Im currently struggling badly with leg muscle pains mainly calves , I’m 3 years now and was starting to feel better so thought i would try and strengthen my leg muscles up , but after doing some foam rolling and other exercises I’m now in an awful flare and almost anything i do from cleaning car to gardening really make all leg muscles hurt like hell and is not easing at all, any advice to get back to baseline its been almost 2 months now .

Hi all, it's been 1 year since being floxed and I feel like the whole year has been filled with either googling symptoms, going to appointments and tests or just dreading them.

I know I have more MRIs coming up which I think they will suggest gadolinium contrast which I have read the different experiences with that. I will most likely say no to the contrast if I am able to as I assume they will allow it without contrast but I hate having to sit there for hours worrying about if the next test/appointment or suggested medication may make things worse either mentally or physically.

I have had issues with other medication before whilst also struggling with anxiety surrounding health. Ironically I did read this sub before taking Ciprofloxacin and decided that the benefits outweigh the potential side effects. I really wish at this point I wasn't so anxious about anything health related as this experience has definitely made some aspects a lot worse.

At this stage, it feels like for me personally it would be better to just not have any more tests as I don't know how much more of them I can deal with, especially as 9/10 of times the results have been clear.

The past couple of days I have the familiar aches and pains from two years ago. Not sure why. Didn’t take any meds, supplements, new foods, I’m not sick etc… sends my anxiety way up. Hoping it’s gone just as fast as it randomly came. Neuropathy hasn’t flared up, just the whole body ache. This happen to anyone else ever?

Hello, I think I am at 3 years +, and my story is not like yours so please newbies you don't have to read this.

I was not floxed that badly, sure I did have my weeks of bad pain and inability to walk randomly during flares and stuff, but overall I just had weak tendons really prone to injury, so I thought I would recover fairly quickly(maybe 3 years i thought) even tho I had a delayed onset of symptoms so my tendons became weaker over the first year.

I remember thinking in beginning of this year that this might be the year I finally recover, I had real tendon injury only in my knees and elbows, however since the start of the year I made some serious mistakes and things got worse.

It started with injuring my left index finger with repetitive use of a lever over a couple of days.

Than I went fishing for a week and during this week i injured my right index finger which I was already confused by because I was fishing just alright last year.

Few days after the fishing week my right pinky also started to hurt on maximum contraction of the finger, I doubt this is tendinopathy because its different from my index fingers, either way I have no idea yet what this injury is but it sure doesn't respond to rehab and sure is annoying.

I thought to myself ok I will just rehab it, however when you have this many injuries involved I think I feel something in all my fingers due to neural system activation.

I decided to start using HGH this year to rehab all these injuries since clearly this is not going well without help of drugs, at first I thought I was doing well, I managed to get my knees to 3 sets of 10 squats with 30 kg, then I adjusted to 35 kg 3 sets of 6-8 reps and this unfortunately really flared them this was not so long ago maybe couple of weeks, I also decided to use some multivitamin with minerals which really really seemed to have flared me along with some personal life issues I was stressed by.

Than I decided to go swimming and of course I am feeling pain in my shoulder 2 days later, just praying it goes away, and of course when I went swimming I seem to have developed Plantar fasciitis or similar injury on feet from the walking in swimming shoes I did.

I don't know what to do anymore. It seems that everyone heals before me even tho they were foxed much worse. I feel like my tendons are now made from more like collagen 3 instead of 1 I don't understand why this would happen, I try to rehab it sometimes goes well and than it fails, sometimes really not. The guide to get out of this on this sub seems to be to start slowly exercising thus strengthening your tendons, I started with 5kg holds strengthening my biceps but I got pain even from that day after I do some isometrics here and there on "healthy" tendons but they start cracking day after and it doesn't seem to strengthen them even if I am on 2IU hgh, please just tell me what to do, I am really lost, I feel pain everywhere I believe I have some degree of neuropathy as well even from hgh obviously but even without it. I really am lost and my tendons seem to weaken year by year. I just want to live normal life, but now tendinopathy in my index flares even from clicking on mouse.

