Iatrogenic injuries and deaths: injuries and deaths caused by the physician, unrelated to the original health complaint.
Iatrogenic injuries and deaths are occurring in record numbers. A conservative estimate of the number of people killed in the United States by correctly prescribed pharmaceuticals every year is 100,000. This statistic does not include the hundreds of thousands of people who are injured or permanently disabled by dirty pharmaceuticals every year. This statistic also does not include people who commit suicide due to adverse reactions without "provable" links to the drug. Suicide is a common side effect of many of the new wave of pharmaceuticals on the market.
Natural News: Hospitals and Doctors are Killing Americans in Record Numbers
From the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC):
- Sixty-one people die every day in the United States from pharmaceuticals (adverse reactions or overdoses).
- Reported poisonings have gone up 90% between 1999 and 2008. The major reason is the exponential increase in the use of pharmaceuticals, including all the new pharmaceuticals that have been fast-tracked onto the market without due testing and the pharmaceuticals that have been kept on the market despite known deadly/damaging side effects.
Whenever I see a commercial for a new pharmaceutical and the majority of the commercial is a list of the deadly and horrific side effects it can have, I'm transported to my Plutonic surreal insanity place. How messed up a society are we living in when a deadly drug is being advertised to people as if it's a new flavour of Pop Rocks? It's a type of messed up that we could only fully experience under transiting Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto (poison) in Capricorn (big business). Pluto (hidden control) in Capricorn (institutional hierarchy). Pluto (extreme dominance) in Capricorn (corporate oligarchy).
With Uranus in Aries (radical survival and necessary breaks from the old guard) forming its third exact conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn (poisonous corporate shenanigans) on May 20, these issues are in our face, up front and centre, more visible than usual, more challenging than usual.
Corporations and their foot soldiers are poisoning us en masse, and they're making off like bandits doing so.
On May 7, there will be a march on Washington by a group of people who have had horrendous, long-term adverse reactions to fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Major brands include Cipro and Avelox (manufactured and sold by Bayer) and Levaquin (manufactured and sold by Johnson & Johnson). The group is asking that physicians be educated on the dangers of prescribing these antibiotics. It is also asking that fluoroquinolones not be prescribed as a first-line antibiotic, as they are now.
Cipro is Poison is the website of a man named Jeff who has had one of the most severe adverse reactions possible to Cipro.
I hope none of us ever experiences the horror this man has been through. He's going through hell. It's truly unimaginable, and it's going on thousands of times over as these drugs continue to be handed out like Chiclets.
My heart is with every single person on this Earth (and off) who has been poisoned or who has had his or her life stolen by an irresponsible physician prescribing these horrifyingly dangerous new wave pharmaceuticals.
Being poisoned and damaged by a fluoroquinolone is called being "floxed," as most of the antibiotics have "flox" in their names. Being floxed is fucking terrible. Really fucking terrible.
Jeff is now disabled by the symptoms and the damage done by Cipro. Thankfully, he has able to get disability benefits. Many others are not. They are sick, unable to work, and uncompensated - as I was - and they are forced to fight doctors and pharmacists who do not believe these types of reactions are even possible. Sheer ignorance masquerading as health expertise.
This is from Jeff's site, republished with permission. This is a lot of text, but I want to give the full story. Warning: This is graphic and real and raw. This is what these drugs are doing to people.
Being poisoned and damaged by a fluoroquinolone is called being "floxed," as most of the antibiotics have "flox" in their names. Being floxed is fucking terrible. Really fucking terrible.
Jeff is now disabled by the symptoms and the damage done by Cipro. Thankfully, he has able to get disability benefits. Many others are not. They are sick, unable to work, and uncompensated - as I was - and they are forced to fight doctors and pharmacists who do not believe these types of reactions are even possible. Sheer ignorance masquerading as health expertise.
This is from Jeff's site, republished with permission. This is a lot of text, but I want to give the full story. Warning: This is graphic and real and raw. This is what these drugs are doing to people.
20 Things Cipro's Warning Label WON'T tell you:
www.ciproispoison.com
1. As everyone knows, all drugs have potential side effects. In the vast majority of drugs on the market (over 95% of them), these side effects are transient--meaning they cease when the medication is discontinued. This is NOT the case with Cipro! Many of the side effects listed on Cipro's warning label (plus many others that are not) can actually be PERMANENT and result in lifelong disability! Bayer blatantly hides this fact, as the word "permanent" appears absolutely nowhere on the drug's warning label.
2. Cipro is a purely synthetic chemotherapeutic antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone (also called "quinolone" or just "quin") class of drugs. Over HALF of all fluoroquinolone antibiotics have been pulled from the market for their horrific safety records. And the ones that remain on the market (Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox and a few others) are no safer! A study of ADRs in Italy, published in 2005, found that among more than 50 types of drugs, fluoroquinolones were involved in the largest number of serious problems and accounted for 11 percent of all adverse events.1 Every single drug in this class carries a black box warning--the equivalent of a skull & crossbones--for its nasty side effects. A black box warning is the last step before a drug is taken completely off the market. There is NO SUCH THING as a safe fluoroquinolone antibiotic!
3. The odds of experiencing an adverse reaction to Cipro (including, but certainly not limited to tendon rupture) are MUCH higher than the warning label would have you believe. These adverse reactions are also much more severe and long-lasting than Bayer will admit to.
