Thirty surgeries in 12 years; ignited a hot blue fire under me to find out exactly how Cipro could do this to me. Why was I prescribed this antibiotic if it was this dangerous? Cipro deconstructed my life by rupturing tendons and ligaments until I was completely incapacitated. I wanted to know why it was happening and how to fix it, but I also wanted to figure out how in the world, the prescribing of Fluoroquinolone antibiotics was allowed to continue. There began the deep dive into researching why I’d ended up here.

The most unsettling research I came across, was this study on Pub Med about the effect of Fluoroquinolone antibiotics on tendon samples. In this study; 100% of tendon samples showed cellular changes at normal antibiotic therapy levels, and the changes were more severe, the longer the duration and higher the dosage. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15890441/

The most maddening aspect of this, is that the catastrophic damage from Fluoroquinolone antibiotics; have been studied and known for years. The very mechanism of action of this class of antibiotics; affects mitochondria in a way that it can cause severe or fatal damage to multiple body systems. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10553698/ This article states research about the effect of quinolones on DNA synthesis. They know it causes cell death, but they have yet to determine why. Dr. Charles Bennett has petitioned the FDA twice to add mitochondrial toxicity to it’s already extensive warning on these antibiotics; but the FDA refused two separate petitions despite conclusive evidence and research to support it. Here is a paper on part of that research https://www.myquinstory.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Fluoroquinolone-related-neuropsychiatric.pdf . https://www.wric.com/news/taking-action/doctor-petitions-fda-for-more-warnings-about-commonly-prescribed-medications/ .

This research surrounding these antibiotics, has not been without major disruptions and even criminal activity. According to the Medical University of South Carolina April 07, 2015, https://web.musc.edu/about/news-center/2015/04/07/possible-side-effects-from-some-antibiotics “Raja Fayad, M.D., was murdered on the campus of the University of South Carolina this past February, he was working on something big, something Charles Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., hopes will be his legacy. Bennett is endowed chair in medication safety and efficacy at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, a partnership between USC and MUSC. Bennett also runs one of the largest and most successful pharmaceutical watchdog groups in the country, the Southern Network on Adverse Reactions—SONAR. In June, SONAR filed a citizen petition with the Food and Drug Administration regarding fluoroquinolones, a class of drug that includes the powerful antibiotics Levaquin and Cipro. Bennett wants “possible mitochondrial toxicity” and “serious psychiatric events” added to the drugs’ black box labels — the most prominent warning label required by the FDA. SONAR has gathered testimony from thousands of patients all across the country, patients who experienced muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, cardiomyopathy, hearing loss, developmental disorders, severe depression or nerve damage after taking Levaquin and related drugs. Bennett has also linked neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to the drugs and the mitochondrial toxicity he believes they cause in some patients. The problem: most patients – even most doctors – don’t know these side effects exist. On top of that, the most common use of the drugs is off-label, that is, for uses other than those explicitly approved by the FDA.” https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/investigations/fda-ignores-calls-to-boost-warnings-on-popular-antibiotics?fbclid=IwAR2TJfl1Ouss0Izk5zyJ5tL40vYwFj2lI26oSFQ6nXi9Mhn4DYEgELp4_5I

There are other nefarious reasons as to why these drugs continue to be prescribed without knowledge of the scope of damage. How about racketeering for the sake of your husband’s stocks? Former FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg named in massive conspiracy and racketeering lawsuit involving Johnson & Johnson, a Wall Street hedge fund, and the Levaquin drug “The lawsuit alleges that while acting as FDA commissioner, Margaret Hamburg engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy to approve an extremely dangerous drug known to cause severe (and even deadly) side effects, in order to financially benefit her husband’s hedge fund which held very large financial positions in Johnson & Johnson, makers of the drug. “Defendants, each and every one of them, operated a criminal conspiracy at least between the years 2009 to 2015 to fraudulently suppress warnings about the devastating effects of Levaquin,” says the complaint.” “This Amended Complaint sets forth allegations that involve a conspiracy by Defendants, each and every one of them, to reap large financial returns by failing to disclose to Plaintiffs and the public at large the full extent of the devastating, life-threatening, and deadly effects of a highly dangerous pharmaceutical drug named Levaquin,” reads the opening of the lawsuit. The conspiracy complaint also alleges that over 5,000 people died as a result of Hamburg’s conspiracy cover-up at the FDA: Once confirmed as FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg acted as the instrumentality that all Defendants used to perpetrate their conspiracy and racketeering enterprise by having her act illegally and outside the scope of her authority as FDA Commissioner to suppress material information to Plaintiffs and the public that Levaquin was inherently dangerous and in fact, deadly. Had this information been disclosed to Plaintiffs and the public at large, her and her husband’s financial gain and net worth would have plummeted, since Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg’s husband, Peter F. Brown, reaped and continues to reap huge financial gain as a result of Renaissance Technologies, L.L.C.’s holdings of Johnson & Johnson stock.”

