Levaquin and coffee

37M Very physically fit.
Last pill taken December 8.
I had anxiety during the treatment that I treated with .5mg ativan nightly. I also had pain in my right calf muscle. When I stopped taking Levaquin the anxiety ceased immediately. I read the tendonitis could clear within 2 weeks ceasing meds as well, it did not. I had to do a lot of driving right after treatment and noticed my leg was screaming for roughly a week after 20 hours behind the wheel.
I was a little too active beginning of January and pulled something in neck. That caused me tremendous pain and tingling in left hand. I was waking up nightly with a throbbing pain in my shoulder.
I decided two weeks into January to take diclofenac 75mg 2x daily which I had been taking sporadically since floxing to help with leg, and doing PT exercises with rubber bands I had from a previous labrum surgery. The shoulder feels fine now and the tingling has mostly subsided. 4 weeks after injury it's not bothering me anymore. Perhaps I'm healing.
For some reason after taking diclofenac here and there without issue (maybe 7 pills total over 2 months) I suddenly developed SEVERE anxiety. I didn't have issue mid Dec with 3-4 pills, but that 2x for 2 days straight messed me up. I suffer from an anxiety disorder and have been taking 50mg zoloft for about 9 years. I don't usually have attacks outside of getting too high thankfully.
I have an ativan script that I rarely ever take. My last refill of 30 pills is from 2022.
I see NSAIDS cause these kind of flares. I should've not taken them, I figured since I wasn't taking them with the Levaquin I'd be ok. After doing some research here, I am totally worried now to take Ativan. I had taken it a couple times last week and it helped tremendously. I have been taking CBD tincture 2x daily and it provides some relief but this is grueling. It's not the normal panic/anxiety attack that's over in the morning with some rest, it's like a constant state of illness. I had no signs of neuropathy, or tendon pain/flaring with NSAID just mental. To be honest, it didn't even really help with the shoulder or leg pain, how cruel.
I went and had a lifeline screening and my aorta appears ok thankfully.
So far I have experienced :
Swollen and bleeding gums, calf pain right leg, random plantar pain left heel, DP/DR, brain fog, intense anxiety, cracking and popping joints (ankles, shoulders, feet), insomnia, floaters, hoarseness voice. This seems tame compared to what others have gone through.
I have moments of peace from this, or a day where my leg doesn't hurt and then it's right back into it randomly. The diclofenac setting off the anxiety bomb really messed me up bad. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I could deal with the immobility easier, but the mental problems are brutal. The sparse moments where I feel good are very welcome.
Supplements do not agree with me. I was very sensitive to them pre flox. For instance if I were to supplement with magnesium daily after about a week I would wake up with tremors nightly until my mag levels reduced. Vitamin B also makes me jittery etc. I am kinda stuck there. I wonder if some people megadosing on the supplements suffer this way and chalk it up to floxing accidentally. I do a whey protein shake with water and an activia yogurt in the AM and try to get the rest of my daily values from what I'm eating.
I have cut out all alcohol, weed, and coffee. I am trying to eat as clean as possible and have only been drinking water.
I'm sorry I don't have any help or insight for anyone but I just wanted to leave this here as a 2 month update for people who are also suffering similarly or are considering options.
I keep reading the recovery stories and hope to one day be included in them with everyone else here.
I was prescribed this in the ER after having a bad reaction to doxy for a potential bacterial sinus and ear infection that was going on for 3 weeks. I am allergic to penicillin. I filed a form with FDA. Much like everyone else, I would've never taken this had I known.
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So history is 3 bouts of prostatitis over past ten years. First from bike riding and sex multiple times in one week on vacation. Started getting uncontrolled urgency, went to doc, got levaquin and boom urgency gone after first pill but 3 days of levaquin and calfs stung and froze up while on a run and had to walk back to gym. Looked up levaquin and stopped immediately due to chance of permanent damage. Doc then gave me bactrim, doxy (throat closed up), amoxy, cefdinir, (months of ABs) no relief so decided to stop all AB crap and few months went by and started to get better. Took about 1- 1 1/2 yrs to go from peak to 0-5% always around to remind me it was there but life was good. My stages were after first month or so pain escalated to interrupt sleep level, needed ami and klonopin (stronger) to even have a chance at sleeping, then could sit for a bit, then longer, then felt annoyance then finally gone over course of year and half.
5 years of life again and without knowing bike riding was culprit for sure the first time decided to go for a ride on vacation and boom next day funny feeling and problem happened all over again. Skipped ABs altogether this time since they did nothing and just went to the quercetin, graminex, NSaids for flare ups, ami and klonopin again for sleep. Sitting again was main pain, didnt have all those other symptoms except when hurting felt like need to pee even though just went pee recently. 2-2 1/2 years to go away from 100% to 0-5%. Happy again for past 3 years or so.
Things I noticed to keep from aggravation, don't have sex day before or day of long ride, don't sit in cushy or super hard chairs for long, don't sleep in soft cushy or engulfing foam type beds home or on vacation, keep sex to twice a week (any more caused body to say hey i could come back) and it would take few days to calm down. Don't ride a bike ever, or jet ski, or horses, or anything that bounces perineal area period.
Shoot forward to August this year 2023 :
Sex three times in week, alcohol, etc. not sure. Sitting long ride 3 1/2 hour ride each way to Memphis
Soft mattress at hotel for 6 nights (similar to riding in car for 8 hours a day maybe) . But boom it was back.
Symptoms:
At first just pain around inguinal canal, while standing still, and sitting could last little while hour or so, no trouble at all sleeping at first which was different from previous times.
Feeling of buzzing in abdomen, bladder, numbness and golf ball in butt.
Month or so went by and pain while sitting for any amount of time. sleeping started to get difficult, started amitriptyline but still not as bad as 2012, 2018
Basically different this time vs past two times.
couple weeks ago weak flow, buzzing/tingling feeling in bladder, dribble pee, hard to start, harder at night to get started, feeling need to pee right after pee
Seems amitriptyline helps a bit, did 10mg then 20 then 25, went to Urologist who roughed up prostate with aggressive check, pain for four days after that, but oddly enough most of pee issues kind of went away (flow better but not great, stream bigger but not racehorse, fear of not being able to pee gone) BUT now sleep needed klonopin level help. Went to PT first session ok and had good day after two days of tension from internal work she did. Then went to second session week later and she got maybe too aggressive and boom hurts like heck.
Currently:
Can't sit for any real length of time except in knees up and tailbone on ground. If wife drives car I have to sit in passenger seat with tailbone basically on seat and legs bent at knees up on dash. After hour or more rides have to compose myself bent over and walk for tenth of mile before pain kind of subsides enough to get rid of pain. Walking I have virtually no pain except tweak of right nut like guitar string sting every now and then. If I could stand all day and sleep standing up I would be fine.
I don't have all the symptoms others seem to have like urgency, multiple times per hour, usually can last for hours (2-4 between urination) no pain at tip, no pain after ejaculation except day later prostate could be aggravated like an overworked muscle that you might pull at gym and take it easy on for week or so. I limit sex to every two weeks minimum as it always seems to aggravate things (price I am willing to pay for faster cure plus it seems two weeks and penis says hey I have to release and grows multiple times per night and stings/throbs). Coffee once in morning doesn't seem to bother me as experimented days on and off. Skipping liquor altogether mainly due to combo effect with ami or klonopin. Take all the supplements Beta Sitosterol, Swanson Graminex Flower Pollen, Doctors best magnesium glycinate, Now Quercetin with Bromelain, vit d/k3 combo, Dmannose (at first when bladder was buzzing), NAC and L-glutamine which protect stomach if taking lots of Ibuprofen (600mg at time 3 times day always with food/milk), Use Now foods for most supplements (trusted).
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Questions:
Anyone else have mainly the sitting problem and less of the other issues? I almost would rather have lots of peeing, etc vs the lack of ability to sit which prevents car trips, restaurants, basically homebound except gym, supermarket trips, etc.
Why does it always seem to start of slow and not so bad then has to absolutely escalate to high pain/issues before taking forever to calm down even if you start being safe, sitting, supplements, etc right away? It is like it has to go right to top of pain/issues before slowwwwwwwwly going away.
Why don't they (scientists) take levaquin, cipro and try to isolate anti-inflammatory properties and skip AB part and they may have a cure or at least something to take safely to alleviate all symptoms while you heal over time? I swear levaquin kills the inflammation instantly (at least for me) but the floxing danger is why you can't chance taking it.
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I am at my wits end with my bladder and confused on what to do. I believe my issue is bacterial because it started immediately after a sexual encounter and me rinsing off with a hotel shower head down there. I was totally fine before. Since then I have had multiple negative urine cultures. I hadn’t had an issue since 2 years ago and it was from rinsing off again but bacteria did not show up in my urine then either. I was able to get cipro a week later and then it cleared it. However, this time I was out of town for work for 2 months. So I was not as lucky. I tried Bactrim once and had a bad reaction ended up in the ER. I was told my issue was a kidney stone in my bladder but I knew better after a CT scan. Tried Keflex for a whole cycle and it didn’t do anything. Then Cipro for a day and had terrible back pain again. That crushed me. I really thought that the Cipro would clear it. All of this while having negative cultures. I went to a uro gynecologist and she said it wasn’t my pelvic floor muscles after doing it after the exam. Tested negative for STIs, bv, and yeast. Went to a urologist there. Did another CT scan and they said the stone was still there. Tried Hyoscamine and Flavoxate (for bladder spasms) and they did not touch the burning. Now that I’m back home, I’ve had a cystoscopy and was told I looked normal and there wasn’t a stone in there. I don’t believe this is IC because it had something to set it off. My symptoms are primarily burning of the bladder and urethra. I can only drink water and Powerade zero or else I burn like CRAZY. That keeps the symptoms at bay. I don’t have frequency or urgency issues. I do feel the burning and pressure when sitting on hard surfaces. My urologist put me on Amitriptyline and said that my only other option was pelvic floor therapy and that she would see me in a month. My doctor has me on gabapentin for back pain that I believe stemmed from the antibiotics. They help but I want my life back. I miss coffee and sex with my fiancé . I have only had 3 confirmed UTIs before this in a span of 10 years. I’m tempted to try Levaquin and more Cipro but I’m scared of being floxed or making myself feel worse. I feel like if I could just keep them in my system that it would clear this. I already have no appetite anymore, burning back pain intermittently, can’t sleep, and still have the burning bladder. Any advice?

