QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS TOXICITY

[Guest guest]

Gretchen has had a bad reaction to Cipro recently, and so I wanted to post this info about the toxicity of these antibiotics. We have to be very careful of what we put in our bodies! Once we've been damaged from implants, it doesn't seem to take much to bring back those signs of organ damage again.Pattyhttp://www.fqresearch.org/teo_text.htmQUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS TOXICITY. Dec 2003

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QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS TOXICITY.

A SUMMARY OF CLOSELY FOLLOWED CASES

Damage and disorders caused by quinolone antibiotics

(cipro, levaquin, tequin and others).

[QUINOLONES ARE A CLASS OF ANTIBIOTICS VERY TOXIC

FOR TENDONS, CARTILAGES, THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND OTHER ORGANS]

WARNING.

This article consists of the description of the adverse effects caused by the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics, on previously healthy people, especially in terms of

the musculoskeletal system. In addition, the article contains data obtained from many individual experiences, as well as information that comes from reputed

medical sources available to the public. This article does not contain medical advice or professional statements on its own.

We recommend that you consult with your Doctor before starting any exercise, dietary or supplement program. Any information and products obtained from and

or given from this web site/organization should not be taken as medical advice for any reason. The information is not intended to replace advice given by your

Doctor. No claim or opinion is intended to serve as, nor should it be construed to be, medical advice. The information and products in this article are not intended

to diagnose, treat or cure any disease and are not a guide for self-diagnosis and/or treatment. We do not accept responsibility for the use or misuse of the

information and products.

AUTHOR.

Primarily T. Boomer, who has no professional medical background, has prepared the article and it is based on many personal experiences. Edits and corrections

by R. Artsmith. The authosr of this study has no interest of any kind in any commercial activity, benefit or product related with the topic.

© 2003 T. Boomer. All information contained within this web site, and particularly of this report is copyright by the author (2003) unless otherwise

noted. No part of this report can be reproduced or transmited in any way without without prior written permission.

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INTRODUCTION

Tens of thousands of people are damaged by quinolone (Cipro,

Levaquin, Floxin, Noroxin, etc.) antibiotics each year, yet nearly all

those damaged remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Some are

diagnosed as having fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid

diseases, myositis, diverse heart problems or neuropathies of every

kind. Thousands of people become severely crippled for years or

permanently after taking a quinolone antibiotic for minor infections.

Quinolone antibiotics are toxic from the very first milligram of

ingestion. The effects of quinolone antibiotics are cumulative. Each

person has a unique threshold of tolerance for the quinolones that

once surpassed releases symptoms corresponding to various

disorders, with long-lasting and potentially permanent damage.

People are exposed to quinolones through taking them as a drug

prescription or through food (chemically treated poultry and cattle).

Only a handful of doctors are aware of this devastating problem. The

rest are uninformed, at least in technical matters, by the

manufacturers. The drug manufacturers conceal the real toxic profile

of the fluoroquinolone antibiotics. The manufacturers know they

cause extensive damage, destroy lives and impair people for life, but

they manipulate the trials, especially in not commencing any longterm

follow up studies and under-reporting the adverse events. It is

typical for manufacturers to state as "very rare adverse events found

in less than 1% of cases", for adverse effects that have a real

percentage above 70% for therapeutic doses.

Manufacturers have found a brilliantly disguised drug that in many

cases wreaks havoc on its users some weeks or months after

cessation of the drug therapy, or through food ingestion, making it

almost impossible to trace back the symptoms to the real cause.

Of special interest for athletes is the fact that quinolone and

fluoroquinolone antibiotics cause many problems concerning the

musculoskeletal system, most of which resemble other ailments that

are acceptably known, diagnosed and treated (epycondilitis, shin

splints, plantar fascitis, overuse syndromes, trochanteric bursitis, all

sorts of tendinitis, tenosynovitis and enthesitis, ulnar compression

neuritis, ileotibial band syndrome, and many more). But the damage

caused by quinolones does not respond to conventional treatments

and leads to very disabling conditions, usually attributed to other

causative factors (leg lenght discrepancy, shoes, lack of flexibility,

muscle imbalance, pronation, supination, misalignements, wear,

tear,...).

As a result, many of these problems are improperly diagnosed and

remain elusive to all the treatments of choice devised for other

pathologies. When conventional treatments (corticoids, steroids or

anti-inflammatory medications) are used for disorders caused by

quinolone antibiotics, they can cause great additional damage that

could lead to tendon ruptures and permanent disability.

That is the reason why there is an imperative need for clearer and

more honest information about this class of antibiotics called

quinolones and fluoroquinolones. The present report is a summary of

many real cases studied over the last years that show a closer picture

of the real nature of quinolone antibiotics.

The current version of the present report focuses mainly in SEVERE

reactions experienced by previously healthy and young athletes. and

therefore it is more focused on all areas relevant to physical and

athletic performance. After studying dozens of cases in detail, the

similarity between all of them is at least striking. A few other

QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS TOXICITY. Dec 2003

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hundred cases have been analyzed in less detail to form the report.

As the report is large, some sections are repetitive, in order to

facilitate that they can be consulted quite separately. In the report we

do not make any distinction between quinolone and fluoroquinolone

antibiotics because both subfamilies share the same toxicity.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS REPORT

You may find this report helpful if:

... You are looking for a connection between your recent physical

problems and the drugs you have been taking lately.

