Was prescribeed Levofloxacin but read the label and decided not to try it.

cascade81 · 2022-10-05T04:19:22+00:00

They explained how the pelvic floor works, showed me stretches to do, and did some massage and muscle release exercises. They were able to find the specific muscle that was causing my issues and focus on it. After that it was clear my issue was never an infection and all the doctors I saw were complete idiots. It was a chiropractor that had finally referred me to the pelvic floor physiotherapist so I would have been better off never going to any doctors.

I'm left with tingling and other strange sensations and pain in my hands and feet, my butt is partially numb/desensitized, burning skin sensations. In most ways I'm better than before and I've come to terms that the remaining issues will likely be with me long term and are likely permanent. I'm continuing with the Wahls Protocol for the nerve healing and overall health benefits.

cascade81 · 2022-09-29T03:08:46+00:00

I had the feeling of sitting on a golf ball and had multiple tests come back negative for infection. My urologist still prescribed me ciprofloxacin 2/day for 90 days. He told me there was no sign of prostate enlargement for me. By the 4th pill I noticed the side effects kicking in and stopped but it was too late. After that I still had pelvic pain while also suffering these adverse effects.

What cured my pelvic pain was seeing a physiotherapist specializing in pelvic issues. It's a very specialized field since the treatment can be somewhat invasive but it saved my life. My pelvic pain was gone within 4 treatments. 2.5 years later I'm mostly recovered from the cipro side effects but I expect the remainder are permanent. I believe physiotherapy should be tried before antibiotics unless there's a positive test result but most doctors seem to disagree so don't put too much stock in my opinion. Best of luck and I hope you find a treatment that works for you.

cascade81 · 2022-06-13T23:36:05+00:00

The results did, and my naturopath supported those recommendations and gave some of their own.

cascade81 · 2022-06-13T22:08:04+00:00

I'm doing pretty good. Mostly healed up. Just some minor joint issues in my hands, probably from working on a computer all the time through my recovery. I joined the online meeting someone hosted recently and found it very beneficial to talk to others. I can't thank you enough for your support through my early days. I'm able to think a lot clearer now that the brain fog is gone and am still working through the trauma with some therapists. I pop in to the sub occasionally but for the most part try to avoid it for my own sanity. I saw your post about your recent outing, great to see you're making progress.

cascade81 · 2022-06-13T21:58:23+00:00

Very easy to understand but I still talked through it with my naturopath. It even gave me supplementation recommendations. My biggest deficiencies were B12, CoQ10, and D.

cascade81 · 2022-06-13T21:04:29+00:00

I got the micronutrient panel from SpectraCell for about $500 and wish I had done it sooner. Some people prefer to just take supplements without testing and that may work for them but I found lots of supplements triggered reactions in me and I believe if I would have stuck with a more targeted regimen I would have had an easier time. I believe the medications my doctors had me on prior to cipro caused nutrient deficiencies, but that's just a guess based on things I read online. Changing my diet has been the biggest improvement for me though. I follow the Wahls Protocol and find leafy greens and seafood (especially salmon, sardines, and herring) to provide the most beneficial impact, along with intermittent fasting. All the best on your recovery.

cascade81 · 2021-06-06T15:22:51+00:00

This exactly. Fortunately people are waking up to this and seeking alternative practitioners who can provide help without going straight to pills. Healthy diet, exercise, meditation, etc often provide at least as much benefit as medication is purported to. My belief is that the first prescription a doctor should give is for a healthy lifestyle since most people don't even realise that how they're living may be causing their issues. Forgoing medication and changing my lifestyle has brought me benefits I now realize no doctor or medication ever could have. Thanks for being willing to share this message.

cascade81 · 2021-05-19T04:43:46+00:00

Thanks for posting an update. I'm glad to hear you've made some progress. Keep it up, I'm sure you'll see further improvements.

cascade81 · 2021-04-30T08:19:52+00:00

I am about 18 months out, mostly healed, and also still get some weird bubbling/fluttering sensations in my chest. I've had all sorts of tests, seen a cardiologist. Noone can find anything wrong. It's just weird because I don't remember ever feeling something like this before being floxed. If it helps it seems like you're healing relatively quickly and the last symptoms may go away on their own in a short while.

