fluoroquinolones

The Catastrophic Effects of Polypharmacy and Medical Incompetence

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Polypharmacy and Iatrogenic Injury: More Common Than Recognized

My life should never have taken the catastrophic negative turns that it did. I am well educated, was a minivan driving soccer mom and a devoted wife. I enjoyed a successful career as a pediatric audiologist working in a variety of fast-paced medical settings. I was well liked, a loyal friend to many and an active member of my community. My very vibrant and blessed life was obliterated by a perverse cascade of errors from a broken medical system. This affected my loved one’s lives as profoundly as mine. Had medical providers looked for, and addressed root causes, I’d still be driving that minivan.

It has taken me a long time and immense research to piece together and understand what happened to me. I would like to share my story for whatever understanding can do to ease the pain, and for whatever help it could give to prevent others from experiencing what our family did. First and foremost, however, I want my husband and children to understand the truth of what happened to me.

I did not suddenly develop perverse mental illness out of thin air. I was a victim of repeated misdiagnoses, unrecognized adverse drug reactions/drug toxicity and profound polypharmacy.

This is described in the literature as “medication induced iatrogenic chronic health syndrome, or iatrogenic injury.” It is more common than one would think and it unnecessarily destroys lives.

The First Hit: Toxic Mold Effects Misdiagnosed as Depression

The circumstances which led to my catastrophic outcome are cumulative. It was no one thing, but several hits to my system.

In the late 1990’s, my husband and I were a happy, newly married couple enjoying a carefree dual income lifestyle. We had successful and fulfilling careers, great friends, and loved life; the world was our oyster. Despite all this, however, we both found ourselves incredibly tired all the time and experienced frequent brain fog. My husband also began having recurrent sinus infections. I developed unrelenting headaches, fibromyalgia, dry eyes, vision issues, G.I. disturbance, frequent urination, skin rashes, excessive thirst, irregular menstruation, and disorientation – I was getting lost going to familiar places.

When seeking medical attention for this cluster of symptoms, we were both told we were suffering from mild depression and were prescribed an anti-depressant (SSRI). Neither one of us actually felt “depressed,” though. Yet, we trusted our doctors knew best and so took the anti-depressant medication as prescribed.

It’s absurd that we were given a psychiatric diagnosis given the physiologic symptoms we were experiencing. More unbelievable is that we did not even question the doctor. I would later learn that the constellation of symptoms we had is consistent with toxic mold illness, a subcategory of biotoxin illness known as Chronic Inflammatory Reactive Syndrome (CIRS). I was, in fact, subsequently diagnosed with CIRS.

We unknowingly lived in a home with hidden toxic mold, where up to two feet of water collected in the crawlspace underneath the home seasonally every winter. The root cause of our symptoms which doctors diagnosed as “depression” was completely missed. We did not need antidepressant medication. We needed out of our water damaged home and treatment for mold illness/CIRS. Instead, we got put on an unnecessary neurotoxic medication with serious adverse health risks including the effects “medication spellbinding.”

The Second Hit: IVF Treatments Lupron and Synarel

When we decided to start our family, I experienced infertility. My husband and I utilized in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive our two children. During this process many different pharmaceuticals are prescribed for women. The doctors assured us the medications were all “safe”.

I was given Lupron and Synarel as part of my IVF treatment protocols. Both are antineoplastic agents, meaning they are cancer chemotherapy drugs, used off label for fertility treatment. Like all antineoplastics, they are harmful to both cancerous and non-cancerous cells — particularly to pregnant women and developing fetuses. It’s incredibly scary that it is actually used for conception, isn’t it? They are neurotoxic and can induce systemic damage-CNS, connective tissue, mitochondrial, immune, etc.; damage that unfolds over time.

Equally disturbing is that I was advised to stay on an antidepressant throughout pregnancy for a depressive disorder, it turns out, I never had. When I requested to be tapered off of the SSRI before attempting to achieve pregnancy, I was told that the risk of harm to the baby of a mother with untreated depression was greater than any potential adverse effects of in utero exposure to an anti-depressant medication. Really? This made absolutely no sense to me in my circumstance; the only qualifier for my diagnosis of mild depression was unrelenting fatigue. Yet, the doctor instilled such terror in me that I would be irrevocably harming my child if I did not not stay on an antidepressant during pregnancy, I reluctantly followed his advice. Prenatal exposure to an SSRI can be damaging to a developing brain and nervous system. Both my children were born with severe nervous system dysregulation and have developmental and immunological issues.

Toxic mold exposure and SSRIs can both cause various hormonal issues. My infertility was due to anovulatory cycles likely induced by the antidepressants that were inappropriately prescribed for the toxic mold. I had also been on hormonal birth control for many years prior to our attempts at conception. Suffice it to say, I was not healthy. Despite my compromised health, the fertility doctors added more toxic chemicals to my body to initiate conception.

The Third Hit: Fluoroquinolones

My children were both born via Cesarean section-my daughter due to vasa previa, my son due to failed VBAC, failure to descend. In each instance, IV Cipro (drug class fluoroquinolone) was given prophylactically.

Fluoroquinolones are associated with prolonged (up to months or years), serious, disabling and potentially irreversible drug reactions affecting several, sometimes multiple, systems, organ classes and senses”. Fluoroquinolone toxicity can lead to a subsequent systemic health cascade.

Within a couple days after receiving IV Cipro, I experienced acute onset of significant arm weakness and severe wrist pain, requiring the use of wrist guards for several months. I had difficulty physically caring for my children after their birth because of this. I also experienced photosensitivity, hyperacusis, drenching night sweats, constipation/G.I., hair loss, hyperactivity, brain fog, short term memory issues and fatigue. Additionally, I had irritability, emotional blunting, and personality changes after my son’s C-section. All of these symptoms were much more severe after my son’s delivery and they did not ever resolve completely.

After my son’s birth, I was prescribed multiple consecutive courses of oral Levaquin plus steroids for persistent pneumonia I developed during the second trimester of my pregnancy with him. The concomitant use of steroids with fluoroquinolones exponentially magnifies the damage to the body.

Levaquin and Cipro belong to the class of medication known as fluoroquinolones. They are essentially chemotherapy drugs, that negatively impact the immune system, CNS/ANS/PNS, alter DNA, cause mitochondrial and connective tissue damage as well as severe neuropsychiatric/cognitive issues.

“Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are categorically different from allergic reactions, rather, fluoroquinolone toxicity is a syndrome of multi-symptom, chronic illness that does not go away when administration of the drug has stopped. Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are similar in symptoms and scope to autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, POTS, psychiatric illnesses, neurodegenerative diseases (like ALS and Parkinson’s), and other chronic, multi-symptom, illnesses that involve multiple bodily symptoms. Like many of those diseases, fluoroquinolones adversely affect gut healthmitochondrial healthliver healthneurotransmitter balancemineral homeostasishormones, and more. Fluoroquinolone toxicity is a multi-symptom, chronic, syndrome, that, for many, is incurable.”

Following the fluoroquinolone exposures, my health declined significantly and systemically over the next several years. Extreme fatigue, fibromyalgia, persistent headache, head pressure, G.I. issues, recurrent infections, cognitive issues, muscle wasting and visual disturbances. I also began to develop multiple chemical sensitivities, food sensitivities and electro-hypersensitivity. I have been told by physicians and researchers this is all consistent with fluoroquinolone toxicity which can lead to a progressive health cascade. However, this went unrecognized and, instead I was given large doses of antidepressants which only exacerbated my declining status.

The Fourth Hit: Multiple Viral and Fungal Infections and More Medications

Next, I was diagnosed via lab testing with neurological Lyme disease, bartonella, erichliosis, parasitosis, babesia, CIRS, systemic fungal infections, Epstein Barr and other chronic viral infections (2010). As my health had been decreasing for many years, I was relieved to finally have what doctors thought was the “root,” and I was eager to address it. I was a compliant patient and followed their complex protocols. An utterly insane amount of pharmaceuticals were given over the next six years (listed at the bottom of this post) for treatment, including more rounds of fluoroquinolones (Levaquin, Avelox) and their “second cousins” -Mepron, Malarone, Flagyl. The years of aggressive treatment proved disastrous.

Very well-intentioned doctors missed the pre-existing fluoroquinolone and SSRI toxicity. No regard was taken for the growing burden on organs, most notably the liver and brain. My G.I. system was decimated by dozens of antibiotics. Aggressive “Lyme” treatment involving years of polypharmacy only served to poison me more, further impairing my CNS and immune system. My health status continued to decline.

The Fifth Hit: Sedatives and Anticonvulsants to Quiet the Immune System

After years of Lyme treatment and with medication toxicity already through the roof, the next approach was to add Ativan, a benzodiazepine, and Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant. This was to calm mast cell activation and aide intractable insomnia that had developed. Both were used for off label purposes. Fluoroquinolone exposure can trigger mast cell activation. Toxic mold exposure can also trigger mast cell activation.

I suffered an immediate adverse drug reaction to Gabapentin in February 2015. Within the first day of beginning this medication my handwriting changed. I could not walk straight and began dropping things. I had an obvious and immediate decrease in executive function and short-term memory, along with hyperactivity, twiddling my fingers and other symptoms that I would later learn fall under the umbrella condition called akathisia. According to the Akathisia Alliance for Research and Advocacy:

“[Akathisia] …is an extremely distressing neuropsychiatric syndrome with symptoms including severe agitation, inability to remain still and an overwhelming sense of terror implicated in many suicides and acts of violence. It is a medication side effect.”

I reported all this to my doctor who instructed me to stay on the medication and that my body would “adjust with time”. These were not harmless “side effects” that would fade. This was a serious adverse drug reaction which went unrecognized as such and led to more polypharmacy.