... You are concerned about a prolonged course of fluoroquinolones (i.e.

Cipro, Levaquin, Floxin, etc.) that you have been prescribed and are

about to start.

... You may have taken quinolones in the past, and are planning to take a

more prolonged course of these antibiotics, so you want to obtain more

information and have a clearer picture.

... You are a medical practitioner and want to learn more about the

patient's point of view regarding this dramatic health problem.

This article deals specially with the implications of SEVERE

reactions to fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Nevertheless, this report is

not a reference for current long-term sufferers of quinolone toxicity

because it does not add new information to the wealth of it already

available.

QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS

The main quinolone and fluoroquinolone antibiotics and their full

pharmaceutical names are as follows:

Cipro, Cipro I.V.........................Ciprofloxacin

Levaquin ....................................Levofloxacin

Penetrex ....................................Enoxacin

Tequin ........................................Gatifloxacin

Maxaquin ...................................Lomefloxacin

Avelox........................................Moxifloxacin

Noroxin ......................................Norfloxacin

Floxin, Floxin I.V......................Ofloxacin

Zagam ........................................Sparfloxacin

TOXICITY OF QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS

Quinolones are very toxic antibiotics. They are not biological

products but purely man made chemical toxic compounds for killing

bacteria and -by the way- your body. High doses or prolonged

courses cause a disproportionate percentage of adverse effects.

Although most laboratories and manufacturers rate the number of

adverse reactions as being very low, the real figures are much higher.

These drugs are distinctive for one thing: for the vast majority of

people, damage remains unnoticed for many weeks or months,

which does not prompt the patient to stop the treatment, and then

severe disorders develop with many clinical symptoms.

The mainstream medical class ignores this fact and is reluctant to

learn that an antibiotic can inflict such severe, disabling and longlasting

damage. Consequently, nearly all victims of this drug toxicity

are wrongly diagnosed as suffering from overuse injuries,

neurological illnesses, immune reactions, osteoarthritis,

cardiopathies, vision problems, etc.

For the purpose of this report we will call FLOXING SYNDROME

the set of disorders caused by quinolone antibiotics. In medical terms

it would be called QUINOLONE TOXICITY SYNDROME (QTS).

There is very little -if any- clinical knowledge about this syndrome,

it is not recognized yet as a major health problem, and no protocol

for healing has been developed so far. There is not a single scientific

study performed in order to better understand the true nature of the

toxicity or to make a treatment available. Unfortunately, there are no

specific tests or markers that can objectively diagnose the syndrome

or the extent of its severity at any given moment. The vast array of

symptoms that usually acompanies a severe QTS makes difficult the

task of stablishing a reliable diagnostic procedure and complicates

the search for a cure.

Remember:

Quinolones are very toxic antibiotics. As it has happened with many other

drugs before, the medical class still ignores it all.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE

PACKAGE INSERT?

The pharmaceutical package inserts for prescription quinolone

antibiotics contain gross underestimations of severe adverse effects.

These adverse events are presented as rare or very rare, when in fact

they are very common or even unavoidable, that is to say,

predictable, as it has been shown by some epidemiologic studies.

In order to help you to get an idea of the real toxicity profile of

quinolone antibiotics, take into account that had it not been for the

manufacturer's manipulation and FDA consent, the package insert

would read:

... This drug is neurotoxic. The effects of this drug are cumulative, so ask

your doctor to keep a record of the total amount ingested by you, so that

currently supposed safe levels are not surpassed. The neuropathies

associated with this drug (with sensory as well as motor and autonomic

involvement) are often sever, lasting for many years or permanent.

... The therapeutic effects of this drug disappear with drug cessation, but

the adverse reactions can manifest for up to two years later, so report to

your doctor abnormal bouts of neuropathies, central nervous system

disorders, tendinitis, joint pains, muscle pains, insomnia, twitching,

fasciculations and/or body trembling, visual disturbances such as

decreased visual acuity, dry eyes, blurred vision, double vision or other

dry mucous symptoms (mouth, nose, skin, etc …) as well as all the rest of

symptoms listed in the package. In many cases the resolution of

symptoms takes several years.

... This drug will deteriorate the cartilage all over the body as it kills the

chondrocytes, the root cells of cartilage. The damage depends on the

previous state of you cartilage, plus the dose and length of quinolone

treatment. Do not take this drug if you suffer from early osteoarthritis, if

you frequently play sports or perform strenuous exercise. Usually, the

damage inflicted is irreversible.

... This drug is not recommended for those who have been diagnosed with

autoimmune disorders, or if there is a suspicion about one being

present. It can worsen or release autoimmune conditions like multiple

sclerosis, lupus erithematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, small vessel

vasculitis, polymyositis and others.

... Quinolones can cause fatal arrythmias and other heart lesions. Do not

take them if you suffer from any heart condition or a history of

palpitations or irregular heartbeats.

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... Elderly people, diabetics, patients with impaired renal function, youngs

under 18(whose bones and cartilage are still growing) and people

taking corticoids are at great risk of suffering very disabling reactions.

All of these statements will be acknowledged by the medical

community in the years to come, only too late for thousands of

people whose lives will have already meaningless been ruined.