Greetings,
18M
Flox Symptoms : Joint pain, tendon pain, twitching
Severity : Mild compared to people here.
Recovery Status : Twitching is gone, well 99%. My tendon issue got better in 1 - 2 weeks and joint pain 2 weeks, by better I mean walkable, not jump or run kind better, still cant do that. However, it does get over the worse part within 2 -3 days and then slowly recovers. If i were to graph my recovery, i'd say it would look like the graph of x^2, x axis being recovery.
I was hit by levaquin around 2 months ago, I was on my road to recovery around the 1 and half month mark, however I think I got a bit too optimistic and tried jumping which gave me a mild relapse (30-40% intensity of original) in my legs, I for some reason didn't learn from that and drank a cup of coffee and now am on a relapse again. The relapse is not at all as intense as first time but it seems to have affected a few more joints this time. I have a few questions regarding this whole relapse thing as well as recovery time because I had some goals in life that I wanted to achieve, and I am here to know if I'll be able to achieve them or not anymore.
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1 -Will i be able to jump from high places again without suffering a relapse ?
2 -I always wanted to go to gym and get in shape one day, will I be able to run long distances on treadmill and lift without relapses and twitching ?
3 -Will i be able to walk 15k steps for a week without a relapse ?
4- Will I be able to tolerate coffee again ?
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5 -Will I feel like a normal person ? At least when I am not doing working out.
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Thanks for your time.
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On March 14 - 17, I [35F] took three pills of 500mg Levaquin for a severe sinus infection. After my first dose, I remember feeling a bit strange. After my second and third doses, I felt extreme brain fog and anxiety and stopped taking the medication immediately and then subsequently found this group. The funny thing is, I am very reactive to medications (allergic to penicillin and sulfa, which I am sure is why I was prescribed this in the first place), so I asked my mom who is a nurse and she told me that I had taken Cipro before without incident (which I of course know is just a contributing factor). I asked my good friend who is an MD who told me "every medication has side effects. I prescribe this every single day and it is safe" [insert eye roll]. Like almost all others who have posted here, no words of warning from either my doctor or pharmacist. I do suspect but have not confirmed that I might have been given Cipro via IV during a complicated childbirth/labor in 2020. At the time, I was taking no other medications whatsoever (not even a supplement to speak of) and I considered myself generally very healthy with no physical or psychological comorbidities.
Based on my reading on this sub, I would describe my reaction as extremely mild and now consider myself 99% recovered (and incredibly lucky). I was hesitant to post for that reason, but when I was really in the thick of it, I found all recovery stories to be helpful, especially those of other women, so I decided to go ahead and post in case anyone might benefit from hearing my story.
I also wanted to say to those who have been more severely impacted by this awful drug how truly sorry I am for what you have gone through. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.
Looking back on my notes, my side effects were:
- lightheadedness/feeling uncharacteristically cold (first noted reaction) - severe anxiety unlike I had ever felt before in my life (no anxiety disorders or anything like that in the past. I remember telling my husband how insane I felt and that there was no way I could live like this forever) - brain fog. I am a lawyer and remember not feeling like I could even read or answer emails, much less read an agreement or anything even remotely complex. I basically had to fake it and ask my husband for help until this faded - muscle fatigue and joint popping - ankles and knees started popping like crazy - no pain associated with the popping but it was just so strange - high resting heart rate - resting HR in the 80s when it is generally in the 60s (but admit this could have been secondarily related to the anxiety) - tingling in legs/neuropathy (esp at night) - INSOMNIA - On 3/21 I experienced insomnia unlike anything that I have ever felt. I have an extremely stressful job and I have never not been able to sleep. I considered it one of my talents--plane/train/cadesk/floor, you name it and I can sleep there. I slept for 45 minutes MAX the first night and in the morning I was not tired at all. It was completely bizarre. Could not nap either. On the 5th night, I finally slept but it was pure torture for 4 nights. I have had on and off bouts since then, but my sleep has been mostly back to normal for almost 2 months. -tinnitis - never terrible but definitely noticeable. Came and went for a couple of months but haven't noticed it in quite some time - Other than the joint popping and some mild knee pain, did not have any tendon issues which I feel very thankful for
All of these things lasted on and off for about a month and then I started to feel relief. I did notice small flares before my period of neuropathy/insomnia/tinnitis.
In mid-May I really wanted to get back to feeling like myself, so I went and got my normal 4x a year Botox and a couple days later had a big flare of insomnia/neuropathy/tinnitis/heart palpatations that lasted about a week. My heart issues were actually so severe that I ended up seeing a cardiologist who ruled out any issues with an EKG and Echo (he also 100% believed me because an MD friend of his tore both of his Achilles after taking Cipro). I'm happy to say that since then I have felt relatively good. I'm back to working out, and only recently felt confident enough to resume inclined treadmill walks and heavy weights.
After finding this group, I read the sticky a bunch of times and started taking many of the recommended supplements. I don't know if they helped or not, but I continue to take probiotics, magnesium, vitamins C and D because my doctor (a different doctor) also recommended them and I don't feel any ill effects from them. There are others that I took initially that I stopped taking once the bottle ran out, mostly because I couldn't attribute any benefits to them specifically and also because they are expensive. I stopped drinking coffee and alcohol for a while and ate extremely clean for probably a month. I now have a little coffee every morning and am back to my regular consumption of alcohol (one or two glasses on weekend nights) with no noticeable impacts). When I was first floxed, I also rested and did not push my body physically at all. I think that was the right call looking back, but it was difficult at the time.
Unfortunately, as many others have said, the main thing that helped me was time and getting away from the doom scrolling. Being outside with my family and just thinking about other things really helped me feel better (I realize that my relatively mild case allowed me to do this and others of course don't have this luxury). I think I exacerbated my anxiety and cortisol levels with all of my internet reading, which could not have helped with any of my symptoms.
I don't check reddit that often, and I try to stay away from checking this group compulsively, but please feel free to DM me if you have any questions or need support. I DM'd quite a few on this sub when I was really in the thick of it and so appreciated their compassionate and helpful responses.

35F, floxed with one 750mg levaquin 6 weeks ago tomorrow.
I’ve been avoiding caffeine for a month after reading posts here, but the last few days I’ve had a bit of Coca Cola each day and didn’t notice any weird effects. I have always been a pretty healthy eater, but my two vices are a cup of coffee each morning and the occasional soda.
When did you reintroduce coffee and how did it go for you?