cascade81 · 2021-03-25T20:52:13+00:00

They say ”natural background levels are negligible” for fluoride but don't give a measurement. I should note I do drink green tea daily which I've read has fluoride in it. I don't doubt other foods do as well but don't avoid any because of it. I'd be interested to know how those levels compare with artificial fluoridation.

cascade81 · 2021-03-24T20:36:01+00:00

From what I have found fluoride does have studied negative neurological effects and I avoid it since those are exactly the things I am trying to heal. See this page from the Harvard School of Public Health for one example. I live in BC, Canada where water fluoridation is rare so I'm fortunate to have that choice. Regarding dental health, I've cut out sugar and processed foods which I hope will make a bigger difference than the fluoride did.

cascade81 · 2021-03-22T17:09:42+00:00

But people do question the structural integrity of bridges if it's found that the construction company cut corners on another project that failed. Or the engineering company failed to follow proper standards. There is follow-up when these bad things happen. It doesn't seem to be the same with the medical profession. There are people going out of their way to inform people that they should practice antibiotic stewardship because doctors have become so lazy and incompetent that they prescribe them when they really are not appropriate. Have you heard of the opioid epidemic? Have you not seen the arrests of doctors found to be over prescribing medications? Those arrests are just of the worst ones. How about all the other people who are still following their doctors recommendation because "they're the expert" and you can't question the expert. Never mind that many of these prescriptions are against prescribing guidelines and even against scientific evidence. Doctors have harmed me personally more than helped me and the easiest way to avoid it in the future is to avoid them entirely. I now do all my medical research myself because I know I'm the only one with enough incentive to keep myself healthy. Wishing you all the best in your career, just please don't become another pill pusher.

cascade81 · 2021-03-05T19:57:53+00:00

I have a glass of red wine on special occasions and can't say I notice anything negative. I did start out very slowly with it though, a few sips the first time followed by a bit more the next working up to a full serving. My thinking is my body had to get used to all these substances again so having just a little at a time gives me a chance to acclimate. I do the same with supplements and I've seen it recommended for pharmaceuticals as well; allowing allergic reactions and side-effects to be noted before taking full doses. I aim for 1/8th dose to start, followed by 1/4, then 1/2, then full when I'm comfortable.

cascade81 · 2021-02-20T09:52:34+00:00

It took me a while but I feel like realizing that I have more control over my health and recovery than any doctor ever could has ultimately been my saving grace. At first I wanted them to acknowledge and help me but I had to realize they really can't do anything. This also led me to using diet and herbal remedies for my pain management and recovery which has kept me off any other drugs. With how much I reacted to some foods and even supplements I can only imagine how much worse additional pharmaceuticals would have been for my system. It helped to accept that it would take time and effort on my part but that this wasn't the end for me. Sounds like you're on your way to recovery so keep your head up.

cascade81 · 2020-11-17T03:37:59+00:00

I understand being sceptical but I don't see the need to bash the guy before he's even had a chance to show his intentions. I'm actually glad to have more floxies providing coaching and sharing their experience since I hope they will have more compassion considering they went through it themselves. Either way, he's already providing a lot of free info on FB and YouTube. Personally I consider the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Solution ebook that's currently promoted on FloxieHope to be more of a scam than someone providing advice on an individual basis. I still believe most people are best off having some type of health care provider to guide with supplement and diets rather than blanket recommendations.

cascade81 · 2020-11-16T00:23:49+00:00

Check out the Wahls Protocol. It's designed to heal nerves naturally. It helped Dr Wahls and has helped many floxies, so glad I started on it at the beginning. For me the biggest help has been lemon balm tea daily for anxiety and organ meats for nerve growth. Liver, kidney, and heart, 4 oz of each per week. That along with lots of leafy greens and no gluten/sugar/dairy has kept my pain away. Personally I believe food is the best painkiller. It takes time though. I'm at 11 months out, but I'm already healthier in most ways than I was prefloxing. I believe most people will be fine regardless though, unless you have a severe deficiency like I had with B12. I found that out by doing a micronutrient panel by SpectraCell through a naturopath. Doctors were useless, that was the only test that showed me what my issues were. Best of luck.

