angelburst29
The Living Force
I never gave Cipro much thought, in regards to symptoms experienced, that have systematically progressed to deteriorating health, until I came upon this article describing it's side effects.
I first came into contact with Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin and another antibiotic when I was hospitalized about 24 years ago, surprisingly, with a case of Gangrene. Three antibiotics were administered simultaneously, before and after surgery. They were able to save my leg and my life, respectfully but I never regained my health. My immune system had taken a direct hit. For the longest time, I suspected fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome to be my main problem, which didn't explain problems with the leg muscles, cramping, tendon stiffness and back aches, especially around the hips.
As far as diet, I've always been conscious of the foods consumed and prepared. I've never been a food junkie, (chips, soda, candy) mainly meat, potatoes, vegetables, salads, and homemade soups. On the downside, I love to bake and there was always pies, cookies and traditional pastries around Holidays. But after the hospital stay, the desire to bake anything, other than an occasional pie for my family became overwhelming due to lack of energy and fatigue. I was also raising my two Son's at the time and holding down a full time job. Although, our parting of ways was a mutual decision, my Ex-husband was always available to help, especially taking the boys for the weekend to spend with his Parent's, which gave me some time to recoup from the busy schedule. Nothing seemed to help, to regain strength and vitality.
I always equated Cipro as an antibiotic, much like Penicillin and considered it "safe." Of course, this all happened long before I came across Laura and her work and now the Ketogenic diet.
_http://www.activistpost.com/2014/01/gulf-war-illness-tied-to-cipro.html#more
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.
A 1998 study entitled, “Chronic Multisymptom Illness Affecting Air Force Veterans of the Gulf War,” found that the most commonly reported symptoms of Gulf War Illness are sinus congestion, headache, fatigue, joint pain, difficulty remembering or concentrating, joint stiffness, difficulty sleeping, abdominal pain, trouble finding words, (feeling) moody or irritable, rash or sores, numbness or tingling and muscle pain.
A 2011 study conducted by the Quinolone Vigilance Foundation found that the most commonly reported symptoms of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are tendon, joint, and muscle pain, fatigue, popping/cracking joints, weakness, neuropathic pain, paresthesia (tingling), muscle twitching, depression, anxiety, insomnia, back pain, memory loss, tinnitus, muscle wasting.
The symptoms are similar enough to raise a few eyebrows. It should be noted that when a chronic, multi-symptom illness suddenly sickens a patient or a soldier, and he or she goes from being healthy and active to suddenly being exhausted and unable to move or think, it is difficult to pinpoint and describe exactly what is going wrong in his or her body. Thus, even if the symptoms are identical, they may not be described in an identical way because of context and differing areas of focus.
For victims of fluoroquinolones, it is as if a bomb went off in the body of the victim, yet all tests come back “normal” so in addition to physical pain and suffering that the soldier/patient is going through, he or she has to suffer through dismissal and denial from medical professionals as well. Neither Gulf War Illness nor Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are detected by traditional medical tests and thus both diseases are systematically denied. All blood and urine markers come back within the normal ranges, yet the patient or soldier is suddenly incapable of 90% of what he or she used to be able to do. When a large number of patients or soldiers (nearly 30% of the soldiers serving in the Gulf reported symptoms. Exact numbers of civilian patients suffering from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are unknown because of delayed reactions, misdiagnosing the illness, tolerance thresholds, etc.) experience adverse reactions that are undetectable using the tests available, there is something wrong with the tests. The patients and soldiers aren’t lying and their loss of abilities isn’t “in their heads.
Exposure to the same Poison
Another glaring similarity between Gulf War Illness and Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome is that everyone with either syndrome took a Fluoroquinolone.
Per a Veteran of the Marines who commented on healthboards.com about the use of Ciprofloxacin by soldiers in the Gulf:
The Ciprofloxacin 500 mg were ordered to be taken twice a day. The Marines were the only service that I know for sure were given these orders. We were ordered to start them before the air war, and the order to stop taking them was giver at 0645 Feb 28th 1991 by General Myatt 1st Marine div commander. We were forced to take Cipro 500mg twice a day for 40 plus days. so the Marines were given NAPP (nerve agent protection pills) or pyridiostigmine bromide to protect us from nerve agent, and We were ordered to take the Cipro to protect from anthrax. We were part of the human research trial conducted by the Bayer corporation in the creation of their new anthrax pills. At that time they had no idea of the side effects of flouroquinolones. That’s the class of medications that Cipro falls into. After the Gulf War the FDA and Bayer co. started releasing the list of side effects. You do need to know what was done to you so you will have to do your own research. Good luck to all of you and Semper Fi.
