Fluoroquinolones: The Deadliest Antibiotics on the Market?
- by Joseph Mercola, DC - October 20, 2012
Includes:
. . . a 2001 study by Dr. Jay Cohen, the following reaction rates were documented . . . . [a very clear chart / graph here] -
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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WPinVA
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posted
I personally hope they don't pull it from the market. We don't have enough antibiotics as it is that are effective, and for some, this may be the only class that will work against certain infections. It has been that way for me with my persistent sinus infections.
I do think that this class is overused. I think it should be used as a last resort. I think all patients should be told of all side effects and doctors should monitor them much more closely and pull it at the first sign of an issue.
I'm glad this issue is getting more attention. I just hope there's not an overreaction because this drug has worked for me when others did not and I personally would be a little despondent if it is pulled because I don't know how I would get rid of my next sinus infection.
Posts: 1737 | From Virginia | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
One of, among the many problems with fluoroquinolones, is that whether or not a person has a potentially devastating negative reaction is determined by one's cumulative exposure. A person might be one pill away from being floxed, there is no way to know. Also, many times reactions are delayed, sometimes for months or years, so one may have gone beyond the threshold, and not know until it is too late.
The notion that being monitored by an MD while on the drug will somehow protect one from an adverse reaction or might mitigate a reaction, does not appear to be borne out by many people's experiences, including my own. There is nothing an MD can do, that will stop a reaction once it has started. In many cases, one dose of a fluoroquinolone has been enough to cause a severe reaction.
MD's have proven that they by and large are incapable of properly handling fluoroquinolones, and have failed to provide even a modicum of the caution and care one would expect when dealing with such a dangerous drug.
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Judie
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"One of, among the many problems with fluoroquinolones, is that whether or not a person has a potentially devastating negative reaction is determined by one's cumulative exposure."
Yes, and as you said, some people have a devastating reaction when they've just taken 1 or 2 pills.
It doesn't help that LLMDs mistake the reaction for a herx even when you are being monitored.
My pain management clinic had no idea about fluoroquinolones and pain is their specialty. The doctors don't know anything that deal with this everyday, including the LLMDs.
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Keebler
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posted
- LymeToo just posted [in another thread] this article from this week's news:
Cipro: Could this antibiotic permanently damage your health?
From WRIC News 8, the ABC affiliate in Richmond, VA - April 23, 2015 (updated) -
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CherylSue
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posted
I was given IV Levaquin fifteen years ago when I was hospitalized for a 103 fever I had for over a week. I was feeling badly to begin with, but after the IV my skin just burned and burned and my head was fried. I could barely see, move, or hear. Sounds bothered me. I was literally a zombie and didn't care if I lived or died.
It took me a year to "recover" from all types of neurological symptoms. I think initially I had lyme and babesia, but the Levaquin made it unbearable. Everytime I get a high fever I relapsed. Levaquin exacerbated Lyme and coinfections. Note I wasn't diagnosed with Lyme yet, and was not on any other abx.
I still have problems with fatigue today, although my Lyme symptoms have subsided.
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Keebler
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This site is to give HOPE to those who are suffering from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome as a result of being poisoned by fluoroquinolone antibiotics – Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, Floxin, etc.
posted
Sadly, this stuff is being overused in so many cases, where it isn't even needed. It happened to me last year when I had pneumonia.
Of course by the time my illness got bad enough to see a doc, it was a weekend, so I went to the local prompt care clinic. The doc had my lungs x-rayed, since he couldn't hear pneumonia in them, saw that I indeed had it, and prescribed Levaquin.
I had bad reaction to it, so he changed it to something else, (funny, it seems like it was Doxy, but they wouldn't give that for pneumonia, would they?), which did nothing. Finally he gave me amoxy. and it worked fine. So there is no way that nasty stuff should have been used as the first line of defense!
It was after that I read the article on Dr. Mercola's site that is referenced above. Good grief!
-------------------- Bless the Lord, oh my soul. -- Psalm 103 Posts: 102 | From WA | Registered: May 2015
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Keebler
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posted
- Judie just posted an important note in a different thread:
" . . . I got refloxed by a quinolone, you don't need the fluoride to be floxed. . . ." (end quote) -
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Keebler
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posted
- Consider other ways to approach treatment. There are various options.
Fluoroquinolones – Cipro, Levaquin & Avelox (over 40 in total)
Fluoroquinolones are the most used type of antibiotics in the United States. Over 26 million people received prescriptions each year.