Progressing Neurotoxicity: Let’s Up the Doses of the Contributing Medications

Over the next several months, my cognition and proprioception continued to rapidly decline. Additionally, I experienced the onset of deeply troubling new symptoms – an extreme fear to be alone, intense inner restlessness, confusion, blurry vision, severe headache, hand tremor, worsening insomnia, terror, and derealization/ depersonalization. Repeated changes were made to my Lyme treatment protocol with the assumption that these new symptoms and decline were related to that chronic health condition. The gabapentin and ativan doses were also increased. Changes were made to the SSRI. The adverse drug reaction and increasing toxicity was missed completely and, in fact, additional pharmacy worsened it.

Something was very, very wrong; I just kept declining. In no way did this feel like it was simply an exacerbation of Lyme. By the fall of 2015, things had deteriorated to the point to where I had to stop driving for safety reasons as my vision and motor skills had become too impaired. We had to hire household help and childcare because I had become essentially non-functional. I was acutely aware that my decline was negatively impacting my children and I wanted to make sure there was a capable adult in the home at all times with them. I tried hiding in the bedroom away from their view because my presentation and behavior had become very disturbing…and, I knew it. I would later come to understand that all the new symptoms beginning with the adverse reaction to gabapentin were consistent with medication induced akathisia.

Confirmation: It Was the Medications All Along

In December 2015, after ten months of searching for answers to my abrupt and progressive decline, I finally got confirmation from my doctor and own research that indeed I was experiencing numerous, severe negative medication effects and not solely an exacerbation of Lyme disease.

“In summary, the benzodiazepines can produce a wide variety of abnormal mental responses and hazardous behavioral abnormalities, including rebound anxiety and insomnia, psychosis, paranoia, violence, antisocial acts, depression, and suicide.” Dr Peter Breggin

I also learned that a supervised slow taper off of these psychotropic medications was required for my safety. I was referred by my doctor to a psychiatrist for a guided taper.

I was not “addicted” to the medications, rather my brain had become dependent on them and cessation had to be gradual and monitored.

The psychiatrist advised me to crossover from Ativan to Valium because it has a longer half-life to reduce inter-dose withdrawal effects. Then, once stable on an equivalent dose of Valium, taper slowly off of that. She also wanted to add in other medications to counter the negative side effects of the withdrawal process.

Crossing over to Valium was extremely problematic for me. I experienced an immediate adverse reaction to it with increased agitation and pacing on the very first dose. (It turns out I cannot metabolize Valium properly). Upon reporting this to my physician, she told me just to “go slower” with the process and things would “even out” over time. Despite following her instructions to slow down the crossover, nothing “evened out”. I experienced ever-increasing negative and disturbing symptoms. I now I understand that I suffered multiple drug-to-drug interactions and adverse drug reactions, drug toxicity that went unrecognized for what it was. I had developed medication induced akathisia.

Even So, Let’s Add More Medications

To counter these growing negative effects, the doctors continually changed dosages of existing drugs and added many new ones, all trial and error, with no discernible rationale. This only worsened things, causing even more frightening and violent new symptoms – rapid pacing, twisting dystonia, severe depersonalization, disinhibition, myoclonic jerking, derealization, panic, agitation, aggression, severe insomnia, paranoia, vocal tics including profanity, mono-phobia, agoraphobia, rage, stuttering, disequilibrium, severe confusion, heart palpitations, visual disturbances, air hunger, motor slowing, oppositional behavior and more. My environmental sensitivities also escalated.

The tapering protocol involved adding Valium to cross taper Ativan according to the Ashton Method recommended by my physician. I had a severe adverse drug reaction to Valium which the doctor failed to recognize, escalation of negative symptoms increased. At one point low-dose Seroquel, an antipsychotic, was prescribed to me in an off label use for the extreme insomnia that developed on this cocktail of drugs. Off label use of low dose antipsychotics for insomnia is NOT recommended.

After Seroquel was added, I developed vocal tics, suicidal ideation, extreme terror, delirium, the pacing and other movements increased dramatically. Despite reporting this immediate negative side effect of feeling intense agitation and rage, the doctor denied that a low dose of Seroquel could cause this and told me it must be underlying or emerging psychiatric illness. They continued to add and abruptly remove many other medications.

I lost my sense of human connection and self. I felt completely lobotomized. The collateral damage on my children and husband was and is INHUMANE.

Despite my reporting the immediate negative side effects with the addition of Seroquel, doctors denied that a low dose could cause them and told me it must instead be symptoms of an underlying or emerging psychiatric illness. Really? How do you suddenly develop severe psychiatric illness out of nowhere?

Prior to being put on Ativan and Gabapentin and the subsequent polypharmacy, I had NEVER before experienced suicidal ideation or the other extreme negative behavioral and cognitive changes. I was repeatedly told that my very classic symptoms of akathisia were not akathisia and not related to medications. The Barnes Scale, a standardized tool to assess drug induced akathisia, was never administered.

The very behaviors that were unfolding right before the physicians’ eyes and that I was reporting are known and dangerous medication side effects, included on manufacturers’ warnings. So why then did so many doctors fail to recognize this?

Spinning Out: Let’s Go Cold Turkey. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

My physical/cognitive/mental health continued to spin out of control with the medication merry-go-round. In August 2016, I was admitted to a psychiatric unit from the ER due to severe confusion, pacing akathisia, and dystonia. The uninformed doctor there forced an abrupt discontinuation of the polypharmacy cocktail I had wound up being put on (in the name of “safe” tapering). Cold turkey off of four psychotropic medications overnight. This severely shocked my CNS. Over the next few weeks, I experienced what I felt were seizures, difficulty forming words, severe vertigo, worsening cognitive function, visual disturbances, racing heart, auditory hallucinations etc. Fearing for my life, as I spiraled into mania, psychosis and suicidality from this abrupt cessation, I sought reinstatement of some of the medications six weeks later. I was accused of “drug seeking” for this decision. It’s not that I wanted to be on any of these poisons ever again; I was simply trying not to die.

The partial reinstatement did stabilize me a bit.

Then, only one month later, I was again rapidly tapered off the polypharmacy cocktail at an outpatient facility. Originally, I understood, the program was completed over 15 days. I have since learned from my medical records that my rapid detox was longer and more intense than the prescribed protocol. According to my records, I received 23 days of treatment with the administration of daily six hour infusions of IV NAD+ with B complex and amino acids (December 2016). My dose was significantly greater than the maximum standard dose of 250 mg, provided at too fast a drip rate and over a treatment course that was many times longer than is typical. I also learned that it was done without proper methylation support.

From what I have learned, this treatment is purported to protect the brain and ease medication withdrawal syndrome. However, this was not at all what happened for me. I had a severe negative response to it, utterly catastrophic, inducing permanent profound physical disability. During the IV administration, I experienced extreme brain burning, increased heart rate/blood pressure, auditory hallucinations, seizures, extreme agitation, terror, tremors, fever, hypomania, worsened akathisia with pacing, violent dystonia, hand clawing, delirium, jerking and twitching, homicidal and suicidal ideation. Most horrifically, the severe adverse reaction caused an impulsive akathisia induced suicide attempt.

With pre-existing mitochondrial issues, a suspected underlying connective tissue disorder and years of cumulative toxicity (medication and environmental), it has been suggested by physicians and researchers that NAD+ would increase the cytotoxic effects through reactive oxygenation species. This seems to have accelerated my mitochondrial dysfunction leading to catastrophic connective tissue damage and a progressive musculoskeletal collapse.

There is a genetic/epigenetic researcher, Bob Miller, whose work focuses on Lyme patients and others with complex chronic diseases. He discusses NAD+ in an interview where he mentions that while for some it can be a miraculous molecule, improving many things metabolically, for others it can have serious adverse effects. He believes this could be caused by something he coins the “NADPH-steal”, where NADPH starts acting like a free radical due to other compromised enzymes stealing away the NADPH (excess of sulfites, glutamate, histamine, things like that). With the compromised methylation and Kreb’s cycle that I have, treating all those things prior would be necessary to not to overload the system and cause serious damage. No provider recognized this serious contraindication with their recommendation of NAD+.  In fact, they blindly touted the opposite claiming it to be neuroprotective for all. An interview with Bob Miller’s latest research and perspective can be seen here and here. Another researcher, who specializes in drug neurotoxicity, confirmed the negative effects of NAD+.

The Results of Polypharmacy and Failed Treatments

I have experienced profound progressive connective tissue destruction since the IV NAD+. At the age of only 54, I am now non-ambulatory, bed-bound requiring full physical care in an assisted living facility. This has left me unable to bathe or dress myself. I have difficulty feeding and swallowing. I have very limited use of my hands; my manual dexterity is poor. I have profound autonomic nervous system dysfunction and cannot tolerate even supported sitting. It feels as though my entire spine has collapsed, bone on bone-discs and other supportive connective tissue severely compromised. My tendons and ligaments feel too lax systemically throughout my body, head to toe-my feet now literally curl and bend in ways that they should not. My upper palate has fallen and my lower jaw swings so much so that it often feels like I’m being choked. Speech articulation is difficult because of the laxity in my oral cavity. Systemic collagen and cartilage loss. My internal organs don’t feel supported and I’m experiencing prolapse.  I am right side lying 24/7, propped up at an angle and need assistance repositioning my body. Toileting is difficult. My vascular and lymphatic system have been severely affected. I have full body tissue swelling, like an exploded baby diaper.

It feels as if the structural integrity of my connective tissues, the glue that holds *everything* together, is gone…like chewing gum on hot pavement or stretched out pantyhose. I quite literally feel as if I’m melting from the inside out. Additionally, I have constant severe acid burning sensation throughout my body and deep bone pain, head pressure, central vision and auditory processing issues.

And Yet They Insist It Was All In My Head

It has been a grueling 35 months since that IV NAD and rapid taper of toxic medications. During this time period, my mental and cognitive state has steadily and dramatically improved. I no longer have any psychiatric symptoms and my personality has fully returned. I am once again gentle, kind, funny thoughtful and empathetic. Doctors kept insisting that the extreme cognitive and behavioral changes I experienced, beginning with that original adverse reaction to Gabapentin, was an emerging, intrinsic psychiatric illness. It most definitely was not. Rather, it was severe psychogenic effects of drug toxicity that they failed to recognize as such.