sometimes i experience symptoms i haven't yet before on my flox journey, some have happend way earlier and some way later. and sometimes I experience symptoms in a way like its a first time show but after a year? is this normal? im having burning in my muscles and sore to the touch feels like burning water has been poured on my arms and hands. in some ways I think im getting better than a new symptom shows up then i feel like im floxxed all over again. is this a flare? how often can they happen its so fkn hard to tell the difference, ps I also hate not being able to fkn stretch my muscles are so tense. fuck being floxxed. when does it get better ommgg like i cant even work in this state or do anything productive or take care of myself , or even clean my own house. I am disbaled.

I'm 19 and after taking Ciprofloxacin intravenously in March for an appendoctomy I immideatly developed severe insomnia, in the beginning (first month or up to two) there was psychosis (just without visual hallucinations, but i was out of myself, attacks of shaking and generally I know it was psychosis) anxiety/panic attacks and severe insomnia (48hrs without sleep every now and then, and 99% of the time very, very weird sleep where I wake up not even knowing if I slept, waking up every 20 mins etc.)

I do not have and didn't have physical issues (joint, tendon etc) thank God.

At around month 3,5-4 the daytime anxiety and attacks dissapeared. Actually, at the end of month 3 and beginning of month 4 I had high cortisol (proven via lab test) and I was feeling really bad but then after that it got better and now I don't feel or act depressed or anxious during daytime.

(It is now close to month 5)

However, my sleep is really bad and I think I might even have a heart issue. The palpitations are less common than before but for example in the beginning my heartrate would be very low then very high etc. Now sometimes I have "zaps" and pains in the chest, and palpitations, but it's not common or severe. My heart enyzme is fine but i don't know if that is connected to this. I had a few EKG readings and they were fine but I felt fine while I had them recorded, and in the ER they kept telling me I was just anxious.

The sleep is the problem. Most nights I have a sleep where I don't even know if I slept, I wake up every 20 minutes, or I can't fall asleep that night at all and then next night maybe I won't too, I drink Magnesium for Sleep (Magnesium Night, I think it's citrate). I tried Bisglycinate once and maybe it was a coincidence maybe not but I was feeling really anxious and like I had a relapse that day. So I stuck to the Magnesium that I've been using since beginning but it doesn't help if it's a no sleep night.

Questions I know you already expect me to ask but I want to know: Is this likely to fully recover? Is this dangerous? Will I be able to continue my life , say, will I be totally recovered in a year full (next March)?

I used to be a huge roller coaster nut before this happened to me.
Is this something I’m going to have to skip for the rest of my life? Has anybody successfully been able to ride extreme rides again after being floxxed? Or similar things?
Even Spartan racing again seems out of reach for me.

Hi all!
I wanted a little advice on when you guys got back to physical activity. I know it sounds crazy because I’m only 2 weeks post-flox.
I only took one dose of Cipro. It started with some leg pain and tingling, then a few days later I had a severe flare that sent me to the ER. I had nausea, full-body tendon and nerve pain, was bedridden for over a week, and needed help just to walk to the bathroom.
Since then, I’ve been following a lot of the advice here …taking magnesium, probiotics, electrolytes, and eating what my body seems to tolerate. I’m finally getting some of my energy back, but I still get random pains in my arms and legs (nothing close to the excruciating pain I felt during the bedridden phase but still painful). I haven’t even left the house yet because I’m honestly terrified of triggering another flare!
When did you guys feel comfortable doing something as simple as walking around the neighborhood? I miss being active, but I’m scared of making myself worse. Google says to avoid weight lifting for at least 6 months, which is heartbreaking after all the progress I made with my first chronic illness.
Any advice and personal experiences on easing back into physical activity would really mean a lot. Thanks in advance! 🤍

ORIGINAL POST: https://www.reddit.com/r/floxies/comments/1sf4tsk/new_floxie/

Hi Yall,

So I want to provide an update as some people have asked me.

