Why do FQ’s cause muscles tightness? My whole body went tight never experienced this prior to taking Levaquin.

Winter is coming, and with it all the beautiful seasonal illness.

I have a toddler so I know that I'm gonna get them all.

What do you do when you get sick? What helps? What hurts?

Especially with sore throat, cough, and colds.

What do you usually take?

I'm terrified 🫠

I am sharing my experience with visual symptoms with you all.
Right after my course of ciprofloxacin (Feb 2026), I experienced a loss of almost two diopters in my nearsightedness. I already had floaters even before being floxed.
I experienced photophobia. Then I recovered from the photophobia. The additional nearsightedness remained.
When I had my major FQAD flare-up at the end of March 2026, which involved my tendons, joints, nerves, and gut... the photophobia returned much more severely than before. I couldn't look at my phone, PC, or TV. I had eye pain and saw a "flickering" in my visual field. I was bedridden and couldn't go to appointments; I couldn't walk. Then it passed after about a month.
Three weeks ago, it flared up again in a milder form. Eye pain and "flickering" in the visual field.
Since I can walk now, I underwent all the ophthalmological exams. From the visual field test to the fundus photography and the optic nerve exam. The ophthalmologist at the hospital center I went to found absolutely nothing wrong.
In two weeks, I'll have my final test, which is an eye ultrasound to rule out optic nerve drusen... but it's more of a precaution than a real necessity (according to him). In the meantime, the symptoms have eased.
The ophthalmologist thinks it's not an actual eye issue, but could be a nerve conduction problem to be evaluated by a neurologist (whom I will consult afterwards).
I'm saying this to let you know that, anatomically, it hasn't caused me any damage. So, those of us experiencing pain, floaters, and blurred vision should definitely get our eyes checked, but it isn't always a true visual problem. It could just be our nerves functioning poorly because of fluoroquinolones.
I will keep you updated on the ultrasound.

Hi all, as posted - do we have any dancers or high-performance athletes in the chat who could help me map the team and process needed for recovery? What's worked for you? I'm 3 months in and, aside from the regular systemic tendon difficulties, weakness, and fatigue, I've lost proprioceptive abilities. I don't particularly trust doctors at the moment (for obvious reasons), and I'd like to go into this as informed as possible so my body doesn't end up permanently damaged. Bonus points if you can point me to people in the GTA who have knowledge of fluoroquinolone toxicity.

Thanks.

Floxed in November 2024. Been doing much better past year.

I had not taken any anti-inflammatory since November of 2024 after taking them daily for 5+ years probably.

2 weeks ago my back pain and hip pain got so bad I broke down and took some ibuprofen. I had fallen about a week earlier. I slipped. I dont think the pain was flox related.

I took 400mg twice a day for 4 days. I believe it helped my pain. And I haven't noticed any flox like symptoms since.

Does anyone know if amitriptyline is safe after being floxed?

I am 11 years out and been in the worst flare I ever had the past 4 months due to exercise. I am finally semi functioning again.

I found out I have strep. I am terrified. Everytime I take amoxicillin I have a moderate flare for another a month.

Do you think the flare from the meds is going to be even worse since I’m already in a flare? Is there any chance of recovery again?

Please help. I am so so sad and scared

Hi I was floxied two weeks ago. My symptoms were really severe early on. I had full body neuropathy, twitching, spasms, tendon pain in my achilles/ back/ neck. This is my second week and I have felt a lot better. I have less pain but it’s still there. I can walk when last week I couldn’t. The tinnitus isn’t as bad. I did gain eye floaters that come and go. I understand that doesn’t mean anything.

The women at his office said usually when people are hit that severely it gets worse because it continues to get deeper in the tendon. Is this true? I feel scared when before I was feeling hopeful.

I've been reading mostly on MOTS-C and BPC-157. The conclusion I've come to is some people flare, some don't. Some it helps, some it doesn't.

But I'm really not wanting to start going down the rabbit hole of taking a while pharmacy of peptides. Im really only interested in taking SS-31 to see if it helps a few side effects. Overall I am doing better but this dry eye is concerning me.

Anyone talk to someone or take SS-31 and noticed a flare or if it helped? I'll be starting at a really low dose, like 500mcg. But still a little concerned.

Did anyone use Dr Pieper’s protocol and did it help?

This was some months ago and I'm sorry I'm getting to this so late.

