Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God.....thank you soooo much from my heart, for your articles of the TRUTH about the TOXIC fluoroquinolones!!!!! Oh Sir, you just have no idea of the HELL that this previously HEALTHY single mom of twin 10-yr old boys has been through....NOT ONLY WITH MY
DETERIORATING HEALTH but the TOTAL IGNORANCE and LACK OF CONCERN from the medical community (for starters).Photo: Shelley in healthier days
How do I deal w/ the fact that the life I had is gone. Over. because of the INCOMPETENCY of our DOCTORS....AND GOVERNMENT??!! My life has completely changed. Everything about my life.....the pain and suffering have been HORRENDOUS!!! It's INCOMPREHENSIBLE how this has happened to me....and so many others who are suffering NEEDLESSLY!!!!! I receive email from people on a daily basis....people I have never met or even heard of before....searching for answers.....suffering, begging, praying...... And as it stands today, we have NO PROTOCOL FOR HEALING....NO RECOURSE FOR COMPENSATION!!!!! NOTHING!!!!! OMG what has happened to us??!!!!
I have pictures of my skin, the blood that started appearing on my face, from tiny specks of "sores"....just appearing in the morning when I woke up, for NO REASON AT ALL!!! I began telling my doctor about mysterious aches and pains I started having, that would NOT go away....and I had no clue as to why it was happening. I told my doctors about a feeling of malaise....almost to the point of being a constant nausea.....and a very strange sensation of my body "stiffening up" so that I could hardly get out of bed in the morning, and it was a struggle to make it down the steps.
I told my doctors about the ringing in my ears....pain behind my right ear, where a "knot" appeared. I actually had one doctor try to convince me that it was from my glasses!! I insisted she feel the bump....and stood firm that I knew the difference between "mysterious pain" and pain from where my glasses would sit along my ear! It just made NO SENSE. Yes she finally (in exasperation) decided to send me to an ENT... who also HAD NO CLUE (OR LIED) and offered not much as far as diagnosis after SEVERAL VISITS....it was a lymph node, and I could have it removed. Well, still, there was NO ANSWER about the strange "swelling" or tenderness I felt all around my ear....then ALSO all around areas of my HEAD!!!! I chose not to be cut into until a doctor could tell me what it was....I was worried that something else was going on that could be made WORSE from surgery.
The more I suffered and tried desperately to recover and heal, the more "new symptoms" would appear!!! Can you imagine my DESPERATION and FEAR??!! Going from crying to the doctors, to becoming angry.....even taking my 70-yr old mother AND my little boys with me for some kind of VALIDATION!!!! I was finally sent to a rheumatologist (even though my test results showed that I did not have rheumatoid arthritis). So I really had no faith in that visit...even though by this time, my hands and feet were so sore, my right hand swelled, and I believe there is permanent damage. X-rays showed nothing abnormal....and I was once again dismissed....though any MORON can SEEEEE the damage with their own naked eyes!!!! I kept complaining....and I kept being told there was "nothing else" they could do. I would go home, completely mystified, crying.....I didn't understand. How could a doctor NOT be "concerned"??!
I was eventually diagnosed with tennis elbow (tendinitis), arthralgia, musculoskeletal disorder, trigeminal neuralgia....I've recently had an MRI for a stabbing feeling at the top of my head....but the MRI came back "normal". (Of course now I understand WHY) I had gone to physical therapy several times. (Which may have even been a big mistake on the doctors' part) There was one time, during a course of therapy that I thought I started to feel a little better....but that did not last long.....and in fact, my pains became worse. In frustration, I then said "The hell w/ all of them!!!" And continued to suffer.....searching for ANY clue!!!