They wanted me to continue on various psychotropic medications and strongly recommended I seek treatment in a long-term inpatient psychiatric facility for the severe mental illness they thought I had. If they had been correct in their assessment, I would not have experienced the dramatic return to a healthy mental and cognitive state that I have despite declining their medication/treatment.

I NEVER had emerging severe psychiatric illness that the doctors said I had. Rather, the perverse neuropsychiatric manifestations were actually CAUSED by repeated misdiagnosis and careless polypharmacy. The medications caused these problems.

Misinformed doctors told my family I became perversely mentally ill versus I suffered extreme adverse drug reactions and toxicity. Because of their ignorance, my family believes I abruptly lost my mind at the age of fifty. When I rejected the false diagnoses of emergent psychiatric illness and refused further treatment (i.e., re-starting psychotropic medication), I was labeled non-compliant. This caused my family to believe I didn’t care enough about them to seek “treatment”. In fact, it is because I love them so deeply that I refused treatment. I knew my decision would appear non-compliant, but had I gone back on the poisons that induced this catastrophe in the first palace, I would not have regained my mental and cognitive health. I may have lost my life.

Without an authentic understanding of what happened to me, how are my children supposed to process this trauma? I absolutely did not just lose my mind one day. I was successively and cumulatively poisoned.

In today’s modern world, physicians are grossly misinformed regarding the very real dangers of pharmaceuticals, especially the grave dangers of polypharmacy and adverse drug reactions. Our medical system does not look for root cause. The healthcare system is dangerously broken. Patients are dismissed and gas-lighted when reporting negative side effects and misdiagnosed with psychiatric illnesses instead of recognizing medication toxicity.

I was systematically poisoned into oblivion by modern medicine and labeled with perverse psychiatric illness that did not exist prior. My children deserve to know the truth of what happened. This absolutely never should have happened to me, to my husband, nor to my children.

Over the last 6-12 months, I have had multiple objective tests completed that verified my cognitive, psychological and physical status. As a result, four separate doctors concluded that my past decline was due medical error and polypharmacy. While this is validating, it does not change the fact that my family is now gone and I am left permanently physically disabled due to a fatally flawed medical system and its love affair with prescription drugs.

What They Prescribed

These are most of the medications I was prescribed for the complex umbrella of Lyme disease, co-infections, CIRS, etc. with no regard for toxicity to the liver, brain or organs. Many of these were extended courses, long-term, and given concurrently. Looking back, I cannot believe that I survived. This is what medical polypharmacy looks like. It is not one or two drugs, it is dozens.

  • Macrobid (nitrofurantoin)
  • Ceftin (cefuroxime)
  • Cephalexin
  • Moxatag (amoxicillin)
  • Cefdinir
  • Minocylcline
  • Doryx (doxycycline)
  • Cedax (ceftibuten)
  • Tindamax (tindazole)
  • Minocycline
  • Clindamycin
  • Biaxin (clarithromycin)
  • Rifampin (rifampicin)
  • Augmentin (amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium)
  • Deplin/Duleek-DP (l-methylfolate)
  • Fluconazole
  • Ketoconazole
  • Itraconazole
  • Voriconazole
  • Rocephin (ceftriaxone ) – IV via Hickman catheter
  • Azithromycin – IV via Hickman catheter
  • Mepron(atovaquone)
  • Alinia (nitazoxanide)
  • Malarone (atovaquone/proguanil)
  • Biltricide (praziquantel)
  • Nystatin
  • Bicillian (penicillin G benzathine) – IM injection
  • Albendazole
  • Mebendazole
  • Stromectol (ivermectin)
  • Bactrim/Septra (sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim)
  • Vancomycin – IV peripheral
  • Cortef (hydrocortisone)
  • Testosterone/progesterone (BHRT)
  • NAD/B complex – IV
  • Meyers cocktails – IV
  • Glutathione – IV
  • Phosphatidylcholine – IV
  • Cholestyramine (CSM)
  • Ketotifen
  • Hydroxyzine
  • Vitamin B12 – Subcutaneous Injection
  • Low-dose naltrexone (LDN)
  • Cipro (ciprofloxacin) – IV
  • Levaquin (levofloxacin) – Repeated and extended courses
  • Avelox (moxifloxacin) – Repeated and extended courses
  • Valtrex (valaciclovir)
  • Medrol (methylprednisolone) – Given concurrently with fluoroquinolones
  • Symbicort (budesonide/formoterol)
  • Synarel (nafarelin acetate)
  • Lupron (leuprorelin)
  • Vioxx (rofecoxib)
  • VSL-3 (bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, and streptococcus probiotics)
  • Singulair (montelukast)
  • ProAir (albuterol)
  • Xopenex (levalbuterol)
  • DuoNeb (ipratropium/albuterol)
  • Alvesco (ciclesonide)
  • Prednisone
  • Promethazine/codeine
  • Chloestyramine
  • Probalan (probenecid)
  • Ursodiol – Given because of rocephin
  • Ferrous gluconate (iron)
  • Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium)
  • Xyzal (levocetirizine)
  • Allegra (fexofenadine)

…And HUNDREDS of oral herbal medicines and supplements

The cascade into unnecessary and catastrophic psychotropic polypharmacy:

  • Celexa (citalopram)
  • Lexapro (escitalopram)
  • Zoloft (sertraline)
  • Remeron (mirtazapine)
  • Buspar (buspirone)
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Ativan (lorazepam)
  • Valium (diazepam)
  • Clonazepam
  • Antipsychotics
  • Seroquel (quetiapine)
  • Risperidone
  • Zyprexa (olanzapine)
  • Antihistamines
  • Benadryl (diphenhydramine)
  • Hydroxyzine
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Gabapentin
  • Lyrica (pregabalin)
  • Baclofen

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Endometriosis, Lupron, and Fluoroquinolones: A Recipe for Autonomic Disintegration

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I am sharing my health story in the hopes that someone can offer assistance. I had stage 4 endometriosis for years before it was diagnosed. On top of that, I have had reactions in antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones and was given Lupron. Each drug destroyed more of my health. I am currently bedridden, in pain and unable to function. I have lost hearing in my right ear, have Sjögren’s syndrome, Hashimoto’s, adrenal insufficiency, hypokalemia, electrolyte imbalances, IBS, MCS, Ocular migraines and recently, have been diagnosed with dysautonomia. My body feels like it is disintegrating. We believe that everything is related, that I have mitochondrial issues at the root of these illnesses, but to date, no one has been able to put the pieces together. With the help of my husband, I have put together my health history. We are looking for input.

Early Warning Signs

1985: late summer, I was hit by car while riding bicycle. I was banged up really bad and definitely had head injury.

1998: started feeling off, not sure yet at this point still very young

2001: birth of my first daughter. I developed severe preeclampsia and had an emergency C-section three days later. My daughter was 6 weeks early and spent two weeks in the intensive care unit.

2002-2003: I felt off at times and did go to GP on several occasions. I had pain shot to my back. I am not sure what it was but it took the pain away. I also kept saying just didn’t feel well. I felt off but nothing was found.

2005: the birth of our son and second C-section. I was on bed rest last three months of the pregnancy. I was given an antibiotic for some reason. I do not remember. I had a reaction to it and turned orange. The doctor gave me something else to counter the effects of the antibiotic and my color returned to normal. It was a normal birth.

2006-2007: I was still in pain. The pain moved to the abdominal area. I developed bowel issues, had and ovarian cyst. I saw gastrointestinal physician who did scans and found a thickening of the lining of uterus. He referred us back to the gynecologist who did D&C in 2007 and said I had very minuscule amount of endometriosis.

2008- 2009: still seeing OB for pelvic pain, also seeing multiple other doctors including a neurologist, internist, and surgeon. Everyone kept saying same thing: ‘Your fine. It’s in your head.” They wanted to put me on mood enhancers. I tried lorazepam and felt terrible on it, so I stopped after two weeks.

The Lupron Disaster

September 2009: I started doing Lupron injections from gynecologist. She was very forceful with me and stated “if you don’t do these injections I can’t help you.” She said it was the only way they could know if the pain was below the belly or above. I agreed reluctantly, but at that time still thought my doctors had their best interests in me. After the first injection, my doctor called at home on a Saturday to see how I was feeling. I responded I was already in pain, but it has now quadrupled and I feel like an old person. Every bone in my body hurt.  I couldn’t believe the amount of pain I was in. She said I had to get all 6 injections if it were to be able to help me.

At that time, my husband because of work only went to a few of my appointments. I soon began to have him go with me because I felt I was getting the run around.

Hearing Loss Post-Lupron: Let’s Add Fluoroquinolones and Steroids to the Mix

2010: the last injection was in February. I began to lose my hair. I had memory loss, stabbing and taser sensations in head. I was still getting pains in abdomen area. In September, I went in for ear pain. The ENT said it looked like a scratch, so he gave me fluoroquinolone drops. I had also taken other fluoroquinolone antibiotics for yeast infections earlier in the year. In October, I had sudden sensorineural hearing loss in the right ear. Within an hour, I called my husband told him my hearing was acting weird. I went totally deaf in my right ear, 8 months after my last injection of Lupron. My local ENT immediately gave me a shot of cortisone (I was able to still walk and drive). It all went crazy when my ENT put me on a large dose of oral prednisone for 14 days. Everything in my body went nuts. I was rolling out of bed, holding on to the walls to help me walk. I totally lost my balance. The oral prednisone really did a number on my head.  I had done genetic testing through 23andMe and our doctor upload the report to a reader called Opus23. It said that I should never take prednisone.

I went to Stanford Medical and saw top ENT and received three cortisone injections into the right ear drum. Had a 50/50 chance for recovery and for me it didn’t work. I left Stanford with them telling me they still don’t have all the answers yet when it comes to sudden hearing loss. They thought it was some sort of viral infection that attacked the ear drum and deafened the ear. After the hearing loss. I had three ER visits. This is when I first started having low potassium. I felt like I was about to pass out. I was still driving at this time, I didn’t know what to think.

