Cipro Tendon Rupture Side Effects

[Robert H Hilley IV]

Cipro (Generic: Ciprofloxacin) is in a class of antibiotics called fluroquinolone, which have come under attack in recent months as being linked to serious adverse side effects. More specifically, Cipro has been linked to "Achilles Tendon Rupture" by medical professionals.

http://www.schmidtandclark.com/Cipro/

[Danny]

It is well known side effect associated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Post-marketing surveillance reports indicate that this risk may be increased in patients receiving concomitant corticosteroids, especially the elderly.

http://www.originaldrugs.com/medicine/cipro.s...

[Dianne]

Cipro has affected my tendons and after seven months I'm still struggling with them. My blood presure has also shot up, and has not gone down. Does anyone know why that would happen?

[Oliver]

The incidence is actually quite low -and as such the risk. The problem is that advocacy groups tend to present only absolute numbers, not the ratio of uses in which a side effect actually occured.

[Malcolm Everett]

Publication In Good Faith For Redress Of Wrong

"Truth Cannot Live on a Diet of Secrets Withering
Within Entangled Lies" H. Michael Sweeney

http://www.mashcan.org/

"THE IDEA THAT MURDER HAPPENS IN A HOSPITAL is one we would rather not contemplate. Most people die there, apparently from natural causes, and the common belief is that hospitals are humane places where patients are never harmed. We believe that hospital personnel wouldn’t work there if they weren’t suited to the task. We believe that this task involves putting the sick person first and that nothing could ever violate this principle. We are wrong. "

http://www.geocities.com/gbs_overlap/SecretNo...

http://www.geocities.com/gbs_overlap/UntoldSt...

http://www.geocities.com/gbs_overlap/Diagnost...

I close with the first paragraph of the introduction to the book, Fatal Rebirth:

"Truth cannot live on a diet of secrets, withering within entangled lies. Freedom cannot live on a diet of lies, surrendering to the veil of oppression. The human spirit cannot live on a diet of oppression, becoming subservient in the end to the will of evil. God, as truth incarnate, will not long let stand a world devoted to such evil. Therefore, let us have the truth and freedom our spirits require... or let us die seeking these things, for without them, we shall surely and justly perish in an evil world".

by H. Michael Sweeney

http://www.canlii.org/ca/sta/c-46/sec315.html

[Sal]

I challenge anyone who says that Cipro only damages SOME people's tendons to take a dose of it for one month straight and see what happens.

[Nivri]

About a week ago I was taking this drug for a Morganella morganii skin infection. I was given a prescription for Cipro 500 MG twice a day for 10 days. Four days into the treatment I had to stop. I had diarrhea and a very sore throat. And it felt like my colon was burning. Especially when I eliminated. I felt that if I had continued taking the drug I may cause permanent damage to my throat and the rest of me so I stopped. Eight days after starting and five days after discontinuing the Cipro I started bleeding from my rectum. It's almost funny because about twenty years ago when the drug was new I had taken it for what the doctor thought was prostatitis. It didn't help. But I remember it burning me when I urinated. It also seemed to irritate my colon. I never wanted to take it again. But the doctor in the emergency room said it was the best thing to give me for the Morganella morganii skin infection. Long story short, I HATE THIS DRUG!!! This drug is proof that the FDA doesn't work for the American people. Instead the FDA works for the pharmaceutical industry! Beware.

[Hilary]

In 2005 I was prescribed, and took, 8 cycles of Cipro for recurring UTI's. Three years later, I have ruptured tendons and ligaments in my left elbow, left soas, outer aspect of both feet, right knee, right ankle, both rotator cuffs, and left trapezius. Each injury has occurred while engaged in utterly normal, everyday activities like bending over to make my bed or lifting my purse onto my shoulder. I have never experienced prior instances of ligament and tendon rupture. My body is literally "popping" apart and I live in CONSTANT PAIN. The chiropractic and PT bills are staggering. Has anyone out there been personally involved in, or do you know someone who has been involved in, a SUCCESSFUL CLASS ACTION SUIT against the manufacturers of Cipro?

[Syl elgin Ill]

I have one proven torn rotator cuff and my other shoulder is acting to same way....I had no injury to the shoulder...... I have pain in my feet and have trouble walking......hands hurt and have no strenght...I have been on cipro several times in resent years....I'm allergic to most everything else....I am 76 yrs old....thought it was old age....very painful

[The Doctor]

Cipro is a lifesaving, highly effective, and generally safe drug. Analogously, automobiles are lifesaving, highly effective, and generally safe means of transportation. Every year many thousands of our countrymen lose their lives to automobiles, and many more are handicapped by injuries sustained in collisions. There is no doubt that every time you ride in a car your life is at risk. Try riding your bicycle instead and you will be at even greater risk of death and injury. Other antibiotics have their own problems. Some antibiotics are more dangerous. Other antibiotics are less effective or less appropriate for particular infections. Heck, I've been taking cipro for a week for sinusitis. I've been driving for decades. So far, so good.

[lfl]

Well, Doctor, congratulations on your success with Cipro. Me, I'm lying here recovering from arthroscopy on my right knee. Two days into a course of Cipro for sinusitis in Feb, '08, I could not walk. It took me another day to even think of the connection with an antibiotic. I had joint problems that were fairly mild before the Cipro. My doctor was not even remotely aware that that should have been a contraindication for my taking the drug. Now I am dealing with problems in both knees and my left shoulder. While I'm not an athlete, I've always been active and, at 54, I am NOT happy about feeling like a cripple. If I had been told there was even the remotest chance of this happening, I would have opted not to take the drug. The black box warning that has just recently been mandated by the FDA is too little too late for me but, hopefully, it will help others if it gets their doctors sensitized to the problem.