You will not believe how I found out the TRUTH!!! I searched UNDETECTIBLE TOXIC DRUGS and POISONING....because that's exactly how it felt to me!! It felt as though I had been POISONED and the doctors could not find it!! And suddenly....THERE IT WAS!! How was I supposed to even REMEMBER the name of some antibiotics I took in 2003??!!!! YES 2003!!! I had been given AVELOX as well as TWO courses of LEVAQUIN!! I know I felt side-effects but continued my medication as prescribed by my physician. By the time the actual DAMAGE by these fluoroquinolones had occured, (we call them FQ's), I would NEVER have held these drugs suspect!!! WHO would even THINK such a thing!!
That's how absolutely mind-boggling this situation is!! AND IT IS KILLING US!!!!! I have been taking supplements daily....faithfully. The first thing I start with is COLLAGEN!! And I am finally coming to terms w/ the fact that my life has changed....and I may never fully recover. Every minute of every day is a struggle physically and emotionally. But I continue to fight the good fight. I have to..... what is the alternative??!! I am sharing your articles w/ my forums, as well as passing them along in emails. I am committed to promoting awareness about this grave situation esp through an informative email campaign that I call D-A-A-M....DEADLY ANTIBIOTIC AWARENESS MISSION.
Instead of enjoying the life I share w/ my children and mother....and our 7 cats....and being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life itself.....I am working on this mission from the time I awaken (in PAIN) to the time I finally go to sleep, which is always in the wee hrs of the morning.
I found YOUR website about 5 AM!! In between time, I also home-educate my boys!! But I cannot and will not keep SILENT about the dangers of TOXIC FQ's, and how they are literally crippling innocent people...and DESTROYING THEIR LIVES!!!!! PLEASE....if there is ANYTHING you can do to help us.....ANYTHING at all....would you please consider giving us some of your time and insight into this matter?? We are struggling on a daily basis, with NOWHERE to turn, but each other. I am hoping I can make a difference. Will you please TRY to do something for us???? I am asking, at the very least, if you could possibly help w/ healing protocol. No promises, or guarantees......just some insight. It could be the start we are hoping and praying for.
Please continue to research and promote awareness with me!! For all of us!! I appreciate your time and consideration.....and anxiously await your reply!!
Thank you Sir, I remain Sincerely and gratefully yours,
~Shells~
Ms Shelley Sealover
ShellsPink@aol.com Toxic_Pinx@Yahoo.com
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Gary Moller comments:
Thank you so much, Shelley, for the moving story of your struggle with these harmful drugs that continue to be prescribed. I have retained your email address with this article so that others can contact you.
Sadly, current medical opinion about these drugs is the damage is permanent. However; I am much more optimistic than most. While there is undoubted damage to collagen in the body, I am forever amazed at the capacity of the body to heal, if only we provide the best possible conditions to assist it with that job and if only we give it time before resorting to more drugs.
I think the drugs companies and the doctors who manufacture and dish out this class of drugs to unsuspecting patients deserve to be sued to Kingdom Come. There is more than enough evidence that these drugs do irreparable harm and we have known for years.
I recommend that readers who think they may have been harmed by flouroquinolines and other drugs, like biphosphenates, contact Tom Lamb of Drug Injury Watch. It was Tom lamb who first brought these flouroquinoline antibiotics to may attention. There may be a class action law suit that one can join, rather than battle the Big Boys alone.
Some thoughts about how to support a Floxy Body
- A hair tissue mineral analysis will be most interesting and may throw up some very interesting results that will help direct nutritional interventions.
- Take collagen supplements, as you are, and natural sources such as beef and chicken bone broths which will also provide much needed minerals and proteins - refer to my Recipes Section.
- Please read and follow my article here about chronic pain and fatigue. The advice applies.
- Take up to 8,000 mg of Methylsulfonlymethane (MSM) per day, plus 2,000 mg of vitamin C per day. You could add a quality garlic oil and vitamin E. These will help detoxify the body of any poisons as well as providing nutrients - vit C and sulphur for healthy collagen.
- You can also add a glucosamine supplement to the daily diet. If over 40, ensure there is also chondroitin. You do not need one with MSM, since you will be taking large amounts from a dedicated MSM supplement.