2011 -2012: I began seeing a naturopathic physician. I also did a trip down to LA to the House Ear clinic to see some specialist regarding her hearing loss. They couldn’t help either. I left my current OB and started seeing the physician who was filling in. I ended up doing a partial hysterectomy with her after finding a growth at one of my numerous ER visits that year. I was still working and a full-time mommy, while dealing with massive pain in my lower abdomen and now starting to deal with multiple autoimmune diseases including: Sjögren’s syndrome, Hashimoto’s, adrenal insufficiency. In addition, a lot of my minerals and vitamins were off at that time. I suspect this was beginning of my dysautonomia. I also began seeing an endometriosis specialist at Stanford.

Was it Endometriosis All Along?

2013: On January 31st, I had laparoscopic surgery to clear the endometriosis. I had stage 4 endometriosis which took my appendix. The physician said my body was littered with endometriosis. He even checked up in my heart cavity to make sure no endometriosis had made its way up to the heart. Before the surgery, I was talking with the anesthesiologist and telling him about my hearing loss and my low potassium. That is when he stopped the surgery and I had to take a stress test. We left and went to Palo Alto heart center and did a stress test I fasted for 24 hours and then they had me go do a stress test on a treadmill on an empty stomach. I did it no problem and went back to the surgery center. That is when they did the laparoscopic surgery and found stage 4 endometriosis.

Also, I want to point out that we didn’t find out until much later that during the course of the endometriosis surgery, they had left surgical clips and suturing material in me. We discovered this at one of our many ER visits. The OR report from our doctor says nothing about these things being left inside of me. I believe this is an additional pain I have on top of the other complications in my abdomen area. Nothing like having a wad of surgical clips throughout my abdomen and suturing material left inside my already struggling body. We are trying to get these removed, but no surgeon will take my case.

Mitochondrial Damage and Autonomic Disintegration

April that year, I had another ER visit. I lost all bodily functions. My potassium was severely low. I would go to the ER in 2013 many more times.

2014: I had to stop working totally this year. I tried to come back and assist a friend of mine just being her loan officer assistant but the neurological pains and crazy foggy brain I was experiencing was just too much. Something that was so easy for me years earlier, I was now having trouble just doing basic loan officer task at this point. Strange neurological pains were becoming a normal. I stopped driving this year also. It was just getting to scary for me to continue. I continued to go to ER for multiple visits

2014- 2017: I went to the ER over 50 times for various reasons: heart pains, chest pains, shooting stabbing pains throughout my entire body. I almost always had low potassium. Over these years, we spent our life savings and pulled out a $100,000 from my husband’s 401k, which we spent on various treatment plans. We have traveled as far away to Philadelphia looking for answers. We even gutted our house when we were told at one time it must be mold that is killing me. We lived in a borrowed 5th wheel while my husband put our house back together. There have been numerous days where I felt I couldn’t go on one more minute. I felt like death was right around the corner.

In 2015 one of our doctors after reading my genetic report thought he found a breakthrough with a patient that had hypokalemia and Sjogren’s syndrome. He provided me a copy of the study they did on a girl with very similar symptoms to mine. He had our local compounding pharmacy mix a solution called Shohl’s. I took the solution after my doctor assured me I would be ok. Well, I tried it almost within in minutes I was convulsing and went into tachycardia. My husband called 911 ambulance took me to the ER. In route to hospital paramedic gave me nitroglycerin. I was monitored for several hours and eventually went home. During this time had been staying at my mother-in-law’s house for about 6 months because we weren’t sure at this point if something in our house was making me so sick. This was a very stressful time for me at this point we have no idea what’s going on and what’s causing this.

We did have some relief in 2017 when our local naturopathic doctor was able to get a new treatment called UBL or ultraviolet blood irradiation. I had about 6 months where I was feeling off, but having somewhat good days where I could semi-function. My viral count has been very high during these years, EBV, CMV, HHV6, etc., and possibly Lyme. If I push myself, I will crash for hours sometimes days until I start to get any strength back just to walk to the restroom.

Next, I went in for a completely different treatment called prolotherapy. I got one injection into my shoulder, and just like that my body reverted back to like I was before the UBL treatments. I was worse again. It was very strange my body reacted like that.

2016: I was diagnosed with dysautonomia by another specialist, an electrophysiologist cardiologist. I have several of the sub symptoms of dysautonomia including: postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS), dizziness, vertigo, fainting, fast, slow or irregular heartbeat, chest pain, low blood pressure, problems with gastrointestinal system, nausea, disturbances in visual field, weakness, breathing difficulties, mood swings, anxiety, fatigue and intolerance to exercise, migraines, disrupted sleep patterns, temperature regulation problems, concentration and memory problem, poor appetite and overactive sense, especially when exposed to noise and light. We also met with a dozen or so other specialists. None were able to help.

I have multiple tears in both hips worse on right side. Multiple torn areas in the pelvic floor also.  Surgery is out of pocket and we have not been able to fly back and have surgery to repair those tears and hips yet as of 2019.

2018- 2019: I went to the ER only three times in 2018 and so far only three times in 2019. We try not to go because we know they never find much. I only go to be reassured that my vitals are still strong when I’m feeling at my worst. I have been denied disability. I had a neurocardiogenic seizure in the courtroom with judge and she still denied me. I have one last appeal that I am waiting on. I am not very hopeful that will go through. At this point, the dysautonomia, fibromyalgia/ chronic neurological pain and the low potassium are what are the hardest things for me to deal with. As of right now, we are concentrating on rebuilding my mitochondrial cells in hoping I can reverse some or most of the damage I think was a direct cause from the Lupron injections.

I was also on bio-identical progesterone creme from around 2012 to 2018. Then, in middle of 2018, my ND wanted me to try the bio-identical that went off the lunar moon cycle. It was a separate estrogen and progesterone creme in a plastic push-up type applicator. She said she was looking into it and thought it might help. Well, I tried it and had terrible side effects, I think most likely from the adding in the estrogen. After second month, I was having terrible stomach pains. I looked four months pregnant and was begging my husband to take me to the ER. The pain was worst at the part of the cycle where I took the estrogen only. I felt like she was going to die. In the past, I was always high in estrogen. I am not sure, but as soon as I introduced in that estrogen, it threw me out of whack terribly. I stopped that in November of 2018.

This is where I am now: in pain, unable to work or care for my children. My husband is my full-time caregiver. He takes care of our kids, shops cooks, does everything I used to do plus works his full-time job. I couldn’t do this without him. The doctors have run out answers. I believe it was the endometriosis all along, made infinitely worse by Lupron and the various rounds of antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones. The only way I can maintain my potassium levels is through huge daily doses. Otherwise, I slide into hypokalemia. We have a standing order at our local hospital to measure my potassium whenever I suspect it is low. We have sought treatment from dozens of specialists and spent our entire life savings and I am no better than I was 10 years ago. In fact, I am worse. Over the last 8 years, we have been supplementing with vitamins and minerals to try and repair the damage done to my mitochondria by the Lupron and the fluoroquinolones. Some things help and others do not. We are at wits end and do not know where to turn for help. Below is a list of supplements that I currently take.

Supplement List

Upon waking:

  • 600mg potassium,
  • 1 1/4 grain Naturethroid

Breakfast:

  • 3 200mg potassium. Daily total 1200mg
  • 1 Chewable Hydroxo B-12
  • 1 COQ10 100MG
  • 1 Biotin 10,000mcg chewable
  • 1 Chromium picolinate 200mcg chewable
  • 1 Desiccated adrenal from Standard process
  • 1 magnesium malate 100mg
  • 1 Thiamin 50mg
  • 1 Mitocore – it is like a multiple vitamin
  • 5 grams vitamin C, mixed with juice, plus I add Lugol’s iodine, colloidal silver, lymph drain and trace mineral mix.

Mid-morning:

  • 3 200mg potassium again – daily total 1800mg
  • B12 shot, a 100iu syringe

Lunch:

  • 3 200mg potassium, daily total 2400mg
  • 1 vitamin A 10.000iu
  • 1 vitamin K 90mcg
  • 1 Lugol’s iodine plus
  • 1 nettle leaf cap 400mg
  • 1 Monolaurin 600mg
  • 2 L-lysine 1000mg
  • 1 thiamin 50mg
  • 1 magnesium malate 100mg
  • 1 more Hydroxo B12

Diner:

  • 3 200mg potassium, daily total 3000mg
  • 1 thiamin 50mg
  • 1 milk thistle 150mg
  • 2 L-lysine 1000mg
  • 1 DHEA 25mg
  • 1 magnolia bark 450mg
  • 1 Digestive enzymes
  • 1 Dr. Berg Hair formula.
  • 1 L-carnitine 250mg

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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Posted originally on Aug 20, 2019.

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Recovering From Medically Induced Chronic Illness

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Unexplained or Medically Induced Chronic Illness?

“Unexplained.”  That’s what doctors say about chronic illness. Conventional medicine says, ‘learn to live with it.’ Rather than offer a true treatment or cure for these debilitating conditions, they suppress the immune system and offer more drugs for depression and anxiety – none of which are effective. I’m here to tell you that common wisdom is wrong. I know, because my own lucky story proves we can heal from chronic illness. Pharmaceutical insults created my disabling illnesses  – Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, estrogen dominance, adrenal fatigue, POTS, Graves’ Disease, Hashimoto’s, Bell’s Palsy, infertility and more. I share my journey to offer hope. The doctors were wrong. I have recovered and am once again, healthy.

Early Clues and Pharmaceutical Insults

My childhood had some clues – things I now know predict chronic illness. My lymph glands swelled when I was otherwise healthy. Mosquito bites turned into angry 3” welts. Childhood bunions and hyper-mobile joints suggested leaky gut. All these issues correlate with chronic illness and, seen in hindsight, hint at the difficulties that awaited me in adulthood.