By definition, everyone who suffers from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome has taken a fluoroquinolone – Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin or Floxin/Ofloxacin. Civilians are also part of the “human research trial conducted by the Bayer corporation” as well as Johnson & Johnson, Merck and multiple generic drug manufacturers who peddle fluoroquinolones as “safe” antibiotics.
The Case Against Fluoroquinolones
Of course, there were multiple chemicals and poisons that Gulf War Veterans were exposed to in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and thus it has been difficult to pinpoint an exact cause of Gulf War Illness. The ruling out of the following possible causes should certainly be questioned thoroughly, but “depleted uranium, anthrax vaccine, fuels, solvents, sand and particulates, infectious diseases, and chemical agent resistant coating” have been found not to cause Gulf War Illness. Other potential causes of Gulf War Illness include oil fires, multiple vaccines, pesticides, and, of course, fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro). (It should be noted that non-deployed military personnel who served during the Gulf War period, but who were not deployed in the Middle East, have also been afflicted with Gulf War Illness and thus toxins that both deployed and non-deployed personnel have been exposed to should be the focus of investigations into the causes of Gulf War Illness.)
The Air Force Times article is one of the first official mentions of the relationship between Cipro and Gulf War Illness. Officially, the link hasn’t been examined (though some very smart researchers are building a case as you read this). Why Cipro hasn’t been looked at as a potential cause of Gulf War Illness is a question that I don’t know the answer to. Perhaps it’s because most people think that all antibiotics are as safe as penicillin. Perhaps it’s because most people have a tolerance threshold for fluoroquinolones and don’t react negatively to the first prescription that they receive. Perhaps it’s because even today, more than 30 years after Cipro was patented by Bayer, the exact mechanism by which fluoroquinolones operate is still officially unknown (1). Perhaps it’s because it is unthinkable that a commonly used antibiotic could cause a chronic syndrome of pain and suffering. Perhaps it’s because the tests that show the damage done by fluoroquinolones aren’t used by the VA or civilian doctors’ offices. Perhaps it’s because fluoroquinolones are the perfect drug – they take an acute problem – an infection, and convert it into a chronic disease-state that is systematically misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, an autoimmune disease, leaky gut syndrome, insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc. and turns formerly healthy people into lifetime customers of the medical establishment / pharmaceutical companies. Perhaps it is simply widespread ignorance about the way these dangerous drugs work.
The Cliff's Notes version of how fluoroquinolones work is as follows:
The fluoroquinolone depletes liver enzymes that metabolize drugs (CYP450) (2). When the enzymes are depleted sufficiently, the fluoroquinolone forms a poisonous adduct to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (3, 4), which destroys and depletes mtDNA (5). While the mtDNA is being destroyed, the fluoroquinolone is also binding to cellular magnesium. (6, 7) The mitochondria reacts to being assaulted by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) (8, 9). Some of the ROS, specifically hydrogen peroxide, combines with the excess calcium (there is a balance in cells of magnesium and calcium and the binding of the magnesium results in an excess of calcium) to induce the expression of CD95L/Fas Ligand (5) which then causes cell death (apoptosis) and immune system dysfunction (10) which leads the body to attack itself – like an autoimmune disease.
Damage is caused by every single step in the process. Additional damage may be done by the fluorine atom that is added to fluoroquinolones to make them more potent. It should be noted that the complexity of these cellular interactions is too vast to write up in this article.
Every symptom of Gulf War Illness is consistent with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress (11), both of which have been shown to be brought on by fluoroquinolones.
Though the tests used in typical medical practice show no reason for victims of fluoroquinolones to be ill, that fact simply shows that the wrong tests are being used. Tests of mitochondrial function, antioxidant/oxidant ratios and DNA will show the damage that is done by fluoroquinolones. The way to determine whether Cipro is the cause of Gulf War Illness is to conduct a DNA mass spectrogram analysis on afflicted Gulf War Veterans. If the DNA mass spectrogram analysis shows that quinolone molecules have adducted to the DNA of the Veterans, that’s a smoking gun of damage done by Cipro.
Millions of civilians have also been hurt by fluoroquinolones. I can connect fluoroquinolones to almost every chronic disease that has increased in prevalence since the introduction of fluoroquinolones to the mass population in the mid-1980s. Additionally, DNA is damaged and thus the effects are intergenerational and many of the chronic diseases that plague children can be linked to fluoroquinolone use by parents.