Take notice:

Quinolones cause permanent lesions, specially degeneration of cartilages

in knees, hips, spine, and shoulders, plus irreversible damage in the eye,

fatal arrythmias and neurological disorders.

Keep in mind that half of the quinolone antibiotics marketed in the

last twenty years have been withdrawn from the market because of

their great toxicity. The quinolones currently available are just slight

variations (shifting the position of one atom or molecule) of the

openly toxic quinolones, and are still very toxic. The magic of the

new position of the atom is that the toxicity is more concealed,

cumulative, internal, and mimics other serious illnesses.

REAL RATES OF ADVERSE REACTIONS

There are enough published reports and Rx lists about these drugs.

You can find them on the Internet. The list of adverse effects for

each quinolone drug is extensive, and many of the adverse reactions

will manifest in normal people with long treatments or high doses, or

just with one pill in extreme cases of intolerance.

Let us suppose that you are a healthy, young person, you are not

taking any other medications and that you are the perfect patient- not

allergic to anything and able to metabolize most commonly

marketed drugs without experiencing adverse effects; then your

chances of developing clinical symptoms of serious disorders caused

by a quinolone antibiotic are:

-table 1- Adverse effects occurrence for quinolone antibiotics

(people of up to 160 lb of body weight)

Remember that the "rare" frequency of adverse reactions stated in

the pharmaceutical package inserts is usually always grossly

underrated. The statistics provided by the manufacturers are a gross

manipulation of biased clinical trials, and are totally unreliable. For a

better assessment of your chances of getting seriously ill, consider

the table above instead. The recent experience with the U.S. postal

workers (treated with up to 60 days of ciprofloxacin) presents figures

very similar to those in table 1.

We have talked with nearly 50 people who thought that their

quinolone's treatments had been successful and without any adverse

effect that reported having had their first time of severe bouts of

tendinitis or neurological problems a few weeks or months after the

quinolone treatment and therefore had not linked them with the drug.

The same can be said about neurological disorders. Taking into

consideration all the facts, nearly all of them now believe that que

cipro or levaquin they took is the cause of their insomnia, peripheral

neuropaties and musculoskeletal problems.

Observation:

For long or high dose treatments, the adverse reaction rate reach 100% of

patients. Many people are unaware that their illness is a manifestation of

quinolone toxicity.

There are persons that after one single pill develop a very acute

reaction that normally matures into an intermediate reaction (see

later) that lasts for 2 years on average. That should be studied by

scientifical groups because perhaps it would give some clues in the

search for an understanding of this disorders.

WHY HAS THIS REPORT BEEN WRITTEN

There is little or no medical information publicly avalaible via the

internet for the general population that deals with the practical side

of adverse reactions to quinolone antibiotics.

The only real information avalaible to date come the support groups

sustained by sufferers. (We strongly recommend visiting the

webpages www.fqresearch.org, www.drugvictims.org and

www.medicationsense.com ) (Those sites belong to their owners and do

not have any relationship with the authors of this report).

Nearly all the medical investigations in progress are not

comprehensive. The researchers in charge have a sheer lack of

knowledge about the real and true facts of this syndrome. Many

investigations are very superficial, nearly anecdotal, and only look

after a publishable paper, so that statistics of activity in the scientific

group remain high in the annual report. There are myriad scopelimiting

articles, all of which have contributed to extensive data, plus

many, many instances of scientific evidence supporting the great

damage that quinolones inflict upon people, but there is not a single

comprehensive study about the adverse effects caused by

quinolones.

No consistent clinical studies can be found that put the real figures of

adverse effects where they really are. There is not a single study that

shows the true extent of the damage caused by these antibiotics.

There are multiple causes for this lack of proper investigation:

... The pressure exerted by drug manufacturers, the propaganda

they spread in medical circles, and the counter-studies that they

promote, most of which are unscientific creations of well paid

doctors that show "evidence according to their personal

experience" of maximum beneficial activity of the antibiotic

and their "negligible" adverse effect profile. We can even see

irresponsible and badly educated doctors prescribing and

recommending quinolones for children, when currently there is

overwhelming evidence that quinolones cause lesions of

extreme severity in inmature persons.

... The delayed onset of symptoms is perhaps the most important

fact that is universally ignored by doctors. Many researchers

only monitor patients while they are on the medication and in

some isolated cases "up to a month later." The vast majority of

disorders appear up to a year and a half later and are therefore

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never linked with the real cause.

... The lack of knowledge and preparation of the doctors that

prescribe them and the aspect that doctors nearly always dismiss

their patient's complaints, and their refusal to admit any link

between the severe and long lasting pathologies and their causal

agent: the quinolones. The ignorance of doctors about the

toxicity of quinolones is simply appalling, irrational and

unjustifiable. Many doctors are handing out lifelong misery to

their patients and destroying their lives forever.

This report will help the non-medical population know more about

the true and real-life nature of quinolones. It can also be a call for the

caring doctor to promote a more critical approach and perform

unbiased professional research prior to prescribing quinolones.

We need to convince the medical class that:

... Until better antibiotics are developed, a defectively designed

drug like a quinolone antibiotic should be restricted to

emergency, or life or death cases, but never used as a first line

of treatment. Quinolones are not an antibiotic in the traditional

sense, but a toxic chemotherapeutic agent, with very severe and

long-lasting adverse effects.

... Thousands of affected people need help, and adequate research

is urgently needed in order to determine the mechanisms by

which these drugs cause their damage, and how to limit their

effects.

