Keyboard players and the risk of side-effects from Cipro

[carter_]

Hi, folks.

 

The thread that resulted from my post (below) had to be removed, but dB kindly suggested I re-submit the original.

 

I want to thank everyone who commented - I appreciate the warm thoughts and good wishes and hope as well for a speedy recovery.

 

We've had on this forum plenty of accounts of personal accidents and injuries that result in a hiatus from making music. While never a welcome development for a musician, they can provide an opportunity to step back and reflect on the important things in one's life. Music is up there for most here, but there is the love of family and good friends - which can be brought into better focus by such a setback.

 

Support from a community like this one certainly counts as well.

 

Best to all - I'll give a holler when I'm back in gigging-shape.

 

Carter

 

------------------------------------------------

 

Please forgive the nature of this post, as it will not apply to 99% of

readers, but I'm posting it because there will likely be a couple

people for whom it may make a difference.

 

I am writing to warn you, as a keyboard player, of the potential

side-effects of the antibiotic Cipro.

 

I was an active player one month ago - two gigs/month with a blues

band, classical and jazz solo playing on the side. Because of an

adverse reaction to Cipro, I had to quit my band and will likely not

be playing for a couple months. It may be longer before I'm strong

enough to schlep keyboard gear. So please make a mental note of what

follows in case you are ever prescribed one of the antibiotics

mentioned below. I'm not a doctor - just relating my personal

experience.

 

Cipro is a powerful and relatively new (1987) antibiotic of the

fluoroquinolone family. Some other popular brands:

 

Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)

Levofloxacin (Levaquin)

Moxifloxacin (Avelox)

Floxin (Ofloxacin)

Gemifloxacin (Factive)

 

Fluoroquinolones are prescribed to kill internal infections - gastro,

urinary, ear, etc., and one of ten people will take one during their

lifetime. They are a very effective antibiotic.

 

I was prescribed Cipro on Fri, Jan 14 (500mg x2 daily) for stomach

pains. I took two tablets that Fri and went to bed with sore wrists. I

woke up early Sat morning to get in some jazz practice before my

family awoke, sat down at the piano, and found that I could not play.

Sharp pain and extreme weakness in both wrists at the touch of the

keys. Two more tablets Sat. Woke up Sun, another tablet, and found

that I was unable to use my hands at all. At my wife's suggestion, I

googled Cipro and discovered with terror the drug's potential for

extremely adverse effects on tendons. A trip to the emergency room

followed. At this point, I still have only minimal use of my wrists,

have fluid build-up in my rotator cuffs, preventing me lifting my

hands above my head, and weakness in the knees and calves, making

walking more than a few blocks difficult. While in this state, the key

thing is to avoid a tendon tear or rupture.

 

I've consulted over the weeks with an assortment of

doctors/rheumatologists/joint specialists. Two conclusions: (1) I'm in

the 0.140.4% of people who have this reaction; (2) There's nothing to

be done about it. Time just needs to pass, healing needs to happen. In

the meantime I deal with the complications and try to avoid injury

(ie, the risk entailed by lifting my nord piano onto its stand is out

of the question). I'm estimating, based on my dosage and others'

experience, that the worst of the symptoms and risk for damage will

start to wane after about 4 months, and I look forward to a full

recovery perhaps one year from now.

 

Please take this warning seriously, but in stride. Most people

tolerate these drugs without issues. But I would be amiss if I did not

pass on my experience to people for whom music is so important, and

for many their livelihoods. I work in IT and - aside from difficulties

typing - am going to get through this without career risk. Many here

would not be so fortunate.

 

My recommendation in the case that you are prescribed a fluoroquinolone:

 

(1) Ask your doctor if there are alternatives (there usually are)

 

(2) If you decide to take them, read the listed side effects and

*monitor yourself carefully* for adverse reactions. Stop taking them

if you experience them.

 

Of those that have had adverse reactions, I'm in the fortunate camp -

I stopped after 3 days use. I don't like to think of what would have

happened had I taken the full 10 days I was prescribed. Even if you

recall having been given a dosage in the past and not having suffered

anything - please consider your options and monitor yourself

carefully. Many people have tolerated an initial dose only to be

devastated by a second.

 

I do not post this as a diatribe against antibiotics or

pharmaceuticals - fluoroquinolones are an important class of drugs

that save many peoples' lives. I am posting this one keyboard player

to another.

 

There is a mountain of research and anecdotes online, I'll only point

you to a wikipedia overview on potential side effects

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_effects_of_fluoroquinolones

 

and an article on the risk of fluoquinolones to tendons

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/ppmc/articles/PMC2921747/

 

should you have further interest in the topic.

 

Please take this to heart.

 

Carter

 

[Joe Muscara]

Best wishes Carter, and thanks again for the info. Has your condition improved any since your original post?

 

I will be better informed next time I visit a doc for an illness. I've also downloaded the drugs.com app (free version) for my iPhone so I can check what they prescribe before I leave.

[carter_]

Thanks again, Joe.

 

Some improvement, yes, but it's a long-term recovery.

 

Anything that increases awareness, like the app you mention, is a good thing. Take care.

[Bosendorphen]

Hey Carter - hang in there and come back even better!

 

It's quite true how all our bodies react differently to different classes of medications. I've been on Cipro in the past as well and fortunately emerged unscathed. Can't say the same for the Cephalexin I was on earlier this week.

 

Thanks for the informative post and best wishes for your recovery. Do keep us posted.

[Griffinator]

<-- staying out of it this time.

[Tuggy]

A few months ago, I was prescribed an antibiotic and I had this rare side effect called "Pseudomembranous colitis". I don't recommend googling it since it's very ugly, just saying that while drugs are supposed to cure us, they might do more harm than good.

 

I hope you jump back better than ever.

[GregH]

Sorry to hear about your experience with Cipro. I had a similar experience with Levaquin several years ago. (Unfortunately, I took the full cycle plus 3 days, as a second dose was prescribed to me.) I went to all kinds of specialists and finally ended up at the Mayo Clinic before knowing what was happening to me.

 

I suffered from extreme fatigue, loss of taste and smell, severe body aches, and a loss of the ability to produce tears and saliva. I had mental and visual fogginess (my wife would argue that the mental part had always been a problem), and I was virtually blind at night...couldn't see anything except lights with weird halos around them. I missed a great deal of work, which added to the anxiety of the situation.

 

Fortunately, things got better over time...but it took about a year and a half for me to feel "normal" again. I still have problems with my eyesight since the surfaces of my eyes have been permanently etched from the chronic dryness (kind of like having a perpetual fog machine everywhere I go)...but for the most part I'm OK.

 

I am quite a bit more skeptical now about medicine and pharmaceuticals based on this experience, but I've learned several good things from it as well. I realize now that every day is a gift, and that the simple things that we take for granted (things we already have) are sometimes way more important than the things we spend much of our precious time pursuing.

 

Hang in there, my friend. I hope that your recovery is significantly more rapid than mine was. Try to find the good in your current situation, and know that I'm not the only one on this forum who will pray for you to get well soon.

 

Greg