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I am very familiar with Black Box warnings. I know exactly what I am taking and I know what I am taking it for. If an infection is bad enough to require Cipro or another floroquinolone then I know that the infection is bad enough for me to take the med
The odds of having a tendon rupture are about the same as a lottery win
On one hand, you say you know what a black box warning is, and on the other you dismiss the fact that an adverse event ever happens. The same AE that the black box warning clearly states does occur. Hmmm.
I flat out told my PCP not to ever give me Cipro and I am allergic to Keflex. Last time I had a UTI I was given Macrobid with no side effects. Doctors just don't listen to you. I told one that I had a history of ulcers and yet he prescribed something for my fibromyalgia that said don't take if you have a history of stomach issues. I had told him and his nurse but I had to find out after I get the meds from the leaflet.
I called the doctor and reminded him of my stomach issues and he tells me "oh no you shouldn't take this med". WTF! I told him when he had his prescription pad out.
My friend gets UT's a lot and she's found UT Answer to be very effective and one can try to work with D Mannose and she also believes in Aloe Vera and she takes it every day.
For me if I feel something might be coming on I grab the Echineaca and 2 caps every 2-3 hrs for a day or so..normally does it for me.
With "no infection AT ALL" there should NEVER have been any antibiotics prescribed
Either your Doc was a quack or yoy had some kind of infection
No, this actually happens more that it should. My OB/Gyn prescribed Cipro to me for a suspected UTI. I asked her wasn't this a drug with a black box warning and she said no, she hadn't heard that and that she always prescribed it and none of her patients have ever had any problems with it. When I picked it up at the store, and later read the insert, yup, there was the warning, plus one that said Cipro is not to be used as the first drug for a UTI. I called and they phoned in an Rx for something else. A few days later the urine culture came back negative, so I never even had an infection to begin with.
On the other hand, my mom, age 77, was prescribed Cipro for a serious e.coli infection and made a full recovery very quickly. However, within a few days of completing the prescription, she suffer a bad tendon tear. There was no trauma involved and no prior history. She was walking and her leg gave out. The doctor described the lower tendon as "shredded," and it took months of PT to recover. Yes, I think this was caused by the Cipro, and so does her PCP, but I also see that it was necessary and reasonable choice to deal quickly with a potentially deadly infection.
The alarm over this class of drugs should not be over their existence. They are useful, necessary and life-saving. We should be concerned, though, with those doctors who remain unaware of potential serious side effects of certain drugs they routinely prescribe for less serious conditions.
I have seen quite a few posts over the years here on damage done by Cipro - one poster had her heels and then later wrists wrecked by this med. Also, there are large internet forum sites FILLED with people whose lives have been wrecked by this dangerous abx! This is one I certainly would not dismiss. There are plenty of alternative antibiotics out there. And it DOES get prescribed for no reason; sometimes just to "prevent" some sort of infection that MIGHT happen!!! It was prescribed for me when I had a simple mole removed and stitched up, I took one and got sick to my stomach and then read the horror stories out there and threw the rest away!
No, this actually happens more that it should. My OB/Gyn prescribed Cipro to me for a suspected UTI. I asked her wasn't this a drug with a black box warning and she said no, she hadn't heard that and that she always prescribed it and none of her patients have ever had any problems with it. When I picked it up at the store, and later read the insert, yup, there was the warning, plus one that said Cipro is not to be used as the first drug for a UTI. I called and they phoned in an Rx for something else. A few days later the urine culture came back negative, so I never even had an infection to begin with.
On the other hand, my mom, age 77, was prescribed Cipro for a serious e.coli infection and made a full recovery very quickly. However, within a few days of completing the prescription, she suffer a bad tendon tear. There was no trauma involved and no prior history. She was walking and her leg gave out. The doctor described the lower tendon as "shredded," and it took months of PT to recover. Yes, I think this was caused by the Cipro, and so does her PCP, but I also see that it was necessary and reasonable choice to deal quickly with a potentially deadly infection.
The alarm over this class of drugs should not be over their existence. They are useful, necessary and life-saving. We should be concerned, though, with those doctors who remain unaware of potential serious side effects of certain drugs they routinely prescribe for less serious conditions.