18 comments:
I have to echo everything that Shells has said about this dangerous class of antibiotics. The Fluoroquinolones have probably done more grievous injury to more people than any other prescription drug. I know that is a broad statement, but the delayed time frame before damage occurs to the patient has disguised just how harmful the FQ's really are. Because of this delay, Dr's and patients are not making the connection between the damage and their use of the FQ antibiotic. The drug reps have done a great job of hiding the dangers as well to increase their sales. After all, they are just puppets for the manufacturers. Dr's seem to be completely ignorant of all the injuries these antibiotics are capable of.
Every Dr. including the one that prescribed Cipro to me has denied any connection between my injuries and the recent use of Cipro. I was very healthy and leading an active live when I was prescribed Cipro for a minor UTI. within days of finishing that scrip, my body started to fall apart. It started with severe insomnia and progressed to every Averse Drug Reaction there is listed about Cipro. It's been over 20 months now and I'm still crippled with Peripheral Neuropathy, Tendinitis, Joints that burn and ache 24/7, the list goes on and on.
There are thousands of injured people on multiple forums on the net that have finally figured out the 'cause' of all their mysterious health problems and why they suddenly developed body wide injuries to their joints, tendons, muscles and connective tissues. There are even more people that have not yet made the connection of the use of a FQ and their sudden dramatic health issues. Most patients are misdiagnosed by Dr's that don't have a clue as to the damage these drugs are capable of.
Most people have suffered major central nervous system problems also. Because of the fluoride in the FQ's, they are able to penetrate deep into the cellular structure of our DNA and affect our mitochondria. This translates to body wide damage to all of our systems.
Something has to be done to stop this madness and destruction of human life. We need help!
I run the Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic Victim Community, located at http://noquinolones.proboards58.com, which is a relatively new forum dedicated to giving support to people injured by this class of pharmaceuticals and also to raising awareness of the terrible consequences that can befall those who unwittingly ingest them.
Three years ago, I was a healthy 23 year old guy who came down with an acute case of bronchitis. Now I am little more than a shell of my former self, completely disabled with severe body-wide tendon and muscle problems, nerve damage and a myriad of other neurological, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal symptoms.
My experiences since taking a fluoroquinolone amount to nothing less than physical and psychological torture. I spend every day feeling like I am 80 years old.
Every doctor I have seen in the past three years has concluded that my symptoms are a result of fluoroquinolone toxicity, but none of them have had any idea of how to treat my symptoms. Three years of regular physical therapy has only succeeded in keeping me out of wheelchair, though I am still housebound and unable to perform most rudimentary physical tasks. I require a headset and speech-recognition software to type.
Most recent studies have concluded that the majority of upper-respiratory and sinus infections do not even require antibiotic therapy, meaning that, had I stayed home rather than gone to the doctor, I would be healthy today.
The actions of the drug companies, pushing such a dangerous class of drugs for mild infections, are beyong unacceptable...they are inhumane. Doctors are being duped into violating their Hippocratic Oath. Patients are being poisoned, maimed and killed.
I can say nothing more except that all fluoroquinolone antibiotics should be immediately restricted to cases where the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been confirmed and the patient faces the possibilty of imminent danger or death if it is not treated.
More stories and information are available on my site. Thanks to Shells for allowing her e-mail to be made public.
I'm a doctor myself and had a severe ongoing reaction to levaquin 19 months ago which has left me with long term neuropathy and musculoskeletal pain and other things. I have personally met now over 50 patients in my community with pretty serious reactions to the fluoroquinolones, yet other doctors are still reluctant to believe. I have met a few other doctors who have had a fluoroquinolone reaction but most of them are silent for various reason. The true incidence of serious long term reactions to fluorquinolones are tremendously under-reported, and under-recognized my the medical community.
i have gone from being a fully productive human being, achievement orientated, focused on family, academics, work, community/volunteering, friends/socialising, politics, active hobbies, to being a person who can't even work to pay for my now exorbitant healthcare requirements - and all thanks to fluoroquinolones. that is, thanks to the drug companies who do not own up to the dangerous side-effects, and the governmental bodies who endorse them. so, thanks for ruining my life, and decreasing the value of those people and things that are now robbed of my attentions.
bea.
