Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Sensitivity to medications, a silent killer

After two years, Tommy is just starting to recover from the catastrophic effect that the hospitalization had over him. Since Tommy came back to the hospital until today, I keep telling that the medications  had a dramatic side effect on Tommy because he has "sensitivity to medications." I feel the responsibility of  spreading the word because this is real and it is killing people. I believe people should be aware of this, but doctors don't talk about this issue quite often with their patients. 

Here is an article from The New York Times, that explains that the use of antibiotics is causing serious muscle weakness and vision problems, exactly of what we have observed on Tommy since the hospitalization two years ago, even when the antibiotics given to him are not mentioned in the article, the side effects are listed in info that was given to us with the medications. Here is a fragment of the article of the experience of Mr. Balch, a patient who lost gross motor skills and had vision problems due to the side effects to an antibiotic:

"...In an interview, Mr. Balch said he was healthy until April 20, when a fever and cough prompted him to see a doctor. Nothing was heard through a stethoscope, but a chest X-ray indicated a mild case of pneumonia, and he was given Levaquin. Although he had heard of problems with Levaquin and asked the doctor if he might take a different antibiotic, he was told Levaquin was the drug he needed.After just one dose, he developed widespread pain and weakness. He called to report this reaction, but was told to take the next dose. But the next pill, he said, “eviscerated” him, causing pain in all his joints and vision problems.
Debilitating Side EffectsIn addition to being unable to walk uphill, climb stairs or see clearly, his symptoms included dry eyes, mouth and skin; ringing in his ears; delayed urination; uncontrollable shaking; burning pain in his eyes and feet; occasional tingling in his hands and feet; heart palpitations; and muscle spasms in his back and around his eyes. Though Mr. Balch’s reaction is unusual, doctors who have studied the side effects of fluoroquinolones say others have suffered similar symptoms.Three and a half months after he took that second pill, these symptoms persist, and none of the many doctors of different specialties he has consulted has been able to help. Mr. Balch is now working with a physical therapist, but in a phone consultation with Dr. David Flockhart, an expert in fluoroquinolone side effects at the Indiana University School of Medicine, he was told it could take a year for his symptoms to resolve, if they ever do disappear completely..."

You can read the full article on The New York Times website. Click here! 

I need science on my side to fight back for my son, so Tommy will be seen for a new Doctor in July and I hope this doctor will listen and agree to do a DNA test to find the medications are harmful to Tommy. I will give more details of this test, if I finally can get it done this year.

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

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