Two of the more perplexing features of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity (an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone antibiotic – Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin or Floxin/Ofloxacin) are delayed reactions and tolerance thresholds. Both of these features of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity can be explained by noting that fluoroquinolones have been shown to damage mitochondria and cause oxidative stress, and that delayed onset of a disease state, as well as tolerance thresholds, are features of illnesses brought on by pharmaceutical induced mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress.
Delayed Reactions and Tolerance Thresholds with Fluoroquinolone Reactions
By “delayed reactions” I mean that adverse reactions to fluoroquinolones can occur weeks, months or even years after administration of the fluoroquinolone has stopped. For the lawsuit filed by Public Citizen on behalf of patients who tore or ruptured tendons after taking a fluoroquinolone, (a suit that prompted the addition of the black box warning on all orally and IV administered fluoroquinolones) notes that “Fluoroquinolones, including CIPRO®, are associated with an increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture in all ages. This risk is further increased in older patients usually over 60 years of age, in patients taking corticosteroid drugs, and in patients with kidney, heart or lung transplants”. Tendon tears and ruptures that occurred within one year of the patient taking the fluoroquinolone were accepted as being related to the patient’s fluoroquinolone use. Patient reports have noted that new adverse symptoms of fluoroquinolone toxicity have occurred years after administration of the fluoroquinolone has ceased.
Many patients also experience a tolerance threshold for fluoroquinolone use. A patient can tolerate fluoroquinolones well, experiencing few or no side-effects, until his or her threshold is reached. After the patient’s tolerance threshold is reached, multisymptom systemic illness ensues. This patient’s story, found on the Fluoroquinolone Wall of Pain, illustrates the issue of tolerance thresholds:
On April 15, 2013 I was prescribed Avelox. I had been on this drug many times for chronic sinus infections. This time was different. Within 10 minutes of the first dose I went into anaphylaxis. I stopped breathing, had numerous convulsions and two grand Mal seizures. Since that day I have suffered with seizures, convulsions, tremors, debilitating fatigue, muscle weakness, vision loss, severe neuropathic pain, vomiting, nausea, lack of appetite, tendon, and vein problems.
This patient tolerated Avelox (moxifloxacin – a fluoroquinolone) well until her tolerance threshold was reached. Once her tolerance threshold was reached, she experienced multi-symptom systemic illness.
I personally experienced both a delayed reaction to Cipro/Ciprofloxacin (also a fluoroquinolone) and a tolerance threshold for it. I took 7 500-milligram pills of Cipro in 2009 without notable incident. I was even able to hike the entire 500-mile Colorado Trail in 2010 (no peripheral neuropathy or weakness were present at that time). When I took 7 more 500-milligram pills in 2011 I experienced a severe adverse reaction that began two full weeks after I was done taking the pills. I experienced multiple musculoskeletal (I couldn’t walk more than a block) and nervous system symptoms (I lost my memory and reading comprehension), and I would describe the reaction as feeling like a bomb had gone off in my body.
Fluoroquinolone Time Bomb: It’s All About the Mitochondria
My experience of a delayed onset of systemic health issues after having previously tolerated Cipro/Ciprofloxacin well, is typical of diseases that are brought on by a pharmaceutical causing mitochondrial dysfunction. (Multiple journal articles have noted that fluoroquinolones cause mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress.)
In “Mechanisms of Pathogenesis in Drug Hepatotoxicity Putting the Stress on Mitochondria” it is noted that:
…damage to mitochondria often reflects successive chemical insults, such that no immediate cause for functional changes or pathological alterations can be established. There is indeed experimental evidence that prolonged injury to mitochondria, such as that which typifies oxidative injury to mitochondrial DNA or to components of the electron transport chain (ETC), has to cross a certain threshold (or a number of thresholds) before cell damage or cell death becomes manifest.
Each time mitochondria is injured, the patient gets closer to his or her personal tolerance threshold for mitochondrial damage. Once the threshold is crossed, cell damage and apoptosis occur – which manifest themselves in various states of illness.