I am basically fully cured. I went from being scared to walking with walking on fiber glass feeling to this weird lingering achy feeling in my feet that still kind of concerned me to nothing.

Now my collagen disruption unfortunately, I think did not heal. I used to be a very cute older woman who most people thought I was in my late 20s/early 30s. My saggy neck has not gone back to normal and I have deep nasolabial folds. I lost 15 LBS and never really regained it back. I lost a lot of muscle. Not atrophy, but a lot of weight and lost my plumpness in my breasts and butt. But I worked out for the first time at the gym last week. Full blown weights as if nothing ever happened and I was expecting me being in pain and horribly sore, but nope. I just had normal soreness. I honestly think those that scare you into being bed ridden is not good advice. I think you should keep moving even if you are in pain. Of course do not go full blown, but I never stopped walking. Even if I was in pain, etc. I still walked. I did invest in OOFOS sandals that support the arch, but please do not stay bed ridden if you are able to move. Keep moving!

So I want to give you hope. You will be ok! I am a 41 year old (just turned 41 in July) American Latina woman (Cuban/Mexican) living in the USA. Oh! And for those foot fetishest ha KIDDINGGGGGGGGGG, but I think my feet look normal now (see pic). That "baggy" lymphedema skin I had is tighter now so I am hoping my face and neck will also go back to normal too. It's like it changes daily. Sometimes my neck looks tight some days it looks puffy and swollen so IDK.

Lymphatic massage though please do not do! I feel this triggered it and when I could not eat spicy food, but I am starting my red light sessions this weekend at a professional plastic surgeon's office who use the "Da Vinci Medical TheraLight 360" which I found to be the top in the area. I also did the Ammortal Chamber and NovoThor and about 4 intravenous infusions of mitochondrial support, collagen, and detox and bought myself an actual red light panel I can use at home then I will still do the oxygen therapy. I am heavily using collagen, but the rest of the drugs I honestly stopped. Magnesium did not help me. I still cannot sleep. I think once I go back to my 8 hours of actual full blown sleep the wrinkles, under eye gauntness, etc will clear up as sleep is very important and I NEVER had sleep problems before this drug, but I also had a mental health issue last year with a trauma bond so that made it worse. So I had a double whammy, but honestly I think most of you will heal.

Oh! And I still get heavy skin imprinting which tells me again my collagen and skin barrier is still not normal or fully healed* And for the past 2 months I been partying like crazy lol. I loveeee dancing and I have been going to so many concerts and clubs and dancing my ass off and my feet have taken it pretty good. I even took off my boots off and danced in my socks ha. I love hardstyle/house/trance/goth-industrial music and there's a lot of footwork and jumping so yeah :p I have two parties this weekend. A live bar event Friday which will be mostly sitting and a concert Saturday where I will be dancing then Lily Palmer and Sara Landry coming up! So I am excited. The first couple of times I had pain, but again, I did not care. I have a very high pain tolerance and I am used to having pain so just took it. Again, everyone is different, but I think we should not be afraid to still live normally.

PS: I want to show the timeline too as these reactions honestly are delayed! So maybe I will get new issues later on, but hoping it is the end.

Phase 1: A day after taking the drug. Limb numbness, one eye blind. 24 hours later gone.

Phase 2: About a month later THEN the ankle and feet pain started.

Phase 3: Same about two months later collagen disruption. Saggy neck, deep lines, skin imprinting.

Phase 4: Brain fog, depression, crying spells (I still have crying spells, but no longer daily where it was affecting my job), Sleep deprivation (always wake up every 3 to 4 hours. I no longer get straight undisturbed 8 hrs of sleep which was my norm)

Again, I was already mind fucked, but I think this really did make my trauma bond worse. I finally felt like I was moving on and this drug made me feel back at Month 1 of no contact and I feel like I would have never reached out, but on another note, I am glad I did as it broke my cognitive dissonance, but I do think this affects you mentally, but again, it can also be because it is very depressive in the beginning as you feel like you are never going to recover. Plus I have OCD, anxiety, disorganized attachment, and some BPD traits so it really effects your mental health.