4. Cipro's warning label makes it sound as if tendon rupture is the worst possible scenario. What it doesn't tell you is that the drug is actually capable of unleashing an entire SYNDROME of systemic toxicity upon the patient which is often referred to by victims as "floxing" or being "floxed." Others refer to the condition as "fluoroquinolone toxicity syndrome." Regardless of what you want to call it, it is absolutely devastating and commonly includes 30-40 different adverse symptoms all being suffered simultaneously and often lasting for YEARS. Many of these symptoms are devastating in and of themselves. This Cipro-induced toxicity syndrome wreaks absolute havoc on every part of a person's body--every tendon and joint in the body can become affected, every organ (including the brain), peripheral nervous system (resulting in severe and potentially permanent pain conditions, dystonia, muscle weakness or autonomic dysfunction), vision damage up to and including temporary blindness, retinal tears and/or permanent double vision, permanent tinnitus (ringing in the ears), long lasting or permanent central nervous system damage (including relentless insomnia, memory problems, random panic, depersonalization, psychosis), chronic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivities, severe muscle wasting, hair loss, skin changes, severe dryness issues (dry skin/eyes/mouth/nose), extensive dental damage and on and on and ON. While many of these side effects are indeed listed on Cipro's warning label, many are not. And again, nowhere in the drug's literature does Bayer acknowledge the existence of this devastating syndrome--nor do they disclose that if you fall victim to it you'll be experiencing nearly ALL of the ADR's listed on the warning label simultaneously! More than a few victims, as you may imagine, have been driven to suicide as a result of being floxed by fluoroquinolone antibiotics including Cipro.
5. Cipro attacks much more than just your tendons--it is toxic to ALL connective tissues including muscle/bone/fascia/skin/nerves/even cartilage!2 A laboratory study done on puppies showed that Cipro actually melts the cartilage out of their joints. (In case you didn't already know--cartilage does not regenerate! Once it's gone, it's gone). Degeneration of the cartilage matrix in humans has been observed following as few as two oral doses of Ciprofloxacin.3 This information has been known by scientists for over a decade now, and yet the word "cartilage" still appears absolutely nowhere on Cipro's warning label! There's a huge difference between "joint pain" (what is described on the drug insert) and complete joint destruction requiring replacement! And yet numerous individuals--both young and old--have had to undergo full joint replacement surgeries shortly after taking Cipro. People have also suffered osteonecrosis (bone death) as a result of taking this drug.
6. Cipro does not cause "tendonitis" as Bayer describes it on the warning label. Tendonitis is an overuse injury. Ciprofloxacin is directly toxic to tendon cells, chemically altering and destroying them on a cellular or even DNA level. Again--there's a big difference!
7. Cipro-induced injuries DO NOT HEAL NORMALLY, if at all. Floxed bodies lose their ability to heal. A small injury that would heal in a matter of days for a "normal" person often takes weeks or months to heal in a floxed person, or may not heal at all.
8. Cipro can and will attack your body regardless of your age or prior level of health. Do not think that because you are young, healthy or have never experienced any tendon or joint problems that you are safe taking this drug. It doesn't work that way! In fact Cipro is not even permitted for use in patients under the age of 18 because it can interfere with the development of a child's still-growing connective tissues. Cipro can render a top athlete of any age completely crippled and unable to walk, let alone workout or compete ever again.
9. Do not think because you've taken Cipro on previous occasions without any apparent problems that you're safe to take it again! Cipro's damage is cumulative, and the drug can turn on you at any time. This is not an allergic reaction we're talking about here. Everyone's threshold for the drug is different, but given enough of it, anyone can and will become floxed by Cipro. Once you have surpassed your threshold--that's it. There is no going back. Many disabled Cipro victims report having taken Cipro "successfully" a number of times before it finally turned on them.
10. Unlike most other drugs whose side effects surface while actually on the medication, Cipro is capable of causing severe delayed reactions that don't even manifest until long after you've finished taking the drug. This is unbelievably dangerous. What it means is that you could be experiencing a potentially permanent, crippling reaction to the drug but have NO IDEA until it's too late! Victims often report finishing their entire course of Cipro before "the bomb" finally goes off inside their body. It is not uncommon for a week or two to pass between the ingestion of Cipro and the onset of its toxicity. Once you become floxed, your risk of spontaneously tearing or rupturing a tendon continues for up to FIVE YEARS after you have ingested the medication! Obviously people who suffer delayed reactions often never make the connection between their sudden 'mysterious' health problems and the antibiotic they took days, weeks or even months prior, so these reactions go largely unreported. Worse, these victims often end up taking more FQ antibiotics at some point, which then cripples them even further.
11. People have wound up on crutches or in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives from as little as a few pills. As stated earlier, it is not uncommon for every tendon and joint in a person's body to become affected including shoulders, arms and hands, so there are instances where an electric wheelchair or motorized scooter becomes one's only option. You know you're disabled when you can't even wheel yourself around in a standard wheelchair!
12. In addition to being highly toxic to connective tissue, Cipro is also a neurotoxin capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and causing severe long-term neuropsychiatric side effects. These include random episodes of panic and anxiety, relentless insomnia, seizures, confusion, depersonalization, psychosis, memory loss, paranoia and hallucinations. These side effects can result from as little as ONE pill and persist for years or in some instances even be permanent! People have ended up in psychiatric wards or worse--killed themselves--as a result of some of these psychiatric side effects. Imagine for a moment being unable to sleep more than 1-2 hours a night, every night, for YEARS.
13. There are entire online communities and support groups full of fluoroquinolone antibiotic (Cipro) victims, with new members unfortunately joining nearly every day.