It is further explained in “Mechanisms of Pathogenesis” that:
…approximately 60% of mitochondrial DNA must be deleted from the mouse genome before complex IV activity is compromised and serum levels of lactate are elevated. This non-linear response can be explained upon consideration that the molecules that subserve mitochondrial function (e.g., mitochondrial DNA, mRNA, and ETC proteins) are present in excess of amounts required for normal cell function. This reserve (or buffering) capacity acts as a protective mechanism; however, at a certain stage of damage, the supply of biomolecules needed to support wild-type mitochondrial function becomes compromised.
The lay person’s summary of the above excerpts is that we have excess mitochondrial DNA and that excess mitochondrial DNA keeps each of us from developing a systemic multi-symptom illness whenever mitochondrial DNA is adversely affected (many pharmaceuticals and environmental toxins adversely affect mitochondrial DNA). However, when mitochondrial DNA is depleted sufficiently, cellular dysfunction, oxidative stress and cell death, ensue.
Multiple studies have noted that fluoroquinolones deplete mitochondrial DNA (here, here and here). When enough mitochondrial DNA are depleted, adverse reactions that are systemic and include multiple symptoms simultaneously, occur.
Multi-Symptom Reaction: Look to Mitochondrial Damage
It is often difficult for the patient who is experiencing a systemic multi-symptom illness to connect his or her illness to the mitochondria damaging drug or toxin that hurt him or her because of the time delay between the cause (mitochondria damaging chemical) and the effect (bomb going off in body and mind). Though the delayed onset of fluoroquinolone toxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction symptoms are noted in many articles (here, here), the reason for the delayed onset of symptoms is not known. In “Mechanisms of Pathogenesis” it is hypothesized that “an initial adaptive response was followed by a toxic response” when cells are exposed to a mitochondria damaging chemical. Perhaps the delay in adverse reaction onset is due to a toxic response taking time to develop.
Many pharmaceuticals damage mitochondria. Bactericidal antibiotics (including fluoroquinolones), Statins, acetaminophen, some chemotherapy drugs, vaccines, and many others, cause mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and cell death. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are connected to a variety of ailments, from chronic fatigue syndrome to Alzheimer’s disease and obesity. However, the FDA and other drug regulatory agencies have systematically ignored damage to mitochondria caused by pharmaceuticals and “mitochondrial toxicity testing is not required by the US FDA for drug approval.”
The recognition of delayed adverse reactions and tolerance thresholds for mitochondrial damaging drugs and vaccines will go far in helping both doctors and patients to recognize mitochondrial damage related adverse drug reactions (and adverse vaccine reactions). Once the reactions are recognized, perhaps some pressure can be put on the FDA and/or the pharmaceutical companies to test how drugs affect mitochondria before they are released onto the market. After all, mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress are causally related to almost every chronic illness. It would be nice if doctors, those in the pharmaceutical industry, the FDA regulators, and others, recognized the harm that drugs do to mitochondria, and the symptoms of iatrogenic mitochondrial dysfunction.
Information about Fluoroquinolone Toxicity
Information about the author, and adverse reactions to fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro/ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/levofloxacin, Avelox/moxifloxacin and Floxin/ofloxacin) can be found on Lisa Bloomquist’s site, www.floxiehope.com.
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If you have suffered from a fluoroquinolone or any other medication reaction, please consider sharing it on Hormones Matter.
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This story was published originally on Hormones Matter in March 2014.
anything with fluoride inside is a bad idea.
this element has no known beneficial utility in the human body.
I got sick in the army, I was given moxifloxacin, and within 1 year I was a celiac patient. I didn’t know you were up to it. The doctor prescribed cipro later this month. after I drank it, it was like a bomb went off inside me .My bones and muscles ache and burn. My brain doesn’t work . Pain and pain. I’m depressed, I can’t sleep . Good luck, everyone. I live in Turkey, friends. Passes too.
Yes I got poisoned by Avelox here in Turkey,, I have to be put out for a procedure and I am terrified they will give me Meds with Floride and same antibiotics. WAKE UP DOCTORS STOP GETTING MONEY FROM THES MAFIA DRUGS your killing and Making people SICK very very sick. and you have no clue 🙁
Beware that FQ’s are all over our food supply. Conventional meat. Farmed seafood. We must avoid all that to stay healthy. The situation is awful and getting worse. We can’t expect our government or even our doctors to protect us. We have to stay informed and take charge of our bodies.
