took it for a week, it stopped the runny nose, and it
hasn't run since! Everything dried up,my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my
thirst was insatiable. I could not hold my head up, all my muscles
were kaput. The pain was tremendous.
The neuro advised me that my blood work had shown an elevated
Rheumatoid factor, and elevated ANA's in the nucleolar and
homogenous pattern. He did a lumbar puncture and it was clear and he
rescinded his MS diagnosis. I was then diagnosed by the GP with
Lupus with CNS involvement. I was told in my twenties when I had a
bout of joint pain and fatigue that I possibly had lupus based on
blood work then. Now I wonder if that was from medication also,
because I could go months without pain or fatigue and then I would
get it.
After the Levaquin, I felt funny, vision off, but the
headache was finally gone. My husband and I decided to drive to
Florida, I thought the warmth would do us good. I drove all the way
from Massachusetts with my vision impaired, my depth perception was
way off. The vision scared me the most and it mostly cleared up
about summer 2005. Like a lot here, it hit the fan weeks after,in
Florida. I woke up one day and every joint was swollen and I had a
rash, hence the lupus diagnosis, however, I have since found out
about photosensitivy. It says right on the Levaquin bottle (Do not
expose to sunlight or artificial light) I thought it meant the pills
themselves and I kept them in a cabinet. What a dope!
In June 2005, I looked up the meaning of the homogenous ANA
association and it said drug induced LUPUS. The only drug I was on
had been Levaquin and that's when I found this site and the others.
The mystery was solved as far as I was concerned. I know that others
have been through a similar journey, trying to find an answer that
doesn't fit the questions. I have been following all of you
everyday. I pray for all of you. My heart was sad for John Pharm Rep
and I pray extra for him.

I went to a specialist at a Boston Hospital in rheumatology.
The first visit I don't even remember, like I don't remember most of
2005 and some of 2006, haha. On my second visit I brought up the
possibly of the ADR. He didn't say much. On my third visit, I
brought some paper work supporting what I believed was an ADR. I
told him, 'My first visit with you I don't recall, the second visit
we got to know each other, now I'm feeling better and this is where
I can get annoying and I apologize in advance. I feel strongly this
was an ADR to Levaquin and Cipro and I would like you to consider
this." He turned to me and said it was possible I might be the one
in ten thousand people that had a bad reaction, but he had never
heard of it lasting that long. I asked him to consider it in any
future patients that come in with unexplained pain, etc. and I
handed him the paper work and asked him to review it when he got a
chance. Six months after the Levaquin my bloodwork was clear, so he
did not think I had an immune disorder. He did tell me that a
photosensitive reaction to a drug can last for many years. I can't
help feeling that photosensitivy has a large role in cycling and
reacting. I would be interested in knowing how many people's big
reactions came after sun exposure (UVA). For many months, I would
get weak when walking in the mall, or in stores like Walmart and
Home Depot because of the lights. My face would get red, my hands
and feet would start tingling and swell. The chemical sensitivy was
incredible, got a water purifier. The chlorine smell made me gag and
I cannot tolerate any candles or cleaners. Go as organic as you can.
These are also lupus symptoms.
To all of you that are wondering how long, I can tell you
that in August of 2006, about the 18 month mark, I noticed a major
improvement. And I was sure I was a goner. I still have pain, but it
has subsided drastically. I'm in a cycle now for the last few days,
but for the most part, the brain fog comes and goes, but comes less.
It greatly affected my job, but I made it through thanks to my co-
workers who were very patient (and I'm sure sick of hearing about
bad antibiotics, they put up with me ) and all of you will make it,
too. I'm not 100%, I'm at about 80%, but I'm grateful to still be
here. Funny how little things mark the progress. Like the day the
waterworks in my mouth turned on. It only lasted a few minutes that
day, but I knew it would come back. About a month ago I actually got
in the car without my everpresent water bottle. I was up to eight
bottles a day, now down to about 4 -5. The day I was driving with my
girlfriend on the highway and I turned to look at the scenery and it
was clear, my VISION was clear. Bless that moment. I cried. It
didn't stay clear, but it was the sign, and sure enough, in a few
months that was mostly gone. One day a few months ago, the pain in
my neck and shoulders subsided.
This is enough to say today. I've been saving it up for
almost two years, so again, thanks for listening, THANKS FOR SAVING
ME. God bless us all.
Yours in floxyhood,
Mary

Original Post:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38466
<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/38466>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I took 400 mg of Tequin a day for 10 days at the beginning of January
in 2006.
I felt lousy
through February, but did not start having scary symptoms until the
end of
February. I
think I am in the minority as far as having delayed symptoms - it
made it very
hard to
pinpoint what was going on. The symptoms seemed to snowball - I felt
lousy,
then I
noticed clicking in my wrist and knees, then the ugly stuff started.