14. Dental damage! Cipro can calcify all of the nerves in your teeth as well as permanently dry out your mouth, promoting extensive tooth decay and/or tooth loss. There are people in their thirties who now wear dentures as a direct result of Cipro destroying all of their teeth from the inside out. Others have had teeth literally break off at the gum line after becoming floxed. Again--NO mention of this anywhere on the warning label!
15. As stated previously, Cipro is a 100% synthetic chemotherapeutic drug. It works by interfering with bacterial DNA, preventing it from replicating. The problem is, how can a synthetic chemical differentiate between bacterial DNA and your DNA!? As it turns out, it can't. Hint: If your cells cannot replicate, your body literally begins to fall apart! Which--ironically--is exactly what happens when a person becomes floxed. Muscles rapidly waste away, tendons tear and rupture (sometimes even in one's sleep), retinas spontaneously tear, cartilage erodes from the joints.
16. The vast majority of doctors are completely ignorant about Cipro and its horrific and long-lasting side effects. Most won't believe you when you tell them a prescription antibiotic has caused your slew of sudden disabling health problems--even if your symptoms match the ones listed right on the drug's warning label! They'll insist that the drug can't possibly still be harming you days/weeks/months/years after you've ingested it. They'll try and tell you you're just getting old or they'll subject you to a myriad of expensive testing in hopes of finding an auto-immune disorder or some other explanation for your problems. Inevitably the tests all come back negative. There is no auto-immune disorder…you were poisoned by Cipro. Sadly, even if you do manage to find a doctor who is familiar with Cipro toxicity, there is absolutely nothing they or anyone else can do to reverse the damage once it has occurred. There is quite simply NO treatment for floxing--no remedy, no tonic, no antidote. Once the damage is done, it's DONE. And yet Cipro's warning label instructs you to call your doctor immediately if you begin showing signs of an adverse reaction! What's the point?!
17. Doctors often try to misdiagnose flox victims as having auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, since many Cipro-induced ADR's mimic those of auto-immune disorders. Other favorite misdiagnosises include reflex sympathetic dystrophy (also called chronic regional pain syndrome or CRPS), fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, scleroderma, Raynauld's syndrome, and Sjogren's. Very few doctors--outside of alternative practitioners--will ever attribute your slew of sudden health problems to your having been poisoned by a prescription antibiotic.
18. Bayer does not know the mechanism behind how or why Cipro cripples people (at least that's what they claim). They also do not care, and are not interested in finding out. Bayer does NOT like to hear from their victims and does everything in their power to silence them. Many websites set up in order to spread information and awareness about floxing have been threatened with legal action and shut down. Others have 'mysteriously' disappeared from the web over the years without explanation. We'll see how long this one lasts!
19. If you become crippled by Cipro, don't expect any lawyers to take your case. They will claim you were warned. Of course, as I have just outlined, you were not at all warned adequately or truthfully about the scope, likelihood, severity or duration (aka permanence) of Cipro's nasty and life-altering side effects. Then there's the issue of proving cause and effect and statute of limitations with a drug whose side effects sometimes don't even fully surface until years after being ingested! Talk about the perfect crime!
20. SSDI does not recognize Cipro poisoning as a diagnosis, so you will have to fight tooth and nail to obtain any disability benefits once you've become crippled. The very government that allows this poison to be handed out like candy then turns around and tries to prevent you from collecting disability benefits once you've fallen victim to it!
Jeff's Cipro-induced nightmare of symptoms:
* Crippling body-wide tendon/joint/connective tissue issues beyond all comprehension. I cannot even begin to explain in words how God-awful devastating and horrific this is. Bayer likes to call this tendonitis? This is NOT tendonitis--this is tendon DESTRUCTION. Tendonitis heals, this does not heal! Literally every single tendon in my body has been affected, even my jaw. My tendons now "catch" and become entangled. And by NO MEANS are my tendons the only connective tissue that that stuff destroyed--it has maimed my fascia, muscles, skin and cartilage as well. As it turns out, Cipro attacks ALL collagen-containing connective tissues. Forget the whole slew of other injuries this poison has caused me, the connective tissue problems ALONE are absolute devastation. The word "problems" doesn't even come close to describing this.
* Nerve damage. That poison has caused severe peripheral neuropathy affecting both my legs and arms. Terrible muscle weakness (at times so severe it feels like my legs are becoming paralyzed), pins & needles, buzzing in my feet, numbness, burning pain in the souls of my feet, bouts of severe skin sensitivity (feels like I'm badly sunburned), uncontrolled muscle jerking and fasciculations, ulnar neuritis that was so severe for the first year that at times my eyes would tear up from the pain, and all sorts of other odd "out of this world" nerve sensations. My arms and legs 'fall asleep' EXTREMELY easily now?even from doing seemingly simple things like sitting in a car or sitting on a hard chair for more than a couple of minutes. Prior to being floxed I didn't even like taking aspirin--now I have to take pain medication (methadone, tramadol & neurontin) every night before bed or else I cannot sleep, as the nerves in my legs flare up and feel like they are being sliced by thousands of tiny razor blades. From the looks of it I'll be on pain medication the rest of my life now thanks to this.
* Severe vision damage. This came on overnight, starting with intense eyeball pain. The pain in my eyeballs was so bad that if I wanted to look at something to my side, I'd have to turn my entire head or my entire body (which was also severely painful) because moving my actual eyeballs hurt so terribly. My close-up vision became blurry, and at a distance I began seeing double. I ultimately developed not one but two torn retinas causing me to have blind spots in my vision, along with numerous floaters that dart in front of my eyes at all times, light sensitivity, crazy after-images when I close my eyes and thousands of tiny little flashy things that go off like fireworks when I look out a window or am outside in natural light (which isn't very often, being that I'm crippled). These visual disturbances are terribly annoying and distressing, and serve as a constant reminder that something is terribly wrong with my body. I will have to have my retinal tears monitored for the rest of my life now to ensure I don't go totally blind.