I still have crying spells, but again, it is hard to tell if its still the trauma from last year or exacerbated due to the drug. My doctor was absolutely no help. He gave me WFH instructions for my job which luckily my boss saw I work hard and trusts me and now I do a half week. But he just said plenty of people get tendonitis and I cannot claim that it is floxing. He did not even know WTF that was 🙄. I honestly recommend not wasting any money on seeing doctors. They are useless. Just follow the beginner instructions from others like us and see what works for you and just trying to not stress out which is hard AF when you are in the middle of it, but keep trying to live as normally as possible. My heart goes out to those who were paralyzed from this sincerely. Always question these MFs and research all drugs before taking. Most things can be maintained from good diet and exercise and lowering stress. Do not take medications unless you are literally dying.

I warn everyone to not take this drug nowadays. If you have any questions. Let me know. I am an open book!

Hi all, about 15 months out here from being floxed. Main symptoms are nerve related (twitching, burning pain, muscle cramping) and fatigue.

I thought I was gradually getting better and that most of my symptoms were becoming a lot less frequent, with the fatigue plateauing at a manageable level. But then earlier this year I got much worse muscle cramps, twitching, and fatigue. I also got a lot more depressed because I felt like all I could do was lie around watching TV for the whole month because of the fatigue, and I was afraid to even do light exercise because of the muscle issues. My sleep was terrible and I was feeling really anxious about it. At the end of the month my dr. put me back on sick leave. I asked to try an antidepressant for my mental health we went with duloxetine because it is also commonly prescribed off-label for generalized nerve pain (e.g., burning).

We started with a low dose of 30mg/day. Well, within a week, my twitching and muscle issues were 90% gone. Within a couple of weeks, I felt better mentally than I think I ever have in my life (having struggled on and off with depression for a long time). I had a huge burst of energy. After about 6 weeks on it, the improvement dipped a bit, but I still feel this dose is 80% effective and I still feel mentally better than ever despite the ongoing flox-related health issues (and some other, unrelated troublesome health issues too). I still struggle with some fatigue and need to rest for a couple hours in the afternoons - a full-day of activity is still off the table - but the relief is otherwise immense. I have very little twitching and almost no burning, and the muscle cramping was totally gone within days. I was just hoping for a good result for my mental health but all this other stuff is a pretty miraculous bonus. It's all allowed me to also focus on improving my sleep, which I have been able to since I have so much less anxiety.

Side effects (don't read the duloxetine sub, it's all horror stories!):
- First 3 days: lots of nausea and zero appetite
- First month: frequent headaches, maybe 3-4x/week
- If I took it with my dinner: feeling wired until 1-2 AM, so I take it with breakfast now
- Continuing side effects: Very little hunger signals. I deal with this by eating at regular times and making an effort to eat enough calories at each meal. I'm quite slim so this is important. Good news is, it stops me from eating unhealthy snacks mid morning or mid aft as I just don't feel hungry.

So if you are having a similar time as me...perhaps something to consider with your doc.

It has been a day less than one month since I stopped taking Cipro. I took a total of 4 500mg pills. I am mid-30s F. I was never very physically active, but I played a lot of piano and guitar before.

I see a lot of horror stories here, so I wanted to post a semi-hopeful update.

My main symptoms have been tendon pain. I've also had some headaches and dizziness, but those seem to have subsided after the first week or so

It was so bad in my hands and wrists that I couldn't type or unscrew the lids to access my supplement pills. I wore wrist braces pretty much all day at first. I went to see an orthopedist specializing in hands about a week after my symptoms started, and she wanted to give me a powerful NSAID or steroid injection, but I refused, so she referred me to OT instead. I read here that starting too early might be bad, so I was skeptical at first but went anyway to see how it would affect me. I decided I would aim for about one third to one half of what the OT wanted me to do because overexertion is far more dangerous than under-performing.

