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New FDA warnings on Cipro may tie into Gulf War illness

Ecoclimber

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U.S. troops patrol near a burning oil well in southern Iraq in April 2003. Many troops were given a powerful antibiotic known as Cipro to prevent anthrax. (U.S. Navy)
By Lisa Bloomquist of collective-evolution.com

Gulf War Illness Tied to Cipro Antibiotics

A U.S. military publication, The Air Force Times, made the connection that victims of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome (“Floxies”) have been screaming about for years – that Gulf War Illness is tied to Cipro. In an article entitled, “New FDA warnings on Cipro may tie into Gulf War Illness,” it was noted that the August, 2013 update to the warning labels of all fluoroquinolone antibiotics stating that PERMANENT peripheral neuropathy is a possible adverse effect, prompted The Air Force Times to make the connection.

Civilians suffering from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome (an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone – Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin, Floxin/Ofloxacin and others) have noted the similarities between Gulf War illness and Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome for years. It is beyond likely, it is probable, that they are one in the same.

The Symptoms

The VA defines Gulf War Illness as “chronic, unexplained symptoms existing for 6 months or more” that are at least ten percent disabling. The CDC case definition of Gulf War Illness “requires chronic symptoms in two of three domains of fatigue, cognitive-mood, and musculoskeletal.”

Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome is a chronic, unexplained illness with symptoms lasting for months, years, or, as the updated warning label notes, permanently. The symptoms of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are too numerous to list, but a cursory glance at the warning label for Cipro/Ciprofloxacin will tell you that the effects include musculoskeletal problems and central nervous system issues. Additionally, as pharmaceuticals that damage mitochondria, the energy centers of cells, severe fatigue is often induced by Fluoroquinolones.

Read the rest of the article here
 
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Gingergrrl

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16,171
@Ecoclimber Thank you so much for posting this and I have been trying to get the word out on Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome since I was poisoned by Levaquin in 2010. I did not take Cipro but Levaquin and Cipro are virtually the same in how they damage the human body.

I had systemic toxicity and weakness, severe insomnia, pressure in my head, ears, and chest, systemic pain, and a severe injury to the tendon in my right arm (triceps) in which I was unable to use that arm for a year and a half and I am right handed.

I later learned about the mitochondrial damage and how FQ antibiotics rob your body of Magnesium and coQ10. It weakened my entire system and had I not been floxed, I seriously wonder if I would have even gotten mono after a minor surgery leading to CFS.

If I could go back in time, I would have refused the Levaquin samples given to me by a doctor that I knew and trusted for ten years. It wasn't even clear if my tonsillitis was due to strep when he gave them to me as if they were benign candy.

I should have been given information and informed consent that I was taking something so toxic that one pill can cause a tendon rupture. The doctor later apologized and tried to help me but the damage had already been done.

I was able to participate in a research study by Beatrice Golumb at UC San Diego (a three part study) and still need to complete the third part. There is also a wonderful documentary about FQ antibiotics called "Certain Adverse Events" by Nancy Edwards whose career and health was ended by Levaquin and I had the pleasure to meet her and get to know her since 2010.

But like ME/CFS most people do not know about this issue and most doctors continue to prescribe without warning their patients of possible lifelong damage. Even if I were exposed to Anthrax and on my death bed, I would not take another FQ antibiotic.

ETA: Many of the soldiers in addition to Cipro were also given Larium as an anti malarial med that is also in the FQ class and can cause severe psychiatric events and florid psychosis in people with no prior history.
 
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dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
I found this comment on youtube, so probably good to take it with a grain (or bathtub full) of salt:

"Actually i recovered from CIPRO poisoning with all of the joint damage...through healing my gut doing Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, OZONE autohemotherapy which completely oxygenates the blood and detoxes the flouroquinolines from the tissue and electro therapy on my joints.....all of theses things had to do with oxygen in the blood.....also a GOOD BONE BROTH....which has more collagen, gelatin and all of the amino acids to heal the gut and the start to heal the joints."
 

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
There was a few other stories around the internet of recovery, also a forum dedicated to recovery from quinoline reactions I believe.

http://www.medicationsense.com/articles/jan_dec_08/toxicity070508.php

@Martial I did a consult with Dr. Jay Cohen (of Medication Sense in San Diego) back in 2010 when I was injured by Levaquin and did all the known tests, treatments & supplements at that time (which wasn't a lot!!!) They know a lot more now than they did back then but are still in the dark ages.

With so many antibiotics on the market, why are these mitochondrial poisons still in use?

