"It was a hot day and I sweated so much I started getting itchy so I asked my sister to scratch my back," says Cheryl. "My sister said 'Ohmigod your back is totally red' and by the next day I had hives from my toes to my hip. I went to ER and the doctor asked what I had done differently. The only thing I could think of was Cipro, which I had never taken before. He said it couldn't be Cipro. They loaded me up with antihistamines, I went home and the following day at work I couldn't move my neck--at all.
On Monday I went back to ER and they gave me more antihistamines and told me to see my primary care physician the next morning. By the time I called him, I had broken out in hives again. Tuesday night I went to a different ER and by now my hands and feet were totally swollen. More antihistamines and again I was told it couldn't be Cipro.Next day I couldn't move my arms or legs—now I know what a person with MS feels like. My daughter had to help me dress and I went back to ER. They still said the same thing, prescribed the same meds. I saw my primary and he also insisted it wasn't Cipro. Then I saw a nurse practitioner and she called the pharmacist. He looked up Cipro and said indeed, my symptoms were listed as rare side effects of Cipro.
READ MORE CIPRO LEGAL NEWS
After the pharmacist told me about Cipro's side effects (and I had already looked them up online) I told my doctor but he never acknowledged that this med could be to blame. My new doctor admits that my tendonitis is probably due to Cipro. I really wish the manufacturer had tested this drug more thoroughly before it went on the market. Even the ER doctors didn't know about the side effects.
Luckily I am on the mend but it is unnerving, I never know when the symptoms are going to hit me again. But there are others less fortunate: I have an elderly friend who took Cipro and she is still not out of the nursing home—she can't move at all, it has wrecked her life. I know another acquaintance who took it and he is suffering side effects one year later…"
READER COMMENTS
Pablo G
on
After having a Ct scan I started getting hives in random places that would for an hour and the go away but appeared somewhere else.
I thought it was a contrast allergy, but after reading this, I did finished my copeo 5 days before the itching begon .
So it maybe was the cipro, had in the past and never had a reaction but this time I had it for 14 days instead of the usual 7.
The itch is killing me, I'm taking Benadryl and it doesn't help.
I was just given something else, I hope it helps. (Steroid I think)
Kenneth Warren
on
Caprice N. Manos
on
I have done research where such reactions are similar to anaphylaxis but my symptoms are slight even though they are uncomfortable. Hence, I do not need to go to the emergency room. I cannot take antihistamines due to a heart problem, so I continue to itch and scratch.
I noticed that when I start itching, a cool compress calms the itching and eventually heals the welts daily. Also I have researched a particular licorice gum that's supposed to help.
I hardly ever take medications and if I do take antibiotics it's years in between. I try to do everything naturally. As I have also read: when an allergic reaction occurs from ingesting anything, it means that the liver may be having trouble with the absorption of the food or medicine. Maybe it's why the instructions say to drink a lot of water with cipro.
I myself decided to use the benefits of what one is not supposed to consume when taking Cipro in which the instruction stated that milk and dairy lessen the effects of the cipro. Even though I finished my cipro, I am eating milk to try to lessen what may have been left in my system so that my liver can process it if such were the case.
I will not take the corticosteroids I was prescribed with the cipro. Thank God I didn't because I did research that as well and I found many who developed severe problems from taking both.
Well.... So I'll itch for awhile.. Maybe Calamine lotion will help the hives. I'll try and report back. I have limited my caffeine intake that causes a reaction to what's happening and makes it worse. I won't eat peanuts now. Sugar is out, but I will try plain yogurt both consuming it and putting it on my body where the itching and welts are to see if it stops the symptoms. I'll let everyone know what happens with the yogurt. These remedies come from my head and are ones that only I may try. I am not a dr. And am not prescribing it for anyone here.
paul
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Debbie W
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Paula Miller
on
thanks!
Laura Smith
on
I took Cipro for one week and 2 weeks later I had diarrhea, chills flu like symptoms. The flu symptoms went away but the diarrhea stayed for more than a month. Meanwhile I went to 2 doctors the first one said the diarrhea was due to Cipro, and prescribed metronidazole for the diarrhea because the Cipro killed all the good Bactria and bad got in. Then I went to an Infectious Disease doctor and he thought the same thing and upped the dose. After 2 weeks into this diarrhea my tendons and joints in my feet started to hurt and swell, the next thing was my knees. Swelling occurred and it started moving around and was extremely painful. My neck was stiff, my right hand swelled up and was sore and a finger on my left hand swelled. I believe this was all due to cipro. I am now on Vacomycin to finish out getting rid of the bad bacteria. The problem remains,,, the joints and tendons are still sore. Any hope out there?