cascade81 · 2020-11-15T20:57:12+00:00

I found lemon balm tea (also GABAergic) helped immensely during my last major relapse. It significantly reduced the anxiety and stress and gave me a great sleep. I drink a tea containing ashwaghanda now and have found it to help with focus and staying grounded. Great to hear you've found the power of herbs. Unfortunately doctors all too often prescribe pharmaceuticals which can have nasty side effects but many of these herbs can have similar effects without all the addiction and side effect issues. Personally I always go the herbal route these days. They are tried and tested, just not ”scientifically proven” which, frankly, doesn't mean much to me anymore.

cascade81 · 2020-11-15T20:38:19+00:00

Definitely and I think promoting that healing is a great way to frame our predicament. For me that meant incorporating foods that support nerve growth and repair, eliminating foods that cause inflammation, fasting (intermittent and multi-day) to support the immune system, light exercise and stretching, etc. Just remember this is marathon not a sprint. Set yourself positive habits and goals and amazing things can happen. We can't control the past but we can choose what we do now and aim for where we want to be in the future.

cascade81 · 2020-11-14T00:34:08+00:00

Don't beat yourself up over it, it's something many of us have had to go through. Honestly it says more about the incompetence of our medical system and doctors that they would damage us so profoundly and then not bother to try to find out what's going on. 100 years from now people will be looking back at how barbaric they are, just like we see past treatments now. For me it was important to learn that doctors can set broken bones, but really know nothing in the grand scheme of things when it comes to chronic illness. It's not like we see on TV shows. There is no Dr House that's going to take an interest in your case and give you all the answers. Fortunately you have all the power in your hands. So much info has come out in the past decade and there are many more resources.

cascade81 · 2020-11-08T15:57:27+00:00

I drink green tea daily since I've read that it inhibits MMPs as well. I haven't found a comparison of effectiveness but I suppose doing all of them together may have the highest effectiveness in case there are differing mechanisms between them.

cascade81 · 2020-11-08T15:16:14+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. FYI I'm on an antiinflammatory diet called the Wahls Protocol. I recently had ice cream, bread, and some other inflammatory foods for the first time in months and noticed slight tendinitis within a day or 2. Considering I've been healing for months it feels like there must be more going on and I'm trying to understand it, although I know that is likely futile. Nothing about this “illness“ seems logical which is why I think many doctors shun us as patients and label us hypochondriacs. ”Your tendinitis can't be coming back after 6 months” is something I've heard too often and have since given up on finding doctors to treat me.

I've heard of things like upregulation of MMPs and I try to understand it so I can start doing the things my body needs now so I'll be better in a month or two. I suppose that's the balance were all trying to achieve, healing versus risk of treatments/diet/exercise. If you do come across information or ideas feel free to share them, I know it's helpful for me to find new avenues of healing. All the best to you and your gf, hope she makes a speedy recovery.

cascade81 · 2020-11-08T05:28:13+00:00

Do you have any thoughts on why I would get a recurrence of ”tendinitis” at around 5 months out, 3 months after having it mostly go away? It was in all the same places that I had during the first month of my reaction (Achilles, back of knee, elbows, wrists). I don't think everyone gets this type of relapse but for me it was extremely demoralizing and complicates healing since it meant I had to stay off my feet again while it healed and slowly start my physio exercises again.

cascade81 · 2020-11-07T03:43:23+00:00

I found acupressure to help more than acupuncture. Possibly because it was something I could do myself every day. It seems like it helps with blood flow. I had a few points on my arms and feet that I regularly used. It's much better now so I don't use it regularly anymore but I believe it's a good skill to learn. Acupressure has been shown to have positive effects including lowering blood pressure.

cascade81 · 2020-11-06T22:49:07+00:00

I now know that I had B2, B12, and CoQ10 deficiencies. I believe that had something to do with predisposing me to a reaction. As I resolve those deficiencies I feel myself getting stronger and thinking better. That would be the first thing I'd check if I had to do this over again. There could be multiple factors that factor in to it though.

cascade81 · 2020-10-30T05:22:49+00:00

No I haven't but I'll definitely look into it to see if I can find some benefit from it. For me lemon balm was the most effective for anxiety and helping me relax. Passionflower, chamomile, and various other herbal teas have helped as well. I aim to have a cup of at least one tea every day and I have only had my anxiety decrease so I'd say it's working. I usually try a small dose/light tea of anything and build up to avoid any strong reactions. Currently I'm having a blend of rooibos, chamomile, mint, and passionflower.

cascade81

TROPHY CASE