Why You Should Learn About the Dangers of Cipro

Ugh! It happened to me again. I was duped by another medical doctor who prescribed a dangerous drug to me. This time it was an antibiotic called ciprofloxacin (Cipro). Have you heard about the dangers of Cipro? I advise you to do your research before taking this drug.

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I am someone who tries to live as naturally as possible. I wasn’t always like that, but I’ve learned through my different health challenges that living naturally and minimizing toxins can help us in so many ways.

I have health challenges that many medical doctors don’t understand. With the number of toxins that we encounter on a daily basis, our bodies are getting overburdened and our gut’s are getting destroyed. This is causing a host of health problems that many doctors don’t understand.

I am thankful for doctors who are more functionally minded. Many have dealt with their own health challenges and have realized that our current healthcare approach isn’t addressing our modern day problems. There is not a one size fits all approach when it comes to our health. We are all unique and have experienced different situations throughout our life which contribute to our health.

Medical Doctors Can Prescribe Dangerous Drugs

Due to my past experiences, I have come to learn that I need to try to avoid medical doctors as much as possible. Years ago, when I started down my health journey, I looked to traditional medical doctors for answers. They ran me through a gamut of medical tests only to come back with inconclusive results.

Since my doctor didn’t understand things such as Lyme, mold toxicity and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, he did what he was trained to do – prescribe medication.

You see, medical doctors aren’t necessarily trained to get to the root cause. They’re trained to provide an immediate solution, which typically involves a prescription. They are trained to understand drugs and their interactions.

So at that time, I was prescribed a drug that I never should have been given. It was a drug that my doctor said he rarely prescribed, but thought I could use.

Being naive, I listened to my doctor and took the drug. It ended up causing me all sorts of problems. My heart would race incessantly. I would wake up in the middle of the night in sweats and hallucinations. The drug became addictive. And if it wasn’t for someone who I call my ‘angel’ nurse, who knows what my ultimate outcome would have been.

When I called into my doctor’s office complaining about my symptoms, the nurse whispered into the phone and told me I needed to get off of the drug because it would only get worse. That’s when I started seeing a counselor who ultimately helped me get off of it because it wasn’t the type of drug you could quit cold turkey.

After this episode of being prescribed a drug that I didn’t need, didn’t help and actually made me worse, I learned to always question a doctor. Doctors may be smart, but they don’t know everything and they don’t live in our body and experience the daily symptoms that we do.

Do Your Research When Meeting with a Doctor

When I meet with a natural-minded doctor, I do my research ahead of time. I go to the appointment prepared with a list of questions. Once they give me their recommendations, I go home and research some more and email them if I have any follow up questions. I highly recommend everyone to do their research when it comes to their health!

Getting back to my experience with Cipro…

I reluctantly went to see a medical doctor recently. I had only been to him one other time to become an established patient. I was told that he was an MD who was more tolerant of natural ways (which is hard to come by).

I am someone who has battled chronic infection for a few years. However, by minimizing toxins, adhering to a strict diet, managing stress and taking different supplements, I’ve been able to keep the infections under control for the most part. I try to live as normal a life as possible. However, my normal today is probably different from your normal and different from what mine used to be.

This particular time, my chronic infection had flared up for some time and seemed to be getting worse. Being tired, weak and battling off and on fevers takes its toll. Since this particular infection seemed like it was a UTI that was heading into my kidneys, I decided I should get a urine test to see how bad it had become.

I called the doctor’s office and asked if I could just come in for a urine test. I didn’t want to make an appointment with the doctor, but they said I had to make an appointment with the doctor in order to get the test, so I reluctantly made an appointment.

I Was Prescribed the Dangerous Cipro

After taking the test, my doctor came in and said that my bad bacteria levels, including E coli, were extremely high. He told me that I was so bad that natural remedies wouldn’t help me anymore. He said I would have to go on an antibiotic, one which would clear things up in 5 days.

As someone who follows the advice of functional medicine, I knew that I shouldn’t take antibiotics because of how they can negatively impact the gut, but I caved in to the fear-mongering and became duped by another medical doctor.

He asked if I was allergic to any antibiotics. I hadn’t taken an antibiotic in so long that I told him I didn’t know of any. However, I did tell him that I reacted to many chemicals. That didn’t seem to phase him or even register with him.

He said he was going to give me a 5-day prescription of ciprofloxacin in addition to another drug that I was supposed to take for 2 days. He made it sound like it worked in conjunction with the antibiotic. I later found out it was a pain killer, which I did not take.

The doctor’s office called the prescription into the pharmacy and I went on my way.