It is a shame that patients and victims once again have to write

reports like this, placing themselves years ahead of their doctors. In

ten years time the essential information contained in this report is

already common knowledge for thousands of persons, it will be

"discovered" by the medical class and then become accepted

knowledge. Too late for too many. Is this the medical class that we

deserve?

Reminding:

Half of the quinolone antibiotics marketed in the last twenty years have

been withdrawn from the market because of its great toxicity.

HOW HAS THIS REPORT BEEN WRITTEN

We have spent five years studying the floxing syndrome (QTS),

especially from the point of view of severe neuropaties, muscular

and joint disorders, with specific emphasis on the healthy, young,

active and athletic population.

We have challenged ourselves with blind trials using placebos and

active agents but always stayed away from potent drugs or

supplements. We have kept detailed diaries for years with tens of

thousands of entries recording ongoing symptoms and our attempts

at regaining basic movement, fitness, and athleticism. We have

probed and pushed ourselves through pains, endurances, and tests of

many kinds, varying as few factors as possible in each trial, so that

results could be of use. We have had more than a hundred MRIs

(magnetic resonance image), dozens of CATs (computerized axial

tomography), plain radiographs, three phase gammagraphies,

dopplers, echographies, electromyographies, nerve conductivity

tests, ultrasound tests, and hundreds of blood, urine, stool, and hair

tests along with many other diagnostic tests as well as a few

biopsies.

We have talked to hundreds of people suffering from this syndrome.

We have used logical methodologies to draw most conclusions.

Obviously, from observation, repetition and comparison alone, we

cannot aim to discover the mechanism of damage, or the elusive

clues for a healing protocol.

But, all in all, we, as many others, have demonstrated once more and

beyond any doubt, the extensive and devastating effects of quinolone

antibiotics and the unethical behaviour of the FDA and other western

agencies that are dominated by the manufacturer's lobbies who

routinely do not protect the people's health as they should, resulting

in the increase of financial profit for the laboratories and

pharmaceutical companies.

ARE YOU POISONED BY A QUINOLONE

ANTIBIOTIC?

If you have taken a course of any quinolone or fluoroquinolone

antibiotic (Cipro, Levaquin, Floxin, etc…) you have been chemically

poisoned. Depending on individual conditions, and the dosing and

lenght of the treatment, the intoxication will range from very mild

and asymptomatic to very severe and disabling.

In a minority of cases the, reaction is noticed immediately by the

patient. In a vast number of cases, most symptoms, or at least the

most severe ones, emerge weeks or months after the completion of

the quinolone treatment.

Many people can take a 7-day course of quinolone antibiotics

without perceiving any adverse effects. Their cartilage, tendons,

nerves and small veins and arteries have been directly damaged but

not enough to make them symptomatic. That is the case of many

sedentary people who deeply damage their joints as a result of

repeated but short courses of quinolones. But the fact remains

unknown to them since they are asymptomatic, and they do not use

their joints beyond the pain threshold. Later in life, it manifests as

early osteoarthritis, collagenous deterioration, or nervous system

failures. In any case, this paper is not intended for these people.

Many of us were healthy young athletes in perfect health with solid

rock knees and hips prior to taking quinolones but now have become

crippled persons, with our cartilages half destroyed, our eyes barely

functional, our bodies aching since several years ago and our whole

lifes stolen from us by a medical class that now turn its back on us.

For those that have developed symptoms like the ones described

later, first of all, they have to check if they have ingested any

quinolone antibiotics during the last three or four years. The damage

caused by the quinolone antibiotics becomes evident at a point in

time that ranges between the moment of the treatment itself and up

to eighteen months later. If your symptoms fit with any of the

cathegories listed later in this article, and you have taken

fluoroquinolones in the past, then a quinolone induced intoxication

might well be behind many or all of your recent physical problems.

This report could help assist you in getting a diagnosis.

SOME MEDICAL TERMS AND INFORMATION

The report has intentionally a non medical character. However, it is

necessary that you become familiar with a few technical facts

regarding the floxing syndrome. Some are exposed along the report,

when they are needed. A brief introduction to the general aspects of

an adverse drug reaction is included here.

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The terms drug allergy, drug reaction and some euphemisms

(hypersensitivity, intolerance) are often used interchangeably. If we

take into account the inmune response of the patient, drug allergy

can be restricted to the reaction in which special antibodies of the

IgE type are massively released. This report does not cover allergic

reactions.

Like many other drugs, quinolones can cause an inmunologic type I

reaction, plus many noninmunologic primary pharmacologic side

effects (insomnia, restlessness, coffee intolerance) and secondary

pharmacologic side effects (thrush, leaky gut). They can also interact

negatively with many drugs. But their distinctive actions are

probably due to their direct toxicity and the subsequent inmunologic

reaction.

Drug reactions can be classified as follows:

-table 2- TYPES OF DRUG REACTIONS

-table 3- TYPES OF INMUNE REACTIONS

In most cases, there are not markers that can confirm a diagnosis, so

all serum (blood) parameters can be normal and still be suffering

from a very severe and incapacitating reaction. Only a very

specialized and very unnacessible tissue biopsy can confirm the

problem. Therefore, most diagnostics are stablished upon clinical

symptoms. In principle, the fluoroquinolone syndrome can be

classified as a TYPE III inmunological reaction, with an added

noninmunological TOXICITY.