@Sidereal Because they are enormous money makers for Big Pharma and they had to get sued by Public Citizen to get the first black box warnings put on the antibiotics in 2008 (which sadly I did not know when I took it in 2010.) Levaquin is one of the top selling meds in the U.S. (and it may have another name in Europe, not sure.) The Pharma reps promote the hell out of it and give free samples to doctors.
 

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
Just wanted to add that FQ antibiotics are also prescribed as eye and ear drops, even for babies. They have caused retinal detachment and are ototoxic and can cause permanent tinnitus (thank God those last two things did not happen to me.) They are also used as antibiotics for pets given by the veterinarian, so even for my dog I always confirm with the vet that any med is not an FQ antibiotic.

It breaks my heart when I think of a baby being given FQ antibiotics in an eye or ear drop and they cannot express the pain in words like an adult can. In the documentary "Certain Adverse Events" there is a young girl who was given Levaquin at age 16 (even though it can't legally be prescribed for anyone under 18) and she had eight different tendon ruptures.

Nothing I am saying here is exaggerated and no one who already is ill from ME/CFS should ever take this class of meds.
 

NK17

Senior Member
Messages
592
Just wanted to add that FQ antibiotics are also prescribed as eye and ear drops, even for babies. They have caused retinal detachment and are ototoxic and can cause permanent tinnitus (thank God those last two things did not happen to me.) They are also used as antibiotics for pets given by the veterinarian, so even for my dog I always confirm with the vet that any med is not an FQ antibiotic.

It breaks my heart when I think of a baby being given FQ antibiotics in an eye or ear drop and they cannot express the pain in words like an adult can. In the documentary "Certain Adverse Events" there is a young girl who was given Levaquin at age 16 (even though it can't legally be prescribed for anyone under 18) and she had eight different tendon ruptures.

Nothing I am saying here is exaggerated and no one who already is ill from ME/CFS should ever take this class of meds.
Thank you @Gingergrrl for this precious and health saving informations.

Last time I was at my PCP office for a visit and the nurse asked me about allergies to meds, I decided to state that I am allergic to FQ ;). As they say: better safe than sorry.

Recently a relative was randomly and unwarrantedly prescribed ear drops containing FQ for a clear and simple ear irritation. Luckily I was on the alert and suggested a wait and see approach, which was confirmed and validated by a second doctor.
 

picante

Senior Member
Messages
829
Location
Helena, MT USA
I was going to start my own thread asking for an opinion on this, but I think I've got my answer, thank you all.

You won't believe this:
Yesterday I was pruning a large rose bush and as I cut through a branch it flipped up and hit me in the eye. My neighbor confirmed that I had a small needle-sized thorn lodged in the edge of my iris. He took me to the ER while I held my eye open. (He works at the hospital, in fact, and even called while we were en route to reserve me a "suite", LOL!)

It was after office hours, so they went after the thorn and got it out (with a topical eye anesthetic, yay!). It wasn't easy. There was still a "speck" they couldn't dislodge, even with a little vibrating tool. I was sent home sans thorn and told to go to the ophthalmologist next day.

I saw the optometrist because the ophthalmologist was otherwise occupied (although they could call him in from his clinic if needed). The "speck" was gone. I was ecstatic -- it had worked its way out overnight.

The optometrist was "surprised" that the ER had prescribed gentamicin drops as an antibiotic, since I have had sulfur-related sensitivities in the past (DMSA, DMPS, sulfites in food). I replied that I wasn't too worried about gentamicin "sulfate" because sulfate is what your body converts sulfite to in order to detoxify it.

She decided I would do better on something else, and I said just make sure it doesn't contain any of the chemicals that interfere with thyroid metabolism: chlorine, fluorine and bromine derivatives.

When DH came home after picking up my eye drops, I read the ingredients with astonishment:
Active: Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride
Inactives: Hydrochloric acid (to adjust pH)
Preservative: Benzalkonium Chloride​

REALLY?

Thank you @Ecoclimber, @Gingergrrl, and the rest of you for confirming my suspicions.
 

JPV

ɹǝqɯǝɯ ɹoıuǝs
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858
Fluoroquinolones contain Fluoride. I think Fluoride toxicity might be a big component of ME/CFS. If you live in the US, you're most likely drinking and bathing in water that has had Fluoride added to it.
 

Martial

Senior Member
Messages
1,409
Location
Ventura, CA
I was going to start my own thread asking for an opinion on this, but I think I've got my answer, thank you all.

