My Fluoroquinolone Poisoning Recovery
Hi folks, it’s Tim Ritter, aka FacelessFatloss/Over40andRipped,
An issue I am passionate about revolves around antibiotic toxicity, specifically relating to the fluoroquinolone class of drugs such as the commonly prescribed Levaquin and Cipro.
This post is devoted to some helpful hints about what I did to help myself recover, based on having received many emails, pm’s, chats, etc asking me questions that just take too long to go into via those mediums. Please understand that I’m always happy to help and respond, but this page will make it much easier for me to address the most common questions I get, so that at the very least you have an idea of what I’ve done and can start to learn more about this path should you choose to.
If I had to start from the beginning, back when I was in tremendous pain from having taken both Levaquin and Cipro, these are a couple of the main points I’d be addressing:
-Treat myself “as if” I had both a candida and oxalate issue. Having a constant focus on rebuilding gut health
-Have an ongoing effort put on detoxification, especially relating to fluoride toxicity
-Help my body maintain and rebuild as best as possible, counteracting cell and muscle damage
I am referencing the above three items more to assist those who write me, than to suggest that the above would be my sole and only focus, because they would not. It would have to go without saying that I’d be on a system-wide whole-body detoxification plan, and that my diet would radically change, with an effort devoted to clean eating consisting mainly of organic whole foods.
Those new to the “oxalate” concept: I believe oxalate issue may be one of the missing links here as well that is rarely addressed. Candida has picked up in awareness over the past few years, but oxalate still has not. So I reference oxalate based on my own experience, and the likely fact that antibiotics, even regardless of type, will often knock down or destroy the type of bacteria in our gut that is responsible for managing dietary oxalate, in the same way they create the candida condition based on yeast overgrowth. Oxalate is most often associated with kidney stones; but new theories are suggesting, and proving out, that these “stones” can go systemic, and cause problems in many areas of the body besides the kidneys. And it goes beyond the typical sharp pain associated with oxalate; oxalate is also being associated with mental changes and a new study out of Poland is almost definitively connecting oxalate with autism, as one of the several possible complications of that condition.
So it is something that anyone suffering from most anything needs to learn about, as is the candida issue.
In that regard, they are related. And since I’ve already written about how I managed candida as the first assumption I went on after being floxed, I have an entire article already written on it HERE. Go there first, then come back here.
Next, we have detoxification. The “Fluor” in fluoroquinolone is referencing fluoride. I will refrain from commenting on fluoride on this page outside of simply stating that I consider it to be a very serious, and insidious problem in western civilization. I have expanded upon that elsewhere, and will be uploading a video about it on my youtube channel shortly over at youtube.com/FacelessFatloss whereby I will outline in a very alternative and common-sense manner how/why fluoride in our water supply is wrong, and what we can do about it.
In the meantime: I have used a nascent iodine, like the one you see advertised to the right of this page, to help my body detoxify from overexposure to halides, of which fluoride is one. Instead of going into details behind the science, since you came here to learn only about the path I’ve taken, I will simply reference that iodine has been a long-term part of my recovery that I believe is potentially a part of the solution for a great many “floxed” victims.
This is how I used it based on my research:
I would start with just one drop. At the time, the drops I was using contained 200 mcg of nascent iodine, in an alcohol solution (which I have since changed to the new suspensions like the product found to the right) and applied it topically. I increased the amount by one drop daily at most, going very slowly, until I felt discomfort in my kidney area. I then briefly discontinued use and utilized the “salt push,” to remove the build-up occurring in my body from the iodine displacing the excess fluorides, bromides and chlorides in my body. The salt I used was never the common white table salt, which is merely sodium chloride. Instead, I used the full spectrum mineral content Himalayan crystal salt that has a more pinkish color to it, along with plenty of water. I went online to read about the amount of salt other people used, and experimented from there.
I would put the drops topically near or on my thyroid at first, but then as I worked up to 14 or more drops per day, I would apply them to areas of discomfort, such as my tendon/joint areas.
I now use the new suspension that is on this page, so I drink the drops in water. The amount of iodine per each drop is also more than doubled, so I need less of it, and it is producing the same results. To give full transparency, I earn a small commission if you buy anything from this site, such as the iodine or the protein I am about to reference (the latter usually amounting to credits towards products as compared to financial gain). Please feel free to purchase elsewhere if you find a different product that you would prefer. My work on this site is designed to help people, and is not designed to be a sales pitch. The products on this page are the ones I choose to use, therefore I enjoy offering their benefits to others.
Which brings us to the muscle-wasting effect of fluoroquinolones. This is a biggie I get from a lot of guys, so I needed to make sure I referenced this as well.