* Torn fascia in my left ankle, both knees and right shoulder. These are HORRIFICALLY painful and affect the structural integrity of the entire limb as well as exacerbate my peripheral neuropathy. In case you don't know, fascia is a very thin yet strong layer of connective tissue that weaves in and out of every muscle in your body. It allows muscles to glide smoothly over one another, and at the same time literally holds you together. When it tears, shit comes apart! My fascia tears have NOT healed, but they have created very painful and restrictive adhesions throughout my legs. Are fascia tears anywhere on Cipro's warning label? NO. They are not.
* Shrunken leg muscles (or shrunken tendons which in turn pull my leg muscles extremely tight--I can't tell). All I know is that my thighs/calves are pulled 24/7, and they don't stretch--they only tear! It literally feels like all of the muscles/tendons in my legs have turned into tough, inflexible rawhide beef jerky. I cannot bear weight on my left foot or knee or place my foot flat on the floor anymore because my left calf muscle is so tight/shortened that it will actually rip.
* Severe rapid muscle wasting. I was very lean to begin with--6'3 and about 165lbs at the time I was poisoned. I dropped down to 139lbs within about a month--all muscle. GONE. Especially hard-hit were my legs. I developed a deep, terrible aching in the core of my legs during the same period which may or may not be a direct result of all the muscle wasting. Regardless, the pain remains to this day and is often so intense it makes me want to tie a rope around my neck and kill myself. My muscles get so severely sore that at times it literally feels like I've been brutally beaten within an inch of my life or have been in a horrible car accident. To think that a handful of pills taken over THREE YEARS AGO can still be causing me this much God-awful pain is beyond anything I can even comprehend.
* A few weeks after my initial poisoning, I developed a vasculitis rash all over my lower legs and feet--thousands of tiny red "blood" spots underneath my skin. All the hair fell out soon after and has never returned. The spots have faded somewhat but still persist to this day (pic). A good while later, similar spots developed on the backs of my arms which have not gone away either. I've also had issues with the backs of my hands (pic).
* Feet turn purple and blue and get ice cold, as if the blood supply to them has been choked off. They no longer look like my feet, but rather feet that belong to a corpse.
* Toenails turned yellow and developed large, raised horizontal ridges on them (these are just now growing out somewhat normally, three years later). According to my rheumatologist, the nail ridges indicate that a traumatic shock occurred to my system. Ya think!?
* Severe and unrelenting plantar fasciitis (not listed ANYWHERE on the warning label).
* Non-stop tinnitus. Constant screeching and ringing in my ears which continues to this day. It is so loud it has actually woken me up at night.
* My skin, which I used to get compliments on before I took Cipro, broke out with terrible acne soon after my initial poisoning and developed hundreds of little clear bumps--like granules of sand underneath my skin. At around the one-year mark my facial skin (which was always oily before) literally turned hard, became severely dry, and now turns over extremely rapidly to the point of sloughing off in huge unsightly chunks 24/7 (pic). No amount of lotion even comes close to helping. Forget becoming crippled--if you at all value your looks, Cipro is NOT the poison for you. The skin on my face is now ruined--not only is it severely dry beyond help, it has developed numerous blotches of hard, crusty, scaly orange/yellowish discoloration. pic1 pic2 My skin has become so fragile and easily angered now--I can no longer use any of the products I once enjoyed, as my skin can't handle anything with chemicals in it. Even something as simple as drying my face with a bath towel has resulted in this on a few occassions now. It is horrific what this stuff can do to your skin. And don't even get me started on all the wrinkles I've suddenly developed as a result of all this dryness...the skin around my eyes is now all cracked up like something you'd see on an 80-year-old!
* At the same time my skin dried out, so did my eyes, ears and mouth (a condition mimicking Sjogran's syndrome). I now have to use special ointment at night to prevent my eyelids from fusing to my eyeballs and causing potential serious damage to my corneas. I now wake up with my lips stuck to my teeth whereas before taking Cipro I used to drool all over my pillow at night. These things might not sound like a big deal, but they are?the dryness issues very much add to my never-ending misery.
* Severe pain in my TEETH. It feels as if there is electric current running through every single one of the nerves in my teeth. My teeth now feel extremely brittle, like they could easily break. They also shift around in my mouth a lot more than they used to which is very annoying and uncomfortable. For the first six months or so I would constantly bite my own lips on accident while trying to chew my food, as if I was no longer able to properly control my jaw muscles. Here's a fun fact: Did you know Cipro can actually cause you to lose all of your teeth? It sure can! But you won't find THAT anywhere on the warning label! Luckily none of my teeth have yet to calcify or break off, but I know of many Cipro victims who've suffered devastating dental problems soon after being floxed. I know of one guy who had to have every single one of his teeth root canalled at a cost of $40,000. I'll tell you this: I've never in my life even had a cavity. I've always been extremely neurotic about my oral hygiene, and the day my teeth begin breaking out of my mouth or start requiring mass root-canal procedures because of Cipro, there will be a bloodbath at Bayer headquarters. MARK MY WORDS. They've already destroyed my entire body beyond recognition?don't FUCK with my teeth. Again, had the warning label said ANYTHING about potential dental problems/tooth loss, I'd have tossed that poison in the garbage where it belongs so incredibly fast (or better yet, discard it as a biohazard so it doesn't poison the water supply).