One thing is clear: re-exposure to quinolones, after having been

floxed previously, poses a very high health risks on the patient.

Persons that become floxed twice have the worse prognosis

(expected outcome). Many people with moderate reactions to

quinolones are later exposed again to another round of the same

antibiotics by their doctors after dismissing their complaints about

pains and disorders associated to the antibiotic. The outcome is

frequently a severe reaction that lasts 3 to 5 years and permanent

lesions.

WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE DO QUINOLONE

ANTIBIOTICS CAUSE?

This class of antibiotics has very characteristic ways of causing

lesions:

... they damage the central and peripheral nervous systems

... they damage small veins and arteries (vascular disorder of the

vasa vasorum and vasa nervorum)

... they impair the rebuilding and repairing capacity of tissues,

specially connective-collagenous

... they chemically destroy important structures, like cartilage

There are many other mechanisms of quinolone assault on the

human body (for instance, liver, kidney, pancreas and heart reactions

all of which can be fatal), but they are not the focus of the present

report.

Important fact:

Pain and disability caused by quinolones is very long lasting and affects

many parts of the body. In favourable cases recovery takes several

months to years. In severe reactions pain and lesions can last for life.

HINTS AND CLUES THAT MIGHT SAVE YOUR

LIFE

Perhaps you have taken quinolones in the past and you think that

they worked well and that you did not react negatively to them.

Check the following subtle symptoms and the usual interpretations

that people make of them.

... You had a strange bout of tendinitis, for instance in the outer tip

of the hip, normally diagnosed as trochanteric bursitis caused by

tight belts or resting on you side. The same applies to other

areas of the body, like the elbow (epicondylitis) diagnosed as an

overuse of your tennis racquet or gardening practices, but you

remember that you had never had it before.

... It takes you longer to recover after exercise. It is not alarming

and you have not paid much attention to it.

... You sleep worse than before; it seems normal as you have a lot

of pressure at work.

... From time to time you have some small throbbing pains in

different parts of the body. They last only for a few seconds, so

there is nothing to worry about it.

... It is strange but you have occasional twitching in an eyelid, or

any other part of the body. It is not painful.

... Some nights you feel some mild itching migrating along your

body. One brief itching here and another there. It is more

intense in the scrotum or groin. Instead of identifying it as a

peripheral neuropathy you conclude that it must be your clothes

or the new soap brand, that is more irritating.

... You feel some stiffness, especially in one or both legs, but it is

normal because you are getting older.

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... You do not tolerate coffee as well as before.

... Your memory is not as good as it used to be. The cause may be

too many things to think about and much stress. And you are

no longer a young person.

... There is an urge to urinate when the bladder is partially full.

Most urologists think that is due to a dysfunction associated to

benign enlarged prostate but in reality is a neurological deficit

caused by the prescriptions of quinolones that they gave you.

If you have experienced some of these symptoms since you took

your first quinolone, perhaps you have reached your first threshold

of tolerance that -once surpassed- can result in the destruction of

your life soon thereafter if you take more quinolones.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN SYMPTOMS OF BEING

POISONED BY A QUINOLONE?

For a complete list of symptoms see later in the report. A strong

reaction generates some 30 to 50 symptoms. In some cases adverse

reactions appear right after the ingestion of the antibiotic. In

intermediate and severe reactions you may start with a few

symptoms and as time passes new and debilitating symptoms arise,

specially around the second, sixth and ninth month's marks. And in

many cases of young, very healthy and active people, the worst

lesions emerge progressively up to eighteen months or more after the

cessation of the drug (we have deducted it beyond any doubt from

various cristal-clear cases plus several rechallenges with quinolones).

Here we include the most easily recognizable and common.

Joints and muscles-neuromotor:

... Arthralgias (pain in joints)- especially the Achilles, plantar

fascia, ankles, knees, hips, elbows, shoulders, wrists and others.

They start as early as during the antibiotic treatment, in which

case some times the floxie becomes bedridden or unable to walk

or drive for several months, requiring a wheelchair or crutches.

In other cases arthralgias show mildly at the beginning and their

intensity increases to its maximum intensity up to a year and a

half later. In this type of delayed reaction, some six hours after

strenuous exercise the symptoms may be present as acute pains

that can be excruciating if the limit of tolerance is reached. This

limit consists of the maximum exercise that a given body can

tolerate before its impaired repairing capacity is overwhelmed

by the physical demands. For the average floxed athlete, this

limit is much lower than it was before the quinolone

intoxication.

... Acute tendinitis not responsive to conventional treatments. This

type of tendinitis is very acute at times, requiring

immobilization, and is nearly always triggered by a level of use

that was normal in the prefloxed state, or normal daily use. The

tendinitis does not respond to anti-inflammatory medication,

which in fact, can make the symptoms worse. Sometimes the

tendinitis migrates within a joint and from one joint to others. In

the first stages of the floxing, the tendinitis is predominantly

enthesitis, which is inflammation of the insertions of muscles

and tendons into the joints. In many cases they end up in

partially or fully ruptured tendons (achilles, shoulder rotators,

wrists flexors). It is a class effect of all quinolones, in other

words, all these antibiotics are very toxic for all the tendons in

the body, for everybody. For every one the quinolones cause

small and multiple lesions in the tendons, that eventually

rupture in those people unlucky enough having weak tendons,

having taken corticoids, having preexisting vascular problems

(prediabetics) or being magnesium deficient.

