What are the side effects of ciprofloxacin?

Ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, can cause disabling, long-lasting, or permanent side effects affecting joints, muscles, and the nervous system, including severe pain, headaches, and numbness.

How long did Victoria Abotorabi suffer from antibiotic side effects?

Victoria Abotorabi suffered from severe adverse effects, including intense headaches, for five months after taking ciprofloxacin.

Can antibiotics cause anxiety-like symptoms?

Yes, severe adverse reactions to antibiotics can sometimes manifest with symptoms that may be initially mistaken for anxiety or stress, as experienced by Victoria Abotorabi.

Home / Health / Antibiotic Horror: 5 Months of Agony

Antibiotic Horror: 5 Months of Agony

20 Nov

•

Summary

Woman suffered five months of severe pain after antibiotics.
She spent £6,000 and visited A&E seven times.
Doctors initially dismissed her symptoms as anxiety.

A Leeds woman, Victoria Abotorabi, endured a harrowing five-month ordeal after a course of ciprofloxacin antibiotics prescribed for an ear infection. The 50-year-old mother-of-two experienced excruciating headaches, palpitations, numbness, and other severe symptoms, leading her to visit A&E seven times and spend £6,000 on private consultations.

Initially, medical professionals dismissed her condition as anxiety and stress, despite her profound suffering. Ms. Abotorabi felt so unwell that she wrote goodbye letters to her children, believing she was facing a terminal illness. Her condition significantly impacted her quality of life, causing muscle spasms, confusion, and severe facial nerve pain.

It wasn't until her seventh hospital visit in November that her medication history was questioned, revealing an adverse reaction to fluoroquinolones, a class of antibiotics known for rare but severe disabling side effects. Now recovered but still experiencing chronic pain, Ms. Abotorabi is advocating for increased awareness regarding these potent drugs.