I use weight resistance exercise as my photos and videos demonstrate via my physique. However, due to tendon and joint issues, I have found for certain exercises weight resistance still works great, but for others, resistance bands are best. Most of my upper body now utilizes resistance bands. My legs use weight machines. And on both accounts, this has worked very well for me.
The resistance bands I use are double-banded, extra-safe. I went to these because I broke three sets worth of the other style of single-banded resistance band (hurting myself big-time) before I finally took the hint. The double ones have yet to break on me, and are pretty darn awesome, and super-affordable. But I do also make a point to replace them every one to two years, just to be on the safe side, and to renew the resistance effect since they do “stretch out” a bit after a lot of usage.
I cover in my FacelessFatloss program how important I believe resistance exercise is for EVERYONE, including and especially women, to help us all avoid age-related sarcopenia, and to enable strong, viable bodies well into old age. I also cover how women should never be afraid of resistance exercise (you will NOT become muscle-bound) and the advantages of getting on a resistance exercise program are simply too long to list here, including but not limited to losing fat, but having the side benefit of looking awesome as well.
Coupled with this type of exercise, clean protein becomes a must. The muscles absolutely need clean protein, and the whey protein you will find on the side of this page is not only the cleanest I have ever found, but is priced at exactly, or better than, similar products. You can research it and do price comparisons noting the serving sizes, amount of protein per each serving, amount of servings per container, and most importantly the source of the whey, from grass-fed, non-hormone, non-antibiotic cows.
For energy to workout with that is not a blatant stimulant, I use ubiquinol, which supports our incredibly important cellular floxed victims, our mitochondria. Ubiquinol is a relative of CoQ10, and tends to be more bioavailable. Most people with energy issues notice the results. Not at all a “jack-me-up,” it more just gives a person a very natural and normal sense of regulated energy and ability. It is by far the most pleasing energy enhancer I have ever used. I notice the difference if I go a couple days without it. I have used it mostly on an every-other-day basis just because that is my workout schedule, but most people use it daily. And perhaps for a person floxed, that should be the option. Important: Please also research its use if you are on statin drugs.
I also used a raw or near-raw coconut oil as a great energy source, just a teaspoon or so an hour or two before workouts. This is a great option for people who are overweight as well, and who want to avoid using sugar to fuel a workout, in the event they have any insulin-related issues to fat gain, etc. Side benefit: clean and non-processed coconut is proven in studies to have broad-spectrum anti-candida properties, and I also use it for daily oil-pulling, 20 minutes worth, something that I would never be without. If I were a professional and could give advice, I would require everyone I was helping to oil-pull with coconut oil or the oil of their choice as part of their recovery process, non-optional.
In an effort to keep this short, I will end it here so that you have some idea of what I did that helped contribute to my recovery. I hope you find it helpful, and most importantly, that you consider taking on the mentality that you CAN and WILL recover, somehow, some way. I was in an absolutely horrendous place in 2005-2006, with continued discomfort beyond for years. There were times when I thought I would never, ever recover. It was horrifying, because the pain was daily torture. Literally a form of torture, absolutely comparable to what any war time prisoner would go through. The pain traumatized me permanently. That will happen when it feels like your rectum is on fire and you’re being kicked in the testicles unpredictably and constantly, along with never-ending UTI’s, muscle spasms/tics, a touch of psychosis for extra-fun, (and countless other symptoms, far too long to list here).
Just so that there is full understanding about how bad I was, if you have seen the Bob Grozier footage…I was just a tiny step below his level of suffering. I too was at one point on my sister’s apartment floor crying in agony, and was carted off in an ambulance to the hospital the first night, and the mental ward the second. I was “this close” to suicide and for well over a year my face looked like I was constantly crying.
And yet, here I am, with a solid 95% recovery in place and return to quality of life. I’m not 100%, and I don’t think I will ever be; I have residual flare-ups. But the torture has stopped. If it’s happened for me, it can happen for anyone, because I was convinced I was permanently doomed. If that is where you are, please know that it’s highly probable that you will get better. It just takes effort, persistence, and careful, prudent experimentation.
Love, Happiness, Health and Peace,
Tim
FacelessFatloss.com
Over40andRipped.com
YouTube.com/Facelessfatloss
Facebook.com/tim.ripped
P.S. Lotsa serious stuff here and in much of my material. To balance, I incorporate in lots of humor, and other fun stuff like music. If interested in either, click the links below for a pick-me-up. 🙂
Funny videos: I dare you not to laugh.
My memes: My often obnoxious and highly offensive sense of humor. You’ve been warned. 😉