- Andrea MacDonald

“At 51, I was truly living my best life. I was happily married with a wonderful 15 year old son. I was closing in on early retirement, with a celebration trip planned to Portugal.
In the previous year, though, I had developed a nagging cough. A previous antibiotic failed so my doctor prescribed me Moxifloxacin. I had taken it in 2017, so reassured myself I'd be fine, even though my gut was screaming at me not to take it.
Over the next days, fleeting symptoms occured (ringing in ears, tingling fingers, nightmares) but the pharmacist only warned me to watch for Achilles problems. I stopped on day 9 of 14, as my husband noticed a change in my demeanor.
Two days later, I went to stand up & my legs felt weak. I went to bed praying this would be a fleeting symptom as well. That night, it felt like a bomb went off in my body. I now know this to be oxidative stress. Words will never be able to adequately convey how terrifying that night, nor the next 12 months would be.
I watched as seemingly every part of my body and mind self destructed. I suffered fifty plus symptoms, including muscle twitching, body-wide tendonitis, neuropathy, CNS disregulation, weakness, burning skin, weight loss, gut issues, joint popping, crepitus, coccydynia, on & on & on!! I cried every day for a year. At my lowest, I begged for death.
My doctor was at a complete loss on how to help me. You quickly find out there is no magic pill to fix Fluoroquinolone Toxicity and the havoc it causes.
I watched from the couch as everyone else's life moved forward. I felt trapped in a body I no longer knew or trusted, one in constant pain. You lose your sense of identity. The suicidal ideation, from physical pain and loss of self, was so bad, I had to start counseling (this from a woman who, prior to 9 pills, was on top of the world).
You quickly discover who your true family & friends are. Some are staunch supporters, while others think you are exaggerating. Without 4 key people in my life, I truly don't believe I'd still be here.
Here I am, now 14 months in. I am on nerve pain medication, maybe for life. I still experience substantial pain everyday and it appears the toxicity also set off arthritis in me, which I never had before. I can walk farther, though, and for that I am thankful. My dancing, hiking, traveling, etc are all still on hold. Much of my time is spent close to home, with fear of the pain kicking in. I cry less lately, which I also believe shows progress.
Each day is a fight to reclaim more of the life I once knew. I hold on to hope, that with time, more healing will happen. But I've had to face a painful truth: I will never be 100 percent again. That's "a hard pill to swallow", but the past can't be undone.
What I can do is everything in my power to continue to heal. And I will spend the rest of my days warning others about the risks of this devastating drug. I'm sharing my story to prevent another person from going through this suffering. Ask for an alternative antibiotic!!”