“This investigation by WRTV Indianapolis states, “RTV6 obtained a 2013 FDA report that raises new concerns about possible “mitochondrial toxicity.”Since 2008, the FDA has provided its highest level warning – known as a black box warning – alerting doctors that side effects can include ruptured tendons and nerve damage. In addition, our investigation obtained an FDA database of adverse effects and found 3,000 deaths and 200,000 complaints of serious effects associated with Levaquin and similar drugs. https://crescentcitytimes.com/former-fda-commissioner-margaret-hamburg-named-in-massive-conspiracy-and-racketeering-lawsuit-involving-johnson-johnson-a-wall-street-hedge-fund-and-the-levaquin-drug/https://www.wrtv.com/news/call-6-investigators/call-6-alleged-antibiotic-victims-sue-ex-fda-head .

Here is another unsettling accusation to add to a never ending list. How about hiding the side effects in children? https://www.courthousenews.com/doc-claims-bayerfalsified-cipro-data/ INDIANAPOLIS (CN) – A doctor claims in court that Bayer got an extension on an exclusive government contract by hiding data that its Cipro antibiotic can cause tendon and cartilage damage in children. “Walterspiel claims he has “direct, independent and personal knowledge that the false claims presented by defendant herein were knowingly presented.”Defendant Quintiles collected pediatric data for Bayer “for the two studies at issue in this complaint which Bayer used in support of Bayer’s application for a 6-month market exclusivity extension for Cipro,” according to the complaint. He claims Bayer provided falsified data to get the exclusive contracts, and hid Cipro’s harmful effects on children.”

How long has this been going on? A real long time. It’s even affected our postal service shortly after 9/11 during the Anthrax scares https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/10/19/postal-workers-sue-maker-of-cipro/74d9c8e1-4c7b-4de5-814e-2b38aa640ae9/ . It’s also effected the brave members of our Military, most likely playing a part in “gulf war illness.” https://www.militarytimes.com/2013/11/01/new-fda-warnings-on-cipro-may-tie-into-gulf-war-illness/ There are also links regarding quinolones with brain damage from Malarial treatment https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2016/08/11/malaria-drug-causes-brain-damage-that-mimics-ptsd-case-study/.

When people ask me why Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are still prescribed carelessly; I tell them, “Because of greed and neglect on the part of drug manufacturers and the FDA, and because of lack of physician education surrounding these antibiotics and willful ignorance on the part of those who refuse to learn or change prescribing practices. My utmost respect goes out to patient safety advisors at the FDA for fighting on behalf of patients and drug safety and those physicians and scientists who are willing to learn and research for the wellbeing of their patients. You are superheroes. My question to Big Pharma is; How many of us does it have to destroy, before drug manufacturers and the FDA are willing to put patient well being over their pocket book?

I’m linking 48 pages worth of Fluoroquinolone information sites below:

Flouroquinolone sites:

This is the FDA’s warning for Flouroquinolone antibiotics:

https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm511530.htm

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm126085.htm

This is the Department of Health and Human services warning for Cipro:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/appletter/2011/019537s075,019847s047,019857s054,020780s033,021473s028ltr.pdf

This is the New England Journal of Medicines’ article on “Achilles Tendinitis and Tendon Rupture Due to Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics”

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199409153311116

The New York Times Popular Antibiotics May Carry Serious Side Effects

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/popular-antibiotics-may-carry-serious-side-effects/?_r=1

ResearchGate Musculoskeletal Complications of Fluoroquinolones: Guidelines and Precautions for Usage in the Athletic Population

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49848217_Musculoskeletal_Complications_of_Fluoroquinolones_Guidelines_and_Precautions_for_Usage_in_the_Athletic_Population

Medscape Musculoskeletal Complications of Fluoroquinolones: Guidelines and Precautions for Usage in the Athletic Population

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/741802

The mitochondria targeted antioxidant MitoQ protects against fluoroquinolone-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial membrane damage in human Achilles tendon cells

PubMed The mitochondria targeted antioxidant MitoQ protects against fluoroquinolone-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial membrane damage in human Achilles tendon cells.

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The mitochondria targeted antioxidant MitoQ protects against fluoroquinolone-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial membrane damage in human Achilles tendon cells

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