* Arthritis in my fingers and TOES! I never even knew your toes could have arthritis!!! But trust me--they can.
* Joints making gruesome crunching and popping sounds.
* Extreme fatigue and weakness. Any repetitive action/motion wears my muscles out extremely easily now. I even have great difficulty SPEAKING because the tendons/muscles/whatever in my throat fatigue to the point where I have to simply stop talking. I'm also unable to stand for more than a couple of minutes. For this reason I only take showers once every 2-3 days. By the time I am out of the shower I am physically exhausted.
* Loose ribs! Talk about something out of a horror movie. I have nights when I can't even sleep on my side because one of my ribs comes loose! It literally "clicks" where the rib meets the sternum. I've spoken with other Cipro victims who've experienced the same thing--one has even had to have rib surgery to reconnect his rib to his sternum. This is clearly a cartilage issue, something Bayer blatantly OMITS from their drug warning.
* Overall extreme frailness. My body is so easily injured now it's scary. I get extremely nervous just being in close proximity to other people now because if someone were to accidentally bump into me or step on my foot or something, it would injure me. It's seriously as if I have the body of a 100-year-old person now (although I've seen 100-year-olds on television who are still a hell of a lot more active and able-bodied than I am). If I were to ever fall, it would be devastating to my joints and tendons. Luckily that hasn't happened yet, as when I do attempt to walk--we're talking from one room to the next in my house--I'm constantly grabbing for things to hold onto.
* Terrible night sweats during the first 2-3 months (gone now)
* For the first three months or so after I was poisoned, my CNS (brain) was also greatly affected. I experienced waves of random panic, extreme mental fatigue unlike anything I'd ever experienced before, terrible memory problems--I'd start to say something and forget what I wanted to say mid-sentence. No matter how hard I tried I had trouble remembering things people would say?I'd come home from doctor appointments and couldn't recall a thing the doctor said. I even suddenly forgot how to SPELL which was very scary for me. I've always been a very good speller but suddenly I'd catch myself drawing a complete blank when trying to type online, or spelling simple words wrong. (By the way, if you find any spelling errors on this website please let me know
). I essentially felt mentally retarded. I also suffered with insomnia for the first couple months. Not that it's easy to sleep when you're in massive full-body pain regardless of how you position yourself, but you get the idea. Luckily my CNS symptoms cleared up after a few months. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for many Cipro victims. While some people are hit physically, like myself, others are hit with horrific CNS side effects that can be completely devastating and last years or even become permanent. We're talking permanent insomnia, panic, depersonalization, etc. Again--this fact is listed NOWHERE on the warning label. * The psychological ramifications I've experienced as a result of this never-ending nightmare are beyond anything I can even begin to describe. Depression from the pits of hell. I have been to hell. I am IN hell. Hell is a place on earth, and Cipro can take you there.
Mark Girard - Ottawa, Ontario
Please be so very careful about which pharmaceuticals you take. Don't take a doctor's or a pharmacist's word for it. Do research online before you put anything into your body. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are just a drop in the bucket as far as the dangerous and deadly pharmaceuticals being prescribed around the world on a daily basis. Unless you need pharmaceuticals to stay alive, I would suggest you don't take them at all. Seek out natural treatments first, and use pharmaceuticals (prescribed or over-the-counter) as a last resort only.
Please do not take fluoroquinolone antibiotics unless it is the last option for you. There are many brand names, including:
■Cipro (ciprofloxacin)
■Levaquin (levafloxacin)
■Floxin (ofloxacin)
■Avelox (moxifloxacin)
■Noroxin (norfloxacin)
■Penetrex (enoxacin)
■Maxaquin (lomefloxacin)
■Vigamox (eye drops for pink eye)
■Zymar eye drops
■Besivance Eye Drops
■Ciloxan Eye Drops
■Iquix Eye Drops
■Quixin Eye Drops
■Ocuflox Eye Drops
■Ofloxacin Eye Drops
■Cetraxal Ear Drops
■Cipro and Ciprodex Ear Drops
■Floxin and Ofloxacin Ear Drops
■Baytril (for veterinary use)
Fluoroquinolones are also being prescribed to children and pets, including in eye and ear drops.
More quinolone and fluoroquinolone antibiotics from Bayer & sister company Johnson & Johnson:
cinoxacin (Cinobac) (discontinued by manufacturer)
nalidixic acid (NegGram, Wintomylon)
oxolinic acid (Uroxin)
piromidic acid (Panacid)
pipemidic acid (Dolcol)
rosoxacin (Eradacil)
Second-generation
ciprofloxacin (Alcipro,Ciprobay, Cipro, Ciproxin)
enoxacin (Enroxil, Penetrex)
fleroxacin (Megalone, Roquinol)
lomefloxacin (Maxaquin)
nadifloxacin (Acuatim, Nadoxin, Nadixa)
norfloxacin (Lexinor, Noroxin, Quinabic, Janacin)
ofloxacin (Floxin, Oxaldin, Tarivid)
pefloxacin (Peflacine)
rufloxacin (Uroflox)
Third-generation
balofloxacin (Baloxin)
grepafloxacin (Raxar) (removed from clinical use)
levofloxacin (Cravit, Levaquin)
pazufloxacin (Pasil, Pazucross)
sparfloxacin (Zagam)
temafloxacin (Omniflox) (removed from clinical use)
tosufloxacin (Ozex, Tosacin)
Fourth-generation
clinafloxacin
gatifloxacin (Zigat, Tequin) (Zymar -opth.) (Tequin removed from clinical use)
gemifloxacin (Factive)
moxifloxacin (Avelox,Vigamox)
sitafloxacin (Gracevit)
trovafloxacin (Trovan) (removed from clinical use)
prulifloxacin (Quisnon)
In development
delafloxacin — an anionic fluoroquinoline in clinical trials
JNJ-Q2 — completed Phase II for MRSA
nemonoxacin
Veterinary use
danofloxacin (Advocin, Advocid) (for veterinary use)
difloxacin (Dicural, Vetequinon) (for veterinary use)
enrofloxacin (Baytril) (for veterinary use)
ibafloxacin (Ibaflin) (for veterinary use)
marbofloxacin (Marbocyl, Zenequin) (for veterinary use)
orbifloxacin (Orbax, Victas) (for veterinary use)
sarafloxacin (Floxasol, Saraflox, Sarafin) (for veterinary use)
If you've found this post because you've been floxed, my heart is with you because I know how terrifying and horrifying the reactions are. Please know, however, that you are not alone. There are tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of people going through the very same thing you are.
