Antiobiotic-induced tendonopathy and neuropathy
Donation protected
Jamie has been struggling with tendonopathy and neuropathy as a result of Levaquin toxicity for the past several years. As a result, Jamie's illness has rendered her unable to work and therefore she is unable to afford the ongoing copayments for treatment that will enable her to get back to work. We have organized this fundraiser so that we can help Jamie get back on her feet (literally!).
Jamie's story in her own words
About 9 years ago I was given an antibiotic, Levaquin, for an intense lung infection. After a 5-day course the infection was gone. A little under a year later, another lung infection necessitated I take the Levaquin. After about a week, my wrists began to feel extremely stiff, eventually warranting wrist braces. At the time I assumed it was from over usage, playing guitar and piano, writing on the computer and knitting. It didn’t occur to me this could have been a response to the antibiotic. In retrospect, I now see this was a precursor toward developing severe tendonopathy.
Over a year later, as peri-menopause seemed to exacerbate a weakness in my lungs, I came down with yet another infection. In the practice of medical doctors, if a medication works well once or twice, the natural choice is to prescribe it again. I took it once more, again for less than a week. Soon after, I developed neuropathy in my hands and feet, muscles began wasting, bones hurt, joints were sore and limited in their movement. I lost all fat around my sitz bones and on my hands and feet, and was sitting and walking on bone. At this time, I met with a rheumatologist. My blood showed no illness, but the body’s manifestation of disease looked to the physician like seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (seronegative implying no illness inherent in the blood). The doctor suggested I take medication for RA. I declined, telling her I felt in my gut that medication was the cause of my symptoms.
Within months my wrists stopped being able to bend, my now swollen fingers curled in towards the palms, and I lost all ability to play the guitar and piano I so loved and were the source of some of my income. All my toes pulled up away from the ground, crossed and broke each other. The tendons pulled the toes up so violently, the action broke my feet.
I went to a podiatric surgeon in May of 2015. He said the situation in my body was too severe to warrant a successful surgery, that western medicine couldn’t help, and he suggested I go to a naturopath to resolve the tendonopathy and neuropathy before any surgery. . By then, I had become unable to drive or sit, which prevented me from my work as a musician or psychologist (therapist), so there was no money to see the naturopath. In October, as I stepped from my parked car onto the street, the upturned toes didn’t hit the pavement. Unable to catch myself with my wrists (because they don’t bend) I fell on my knees and face, onto the street, as a truck barrelled toward me.
The driver saw me and stopped in the nick of time, and a store guard who witnessed this, ran from down the street and lifted me off the pavement. (We were all in shock, and I am forever grateful to them both.)
Because of this, I did end up beginning a series of several intense foot surgeries for the next 3 years, trying to pull the toes down and fix the many twisted bones. With each surgery, I was bedbound for many months, again leaving me unable to walk and drive. Now, 5 years since the first surgery, and as the Levaquin toxicity has taken up residence in my cells, the toes have pulled back up, and they and the feet are broken once again.
Several years since others and I have spoken out to physicians about these and other symptoms, the FDA, in May of 2016, put a black box warning on the label of Levaquin and other Flouroquinolones.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Thank you for your help. Please stay healthy.
Much love, Jamie
Jamie's story in her own words
About 9 years ago I was given an antibiotic, Levaquin, for an intense lung infection. After a 5-day course the infection was gone. A little under a year later, another lung infection necessitated I take the Levaquin. After about a week, my wrists began to feel extremely stiff, eventually warranting wrist braces. At the time I assumed it was from over usage, playing guitar and piano, writing on the computer and knitting. It didn’t occur to me this could have been a response to the antibiotic. In retrospect, I now see this was a precursor toward developing severe tendonopathy.
Over a year later, as peri-menopause seemed to exacerbate a weakness in my lungs, I came down with yet another infection. In the practice of medical doctors, if a medication works well once or twice, the natural choice is to prescribe it again. I took it once more, again for less than a week. Soon after, I developed neuropathy in my hands and feet, muscles began wasting, bones hurt, joints were sore and limited in their movement. I lost all fat around my sitz bones and on my hands and feet, and was sitting and walking on bone. At this time, I met with a rheumatologist. My blood showed no illness, but the body’s manifestation of disease looked to the physician like seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (seronegative implying no illness inherent in the blood). The doctor suggested I take medication for RA. I declined, telling her I felt in my gut that medication was the cause of my symptoms.
Within months my wrists stopped being able to bend, my now swollen fingers curled in towards the palms, and I lost all ability to play the guitar and piano I so loved and were the source of some of my income. All my toes pulled up away from the ground, crossed and broke each other. The tendons pulled the toes up so violently, the action broke my feet.
I went to a podiatric surgeon in May of 2015. He said the situation in my body was too severe to warrant a successful surgery, that western medicine couldn’t help, and he suggested I go to a naturopath to resolve the tendonopathy and neuropathy before any surgery. . By then, I had become unable to drive or sit, which prevented me from my work as a musician or psychologist (therapist), so there was no money to see the naturopath. In October, as I stepped from my parked car onto the street, the upturned toes didn’t hit the pavement. Unable to catch myself with my wrists (because they don’t bend) I fell on my knees and face, onto the street, as a truck barrelled toward me.
The driver saw me and stopped in the nick of time, and a store guard who witnessed this, ran from down the street and lifted me off the pavement. (We were all in shock, and I am forever grateful to them both.)
Because of this, I did end up beginning a series of several intense foot surgeries for the next 3 years, trying to pull the toes down and fix the many twisted bones. With each surgery, I was bedbound for many months, again leaving me unable to walk and drive. Now, 5 years since the first surgery, and as the Levaquin toxicity has taken up residence in my cells, the toes have pulled back up, and they and the feet are broken once again.
Several years since others and I have spoken out to physicians about these and other symptoms, the FDA, in May of 2016, put a black box warning on the label of Levaquin and other Flouroquinolones.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Thank you for your help. Please stay healthy.
Much love, Jamie
Fundraising team (3)
Elizabeth Dill
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Jamie Solow
Beneficiary
Susan Arena
Team member