I edited the first pinned Recovery Post: https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/12v2g6d/recovery_megapost/ to add a lot more detail and more stories, so it's worth revisiting, but eventually ran out of space there, so I've removed some of the entries to post here, and added a ton more.
As before, there are many people who recover and don't post about it, so this is just the recovery tip of the iceberg! u/Additional-Gear-18 has been brilliant at finding and sending me most of these, so big thanks to them. As you can see, the timescale massively varies, but even after years, recovery is possible, so don't give up hope.
Plz don't DM people out the blue as it can be upsetting to revisit this traumatic time when we've finally escaped it!
Again, I've ordered them by recovery time. Although not listed under 'what helped', remember that the main aspect is usually TIME. Hang in there :)
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User: u/PizzaBulker
Symptoms: Panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, knees popping, stiff back
Recovery: 12 days
What Helped: meal replacement powder with probiotic, fish oil, a supplement called Cycle Support by AI Sports (has NAC, Milk Thistle, & coQ10), multivit, etc. Reducing caffeine.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/y9k84i/comment/iu2kxso/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: shadowrengar (via DM)
Symptoms: tightness and weird feeling in upper calves
Recovery: Time not stated but back to normal “very quick”, back to gym & weights
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User: wartswafflesnwalter
Symptoms: tendonitis, silent reflux, anxiety, weakness
Recovery: a month
Supps: magnesium, D3, Vit E, collagen, GABA, CoQ10, NAC, drinking turmeric infused bone-broth, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables, magnesium muscle rub
https://www.reddit.com/physicaltherapy/comments/6sn12c/comment/dq2nlc7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: Yoyoyoflorida
Symptoms: brain fog, anxiety, weakness, joint/nerve issues
Recovery: A month and a half, running half marathons after 4 years
What Helped: multivit, magnesium, eating clean, kombucha, avoiding stress, infrared saunas
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/12dqmqt/comment/jf7yoiw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: Fluffy_Fail_8603
Symptoms: Peripheral neuropathy
Recovery: 1-2 months, then horse riding again
What Helped: Stopped anti-inflammatories, multivitamin, didn’t exercise for a month
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/mo3qycomment/gu3npgw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: citytree (via DM)
Symptoms: Soreness, stiffness & burning in wrists & achilles
Recovery: Recovered, but time not stated
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User: O_O—ohboy
Symptoms: Generalized weakness, tingling, dizziness, aphasia, vomiting, intense insomnia, depression, inflamed tendons, headache. couldn’t walk at beginning.
Recovery: 90% after 2 months. Now recovered after 2 years, can hike/swim, but is careful with tendon load
What Helped: Magnesium, Vit E, avoided sugar, pomegranate juice for antioxidants
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/w1nzv0/comment/igwyykq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: u/pixltigr
Symptoms: pain, neuropathy, panic attacks, insomnia, depersonalisation
Recovery: Much better at 3 months
Supps: benfotiamine/ thiamine, multivit, ubiquinol/PQQ, Gingko Smart, Mag glycinate, bromelain (seemed to help tendon pain)
Also: Epsom salt baths every night, helps with sleep. Coconut oil on anything that hurts. Cold showers
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/11t1utu/3mo_and_i_feel_almost_100/
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User: u/Faith_Godheals3
Symptoms: muscle weakness, spasms, neuropathy, twitching, fatigue, floaters, panic attacks, restless leg syndrome.
Recovery: 3 months, but waited 6 months to restart exercise. Took other antibiotics with no flares.
Supps: Magnesium, NAC, Vits D/ E/ C/B12, Calcium, Zinc, Probiotics, CoQ10
Also: Decreasing stress, avoiding fluoride & processed foods, eating organic food if possible. Sleep!
Quote: “I want you to know you are NOT alone in this. Many of us know what it’s like to be at home bed bound at times and it can leave us in a dark place. I was there not too long ago. I want you to know it is possible to recover completely, the body is amazing and that’s what it wants to do, heal.”
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/rexza9/my_success_story/
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User: Competitive-Cap-770 (via DM)
Symptoms: Achilles Tendonitis
Recovery: 3 months
What Helped: Lots of supplements, slowly building up exercise
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User: u/iopyy
Symptoms: immense chest and joint pains, anxiety, insomnia
Recovery: 3 and a half months. Can now drink alcohol & coffee again.
Supps: Initially took ALA, NAC, Magnesium, Vits D / C. In the end just took Magnesium.
Also: Time & patience, eliminating coffee & alcohol, avoiding unhealthy foods. Sleep is very important. Chamomile tea. Sunlight. Walking as much as you can, but listening to body. Stretches for tendon pain.
Quote: "trust the process, your body is magical and you will recover just as everyone else who has recovered."
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/12jxjk7/recovered_thank_you/
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User: artlovet (via DM)
Symptoms: muscle weakness, dizziness, insomnia, panic attacks, fast heart rate, joints cracking, tendonitis, eye issues
Recovery: Much improved after 3 months, just eye floaters and some wrist issues remaining
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User: Darkangel_82 (via DM)
Symptoms: Not stated, but included muscle pain & weakness
Recovery: 4 months
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User: nextabbreviations363 (via DM. Account now deleted)
Symptoms: Not stated, but could barely walk
Recovery: Full, unsure of time scale. Back to exercising & lifting
What Helped: Magnesium, NAD+ mitophagy protocol, Fasting, keto diet, gentle movement in the pool (in acute phase), hot baths, epsom salt baths, CBD
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User: blueandyellow (via DM)
Symptoms: Couldn’t walk in first week due to cramping calves & tendon issues. Tingling, wrist/elbow pain, cracking joints, health anxiety
Recovery: 5 months. Back to heavy lifting by 8 months. Still gets occasional cracking joints but no pain.
What Helped: Magnesium, maintaining good diet.
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User: u/Tinastephanie78
Symptoms: Joint/tendon pain/cracking, tingling, anxiety, suicidal thoughts
Recovery: Feeling good after 5 months, back lifting at gym etc
What Helped: Liquid magnesium, collagen powder, vit D / B12
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/104a8ij/a_little_over_5_months_and_feeling_good/
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User: u/touchfuzzygetlit
Symptoms: Lots inc tendon/joint issues, neuropathy, eye problems, insomnia, tinnitus, panic attacks, palpitations
Recovery: 80-90% in 6 months. DMs are open
Supps: palmitoethanolamide, naltrexone, ALA, mag citrate, multivits. NAC, ALA, & CoQ10 for first cpl of months. hyaluronic acid & glucosamine w/chondrotin for collagen, MMP inhibition, naltrexone for tinnitus
Also: maintaining activity as tolerated, avoiding benzos, TIMP stimulation, talking to floxie fam for support, sleeping with earbuds in for tinnitus/ listening to white noise, avoiding fb groups. Flared by NAD supplements inc nicotinamide riboside.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/11786wj/6_months_out_mostly_recovered_8090_after_20x500mg/
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User: Suspicious_Donkey_21
Symptoms: Mainly tendon issues, and some neuropathy/muscle pain in first few days
Recovery: 95% in 6 months
What Helped: NAC
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/109rjuw/comment/j424al2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: xo_aria0 (via DM)
Symptoms: Not stated but included burning feet, hand/wrist tendon issues. Couldn’t even carry phone.
Recovery: 6 months. Back to working out, snowboarding etc
What Helped: Exercise once out of acute phase
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User: u/frankman125
Symptoms: muscle weakness, tiredness, hair loss, dizziness, cold hands/feet, anxiety
Recovery: Almost full in 7 months, just some twitching left when tired. Has since taken antibiotics and occasional recreational drugs without flares, back to running, hiit training etc
What Helped: Didn’t take it easy – was still drinking, walking, etc, but still recovered
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/wd1piz/comment/iijj94j/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: u/youshouldbehappyy
Symptoms: Anxiety, insomnia, eye issues, tendonitis, joint pain, skin issues, fatigue
Recovery: 100% in 7 months
What Helped: Time
Quote: "Never thought I would be back to my old self again, but I’m actually better than the old me."
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/iolg26/i_recovered/
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User: u/BridgeLong9473
Symptoms: Tendon/joint/muscle pain, GI issues/food sensitivities, tinnitus, neuropathy
Recovery: 85% in 8 months. Later ran 10k marathon! Lifts weights etc
What Helped: Vit C, D, Mg, Coq10, MSM, Glutathione IV, quercetin, berberine
Also: Visited MANY drs, they didn't help.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/qfc0i1/85_recovery/
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User: u/luckyehtfha
Symptoms: Wasn’t able to walk or grasp things, panic attacks, depression, anxiety, brain fog, eye pain, insomnia, skin issues
Recovery: 100% after 8 months, back to running & working out daily
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/idnkkx/i_am_able_to_run_again/
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User: Arcaino1013 (via DM)
Symptoms: Tendon issues, twitching
Recovery: 9 months
What Helped: Time, magnesium, Vit D3, Changing diet to heal gut (sauerkraut, Greek yoghurt, Kombucha, lots of veggies and meat), gentle exercise
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User: newherexyz
Symptoms: Not stated, but included tendon issues, neuropathy
Recovery: 100% at 9 months, has since had a baby
What Helped: Pregnancy
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/t5gpxv/pregnancy_cured_my_symptoms/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: mercer22
Symptoms: joint weakness particularly in ankles, joint popping, bad anxiety, weakness, fatigue. Had to use walking stick.
Recovery: Around 10 months. Back to weightlifting etc
What Helped: Magnesium, antioxidants etc, time, not rushing back into exercise
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/mo3qycomment/gu1jyn8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: iliketherealubetter
Symptoms: Joint pain all over body, tendon pain, nerve problem, insomnia, anxiety, eye issues, headaches, brain fog, crying
Recovery: 100% in 9 months
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/xdoy8u/comment/iog2v8a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: u/Own-Philosophy-5356
Symptoms: pain, insomnia, neuropathy, burning sensations, depression, suicidal thoughts
Recovery: 97% in 10 months. Can drink coffee, smoke weed (and do other drugs) without flares.
Quote: “I really thought honest to god that i would never be able to be who I was preflox. But now I am happy with post flox me and appreciating life waaaay more.”
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/u8kxwj/recovery_post/
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User: u/New_Capital3267
Symptoms: Sensitive to foods, burning pain/itching, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, brain fog, insomnia, racing heart, aching legs, cracking knees, neck pain, tinnitus
Recovery: 90% in under a year, can eat whatever they want, back to exercising
What Helped: Magnesium, fruit smoothies, probiotic pill/greek yogurt/honey to heal gut
Quote: “...if you were also floxed after being prescribed a fluoroquinolone to deal with epididymitis or prostatitis and are still dealing with those issues, PM me. I've come a long way with those as well.”
[https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/qqiw3l/1\_year\_out\_positive/\\](https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/qqiw3l/1_year_out_positive/\)
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User: u/kitty_1287
Symptoms: anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, tight & tired tendons/muscles, hard to stand for long, weakness
Recovery: 100% in a year, felt pretty food after 6 months. back to physical job
What Helped: Time, changing mindset
Quote: “when I started to become less stressed and constantly worried I started to get better.”
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/13f5mn0/fully_recovered_and_my_story/
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User: u/ToxicBadger91
Symptoms: Tendonitis, eye problems, severe anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation
Recovery: Nearly full at one year
Supps: Magnesium and 'the usual'
Quote: "I dealt with just about every side effect in the book and couldn’t walk for months. I’m back to 99.9% now. Keep your heads up!"
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/vlew5t/light_at_the_end_of_the_tunnel/
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User: u/smithokay
Symptoms: Lots inc panic attacks, POTS, head pressure, joint pain, gastroparesis, seizures, blood pressure changes, tinnitus, vision changes, trouble standing for long, vertigo
Recovery: Full in one year, back to working out, riding horses, drinking beer etc
Supps: Magnesium citrate, Thiamine Vitamin D3 (5000iu), Vitamin C (2000), Quercetin, bromelain, zinc B12
Quote: "I think I delayed myself getting better from worrying that I never would."
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/we6ezw/recovery_hope_story/
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User: Foraeons12
Symptoms: Night sweats, insomnia, whole body aches/pains, stomach pains, tendon pain, hard to walk
Recovery: Most after 6 months, full after a year
What Helped: antioxidants (i.e black cherries, pickles, radishes, pomegranate juice), chelated magnesium glycinate an hour before bed
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/ozh54s/comment/hqyqq93/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: VicVinegarsBodyguard
Symptoms: tendon pain, burning, trouble walking, suicidal, etc
Recovery: 1 year ish. Back to lifting, running etc
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/oiqezv/comment/h4yb05x/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: u/Pristine-Engineer52 (via DM)
Symptoms: Tingling/burning all over, weakness in legs/arms, trouble sleeping
Recovery: Not stated. Back to lifting/running.
What Helped: multivit, CoQ10, PQQ, probiotic shot
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User: MThr2021
Symptoms: palpitations,
Recovery: 95% in a year
What Helped: antioxidants, healthy diet, multivitamin (once a week), mild exercises, ice on legs, ALA, rest. For eyes, antioxidants like Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Q10 helped with light sensitivity
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/wf2h2f/comment/iite277/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: u/foscor70
Symptoms: sleepiness, weird organ sensations, palpitations, chest pains, mood swings
Recovery: 1 year
What Helped: Eating a wide variety of food, weighted squats, drinking more water, distraction (video games/funny videos), using non-flouride toothpaste (unsure if it made a difference)
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/htww42/was_floxed_a_year_ago_too_now_im_fine_take/
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User: u/novonic
Symptoms: Not listed, but joints affected
Recovery: 99% after 1 year
Supps: Many detailed in recovery post (worth reading)
Also: Purified water, organic foods, reduce exposure to chemicals in environment, rub magnesium lotion on joints. Sunshine.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/8w6kqq/detox_recepie/
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User: u/ABetterJawn
Symptoms: Achilles tendonitis
Recovery: Recovered in just over a year. Can tolerate NSAIDS and alcohol now.
What Helped: 11 months on, started xercises after xray confirmed no structural damage
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/nh1q5a/achilles_tendonosis_rehab_success_27_male/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
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User: u/ladollyvita1021
Symptoms: Constant bad joint/tendon/muscle pain, diarrhea, extreme fatigue, reacting to lots of foods, overheating
Recovery: Mostly better in 1 year. DMS open about diet
What Helped: Supplements (unspecified), TIME, plant based whole food diet, biofeedback training, green smoothies
Quote: "I hope that my story can give others hope like reading recovery stories gave me the hope I needed to press on in my darkest days."
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/jplge1/one_year_floxiversary/
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User: u/likelyfloxed
Symptoms: Lots of classic flox symptoms, inc high heart rate/blood pressure, jaw pain, aches, neuropathy, costochondritis, nerve pain
Recovery: Mostly recovered after 17 months, went on to full recovery
Supps: Magnesium, tried lots of others but not much noticable difference
Also: Time, cleaning up diet, walks in nature (after acute phase), escapism (TV shows/movies, online games with friends)
Quote: "...it's basically just the old cliche of time will heal... Ultimately it really sucks and is a horrible thing to go through but statistically it's only temporary."
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/sg5hmo/muscle_strains/
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User: searine
Symptoms: endonitis, neuropathy, heart palpitations, high blood pressure
Recovery: 90% by 1.5 years
What Helped: Antioxidants, PQQ, clomiphene / testosterone. slow gradual build up of safe exercise, fasting, no alcohol
Quote: “This can be a traumatic experience, be sure to treat your mental health as much as your physical health”
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/oypkkp/comment/jl5zdyx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: u/RoEyer (posting about a friend)
Symptoms: burning, tingling, tendonitis, brain freeze, hot/cold/stabbing sensations
Recovery: Full after 18 months, almost well at 1 year
What Helped: magnesium citrate
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/x57iw0/cured_after_1_yea
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User: Eaubleu
Symptoms: Not stated, but “badly floxed and in a wheelchair for several months”.
Recovery: 18 months, no issues now, back to running
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/12dqmqt/comment/jg1nxja/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: blindwillie777
Symptoms: Problems with balance/walking, cysts, hormone issues, floaters, widespread tendonitis, anxiety
Recovery: 18 months. Back at gym after 3 years. Didn’t flare from other antibiotics or flouride.. DMs open.
What Helped: Finding a good practitioner, healing gut (using acupuncture, bone broth, fasting, "gut restore" by dr. axe, eating a simple diet - no gluten or alcohol), b complex for weak muscles, ice bath/cold water for tendonitis, Endocrinologist identifing hormone imbalance
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/twj4s2/4_years_feeling_alright/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: newtoallofthis_
Symptoms: tendonitis, burning & pain in hands/arms, arm weakness, pounding heart
Recovery: 100% in 18 months
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/jc9uxj/comment/hoh84d3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: sendhelplolll
Symptoms: arms going numb
Recovery: Not specified, at least several months
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/quwjrcomment/ikv3yvz/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: Lucky_pop (via DM)
Symptoms: Not stated, but included neuropathy, burning. Couldn’t lift arms above head
Recovery: Almost a year
Supps: vit c, selenium, b vits, magnesium
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User: qbertd
Symptoms: Not stated, but included tendon issues
Recovery: Around a year to get back to gym. Now lifting again, fully healed.
What Helped: magnesium gylcinate bathing in epsom salts, Vit C, collagen Type II supplements, Glucosamine and Chondroitine sulfate. Light workouts when possible.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/xwlg7c/comment/ir7rf7z/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: ImAFuckingMooseBitch (via DM)
Symptoms: unknown, but first cpl of months were hardest
Recovery: 98-100% after 13 months, can do 8 mile hikes
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User: Gundament (via DM)
Symptoms: Tendon issues, neuropathy, burning, joint pain, balance issues
Recovery: 16 months ish
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/mj9w21/comment/gtamq1t/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: Scovin (via DM)
Symptoms: Not stated, but mostly tendon issues
Recovery: Not stated, around 2 years is implied. Recovered other than the occasional hamstring pain.
What Helped: Magnesium, kale & spinach, light exercise
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User: deleted. Very detailed post, worth reading.
Symptoms: Lots inc - Brain Fog, Depersonalization, Crippling Fatigue, Tendinopathy, Burning Feet, Weight loss, Panic Attacks, Episodic Tachycardia, Sore Muscles, Vision Changes, Hair Loss etc
Recovery: 98% in 2 years
Supps: Tried over 90 suppplements & therapies, read post for lots of detail & research. Most helpful: Antioxidant IVs, Nicotinamide Riboside, etc
Also: Saw many doctors, none helped
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/bk00gd/levaquin_changed_my_life_my_floxiehope_story/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: Thatsjustbeachy
Symptoms: neuropathy (still have), tendon pain (occasionally my tendons still feel weird), tore my acl,, terrible anxiety/ depression with intrusive self harm thoughts, eye floaters (still have), digestive issues, swollen armpits & thighs, insomnia.
Recovery: Still has some flares after 2 and a half years, but is “highly functional”, back to working out, snowboarding, biking, hiking
What Helped: “eating healthy, lots of water, moving your body when you can, getting outside, magnesium, ALA through food sources, matcha/green tea, lots of antioxidants, and mostly just time had the biggest impacts. And getting mental health support.”
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/136742z/comment/jipphzk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: nyc-rep (via DM)
Symptoms: Not stated, but couldn’t even lift a gallon of milk
Recovery: Full after 2 years, back to running and cycling
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User: Moderator u/ShamboBJJ
Symptoms: Achey joints, nerve pain, insomnia, tinnitus, anxiety, itchiness, costochondritis
Recovery: Full in under 2 years. Back at gym etc. DMs are open.
Supps: Don’t know how much difference they made, but took Magnesium citrate (Helped sleep, but eventually stopped cos of itchy and muscle twitching), Calcium carbonate, Vit E, Q10 (and then MitoQ), Vit d3 & K2, Resveratrol, NAC, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vit C
Also: Aggressively resting, excluding all processed foods, sugars and alcohol. Bone broth. Kale, beetroot and blueberry smoothies. Fasting. Patience & acceptance. Progressive exercise. As much sleep as possible (8 hours is good, 10 hours is better)
Quotes: “Don’t get obsessed with the next big supplement that's being touted. There are no miracle cures. Better to accept that and move on.”
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/pn2grw/18_months_since_14g_of_cipro_99_recovery/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
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User: Matthew_Lake (info taken from his offsite blog post linked below - worth reading)
Symptoms: tendonitis, insomnia/poor sleep quality, muscle/joint pain, peripheral neuropathy, fatigue, nausea, tinnitus, anxiety, panic attacks, depersonalisation, dry eyes, heart palpitations
Recovery: Full within 2 years
What Helped: 2 -3 whey protein shakes daily, Bromelain, Magnesium citrate powder, green tea, curcumin (found in tumeric), ginger, bilberry or blueberry, multivitamin, tocotrienol (a form of Vitamin E), choline, Vit K2 (most multivitamins only have K1), chromium, boron, silicon, vanadium citrate, omega 3, probiotics
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/11tq9ly/comment/jcliu6k/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
https://www.crvitality.com/2018/11/supplements-recover-from-cipro-floxed/
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User: u/Deepindarkness (via DM)
Symptoms: tendon pain, aches, burning, anxiety, tinging etc
Recovery: Not stated, but under 2 years is implied
What Helped: iron,omega 3/6/9, vitamin d, b100,magnesium, probiotic
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User: u/cjsgamer (via DM)
Symptoms: Not stated but included depression, and “felt like an 80 year old”
Recovery: 90% in 2 years
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User: _life_is_a_beach_
Symptoms: Not listed, but included tendonitis, hands/arms hurting
Recovery: 95% in 2 years, back to bodybuilding and jogging, plus physical work
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/12dqmqt/comment/jgf9jd2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: NSsleepconsulting
Symptoms: Brain fog, eye pain, stinging, vibrations, pain in legs, anxiety, migraine, back ache
Recovery: 2 years, occasional mild flares from seasons after.
What Helped: magnesium, vit B6, folic acid. Seeing a natropath.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/11tq9ly/comment/jcm465y/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: throwaway726182
Symptoms: Bad anxiety, achilles pain, could barely walk
Recovery: 98% in 2 years, 80% by 8 months
What Helped: multivit, vit E, omega 3, magnesium, calcium, NAC, ALA. Cutting out coffee and alcohol.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/11rgxqv/comment/jcajf2j/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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User: eb911 (via DM)
Symptoms: muscle weakness, anxiety/panic attacks, CNS issues, neuropathy, fatigue, constant dizziness, brain fog, insomnia, head pressure, vision issues inc light sensitivity, balance issues, crying, tendon/joint pain, heart palpitations, numbness in hands/feet, internal tremors, GI issues, tinnitus
Recovery: 2 and a half years. Back to weightlifting.
What Helped: Not stated, but included magnesium threonate, fasting, urolithin A, melatonin for sleep
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User: TheNightOwl
Symptoms: pain, brain fog, fatigue, insomnia, nerve damage in thighs, weird feelings, muscle twitches
Recovery: Minor issues but mostly recovered after 3 years. Skiing again.
What Helped: Lots of time.
https://www.reddit.com/floxies/comments/at7xuj/comment/j72y7ke/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