These are some of the strategies that have helped me in my recovery process, and they might help you:
- eating simple, non-processed, organic foods - no pesticides, no herbicides, no additives, no MSG - and going back to a very basic, stripped-down diet
- eliminating foods that cause an increased reaction - this varies by person. Reading the advice of other FQ sufferers on this front can help narrow these down.
- no caffeine, no refined sugar, no alcohol (when I let up on this, I generally suffer the consequences)
- drinking non-fluoridated, non-chlorinated water. I started having spring water delivered, and it was worth every penny. Drinking mostly water with a little apple or orange juice once in a while helped me.
- using only natural and scent-free products - soap, deodorant, laundry soap, cleaning products
- limiting TV, computer, and other forms of artificial light - no movie theatres or concerts with flashing lights
- sleeping and resting as much as I need to
- seeing a good naturopath/energy healer
- following prescribed herbal remedies
- cranberry pills, uva ursi, and nettle tea for kidneys and urinary tract, B vitamins, folic acid, calcium/magnesium, Vitamin D, fish oil, probiotics (very helpful)
- gentle exercise as I could tolerate it
- talking about it (sometimes helped, sometimes harmed)
- support from family members
- faith and/or Plutonic will
- making however I feel 100% OK and accepted
- not getting the allopathic diagnosis or any bullshit "treatments" from doctors who didn't believe me in the first place
- no pharmaceuticals or over-the-counter drugs, including Aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, etc.
- allowing the heinous reaction to do its thing but keeping somewhat detached from what's going on in my body. Very hard, but helpful.
- thinking about how short a human lifetime really is
- being thankful that I now see so deeply into who and what is poisoning us on this planet
- connecting the dots as far as similar issues going on on this planet
- seeing the big picture, rather than focussing solely on my individual case
- fighting the bastards, speaking up, spreading information about fluoroquinolones
Fluoroquinolones are just the most recent crime against humanity commited by Bayer. For more, past and present, click here: Coalition Against Bayer Dangers
23 comments:
Hi Willow i study to be a nurse never finished school when i come to the USA and saw all the drugs on the shelves anywhere and everywhere i was shocked i'v been telling people ever since when ever a company comes out with a new drug they always gonna need "Lab Rats"=human beings that's a fact and it's always gonna be a fact i hate drugs never done anything and never will the pharmaceutical company's spend an average 20-30 million USD/per commercial to advertise there "product" to humans and they always take up the best spots prime time television adveriting i can't even change the chanel between commercials because the networks are running it at the same time currently i'm working on a special device i'm not going to disclouse over the internet because it's gonna be huge i tell you in person some day i gonna able to sign up soon for the subscription in the meantime i'm enjoying your articles here have a good week.
Thank you for this. I am sorry to hear of what he is going through. Checked my meds for eye allergies--a histamine blocker, does not contain any "flox." But who knew even eye drops had this poison in them? It's getting so that you can't even trust in medicine any more--but sometimes you do need more than just clean eating and homeopathic treatments (which I do both of and are great). The level of trust that keeps getting destroyed on this planet -- the greed, the human disconnect from other human hearts--and this pharmaceutical poisoning is just another example. Will Uranus or Pluto win? Please tell me the Uranian types, with their urge for social justice, freedom, and clean living (with integrity) for all. Thank you for posting your astrological insights, Willow. Your no-bullshit style tempered with compassion is so needed right now. Namaste.
The scary thing is, with all the drugs and pharmaceuticals in the water systems, we're all probably sipping diluted doses of this crap.
I feel I could have become a great nurse. I sincerely do care about others, and have a naturally healing presence. However, as Sofia mentions, it's fucking ridiculous how much drugs are pushed and advertised and practically shoved down our throats...
I realize that just being there for people, listening, making them laugh, etc., outside of a hospital is equally helpful and powerful.
Thank you for this informative piece.
Ooooh yeah! Thank you for posting this, aka thanks for "keeping it real". This is the VERY reason why I avoid antibiotics (in general) like the plague, and read every single food label. I buy organic when I can, etc. etc. I rely on my regular use of probiotics, kombucha tea, and keeping my immune system in good working order.
I'm also skeptical about vaccines, but that's for another rant I'm sure.
When I started to see commercials for Rx pharmaceuticals showing up on television (years ago) I thought it very odd and unsettling that consumers should go about 'asking' their doctor whether (drug) is right for them. I still remember those terrible antidepressant commercials with the frowny face animated character).