I am a 23 year old student who took just 3 doses of cipro. The reaction started 2 hours after the first dose and over a 5 month period I've experienced over 35 symptoms. I was going to medical school this year, however now I have to put this on hold until late 2009 so that I can regain my physical and mental abilities to deal with university.
I was very healthy prior to taking cipro, I never had any health major problems. Immediately after taking the first dose I got tingling, insomnia, tendinitis, nightmares and much more.
You can read my whole story here
Direct URL
http://noquinolones.proboards58.com/index.cgi?board=stories&action=display&thread=1205538315
TINY URL
http://tinyurl.com/5dph7t
I have also been damaged by this antibiotic given to me for a simple UTI, prescribed inappropiately for 2 weeks! Thank goodness I stopped after 9 pills of cipro.
Missed work for 2.5 months as an eye doctor, because I couldnt walk.
I have ongoing pain and loss of functioning and it is now 4 months later. I have experienced peripheral neuropathy, tendon damage, crystaluria, gallstones, kidney stones, heart palpitations, intracranial pressure, blurry vision, vasculitis, etc. I have 3 small children and it has ruined my life. I forgot to mention the ongoing food allergies that have come up, cant have about 10 different things now, makes life very difficult. We have noone to help us get better or receive any compensation.
Count me in as another person injured by a fluoroquinolone. Until the word gets out to the medical community, doctors are going to continue to prescribe this poison. I have told everyone I know to NEVER take one of these antibiotics. There are much safer drugs that should be prescribed instead of the fqs.
I pray every day that I will make a complete recovery. So far, I've been in pain for about 4 months. There are others that are going on 4 years. This is a horrible tragedy and one that will happen, unfortunately, to many more people. And, once it has happened, nobody knows how to help. God help us all.
20.CHARACTERISTIC TOXICITY OF FLUOROQUINOLONES
Unlike other antibiotics, that have very little toxicity (penicillins) or a very defined toxic profile (i.e. deafness and nephrotoxicity for aminoglycosides), quinolones and fluoroquinolones have a vast toxicity that affects the whole body. Although it is treated with more detail later in the report, the main toxic actions of quinolones and fluoroquinolones are:
TOXICITY TO TENDONS (TENOTOXICITY).
Quinolones are very toxic on the tendons, to everybody. They are the only frequently prescribed drug on the market that is directly tenotoxic and cause rupture of tendons, not only during treatment but months later. It is a very distinctive feature of quinolones. They damage the cartilage and tendons all over the body in a permanent nature, although symptoms only become noticeable in some 30% of the treatments. Doctors only acknowledge a less than 5% incidence of tendon disorders because usually the person that has been intoxicated by the quinolone, goes to his/her orthopedist some months after the ingestion of the quinolone, complaining of a chronic tendinitis when playing his/her favourite sport. Nobody links the tendinitis to the quinolone.
TOXICITY TO THE NERVES
This toxicity affects the whole body, because the quinolones have been invented in a way so that they have a very big penetrating capacity in all the tissues, especially the brain. The nerves of the brain, muscles, intestines, heart, lungs, tendons, eyes, and other organs, are lightly, moderately or irreversibly damaged, and their recovery can take from a few years to never, leaving a trail of pains, injuries, abnormalities and hundreds of disorders that you can see in the following sections of this report.
CHEMICAL TOXICITY
The extreme toxicity of the quinolone and fluoroquinolone antibiotics destroys the correct functioning of all types of cells in the body, causing extensive damage and abnormalities in all body functions and systems.
So, to take a quinolone or fluoroquinolone antibiotic means to take a potent toxic compound. There is no reason to prescribe or take them unless it is absolutely necessary. Do not be so naive as to believe that the medical system, and the FDA have assessed properly the safety of these antibiotics, because they have clearly not done so, as you can learn through this report or doing your own research.