But recent studies link these drugs to aortic dissection and aneurysm. Both conditions weaken the walls of the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body, and may lead to a rupture or leak which can be life-threatening. . . . [More detail at link]
[ 06-28-2016, 04:05 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
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Keebler
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posted
- A poster (if I recall correctly) once made a note that they were "floxed" by a Quinolone, too. Just reading the Contraindications, it seems that this could be Contraindicated in anyone with neurolyme, due to the CNS inflammation, alone.
[As with first learning about many topics, I find Wiki is a nice place to begin and I am thankful for their good work here. Of course, as with all encyclopedias of our youth, we then move on to other sources for further study.]
As best I can determine in basic phrasing (if I interpret this correctly) is that the difference in a Quinolone and a Fluoroquinolone is the generation - and the alteration described here along time:
The basic pharmacophore, or active structure, of the fluoroquinolone class is based upon the quinoline ring system.[51]
The addition of the fluorine atom at C6 distinguishes the successive-generation fluoroquinolones from the first-generation of quinolones.
The addition of the C6 fluorine atom has since been demonstrated not to be required for the antibacterial activity of this class (circa 1997).[52]
. . . Contraindications
Quinolones are contraindicated if a patient has epilepsy, QT prolongation, pre-existing CNS lesions, or CNS inflammation, or the patient has suffered a stroke.[17] . . . children . . . . etc.
First-generation [quinolones]
cinoxacin (Cinobac)
nalidixic acid (NegGram, Wintomylon)[77]
oxolinic acid (Uroxin)
piromidic acid (Panacid)
pipemidic acid (Dolcol)
rosoxacin (Eradacil)
[may be a partial list?]
[Second, third, fourth & "in development" fluoroquinolone lists here, too, but not the full lists as in the fluoroquinolone page.] -
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posted
I thought quinolone was short for fluoroquinolone. Guess not.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
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posted
- Drugs are always getting tweaked and - like kids going from elementary to middle school - when they do many often like to alter their names (or they have their names changed FOR them). -
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Keebler
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posted
- In regard to the drug classification discussed above:
[Wiki] . . . The addition of the FLUORINE atom at C6 distinguishes the successive-generation fluoroquinolones from the first-generation of quinolones. . . .
SickSam just posted this in the discussion at thread above.
"Judie, thanks for being persistent in saying that it is a quinolone. You caused me to dig deeper.
If you scroll down on the following link, there is a chart of these drugs that suggests that quinolines are, in fact, a subclass of quinolones" (end SickSam note)
FDA: Stronger Fluoroquinolone Warnings for Mental Health, Hypoglycemia
July 10, 2018
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today ordered label changes for fluoroquinolones to strengthen warnings about the antibiotics' risks for mental health side effects and serious blood sugar disturbances, according to a press release. . . .
[Full detail at the link above] -
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Keebler
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Certain antibiotics may cause aortic aneurysm, FDA warns
By Jen Christensen, CNN - December 20, 2018
Excerpt:
The US Food and Drug Administration warned on Thursday that the benefits of fluoroquinolone antibiotics do not outweigh the risks -
- which include aortic aneurysm -- for certain patients, according to the latest research. The research is based on reports of patient problems and on studies published between 2015 and 2018.
Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are often used to treat serious respiratory infections, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, and even plague and exposure to anthrax.
They include drugs sold under the names
ciprofloxacin (Cipro),
gemifloxacin (Factive),
levofloxacin (Levaquin),
moxifloxacin (Avelox),
norfloxacin (Noroxin) and
ofloxacin (Floxin).
Patients take them orally or through injection.
The drugs may cause aortic aneurysm, a bulge in an artery that can grow and burst, causing dangerous or fatal bleeding.
Patients most at risk for an aortic aneurysm after taking these antibiotics are the elderly, those with high blood pressure,
people who have a history of blockages of the aorta or other blood vessels, and those who have genetic conditions like Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. . . .
[Article continues at link above. Other sources should also be explored for more detail.]
Category: Fluoroquinolone antibiotics - list of over 40 different pharmaceuticals.
also consider all the OTHER NAMES a drug goes by, and also the generics.
Some fly under two or three different names or "nick names" depending upon the pharmaceutical company.
And, keep in mind:
Judie posted a while back an important note in a different thread:
" . . . I got refloxed by a quinolone, you don't need the fluoride to be floxed. . . ." (end quote) -
[ 12-20-2018, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
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Keebler
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posted
- LymeToo just posted this in another thread, on Nov. 15, 2019:
it may be helpful to note that if you have taken fluoroquinolones even for short periods of time, you will be severely deficient in the gut bacteria you need in order to digest foods with oxalates.
So .. stay away from cipro, levaquin, avelox at all cost.
The gut bacteria cannot be replaced. They are working on supplements that would replace it, but for now it is not a stable bacteria that can be marketed.
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