Who remembers what "cipro" is? (Ciprofloxacin)

[Stinky The Clown]

Who remembers people doing everything they could to get it? Who remembers the shortage of it, and why?

It seems almost as a mirror image of today, albeit on a very small scale.

Cipro is the antidote to anthrax exposure. Exposure that was both real and imagined in the wake of 9/11. Tom Daschle and one other Senator got letters with Anthrax in it. A small number of people actually died because of the intentional contaminations of anthrax. The FBI was deep into investigating the source(s). Iraq? Iran? A pissed off or demented scientist, maybe?

On a widespread basis people were, figuratively, running TOWARD cipro. Contrast that to today, when people are running AWAY from masks and vax on a widespread basis.

Curious creatures, those humans . . . . . . kinda like sheep but in self selected herds.

[ck4829]

1. I was prescribed cipro for a nasty UTI a long time ago. Anyway...

People are fickle. Collectively, we have a worse memory than a goldfish.

[PCIntern]

9. Cipro is interesting for that issue...

I had some significant prostate and bladder work done years ago and had a slight infection so they gave me Cipro for three days only and about a week later it came roaring back worse than ever. So they prescribed it for another three days, I prescribed myself 10 days worth even though it’s like battery acid. It knocked the infection right out permanently, but I do recall the anthrax business all too well.

[PJMcK]

2. I do

Citro is a powerful antibiotic. It was prescribed for me in 2003 after a minor surgical procedure. My doctor joked to me to hold onto it in case of an anthrax attack. Instead, I followed the prescription and used it up after ten days.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I'm pretty sure I was prescribed Cipro for stepp throat .many years ago.

[Aristus]

4. I remember the crazed freakazoid meltdown some people had about it.

For a while, people at DU were posting things like "I was prescribed Cipro, and my stomach jumped out through my mouth, my limbs all fell off and then grew back in the wrong places, I started farting blue flame, and termites started swimming around in my belly button!"

Yes, Cipro, like all fluoroquinolones, comes with some potentially troublesome side effects. Which is why, as with all antibiotics, I tend to prescribe it conservatively.

But the yelling and screaming hair-on-fire screeds against Cipro tended to strain credulity.

[EYESORE 9001]

10. It turned me into a newt!

I got better.

[bottomofthehill]

12. I had an infection in my jaw from an infected tooth, doc gave me Cipro

Cleaned out the infection and everything else in my system. But the important thing was that it cleared up the infection. Much like the vaccine, there may be some side effects, but it bears the alternative of death

[hlthe2b]

14. Having seen the serious and often permanent tendon/nerve damage that occurs with it not infrequently

(orthopedic surgeons on both the human and veterinary sides have both experienced the consequences of its all-too-frequent use)... At least they didn't have to deal with the aftermath of those managing to acquire it and taking it willy nilly out of hyped bioterrorism fear...

This class of antibiotics (quinolones) are a truly mixed blessing--especially given that doxycycline and procaine penicillin G are every bit as effective against anthrax. But media hype--once it gets started...

Yes, I remember well.

[kcr]

18. This is why I was scared to death to take it

DU wasn't the only place talking about such horrible side effects. But apparently, they're rare. In any case, it did a good job knocking out the infection and I don't recall any notable side effects.

[roamer65]

25. Glad to hear you prescribe it conservatively.

That’s is how the drug needs to be handled.

[Aristus]

28. I try to prescribe all antibiotics conservatively.

You would be amazed at the number of people who think antibiotics are magic and can cure anything. I've even had patients who, even after I have told them they have a virus and the only cure is time, rest, and symptomatic treatment, ask me "Don't I get any antibiotics?"

[roamer65]

29. Smart Doctor!

Fluoroquinolones are particular nasty and once you react to them, they become a life or death option only.

[Aristus]

30. Physician Assistant.

But thank you.

[roamer65]

33. ..

Smart nonetheless.

[Aristus]

34. ...

[unblock]

5. In those days, the right wing worried about bioterrorists spreading lethal diseases

These people can flip on a dime on any issue and be utterly convinced they're right at all times.

[roamer65]

6. Ciprofloxacin is a FDA black boxed fluoroquinlone antibiotic.

Originally developed as a chemotherapy drug, Bayer repurposed it as an antibiotic.

It has caused damage to a LOT of people. It damaged me.

[mopinko]

7. i was told it causes tendon ruptures, way after the fact.

[roamer65]

11. It cleaves into 4 components in the body.

One of them is a known neurotoxin.

Cyclopropyl.

Many people who have encountered Ciprofloxacin’s side effects have likened them to chemotherapy side effects.

That is because it is a failed chemotherapy drug.

https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-education/ciprofloxacin-systemic-01

[Elessar Zappa]

19. True but it's a necessary drug for some diseases.

I have cystic fibrosis and Cipro is one of the only drugs that my lung bacteria are sensitive to. So I usually get a couple of 14 day IV infusions of cipro per year. I have to weigh the negatives against the positives.

[roamer65]

24. Understandable.

I would now only take a FQ antibiotic if there were zero alternatives.

…and I would want to hear multiple MD’s tell me that.

[smirkymonkey]

20. I'm allergic to it.

Now it all makes sense!

[roamer65]

23. I had the full blown fluoroquinolone reaction.

With Levaquin, it can happen faster.

[Bobstandard]

8. Just for the record...

Just for the record Cipro is often prescribed for folks who have an intestinal infection resulting from a diverticulae, an abnormal pouch in the colon that collects fecal matter. It may also be prescribed for other UTIs. It works on bacteria.

[GoCubsGo]

13. I remember it, and I remember various individuals who were forced to take it,

including the ones you mentioned. Keith Olbermann was another. I have always believed that the whole Anthrax threat was an invention of the Bush-Cheney administration, in order to scare people into going along with their bogus "War on Terror." And, to punish people who spoke out against the administration, like Olbermann and Daschle and Pat Leahy.

[iemanja]

15. I had it once

for an infection that would not go away with regular antibiotics. Cipro is a powerful medication, and they kept access low so the bacteria couldn't develop a resistance to it.

[NewHendoLib]

16. Had it once. Nausea, awful nightmares. I avoid it

[left-of-center2012]

17. I don't recall living during anthrax

But I have had Cipro prescribed a number of times for an antibiotic during my 75 years.

So, yes I remember Cipro.

[Duncanpup]

21. Wow I forgot all about this

I’m on cipro now cut hand got infection never happened before yet now at 55 oh well.

[roamer65]

22. Watch for the nightmares.

That is signal to stop taking it.

Taking cipro is like tickling the tail of a dragon.

[Duncanpup]

27. Thank you

[louis-t]

26. I had a weird blood infection early in 2002. Just after the anthrax scare.

Cipro was prescribed. It made my bones itch. Horrible stuff. The joke at my office was "Looks like you'll be handing out the mail for awhile."

[xmas74]

31. I'll never forget about Cipro.

Every time I have to answer a question about allergic reactions it gets mentioned.
If I'm exposed to anthrax I'll be receiving tetracycline instead of cipro.

[Grammy23]

32. Remember it? I took a boatload of it in 1990.

I had had a lumpectomy for breast cancer in July. The wound would not heal. I was receiving radiation therapy so there was an assumption that the radiation was causing the problem. So I took a long round or two or three of Cipro. My stomach wasn’t too happy about that. Eventually — months later — more surgery was recommended and tiny remnants of some medicated gauze was found deep in the wound. That was removed and over a long period (from Oct. to Feb.) it finally healed.

Cipro was considered a kind of big gun at the time but the wound never would have healed (according to my surgeon) until they got that medical debris out from the previous surgery. 🤷🏻?♀️