... Arthritis-like symptoms. Many symptoms resemble those of

rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, but are

always sero-negative and with a different pattern of clinical

symptoms.

... Osteoarthritis-like symptoms. Joints usually start to make a lot

of noise.After the intoxication, and with time, healthy cartilage

becomes softened and erosion takes place, and the illness

presents itself as a true clinical osteoarthritis. Knee cartilages

are specially targeted by quinolones, with a very high incidence

of torn menisci (inside the knee). There are many cases of

complete destruction of previously healthy joints and the patient

has to be submited to very invasive surgical procedures and or

total joint replacement. The most damaged cartilages are the

more weight bearing ones: knees, hips and low spine.

... Increased stiffness after exercise. It takes longer to recover

from exercise, and there is a clear loss of flexibility. Soreness in

many muscles, specially legs and shoulders, with also a

predilection for the neck.

... Very slow recovery from impacts and blows. Whenever the

affected person is hit in athletic or daily activities, the flesh

takes much longer to recover from the pain, along with

hemorrhaging and inflammation. Dark veins, hemorraghe-like

patches under the skin.

... The skin (and other collagenous tissues) loses nearly all

capacity of recovery. A cut on the skin near an affected joint

leaves a pink scar for many months afterward whereas it would

have become unnoticed in prefloxing state.

... Cold feet and hands.The presentation resembles Raynaud's

syndrome. In many severe cases several phalanges of fingers

turn numb or close to frozen with cold conditions that did not

cause any trouble before the floxing. Loss of sensitiviness in

hands and feet.

Central and peripheral nervous system and systemic:

... Brain fog, depression, depersonalization, short term memory

loss, lethargy. Slurred speech. Unability to speak fluently.

Forgetting words, getting stuck in the middle of a sentence.

Some are caused by the insomnia but it is mainly a neurological

lesion of the brain.

... Twitching, trembling, throbbing, pins and needles sensations,

and pulsating pains in muscles and joints are the hallmark of

this disease; especially in the lower legs (ankles, Achilles,

calves, and knees), but can manifest all over the body.

Fasciculations (visible crawling under the skin) of muscles, due

to denervation. Twitching is manifested earlier in eyelids and

the triangle on the back of the hand placed between the thumb

and index finger.

... Insomnia, very acute and difficult to tackle with. Without the

aid of herbals or drugs, severely floxed people may suffer

extreme insomnia (2 to 3 hours of unresting sleep a day) for

more than two years. Over-reaction to caffeine. Anxiety,

QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS TOXICITY. Dec 2003

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depression, pre-seizure state. During some part of the floxing

most people experience anxiety and panic attacks (awakening

amidst strange nightmares with fear and a feeling of dying),

especially at night or when falling asleep. Headaches, especially

unilateral, or affecting one side only.

fig.1. -frequency of musculoskeletal disorders in severe reactions-

... Vision problems. Diplopia (double vision) and other focusing

problems. Floaters (darkened points, spots, cowebs, strings..)

moving in the vitreous of the eye, flashes (small or big

wandering lights crossing your sight, some quickly others

slowly, also called ziggies if they don't exhibit a stright path),

brilliant lights, halos and watery curtains, acute photofobia,

complete or partial loss of vision (transitory, but lasting up to 6

minutes of absolute blindness seing just solid white), blank

points, eye pain, oculaar pressure, blurred vision. Quinolones

cause degeneration of the retina, specially the outer margins.

Vision damage reach its peak about two to six months

postfloxing. Vision damages caused by quinolones have a high

ratio of irreversibility. Severe reactions have nearly always

associated some degree of damage on the vision, that is

invariably assesed by the patients as very disabling. We have

seen so many, really a great many, cases of irreversible damage

of vision, or lesions not cured by the 5th year mark, and the

distress inflicted on the sufferers, that this would on its own be

enough cause to withdraw all the quinolones from the market

for primary care treatments.

... Diminished erectile function (semi-impotence). Difficulty to

reach hard erections. Decreased sex drive (libido) both for men

and women. Can last up to three years in severe reactions for

young people, very healthy and active sexually prefloxing.

... Digestive problems. The quinolones damage all the nervous

network governing the intestines. Alteration of intestinal

movements. Intolerance to foods and many compounds. Bad

reactions from defectively degraded foods. Inability to absorb

some nutrients, specially minerals. Weight loss. Destruction all

of the flora and proliferation of bad fungi.

... Violent rectal spasms, that may cause fainting. Pains of every

sort and intensity in everypart of the body: skull, lower head,

neck, jaw, shoulders, arms, back, hips, legs, ankles, fingers and

toes.

... Trembling of a limb after sustaining tension with the muscular

groups of that limb. For instance, trembling of the leg after toeraising

for a while, or an inability to write steadily after holding

a heavy load with that hand.

fig.2. -frequency of systemic disorders in intermediate and severe reactions-

... Heart palpitations and arrythmias, some times life-threatening.

A serious heart condition called prolongation of the QT-interval

is a class effect of all the quinolones, showing once more that

they are very defective drugs. Skipped heart beats, irregularities,

severe poundings. Some times floxies require the implantation

of pacemakers. Many thousands of people dye from heart

attacks that are not of an infarction kind but cardiopathical,

caused by deffective nerve signals. Nearly all of them are

caused by toxic compounds, like work environment hazards, or

medications, among them the quinolones.