My symptoms were as follows:

tingling/pins and needles pain in legs up to knees and in arms 1/2
way up to
elbow
severe stiffness and pain in my right leg and foot (hard to walk)
Sciatic pain in right leg up to my back
fasiculations in arms and legs
numbness in fingers, palms, and feet that moved around and came and
went
Myoclonic jerks (is that what its called - once body about to fall
asleep would
jerk awake)
Nightmares
Severe anxiety and Panic Attacks (Never had before taking Tequin)
Buzzing in my face
Detached feeling at times
Weakness in my legs and arms
Shaking - arms and legs mostly, but sometimes my whole body would
vibrate
Severe pain in wrists and could barely pick up anything in the
beginning
Brain zaps a few times/head pressure
Extreme fatigue
Diarrhea in the beginning


I laid on the couch as much as I could for the first 4 months - then
I was able
to do a little
more. At three months I started taking a low dose of Lexapro and
chelated
magnesium. I
did not change my diet at all. I stayed on the Lexapro for 6 months
until my
anxiety was
under control and the panic attacks had dissipated. I did a lot of
stretching
and learned
how to relax my body from head to toe. I talked my husband's ears
off - Thank
the Lord
he is a great listener and a therapist. He was a great sounding board.

At first I thought I had MS - and merely the thought of that would
send me into
a panic
attack. After 2 MRI's the neurologist released me saying that he
thought I had
a virus that
had affected my spinal cord and damaged some nerves. He said that as
long I as
I slowly
improved not to worry - that it could take a while.

The only other thing I did was get orthotics for my shoes - since I
have flat
feet anyway. It
helped a lot with the pain in my feet.

Symptoms NOW:
Occasional numbness in tips of thumb and index fingers (comes and
goes - and not
always both hands - sometimes one/sometimes both)

Occasional pain/stiffness in right leg (not so bad that I cannot
function
though - just
irritating)

Occasional buzzing in feet

Occasional pain in wrists

I would say I am at 98% recovered. My few lasting symptoms do not
hinder me -
they
annoy the heck out of me. I try not to ignore them so that I do not
have any
anxiety - and
that seems to be working for me.

Like everyone else here I think time is the best medicine for us -
and this
forum. It is so
helpful to know that you are not going crazy and that you are not
alone.

I have listed flouroquinolones as an allergy in my files. My regular
doctor
does not believe
that it was an ADR because the symptoms began weeks after I finished
the Tequin,
but he
did not belittle me. He was a good listener.

Thanks for listening to my rambling post. Best wishes for you all to
have a
speedy
recovery.

Original Post:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/37985

Most of us have an anniversary that commemorates something special,
usually a good memory or occasion. Well, one year out from getting
floxed with Avelox is certainly a special anniversay, albeit not from
the usual cause. My Valentine's Day memories will never be the same.

I'll try to be brief and summarize my original situation. Sinusitis
had appeared for the first time in my life and I was miserable for
two solid weeks. My PCP put me on a course of Augmentin for two
weeks after that. Did nothing. He suggested Bactrim and my research
indicated bactrim could be dangerous. So I went to a buddy who is an
ENT and he placed me on Avelox. I knew FQs could be dangerous after
I got the prescription but was just so far gone with misery from
sinusitis that I took the pills. Huge mistake:( One hour after my
second dose I started trembling all over. I went to get up and my
legs were so weak I could barely stand. Had strange sensations
shooting though my legs. Felt naseous and my throat started to close
up where I could not swallow for a few minutes. Had to have my wife
pick me up from work as I was in no condition to drive. Went to the
ER the next morning as my symptoms had not changed and the doc told
me I had a reaction to the Avelox, but should be over it in 24
hours. My heart knew different and I was certain I was in this for
the long haul.