I have been on and off this sub since my reaction to Levaquin sent me to the hospital, and over time I intentionally tried to avoid stopping by, but I promised myself once I felt sufficiently better I would write a recovery post. When I first found this sub, I was overwhelmed with doom and gloom and had to search for recovery posts to find hope in the possibility of recovery…those posts helped me a ton. I am approaching the six month mark and most days feel 100% recovered, with some lingering but tolerable symptoms. I’m not a doctor or medical researcher, this is all just my personal experience.
Floxing

• Prescribed Levaquin at an urgent care clinic for a suspected bacterial infection (which it turns out I may not have had), 30s male, physically fit, generally healthy and active lifestyle. After my second 500mg pill on day 2, I started to feel something was wrong and began experiencing paresthesia in my lower legs. Very early the next morning after some restless sleep, went to ER with peripheral neuropathy across my entire body and skin flushing, definitely freaked out and not sure what was going on. The ER ruled out a stroke, gave me some benadryl, and after I rested a bit released me.
• Thankfully I had the presence of mind to look up quinolone reaction when I initially felt off, and was aware steroids could make side effects worse, so I refused a steroid injection at the ER, which before I was a released caused the ER doc to tell me I should “stay off WebMD”. Given how bad my symptoms became, I’m happy I made the decision and later on felt sort of vindicated when my PCP told me to avoid NSAIDs and steroids while recovering.
• I was lucky based on all the stories in this sub. My PCP had seen one quinolone reaction before, and so knew it was a real thing and told me to give it time.
• Initial symptoms included the aforementioned widespread peripheral neuropathy and flushing, brain fog, noticeably slowed speech and cognition, significant muscle weakness and coordination/dexterity issues, random and recurring dizziness/vertigo, ear fullness and constant head pressure, headaches, experiencing almost club-like strobe lights when I closed my eyes, eye floaters, and probably some others I’ve forgotten. Except for a few minor flares, all those symptoms are pretty much gone, save the strobe lights which now I very oddly find sort of comforting when I first close my eyes because I associate the phenomenon with the onset of sleep, and the peripheral neuropathy which has substantially decreased and is now very tolerable.
• Over time I also developed insomnia, various muscle strains from mundane activity, patellar tendinitis, and tinnitus and hyperacusis (basically my only remaining full-on symptoms).
• I felt bad, really bad. I was healthy and energetic one day and the next felt like I got hit by a truck and it turned me into a crippled zombie.

My Recovery Path Nothing I did is revolutionary, it’s all pretty basic. My approach was to do my best to let my body gradually recover, and give it the time and resources to do so. I focused almost all my time and energy on doing things I knew or thought would help me get better. Once I started seeing small improvements I became even more motivated as I believed even more in the idea that recovery was possible.

• The biggest thing for me was mindset. I am a type A person and after I got out of the initial disorientation and had to confront my symptoms, I told myself my entire focus would be devoted to recovery. I had plenty of days and sleepless nights where I felt hopeless, worried, and defeated, but I would always eventually return to my central focus on driving my own recovery.
• I didn’t take that many supplements, just basic ones I felt comfortable with and would take anyway (magnesium, CoQ10, calcium, Vitamin D, Zinc, Vitamin C); I generally took less than the recommended doses on the bottle. I took a multivitamin and B complex at different points, but eventually dropped them as I felt they exacerbated my peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
• I ate as healthy as I could, and noticed on days where I slipped into less healthy meals my symptoms felt noticeable worse. I made meals out of whole foods and avoided processed foods to the best extent possible.
• I started to force myself to take walks outside in the sun, even if they had to be short due to injuries that popped up.
• Once I was healthy enough for mild exercise, I started to force myself to be active again with low-impact movement.
• I become maniacal about sleep. For a few days after returning home I slept tons, but gradually developed insomnia. If I hadn’t slept well the prior night, I tried to rest later in the day. Resting as much as I could was a huge priority.
• After terrible reactions to coffee and alcohol earlier on, I’m now able to drink both at normal levels again with no side-effects. I still avoid most processed foods, and I’m still not able to eat Chipotle without a flare for some reason.
• I’m now back exercising at moderate to high intensity without issue. It took baby steps to get here and nothing happened quickly.

My Big Takeaways

• Recovery takes time, but does happen for most people. Like anything, there are outliers who have particularly bad experiences, but it does seem based even just on this sub that most people make decent recoveries.
• The path to my recovery was not a straight line, I had many setbacks, flares, and two big relapses. “Two steps forward, one step back” has defined my entire 2023 but I have kept at it. Once I started to see improvement, I was motivated to double down on my recovery mindset.
• I saw this said multiple times on this sub and think it’s true…most people who recover don’t take time out of their days to come back and write recovery posts. The people who post most often on the sub have the worst experiences. Negative selection bias is huge.
• After a month or two, I realized what this negative bias was a doing to my psyche, causing all sorts of health anxiety that was likely making my experience of symptoms and insomnia even worse. I left the sub and stopped looking at posts, deciding that I would recover better if I didn’t doom scroll and feed my newly-developed health anxiety (and I think I was right).
• You don’t know anything about the posters on this sub, and shouldn’t compare yourselves to them. You don’t know what other health conditions they have, what their underlying anxiety level is, if they are suffering from depression, etc. I think significant health scares like these bring out strongly negative mentalities in a lot of people (myself included), and that the resulting fatalism, health anxiety, depression, and whatever else may hinder the recovery process. It’s obviously much easier said than done to have a positive mindset after something terrible has happened, but after getting floxed as I went through the recovery posts in this sub I was struck by how many of them mentioned a positive or constructive mindset as instrumental in their own healing process.
• In that spirit, don’t compare yourself to me, look at the big picture! Know that I and many other people have significantly recovered from terrible reactions, and that it is overwhelmingly likely there is hope out there for you as well!

Hi everyone, I thought this was highly unusual.
I was floxxed 3 years ago and healed probably 99% within a couple months. The only things I hard avoid are NSAIDs and hot tubs.
For the first time since the incident, I felt a tightness/ pain in my right achilles and leg (which was ground zero during the Levaquin debacle).
I had just reintroduced coffee after a couple months off, had been driving and walking a ton, and had been using more fluoride toothpaste than normal. I suspect these were the culprits.
Anyways it was pretty scary. I truly had thought this was behind me. My main healing supplements were magnesium (especially the spray), CoQ10, and PQQ. I was terrified when it first happened, barely slept, but turned my diet around and it worked wonders.

Hi ! I’d appreciate your help if you can. 😊 Location: US Age: 35 Sex: Female Ht: 4ft11 wt 249.8 Non-drinker, former smoker quit nearly 2 years ago. Smoked on and off for almost 7 years. Current meds: Errin, 20mg prednisone Current conditions: recurrent vertigo x 14 months. Cerebral palsy. Obesity. Bilateral proptosis( we don’t know why).
My docs-Suspect vestibular neuritis - agree with neurologist I’m seeing that this is my issue. But what causes the ebb and flow?
Possible recent illness worsening inflammation. But why does heat, the morning, low protein/low sugar, dehydration, coffee trigger this?
My kids had strep and sinus crud. I tested negative.
Will trial steroid burst(20mgx5days) - if ineffective consider endolymphatic hydrops and trial lasix
I’m 14 months into vertigo. I had chemical pneumonitis last year in June. Followed by mastoiditis and ARDS in October because I wasn’t getting better. Levaquin,steroids, azithromycin, allergy meds and lasix saved my life. I nearly died. I was septic on arrival.
Meclizine doesn’t work. I tried to stop using zofran. I’m just very very careful. I try to stay cold because it helps.
I went from being unable to walk 20 feet unassisted last year on 12L of oxygen hugely bloated from steroids to August 2022 where I started weight lifting and really watching everything I eat. I went from 286# to 249.8# as of this writing. Next goal is 235#. I do vestibular physical therapy. The gym 5 days a week. Until the 22nd of October where the vertigo suddenly got worse. And I’ve been pretty inactive since.
I thought I was doing so good. What else can I learn? What else do people do in this situation?
I did do Video Nystagmography back on August 3rd but my symptoms were not flaring up so hard back then.
To note: since birth re: NSG testing I’ve had a lazy right eye that sticks out more so than my left. RESULTS:Today's results indicated: Spontaneous Nystagmus: Negative Gaze: Negative Smooth Pursuit: abnormal gain and symmetry where the right eye showed weaker movement Random Saccade: Normal latency, with borderline velocity and accuracy Optokinetic at 20 and 40 degrees: Abnormal gain and symmetry. Dix-Hallpike: Normal for both sides. Positional: Normal degrees at all tested positions. Caloric Irrigation: Bilateral weakness Today's results indicate the possibility of a bilateral peripheral and/or central vestibular weakness that might be due to either vestibular toxicity, or left side weakness together with right eye abnormality, or both.
Known triggers: not eating right away in the morning, low protein, computer work, video games, flashing lights at an arcade or carnival, dehydration, being too hot, being in the sun, not sleeping elevated, heartburn, lower belly pain on the left side. Especially if I lay on my stomach.
If you’ve heard of anything like I’m going through. Know anyone like me or have any insight I would really appreciate any help