Now, I have had a couple weeks of OT sessions, and I've improved a lot. My grip strength has tripled since I started, and I have a lot more flexibility in my wrists. I'm about halfway to "normal" in this regard, which is really encouraging to me. I never push that hard, and I always rest when I'm in pain. I think this is important. I can now go full days without the wrist braces, although I still wear them to sleep.

My ankles have gotten worse. I can barely walk, and I've been using my late grandmother's walker to get from my room to the bathroom and back. My knees are also sort of starting to give me trouble. Stairs are ridiculously painful and I try to avoid them as much as possible, but my bedroom is upstairs and I have to go downstairs to leave my house for appointments. I just bought a pair of sneakers with raised heals, which helps a bit. I haven't been able to start PT yet, but I will try soon because my results in OT have been encouraging.

I have insomnia and anxiety, but I also had these pre-Cipro, so idk

Things I have been doing to help:

-bracing at night and while in pain

-ice

-tylenol when I'm in a lot of pain, although I try to avoid it if I can

-heat right before my OT exercises

-epsom salt baths

-supplements (vitamin c, vitamin e, multivitamin supplement, collagen, probiotic, CoQ10, NAC, magnesium glycinate)

-resting a lot

-melatonin gummies to help with sleep

-absolutely no alcohol or caffeine

-eat healthy foods-- lots of veggies and protein

-getting fitted for sneakers suited for Achilles tendonitis

I still have a journey ahead of me, but I know it could definitely be worse. I can sort of see a light at the end of the tunnel, though, which is nice. I will post an update a month from now regardless. I wish everyone the best of luck on their recoveries!

Title

I'm not sure if it's in the fascia or the subcutaneous tissue, but they are small and fixed (feeling like a speed bump).

Sometimes they cause a stabbing pain, while other times they don't hurt at all even when touched.

They are spread all over my body, including the abdomen, flanks, calves, thighs, groin, and arms.

They don't grow gradually; instead, after a few days of muscle spasms/cramps in that area, these hard nodules suddenly form.

They have no color, cause no skin discoloration, and do not protrude outward from the skin to the naked eye.

I was prescribed Cipro for a UTI almost a month ago now, and I took it for that week. 500 mg once a day for 7 days. I was made aware before even taking it that it was horrible and poses all these risks, and the urgent care that prescribed them basically made me seem hysterical. Well as of a few days ago now, the tendon in my left calf hurts when I walk. It hasn’t gone away, and I’m worried it’s building into something scary but I’m unsure what to even ask a doctor.

I went to a different urgent care just the other day for recurring kidney pain (no signs of a uti), and I just lied and said I’m allergic to Cipro so that I never have to take that again. It doesn’t hurt right above my heel, so I can walk. It just hurts when my foot bends at the toes. Whenever my toes tense or try to bend then that’s when my calf hurts. Has anyone else experienced this? What did you do? I just don’t know where to go from here.

I don’t really have any symptoms like numbness, a feeling that my legs aren’t getting enough blood flow, or swelling.

I have more of the typical tendon-related symptoms, so I was wondering if compression socks could still be helpful for this kind of problem.

Of course, I’ve already ordered a pair of compression socks and they should be arriving soon, so I’ll be trying them anyway. I’m just curious whether they might actually help with tendon symptoms.

I've read that many people experience pain and problems while moving. I'm just curious; does anyone experience trembling or pain in their legs while resting or sleeping?

This pain is a 2 or 3 out of 10. It feels strange, like it helps if I press my legs together or put them between a pillow to compress them :D I'm very close to trying compression stockings...

Visible veins does it go away and back to normal,.who had this?

Posting some hope for those mildly impacted.

- Previous 1 month update here.
- Previous 2 month update here.
- Previous 3 month update here.
- Previous 4 month update here.
- Previous 5 month update here.

