ATLANTA — One woman says widespread antibiotics made her sick.
Despite the FDA’s first warning 16 years ago, the drug is still being prescribed.
She said she wondered if she really needed such strong antibiotics.
In April 2021, my doctor prescribed Talia Smith Cipro for a urinary tract infection.
“It literally felt like a bomb had gone off inside my body,” Smith said. “[The doctor]actually said, ‘No, there’s nothing to be careful about.’
Three days later, Smith said he was taken to the emergency room.
She described the pain in her body as like an electric shock. she couldn’t eat. she couldn’t walk.
“The doctor said, ‘Were you taking Cipro?'” Smith said. “It has a black box warning label on it. It took only five months for it to go into hospice.”
A black box is the most powerful warning issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
This label is limited to medicines that can cause injury or death.
According to the FDA, Cipro, Levaquin, and similar antibiotics should be used for serious problems such as anthrax exposure or severe infections.
For uncomplicated urinary tract infections, the FDA advises prescribers to “reserve CIPRO XR for use in patients with no other treatment options.”
channel 2 action news We analyzed federal prescription data. By 2022, more than 14 million people nationwide will have been prescribed these antibiotics.
“For many patients, it’s an easy-to-use antibiotic. As a result, it’s overused,” said Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine in Massachusetts.
One of her responsibilities is to monitor and educate prescribers.
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She said fluoroquinolones can cause tendon ruptures, central nervous system and heart damage, and there is no way to know in advance if someone is likely to experience side effects.
“Currently, all of these things are relatively rare, but with the large amounts of fluoroquinolones being used in this country, these complications are likely to increase over time, especially as the use of this antibiotic increases. It tends to happen a lot,” Delon said.
Prescription rates have been curbed since 2016 due to FDA warnings, but there has been no significant decline since then.
In 2023, there were approximately 3,000 side effects from Cipro alone. And that’s just what’s being reported to the FDA.
“I want to sound the alarm on this. I don’t know if tendon ruptures are common, but this happens to people every day,” Rachel Brummert said.
She said she was deceived by Levakin 17 years ago. She is currently a patient safety advocate working at the FDA.
Blumert wants to require prescribers to report any negative side effects that patients experience.
“There needs to be more communication between physicians, the FDA, and patients. The public is not aware that the FDA has issued seven black box warnings regarding fluoroquinolone antibiotics and that it is a serious problem. No,” Brummert said.
Smith is now an advocate, sharing her story online of her struggle to get insurance to pay for Phlox treatment.
“We lose everything, you know? I lost my independence. I lost my job,” Smith said. “This level of chronic illness is… just not living. You’re just living day to day.”
There are approximately eight name brand fluoroquinolones and dozens of generic options.
If a drug’s name ends in “floxacin,” it is a fluoroquinolone and is subject to a black box warning.
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