After my considered rare severe side effect of Double Vision (months) from Cipro, I did my own extensive research. It is not recommended for people over the age of 60 by the manufacturer, Dragonmam. I was 63 at the time. How many doctors, let alone patients, know this?
I was injected with Cipro at a UCC for food poisoning. They did not ask me if I was allergic to it. Better yet would be to ask if you have a FAMILY history of antibiotic allergic reactions. Dad was deathly allergic to Penicillin. He went into shock from it. Severe enough to be put on his WW2 dog tags. In my research I found that if a parent has an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, their child can as well but not necessarily to the SAME antibiotic. Similar with family food allergies. Wrong, Doctors? Me, myself, I have never had a reaction to Penicillin since childhood.
Fluroquiolones are MY severe antibiotic allergies which extends to even showering in fluoridated water with rashes/hives over my entire body, including on my eyelids. Looked like a leper. Cipro, or Penicillin , is a hell of a lot easier to avoid than fluoridated water. Right, Jamin?
No, this actually happens more that it should. My OB/Gyn prescribed Cipro to me for a suspected UTI. I asked her wasn't this a drug with a black box warning and she said no, she hadn't heard that and that she always prescribed it and none of her patients have ever had any problems with it. When I picked it up at the store, and later read the insert, yup, there was the warning, plus one that said Cipro is not to be used as the first drug for a UTI. I called and they phoned in an Rx for something else. A few days later the urine culture came back negative, so I never even had an infection to begin with.
On the other hand, my mom, age 77, was prescribed Cipro for a serious e.coli infection and made a full recovery very quickly. However, within a few days of completing the prescription, she suffer a bad tendon tear. There was no trauma involved and no prior history. She was walking and her leg gave out. The doctor described the lower tendon as "shredded," and it took months of PT to recover. Yes, I think this was caused by the Cipro, and so does her PCP, but I also see that it was necessary and reasonable choice to deal quickly with a potentially deadly infection.
The alarm over this class of drugs should not be over their existence. They are useful, necessary and life-saving. We should be concerned, though, with those doctors who remain unaware of potential serious side effects of certain drugs they routinely prescribe for less serious conditions.
That's the real issue. As more and more and more drugs become available, MDs do NOT keep up with new ones and do NOT remember the older ones.
On one hand, you say you know what a black box warning is, and on the other you dismiss the fact that an adverse event ever happens. The same AE that the black box warning clearly states does occur. Hmmm.
On the other hand, I am not dismissing that the adverse effects ever occur. What I said was if I had a condition that required these potent antibiotics, I would weigh the pluses and minuses of taking the drug AND MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION, PERIOD!!!!!!! (as I so with any med or procedure)
My biggest problem with antibiotics is with Amoxicillin & Bactrim.
They appear to work for the first 24 hours & then I am SLAMMED with a super-infection to the point of delerium & temps of 104.
The only words I had to explain this was to say; 'I am resistant to that antibiotic'. To which doctors always say; 'No, only the BACTERIA can be resistant to the antibiotic'.
Well, that's nice. Because if both I & another household member were to both catch strep at the same time, go to the doctor & be prescribed Amoxicillin?
They will get better while I'm in the ER unable to speak with IVs running wide open. So no; THAT bacteria is not susceptible to THAT antibiotic when THAT bacteria is in MY body. I gave up on the debate & now just state I am allergic to Amoxicillin & Bactrim.
Quick name the last NEW antibiotic to be approved and released and for extra bonus points, name the one before that....
Apparently you believe that NEW antibiotics are released all the time......once again your lack of knowledge on a medical topic is astoundingly clear.....
Everyone knows that is Xenleta for pneumonia. It's available as both oral and iv. It is the first novel antibiotic since linezolid. Linezolid was approved in 2000. The first case of linezolid resistant bacteria occurred during the trials.
Fluoroquinolones are old. Cipro was approved in 1987.
The key is managing risk with medications.
The oldest antibiotic class to be marketed is the sulfa family from the 1930s. It's most commonly prescribed as Bactrim (sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim). It has a very nasty rare side effect called Stevens Johnson syndrome and epidermal necrolysis. Don't look these up unless you can stomach the pictures. There is no way to determine the risk of these side effects on an individual. So what exactly are these side effects; they cause your skin to die.
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