Great info, much appreciated. Not intending to be nitpicky but there is a misspelling of acetaminophen that needs correcting. I want to share the article but misspellings detract from validity. Love and appreciate all you do. I will fill out your survey, I am suffering with this too.
Hi,
I read this article and I honestly think that meds in general are the issue not just antibiotics. I got very sick from an SSRI (Lexapro).
After noticing the similarities of all sources of toxicities I started a Facebook page called Toxic Encephalopathy/Neurotoxicity Support. I’m not trying to make money or steal members. I just want to see if and how we all heal instead of dealing with a handful for each toxicity type.
Delayed for me too. I took levaquin and cipro 3 times in 2011, but was also working in a hair salon that was using a LOT of formaldehyde straighteners during that time too. So I thought it was the formaldehyde. I took it again in 2014, but at that time I was doing a lot of detox treatments/neurofeedback, so I blamed it on the treatments. It wasn’t until April of this year after just 3 pills of cipro, I couldn’t move with massive anxiety, that I realized it was the cipro.
So grateful to this site for all the info. It really does take a multi treatment approach. Not just diet and supplements. I found Art of Living meditation (yogic breathing) helpful because it works with the vagus nerve. So I try to work on vagus nerve (cold water on face, gargling, etc). Brain plasticity plays a role too, it wires itself to respond to toxic insults, it’s on threshold all the time. Essential oils (inhaled) or any happy making scents from nature help too. What may seem whoowhoo spiritual to some, actually do have scientific healing benefits.
Lately I’ve been looking into anti-aging protocols, which I found are really directed at helping mitochondria function. Healthy internal cells, healthy younger looking. This all seems to be very promising for all “so called mysterious” illnesses.
I was admitted with amebiasis.. Dr was given IV ofloxacin & ornidazole..after that I had itch and burning sensation all over the body ..gradually develops into dyspnea. And muscles shivering….. Then was treated intensively… This happened 2 weeks before only…. Fortunately I was recovered…
So assuming damage is done since I have delayed onset symptoms, will the body repair itself over time? I have some tendon and muscle weakness along with other symptoms like sore dry eyes, skin burning, fatigue. Will my body produce new cells to replace the damaged ones?
Dear Lisa,
You mention that after two years of fighting back, you are recovered from the FQ symptoms. I would very much like to know what protocols- medical, natural, physical- you followed that you ascribe t your recovery. In early July I was prescribed Levoflaxacin AND prednisone to clear up the remnants of bronchitis (I simply wanted three more days of doxycycline to complete a ten-day regimen). In spite of my physician’s knowledge that I was taking Advair, am definitley over 60, and that prednisone should not be taken with Levoflaxicin, I am functioning at about 1/4 of what I used to be. Before FQ, I had more stamina and energy that my 20-years’ younger wife! Any suggestions you might have will be welcome.
Bob Blank
Asheville NC
bobblank100@gmail.com
Hi Bob,
I’m so sorry for everything you’re going through!
I have recovered, and I am so, so, so grateful for it. My story, as well as the stories of others who have recovered, can be found on http://www.floxiehope.com. Please take anything that resonates with you from the stories. I encourage you to give equal weight to the mental, emotional and spiritual healing practices that you do to things like supplements and diet protocols. The mental, emotional and spiritual healing methods I used were very important in my healing process. The physical stuff was too–it’s all tied together.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me through the “Contact” link on floxiehope.com.
Hugs,
Lisa
I have been extremely affected by multiple prescriptions of 750 mg levofloxacin.
In Canada this has not until this year been recognized as a problematic drug resulting in absolutely no support from any member of the Canadian Medical association.
I was physically and emotionally incapacitated with 23+ side effects of the drug.
Without a word of a lie every Medical Practitioner tried to diagnose every symptom with every other disease that may have been able to cause each problem that I was suffering from. I was told that I had different cause for each symptom.