New poster here. I'm pretty much just on here for this sub, and thank you guys so much! You've really helped me turn things around. I wanted to start getting into the conversation by sharing my story. I'd love to help, so any questions are welcome.
- - -
There is hope for you. There has been hope for me. I seem to have had one of the more devastating cases, with damage to my heart and lungs, and insomnia lasting for 3+ years, AND YET I am now making a meaningful recovery. I made things worse for myself for a long time, and once I figured out how to start making things better, they got better. Life is beautiful and worth living, especially to see the sunshine at the end of a long, dark road such as this.
My meditation teacher has said that if one wishes to become enlightened in one lifetime, one must have 100 lifetimes of experience in that single lifetime. As rough as this story gets, my condition is ultimately what woke me up and put me right where I needed to be on my path through this lifetime. Enlightenment or not, this struggle has directed the flow of spiritual energy in me and shifted my life from an unconscious one to a conscious one.
For this, Levaquin, I humbly thank you.
- - -
The year between the fall of 2017 and the fall of 2018 was exciting to say the least. In this span of time, my car was stolen from in front of my house in Denver, I got rid of all my possessions and went to India where I subsequently fell ill and witnessed my girlfriend nearly get raped (we got out of there), then I returned to the US where I lived in a van that got broken into, then I got targeted, drugged, beaten, and thrown in a river by a group of homeless people. After this I went on a 10-day meditation retreat that left me with some mild psychosis/mania (look this up it’s real) and then finally found a permanent place and good employment, although to work myself back to stability it required sometimes being awake until 5 am and other times waking up at 5 AM…
Phew! Finally able to rest, right? I figured that after this crazy year I’d get a little break. The year prior wasn’t exactly restful either; 2016 saw me divorcing a narcissist and battling PCP addiction.
But here I was. 2019. New year, and maybe a little sinus infection? I was prescribed levofloxacin with hopes that it would clear up the sinus trouble and popping in my ear.
It didn’t help, because I didn’t actually have an infection, just acid reflux and dehydration from too much coffee. It did some other things, though, as you could imagine…
My doctor had warned me about the potential tendon damage, but said it was unlikely that I would experience side effects because I was healthy and young (29 at the time). I don’t remember how many I took (less than 10) or the dosage, but I do remember waking up one morning in January of 2019 with excruciating neck and upper back pain that would not improve at all for the next 2 years. When I told my doctor, he kind of just shrugged and said “I warned you.” I asked him what I should do and he told me, “The damage is already done. Have some magnesium, rest, stop taking the drug, and you’ll be fine. There’s nothing you can do now that it’s over.” Bullshit, but I didn’t know any better.
When the insomnia started, I wasn’t too surprised. Working 60 hours a week of Lyft plus building my live sound engineering clientele was keeping me up odd hours, my relationship was falling apart, and I had this extremely traumatic year under my belt. Insomnia was to be expected, right? I was sleeping less and less. For about three months that spring, I would sleep for about an hour every 3 days. In these three months I fell back into PCP addiction and had my first-ever drug hospitalization from pcp, cocaine, and alcohol. I got sober and kept going, thinking that once I got out of the house with my now-ex that would help, which it did. I was then thrilled to be sleeping 2-3 hours a night, or sometimes even 4. Yay!
I tried my best at life, but the insomnia and awful neck/thoracic pain continued. Sometimes my heart raced, and sometimes my body burned, and I didn’t know why. The anxiety was terrible, which I blamed on my situation, so I just kinda hunkered down and became a bit of a shut-in. Just as I began to find my feet socially again, COVID hit. I was in a world of confusion. Everyone in the world was freaking out about this situation and I still couldn’t sleep and I didn’t know why everything was so hard. So after about a year of sobriety, I chose to take a big dose of mushrooms for a visionary experience. I fasted for a day and then ate 5 grams, but I did it alone. Don’t shame people for drug use. Help them heal. Once a body is healed all things fall away. If I hadn't felt ashamed, I might have reached out for support in taking this journey, and that might have saved my brain. I passed out from the low blood sugar caused by fasting and mushrooms and hit my head. I was knocked out cold and didn't realize I'd suffered a traumatic brain injury until I started bleeding from the back of my nose three days later. I couldn’t look at screens in 2020, the year of zoom. I couldn’t research my worsening condition that I’m becoming more curious about. Couldn’t even READ A BOOK my head hurts so bad. In my frustration I started using weed after a year break and it was a GODSEND!!!!
The weed let me sleep. Previously I had been a heavy sativa user, now indica-only. I fell like for the first time since getting married in 2013 I was finally smelling the fucking roses. I still didn’t understand why my shit was so fucked up, but I spent 2020 getting stoned and doing yoga and drinking tea and going on walks. It was a vibe. Then, on a late night mushroom trip WITH A FRIEND THIS TIME, I discovered how much joy I derived from giving bodywork. So I went to bodywork school in 2020, which inevitably pulled me further and further down the healing road (and began to help with some of the neck pain), but things still had to get worse.
Therapy had helped with the trauma and nightmares, but I knew my body was still way out of whack. While foolishly experimenting with an advanced Tibetan meditation technique that involves forceful breath holding, I felt a lot of tension come into my heart. I exhaled and felt a rush of blood and tension move up towards my brain. I tried to massage the tension in my neck down, and under my fingers felt a bulge. OOO I’m doing something! I didn’t think about the fact that I was moving over the carotid artery, against the direction of blood flow, with this throbbing bulge of something moving back down towards my aorta. When I reached the place where the muscles attach to the clavicle and the blood vessels go under, I gave the blob some encouragement towards my sternum and then BOOM!! I was in a world of pain. Felt like I was having a heart attack, and maybe I was? Aortic aneurysm? The next two weeks were agonizing, and the 2 years since have slowly seen improvements, but I haven’t had any imaging done. I only recently found out about the potential for aortic aneurysms and dissections with levaquin. I still get chest pains with any excitement and I realize now that my life has begun revolving around the care of this condition for the past year or so.
It was a D.O. doing some bodywork on me for the brain injury who was perplexed at my slow healing. He concluded that a big part of my difficulty sleeping came from some damaged fascia he found inside my thorax that connects to my lungs and to my brain’s Glymphatic system (super important for sleep) and when he described this to me, it all made sense. That fascia is in the exact place in my thorax and neck where all the pain started. I began researching this and realized that the floxing had more connections with the sleep than just this fascia. I started learning more about the biochemistry of FQT and how to use cation and antioxidant supplementation to heal.
So now here I am. Almost 4 years later, and I’m improving. I stopped getting worse and started getting better over this last year. What has really helped?
In order of importance(ish):
•Diet. It all starts with the food. It is polish to try and heal any condition without proper food. When I first took the levaquin, I was doing this crazy vegan paleo diet and drinking reverse osmosis water with no minerals added. I was depleted AF. Switching to a more effective diet (mainly meat & greens) made huge improvements.
•Taking it easy. Being nicer to myself. Learning to really relax.
•Tai chi, qigong, taoist meditation, bodywork: This stuff has relaxed my nerves, improved detoxification, healed my damaged connective tissue, and has helped me to access a profoundly deep equanimity that I never could even touch before floxing (again, thank you levaquin).
•Zinc began reversing a lot of the more serious anxiety and insomnia, as well as helping minimize digestive sensitivities. I usually take 50-100 mg a day (a lot I know but if I stop I feel a decline in condition). I had been taking a lot of other minerals for years
•NAC/ALA + Vitamin C. This has been a game changer. I feel like the nutrients really set up the pins for these guys to knock em down. I am interested in nebulizing glutathione down the road for the lungs/heart.
•Cannabis - This has been a dual edged sword at times, but overwhelmingly positive in terms of giving me back quality of life and mood support when I was feeling suicidal.
So much of the kicker of this I realize is that I found myself with a chronic anxiety condition and a heart condition. The littlest thing (somebody cuts me off in traffic, I make a mistake at work) would easily turn into a panic, and then I could feel the pain in my chest, and it really reduced my tolerance for a lot of stuff in life. I have really had to learn how to actually relax and not just pretend to be all zen on the outside like I used to.
Honestly, my life has been hell the past 4 years. But hey, isn’t that what some students graduating from their master’s program say? I feel like I have a master’s degree in life, in struggle, in triumphing over the impossible, in staying positive while everyone is doubting you and you’re mentally and physically dying on the inside. I have a master’s degree in being a badass and healing myself and being positive and healing others too.
Now, time for my PhD.

Hello everyone,
In december 2020 I had an ABX- treatment (Levaquin) for an UTI I didn’t have. Long story short after 1.5 years I’m still having stomach issues.
I’ve had several endoscopys, there were some ulcers and chronic inactive gastritis, last endoscopy showed no ulcers but active gastritis. I’ve been tested multiple times for H Pylori but it was always negative.
Last month my stomach felt like it was 80% healed, only the burping remained, but last week I was on holiday and may have eaten bad, too much sugar and cheese. So now I’m back to feeling nauseaus and full.
I’m also feeling so fatigued and bad, I’m a bit at wits end. I’ve tried so many supplements so far, I cut out coffee, dairy alcohol and soda.
Right now I’m taking L-glutamine in the morning, then Colostrum. DGL tablets before eating, L. Reuteri 2x day and Lion’s mane. I’m also taking Cymbalta for the toll it has taken on my mental health.
Is full bland the way to go? I want to cut out gluten and sugar as well.
I’m also on PPI for 3 months but I actually want to stop taking it because it doesn’t make me better.
I really want this nightmare to end, and I keep thinking that maybe it is H Pylori, or Sibo, because I’ve never had these issues like depression and anxiety before. I also have periods where I cry everyday.
Doctors are quite useless, just take this PPI and if that doesn’t work take another one.
The first thing I have to do when I get out of bed is burping, on an empty stomach. Then through the day I burp with the strongest taste of what I’ve eaten, fi bananas. It’s never foul tasting burps or sulphurburps.
Thank you for listening to my vent and if you have some advice that would be really appreciated.
Kind regards fellow warriors!

Hi all. I posted here a few weeks ago, thinking I stopped my floxing in it's tracks. After a single levaquin and a dreadful 4 day acute phase, I started taking magnesium and saw an immediate improvement. I thought "wow, I must be one of the lucky ones" (out of the unluckiness that is the entire floxed community). Well, things have gotten better slowly, crushing stomach pain is gone, muscle and tendon pain is slowly fading, and my CNS and PNS symptoms (which were by far the most severe) have largely subsided. That being said, the past 2 days have been full of unshakeable anxiety, and insomnia and horrible nightmares have been plaguing me at night.
My question is basically the title of this post. The thought of experiencing this kind of CNS stress repeatedly is kind of freaking me out, it's making me lose some hope in what I felt was a relatively good recovery (so far). My acute phase was a constant anxiety attack, full of hopelessness, insomnia, nightmares, and panic on top of all the other stomach and tendon issues most of us experienced.
Basically I just want to know what your relapses were like in comparison to your acute phase, especially after you felt like you were back at 95-100%. At my current rate, I feel I will be lucky and recover within a few months. Maybe I stumbled upon a trigger which caused this flare of CNS symptoms - it's not as bad as the first time but the thought of this happening after I'm "healed" is honestly scary as hell. I started taking a different magnesium supplement around the same time this started so maybe that has something to do with it. Might be diet stuff. Not sure yet.
It's just... overwhelming. I'm almost 25 and I'm supposed to be finding a job right now but moving across the country to start my professional career during COVID is worrisome enough, having to think about flox flares and spontaneous tendon rupture is an extra layer I wasn't prepared to deal with. I already decided I won't exercise for 6 months from my initial floxing, or 3 months after feeling better if it takes longer. I just need to know I can count on this slow upwards trajectory. Feeling very anxious and uncertain about the future lately and I'm terrified I'm going to lose the rest of my 20s. I already lost the first half due to anxiety, depression, other rare medical issues. The month leading up to my floxing was probably the best I had felt physically and mentally since I was probably 20 years old, and it lasted all of 3 weeks before I got floxed.
​
PS.: Does anyone recommend B12 for CNS symptoms? Wanted to try Magnesium L-Threonate but it's expensive and I'm basically broke. I don't suffer much from brain fog, just tingling in my face and head and anxiety mostly, as well as random insomnia, nightmares, and mild neuropathy in hands in feet. Any advice for mental health or CNS symptoms would be welcome. I've always had bad dreams, but I used to smoke a lot of cannabis before this happened so they never bothered me. I've stopped drinking coffee and smoking since my floxing as I know it will make anxiety worse.

2016 I was hospitalized for a kidney infection and given levaquin. I had little to no flox symptoms. 6 months later I blew out my leg/hip while sprinting.
2017 I began to develop symptoms of Menieres disease, which included bouts of vomiting, vertigo, nausea. I was able to manage the symptoms, but continued to get small infections and was given more antibiotics. I was given cipro for another kidney infection and after 1 pill I had extreme full body tendon weakness, pain, in hips knees. I also experienced so much fatigue I was unable to lift myself from bed. The symptoms went away after stopping, but one month later they came back.
The symptoms evolved and went from occurring once a month to a weekly, daily flare up. I developed swelling and pain in my lymph nodes. I am suffering from depression and extreme anxiety. My bladder began to lose function during these flares and I would have borderline incontinence. My doctor gives me lorazepam and it helps stop the vestibular issues.
2019 I have seen 4 rheumatologists, and they started me on prednisone. My symptoms started to fade, but after 6 months of taking them, things started ramping up again. I stopped the steroids and began to take hydroxychlorquine. Around this time I was on a full supplement regiment. Things seemed like they were getting better. I was recovering from a flare in one day and the frequency went down, allowing me to bike, exercise, and have a life, but that only lasted a few months as I felt like my body was getting worse.
2020-2021 I finally come to terms with what’s happening to me and how my body was affected by these drugs. I have hundreds of labs done with nothing to show in results. Ive seen every doctor under the sun, multiple times. I was tested for low vitamin D, but after ramping it up, I saw no change. I now have sleep apnea and require a cpap machine. I have an inguinal hernia that flares up now. I am experiencing more pains, deep in my limbs, joint popping. Mild injuries and muscle fatigue. I am unable to play guitar due to the bruising it is causing in my arms. I’m trying to stay hopeful but feeling like I’m doing everything possible and unable to hold back the floodgates.
I am out of treatment options as I have tried most everything under the sun at this point…naturopaths, therapies, sketchy supplements…and have spent over 100k on different doctors and remedies. Im going to start peptide therapies in a month or so. I am also looking at hyperbaric O2 therapy in a hardchamber and then stem cell as a final final option if im salvageable. Im still holding on for my kids, but my son is showing strange auto immune issues and I understand that this damaged DNA was possibly transferable.
Things that helped me:
*ATP Fuel – 9 months, double dose (wish I hadn’t stopped) *Vinpocetine – helped with brain fog and vestibular issues *Super high dose of liposomal curcumin (help with flares) *Box breathing *Relaxing *Exercise when able *Lymph massage/massage therapy *Ice bath therapy made me feel amazing, but I had to stop as I thought I was injuring myself due to muscle spasms in the cold.
Triggers: *Stress *Anxiety *Too much sugar (Donuts, candy) *Caffeine, Coffee
Other notes: I had a history of Raynauds and extra flexible joints, so there is some theory about being predisposed to some kind of collagen disorder like EDS, and these drugs activated what might have been dormant issues. Don’t ignore these symptoms like I did, do as much as you can as quickly as possible to heal, as I am in a race against the clock at this point.