Antidepressants and sleeping pills are just so over-prescribed - holy crap!!
I'm not generally against antidepressants to help those who really need them (the very critically depressed), but so many conditions could be corrected with diet, exercise, and in the case of depression - sometimes it's as simple as correcting a vitamin D deficiency and buying a "therapy" light, and/or finding a good therapist.
This reliance on drugs vs. holistic / natural therapies is just so disturbing to me (maybe it's just my natal Ceres conjunct my MC talking) - it's just do dangerous!!
It's going to be very interesting to see what power The People can bring to this fight as we get several passes of the Uranus square Pluto transit over the next few years.
I'm encouraged every time I speak to an adult in their early 20s who are angry about corporations poisoning people (from GMOs and HFC to bad drugs). We all need to stand up against the corporate lobbyists and tell our elected officials that they're not going to get to keep their jobs if they continue to side with those reckless corporations.
Power to the People!
Thank you, Willow. For animal lovers: "Orbax" (Orbifloxacin) is being prescribed for cats and dogs. Vet said it's a very safe and effective antibiotic--my kitty was sick when I started giving Orbax, and is now much sicker. I'll be more vigilant in future, but may not ever know the toxic effects it's had on my cat. Thanks to all who are working to educate us on these issues.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. :-(
I hope he/she recovers quickly. A lot of people do.
The nefarious history of Bayer:
http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/11153-bayer-a-history
Im sorry but this woman reminds me of my virgoian mother
I know there was some effects but being neurotic about stuff- then only making a blood bath at the point your teeth begin to break...
im so glad, for some of my astrology placements. Because i pull my faith away very quickly depending on the cause.
She just cant chalk everything like that up to cipro when shes taking so many other things. My heart goes out to her but i really couldnt finish it. I do thank her for the warning but she seems like shes chalking things that naturally come up for everyone in astrological placements and pinning far too much of it on that drug.
Im glad she got the word out and agree the in all the ways of corporate pharms being toxic out but sounds too much like my moms medical bickering making things far worse than they appear knowing the answer is there shams and still going back to them for a solution.
Maybe this was for her disability acceptance, u do have to dramatize and yell to the hills to get your fair shake. If this is why, i understand, but for the reasons i just dont.
.
As stated in the article, this is from a site written by a man named Jeff Kay who has had one of the more severe possible reactions to Cipro.
Nothing, I repeat, nothing has been over-dramatized here. Definitely not for the sake of getting disability. That's actually very insulting.
My own adverse reaction to Cipro involved many of the same symptoms only to a less severe degree.
There is no making things worse than they are here. This is a real adverse drug reaction to a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. These things are deadly. These things have contributed to 250,000 Gulf War veterans becoming disabled by Gulf War Syndrome.
You are making too light of it, in my opinion.
If you don't believe me or Jeff, do some online research of your own. Read the victim's stories. You won't doubt it much longer.
The 'Fluoroquinolone Wall of Pain' Facebook group would be a good place to start your research.
Hundreds of stories about the horrific and long-term side effects from these drugs right from the horse's mouth.
Or you can click the "Cipro is Evil" label on this very site.
Sigh.
I really don't feel like arguing with a naysayer.
But people can see how it is...
Too many people trying to convince us we're not sick or that it wasn't the drug that did it.
Ok i just looked on a site for personal cipro side effects and alot of people pretty much say the same thing, i believe you, And jeff and i apologize, were all evolving here, there is room for mistakes i hope.
If they wouldnt have had the so many symptoms thing, the drug just creates a wide arrange of symptoms, coupled with my moms flashback episodes of severe hypocondria combined to make my post one of being wrong.
Were not arguing just having a conversation but i know when u do it with others alot it feels like its happening all the time. But thats why its good to keep at it.
I did not mean to be one of those people but thats good that we all used this beautiful medium to elevate me to a place of being in the know About Cipro.
Us aquas have many causes and sometimes its hard to keep up with all injustices.
Thanks for the warning, Willow, albeit a month too late in my case. I needed a biopsy done last month, and the doctor prescribed a three day course of Levafloxacin. Thankfully I didn't come down with any of the symptoms you described, but I will definitely ask for a safer alternative in the future.
Happy eclipse season! (gulp).
Yea so i feel really embarrassed but its not even about me, i watched the video on youtube the canadian one, im sooo sorry for for overshooting the mark. The woman has ear ringing like jeff too. Just a odd wide range, wanting to dance and shes so sincere.. And the guy from colorado.
I also noticed two guys guy on youtube one who is crying, very authentic, and another has a goatee you can tell does suffer from brain damage, sometimes emotion gets lost through word tho.
Its not that i dont trust u willow, its just i couldnt see jeffs face on the subject in conjunction with others. My 4th house moon was flashing back sounded exactly like my mom who used to make like she sick to use us. Everymorning of my short childhood spent at home was waking up and making her coffee. Doing almost every chore, if i didnt the beating or cold shower of her virgo rage would start. (Public flash backs) gotta watch those.
Whats done is done tho... I should probably write jeff an apology email.
If i was in DC id go to make up for it..
Anyway hope u get this, u dont have to clog up ur page. Just wanted to make sure i didnt hurt you yesterday.. Im very sorry once agian.
Please dont hate me im not american :) im not bayer ive always hated this country and i believe we are the true terrorists, anyway u probably think im a little off, but if we ever exchange or even just become rich enough to show you/tell u mine Youll understand i truley do have good intention. And just learning what happens when u say something you feel, venus square saturn probably 2 still learning how to communicate- My venus in pisces correctly it means well :) your blog was all blogly changing me in one simple read response research so your doing great things.