My immune system may have been awry from the start, but pharmaceuticals tipped the scale toward chronic illness. As a teen, I took birth control pills for heavy periods and cramps. When vague symptoms appeared in my early twenties, I asked about pill side effects. The gynecologist laughed at the idea, but I trusted my gut and finally stopped the pill. I felt better in some ways but developed new symptoms.  Sleep became difficult. I was hypersensitive to noise and light and struggled with unquenchable thirst.  The doctor suggested my extreme thirst stemmed from hot weather and salty foods. This explanation didn’t add up to me, but I was young and so was the internet. I had no resources to connect the dots. Today, I recognize that 10 years of hormonal birth control created nutrient deficiencies (folic acid, vitamins B2, B6, B12, C, and E, along with magnesium, selenium and zinc) while also raising my risk for future autoimmune disease.

Recurrent UTIs, Fluoroquinolones, and New Onset Graves’ Disease

A few years later, recurrent urinary tract infections led to many doses of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic, Cipro. Cipro now carries a black box warning and is known to induce mitochondrial damage. My mid twenties also brought pre and post-menstrual spotting and bleeding for 10 days each month. Doctors did nothing for my hormonal imbalance but diagnosed Graves’ disease (hyperthyroidism). Everything about me sped up. Food went right through my system. I was moody. My mind was manic at times. I was unable to rest and yet physically exhausted from a constantly racing heart.

The doctor said Graves’ disease was easy – just destroy the thyroid and take hormone replacement pills for the rest of my life. I didn’t have a medical degree, but this treatment (RAI, radiation to kill the thyroid) just didn’t make sense. Graves’ disease is not thyroid disease. It is autoimmune dysfunction, where antibodies overstimulate a helpless thyroid.

As I studied my options, I learned that RAI could exacerbate autoimmune illness and many patients feel worse after treatment. It was surprising to find that the US was the only Western country to recommend RAI for women of childbearing age. Armed with this knowledge, I declined RAI and opted for medication. The endocrinologist mocked my decision. I was in my 20s and standing up to him was hard, but it marked a turning point and spurred me to take responsibility for my own health, rather than blindly trusting doctors. Recent reports suggest RAI treatment increases future cancer risks. My Graves’ disease eventually stabilized on medication, although I never felt really well. I pushed for answers for my continued illness, but doctors refused to test my sex or adrenal hormones.

IVF and More Damage to My Health

Things turned south again when I was unable to conceive. The supposed best fertility clinic in Washington, DC could not find a cause for my infertility. I’ll save that story for another day, but the short version involved a few years of torment and four failed IVF attempts. The fertility drugs and the stress worsened my overall health considerably.

Our last try at pregnancy was with a specialist who practiced functional medicine. Labs and charting uncovered a clear progesterone imbalance, and also explained my spotting. This simple diagnosis was completely missed by the conventional fertility clinic. A brief trial of progesterone cream resulted in two naturally conceived, healthy pregnancies. Isn’t it remarkable that several years and over $100,000 failed to produce a baby with IVF and $20 of progesterone cream on my wrist did the trick? This could be a cautionary tale about profit motive in modern medicine, but that, too, is a topic for another day.

Years of Conventional Medicine: Thyroid Damage, Autonomic Dysfunction, and Profound Fatigue

I weaned off thyroid medications and felt fairly well after my babies, but my system took a big hit when life brought an international relocation. The move was intensely stressful and my health sunk after we landed half a world away. I had no energy, gained weight, and lived in a fog. The tropical heat and humidity of Southeast Asia felt like a personalized form of torture.

Perhaps the stress of our move left me vulnerable to the reappearance of autoimmune and adrenal dysfunction, as my next diagnosis was Hashimoto’s Disease and adrenal fatigue. Doctors ordered functional medicine tests (hair, organic acids, stool, saliva cortisol and hormones) that identified nutrient imbalances, but their treatment ideas fell short. Despite replacement hormones and supplements by the handful, I remained very sick, with profound exhaustion, brain fog, sleep disruption, pain, and terribly imbalanced sex hormones.

Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

If setbacks have a bright side, it is in the drive to get better. I started studying when my doctors ran out of ideas to treat my illness. Fibromyalgia was the best description of my pain, but I knew conventional medicine offered no help for this condition. I dug into the topic and found the work of Dr. John C. Lowe, who used T3 thyroid hormone for fibromyalgia, and Paul Robinson, creator of CT3M, the circadian method for using T3. CT3M and high daily dose of progesterone cream improved my quality of life in the short term. Near daily bleeding eventually regulated back into a normal cycle and my adrenal function improved greatly.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) was the next bump, bringing a very high heart rate, very low blood pressure, heat intolerance, and extreme sweating on the lightest activity. By this time, I didn’t even ask the doctor for help. My research pointed to salt and potassium, and so I drank the adrenal cocktail and salt water daily. POTS symptoms vanished quickly with this easy strategy, as did the nocturnal polyuria that plagued me for many years.

I steadied after this time. I was not well but functional, despite some major life stressors, including another international move and a child’s health crisis. Even though I managed the daily basics, things like house guests, travel, or anything physically taxing required several days to a week of recuperation.

The Next Step: Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies

The next step in my recovery came thanks to a B12 protocol that includes co-factor nutrients, developed by Dr. Gregory Russell-Jones. Addressing the deficiencies connected to B12 helped and things progressed well until I had a disastrous reaction after eating mussels, which I hoped would raise iron levels. I vomited for hours and stayed in bed for days. I kept up the B12 protocol, but just couldn’t recover. Largely bedridden, and napping 4 hours at a stretch, I got up in the evening only to drive to a restaurant dinner, too exhausted to prepare food or deal with dishes.

Debilitating exhaustion lasted for a month, and then two, with no relief. It was an awful time, but hitting rock bottom proved a blessing in disguise, as desperation turned me back to research. Slowly, I pushed through brain fog and started to review studies on chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. This led me to a promising Italian study using thiamine for these conditions.

Studying thiamine, it seemed plausible that the allergic reaction to mussels drained my B1 reserves, making it impossible to recover. Inspired by the research, I started on plain B1 at very high doses. To my surprise, I felt better right away. The first dose boosted my energy and mental clarity.

I continued to learn about B1’s benefits, thanks to this website and the text by Drs. Marrs and Lonsdale.  Two weeks went by and thiamine HCL seemed less effective, so I switched to lipothiamine and allithiamine, the forms recommended in Thiamine Deficiency Disease, Dysautonomia, and High Calorie Malnutrition. WOW. What a difference! Virtually overnight, my gears began to turn, and I felt better with each new day. In a single month, I went from bedridden to functioning well 2 out of every 3 days. I had ideas, I had energy, and I could DO things. The setback days were mild and disappeared entirely after 2 months on thiamine.

At the 2 month mark, I had to travel for a family emergency. My pre-thiamine self would have needed at least a week of rest following this kind of trip, and I expected pain and fatigue as I stepped off the plane. But to my great surprise, I felt well! I remember walking through the airport late that evening and thinking it felt amazing to stretch my legs. Maybe that sounds like an ordinary feeling, but years of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia conditioned my body to stop, to sit, whenever possible. It was entirely novel to FEEL GOOD while moving! The next day came and I did not collapse, I did not require days to recover and was able to carry on like a normal person. It was a remarkable change in an unbelievably short time.

Recovery From Conventional Medicine’s Ills Came Down to Thiamine

Getting better feels miraculous, but it’s not. The real credit for my recovery goes to experts like Dr. Marrs and Dr. Lonsdale who spread the word about thiamine. Despite years of illness and dead ends, I believed I could heal and I kept trying. Tenacity eventually paid off when posts on this site helped connect the dots between my symptoms and thiamine deficiency. More than anything, my recovery is a story of tremendous luck, as I finally landed upon the single nutrient my body needed most.

The difference between my “before thiamine” and “after thiamine” self is beyond what I can describe.  Birth control, Cipro, and Lupron created nutrient imbalances and damaged my mitochondria, leading to multiple forms of chronic illness in the years between my 20s and 40s. Replacing thiamine made recovery possible by providing the fuel my damaged cells so badly needed. At this writing, I am 7 months into high dose thiamine and continue to improve. I have not experienced any form of setback, regardless the stressors. My energy feels close to normal, the pain is resolving, and brain fog is a thing of the past. My sense of humor, creativity and mental functioning are all on the upswing. I owe thanks to the real scientists who dare to challenge wrong-headed ideas of conventional medicine, and who provide hope for these so-called hopeless conditions. My wish is that this story will do the same for someone else.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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Can Antibiotics Induce Psychiatric Reactions?

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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 issues after taking floxin, an antibiotic. This drug is in the same class and has the same mechanism of action as cipro/ciprofloxacin, levaquin/levofloxacin and avelox/moxifloxacin; together they are some of the most popular antibiotics in the United States (26.9 million prescriptions for fluoroquinolones were written in 2011 alone).

Diane was not bipolar before she took floxin. She was bipolar after she took it. Floxin CAUSED Diane to become bipolar.

What??? How does that happen? That’s not possible, is it? It can’t be possible. Antibiotics can’t lead to serious psychiatric illness, can they?

Not all antibiotics can, but fluoroquinolones most definitely can, and do, cause many central nervous system and  psychiatric problems, including, but not limited to: seizures, dizziness, confusion, tremors, hallucinations, depression, psychosis, suicidal ideation or thoughts, insomnia, memory loss, loss of reading comprehension, inability to concentrate, bipolar disorder, extreme anxiety, and more. Every one of the neuro-psychiatric symptoms listed has been reported as a long-lasting adverse effect of fluoroquinolones in many of those suffering from fluoroquinolone toxicity. A couple of recent studies reveal how fluoroquinolones can lead to long-lasting psychiatric illnesses.