First time caller here! So I was at the ER today as I was up last night with cramping, pain, & diarrhea which led to pooping small amounts of blood for @12 hours- so off to the ER I went.
Had blood taken and a CT SCAN was performed & I was diagnosed with colitis & given a script for Metronidazole & Levaquin (I refused Cipro). I was told my sigmoid colon is inflamed. But my question is- is colitis the same as UC?? I was told to schedule an appt to see a GI specialist in 2 days, which I will do.
(I tend to be constipated and have been taking Sunfiber, a hydrolyzed guar gum to stay regular. It is low FODMAP.) I tend to eat low carb but last week I had coffee only for breakfast, consecutive days of eating spaghetti squash, which may have irritated by gut, in addition to changes at work that sent my gut motility a kilter...then Friday we were at a party where I had too much alcohol and 3 chocolate chip cookies--- all these things, in hindsight led me to a trip to the ER.
As an aside in 11/2018 I was in the ER for colitis & given Metronidazole & Cipro- but pain and constipation was the issue then..no other issues until now.
I know only the GI specialist can truly diagnose me, but what do you make of what's going on with my gut? Does this sound like I have IBS or just a freak thing I will be affected by periodically?
My mother does suffer from IBS- do you think I'm predisposed to getting it as well?

I received this from a friend and thought i'd share...
Hi guys, I am a 22 year old male that has been battling pelvic pain since January 2015. This post is going to be long winded, but I feel it is necessary to share my story with this community to hopefully ease the minds of those new to this condition. I’ve been lurking here since February 2016, and I feel like now is the time to share my story. I still check in on the forum every few weeks.
My battle with CPPS began in January 2015. I will summarize this chapter of my journey quickly. Basically, shorty after my first flare up, which presented as radiating abdominal and testicular pain, I visited my family doctor. I was put on Bactrim for a month, but had an allergic reaction after three weeks. I was then put on Doxycycline for six weeks. After being on antibiotics for so long, I felt terrible, but my pelvic pain had improved. My doctor told me I had a prostate infection. I didn’t look further into it at the time. Looking back, I am surprised my condition went into remission, but I am convinced part of the reason it did was that I was absolutely convinced it was an infection that was cleared. Interestingly enough, I was still having minor symptoms in late April 2015, but doing much better. I was having sex with my girlfriend as much as I wanted with only a little discomfort. The rest of my discomfort slowly went into complete remission by June 2015. At this point, I thought my pelvic pain was a thing of the past. I had just gotten into grad school and was on top of the world.
Things were going well until October of 2015, when my girlfriend and I broke up. I was devastated. At this point, I had still not had another flare up, but emotionally I was a mess. On December 18th, 2015, I had an unprotected one-night stand. Immediately following this encounter, I was extremely paranoid I had contracted some disease, and I obsessively looked up symptoms of STDs. In the weeks following, I started experiencing allodynia on the tip of my penis, and bladder discomfort. I should mention that I have always had issues with frequent urination growing up, and I even remember visiting the doctor in high school for frequency issues. At the time I was told that it was in my head, and I needed to train myself to hold it in longer. Anyway, at this point (December 2015) I had quickly sunk into an obsessive mess. On top of my obsession over this sexual encounter, I was dealing with the fallout of my breakup. I felt extreme guilt about my pelvic pain, like I had let my parents down. Heading into January 2016, I was still handling all of these issues on my own, albeit not effectively. I obsessively did research on prostate forums, looking for concoctions to remedy my “infection.” I was honestly freaking out. I visited my family doctor again, and he performed a rough prostate exam. I was told it felt boggy, which further convinced my speculation of an infection. The prostate exam took this flare to a whole new level of pain and discomfort, and shot my anxiety up to a level I had never experienced.
I was back at college, living alone and working for two weeks until my roommates moved back in. I would go to work, constantly thinking about my pelvic pain, and then get home and do research all night. The prostate exam I had received had made it feel like I was constantly sitting on a golf ball. My penis had little feeling in it, and had that “hard flaccid” characteristic I’ve seen mentioned on this forum before. I was experiencing spontaneous episodes of sobbing uncontrollably. I was not sleeping well, constantly getting on my phone in the middle of the night “doing research.” I had been given two weeks worth of Cipro, but was refusing to take it after reading up on the side effects. I was allergic to Bactrim, and didn’t feel like Doxy would work because it didn’t fix the problem completely last time. Associated with this fear of antibiotics was the vivid memory of how terrible they had made me feel the previous wintespring. I had thought my battle with pelvic pain was a thing of the past. I was not emotionally prepared to face this battle again. I felt trapped. I thought antibiotics were my only option, but I was extremely fearful of getting “floxed” (the name given to those who have bad reactions to flouroquinolines. At one point I laid in bed and literally thought I was going septic due to not treating my infection. My parents knew about my flare up at this point. I was obsessed over killing the infection off for good this time. I got multiple tests done for STD’s. I had a full STD panel performed 12 weeks after the sexual encounter, and everything came back negative. I got tested for Mycoplasma, and got a semen culture done which came back negative. I was lost. What was causing my pain?
It’s now late January 2016. I’ve moved home despite the semester starting up in a few days. I had sunken into a deep depression. I was having multiple panic attacks a day. I could barely get out of bed. At this point I had a bottle of Cipro, levaquin, and doxycycline, none of which I had taken. I was so scared of the side effects. It was increasing my anxiety tenfold. I finally ended up at the ER at the University of Iowa due to pain and depression/anxiety. There I saw a urologist who convinced me to start taking the Cipro.
I moved back to school and tried to start the semester. I’d been put on fluoxetine for depression and given lorazapam for anxiety. I was also taking Cipro twice a day. Unfortunately, I was in no state to start school. On the fifth day of taking the Cipro, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like my legs were on fire. In the days following, I developed very sore knees, elbows, neck, and back, as well as neuropathic burning in my legs and arms. On top of this, my pelvic pain worse than ever. This pushed me past the breaking point. I was suicidal. I didn’t have any hope. My entire body was in pain, and I just wanted to escape it. I called my parents and told them what was going on. They drove to my university and got me, took me the hospital again, and I ended up at an inpatient psychiatric unit for major depressive disorder. The worst part of everything was that I couldn’t relate to anyone. No one understood my pelvic pain. None of the doctors really believed that the antibiotics I taken had caused nerve and joint pain.
I spent three days at the hospital, and it was truly the beginning of my improvement. I started on doxycycline at the hospital, which provided a little bit of relief from my pain. After getting discharged, I spent the next few weeks at home. My grad school program was very understanding. I somehow was able to return to school in mid February and finished the semester. It was a struggle, but I powered through. I stumbled upon this forum in late February. At this point in time, I was still struggling with my depression and having panic attacks. I also still researched a lot of information. I was still constantly in pain, both pelvic and from the bad reaction to the Cipro.
I only took the doxy for about two weeks before tossing it aside. It made me feel like crap. I was done with antibiotics. I was determined to find another solution. My parents have very good insurance, and I had gotten an appointment at the University of Iowa urology clinic. They wanted to take a multi-modal treatment approach, combining antibiotics, alpha-blockers, anti-inflammatories, and physical therapy. I chose to only go with the physical therapy. I was tired of medication.
(I’m not going to get into it but I was able to overcome my reaction to the Cipro over a period of a couple months with the help of a supplement/dietary protocol.)
My physical therapy was the turning point. It was late February when I began receiving internal trigger point therapy. My therapist was very sympathetic and understanding. I was given stretches to do as well. I had to drive to Iowa City every week but it was worth it. I started to see very slow improvement. I was still consistently in pain, but I would have moments where the “hard flaccid” look and feel to my penis would disappear. This was very common in the hours following my PT. I began going to a professional yoga studio about five times a week, where I learned Hatha 1 & 2. Yoga was not only crucial to my physical health, but my mental health as well. I luckily lived near a very good chiropractic school, and started getting frequent adjustments. I ate very healthily, sticking almost exclusively to chicken, rice, and broccoli. I tried to avoid gluten, although I wasn’t perfect at it. I typically avoided alcohol, although sometimes I would go out on the weekend and sacrifice a flare for a night out with my friends. Weed caused flares so I avoided that as well.
Improvement was very slow. I want to emphasize that for those who are starting out with this condition. As of today, I sit here without any pain. I am not 100%. I still have tension in my pelvis, and occasional burning in my bladder. Some days I feel 90%, and some days I’m at 75%. However, I never thought I would get to this point, even as recently as mid-April. It has not been easy, but I have learned a lot about myself and I still have a long way to go. Despite my improvement, I am far from a model patient as far as following a strict protocol for improvement. I go out with my friends a lot and I’m convinced if I completely cut out alcohol, then I would be feeling even better.
I am now able to eat whatever I want without causing a flare. I can drink alcohol and coffee without much an issue. It does cause frequent urination , but I have always dealt with that since I was young so it doesn’t bother me much. Alcohol does occasionally cause some discomfort the next day if I have too much, but I don’t flare up nearly as much as I did several months ago. Ejaculation can still cause some minor discomfort, but it’s much better than what it was. I am now going to try and give you a quick guide to my personal protocol that helped me get to this point. I apologize for the length of this post!
Over the past six months:
1.) Internal release therapy * 1 time a week (also bought a Therawand and did a little internal work myself, but struggled to be as effective as the therpist.) * Starting in April, I began going to PT twice a week until the beginning of July, currently go once a week but plan on taking a break for a month or two to see how I fare.
2.) Chiropractic Care * Twice a week for a month, than once a week, now I go once every two weeks * Had a breakthrough in April, got my S3 sacral region adjusted and had noticeable improvement in my bladder burning; all I can say is make sure you visit a chiro who is legit and reputable; luckily I live next to an institute with a great reputation and my doctor is brilliant; goes into the science behind his thought process (sympathetic v. parasympathetic, autonomic & somatic, ect.) ; listens to my concerns and doesn’t think I’m crazy; open to the effectiveness of meditation, yoga, etc.
3.) External therapy * Theracane and lacrosse ball; I roll my glutes on the lacrosse ball, use the Theracane on my perineum and back * Foam roller used for IT band release and to roll out my back
4.) Yoga: Went to the studio about five times a week for two months; now go about twice a week and do home practice three times a week; plan on becoming certified in the future and implementing it in my practice as a therapist
5.) Supplements * I take fish oil everyday, brand is controlled labs * prescript probiotics-pricy but worth it in my opinion because they are one of the few companies that have scientific data backing up their cultures; this particular probiotic also doesn’t just pass through you but actually lays the foundation for populations of good bacteria to grow as you continue to take them * prebiotics-Inulin and tummy fiber; feeds the good bacteria in your gut * Buffered Vitamin C * Took Q-Urol for the first three months; no longer take it because I seem to be beyond the threshold of needing it anymore * Magnesium-there is tons of varieties; settled on Magnesium-L-Threonate, this particular kind is the only type that can cross the blood brain barrier; I was deficient in magnesium; I took two a day for about for months and I had a renewed ability to focus and think that my anxiety had previously robbed me of; very important as far as schoolwork/focus, no longer taking it but plan on ordering more * Flouxetine; antidepressant that definitely helped pull me out of the dark place I was in, still currently take it and have no plans to change * L-Theonine; has a calming effect, often take it when I have coffee prevent jitters and reduce pelvic floor clenching, shop at bulk supplements.com * Lorazapam -No longer take this but have it in case my anxiety were to shoot back up due to a flare or panic attack * Prelief- This one is huge! You can buy it at Walgreens. It removes the acid from foods, I take it all the time, anytime I have coffee or a meal, I take two to help protect my bladder; I encourage you guys to try using it. * Vitamin D-5,000IU haven’t been taking over the summer but will resume in the winter * Vitamin K-take with Vitamin D
6.) Diet * Kefir, contains tons of live cultures of good bacteria for your gut! * Eat your vegetables! Seriously guys, my diet before both my first major flare and second major flare was not balanced; full of bad carbs, fast food, etc. * Fruit; same story here; apples are great, and along with veggies, provides enough fiber to keep things moving down there which is key! * Fiber, fiber, fiber * Avoid fast food; I rarely eat fast food burgers anymore, although I still slip up sometimes; places such as Subway or Jimmy Johns are fine! * I tried gluten free for awhile, but I just couldn’t do it. It seems in the early months of my flare diet played a bigger role but now that I have things more under control I can eat most anything I want without much issue
7.) Sleep: Not getting enough sleep affects every aspect of your health; you need it!
8.) Exercise: This can vary for everyone. I’m currently back to weightlifting without causing a flare, but initially I would just go to the gym and run a mile on the treadmill. Jogging really did seem to make a difference for me as far as loosening up tension. I always focus on trying to relax my pelvic floor as much as possible while lifting
9.) Sex: I’ve had sex with multiple partners since I’ve been flared, and it doesn’t cause much of an issue as long as I use protection; unprotected oral does not cause an issue; as far as masturbation-do not edge! What I’ve noticed helps is to avoid watching porn when I masturbate. For some reason, I think it is my natural tendency to edge if I watch porn while masturbating, but if I just use my imagination to reach orgasm is much more natural and causes less issues. I also avoid more than one orgasm a day.
10.) Reading: Headache in the Pelvis; Paradoxical Relaxation; The Mindbody Prescription; The Power of Now; Loving What Is; Psycho-Cybernetics; There are so many more books I need to read that will help improve myself and my mind frame as I continue to deal with this condition
11.) Counseling: Talking to a counselor at my university helped tremendously. He really helped me quit researching my condition and get back to living my life.
12.) Other Tips: What helped me the most is accepting my condition. These are the cards I’ve been dealt. Reading Dr. Wise’s books helped reach that point of, “if I never get better beyond this point then I am okay with that.” It has to be genuine though. You have to accept the pain, befriend it, love it, and not worry about whether or not you are ever going to get better. We are not special. Millions of people all over the world deal with different health issues, this just happens to be ours. I still have insecurities about it. I’m working on it though!
In conclusion, I am glad in a way that I’ve had these experiences. I still have a long way to go. This forum has been very helpful, but I encourage those who find themselves constantly checking it to try and get back to living life!