Doctors refused to look for the one thing that was capable of causing all of the problems together.
Over time I came across the one thing that tied everything together on my own and had to develop my own treatment plan to try to function each day.
For the pain I alternated between various remedies so as not to cause more toxicological damage to my liver, kidney’s and digestive system.
For the tendon and muscle damage I turned to collagen 3-4 times daily and high doses of absorbable magnesium; soft-gel capsules along with magnesium drinks and fortified magnesium rich foods, Epsom salts soaks and baths which is primarily Magnesium that gets absorbed through the skin. All to help my deteriorating mitochondria to repair itself faster than it was being destroyed.
There is no stopping the damage; so trying to stay ahead of the deterioration of the mitochondria was paramount to have a fighting chance at surviving.
I use Manuka medical grade New Zealand honey to fight the necrotizing skin rashes and blistering of my skin and in my mouth and throat. Severe acute-chronic sinusitis bacterial infections have become totally resistant to all forms of antibiotic which result in the formation of Quorum sensing biofilm colonies that invades my sinuses. I have to treat this by removing the biofilm with a mixture of distilled water saline, Manuka honey and Taro-Mupirocin ointment with a power rinse or even a bulb syringe rinse. The manuka honey is all that I have found that can release the pods of bio-film and actually kills the bacteria.
I take the same solution and put it into sterilized nasal sprayers so that the mixture can be sprayed into my nasal cavity and breathed down into my lungs to treat the lung infections that I get from the sinuses as the quorums release migratory bacteria cells when the colonies reach their maximum density.
These bacteria freely migrate to my chest and into my digestive system which is being weakened and deteriorated by the Levofloxacin toxicity.
For the nerve damage which is excruciating at times I use B vitamins high doses of time release vitamin C and CoQ10 which offers some control over the severity of the Migraines and heart palpitations. When the pressure from the swelling in my head becomes too painful I put wet towels into the freezer to get them stiff enough to form a shell of cold covering that reduces the inflammation.
I know this seems like a lot to try to help you……. but there is a LOT of damage that this medication causes that cant be stopped because the Company Johnson & Johnson manufactures the product with fluoride to force it to penetrate deep into the cells and bones and it can’t be stopped or reversed. You are in a race of repair against the time it takes to continue the damage. Metaphorically speaking; ” you have to bail the water out of the boat faster than it is coming in. If you don’t fight with all that you can the water will fill the boat and we all knows what happens then”.
There are more things that are being damaged in your body than what I have brought to your attention. There are answers to most of them! Unfortunately it is very unlikely that the Medical profession Will try to help. Hell they won’t even stop using the drug as a cure for anything,,,,,,,, instead of as a drug of last resort.
If you are helped by any of the information ……Just help the next person that needs it and do everything in your power to get this drug out of the hands of incompetent so-called care givers.
At the very least warn your loved ones about not ever getting this product into their blood stream.
So if the drug remains in the body how does anyone recover as some have?
Hello LJ Cooper , you told you use Mupirocin but I think it is dangerous antibiotic, isn’t it? I am 9 month floxie and that triggered my symptoms again. I would love to hear your feedback
Good article Lisa. I hope and pray that more research is done on FQ’s so less people have their lives ruined. My body seemed to fall apart on me about 15 months after I took Cipro. All of the classic floxing symptoms began at that time. I haven’t recovered. It’s been over 3 years since I took Cipro. It was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made. I had no idea that I would get basically a disease that has no cure.
Thank you for the comment, Bo! Your situation is similar to that of many people. Delayed reactions and tolerance thresholds are common. Hopefully they will be recognized by healthcare providers soon.
Agree wtih “Many patients also experience a tolerance threshold for fluoroquinolone use” Agree with “delayed reaction to Cipro/Ciprofloxacin (also a fluoroquinolone) ”
I had taken Fluoroquinolones many times even ever since I was a kid. Each time I took for about 1000mg/day for several days, no problem at all. In 2013 some doctor gave me 1000mg/day for 42 days, and problems began to show up immediately after I took them. (Threshold)
3 months later, I got more attacks that are much more serious. (Delay)
– Bo HongBo Guo