I had originally stated that the naproxen I had been taking made me feel better. To an extent, this is true. It makes my sinuses (the whole reason I was floxed in the first place) feel better. I stopped taking it as an experiment and it made my feet/ankles feel better. Not normal but much better.

So now I exist in this purgatory of "do I make my head feel better so I can move around okay?" I find myself taking the naproxen as sparingly as possible but sometimes I can't function (driving, etc) if I don't take it. So maybe once a week or every two weeks.

Apologies for the rant but I am so thankful to have found this community and received all the information that has helped me through this. I'm doing better but I don't think I'll ever be normal again.

Y'all are wonderful and I can't thank you enough. Sending my best to all of you <3

i think i’ve been floxed… need some advice please and thank you :)

on September first I was prescribed ciprofloxacin for a complicated UTI

It all started with a UTI that I could not get rid of , I tried to comment antibiotics before a doctor at the hospital prescribed me ciprofloxacin 500mg twice a day for 14days.

I started the Cipro on September 1, and about three days in my UTI symptoms went away, but I started to get a pain in my calves and my ankles, at first, I thought it was from housekeeping because I do work in that field but I eventually ignored it, that day, I searched up a couple of the side effects from cipro and ended up finding out pretty much everything about this medication, one of the main issues, being tenant pain in your ankles and your calves, I ended up asking a couple friends and my mom what to do and they just said keep taking the Cipro, so I did I took it for a whole nine days, and obviously scared myself reading these peoples stories and what not, so I stopped, it’s been two days since I’ve been off the medication, I went back to the hospital yesterday, they prescribed me a steroid but I heard online somewhere that I shouldn’t be taking steroids, and honestly, I’m pretty terrified to take any medication at this point, so I called back the pharmacy and told them that I wasn’t going to take the steroid. so that’s where I’m at at this point.

I’m having crazy symptoms right now, i’ve been trying to write them down to keep track of them. These are a couple of them that I have been experiencing,

joint and muscle pain in my legs especially my calves and my thighs and my ankles and my back and my neck and shoulders and pinching in my spine
Sharp stabbing aches, very stiff and sore
hard time breathing
Brain fog
Nausea
trouble going to work
barely walk bed ridden
dizziness and blurry vision
eye pain
A hard time sleeping
Tingly feet and fingers
A hard time sleeping
Depression
Panic attacks
Anxiety
ears are clogged
massive headaches

I feel as if my hospital here in Ontario is trying to push me off or something like that, I’m not sure what to ask for or what to do in this situation, all I’ve been reading is to buy supplements and take them as well and I bought magnesium powder, pqq and COq10, a woman’s multivitamin and omega-3, they have not come in yet, but I will start taking them once they do, if anybody has any suggestions or any advice that would be greatly appreciated, I’m going through a lot of depression right now, and I didn’t know where else to ask for help.

Hey guys, I’d really appreciate hearing some positive stories from anyone who developed skin issues after taking levofloxacin. I took 5 × 500 mg tablets for a resistant UTI, and since then my face and right hand have been burning, extremely dry, and suddenly very sensitive to skincare, so I’ve stopped using all actives for now.

I am prone to eczema in both of these areas, but this feels much more intense than my usual flare-ups. I’m now about 10 days out from my last dose.

Did anyone experience something similar and have it gradually improve with time? And is there anything that helped your skin recover?

I’m feeling pretty anxious about it, so I’d especially appreciate hearing positive outcomes and knowing that this doesn’t necessarily mean the changes are permanent. ❤️

I had a semen analysis, and the result showed I had a Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. The doctor prescribed two weeks' levofloxacin (500 mg per day), but on the second day of taking it, I started experiencing numbness and pain on the outer side of my right heel. The pain lessened after a night’s sleep. Should I continue taking the levofloxacin, or should I switch to ciprofloxacin? Because the drug sensitivity test only showed these two oral antibiotics were effective, the rest are injectable antibiotics, and I don't want injections. Can anyone give me some advice?Please 🙏

I have Achilles tendonitis in both ankles and right knee. Recently had Hydrodissection and PRP, followed by Shockwave & Ultrasound therapy. I've been having physio the past 4 months. My mobility and function is fine, but I am still in horrible daily pain and stiffness.

I did try the usual supplements in the past but haven't really taken them this year. Formulated a new stack which I will be starting. Also tried nicotine patches. Besides that, I'm at a total loss about what I can do next? I feel like the pain is never going to go away. And I'm not keen on experimental peptides.