Age: 18
Sex: Male
Height: 5'9 or so
Weight: 135 lbs (down from 145 lbs a ~couple months ago)
Race: White
Duration: Weeks/Month
Location: New England (north east US); on body: head, primarily
Existing medical issues: GERD, mild hiatal hernia, autism spectrum disorder, OCD/anxiety
Current Medications: Zantac 150 twice a day, other antacids (Gaviscon, Tums), Tylenol (as needed), multivitamins (although not every day). Sometimes take Flonase and Allegra (see below).
Other medications I have taken recently: Omeprazole (40mg), Levaquin, Probiotics
Test results: Heart (EKG and echo): normal, but with minor variation and benign murmur. H. Pylori: negative. Blood pressure: normal. EGD: have gastritis, have a hiatal hernia, normal mucosa in esophagus, otherwise normal biopsy I think. Blood/urine abnormalities, tested last week: high B12 (1787, normals: 200-950 pg/ml) [I stopped taking my B12 vitamins after this, which I had previously taken since I was a vegan and worried about getting hypocobalaminemia], high albumin (5.4, normals: 3.5-5.2 gm/dl), borderline high urine ph (8.0, normals 5.0-8.0) [technically this didn't show up as abnormal, but still concerned], high urine bacteria (rare, normals: negative). (If you'd like to see the full results, feel free to ask.) Normal thyroid function.
Symptoms: headache, dizziness (feel heavy/like going to fall/lost balance), sometimes lightheadedness (like I'm about to pass out), slight numbness or paresthesia
Background: The past 5 months have been hell for me. Before these events, I was mostly normal and healthy. In early June, I got chest pain and palpitations after drinking coffee for the first time (on vacation), thought I might have been having a heart attack, and ended up in the ER. They did an EKG, didn't find anything weird, but gave me Ativan to lower my anxiety/pulse/BP, and then discharged me. After that, the chest pain continued intermittently for weeks, and my GP diagnosed me with costochondritis but referred me to a cardiologist to make sure my heart was okay. The cardiologist didn't find any major abnormalities. However, soon after, I started feeling a lump in my throat, and therefore concluded that it must have actually been GERD (which I had never even known about before). I started taking Zantac and OTC antacids (tums). When I went to see my GP, he prescribed a PPI, which I was reluctant to start on since I had read about the side effects, but after consulting with a GI doctor I decided it was worth it. My GP also recommended Gaviscon, which I began taking. Around this time, I also started taking probiotics and drinking "alkaline water" under the hope that they would help, even though I thought they wouldn't (and though alkaline water was just expensive pseudoscience). After that, I got a bunch of tests relating to GI issues, which gave the results I mentioned above. Also during the summer, I started getting mid-upper back pain. When I first went to my GP, he checked my back and saw stretch marks which he thought might have been caused by Bartonella (cat scratch disease). So he put me on the antibiotic Levaquin as a challenge. I honestly couldn't tell whether the challenge was positive or negative since I was already having so many medical issues. Later, he did a blood test for bartonella and Lyme, which both came back negative. The back pain mostly went away after doing a couple months of physical therapy. Also, at some point I switched from the US brand Gaviscon to UK Gaviscon since I read that it was more useful at forming an alginate raft and preventing GERD.
Current symptoms: A few weeks ago I started getting lightheaded every afternoon. During these episodes, I got a headache, felt dizzy, and it felt like I was going to fall or like my feet/body were being dragged to the ground or the direction I was walking. I might also get worse tinnitus during these episodes, but I'm not sure, since I've had mild tinnitus for years. At first I thought it was a low blood sugar, but eating generally didn't get rid of the feeling (and sometimes I got it after eating). During a GI appointment, I brought up these symptoms and my GI switched me from Prilosec 40mg to Zantac 150mg, and recommended drinking electrolyte water. She also ordered a blood/urine test (I wrote the abnormalities above). One day about a week ago, the dizziness was really bad so I went to my university health service doctor, who concluded that it was probably either just anxiety, or some kind of thyroid problem. The thyroid test they did came back negative. They were also concerned about the fact that I had lost weight. A few days after, the length of the dizziness episodes went from being a couple hours, to basically 24/7 (or at least it seemed like most of the day). I went to my GP and he concurred that it was just anxiety, basically told me to relax, and prescribed a SSRI (Celexa), which I haven't taken yet since I'm worried about side effects. (I was previously on Zoloft for a couple months when I was really young, around ~8 or so.) I'm going to CBT on Tuesday, which was recommended by university health services and also my GP.
My cognition has substanially declined. I constantly have brain fog during these episodes, and it is hard to focus and remember things. This is confirmed by an online cognition test I sometimes take (CambridgeBrainSciences.com). Back in July, I was consistently scoring scoring between 18-21 on memory (this is >95th percentile). Currently, I am scoring about 13.7 (71th percentile), but 5 days ago I scored 7.3 (12th percentile). My other scores (reasoning, verbal) haven't changed as much. I honestly feel like my cognition is worse than the test scores say and it is very hard to do anything.
Also, I forgot to mention this, but one day during the duration that I've had dizziness/headache, my ears turned bright red, got hot, and I got a LOT of tinnitus when I woke up in the middle of the night. I went to urgent care in the morning and they cleared my ear wax and didn't find any infection. However, they found fluid behind the ear and said it might be an allergy. They prescribed me with Flonase and Allgera. (I've never had allergic reactions like this before, as far as I remember.)
I'm worried that this might be something more severe than "just anxiety", though, since I was diagnosed with OCD and anxiety a decade ago and don't remember ever having symptoms like this before. I'm worried that it could be some kind of ear problem, infection, neurological problem (encephalopathy? MS?), acid-base disturbance (alkalosis/acidosis? Read that former can be caused by antacids, latter by probiotics&antibiotics which create d-lactate. Had high urine ph & albumin but anion gap was 14/normal), but idk since I'm not a doctor. Could someone please tell me what you think? This is ruining my life.

Bayer is the manufacturer of Cipro and Avelox, which are the brand names for the generic antibiotics ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin. Bayer recently released a warning letter to doctors:

"These labeling changes provide for revisions...to include a new limitation of use statement for...uncomplicated urinary tract infection...to reserve systemic fluoroquinolones for treatment in patients who have no alternative treatment options." https://floxiehope.com/2016/10/17/letter-from-bayer-to-doctors-regarding-cipro-and-avelox/

Why? Because the risk of life ruining side effects is too dangerous to make these commonplace antibiotics. The actual drug manufacturer itself, the people who make money covering up side effects, are admitting this.
You should apply this to all fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, oflxacin, etc. None of these are "safer" than the others. There's a reason why a Google search for any of these antibiotics returns pages of horror stories. It's not a conspiracy theory, these drugs do serious damage to the body.
What should you take instead? Well, I would personally not take any antibiotics unless a bacterial culture comes back positive. Doctors prefer to issue an antibiotic on the first mention of symptoms, long before any cultures come back. Antibiotics in general are no joke. If a culture is found then doxycycline, "z-pak", bactrim, are options, but your doctor will generally have a recommendation if you say you're allergic to fluoroquinolone drugs. By the way, your doctor isn't going to know anything about this letter. No doctors know how dangerous these drugs are. You need to proactively protect yourself from them.
I know what you're thinking: "Side effects are rare, and I'm young and healthy (other than prostatitis). They won't affect me! I'm not giving in to these conspiracy theory horror stories from anonymous internet users!"
That's exactly what I thought and I took 6 pills of Cipro. Now I'm facing full body damage that is too lengthy for this post. So are many others on this subreddit.
I guarantee if you knew all the science behind how fluoroquinolone drugs worked, you would avoid them at all costs. There have been hundreds of studies since the 70s on these drugs showing full body devastating side effects. The biology behind these antibiotics is truly disturbing.
If you've taken any of these drugs before that does not mean you are safe taking them in the future. There are many reports of people who took them 1, 2, 5 times, and had no side effects, but the first pill of the next dose wreaked havoc on their body. There are some speculated reasons for why this happens biologically, but we don't know for sure. It's speculated that everyone has a "lifetime tolerance" threshold to these drugs. Eventually you'll hit your tolerance limit and go into crisis mode.
Additionally, these drugs have been documented to cause debilitating side effects up to two years after stopping the medication. The literature suggest the adverse events are statistically most likely to happen within the first 6 months, and most of those within the first two weeks, but there are case studies of year+ delayed side effects.
By the way, no one knows why this drug destroys some people and not others. This drug doesn't just destroy people in the risk factor range (over 60 or under 18, etc). There are people of all ages and all walks of life that are effected. Some suspect a genetic component but nothing has been conclusive. There are countless stories of young runners, rock climbers, swimmers, yogis, crossfitters, weightlifters, horseback riders, hikers, people in top physical condition, who now can no longer do their favorite activities.
There are hundreds of known and well documented side effects that these drugs can and do cause. They range from death after the first pill to blindness from retinal detachment to permanent disability from tendon ruptures to permanent nerve damage causing you to feel like you're in pain 24x7. Or you could get hair falling out, teeth shattering, permanent tinnitus, permanent full body muscle spams, and so much more. These are not exaggerations, and only a small sample of what these drugs are scientifically documented to do.
I took 6 pills of Cipro 2 months ago and I've had to stop bicycling, weight lifting, running, drinking alcohol, drinking coffee, smoking weed...people who recover usually measure their recover time in years. Would I rather have intermittent testicle pain than barely being able to walk, with pain making me think every step will cause a disabling achilles tendon rupture? Yes.
Taking a fluoroquinolone is gambling with ruining your life and disability. How many times do you want to roll these dice? Especially if no bacteria is cultured?

