Health Net: Ciprofloxacin Side Effects!

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Medicine Net When we think we need to self-diagnosis, the local coffee clatch is not the place to get your information. I found Medicin Net and think the information they have is wonderful. It is worth placing this in your book marks on you computer. Your doctor is a very busy person so every piece of documented information we take with us to an appointment can only work in our favor.

I recently suffered from a kidney infection severe enough to require a talk with my nurse practitioner. He prescribed CIPROFLOXACIN for the infection and the infection went away...a wonderful side effect to say the least.

But that is not my story...in this particular case I read the side effects carefully. I think I am just becoming more cautious as I grow older or maybe just wiser. One of the side effects it mentioned was tendinitis! Surprise. Since the drug is used to treat infections in the joints who would imagine that is would do damage to that area too. This is what Medicine Net said:

Ciprofloxacin as well as other antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics, has been associated with tendinitis and even rupture of tendons, particularly the Achilles tendon. Some physicians recommend that their patients discontinue vigorous exercise while they are taking fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

I forgot the warning totally because I was feeling well, several weeks had passed and I was busy with grandchildren day after day. Then I was making my bed one morning when I twisted my knee slightly and a sharp pain went down my left leg. Within a few hours the knee was noticeably swollen. But the pain was not severe and I went on with my life. I did not even take an aspirin or anyother pain killer. Still, what was that? I racked my brain for a cause for my knee to suddenly be wounded. It had felt fine that morning!

After several days of ignoring the ache and searching my brain for a cause, I remembered the warnings in the Cipro information...the part that came to my mind was the part that said the injury may not occur until several weeks have passed (I paraphrase).

It has been quite a while now, maybe over a month. I have begun wearing a brace, applying heat and taking an antiinflamitory I can buy over the counter. I did try resuming my long fast walks without the brace but that was apparently a bad idea. I am leaving for Arizona in a few weeks so I will wait to see if it gets better before then. You and I know that a visit to the doctor is a good thing so I may even do that if I don't get better with the application of heat and the brace.

(Medicine Net also had information on tendonitis, strains, sprains and some suggestions for relief before you visit the doctor. You might take a look at that too.)

If I do go to the doctor, I will go armed with the information I need. Self diagnosis can be very dangerous but information and knowledge always work in our favor. Or at least I think so.

Just a thought!

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