... Alterations of liver, kidney and pancreas enzymes and

parameters. While taking quinolones the cholesterol and

tryglicerides skyrocket up to three times their normal values, to

return to normal range in a few weeks. Quinolones also provoke

hypo and hyperglycemias as a class effect. The quinolones

accelerate the progression towards full diabetes of those

individuals with a unrecognized precondition.

Autoinmune like responses:

The main symptoms of a quinolone poisoning resemble those of

some autoimmune disorders because in acute intoxications they

cause a type of small vessel vasculitis with neurological dysfunction:

... Dry eye, dry mouth, dry sinuses and a shift towards dry skin.

Dry eye can be measured with moisturing stripes rendering null

values in severe reactions. Sticky, gritty eyes. Dry mouth,

specially at night or when taking any vasodilator. Dry sinus

causes a lot of infections that are opportunistic due to the

compromised inmune system of the severe floxies.

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... Neurological pain that migrates throughout the body; muscular

and joint pains.

... Cycling or relapsing of symptoms. Causing intolerance of

certain foods. Increased sensitivity to chemicals, especially to

quinolone-tainted foods (poultry, beef).

... Many symptoms that resemble fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis,

lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, reactive arthritis,

vasculitis, AIDS and other diseases.

... Skin rashes, on hands, feet, and other areas.

WHICH KIND OF ADVERSE REACTION TO

QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS ARE YOU SUFFERING

FROM?

Reactions to drugs vary among individuals. But there are some very

common patterns of bodily responses to quinolone intoxication.

From the study of many cases we have concluded that it is useful to

envisage a simple scale of severity of the reactions. According to it

you can have a mild, intermediate or severe reaction. Obviously

there are not clear delimitations between them and every reaction is

unique and personal, but if you can assess to which kind you could

be fitted into, you will acquire a more precise diagnosis and will be

able to address your problem accordingly.

Many people suffer acute reactions during the first days. Eventhough

they get very scared the acuteness has no direct relation with the

severity of the reaction as a whole. You will only be in a position of

making a judgement on the severity of your QTS after a few months

since the cessation of the drug, when you line up the whole list of

symptoms, their intensity and their evolution.

If your suffer a mild reaction you can expect a good recovery in 4 or

6 months. For a intermediate reaction is typical a convalescence of 1

to 2,5 years with a diminished but aceptable life quality. Severe

reactions mean a miserable living for at least 3 years plus another 2

years to get acceptable pain levels, ending up with permanent lesions

and life limitations. This article focuses primarily on severe

reactions.

Check whether you fall into one of the following categories. There is

not a clear-cut boundary between severe, intermediate and mild

reactions. On top of that everyone is different and can have, for

example, 20 symptoms belonging to the intermediate reaction level,

and 1 or more with a greater intensity, typical of a severe reaction.

-table 4- INTENSITY OF SYMPTOMS. LEVELS OF REACTION

The whole list of the adverse reactions to a typycal quinolone is

included later on this report.

Summarizing:

Many reactions are mild and INTERMEDIATE and heal in a few months or

years with no serious sequela.

For everyone there is an extremely high risk of experiencing a severe

reaction for doses of fluoroquinolones of 1.500 mg a day for 7 days

or 1.000 mg for 2 months. Severe reactions are very distinctive

because they are extremely long lasting and feature many permanent

lesions, specially in the 4 following groups:

... neuropathies, including peripheral, central (insomnia, ...) and

autonomic (heart, intestines, ..)

... dry damages (eye, sinus, ears, skin, mouth)

... cartilages destruction, joint and muscle pains

... vision lesions (floaters, blank points, retina degradation)

ALLERGIC REACTION

(It is a complete incompatibility between your body and the drug)

If you are allergic to quinolones, as soon as you take a few pills or

even one single dose, your body reacts negatively and feel one or

more of the very noticeable side effects listed in the package insert

and in this report, that normally force you to stop the treatment

inmediatly.

This is a type of allergic reaction or anaphylactic shock and is not

covered by this article.

SEVERE REACTION

(FULL IMPACT. Severe toxicity. Inmediate problems)

This report deals specially with SEVERE reactions. If the damage

caused by the antibiotic is extensive and deep, the athlete will

experience limiting pain as soon as he intends to exercise

strenuously during the course of a quinolone antibiotic or right

afterwards. In this situation, the athlete will experience some or all of

the following:

... Tendinitis over different parts of the body. For an athlete, this

tendinitis is very similar to normal types but different in its

persistence and unresponsiveness to conventional treatments.

The joints most affected are the Achilles and ankle complex,

knees, wrists, shoulders, hips, fingers.

... Arthralgias in the joints. Pain of different kinds, very frequently

migrating around a joint and then moving to other joints over

time. Pains are often very debilitating, requiring almost absolute

rest for months because patients cannot walk at all or more than

a few paces or stand up for long. Even if the patient is

functional, pains have a neurological root and can be very

intense and interfere with normal activities and prevent sleep.

These arthralgias evolve to osteoarthritis in many cases with

cartilage erosions.