Hi guys, I am a 22 year old male that has been battling pelvic pain since January 2015. This post is going to be long winded, but I feel it is necessary to share my story with this community to hopefully ease the minds of those new to this condition. My battle with cpps/prostatitis began in January 2015. I will summarize this chapter of my journey quickly. Basically, shorty after my first flare up, which presented as radiating abdominal and testicular pain and started after a sinus infection, I visited my family doctor. I was put on Bactrim for a month, but had an allergic reaction after three weeks. I was then put on Doxycycline for six weeks. After being on antibiotics for so long, I felt terrible, but my pelvic pain had improved. My doctor told me I had a prostate infection. I didn’t look further into it at the time. Looking back, I am surprised my condition went into remission, but I am convinced part of the reason it did was that I was absolutely convinced it was an infection that was cleared. Interestingly enough, I was still having minor symptoms in Late April 2015, but doing much better. I was having sex with my girlfriend as much as I wanted with only a little discomfort. The rest of my discomfort slowly went into complete remission by June 2015. At this point, I thought my pelvic pain was a thing of the past. I had just gotten into grad school and was on top of the world. Things were going well until October of 2015, when my girlfriend and I broke up. I was devastated. At this point, I had still not had another flare up, but emotionally I was a mess. On December 18th, 2015, I had an unprotected one-night stand. Immediately following this encounter, I was extremely paranoid I had contracted some disease, and I obsessively looked up symptoms of STDs. In the weeks following, I started experiencing allodynia/burning on the tip of my penis and bladder discomfort. I should mention that I have always had issues with frequent urination growing up, and I even remember visiting the doctor in high school for frequency issues. At the time I was told that it was in my head, and I needed to train myself to hold it in longer. Anyways, at this point (December 2015) I had quickly sunk into an obsessive mess. On top of my obsession over this sexual encounter, I was dealing with the fallout of my breakup. I felt extreme guilt about my pelvic pain, like I had let my parents down. Heading into January 2016, I was still handling all of these issues on my own, albeit not effectively. I obsessively did research on prostate forums, looking for concoctions to remedy my “infection.” I was honestly freaking out. I visited my family doctor again, and he performed a rough prostate exam. I was told it felt boggy, which further convinced my speculation of an infection. The prostate exam took this flare to a whole new level of pain and discomfort, and shot my anxiety up to a level I had never experienced. I was back at college, living alone and working for two weeks until my roommates moved back in. I would go to work, constantly thinking about my pelvic pain, and then get home and do research all night. The prostate exam I had received had made it feel like I was constantly sitting on a golf ball. My penis had little feeling in it, and had that “hard flaccid” characteristic I’ve seen many mention before. I was experiencing spontaneous episodes of sobbing uncontrollably. I was not sleeping well, constantly getting on my phone in the middle of the night “doing research.” I had been given two weeks worth of Cipro, but was refusing to take it after reading up on the side effects. I was allergic to Bactrim, and didn’t feel like Doxy would work because it didn’t fix the problem completely last time. Associated with this fear of antibiotics was the vivid memory of how terrible they had made me feel the previous wintespring. I had thought my battle with pelvic pain was a thing of the past. I was not emotionally prepared to face this battle again. I felt trapped. I thought antibiotics were my only option, but I was extremely fearful of getting “floxed” (the name given to those who have bad reactions to flouroquinolines. At one point I laid in bed and literally thought I was going septic due to not treating my infection. My parents knew about my flare up at this point. I was obsessed over killing the infection off for good this time. I got multiple tests done for STD’s. I had a full STD panel performed 12 weeks after the sexual encounter, and everything came back negative. I got tested for Mycoplasma, and got a semen culture done which came back negative. I was lost. What was causing my pain? It’s now late January 2016. I’ve moved home despite the semester starting up in a few days. I had sunken into a deep depression. I was having multiple panic attacks a day. I could barely get out of bed. At this point I had a bottle of cipro, levaquin, and doxycycline, none of which I had taken. I was so scared of the side effects. It was increasing my anxiety tenfold. I finally ended up at the ER due to pain and depression/anxiety. There I saw a urologist who convinced me to start taking the cipro. I moved back to school and tried to start the semester. I’d been put on fluoxetine more depression and given lorazapam for anxiety. I was also taking cipro twice a day. Unfortunately, I was in no state to start school. On the fifth day of taking the cipro, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like my legs were on fire. In the days following, I developed very sore knees, elbows, neck, and back, as well as neuropathic burning in my legs and arms. On top of this, my pelvic pain worse than ever. This pushed me past the breaking point. I was suicidal. I didn’t have any hope. My entire body was in pain, and I just wanted to escape it. I called my parents and told them what was going on. They drove to my university and got me, took me the hospital again, and I ended up at an inpatient psychiatric unit for major depressive disorder. The worst part of everything was that I couldn’t relate to anyone. I felt that no one understood my pelvic pain. I spent three days at the hospital, and it was truly the beginning of my improvement. I started on doxycycline at the hospital, which provided a little bit of relief from my pain. After getting discharged, I spent the next few weeks at home. My grad school program was very understanding. I somehow was able to return to school in mid February and finished the semester. It was a struggle, but I powered through. At this point in time, I was still struggling with my depression and having panic attacks. I also still researched a lot of information. I was still constantly in pain, both pelvic and from the bad reaction to the cipro. I only took the doxy for about two weeks before tossing it aside. It made me feel like crap. I was done with antibiotics. I was determined to find another solution. My parents have very good insurance, and I had gotten an appointment at a very good urology clinic. They wanted to take a multi-modal treatment approach, combining antibiotics, alpha-blockers, anti-inflammatories, and physical therapy. I chose to only go with the physical therapy. I was tired of medication. (I’m not going to get into it but I was able to overcome my reaction to the cipro over a period of a couple months with the help of a supplement/dietary protocol.) My physical therapy was the turning point. It was late February when I began receiving internal trigger point therapy. My therapist was very sympathetic and understanding. I was given stretches to do as well. I started to see very slow improvement. I was still consistently in pain, but I would have moments where the “hard flaccid” look and feel to my penis would disappear. This was very common in the hours following my PT. I began going to a professional yoga studio about five times a week, where I learned Hatha 1 & 2. Yoga was not only crucial to my physical health, but my mental health as well. I luckily lived near a very good chiropractic school, and started getting frequent adjustments. I ate very healthily, sticking almost exclusively to chicken, rice, and broccoli. I tried to avoid gluten, although I wasn’t perfect at it. I typically avoided alcohol, although sometimes I would go out on the weekend and sacrifice a flare for a night out with my friends. Weed caused flares (and still does, as I learned a few days ago) so I avoided that as well. Improvement was very slow. I want to emphasize that for those who are starting out with this condition. As of today, I have days without any pain. I am not 100%. I think the weather getting warmer helped as well. I still have tension in my pelvis, and occasional burning in my bladder. Some days I feel 90%, and some days I’m at 75%. However, I never thought I would get to this point, even as recently as mid-April. It has not been easy, but I have learned a lot about myself and I still have a long way to go. Despite my improvement, I am far from a model patient as far as following a strict protocol for improvement. I go out with my friends a lot and I’m convinced if I completely cut out alcohol than I would be feeling even better. I am now able to eat whatever I want without causing a flare. I can drink alcohol and coffee without much of an issue. It does cause frequent urination , but I have always dealt with that since I was young so it doesn’t bother me much. Alcohol does occasionally cause some discomfort the next day, but I don’t flare up as much as I did several months ago. Ejaculation can still cause some discomfort, but it’s much better than what it was. I am now going to try and give you a quick guide to my personal protocol that helped me get to this point. I apologize for the length of this post! Over the past six months: Internal release therapy- -1 time a week (also bought a Therawand and did a little internal work myself, but struggled to be as effective a the therpist. I plan to learn how to use it effectively in the future) -Starting in April, I began going to PT twice a week until the beginning of July, currently go once a week but plan on taking a break for a month or two to see how I fare without it. Chiropractic Care- -Twice a week for a month, than once a week, now I go once every two weeks -Had a breakthrough in April, got my S3 sacral region adjusted and had noticeable improvement in my bladder burning; all I can say is make sure you visit a chiro who is legit and reputable; luckily I live next to an institute with a great reputation and my doctor is awesome; listens to my concerns and doesn’t think I’m crazy External therapy -Theracane and lacrosse ball; I roll my glutes on the lacrosse ball, use the theracane on my perineum and back -Foam roller used for IT band release and to roll out my back Yoga -Went to the studio about five times a week for two months; now go about twice a week and do home practice three times a week; plan on becoming certified in the future and implementing it in my practice as an occupational therapist. I might even specialize in pelvic floor therapy because I am passionate about it and understand what many of you are going through. Supplements -I take fish oil everyday, brand is controlled labs -prescript probiotics -prebiotics-Inulin and tummy fiber; feeds the good bacteria in your gut -Buffered Vitamin C -Took QUrol for the first three months; no longer take it because I seem to be beyond the threshold of needing it anymore, maybe will buy some -Magnesium-there is tons of varieties; settled on Magnesium-L-Threonate, this particular kind is the only type that can cross the blood brain barrier; I took two a day for about for months and I had a renewed ability to focus and think that my anxiety had previously robbed me of; very important as far as schoolwork/focus, no longer taking it but plan on ordering more -Flouxetine; antidepressant that definitely helped pull me out of the dark place I was in, still currently take it and have no plans to change -L-Theonine; has a calming effect, often take it when I have coffee prevent jitters and reduce pelvic floor clenching, shop at bulk supplements.com Lorazapam-No longer take this but have it in case my anxiety were to shoot back up due to a flare or panic attack Prelief- You can buy it at Walgreens. It removes the acid from foods, I take it all the time, anytime I have coffee or a meal, I take two to help protect my bladder; I encourage you guys to try using it. Vitamin D-5,000IU haven’t been taking over the summer but will resume in the winter Vitamin K-take with Vitamin D Diet -Kifer, contains tons of live cultures of good bacteria for your gut! -Eat your vegetables! Seriously guys, my diet before both my first major flare and second major flare was not balanced; full of bad carbs, fast food, ect. -Fruit; same story here; apples are great, , provides enough fiber to keep things moving down there which is key! -Fiber, fiber, fiber -Avoid fast food; I rarely eat fast food burgers anymore, although I still slip up sometimes I tried gluten free for awhile, but I just couldn’t do it. It seems in the early months of my flare diet played a bigger role but now that I have things more under control I can eat most anything I want without much issue Sleep -Not getting enough sleep affects every aspect of your health; you need it! Exercise -This can vary for everyone. I’m currently back to weightlifting without causing a flare, but initially I would just go to the gym and run a mile on the treadmill. Jogging really did seem to make a difference for me as far as loosening up tension. I always focus on trying to relax my pelvic floor as much as possible while lifting. Sex -I’ve had sex with multiple partners since I’ve been flared, and it doesn’t cause much of an issue as long as I use protection; unprotected oral does not cause an issue; as far as masturbation-do not edge! What I’ve noticed helps is to avoid watching porn when I masturbate. For some reason, I think it is my natural tendency to edge if I watch porn while masturbating, but if I just use my imagination to reach orgasm is much more natural and causes less issues. I also avoid more than one orgasm a day. Reading -Headache in the Pelvis; Paradoxal Relaxation; The Mindbody Prescription; The Power of Now; Loving What Is; Psycho-Cybernetics; There are so many more books I need to read that will help improve myself and my mind frame as I continue to deal with this condition. Don't underestimate the power of mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation. Counseling Talking to a counselor at my university helped tremendously. He really helped me quit researching my condition and get back to living my life. Other Tips -What helped me the most is accepting my condition. It resolved so much anxiety. These are the cards I’ve been dealt. Reading Dr. Wise’s books helped reach that point of, “if I never get better beyond this point than I am okay with that.” It has to be genuine though. You have to accept the pain, befriend it, love it, and not worry about whether or not you are ever going to get better. We are not special. Millions of people all over the world deal with different health issues, this just happens to be ours. I still have insecurities about it. I'll still have some amount of pain somewhat frequently. I’m working on it though! In conclusion, in a way I am glad that I’ve had these experiences. I still have a long way to go. I encourage those who find themselves constantly checking forums and doing research to try and get back to living life! I've been where many of you have. My pain was about an 8/10 constantly for quite awhile. I think someday I will completely give up alcohol. Someday I will probably restrict my diet a bit more too. I'll probably have another bad flair at some point. It is what it is. Don't be afraid to meet women though. You don't have some horrible disease that you can infect them with. You are not less of a man for having pelvic pain. Work on yourself. Learn to embrace the suffering you are experiencing and make the necessary lifestyle changes to improve your condition.

Hi, I got diagnosed with chronic prostatitis a few months ago. It's been very difficult and very depressing. I'm sure you all can relate. I'm 29 years old. Over the last few years I've had reoccurring UTIs which lead to what my urologist is now calling Prostatitis. I've Never had an STD. However, (and this is embarrassing but I'm looking for some kind of support) I've never had much luck with women. Never had a girlfriend. In the last 10 years the only time I ever "got lucky" is if I had too many drinks with someone and we ended up in bed, which was still rare. Now... When we were in bed, all was well but I would be too drunk too finish. So eventually it would just end and I would roll over and pass out. I'm wondering if this has damaged my plumbing down there and caused Prostatitis. No climax and no urination after sex. 10 months ago my symptoms where very heavy feeling in my testis with a mass that was moveable inside. It felt like a fresh chewed up piece of gum that had not hardened yet. It was very uncomfortable and sometimes painful when I moved around a lot. Like when I was bar tending on Saturday nights. It took two months of antibiotics but it went away. I continued on with normal life and then BAM... 6 months later the symptoms returned. Frequent urination and very uncomfortable feeling in my scrotum. The mass or infection has returned and it's slightly painful and mostly uncomfortable. I was put on Doxycycline for 2 months but no help. Now I am on day 15 out of 30 with Levaquin. I have NOT seen any improvement. I'm incredibly depressed right now because I feel like I'm too young and too single to just eliminate the social act of going out and having a few drinks and mixing it up. I do not think I am an alcoholic or anything but I love going out and having drinks with people. Does anyone with previous experience with prostatitis have any GOOD NEWS for me? Will I ever be able to actually go out once again and have some drinks like a normal single guy with friends? Or am I screwed? I have eliminated spicy foods which has been awful. I have also eliminated coffee which has been terrible. And clearly I haven't had a drop of alcohol since as well. But I'm very depressed about this and am reaching out to anyone. Anyone with some good news.

Hello all,
I have been lurking on this sub for a few days and you all seem like a great supportive bunch. I was on Levaquin for about 2 1/2 weeks last month and that stuff wrecked my guts. My GP prescribed me with Linzess and told me to take probiotics. The Linzess, though it makes me go, fluxuates in its effectiveness. I asked if the probiotics I have with 5 billion CFU were enough, and they said yes, but in my research I see people take ones way higher. Any thoughts?
Whenever I had constipation in the past, a few days of Miralax or a cup of iced coffee would clear it right up, so this is frusturating. I have looked into FODMAPS and other symptom remedies, but I'm kind of broke, so I can't go out and buy expensive probiotics or specialty food. I have been adding Apple Cider Vinegar to a glass of water as well as drinking tons of regular water. I have also been eating some sauerkraut.
Another thing my GP said was that everyone has some form of IBS in their life and for some it goes away. I think they think that since this was brought on by antibiotics, it'll go away once my gut flora is restored. I am not so hopeful. I start university in 2 weeks and I am dreading feeling like this there. Not to mention I can't even imagine intimacy with anyone while dealing with this. Ugh.
Thank you to anyone who took time to read this.