Having Difficulty Getting Diagnosis

I relate! I too, am thinking that my chronic pain plus other symptoms are a result of the Cipro and Falgyl received following a GI bleed that was on the heels of a routine colonoscopy.

I am new to the forums and not sure of protocols. Maybe this copy/paste from a previous post is redundant but I offer to you in reply.
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Hello ! I am Mary and am 76 years old. This is the part of my story that focuses on the possibility of fluoroquinolone-associated disability (FQAD) and my chronic pain.

Prior to a medical event in August of 2019, I lived an active life that included traveling, hiking, gardening, attending outdoor music festivals, hosting events, and extensively interacting with my husband, children & grandchildren.

Today, I am lucky to walk 50 yards to the mailbox and back. I suffer from body wide pain in muscles & tendons & trigger points. The debilitating pain moves around depending on what simple activity I might have engaged in but there is a general focus in my intercostal nerve network, neck, lower back, legs and feet. I have gastrointestinal discomfort. I have swollen and aching sinuses. I am dizzy. I am profoundly fatigued.

I no longer shop, drive, or participate in any trips and planned activities. I mostly turn out the lights and sit on the sofa.

I have spent 4 years on the “medical merry-go-round” visiting specialist after specialist with no clear-cut diagnosis much less a successful treatment plan. I could list the medical focus areas if that helps the dialog.

This is the short version of an extensive medical history and treatments as I want to start a dialog about the possibility that all my un-diagnosed medical issues over the last 4 years are associated with fluoroquinolone-associated disability (FQAD)

In August of 2019, I was hospitalized with a gastrointestinal bleed following a routine colonoscopy.
During the hospital stay I received :

• ciprofloxacin (generic for CIPRO) IVPB 400 mg [36899745]
o from 7/31/2019 – 8/3/2019
o 400 mg delivered every 12 hours for 60 minutes

• metroNIDAZOLE in NaCl (generic for FLAGYL) premix IVPB 500 mg [36899746]
o from 7/31/2019 – 8/3/2019
o 500 mg delivered every 6 hours for 60 minutes.

After discharge I received:

• ciprofloxacin 500mg tablet
o Commonly known as: generic for CIPRO
o 1 tablet (500 mg total) by mouth 2 (two) times a day for 7 days.

• metroNIDAZOLE 250mg tablet Commonly known as: generic for FLAGYL
o 1 tablet (250 mg total) by mouth 3 (three) times a day for 7 days.

I never really recovered from that trip to the hospital. The symptoms just get more varied and more intense. There are no flares & remissions just ongoing chronic distress. I stumbled upon the findings of FQAD and am interested in what others have to say,

Could FQAD be the “behind the curtain” root-cause of my torment and just have not surfaced in my search for help?

Thanks for reading my story and I look forward to your responses.

I'm so sorry, Mary. My advice is to find a functional medicine doctor. The Mayo Clinic has a list of them state by state. Get some blood work done and get on some supplements to detox. You can also get IV infusions, which I understand work faster because they bypass the GI system and get right into your bloodstream. Unfortunately, I'd have to travel 3 hours one way to have these treatments, so I'm waiting until the spring to see how I'm doing, then I'll decide about IV treatments. A traditional doctor won't help you with this problem.

I'm so sorry, Mary. My advice is to find a functional medicine doctor. The Mayo Clinic has a list of them state by state. Get some blood work done and get on some supplements to detox. You can also get IV infusions, which I understand work faster because they bypass the GI system and get right into your bloodstream. Unfortunately, I'd have to travel 3 hours one way to have these treatments, so I'm waiting until the spring to see how I'm doing, then I'll decide about IV treatments. A traditional doctor won't help you with this problem.

First, I am so sorry to hear of the symptoms you have been having and I am experiencing some of the same things and had a Tetanus vaccine nearly 3 years ago I believe also caused some of what I have going on today: I live in 24/7 paraspinal spasm (contraction) of neck and face and allodynia (hypersensitivity) on forehead and abnormal sensations on right side of head. My abdomen was contracted for 4 months and I STILL deal with urgency and frequency (although x-ray just revealed significant bone spurs L4 and L5 potentially affecting the nerves there. I cramp frequently throughout my body, have unstable neck (according to digital motion xray stating that all of the ligaments connecting skull to cervical neck are lax or torn and although doctors say traditional MRI reveals a TON cannot attribute this to the contraction of neck and face). I developed an arrythmia (premature atrial contraction) and have palpitations every day/all day impeding my ability to get to sleep and awaken me every day. Dr. tell me PAC are benign (although articles say increased risk of developing AFib). Therefore, I stopped working out as walking up my stairs triggers them. I used to lift weights 3 days per week and cardio the other 3. I have been denied by Mayo in Arizona TWICE.

As nobody has been able to help me, I paid for my own labs...routine blood tests find only Vitamin D deficiency and high cholesterol. Dr. said buy any over the counter without dosaging advice to correct. I've started taking a quality multi as well as Vitamin D and calcium (I'm post menopausal). You can test for some additional things on your own such as micronutrient test, hormone etc through companies like "anylabtestnow" at personal expense then bring results to your doctor. Do not start supplements until speaking with them. I have also suffered from gastroesophageal reflux disease fairly consistently for 10 years...google Dr. Sanjay Gupta...I just found his video on YouTube suggesting a correlation between acid reflux and heart palpitations. Since I started taking acid reducers again as well as multivitamins, my heart palpitations are not gone but "quieter." Good luck.

I have a neurological disorder that took over two years to diagnosis. I was everywhere. I even drove to John Hopkins which didn’t amount to anything as the doctor was disinterested. I had every blood possible. I was at a Lyme Disease specialist which was $550 out of pocket. I went to a medical doctor who was extremely hard to get into and took no insurance. It was $750 just for the consultation. They took 14 vials of blood which amounted to nothing. I was taken for a lot of money there. The only good thing was that my primary doctor believe there was something wrong as never gave up. I was finally diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy by some arrogant neurologist who was only ordering the skin biopsy because I had bladder issues. He said “I hope it comes back positive so people don’t think you’re crazy”. I put up with a lot if garbage in my two year quest to find a diagnosis. I suggest you never stop searching for answers. You know your body better than anyone. It may take some time but you will eventually find your answers. One last thing did your GI order a Smart Pill test read up on it, it’s worth a try.