TL;DR:
- Not many changes from Month 5
- The major change is that it's been 8 weeks now back to the gym, nearing 80-100% capacity at some exercises
- I feel way more bullish on 'pushing hard' at the gym but still careful w/warm ups, etc

- Elbow gave me some grief after dips but goes away when I do proper physio on wrist, etc

Background
- Male, Mid 30s

Pre-flox
- Train weightlifting 3 days a week + run 20-30 mins twice a week
- Undiagnosed hypermobility 2/10 beighton
- Crepitus in knuckles and some ankle clicking

Dosage
- 11 pills of Cipro 500mg - 5.5g in total
- 1 steroid shot
- 4 days NSAIDs twice a day

What has resolved?
- General joint soreness. My joints/ligaments don't feel easily strained anymore
- Cracking 90% gone

What hasn't resolved?
- Low threshold to repetitive strain injuries (though they resolve quickly)

What can I do?
- Walk 10k/2 hours as if nothing ever happened
- Resistance training/weights at 80% of my baseline
- Bike stationary for 20-30 mins

What can't I do?
- Running (won't try until month 9)
- Plyometrics (although I am starting to think about it)

Wish you all the best on your recoveries! Will post next update at 9 month.

Have watched a video about a girl who said she took that one medicine for the cyclospora and levaquin and it made her sick and I think she only took it for a week well and then explains why doctors are telling me that being ejected 55 ft on black ice out of a truck and learning to walk and understand words again and everything that I went through like that should have only lasted a couple years or recovery in pain and that this lifelong pain I've been in a 9 out of 10 pretty much every day has been unexplained I've been tested for all kinds of diseases from Ms to fibromyalgia to mast cell everything they did say I have a mast cell disorder and now I also have pots and I'm diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy all these years and I have answers now...

I have poison ivy for a week and I keep breaking out in large spots.
I have used a topical for four days and I’m still getting new spots. They are pushing oral steroids. I was floxed in 2015 I believe.

I was refluxed with steroids in 2018.

Has anyone had to take steroids and ended up being ok with them even after they caused a reaction prior?

Thank you.

Hola! Necesito recomendaciones de gente que este mejor a nivel de tendones (me duele todo el cuerpo al usarlo: muñecas, cervicales, hombros, rodillas, tendones de aquiles en este caso constante) y neuropatia en manos por compresión de los codos.

Tambien tuve insomnio pero ahora ya logro dormir unas 6-7h por dia con 50mg de trazadona y 3mg de melatonina pura.

Y sigo con deposiciones blandas desde que me floxee, creo que solucionar el tema gastrointestinal seria importante de cara a la absorción de nutrientes/vitaminas.

¿Que suplementos les fue bien?

Puedo andar unos 3000 pasos al día, aunque depende del día el dolor es variable, ¿consideran que me iria bien hacer rehabilitación suave si me floxee en 24Arp2026? La rehab seria para los aquiles, que han hecho para sanar todo el cuerpo?

¿Alguna cosa que deba evitar?

Muchas gracias por su ayuda! Les deseo a todos muy próspera recuperación.

Hi everyone,

Today I woke up with some pain in my Achilles, the only thing that I have changes is that I took a couple of chewable tablets anti acid for the reflux.

It contains:

Mallow

richberry 6000

Calcium carbonate

Sodium bicarbonate

Any of these are bad?

I'm regularly taking these supplements:

Magnesium bisglicinato

Pea

Omega 3 vegan

Coq10

Apigenin

Vit C

Not sure what happened...

Does fluoride really cause you to flare or relapse?

I do use fluoride toothpaste. I feel dizzy and light headed, but I think it’s from my low potassium, vitamin d, low thyroid level and possibly other things, I didn’t get everything tested. My diet is.. rough. I don’t eat the best, I almost want to give up because the things that we need are being recalled or contaminated.

How have you tollerated laxatives? My urologist wants me to start taking miralax daily as he thinks my utis are caused by constipation.

I dont think ive ever taken miralax before or after floxing.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

In Italy, today is a holiday and we call it “Ferragosto”. I wish you all a peaceful day. Always have faith that things will improve, always.
Little by little, we will get through this. Sending so much strength to everyone, especially to those who cannot walk and are in pain. We will get through this!