I first came into contact with Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin and another antibiotic when I was hospitalized about 24 years ago, surprisingly, with a case of Gangrene. Three antibiotics were administered simultaneously, before and after surgery. They were able to save my leg and my life, respectfully but I never regained my health. My immune system had taken a direct hit. For the longest time, I suspected fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome to be my main problem, which didn't explain problems with the leg muscles, cramping, tendon stiffness and back aches, especially around the hips.
As far as diet, I've always been conscious of the foods consumed and prepared. I've never been a food junkie, (chips, soda, candy) mainly meat, potatoes, vegetables, salads, and homemade soups. On the downside, I love to bake and there was always pies, cookies and traditional pastries around Holidays. But after the hospital stay, the desire to bake anything, other than an occasional pie for my family became overwhelming due to lack of energy and fatigue. I was also raising my two Son's at the time and holding down a full time job. Although, our parting of ways was a mutual decision, my Ex-husband was always available to help, especially taking the boys for the weekend to spend with his Parent's, which gave me some time to recoup from the busy schedule. Nothing seemed to help, to regain strength and vitality.
I always equated Cipro as an antibiotic, much like Penicillin and considered it "safe." Of course, this all happened long before I came across Laura and her work and now the Ketogenic diet.
_http://www.activistpost.com/2014/01/gulf-war-illness-tied-to-cipro.html#more
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.
A 1998 study entitled, “Chronic Multisymptom Illness Affecting Air Force Veterans of the Gulf War,” found that the most commonly reported symptoms of Gulf War Illness are sinus congestion, headache, fatigue, joint pain, difficulty remembering or concentrating, joint stiffness, difficulty sleeping, abdominal pain, trouble finding words, (feeling) moody or irritable, rash or sores, numbness or tingling and muscle pain.
A 2011 study conducted by the Quinolone Vigilance Foundation found that the most commonly reported symptoms of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are tendon, joint, and muscle pain, fatigue, popping/cracking joints, weakness, neuropathic pain, paresthesia (tingling), muscle twitching, depression, anxiety, insomnia, back pain, memory loss, tinnitus, muscle wasting.
The symptoms are similar enough to raise a few eyebrows. It should be noted that when a chronic, multi-symptom illness suddenly sickens a patient or a soldier, and he or she goes from being healthy and active to suddenly being exhausted and unable to move or think, it is difficult to pinpoint and describe exactly what is going wrong in his or her body. Thus, even if the symptoms are identical, they may not be described in an identical way because of context and differing areas of focus.
For victims of fluoroquinolones, it is as if a bomb went off in the body of the victim, yet all tests come back “normal” so in addition to physical pain and suffering that the soldier/patient is going through, he or she has to suffer through dismissal and denial from medical professionals as well. Neither Gulf War Illness nor Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are detected by traditional medical tests and thus both diseases are systematically denied. All blood and urine markers come back within the normal ranges, yet the patient or soldier is suddenly incapable of 90% of what he or she used to be able to do. When a large number of patients or soldiers (nearly 30% of the soldiers serving in the Gulf reported symptoms. Exact numbers of civilian patients suffering from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome are unknown because of delayed reactions, misdiagnosing the illness, tolerance thresholds, etc.) experience adverse reactions that are undetectable using the tests available, there is something wrong with the tests. The patients and soldiers aren’t lying and their loss of abilities isn’t “in their heads.
Exposure to the same Poison
Another glaring similarity between Gulf War Illness and Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome is that everyone with either syndrome took a Fluoroquinolone.
Per a Veteran of the Marines who commented on healthboards.com about the use of Ciprofloxacin by soldiers in the Gulf:
The Ciprofloxacin 500 mg were ordered to be taken twice a day. The Marines were the only service that I know for sure were given these orders. We were ordered to start them before the air war, and the order to stop taking them was giver at 0645 Feb 28th 1991 by General Myatt 1st Marine div commander. We were forced to take Cipro 500mg twice a day for 40 plus days. so the Marines were given NAPP (nerve agent protection pills) or pyridiostigmine bromide to protect us from nerve agent, and We were ordered to take the Cipro to protect from anthrax. We were part of the human research trial conducted by the Bayer corporation in the creation of their new anthrax pills. At that time they had no idea of the side effects of flouroquinolones. That’s the class of medications that Cipro falls into. After the Gulf War the FDA and Bayer co. started releasing the list of side effects. You do need to know what was done to you so you will have to do your own research. Good luck to all of you and Semper Fi.
