Leading a Horse to Water
Dear <<First Name>>,
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."
This classic saying is in regards to trying to help someone and give them the resources they need to be helped, but regardless, they refuse to change their actions, or accept the help. That can be incredibly frustrating as you see a loved one reach a steady decline by simply refusing to change. It also may be triggering.
I've had this happen a few times with health issues. I've written previously about finding out my 80+ yo grandpa was taking ciprodex ear drops. That was so triggering for me that I literally cried and wailed right there in front of him, only able to communicate via pen and paper, scribbling furiously, because my grandfather is mostly deaf. This is going to kill you, I wrote. This nearly killed me. We are blood. This is going to kill you. Throw it out.
As I looked back at my grandmother, and begged her to throw it out, she calmly stated that it was his choice and that pissed me off. People can choose to take something that will only hurt them, that is genetically, more likely to hurt them. Thankfully, he made the right choice and he threw them away for mullein garlic ear drops that surprisingly cured his ear infection in a day.
It is illegal to give cipro to a person over the age of 60 years old in the USA. It is illegal to prescribe cipro to someone with heart problems or an autoimmune disorder. My grandfather should never have been given that drug and if he had suffered side effects, he could have won a lawsuit, but chances are if he had suffered side effects, he wouldn't have lived to see the end of that lawsuit and if he had won money, it wouldn't have mattered.
Thankfully, after watching what I went through, my parents believed me. They have yelled at pharmacists for trying to give them a fluoroquinolone and now, more usefully, at their own doctors before they switch to a different one, telling my story all over again. "My daughter nearly died from this. She has permanent heart damage. How do you think this would affect me? How dare you!"
Unfortunately, other friends have reacted differently. Some have told me that they refused a fluoroquinolone and were happily prescribed a different antibiotic. Others saw what happened to me and added fluoroquinolones to their allergy list, which I still highly recommend everyone do. Some, and this is wonderful, have hit me up before a doctor's appointment and asked me for a list of drugs to avoid. Others have told me that they took it once and nothing happened to them, so they would be happy to take it again. Others told me to stop exaggerating, that it is rare, to leave it to the experts (with all due respect I am absolutely a Fluoroquinolone Toxicity expert and so are many other floxies). Others were bullied by their doctors into taking it after they asked for an alternative and that is terrible.
That really hurts me. It really, really does.
Today, a coworker told me that his girlfriend, who has lupus and suffers from seizures, was given Levaquin for mononucleosis, which is a viral infection (and therefore useless), as a preventative. She is still taking it and wanted to know what symptoms to look out for.
No. Anyone with lupus, or any type of autoimmune disorder should not ever be prescribed a fluoroquinolone, EVER. People are taking drugs because they trust their doctors and I wish we could blindly trust them like that. We should be able to. They are supposed to be experts. I just... it hurts me. It really, really hurts me.
I told her to throw it out. I really hope she does, but I can't make her drink.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Michelle
Floxie, Director, and Producer of 'Floxed'
#nonewfloxies #floxeddoc
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