Horrific side effects can strike any time you use these antibiotics
Imagine taking a simple antibiotic to clear up bronchitis or a sinus infection.
The next thing you know, you’re in the worst pain of your life.
Your joints are throbbing… you’re in so much agony you can’t think straight… and you can barely walk.
Believe it or not, that’s exactly what’s happened to people taking a popular class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones (FQs).
For years I’ve warned you about FQs and the risks that can start right with the first pill.
Now the FDA has made it clearer than ever that it has no intention of protecting us from these dangerous meds.
And if you or someone you love is taking antibiotics, it’s never been more important to take matters into your own hands.
This wasn’t exactly the moment Lloyd Balch had been hoping for.
You see, Lloyd is part of a growing number of people who had their lives wrecked by FQs (I’ll give you a full list of these meds in a minute).
It took just one dose of Levaquin for Lloyd to start shaking uncontrollably. Before long he developed muscle spasms and vision problems, and even had trouble walking.
The FDA has known for years that FQs can cause all sorts of serious health problems, like:
- tendon ruptures,
- detached retina,
- acute kidney failure,
- hallucinations and psychotic behavior, and,
- peripheral neuropathy.
Some of the drugs like Cipro even carry frightening black-box warnings that they can damage your tendons — and it doesn’t matter if you’re young or old.
So when the FDA finally announced it was going to do something about these meds, it felt long, long overdue.
But the agency ended up doing what it does best — practically nothing.
After all these years — and all the suffering — the FDA published a weak “drug safety communication” asking doctors (pretty please) to stop prescribing FQs for simple infections like UTIs and bronchitis.
They didn’t ban the drugs or ask doctors to only use them as a last resort.
All we got is a lame warning that many docs will throw right in the trash — if they read it at all.
That’s not a roadblock that’ll keep the mainstream from handing out these drugs like Halloween candy. It’s barely a speed bump!
One expert said that the way most FQs are prescribed is like “trying to kill a fly with an automatic weapon.” And you can bet that’s not going to stop any time soon.
Which is why you’ve got to protect yourself, and carefully check any antibiotic you’re given against this list below.
The seven FDA-approved FQ antibiotics are:
- Moxifloxacin, sold under the brand name Avelox.
- Ciprofloxacin, with the brand name Cipro.
- Ciprofloxacin manufactured as an extended release pill.
- Gemifloxacin, more commonly known as Factive.
- Levofloxacin, more commonly known as the often prescribed Levaquin.
- Moxifloxacin, which is given as an injection, and
- Ofloxacin, which is available only as a generic.
Sources:
“Limit fluoroquinolone use in light of risks, FDA says” Robert Lowes, Medscape, May 12, 2016, Medscape.com