[mla]

I took Cipro and was on prednisone at the same time. Both Achilles tendons are now chronically swollen and partially ruptured. I also had trouble for two years with my shoulder cuff. I was going to have surgery on my ankles, but the doctors only gave a 50/50 chance of improvement. Meanwhile, I bought Birkenstocks to help me walk. I was almost crippled by this and still have constant pain. Does anyone know what the drug company is going to do to compensate us? I'm so angry about this!

[jdrig234]

I am a very active 72 year old female, however I am not an athlete. I have had asthma and taken prednison in the past; on corticosteroid inhalers for years. I have taken cipro several times over the years and I have had one total rupture on one achilles tendon with surgery to repair and a partial rupture on the opposite leg. Drs. had told me that some people just have short tendons and that probably explained my ruptures.
What do you think?

[Zenie Hudson]

July 10 2008

I am a registered nurse. I had my ruptured in 2003 tendons/ ligaments repaired on my left knee and recently Jan 2008. I never suspected that it must be something to do with Cipro until I heard this news.I have taken cipro at least 2- 3 courses of it a yearfor UTI( which means at least 24 times a year). I just came back to work after being off again for several months from this ligaments problem. My knee will never be the same. It certainly has impacted by speed and agility and has to work part time now.Someone has to sue this company for not warning the consumer soon..

[Suicidal once]

I have been in constant pain for over 5 yrs. I have taken cipro for lung infections and with them steroids at times. I never once thought they were causing my problems. My ankles hurt, ankles give out on me, hip hurts,but mostly my left shoulder is throbing constantly reminding me "it's there". I hurt down into my shoulder blades, my chest and at times if I turn my neck a certain way, it shoots pain into my eyes and above my eyes. I have even thought the pain was "in my head" and the depression is horrific at times. I'm not able to work and to even do little things around the house I have to tape my arm down to keep from hurting it more. Cipro may be a good drug for some people but not for me! It has helped ruin my life, my body and my sanity!

[Injured]

I took Cipro and developed severe Achilles tendonitis. The tendonitis led to my Achilles tendon rupture. I had the surgery repair which became infected and had to have a second surgery with a hospital stay of 3 days on IV antibiotics. I had to quit my position because there was a lot of walking involved. I now work a sit-down position which I am not happy about. I suffer from leg pain and stiffness. I take Voltaren daily which is probably killing my liver slowly. My life has been impacted by being prescribed Cipro and I want compensated for it.

[jen the lvn]

well I WAS a nurse but a ruptured posterior tibial tendon and subsequent complete surgical makeover of my rt. foot in Dec. 07 and I am STILL unable to work!!! I was on cipro at least 3 courses in August - Oct. o7 for a kidneystone/severe kidney infection which required hospitilization!! I am certainly going to look into any and all compensation that the drug manufacturer is offering...oh my age is 51.

[cirovictimalso]

I thought my husband had the most ruptures. He had 6. It appears that you have more than he does. He had tendons, ligaments & muscle that tore. Some of these tore completely apart and from where they were attached & are still torn. Both his legs & arms were involved. Now he has neuropathies in his legs & arms. His first rupture happened around 11 months after taking Cipro. He had 2 more after that. They stopped for several years. He took Cipro once more and around 11 months later he started having ruptures again. There were 2 more after that also. He had panic attacks, severe depression, suicidal thoughts and acts, back spasms, severe headaches & migraines because his blood pressure would shoot up very high, severe rectal bleeding, involuntary jerking movements of his arms & legs, tendonitis, memory problems, insomnia & when he would fall asleep for short periods of time vivid nightmares, muscle & joint pain, edema of the lip (terrible swelling of his bottom left corner of his lip that looked deformed but would last for only a few days) rash that looked like ant bites around his ankles, another rash that had bigger sores with dark centers that were in patches over his body, involuntary muscle twitching and some other things. He's disabled now. I feel for all of you who have taken quinolones and been injured by them. There should have been stronger warnings on these medicines. The "benefits" that my husband received most cetainly did not outweigh the risks.

[meezermom]

The Doctor wrote:

Cipro is a lifesaving, highly effective, and generally safe drug. Analogously, automobiles are lifesaving, highly effective, and generally safe means of transportation. Every year many thousands of our countrymen lose their lives to automobiles, and many more are handicapped by injuries sustained in collisions. There is no doubt that every time you ride in a car your life is at risk. Try riding your bicycle instead and you will be at even greater risk of death and injury. Other antibiotics have their own problems. Some antibiotics are more dangerous. Other antibiotics are less effective or less appropriate for particular infections. Heck, I've been taking cipro for a week for sinusitis. I've been driving for decades. So far, so good.

I've had constant and debilitating pain for almost a year due to achilles tendon damage from being on Cipro and steroids for chemo treatment. I am basically handicapped but absolutely must work. So I am on my feet all day with terrible pain. I cannot get treatment because I had to cancel my health insurance a year ago due to huge premiums and also huge debt due to cancer treatment. And so it goes. I see no signs of this damage and pain going away. Your argument is ridiculous. I have no choice whether I am in a car accident. I DO have a choice as to which antibiotic I take. If I had been told that there was a chance of me being handicapped by Cipro (WHICH I AM), I would have requested another safe medication. Honestly, try "walking" (which I can barely do at all) in my shoes for a day and then let's hear from you, "Doctor".

[Jeff]

Here is a good website that has some info about Cipro and Tendon Ruptures / Damage.

http://www.cipro-talk.com

-Jeff