I often compare adverse drug reactions to earthquakes. People die in earthquakes. More people die from taking pharmaceuticals. Per Ethicist, Dr. Donald W. Light, “Every week, about 53,000 excess hospitalizations and about 2,400 excess deaths occur in the United States among people taking properly prescribed drugs to be healthier. One in every five drugs approved […]
“The Earth is badly Floxed.”I’m not sure if the person who wrote that meant it literally or figuratively, but, I agree – both literally and figuratively – the earth is badly floxed. (“Floxed” is short-hand for suffering from fluoroquinolone toxicity – an adverse reaction to cipro/ciprofloxacin, levaquin/levofloxacin, avelox/moxifloxacin or any of the other fluoroquinolone antibiotics. […]
When trying to determine the danger associated with a drug, the number of Emergency Room (ER) visits that result from use of that drug is often cited. While anaphylactic shock and other acute ER worthy reactions should certainly be measured, exclusively looking at how often a drug leads to ER visits is not a comprehensive, […]
Allergic Reactions versus Toxicity SyndromesWhen I was twenty, I had an allergic reaction to a sulfa antibiotic. I broke out in itchy hives while I was taking the sulfa, but the hives went away as soon as I stopped taking it. I had no other symptoms nor lasting effects. I don’t recall whether or not […]
“I’ve prescribed fluoroquinolone antibiotics to hundreds of patients and I’ve never seen problems like yours. It’s a good drug with an excellent safety record.” Some version of that statement is said to many patients who approach doctors with the many symptoms of fluoroquinolone toxicity syndrome. Fluoroquinolones (Cipro/ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/levofloxacin, Avelox/moxifloxacin and Floxin/ofloxacin) have been shown to damage […]
In Stephen Fried’s 1998 book, “Bitter Pills: Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs” he describes his wife Diane’s severe adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, floxin (ofloxacin). Diane became bipolar after taking floxin to treat a urinary tract infection. She also suffered from delirium, visual distortions, insomnia and other central nervous system and psychiatric […]
One of the more bothersome feedback loops that keeps adverse drug reactions from being recognized is that patients stay silent about their pain and suffering, and therefore their pain and suffering is not recognized or appreciated, and everyone gets to continue to think that dangerous drugs are safe and that adverse reactions are rare. Seeing […]
Two of the more perplexing features of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity (an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone antibiotic – Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin or Floxin/Ofloxacin) are delayed reactions and tolerance thresholds. Both of these features of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity can be explained by noting that fluoroquinolones have been shown to damage mitochondria and cause oxidative stress, and that delayed […]