You won't believe this:
Yesterday I was pruning a large rose bush and as I cut through a branch it flipped up and hit me in the eye. My neighbor confirmed that I had a small needle-sized thorn lodged in the edge of my iris. He took me to the ER while I held my eye open. (He works at the hospital, in fact, and even called while we were en route to reserve me a "suite", LOL!)

It was after office hours, so they went after the thorn and got it out (with a topical eye anesthetic, yay!). It wasn't easy. There was still a "speck" they couldn't dislodge, even with a little vibrating tool. I was sent home sans thorn and told to go to the ophthalmologist next day.

I saw the optometrist because the ophthalmologist was otherwise occupied (although they could call him in from his clinic if needed). The "speck" was gone. I was ecstatic -- it had worked its way out overnight.

The optometrist was "surprised" that the ER had prescribed gentamicin drops as an antibiotic, since I have had sulfur-related sensitivities in the past (DMSA, DMPS, sulfites in food). I replied that I wasn't too worried about gentamicin "sulfate" because sulfate is what your body converts sulfite to in order to detoxify it.

She decided I would do better on something else, and I said just make sure it doesn't contain any of the chemicals that interfere with thyroid metabolism: chlorine, fluorine and bromine derivatives.

When DH came home after picking up my eye drops, I read the ingredients with astonishment:
Active: Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride
Inactives: Hydrochloric acid (to adjust pH)
Preservative: Benzalkonium Chloride​

REALLY?

Thank you @Ecoclimber, @Gingergrrl, and the rest of you for confirming my suspicions.



Oof, well she sounds like she means very well. It is just unfortunate that the medical community as a whole are not as aware of how damaging these drugs can be. Hopefully some changes will happen soon to educate and get this junk off the market. Glad to hear your eye is doing better though, that sounded incredibly painful!
 

picante

Senior Member
Messages
829
Location
Helena, MT USA
Fluoroquinolones contain Fluoride. I think Fluoride toxicity might be a big component of ME/CFS. If you live in the US, you're most likely drinking and bathing in water that has had Fluoride added to it.
Yes, my point exactly. And yes, most of my life my drinking water was fluoridated (with waste fluoride from arms manufacturing or fertilizer production). It's not now.

And where I grew up the drinking water was contaminated with perchlorate from a nearby rocket fuel plant run by a DoD contractor. We didn't know that at the time.

So it's a no-brainer now to deduce why I have autoimmune thyroid disease.
 

JPV

ɹǝqɯǝɯ ɹoıuǝs
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858
Here's another angle...

Genetically Modifying Humans Via Antibiotics? Something You Need To Know
Fluoroquinolone antibiotics, more popularly known as Cipro (Ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (Levofloxacin), Avelox (Moxifloxacin), Floxin (Ofloxacin) and a few other less commonly used ones, are topoisomerase interrupters. They unravel bacterial DNA and lead to apoptosis, programmed cell death.
Multiple studies have shown that quinolones/fluoroquinolones adduct to bacterial DNA. This means that they attach to and change DNA, that the DNA has altered molecules hooked onto it and that all duplicate versions of the cells have been altered. An example of another chemical that adducts to DNA is Agent Orange.

Some DNA tests performed on people who have experienced severe adverse reactions to fluoroquinolone antibiotics have shown that the quinolone/fluoroquinolone molecules have adducted to their human DNA, attaching to and changing their DNA into perpetuity. (As cells replicate, the altered DNA replicates too.) A DNA Adduct Mass Spectrogram Analysis showed that the quinolone/fluoroquinolone molecules had attached to every cell in the subjects’ bodies, not just the bacteria that make up their microbiome; the drug adducted to their DNA, to THEM.

They, along with thousands of other people who have had an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone, have been genetically modified by an antibiotic.

A large portion of those who have been genetically modified by a fluoroquinolone antibiotic have been subjected to irreversible damage to their DNA for no sensible reason at all. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are given out to treat benign infections like sinus and urinary tract infections, that can be treated with other, safer antibiotics. A 2011 study found that 39% of patients given fluoroquinolone antibiotics were given them unnecessarily (and the necessity of them was determined without it being taken into consideration that DNA damage can be done by these drugs as this fact is not acknowledged, despite the peer reviewed studies noted above.)

I think that it's safe to say that when the "experts" claim that Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome is an "unexplained illness" they are simply lying through their teeth.
 
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Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
@JPV Agreed and Levaquin destroyed my health and started this entire downward spiral. Taking it is one of the biggest regrets of my entire life.