Mitochondrial Damage, Oxidative Stress and Lipid Peroxidation in Bipolar Disorder

In “Lipid Peroxidation in Psychiatric Illness: Overview of Clinical Evidence” it is noted that, “While its underlying pathophysiology remains multifaceted and elusive, recent data have indicated that mitochondrial dysfunction and aberration in oxidation status are important components of bipolar disorder.” It is noted that indicators of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, such as thiobarbituric acid, malondialdehyde, and carbonylation and nitration of cells have been found in the brains of people with bipolar disorder. Additionally, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and lipid peroxidation levels are abnormal in patients with bipolar disorder. The cellular processes that regulate oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation are not working properly in people suffering from bipolar disorder. “The brain is known to be sensitive to oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation” and when oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation are occurring at unhealthy levels in the brain, serious psychiatric diseases can result. (Schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are noted, in addition to bipolar disorder. Each of these psychiatric illnesses are related to oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.)

Mitochondrial Damage, Oxidative Stress and Lipid Peroxidation caused by Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics

In a 2011 article entitled “Oxidative Stress Induced by Fluoroquinolones on Treatment for Complicated Urinary Tract Infections in Indian Patients” it is noted that, “There is significant and gradual elevation of lipid peroxide levels in patients on ciprofloxacin (3.6 ± 0.34 nmol/ml to 6.2 ± 0.94 nmol/ml) and levofloxacin (3.5 ± 0.84 nmol/ml to 5.1 ± 0.28 nmol/ml).” Additionally, it was found that “There was substantial depletion in both SOD (superoxide dismutase) and glutathione levels particularly with ciprofloxacin.” As lipid peroxide levels increase, and SOD and glutathione levels decrease, reactive oxygen species (ROS) – which cause oxidative stress – build up and cause hugely deleterious effects on all areas of human health – including, but not limited to, mental health.

In “Bactericidal Antibiotics Induce Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Oxidative Damage in Mammalian Cells” it is noted that ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone, as well as a couple other bactericidal antibiotics (but not bacteriostatic antibiotics like tetracyclines), “induced dose and time-dependent increases in intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) in various human cell lines.”

The Vicious Cycle of Mitochondrial Damage and Oxidative Stress

When mitochondria are damaged past their tolerance threshold, an over-abundance of ROS/cellular oxidative stress is produced and the “vicious cycle” of mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress is initiated. Mitochondrial damage causes oxidative stress, oxidative stress further damages mitochondria, damaged mitochondria produce more oxidative stress which further damages mitochondria – and so on, and so on. Therefore, diseases that are related to mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress are chronic in nature, and when a pharmaceutical causes mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, the effects of the pharmaceutical are not transient or stopped when administration of the drug has stopped. They can be long-lasting – sometimes permanent.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics have been shown to damage mitochondria and lead to both an increase in lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress and a decrease in antioxidants that mitigate oxidative stress. The brain is sensitive to mitochondrial damage, oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Bipolar disorders, and other severe psychiatric illnesses, are linked to mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress.

THAT is how Floxin caused Diane to get lost in her closet and receive a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

She was not bipolar before she took Floxin. She was after she took Floxin. Floxin caused mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, which led to deleterious effects on her brain and psychiatric illness.

Recognizing the Connection between Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics and Psychiatric Illness

Of course, not everyone who takes a fluoroquinolone antibiotic ends up with a psychiatric illness. But many people do and very few of them have any clue that their mental health problems (including anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc. as well as more severe psychiatric illnesses) are connected with the prescription antibiotic that they took to treat a simple urinary tract or sinus infection. The delayed reactions and tolerance thresholds that come along with pharmaceutical induced mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress make the connection between the cause – cipro, levaquin, avelox and/or floxin, and the effect – mental illness, difficult.

Psychiatric Illness Paradigms Need to be Adjusted

In addition to fluoroquinolones, statins, metformin, acetaminophen and all psychotropic drugs have been shown to cause mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, which has been linked to many psychiatric illnesses. Rather than looking at how pharmaceuticals affect mitochondria and/or oxidative stress, or how any of those things affect the brain, psychiatrists have been stuck on outdated notions of psychiatric illness. “Although different psychiatric disorders are currently thought to stem from unique abnormalities in neuronal biochemistry, circuitry, and/or brain architecture, emerging data indicates that oxidative stress is present and may play an active role in these psychiatric illnesses.” If it was acknowledged that mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress were causally related to psychiatric disorders, and all chronic diseases (including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetes, obesity, etc., along with psychiatric illnesses) perhaps some M.D.s would think twice before prescribing drugs that damage mitochondria and led to oxidative stress.

They should start with thinking twice about prescribing fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Bitter Pills was a bestseller in 1998. Sixteen years has passed, perhaps it’s time to pay attention.

Information about Fluoroquinolone Toxicity

Information about the author, and adverse reactions to fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro/ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/levofloxacin, Avelox/moxifloxacin and Floxin/ofloxacin) can be found on Lisa Bloomquist’s site, www.floxiehope.com.

We Need Your Help

More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

Yes, I would like to support Hormones Matter. 

Painting by Tine Heine depicting hallucinations in Lewy body dementia; Source T. H. Jensen from Pixabay; edited to black and white.

This article was published originally on June 4, 2014. 

 

 

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The Experiment: Notes from a Reluctant Lab Rat

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I’m not doing so well in my role as lab rat as of late. I’m expecting the powers that be will soon be calling me back on the carpet. I’m getting used to that. Being told to do one thing and then doing another never gets a hand clap from the overlords of medicine, so I’ve discovered.

It started with the multiple diagnosis’s a year after I was first put in the cage for the “experiment”.  I can remember it like it was yesterday. The pursed lips of disapproval and those side shifting eyes. I didn’t get it back then. I was too preoccupied with my devastation to notice. I see now how futile my efforts were in trying to assist them. That kind of behavior will get you a special label and believe me, their kind of special is not a pleasant one.

It’s hard adjusting to being in a cage after years of freedom. The overlords don’t seem to get that fact. For them it’s all numbers and weights and measures and instruments that poke and prod. There’s a lot of heading shaking and nodding and hands on chins while they observe my reactions and record my symptoms. I can see it in their eyes. The data is not adding up. They don’t know how to interpret what they are seeing but I remain silent….at first.

I’m busy adjusting…adapting to what has become my new prison. I’m busy in my head connecting dots. Still reeling from the shock of being caught. Still taking stock of the damage they have wrought on me with their potions and notions and endless pills. Each tentative step forward fraught with trepidation and my silent anger. Their white lab coats have become a symbol of their surrender to my angry eyes but as always they soldier on in the pursuit of science.

Marking and measuring symptomologies, feigning a knowingness I know they don’t possess. After all, isn’t that how I ended up here, on the weight of their duplicity?

I’m not alone in this cage but I’m alone in myself. I am beginning to understand that I am just one cog in an endless wheel that they have created. A Frankenrat, crippled and ever mutating under the power of their chemistry, as they silently observe. I can feel myself shrinking under their disapproving gaze but it’s only a momentary slip. I retreat inside myself. I become invisible, silent and still.

I watch the watchers…waiting for that perfect moment…that golden opportunity I know is coming. Every day is a new day I tell myself. Every day that I wake up and draw a breath is another day I have won. I may be a lab rat but I am no longer their lab rat. I dream of the day when all of the lab rat nation will rise up as one and our voices will be heard. That’s the beauty of experiments…one never really knows what the outcome will be.

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This post was published originally December 1, 2015.

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Musings of a Heretic Patient: Floxed and Fed Up

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After mulling it over for quite some time, I wanted to comment on something we all encounter much too frequently in our floxed lives. That is, specifically, the negative experiences we are often forced to endure with our doctors. As patients, harmed by a widely over prescribed drug, we are often dismissed whenever we propose a connection between fluoroquinolones and the adverse side effects we experience as their patients.

I cannot even begin to quantify the level of frustration and anger I feel whenever I’ve been confronted with this in my doctors visits. It’s demeaning and demoralizing to be treated as if I am a complete moron for broaching the subject whenever they come up empty on their diagnosis.

At first I chalked it up to ego because after all, THEY are the “experts” and I am just one of the great uneducated with the audacity to question their expertise and search for answers beyond their own. I know what it feels like to be sneeringly, denigrated for my research. To be called a GOOGLE doctor for simply not accepting their non-diagnosis as a diagnosis.

Oh, the times I felt like screaming and pulling my hair out in my doctor’s office. The times I became so frustrated I wanted to overturn the tables and rip those stupid charts from the walls are just too innumerable to count on my flox journey.

Laying the blame on ego alone was the simplistic answer but something always niggled at me every time I left the office, depressed and defeated.

Why was I always making excuses for what was so obviously a rude and demeaning attitude towards my quest for answers? Why were all my doctors so hostile to my input and so dismissive of my efforts at educating myself? What lay beneath this dismissal of my pain and the destruction of my body that even they could not deny?

Today it happened again and it sparked me into writing this post.

The Heresy of Questioning a Doctor

I have come to learn that a few of the common tactics used by doctors can be identified. Many of them are being used to work against us when confronting a doctor’s assessment of our specific issues.

The first one is utilizing our lack of a formal medical education to minimize our efforts. It’s the most obvious use of the power dynamic they conjure to silence us. Questioning a doctor is an anarchistic act. It challenges the authority of the empirical medical model, the one we’ve been programmed from childhood to believe has all the answers. The one domain that is so sacrosanct in our society that questioning it is bordering on the heretical and places you squarely outside the acceptable behavior circle.

I have come to accept that I am now a heretic and so is anyone who steps outside the medical status quo in their search for answers. Like any heretic, I need to be prepared for the onslaught of disapproval and derision I might receive for questioning the medical gods. I need to remember to arm myself psychically and mentally for every visit. The fact that I must do this saddens me. It illustrates just how meaningless and hollow the Hippocratic Oath has become to our modern medicine men.

“Nor shall any man’s entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to anyone; neither will I counsel any man to do so.”

Plausible Deniability in Medicine

Another tactic used by physicians to dismiss patient concerns is plausible deniability. Physicians now rely on plausible deniability to explain away their non actions or worse. It is the deliberate and destructive act they use against the very people they have sworn to heal. It’s also known as covering their asses. Knowing this and accepting that this is the norm rather than the exception has been a bitter pill for me to swallow but imperative to retaining my sanity.