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I too was a healthy 50+ y/o male until I took Cipro. I was not warned of any permanent side effects by my Dr. I am now barely able to walk and have constant pain in every joint of my body 2 yrs. later. This class of antibiotic is just too toxic to be used unless the patient is on the verge of death and nothing else has worked.
Here is a thought: STAY SICK. If your doc prescribed the drug, you were/are sick enough to warrant the drug. No one forced the drug down your throat, and now since you had a reaction, it is everyone's fault but yur own. if the physicians and FDA and government are so bad in this country, LEAVE. Have you put any thought into how you may be feeling if the infection was left untreated. If anything, it is time for patients to sign a waiver everytime they take a medicine that allows the patient to take responsibility for their own actions. Here is another thought: Were the medicines taken EXACTLY as prescribed? There are many medicines that CANNOT be taken with common foods/drinks, and it is the patients responsibility to follow these guidelines.
Here is just a small example of medicinal breakthroughs that MANY here seem to take for granted:
1901 Austrian-American Karl Landsteiner describes blood compatibility and rejection (i.e., what happens when a person receives a blood transfusion from another human of either compatible or incompatible blood type), developing the *** system of blood typing. This system classifies the bloods of human beings into A, B, AB, and O groups. Landsteiner receives the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for this discovery.
1906 Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins suggests the existence of vitamins and concludes they are essential to health. Receives the 1929 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
1907 First successful human blood transfusion using Landsteiner's *** blood typing technique
1913 Dr. Paul Dudley White becomes one of America's first cardiologists, a doctor specializing in the heart and its functions, and a pioneer in use of the electrocardiograph, exploring its potential as a diagnostic tool.
1921 Edward Mellanby discovers vitamin D and shows that its absence causes rickets.
1922I insulin first used to treat diabetes.
1923 First vaccine for diphtheria.
1926 First vaccine for pertussis (whooping cough).
1927 First vaccine for tuberculosis.
1927 First vaccine for tetanus.
1928 Scottish bacteriologist Sir Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. He shares the 1945 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Ernst Chain and Sir Howard Florey.
1935 First vaccine for yellow fever.
WOW-And this is only up to 1935!!
Anonymous's "stay sick" posting is a classic "blame the victim" ploy which I find reprehensible.
When one goes to a professional for advice and assistance, we expect a high standard of care. This includes expecting the professional keeping abreast of the risks of procedures and duly advising the client/patient of those risks and alternatives.
Clearly this is not always happening in the case of prescription of this scary class of drugs and with many, many others.
The low brow person that wrote "stay sick" is typical of ignorant people that don't understand what is really going on here. He/she said that if your Dr. gave you this drug then you were sick enough to warrant it. Not true. These drugs are being used incorrectly by Dr's that do not understand how dangerous they are. These drugs are so powerful and toxic that they should only be used as a last resort ONLY! Thanks to the drug reps telling Dr's how safe the FQ's are, the Dr's are using them for every little infection that comes along. This class of ABX is toxic to DNA and all connective tissues. We are made out of mostly connective tissue! Dr's simply have not kept up with the info about how these drugs can cause many permanent ADR's and are not informing the patient. I sick patient has a hard time making risk/benefit decisions and relies on his Dr. to do this. It's sad when most Dr's have no clue as to the potential danger they are scripting to their patients and then when the patient is injured, the Dr. automatically thinks it's something else. It can't be the antibiotic...the rep said it was safe!
Yes, we have come a long way with medicine in this country, but pharmaceutical drugs are still the NUMBER ONE killer of people every year. bar none! Over 100,000 people die each year from either bad drugs, or dumb Dr's that don't know what they are doing.
People like you need to do your research before spewing off your mouth with BS. Wake up! Fq's injure more people than ANY other drugs there are. It's just well hidden and covered up by BP.
Profits before safety. That is how our great medical system works here in the USA. Leave it? Yeah, I just might. It ain't all that great anymore. It's people like you that have screwed it up.