By definition, everyone who suffers from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome has taken a fluoroquinolone – Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin or Floxin/Ofloxacin. Civilians are also part of the “human research trial conducted by the Bayer corporation” as well as Johnson & Johnson, Merck and multiple generic drug manufacturers who peddle fluoroquinolones as “safe” antibiotics.
The Case Against Fluoroquinolones
Of course, there were multiple chemicals and poisons that Gulf War Veterans were exposed to in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and thus it has been difficult to pinpoint an exact cause of Gulf War Illness. The ruling out of the following possible causes should certainly be questioned thoroughly, but “depleted uranium, anthrax vaccine, fuels, solvents, sand and particulates, infectious diseases, and chemical agent resistant coating” have been found not to cause Gulf War Illness. Other potential causes of Gulf War Illness include oil fires, multiple vaccines, pesticides, and, of course, fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Cipro). (It should be noted that non-deployed military personnel who served during the Gulf War period, but who were not deployed in the Middle East, have also been afflicted with Gulf War Illness and thus toxins that both deployed and non-deployed personnel have been exposed to should be the focus of investigations into the causes of Gulf War Illness.)
The Air Force Times article is one of the first official mentions of the relationship between Cipro and Gulf War Illness. Officially, the link hasn’t been examined (though some very smart researchers are building a case as you read this). Why Cipro hasn’t been looked at as a potential cause of Gulf War Illness is a question that I don’t know the answer to. Perhaps it’s because most people think that all antibiotics are as safe as penicillin. Perhaps it’s because most people have a tolerance threshold for fluoroquinolones and don’t react negatively to the first prescription that they receive. Perhaps it’s because even today, more than 30 years after Cipro was patented by Bayer, the exact mechanism by which fluoroquinolones operate is still officially unknown (1). Perhaps it’s because it is unthinkable that a commonly used antibiotic could cause a chronic syndrome of pain and suffering. Perhaps it’s because the tests that show the damage done by fluoroquinolones aren’t used by the VA or civilian doctors’ offices. Perhaps it’s because fluoroquinolones are the perfect drug – they take an acute problem – an infection, and convert it into a chronic disease-state that is systematically misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, an autoimmune disease, leaky gut syndrome, insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc. and turns formerly healthy people into lifetime customers of the medical establishment / pharmaceutical companies. Perhaps it is simply widespread ignorance about the way these dangerous drugs work.
The Cliff's Notes version of how fluoroquinolones work is as follows:
The fluoroquinolone depletes liver enzymes that metabolize drugs (CYP450) (2). When the enzymes are depleted sufficiently, the fluoroquinolone forms a poisonous adduct to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (3, 4), which destroys and depletes mtDNA (5). While the mtDNA is being destroyed, the fluoroquinolone is also binding to cellular magnesium. (6, 7) The mitochondria reacts to being assaulted by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) (8, 9). Some of the ROS, specifically hydrogen peroxide, combines with the excess calcium (there is a balance in cells of magnesium and calcium and the binding of the magnesium results in an excess of calcium) to induce the expression of CD95L/Fas Ligand (5) which then causes cell death (apoptosis) and immune system dysfunction (10) which leads the body to attack itself – like an autoimmune disease.
Damage is caused by every single step in the process. Additional damage may be done by the fluorine atom that is added to fluoroquinolones to make them more potent. It should be noted that the complexity of these cellular interactions is too vast to write up in this article.
Every symptom of Gulf War Illness is consistent with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress (11), both of which have been shown to be brought on by fluoroquinolones.
Though the tests used in typical medical practice show no reason for victims of fluoroquinolones to be ill, that fact simply shows that the wrong tests are being used. Tests of mitochondrial function, antioxidant/oxidant ratios and DNA will show the damage that is done by fluoroquinolones. The way to determine whether Cipro is the cause of Gulf War Illness is to conduct a DNA mass spectrogram analysis on afflicted Gulf War Veterans. If the DNA mass spectrogram analysis shows that quinolone molecules have adducted to the DNA of the Veterans, that’s a smoking gun of damage done by Cipro.
Millions of civilians have also been hurt by fluoroquinolones. I can connect fluoroquinolones to almost every chronic disease that has increased in prevalence since the introduction of fluoroquinolones to the mass population in the mid-1980s. Additionally, DNA is damaged and thus the effects are intergenerational and many of the chronic diseases that plague children can be linked to fluoroquinolone use by parents.
