Woman’s Five-Month Headache Linked to Common Antibiotic, Leaving Her in Chronic Pain
Leeds, UK – A woman from Leeds endured five months ofโ debilitating headaches and suicidal thoughts after suffering an adverse reaction toโฃ aโข commonly prescribed โantibiotic,โ ciprofloxacin. Victoria, whose last โขname has not been released, spent ยฃ6,000 on private medical appointments before finally receiving โฃa diagnosis and is nowโ speakingโ out toโข warn others about the potential risks of the drug.
The ordeal began with what Victoriaโฃ initially believed was a severe migraine, quickly escalatingโข into relentless pain โthat left her unableโข to โขfunction. โขRepeated visits to A&E resulted in diagnoses of anxiety and stress, delaying the identificationโค of โthe โtrue cause. “I thought I was either going to die or โฃI wanted โขto die. I justโค couldn’t deal withโ theโค pain anymore. Itโข was โขabsolutely unbearable. I was in so much โขpain I spent days justโ crying, โit was horrific,”โข she said.
Ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, is often prescribed forโข urinary tract infections and other bacterial infections. However, it carries aโ riskโข of serious side effects, including nerveโค damage, tendon problems, and, as in Victoria’s case,โ prolongedโ and debilitating headaches. โThe Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has โฃissued warnings about these risks, advising that ciprofloxacin should only be โused when other antibiotics are unsuitable.
It wasn’t until Victoria’s seventhโข tripโฃ to the emergency room, and a question about her recent medications, that the connection to ciprofloxacin was โคmade. She is now left with chronic pain and is โฃurging healthcare professionals to exercise greater caution when prescribing the antibiotic. “There is no cure for this, it’s just whether your body can recover. If I’d have known,I’d โhave never taken it. It shouldn’t be โgiven out as a first-line antibiotic. It should be that they’ve tried everything else,” Victoria stated.
Despiteโ her ongoing struggles, Victoria acknowledges progress in โher recovery.โ “Looking back to where I was to where I am now, โคI’ve come a long way. โขLife โis hard still but โขbetter than when it was,” she said, hoping โher experience willโข prevent โothers from suffering a similar fate. She feels “let down” by the healthcare systemโ and believes the โขdrug carries โคaโฃ risk “not worth the long-term damage.”
