Knowing that I was suffering a serious adverse effect of a medication, I was bound and determined to figure out the biochemical reasoning behind the adverse effect as well as figuring out how to reverse it. I searched for “treating Cipro toxicity”, “reversing side effects of Cipro”, “mechanism of action of Cipro induced tendonitis”, and the like. At the time, all of my search results yielded links to message boards or propaganda put out by the makers of the various fluoroquinolone antibiotics. I searched the CDC and the FDA website for incidence of Cipro induced tendonitis and was disappointed with what I found.
The message boards were filled with people who had suspected a Cipro toxicity, who’s lives were permanently affected by the class of drugs, fluoroquinolones. I read about the devastation, the incapacitation, the brain fog and the complete lack of quality of life. I read about the thousands of dollars people spent on invasive medical tests that yielded no clear diagnosis. I read about the dead ends and the misdiagnoses people encountered. I read about those misdiagnoses leading to being prescribed anti-cancer drugs or drugs for Lupus, despite no markers in blood work for rheumatic conditions, which then yielded further side effects. I read about the many health care providers who, while uneducated or misinformed, did not connect the dots between fluoroquinolone use and the sudden onset of symptoms.
I read about how rare the side effect is, yet found it alarming, the number of people who apparently had the side effect but weren’t officially diagnosed with the condition. Of course the side effects are rare, if no one is acknowledging the connection to the antibiotic. I read that the side effects were most prevalent in adults over the age of 60 and with kidney dysfunction. But the message boards told me a different story. These were adults around my age, previously healthy, active and fit that were suffering. The storied I read sounded just like mine. The onset, progression, complete debilitation…all of it. Just like mine.
What I did not read, was how people successfully treated and reversed the condition. I did not read any success stories. At that point, I could not find an ounce of information that would help me heal myself.
It is well known in the pharmacy community, that when a doctor is presented with the question of what is wrong with a patient, he or she asks,”What condition is causing this?” From a pharmacist’s perspective, we ask, “What drug is causing this?” Naturally, in the absence of a definitive diagnosis, I have spent the 22 years of my career asking, “What drug is causing this?” And further, “How can we reverse the side effects of this medication?” Very often, discontinuation of a medication is an easy fix to reverse the side effects. In this case, however, all I could find was years of lives as people knew them destroyed. There was no easy fix.
I thank God every single day that I am a pharmacist and that my brain works the way it does. I am research driven, and I rarely take no for an answer. I am strong willed, and once I decide to move forward, nothing can stop me. Sure, I might be slowed down by little bumps in the road and a detour to a bunch of tears, but I always forge ahead.
Digging deeper, I took a look at the chemical structures of many of the drugs that have reports of side effects similar to those I was experiencing. One thing they all had in common was the presence of a Fluoride molecule on the structure. The Fluoride allows the drug to reach hard to reach places, which makes the antibiotic or other medication useful in many cases. While the internet will yield conflicting information on whether or not the fluoride molecule is the culprit, I thoroughly researched the effects of fluoride toxicity. I searched scholarly articles and research articles to find any clinical, objective and scientific information I could find on the topic. What I found was astounding. Almost every symptom that was outlined in a fluoride toxicity, was what I was experiencing.
I continued my research, finding research articles that stated that removal of fluoride could lead to a full recovery of soft tissue damage within 12 months. I felt like I had caught the condition early enough, and felt that if I supplemented with the correct things my body needed to eliminate, repair and rebuild, I would be able to facilitate my complete healing. This is when my biochemistry and medicinal chemistry background came into play. I needed to understand the chemical reaction that was taking place within my body, and figure out how to stop and reverse it. At the risk of boring you with the details, basically what happens when someone has an overload of Fluoride, is that it robs the body of Magnesium and Calcium. Calcium binds with Fluoride and forms Calcium fluoride, which accumulates in those hard to reach joints ad tendons. Here, it hardens and makes the tendons more brittle. Fluoride will leach calcium and magnesium out of the bones and out of circulating blood.
All of our muscles, including our heart, depend on the balance of Calcium and Magnesium to contract and relax. Conduction of our nerves depends on Calcium and Magnesium. When our bodies become deficient in these minerals, we suffer. People have been reported to have had heart attacks and died as a result of fluoride toxicity, from this mechanism of action.
Everything I was finding about fluoride toxicity made sense to me. Remembering the evening when all my muscles were cramping up, I realized that I needed to supplement ASAP with both Calcium and Magnesium, just to protect my heart. That was my baseline. From that point forward, I researched anything and everything that would help with nerve conduction, nerve repair, repair of damaged cells, soft tissue support, adrenal support, and anything and everything that would help me get the poisons out of my body and promote optimal healing. Whether there was supporting literature or not, if it made sense to me, I wrote it down and added it to my supplement regimen. I figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
My breakfasts and bedtime snacks became handfuls of supplements. I was diligent. I did not miss a single dose. My children helped me fill my pill reminders every week. I eliminated all fluoride from my life. At first, I bought distilled or reverse osmosis water. Later, I installed chlorine and fluoride filters for my drinking water. While I was suffering from a fluoride toxicity, the chlorine was also an issue. I installed a chlorine filter to my shower so I was not bathing my skin in chlorine, hindering my healing. I stopped swimming in my pool and sitting in hot tubs. I eliminated all food and drinks that contained high levels of fluoride. I was diligent with a gluten free and mostly dairy free diet. Promoting gut health was imperative to decrease any inflammation that was being caused by external sources. I eliminated refined sugars.
Slowly but surely, I began to notice a difference. And slowly but surely, several people that I had met as a result of them having the same side effect also started to notice a difference. Getting the toxins out was the first step. Supplementing with nutrients to help with cell repair was the second step. The third step was and IS patience. Being over a year out from the onset of the symptoms, I can attest to the fact that healing completely takes much patience. I still struggle with many things and am still not able to function the way I used to. HOWEVER, I am no longer in a wheelchair, and that is my main criteria for success. I am able to care for my children and care for myself. I continue to get stronger by the day, and with some adjustments in my treatment routine, I remain hopeful for a full recovery.
Sometimes life hits us with some pretty big challenges. It takes our lives as we knew it and tosses it upside down and to the left and right several times over. How we handle it and move through it very well determines the outcome, and the quality of our lives. We are always meant to learn something valuable from things like this. I always say that adversity is a beautiful opportunity for growth and expansion. Of course it can be frustrating when we want to control the outcome, but the greatest transformation and healing takes place when we surrender to the process. I remain in a state of surrender, knowing that the timeline of my healing is not in my hands, and that there are many valuable lessons for me to learn through this ongoing experience. Since the onset of my condition, I have met with and been able to help many others who have been afflicted with the same condition…just by the mere fact that I know my biochemistry and knew how to approach it from that perspective. By virtue of still being in the middle of this journey, I know that there are still many lessons and opportunities for growth in store for me. Moving forward one day at a time with eternal gratitude for my many blessings…..