No parents was ever around to say jason this is how ur supposed do it. So astrology is my parent and im still learning language. Ok bye, b4 mercury jupiters gonna make me promise something.
Willow, Thank you so much for posting this. I started taking cirpodex ear drops (on the Scorpio lunar eclipse, no less) for an ear infection about two weeks ago. I took three drops, twice a day, for one week, as prescribed by my doctor. The first five days went by without incident, and the infection was taken care of. However, by day 6 I had my first panic attack, while driving with my parents through the Rockies, enroute to a poetry residency in Banff. I had a panic attack years ago, which was a one-off, but the panic attack I had in the vehicle was so intense I had to tell my father to pull over, as I basically felt like my head was going to explode. Eventually I managed to control my breathing enough to continue with the drive, but my parents were pretty disturbed. For the next five days I proceeded to have three more panic attacks, and experienced a near constant headache that made my head feel like it was being squeezed in a vice grip, and filling with fluid. I would experience cold sweats in the night, waves of dizziness and disassociation, which was extremely scary, as I haven't had any physical or mental problems in the past few years. The pain was so excruciating, I had to go to the hospital three times, where they pumped me with Ativan and painkillers, cluless as to what could be causing the headaches. They thought it was all related to the panic attacks. Needless to say, I lost a week of valuable writing time, but did begin feeling better as soon as I finished that course of ciprodex. I don't think the panic attacks were random; I'm convinced that my body knew it was being poisoned, and that something was terribly amiss. That week goes down as the scariest in my life.
Yes, panic attacks were one of my initial symptoms, as well. Definitely brought on by the drug and by the body's reaction to being poisoned. Glad you're OK now!
Thanks, Willow. I will certainly spread the word about this horrid antibiotic. I wouldn't wish what I went through on anybody.
Did you find that the symptoms died down after you stop taking the antibiotic, or did they persist for a while after. I certainly feel much better than I did while on the antibiotic, but I'm still not 100 percent. Sometimes a less severe version of the headache comes back, or I start to feel panicky again.
In any case, I'm trying to be as kind to my body as possible, as I recover.
I was deathly ill for 6 months and then quite ill for another two years. Severe migraines, tendon pain and weakness, crushing exhaustion, vision problems, gastrointestinal problems, chemical depression, depersonalization, etc.
I'm at the 3.5-year mark now. I still have symptoms, but as long as I keep my eating pristine and get a lot of rest, I can manage them pretty well. It's a cyclical recovery process, so I feel pretty good for two or three weeks and then have symptoms for a week or two, etc.
There are people who are permanently disabled by these drugs, in wheelchairs. I'm just so, so sorry they're going through that. I still have hope for anyone's recovery because, in my experience, it's a long-term, gradual and cyclical recovery process. I think changing or modifying what people ingest (food, drinks, whatever) can do a huge amount of good.
But the truth is, this drug takes people out for years of their lives.
Not good stuff.
So yes - be as nice to yourself as possible. Eat like a monk. Drink only water - non-treated, if possible. Get lots and lots of rest. It sounds as if you had one of the less severe reactions, so I hope you recover quickly! Lots of people do.
Willow, stumbling upon your posts on Cipro probably saved me a trip the psychiatric ward. I really thought I was losing my mind at first, with the panic attacks, intense fear of death, and debilitating pressure headaches.
This whole experience, however, has reminded me to trust my instincts when it comes to my body. I knew this wasn't my own shit. The doctors insisted that Cipro was perfectly safe, but it took stumbling upon your blog post to confirm what I had known all along. The knowledge that other people are suffering and have suffered the heinous affects of this drug gives me more courage than ever to move forward, and fight this thing.
Interestingly, transiting Saturn is hovering above my natal Pluto, within a couple degrees. Transiting black moon Lilith is also approaching my natal Chiron.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. That takes courage.
Yes, I had panic attacks, an overwhelming feeling that I was going to die and INTENSE FEAR that I was going to die - when in real life, the thought of dying doesn't really frighten me, and pressure headaches, also. The pressure headaches proved to be worse than the extremely painful ones because they continued for a lot longer and were more frequent afterwards. But I couldn't lift my head off the couch for weeks during the initial reaction.
I had insane visuals during the initial reaction, too. Flashing lights, weird coloured images. Closing my eyes was like a fucking nightmare scene.
The worst feeling for me was knowing that I had been chemically poisoned. I was completely out of control of the reaction I was having, emotionally and physically.
Ah, Pluto in Scorpio. So you're getting a deep healing/poisoning lesson about how fucked up the Pluto in Capricorn-era medical establishment is, too, I guess. Chiron in Gemini - sharing your experience helps others, also, so thank-you for sharing your comment.
Just to make this really clear: the story I'm sharing in this post is the story of a guy named Jeff Kay. His site is ciproispoison.com, and he's also on Facebook.
Coalition Against Bayer Dangers: www.cbgnetwork.org/4.html
I also got worse tinnitus from this. I had tinnitus originally from another drug, and drugs often make it worse. This one did.
And I have to say, for people who didn't have tinnitus to have to deal with tinnitus on top of all the other symptoms is soooooo harsh. That shit will definitely push you to the brink if you are already having suicidal thoughts, which are linked to this drug, also.
Willow you are such a Heroine. Your kindness that you extend to so many of us, in so many ways, is extraordinary. Thank you so much for your sharing of yourself -- your personal stories, your wisdom, and your wonderful caring heart.
This is my first time go to seee aat here and i am truly impressed to read all at single place.
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