... Weird sensations in the muscles and joints, like tremors,

twitching of eyelids or any muscle in the body, pulsating pains,

QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS TOXICITY. Dec 2003

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vibrations under the skin, heat or burning sensations.

... Vision problems. Most prominently in the form of many

floaters (dark worm or spot like) that seem to float in the

vitreous area of the eyes. Also ziggies (brilliant minute lights

that move in a zig-zag or wavy manner in your field of vision).

Curtains of watery sight in the upper part of the field of vision

that move sideways along with your eye. Waves-like in the

outer margins of the sight. Sparks (flashing lights). Photophobia

or intolerance to strong sunlight or artificial light. Difficulty in

focusing on objects, and double vision. Occasionally temporal

loss of vision. Eye pain. In many cases, some very worrisome

implications such as dry eye syndrome are also experienced.

These problems reach their peak of intensity around the sixth

month postfloxing and last for years or become a permanent

lesion, being a marker of the likelyhood of recovery (the drier

and longer, the lesser are the chances of overall recovery).

... Restlessness, great loss of sleep quality. Anguish and anxiety

episodes. Some times panic attacks. Intolerance (great

nervousness or increasing symptoms) to concentrated coffee

(espresso) and tea. Insomnia can last more than 3 years during

which is difficult to get more than a few hours of disrupted and

bad quality sleep. Intolerance to coffee can be present for more

than 7 years.

... Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Ear pressure, usually in waves

of pressure. Hypersensitivity to normal sound. Headaches, head

pressure, mainly asymmetric.

... Myalgias (muscular pain) all over the body, or very localized in

some parts. A strong perception that everything is not normal,

because there is not a normal recuperation after exercise, and

the individual feels achy and sick. Longer and incomplete

recovery after exercise, that leaves an ever-increasing stiffness

of joints and an aching body all over in an asymmetric fashion.

... Heart palpitations and strange pounding and throbbing.

Skipping beats. Alterations of heartbeat. Irregular heart beats

are usually more common after eating.

... Chest pain. Heartburn.

... Foggy mind, drowsiness, lethargy, loss of drive and power.

Need to sleep. Tiredness and intense fatigue.

... Strange reactions and intolerance of foods, supplements, and

chemicals. Sensitivity to parfumes, health care products and

chemicals. Taste and smell perversions. Lack of smell

sensitiviness.

... Dry eyes, dry sinuses, dry ears, dry mouth, drier skin. These are

external manifestations of a serious lesion to all the vessels that

carry vital fluids. The same damage has been done to many

other internal organs, hence the abnormal intestinal function,

food intolerances, chemical disturbances, cycling of symptoms

and general malaise. Dry eye can have serious consequences if

not treated. Dry sinuses make you proner to get infections.

... Neuropathies in limbs, with a lot of pain with muscle wasting

and nerve involvement. In many cases they resemble muscular

injuries. For instance, a peroneal (outer leg) nerve neuropathy

can be considered a pull in the hamstring; a peroneal nerve

neuropathy can be disguised as an ankle strain, or an overuse

syndrome and so on. These neuropathies start soon and grow in

intensity for many months. In many cases it takes several years

to get a remission of these neuropathies.

... Skin rashes, specially in distal areas (hands, ankles). Itching, all

over the body, with little intensity, plus more intense in some

specific areas (hips for instance) when taking a hot shower, plus

itching in the groin and scrotum at night when hot. Reddish or

red-blue upper eyelids. Increase in vertical ridges in nails of

toes and fingers.

... Weight loss, probably due to muscle destruction and atrophy

and alterations in intestinal function.

... Abnormally cold feet and hands. Fingers close to freeze in low

temperatures that do not cause any trouble to normal persons.

Lack of feeling in some fingertips. Increase in depth of vertical

ridges in finger nails.

... Problems with foods and drinks. Your intestines are also altered

and their permeability and ability to process foods is impaired.

If you have most of the above mentioned symptoms 9 months after

drug cessation and half or more of them are very intense, then

probably you are suffering a SEVERE reaction and this report is

specially devoted to thoses cases.

INTERMEDIATE REACTION

(MEDIUM TOXICITY. Delayed colapse)

Symptoms from a quinolone antibiotic intoxication of a lesser

intensity start with mild pains during the treatment or soon

afterwards, that are of small intensity and can even pass unnoticed.

In any case, during the first months, most of the problems are

musculoskeletal and tend to resolve without complications. But some

six to fourteen months after cessation of quinolone antibiotic

therapy, the active athlete can become suddenly prostrated and

severely affected, normally in one single joint.

This is the typical list of symptoms of a person in which the worst

adverse effects are of a musculoskeletal nature:

... Tendinitis over different areas of the body. For an athlete, this

tendinitis is very similar to normal tendinitis but different in its

persistence and unresponsiveness to conventional treatments.

The joints most affected are the Achilles and ankle complex

(posterior tibial tendon, anterior tibialis, flexors of the toes),

knees, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, fingers.

... Arthralgias in the joints. Pain of different kinds, very frequently

migrating around a joint and then moving to other joints over

time.

... Weird sensations in the muscles and joints, like tremors,

twitching of eyelids or any muscle in the body, pulsating pains,

vibrations under the skin, heat or burning sensations.

... Medium intensity neurological symptoms like insomnia, panic

attacks, anxiety and any light side effect included in the list at

the end of the report, plus the invisible lesions like cartilage

softening.