And Then There is Gaslighting

Another thing I’ve come to recognize as a tactic is what I call medical gaslighting. Gaslighting is a very effective but abusive form of diversion. In this case, a physician utilizes an established (though questionable) psychological diagnosis as a convenient way of absolving their non actions in your case. It also serves to stopgap any further digging into causal links and diverts attention away from the physicians own culpability. How many times have I been told that my symptoms are all in my head? Too many times to count. And since my symptoms don’t fit any known disease model, I must be suffering from a psychological malady.

This has now become a part of the DSM-5 lexicon of psychiatric diagnosis and poses further harm to people like myself and anyone whose symptoms cannot be easily pinpointed to any one specific disease. If anyone, who like myself has been previously diagnosed with a mental illness (depression, PTSD) these diagnoses further serve to de-legitimize the patient’s experience.

We need to be aware that even when we have the hard evidence of medical research to back up our claims, we will be challenged and possibly labeled. If we refuse to accept this knee jerk assessment or the drugs they will inevitably prescribe to treat our “real” issues we might find ourselves tagged with the non-compliant stamp.

I write this as a warning to everyone who finds themselves on this page. You might hit some very daunting, brick walls along this journey but know that you are not alone. One day we will be vindicated, this crime will be exposed, and Big Pharma and all colluding physicians and corrupt governmental agencies will be brought low.

For those who have been blessed with that one special physician who listens and learns, I am grateful to see that ethics still exist. It’s heartening to know that there are doctors out there who can put ego and material gain aside and remain open to their patient’s body awareness and desire for healing. Sadly, those doctors risk becoming medical heretics too, banned and derided by the more conventional experts, the same experts that employ the tactics listed above.

In the end, I know we will win and a big part of that victory comes from the massive amount of support and experience we find on our support pages. Thank you to all my fellow floxies. You are the vanguards of this battle and close to my heart.

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Hormones Matter needs funding now. Our research funding was cut recently and because of our commitment to independent health research and journalism unbiased by commercial interests we allow minimal advertising on the site. That means all funding must come from you, our readers. Don’t let Hormones Matter die.

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This post was published originally on Hormones Matter on October, 2015.

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Do Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics Trigger Charcot Marie Tooth and Other Genetic Diseases?

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In 2013, the FDA updated the warning labels on all fluoroquinolones (Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, Floxin and their generic equivalents) to note that permanent peripheral neuropathy is a potential effect of all fluoroquinolones. The FDA safety announcement noted that, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required the drug labels and Medication Guides for all fluoroquinolone antibacterial drugs be updated to better describe the serious side effect of peripheral neuropathy. This serious nerve damage potentially caused by fluoroquinolones may occur soon after these drugs are taken and may be permanent.”

Since that announcement, patients, patient advocates, researchers, and lawyers have been trying to figure out exactly how fluoroquinolones cause peripheral neuropathy. The FDA documents going over the link between peripheral neuropathy and fluoroquinolone use point toward mitochondrial damage as the mechanism through which fluoroquinolones cause peripheral neuropathy. There is certainly evidence that fluoroquinolones damage mitochondria, and that damaged mitochondria are responsible for peripheral neuropathy. Given the evidence available, it is most likely that fluoroquinolones cause peripheral neuropathy through damaging mitochondria.

However, in this post, I would like to explore another possibility.

Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics and Charcot Marie Tooth Disease

Might fluoroquinolones trigger the expression of Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT), a neurological disorder that is a form of muscular dystrophy? According to MDA.org, “CMT is the most commonly inherited peripheral nerve disorder affecting about 1 in 2,500 people. CMT causes damage to the peripheral nerves, which carry signals from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, and relay sensations, such as pain and touch, to the brain and spinal cord from the rest of the body.”

Charcot Marie Tooth has several genetic markers and is thought of as a purely hereditary disease. However, there is a fascinating case-study that was published in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy in October of 2011 entitled “Hereditary Neuropathy Unmasked by Levofloxacin,” that goes over the case of a 56-year-old, formerly healthy man with “no history of medical problems,” who developed difficulty walking, numbness, and burning pain and weakness especially in his legs after taking levofloxacin. The patient’s health problems persisted after he stopped taking the levofloxacin and he was subsequently diagnosed with Charcot Marie Tooth disease. The article notes that:

“Charcot Marie Tooth disease is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of hereditary peripheral neuropathies. Toxic or idiosyncratic reactions to drugs may uncover a preexisting asymptomatic polyneuropathy. Fluoroquinolones, including levofloxacin, have rarely been associated with sensory and motor polyneuropathy, perhaps because of the fact that physicians sometimes have difficulty in associating this adverse reaction with fluoroquinolone therapy.”

Is it possible that this case-study isn’t unique and that the permanent peripheral neuropathies brought on by fluoroquinolones are a result of the triggering of Charcot Marie Tooth disease? Certainly, more research would need to be done for an answer to be found. The thought of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, drugs that are prescribed to millions of people every year, unmasking of Charcot Marie Tooth, a disease with no cure, is horrifying to say the least.

How could Fluoroquinolones Trigger a Genetic Disease?

One might wonder how fluoroquinolones could trigger the expression of hereditary diseases. The possibility that fluoroquinolones trigger epigenetic changes is noted in the post, “What is Fluoroquinolone Toxicity?” It is noted that:

Fluoroquinolones are topoisomerase interrupters. The mechanism for Cipro/ciprofloxacin, and all other fluoroquinolone antibiotics is:

“The bactericidal action of ciprofloxacin results from inhibition of the enzymes topoisomerase II (DNA gyrase) and topoisomerase IV (both Type II topoisomerases), which are required for bacterial DNA replication, transcription, repair, and recombination.”

Topoisomerases are enzymes that are necessary for DNA and RNA transcription.  Topoisomerase interrupting drugs have been found to profoundly affect gene expression.  It may be possible that fluoroquinolones trigger the expression of dormant genes. So, for example, those who have a predisposition toward an autoimmune disease may bring on the autoimmune disease with the fluoroquinolone. Anecdotally, it seems as if any existing weakness a person has is exacerbated by fluoroquinolones.

It is hypothesized in “Epigenetic side-effects of common pharmaceuticals: A potential new field in medicine and pharmacology,” that all adverse reactions to fluoroquinolones are due to epigenetic mechanisms:

“The quinolones are a family of broad-spectrum antibiotics. They inhibit the bacterial DNA gyrase or the topoisomerase IV enzyme, thereby inhibiting DNA replication and transcription. Eukaryotic cells do not contain DNA gyrase or topoisomerase IV, so it has been assumed that quinolones and fluoroquinolones have no effect on human cells, but they have been shown to inhibit eukaryotic DNA polymerase alpha and beta, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, affect cell cycle progression and function of lymphocytes in vitro, and cause other genotoxic effects. These agents have been associated with a diverse array of side-effects including hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, dysglycemia, QTc prolongation, torsades des pointes, seizures, phototoxicity, tendon rupture, and pseudomembranous colitis. Cases of persistent neuropathy resulting in paresthesias, hypoaesthesias, dysesthesias, and weakness are quite common. Even more common are ruptures of the shoulder, hand, Achilles, or other tendons that require surgical repair or result in prolonged disability. Interestingly, extensive changes in gene expression were found in articular cartilage of rats receiving the quinolone antibacterial agent ofloxacin, suggesting a potential epigenetic mechanism for the arthropathy caused by these agents. It has also been documented that the incidence of hepatic and dysrhythmic cardiovascular events following use of fluoroquinolones is increased compared to controls, suggesting the possibility of persistent gene expression changes in the liver and heart.”

Fluoroquinolones have been found to deplete mitochondrial DNA, and mitochondria have been found to affect gene expression.

It is possible that fluoroquinolones are profoundly changing gene expression, and that the adverse effects of fluoroquinolones are a result of altered gene expression. Fluoroquinolones are, after all, topoisomerase interrupters.

Are Fluoroquinolones Expressing Other Genetic Diseases?

It has been suggested that fluoroquinolones trigger other diseases that are considered to be hereditary. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is one that is mentioned often. Fluoroquinolones cause collagen synthesis problems, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is “caused by a defect in the structure, production, or processing of collagen or proteins that interact with collagen.” Might some aspects of fluoroquinolone toxicity be Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome triggered by fluoroquinolones? Again, research needs to be done before asserting this as truth, but it is a possibility that should be explored.

It has also been suggested that fluoroquinolones trigger latent endocrine and thyroid disorders. In Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics and Thyroid Problems: Is there a Connection?, it is noted that, “I would suspect that anyone with any underlying genetic predisposition, or possibly harboring a subclinical, latent, or silent endocrinopathy might be ‘pushed over the edge’ into full blown clinical pathology. This is actually what I think may have happened with me, even though I had no overt indications of any kind of thyroid or endocrine disorder prior to taking the Cipro.” The connections between endocrine and thyroid disorders and fluoroquinolones are thoroughly explored in the site www.fluoroquinolonethyroid.com.

Are Dormant Genes Destiny?

Some might say that these diseases are a result of faulty genes, not fluoroquinolones. I strongly disagree with that assertion. Other than the infection that fluoroquinolones were prescribed to treat, most people who take fluoroquinolones are healthy. If they have dormant genetic diseases, those diseases are not being expressed. They have no symptoms of underlying diseases until they take a fluoroquinolone. Fluoroquinolones are making healthy people sick. If it is through the changing of gene expression, that doesn’t make it any better.

Again, the notion that fluoroquinolones trigger expression of Charcot Marie Tooth disease, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and other genetic diseases is a hypothesis, not an assertion of fact. However, it is a hypothesis that should be explored. Thus far, there has been no good explanation as to why fluoroquinolone toxicity symptoms vary so significantly from one person to the next. Perhaps the explanation is that each person’s genes are different, and different genetic weaknesses are exposed by fluoroquinolones in each person.