I must have had over 30 ADRs over the course of the next 3 to 4
months. Some of my more memorable ADRs were:

1. Complete rubber legs - tremendous weakness
2. Insomnia with 2 to 3 hours sleep a night. When I would first
start to fall asleep I would snap awake - like my brain was giving me
a kick - awful experience.
3. Random pain all over my body like I had the flu - lasted two weeks.
4. Horrible diarrhea
5. Weight loss = lost 15 pounds in several weeks
6. Racing heart rate, palpitations - went from former mid 50's to
70's and 80's while resting
7. Strange light and full sensations in my head
8. Night sweats
9. Very full feelings in my stomach even after a small meal that
lasted for hours.
10. Trembling
11. Chills
12. Anxiety - have never experienced the feeling of "jumping out of
my skin" before in my life
13. Racing thoughts when waking up
14. Complete lack of dreaming or simple dreams. I used to have
complex dreams.

Throughout this time I always tried to exercise. It gave me a
psychological boost. Even it was just a 10 minute walk. I went
through a myriad of medical tests to rule out the bad stuff - you
know, night sweats and weight loss meaning cancer, weaklegs,
trembling meaning MS, and on and on. From CT scans, X Rays, MRIs,
blood tests, EMGs, NCS and so on - everything came back negative -
nothing wrong with me according to western science.

Starting in July, after a colonoscopy/endoscopy that finally seemed
to put an end to the diahrrhea, I felt I was over this. I had
tendinitis in my elbows, but that was it. However, I struck a fever
in early September and after the fever broke, most of my initial
symptoms returned, including the leg weakness. I was completely
disheartened as I could not believe I was getting a cycle after 7
months out. Its quite a blow to think you've essentially beaten this
and have symptoms return.

So fast foward to today, Valentine's Day, exactly one year after I
got floxed, with yet another bout of sinusitis. I have tendinitis in
both elbows and pain in my right shoulder after lifting weights, not
sure if its a tear or inflammation. I still get some strange
sensations in my head, almost like a headache or feeling full. A few
times a month I also experience this energy (for lack of better word)
or tension coursing through my body that wakes me up early and its
impossible to get back to sleep. Feels almost like an adrenalin
surge but in a different (worse) manner. Perhaps you may term it
anxiety, I'm not sure. That and the head issues are the worst
offending symptoms that I would rather not live with.

My weight has gone full circle in a year. I went from weighing the
least I have weighed in 20 years after weight loss from floxing to
the most I have weighed by a few pounds. My heart rate has also gone
back down to about 60 bpm at rest.

Prior to floxing I exercised 5 to 6 days a week. 3 days of
weightlifting for an hour to 75 minutes and 3 days of running 3 miles
up and down hills. Now I can weightlift about 45 minutes, but at
lower weight levels. I struggle to run 1.5 to 2 miles on less hilly
terrain. Not from pain, but from a lack of stamina. My energy just
gives out. I hope to one day be able to run a 5k - and know I can
run it beforehand. For cardio I mostly concentrate on ellipticals
now.

I am very fortunate compared to many forum members. I have never had
the intense constant pain that so many here have experienced, or the
continual panic attacks that wreak havoc. Naturally, this experience
has left an indelible imprint on my being. I think all of us in some
way or another will go through post traumatic stress syndrome. I
constantly fret about my health and I should not be thinking about it
each day. I feel I have a group of friends here who know and
understand the meaning of what we have gone through/are going through
that no one else can understand. Doctors have lost much of their
shine - they are now very human and make lots of mistakes. And are
at a loss of words and knowledge in how to fix us. Many of us have
tried different remedies to get better. My fix was and is time. I
am planning a nice 2 week family vacation in late summer. I hope
that 5 more months gets rid of some of these lasting symptoms - and
does not crop up new ones - a worry most of us have.

For those of you a few weeks or months out you have my heartfelt
sympathy as this is typically the most acute period. For those of
you who have struggled for years, you have my awe and blessings, as I
can barely imagine the impact.

Wishing you all a speedy recovery,
Jake

Original Post:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/message/37958