after stopping statins, felt good til I took an antibiotic

[cls]

I stopped Zocor in mid-March and felt better in 2 days. In early May, I developed a sinus infection and was prescribed Keflex, which didn't help. My doc called in a prescription for doxycyline and the sinus infection still wasn't getting better so I called my doc again.

This time he called in 10 days of Levaquin, 500 mg. After about 4 days, I started to feel soreness in my arms and around some joints, elbows, shoulders, and knees. It turns out that antibiotics in the class called fluoroquolones (which are in the cipro family) can cause rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of muscle tissue), neuopothy, and many other side effects.

Has anyone had a similar reaction of muscle and joint pains that came from taking this type of antibiotic? It has been almost a week since I finished the Levaquin, but the pains are still here. I have read that some of these side effects associated with the "Floxins" are irreversible.

Any comments? Thanks

Connie

[Ray Holder]

Connie

The Britsh prescribing book shows a possibility of tendon damage and even tendon rupture with quinolones, in the section covering them all, including the ciprofloxacins, so I should be wary of putting too much strain on them.

There is no mention of permanence, although of coudrse, rupture would be permanent. Use of steroids at the same time enhances the risk.

Keflex acts similarly to penicillin, which can cause carnitine deficiency in some cases. This also happens with statins, so the first antibiotic may have worsened the effect of the statin damage.

It's all a jungle out there in the drug world, nothing seems impossible.

Sorry I have not found anything to help your problems.

Ray

[cls]

Hello Ray,

Thanks for your reply. Do you think it would be a good idea to start taking carnitine? I did buy some Rexall L-carnitine 500 mg. Is this the right thing to take?

I have found a whole lot of info on how many people have been damaged by this class of antibiotics. They say the have been "floxed." There is a forum for victims on yahoo and other sites about fluoroquonlones (class includes Cipro and Levaquin.)

There are even lawyers that specialize in these damage suits. I didn't know antibiotics were so dangerous. I thought you only had to worry about killing off the good intestinal bacteria and having a short bout of diarrhea.

I believe maybe with what I went through with the Zocor, I may have been more susceptible now. I did take Levquin years ago, but did not have this reaction.

Connie

[Ray Holder]

Hi Connie

It can't do you any harm, and there is a distinct probality that it will do you good. Take one a day for 3 days, then go up to 2 a day. If you feel any better, try 3 a day after another another 3 days. If you are taking too much, it might give you bowel problems, but not really likely until you take about 3grams or 6 capsules a day.

Hoping they help

Ray

[cls]

Thanks Ray,

I also just went out and bought some Acetyl-L-carnitine. 250mg is all they had at my local drugstore.

Connie

[harley2ride]

[quote="cls"]I stopped Zocor in mid-March and felt better in 2 days. In early May, I developed a sinus infection and was prescribed Keflex, which didn't help. My doc called in a prescription for doxycyline and the sinus infection still wasn't getting better so I called my doc again.

This time he called in 10 days of Levaquin, 500 mg. After about 4 days, I started to feel soreness in my arms and around some joints, elbows, shoulders, and knees. It turns out that antibiotics in the class called fluoroquolones (which are in the cipro family) can cause rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of muscle tissue), neuopothy, and many other side effects.

Has anyone had a similar reaction of muscle and joint pains that came from taking this type of antibiotic? It has been almost a week since I finished the Levaquin, but the pains are still here. I have read that some of these side effects associated with the "Floxins" are irreversible.

Any comments? Thanks

Connie[/quote]

I know that I have tried 3 - 4 different antibiotics, and end up having to stop taking them after about 3 days due to extreme pain and swelling. I had h-pylori, and I had a hell of a time getting rid of it, since I could not take most antibiotics. I'm still not sure which (if any), I can safely take.

[Biologist]

Antibiotics mess with mitochondria. We probably all have statin-screwed-up mitochondria anyway, so they are particularly bad news for us. Arrow down on this page to see where they are specifically used in research of mitochondria to screw-up the works. They block proteins -- maybe CoQ10 production too. Note that doxycycline is in the tetracycline class. Don't know were cipro-types fit in, but they probably do.

*http://www.cytochemistry.net/Cell-biology/mitoch2.htm

Here's some more info on the subject:

http://www.spacedoc.net/board/viewtopic.php?p=2974#2974

I will not be taking antibiotics in the future if I can avoid them.

Biologist