"Stay sick" is a moron.....
probably a drug rep. Please continue posting so we can see how "bright" you REALLY are.
"Stay Sick" is an idiot !
I am an RN that gave these drugs out for years in the form of a prescription or the real thing prescribed by M.D.s and probably would not have believed it either till I was poisoned. Now, I like Shelly have two boys to raise and you can bet "absolutely NO fluoroquinolones or Flagyl" will be on their medical records !
I am a victim of Levaquin poisoning. I was a healthy 41-year-old female until February 2010. I was given a 10-day course (500 mg per day) of Levaquin for a suspected sinus infection. The day immediately following the last dose I was overwhelmed with joint and tendon pain all over my body. I was barely able to walk. I had severe stomach upset, abdominal pain, pain in the sternum and chest, peripheral neuropathy, vision problems and mental confusion. These symptoms have subsided a bit, but took around 4 months to do so. After month 4 is when more problems began. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and discovered a large, complex cyst on my ovary. I had the ovary and cyst removed and the mass was tested. Thankfully, it was not malignant. I now must take thyroid medication daily for the rest of my life. My lung capacity is diminished and it feels as if there is a weight sitting on my chest all the time. I have recently (in the last 2 weeks) had a resurgence of the original symptoms of the reaction. I am almost one year out from the initial poisoning. Before taking Levaquin, I was a very active person and was in the best shape of my life. I had recently lost 40 pounds. I did at least 4 to 5 hours of cardio a week, worked 50 hours a week and took care of my 4-year-old son with special needs. Now most of my days are spent in pain, trying my best to drag myself out of bed and get to work so I can keep a roof over my head. The exercising is long gone and I feel like a shell of the person I once was. The saddest part is that I have a little boy that doesn't understand why Mommy can't always do everything for him that she used to do. It breaks my heart every single day.
I too am a victim of this toxic antibiotic, levaquin has ruined my life, I am no longer the person I once was. I feel like these drugs have waged chemical warfare with my body. I am angered by the fact that I was NOT told of the black box warnings so I could make an educated decision as to whether take these drugs or not!! Also when I went to ER to report side effects like the package insert says, they say nothing is wrong! or shrug their shoulders and say I don't know what is wrong..can you imagine how SCARY that is??? I was given levaquin 3 times, avelox once along with steroids. I have been diagnosed with the following as POSSIBLE, not confirmed diagnoses so far: RA, fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, MRSA, lyme disease, myalgia, tendinitis, IBS, ADHD,vertigo, chronic fatigue syndrome, acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain, high blood pressure, mitral valve prolapse, heart palpatations. Their remedy? MORE drugs! This madness has to end!! The only purpose I can find in my pain is warning others and asking the companies and the FDA WHY?????? My best advice? PLEASE research ALL medications before you take them, I do....I just didn't levaquin because I "assumed" it was just another run of the mill antibiotic.....God how wrong I was...
Thanks so much for telling us your story Jaqueline and your advice of caution.
Many patient support organisations have slogans like "Living with.....".
I think these send the wrong message that sufferers should accept their condition and live to learn with it.
This is not necessarily the case: The first step is to get a hair tissue mineral analysis to find out in detail what you can do as an individual for yourself. Please go here for more information:
http://www.myotec.co.nz/product.pasp?categoryid=53&productid=180
Me too, since July 2009 but amtoo illtowrite it all just now.
Destruida Los Restos (Ther are som photos on the Facebook FQ ATpage and i put sopme vids on Yuotbeu buty cn't merember my name there!)
I took Avelox for 7 days starting April 4, 2011 for pneumonia. Since I have been extremely anxious, agitated and have terrible tremors. Any stress, feeling tired or being chilled set to the symptoms. I also now stutter when I have even the slightest stress. I had a CT which is normal. My doctor isn’t sure this is related to the drug but I went on line and found many other complaints with identical problems. I am taking Diazepam which helps some. I am becoming very depressed as I don’t think this will ever resolve itself.
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