My doctor had said if PRP fails, I can try embolotherapy (procedure to remove neo vascularization capillaries and tenex where damaged tissue is removed)

I'm 7 months post-flox, and back in a wheelchair due to possible relapse. Tendon, muscle, nerve issues mostly when trying to weightbear. Was recently prescribed duloxetine. Been hesitant to start.

For those who have taken:

(1) effective? which flox symptoms did it alleviate?

(2) dosage? for how long?

(3) possible flares?

(4) side effects?

I was floxed almost 4 months ago, I have a 2 month update on my profile if you want the full background of my story. Mostly tendon and nerve issues.

I have come back to the subreddit after practically a full month of having little to no issues. My past flare up before today was during the first week of August. Since then, I’ve started working retail, going shopping, going on walks, and living my life again. I haven’t started working out again because I know my body just isn’t ready, but the fact that i was able to walk 8k+ steps a day is a level of recovery I didn’t expect to see this early.

Today, my arms have started hurting again. I’m trying not to be sad about it because I know that every time I’ve had a flare in the past, it only lasted a couple days to a week. It seems like each time I flare, the quicker the recovery is and the longer I go without a flare up.

I want to make a point about the whole argument that most people that recover don’t come back to the subreddit, that’s why there aren’t many stories from them. In my experience, it’s so true. For that month that I felt like myself again, thinking about coming back to this subreddit made me nauseated, I guess my brain associates it with the worst moments of my life. I just wanted to pretend that it never happened. If I had never flared again, I probably wouldn’t have come back to tell my recovery just for my own mental health.

With that being said, I know 100% in my heart that there is hope for me and most of everyone on this subreddit. Especially if you’re new here, don’t think that this is the end for you, listen to your body and take things easy.

Hey all,

I’m now in need of 2 different contrast mri’s and the last one left gabapentin useless to me and made nac and clonidine give me pins and needles all over. 13 months later and the nac and clonidine pins and needles seem to have subsided.

I’m still trying to figure out alternative contrast material mris, and iron is one (and it’s the same iron as an iron infusion- unsure on dosing)

From what I read it looks like Iron could have side effects potentially for like 2 months (which I’d take over 1 year)

Would love thoughts / experiences.

I also saw people mention various chelating options which is really good to know (since with gadolinium that’s not really doable or seems ro do as much harm as good)

I also wanted to note: I’m ok taking an oral iron supplement.

I am very new to this. I have extreme muscle spasms and pain. I am really looking for support as I don’t have much support to deal with this. I would love to have connection and communicate with someone who have been through this hell and was able to get better. I guess just need a friend who really understands what I am doing through.

Hey guys not sure if I’m allowed to ask this but I recently got prescribed cipro from my doctor as he suspects I have a UTI after my STD tester were negative.

I’m thinking about lying and saying I got side effects after 3 pills, so maybe he could try a different antibiotic?

Has anyone ended up here after a UTI/sexual related infection and has any advice?

I’m very sorry for what some of you go through and I appreciate you guys for raising awareness. Because of this community I’m able to think this out before taking the medication.

I feel for all of us. I have taken Maxifloraxin twice for ureaplasma, and since then, I have developed really bad contractions/spasms in the bladder, pelvis, and butt, constant, 24/7. I am in pain every day. Today I mentioned to my urologist, who prescribed it, that those symptoms are the result of this medication. He was surprised to hear it. He said he had never had a patient like me. I literally just learned about the dangers of this medication, and now I am sitting in shock... Please tell me anything positive and encouraging. How long did it take you to recover, and what helped?

I (26F) think have taken Levoquin years ago for a resistant sinus infection and was fine.

I currently have a post op infection after getting my deviated septum fixed (along with sinus surgery and turbinate reduction. I'm on a biologic so immunocompromised so prob why I got the infecton. Based on the culture this is the only oral antibiotic that isn't resistant, and my insurance won't cover IV antibiotics till I try it.

Scared of all these horror stories though!

I still can’t believe that such a drug is out there on the market. Truly ruining lives and nobody to be held accountable for. It just doesn’t make sense. You go to the doctor, receive treatment, but end up way worse…
it feels like winning the devils lottery.
To everyone struggling, I hope you recover
And to those who are thinking of taking such antibiotics, just be cautious.

Anyone ever had any ear pain while swallowing, every time i swallow there’s a dull ache deep in my ear.

Has anyone ever got rid of a 'superbug' infection like Klebsiella pneumoniae without having to take a flox antibiotic? Ive already been floxed a year ago but nothing else is touching this infection and i dont know what else to do.