Honestly, I don’t like that whole process. I wasn’t given anything at the doctor’s office telling me what I was prescribed. Having the doctor’s office call in the prescription might be convenient for the patient, but it doesn’t allow you time to research the drug before picking it up.

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Is Cipro Safe? I Think Not

Once I picked up the Cipro prescription, I took it home and read through the paperwork that came with it. The Ciprofloxacin came with 3 additional pages of problems that were associated with it. Of course, I wasn’t thrilled by that, but I decided to take the pill anyway because I trusted the doctor.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but Cipro is one of the most dangerous antibiotics. There are even support groups on Facebook for those who have been damaged by it!

It seems like the drug has raised some red alarms in the past.

• In 2013, the FDA strengthened their warning that the fluoroquinolones class of antibiotics (which includes Cipro) could “cause sudden, serious, and potentially permanent nerve damage called peripheral neuropathy.”
• In 2016, The FDA again strengthened label warnings of fluoroquinolones (Cipro) because the drugs can lead to disabling side effects, including ruptured tendons.
• In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that people should avoid fluoroquinolones (Cipro) “due to an increased risk of heart vessel tears associated with their use.”

I wish I would have known all of this ahead of time.

My Experience with Ciprofloxacin

I took 2 rounds of the pill – one in the evening and one the next day. After the 2nd pill, I felt like my kidneys were being ripped out of my back. I definitely was in more pain after taking it then I was before taking it. I also started getting a weird sensation in both of my arms. It felt as if they were both going to go numb. This happened multiple times throughout the day.

I stopped taking Cipro even though it felt a little bit like an addictive drug. It brought me back to the addictive feeling I had with the previous drug I had been prescribed. It also messed with my emotions. I’m not someone who deals with depression, but this medication made me feel that way.

Once I told the doctor I was going off of the dangerous Cipro, he prescribed a different antibiotic to me called Macrobid.

I was hesitant to take anything else since I was reacting to the Cipro. I talked to the pharmacist to see what ingredients were in each of the drugs. There are both active and inactive ingredients in drugs.

She had to pull the paperwork to find out what the ingredients were. In addition to the problems with the active ingredients, the inactive ingredients were not too good either. Both prescriptions contained either corn (I assume it’s GMO since Bayer is involved), polyethylene glycol, titanium dioxide, and different food dyes.

What Are Some Cipro Side Effects?

The next morning I tried taking 1 of the Macrobid pills. Shortly after taking it, I began feeling strange. Enough so that I forced myself to throw up, so I could get some of it out of my system. After that, I began shaking uncontrollably. It was like I was having a seizure. This lasted for an hour.

I laid on our couch and just tried to rest, however, I became weak and hungry since I had thrown up earlier. I tried eating some light food, but my throat began to tighten as I ate. Then I started to have another shaking seizure which lasted another hour.

So now, instead of just having a bladder infection, my arms were going numb, my throat was swelling up when I tried to eat and if I could get food down, I would begin having an hour long seizure. On top of that, I was losing weight that I couldn’t afford to lose. Not to mention the tremendous lower back pain I was experiencing.

I called the doctor. He said I was having an allergic reaction. He told me to go to the hospital if it continued. Unfortunately, I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle whatever they would give me at the hospital, so I didn’t have too many options other than to stay home in bed.

My seizure episodes happened for two more days after trying to eat food. I became so weak and emaciated not being able to eat anything. When I tried to stand up, my stomach was concaved in my body. My whole skeletal frame had changed. It was scary.

I have felt like I’ve been on my deathbed twice in my life. This was one of them. My husband wanted to take me to the hospital, but I knew a hospital wouldn’t understand my situation and try to give me something else that would negatively impact me.

Thank God the medication began to slowly get out of my system each day. It took over 5 days for the side effects to finally wear off.

What are Some of the Dangers of Cipro?

Cipro can cause a host of problems. The FDA posts this information about Cipro. It says that Cipro can cause side effects that may be serious or even cause death.

It can cause multiple problems, such as:

• serious allergic reactions,
• central nervous system problems,
• joint problems,
• changes to your heart rhythm,
• tendon ruptures,
• suicidal thoughts

In addition to the active ingredient, ciprofloxacin, there are also problems that can be associated with its inactive ingredients.

• GMO corn – harming the gut
• polyethylene glycol – the Environmental Working Group gives this a ‘D’ rating. It can damage DNA and cause endocrine and reproductive issues
• titanium dioxide – has been linked to oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and DNA damage

With all of the problems and side effects associated with Cipro, I have to ask:

Why is this drug something that is allowed to be prescribed??

I believe the dangers of Cipro aren’t something that should be taken lightly. Please be sure to do your research to weigh the pros and cons before ever taking this drug.

Have you ever taken this drug? What has been your experience? Please let me know in the comments below.

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