As I explore the multiple mechanisms for fluoroquinolone toxicity, I keep coming back to their mechanism of action stated on the warning labels – fluoroquinolones are topoisomerase interrupters. They intentionally disrupt the process of bacterial DNA and RNA replication. We do not know enough about that process to foresee its unintended consequences, and, unfortunately, I think it’s entirely possible that fluoroquinolones are triggering the expression of many “genetic” diseases that would have stayed dormant if it weren’t for the fluoroquinolones. More research is certainly necessary, and I hope that there are some scientists who are willing to examine this hypothesis.

Information about Fluoroquinolone Toxicity

Information about the author, and adverse reactions to fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro/ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/levofloxacin, Avelox/moxifloxacin and Floxin/ofloxacin) can be found on Lisa Bloomquist’s site,www.floxiehope.com.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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Image credit: Benefros at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This article was published originally on Hormones Matter on March 7, 2016. 

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Friends Don’t Let Friends Take Fluoroquinolones: Four Stories

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I’ve been writing about the dangers of fluoroquinolone antibiotics (cipro/ciprofloxacin, levaquin/levofloxacin, avelox/moxifloxacin, floxin/ofloxacin and a few others) for a little over a year. As my friends, family, and associates have read what I’ve written, their skepticism has waned and many of them have realized that I actually know what I’m talking about when I say that fluoroquinolones are dangerous drugs that lead to destruction of connective tissues and nerves throughout the body. They have glanced at my source articles and noted that there are peer-reviewed journal articles that back up what I say.  It feels nice to be believed. It feels even nicer when those people let me know that they didn’t take fluoroquinolones because of the information that I gave them. It’s nice to know that they won’t get “floxed.”

In the last few months, several friends have approached me, asking about alternatives to fluoroquinolones. Here are some of their stories. All their names have been changed, but the stories are true.

Rick and the Sinus Infection

Rick was prescribed Levaquin to treat a sinus infection. He read through the warning label and noted that two of the listed side-effects are tendon ruptures and seizures. Rick has a seizure disorder and had surgery on a tendon in his foot six months earlier. He refused the Levaquin prescription and asked for something else. He was prescribed Bactrim. The Bactrim cleared up his sinus infection.

Question – What was that doctor thinking? Why would a doctor prescribe a drug that is well-documented as causing destruction of tendons to a patient who has a history of tendon problems?  Rick told the doctor that he had surgery on his tendon in his foot. Did the doctor think that the tendon issues that are severe enough to lead to a black box warning on all fluoroquinolones was something to be dismissed and disregarded?  And why would a doctor prescribe a drug that can cause seizures, along with a myriad of other central nervous system problems, to a person who has a pre-existing seizure disorder?  It seems like a negligent decision – or at least a horribly uninformed decision.  Unfortunately, the disregard of well established side-effects happens all the time. The contraindications for fluoroquinolones are routinely ignored and patients with pre-existing conditions are frequently prescribed fluoroquinolones for non-serious infections where other antibiotics would be sufficient. If Rick hadn’t read the warning label himself, and insisted on being prescribed a more benign antibiotic, he might have become one of the millions suffering from and adverse reaction to fluoroquinolones.

Melissa and the Use of Cipro in Children

Melissa’s 2-year old daughter suffered from ear infections. She was prescribed Cipro twice to treat the ear infections. Both times, Melissa refused the prescription for Cipro and was given something else.  A more benign antibiotic, then tubes put in her daughter’s ears, cleared up the infections.

Again, what was the doctor thinking? Fluoroquinolones are contraindicated in the pediatric population because they have been shown to damage the cartilage and joints of juvenile animals (source).  A review in U.S. Pharmacist noted that:

“Fluoroquinolones have demonstrated adverse effects on cartilage development in juvenile animals through the inflammation and destruction of weight-bearing joints.  These arthropathies were often irreversible, and their potential occurrence in children limited the use of fluoroquinolones in this population. In one pediatric study, ciprofloxacin had a 3.3% (9.3% vs. 6.0%) absolute risk increase in musculoskeletal events within 6 weeks of treatment compared with control agents used to treat complicated UTIs or pyelonephritis. Adefurin and colleagues found a 57% increased relative risk of arthropathy in children given ciprofloxacin (21% overall) versus those in a non-fluoroquinolone comparator arm. In contrast to animal models, neither dose nor duration had an effect on the rate or severity of arthropathy.  A 2007 study by Noel and colleagues determined the incidence of musculoskeletal events (primarily arthralgias) to be greater in children treated with levofloxacin compared with nonfluoroquinolone-treated children at 2 months (2.1% vs. 0.9%; P = .04) and 12 months (3.4% vs. 1.8%; P = .03).  These results and the severity of the effects should be weighed heavily when initiation of fluoroquinolones is being contemplated in pediatric patients.” (source)

Fluoroquinolones can cause irreversible damage to the cartilage of juvenile animals, and adult humans, so did Melissa’s daughter’s doctor think that somehow toddlers with ear infections were exempt from being damaged by Cipro? Melissa’s daughter could have been hurt. She could have been damaged by the Cipro. She could have developed permanently weakened tendons, lesions on her cartilage, destruction of her joints, etc. None of the damaging effects of fluoroquinolones are easy to treat, and their severe side-effects should not be the trade off when treating pediatric ear infections.

Did that pediatrician completely forget his or her Hippocratic Oath?  She must have, because Cipro could have done severe, irreversible, life-long harm to the toddler.

Fluoroquinolones during Pregnancy? Denise’s Story

Denise was eight months pregnant when she came down with an upper respiratory infection. Her doctor tried to prescribe her Cipro. She refused the Cipro and instead took Azithromycin.

Azithromycin just happens to be the only antibiotic ever studied in pregnant women, at least partially. That is, there is one study showing basic pharmacokinetic or dosing information for its use during pregnancy. There are no data on the health and well-being of the offspring.

Given the total lack of data for medication use during pregnancy, one has to wonder what that doctor was thinking prescribing Cipro, one of the most potent and dangerous antibiotics, to a pregnant woman.  Why in the world would he prescribe a fluoroquinolone to a pregnant woman?  In big, bold, capitalized words on the Cipro warning label, it is stated that, “THE SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CIPROFLOXACIN IN PREGNANT AND LACTATING WOMEN HAVE NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED.”  The warning label goes on to note that, “No differences in the rates of prematurity, spontaneous abortions, or birth weight were seen in women exposed to ciprofloxacin during pregnancy. However, these small post-marketing epidemiology studies, of which most experience is from short-term, first trimester exposure, are insufficient to evaluate the risk for less common defects or to permit reliable and definitive conclusions regarding the safety of ciprofloxacin in pregnant women and their developing fetuses.”  Note that no research has ever been done to investigate the effects of fluorquinolones on fetal development and child development post pregnancy when used during the second or third trimesters.

Differences in musculoskeletal development, cognitive development, mitochondrial and microbiome health, etc. of the children of women given Cipro while pregnant weren’t looked at in the first trimester studies that were done. Those are the things that should be examined – not just spontaneous abortions and low birth weights. Indeed, these effects should be looked into for all meds prescribed during pregnancy, as very few medications routinely prescribed to pregnant women have ever been tested. Most physicians know this, or should know this, but over the last few decades, have ignored it and prescription medication use during pregnancy has increased by 60%. Concurrently, the rates of chronic childhood disorders from autism and neurodevelopmental disorders, to obesity and Type 2 diabetes have increased significantly.  Perhaps before we so cavalierly prescribe medications to pregnant women, we ought to investigate the long-term effects on their children.

Violet and Cipro for Traveler’s Diarrhea?

Violet was planning a trip to Ecuador. Her travel doctor wanted to give her Cipro just in case she got traveler’s diarrhea. Many other, less problematic antibiotics are available and equally effective in treatment of traveler’s diarrhea – doxycycline, Bactrim or sepra.  She asked for a prescription for something other than Cipro.  

The appropriate situation for fluoroquinolones to be used is when they are needed to save a life and when a life-threatening infection doesn’t respond to other antibiotics. To prescribe fluoroquinolones in situations where life-threatening infections are not present is absurd and it is wrong. To prescribe fluoroquinolones prophylactically, when no infection is present, for treatment of traveler’s diarrhea, is to completely disregard all of the dangers of fluoroquinolones that are listed on the 43 PAGE warning label (for Cipro – the ones for levaquin, avelox and floxin are equally as bad).  The adverse effects for the fluoroquinolones include: permanent peripheral neuropathy, tendon ruptures, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, hepatic failure, hallucinations, suicidal ideation, and more.

Fluoroquinolones should not be prescribed frivolously. They should not be prescribed to anyone who is not in a life-threatening situation. The risk for adverse effects of these drugs are such that their use is not appropriate in situations that are not life-threatening and they certainly should not be used prophylactically for traveler’s diarrhea.

To all the doctors who prescribe Cipro and other fluoroquinolones prophylactically to people for traveler’s diarrhea – What are you thinking? There is nothing that is okay about giving a drug to a healthy person that can injure them grievously. Even if the chances are low (but no one really knows the incidence of fluoroquinolone toxicity), the severity of the adverse effects of fluoroquinolones are so extreme that fluoroquinolones shouldn’t even be considered as a treatment until other antibiotics have been tried, and have failed.

To all the doctors whose knowledge of the drugs that they prescribe I have questioned – please, please, please read some of the articles about how dangerous fluoroquinolones are. I have more than 100 peer reviewed articles listed HERE.  Or, just read the warning labels and note that all of the horrible symptoms listed on the warning label can happen to your patients at once. You don’t want to do that to your patients.  Please DON’T do that to your patients. Prescribe more benign antibiotics. They’re available. Use them first.  Please.

Information about Fluoroquinolone Toxicity

Information about the author, and adverse reactions to fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro/ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/levofloxacin, Avelox/moxifloxacin and Floxin/ofloxacin) can be found on Lisa Bloomquist’s site, www.floxiehope.com.

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We Need Your Help

More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

Yes, I would like to support Hormones Matter.

Image credit: Lisa Bloomquist.

This article was published originally on Hormones Matter on June 30, 2014.

 

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