Poisoned (Floxed) by Ciprofloxacin Antibiotic. Is TRT a Good Option for Me?

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
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Hey folks,

Long story short - I was poisoned at the start of the year by the antibiotic “Cipro” due to having blood in my semen (yeah…). I took roughly 22 tablets in total and ended up getting “floxed” from the drug and have been dealing with the symptoms since. I’ve been treating this using all the suggested protocols - magnesium, MitoQ, Probiotics, diet, etc. The main symptoms are loss of muscle tone/atrophy, skin changes/thinning, joint and tendon pain, lowered libido and a few other things. Prior to taking this drug I already had symptoms of subclinical hypothyroidism and low testosterone due to a varicocele that formed around 10 years ago.

Here are my latest labs:

Proteins

ALBUMIN - 48 g/L (35 - 52)

Iron Metabolism

Iron - 95 μg/dL ( 65 - 170 )

Ferritine - 83 ng/mL ( 20 - 250 )

Thyroid Hormones

Reverse T3 - 0.26 ng/mL (0,09-0,35 ng/ml)

Adrenal

DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE-S - 8,20 μmol/L ( 2,17 - 15,2 )

CRP (C- REACTIVE PROTEIN) - 1,10 mg/L ( < 5 )

Thyroid

TSH (Tirotropin) - 1,23 mU/L ( 0.3 - 4.2 )

FREE THYROXINE (FT4) - 0,93 ng/dL ( 0.61-1.12 ng/dL)

TOTAL T3 (Thriyodotironine) - 0,8 μg/L ( 0.7 - 2 )

Sex hormones

17-BETA ESTRADIOL - 19 pg/mL ( < 60 )

Testosterone - 4,54 ng/mL ( 0,65 - 8,00 )

FREE TESTOSTERONE - 12,5 pg/mL ( 8,3 - 40,1 )

PROLACTIN - 4 μg/L ( 3 - 14,7 )

SEX HORMON BINDING GLOBULIN (SHBG) - 50,3 nmol/L ( 10 - 57 )

Prostate

TOTAL PSA - 0.45 ( < 4 )
Free PSA - 0.16

Antibodies

Ac. anti Tiroglobulina - 20,4 UI/mL ( < 60 )

Ac. anti Peroxidasa (TPO)/Microsomales - 0.4 UI/mL ( <9 )

I guess my question is will TRT (and potentially thyroid such as Armour) help or hinder my progress on recovering from this antibiotic? It’s even said some people don’t recover from it…but so far I have seen some improvements. Some people are completely disabled by it or have serious tendon issues, which I do not. I am still able to walk and work for the most part, I do have brain fog from it (potentially due to the high reverse t3?) and a lot of collagen loss in my skin (and tendons/ligaments no doubt).

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A few reasons I think it may hinder my progress.

  • I have read a lot of mixed research on testosterone and collagen production, where some papers mention it reduces collagen production, in others it improves it. My skin has thinned to a silly amount and I want to get back to having thick (normal) skin. I have heard evidence this is driven by E2 (which is clearly low in my case) and DHT (DHT giving thicker and fuller skin).

  • My muscles at the minute are “loose” (flabby) due to the Cipro, though they were pretty much always like this prior, just made a lot worse due to it. I believe this is taking a lot of weight off my tendons and may be helping (to a degree) with flexibility. It is debatable if putting more pressure from muscle growth would be beneficial at this time.

  • My CNS got hit hard due to Cipro, but appears to be recovering at the minute. My eyesight was also impacted (blurry vision). I am concerned the “shock” of adjusting hormones might make the situation worse. Curious to hear thoughts on this though!

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Hire a specific dr Nichols at tier1hw.com and trust in his experience. He can devise a solution.

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My symptoms before Cipro poisoning:

Low libido, intermittent ED, low body temp, difficulty gaining muscle, dry and thinning skin, weight gain on mid-section (gut), digestion issues (gluten intolerance) and body odor changes.

Did not really suffer depression, fatigue or brain fog. Was a competent business owner and developer (programmer).

Symptoms after Cipro poisoning:

Collagen loss on fat pads (feet and hands), all over body skin thinning/changes/dryness, brain fog (short term memory loss), depersonalisation, joint clicking/pooping, intermittent tendon pains in hands (mainly), slight fatigue, eyesight issues (difficulty focusing/blurry vision), neuropathy (though this is lessening a lot with time).

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Unfortunately I am based in the UK, but going to be working with a TRT doctor soon here. I’m curious to hear of anyone else who has been through a similar thing though (fluoroquinolone toxicity).

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Choose a specialist with care and be picky. I’m sure you can find the right help. If you hve high rt3 the solution is to take less t4 and more t3 compounded. This slows down the rt3 conversion.

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Thanks, appreciate the insight and I agree. I’ve read that people poisoned by this drug, almost always have high rt3 afterwards (for up to a year or more), but it slowly comes back down to normal. With that said, prior to this I had somewhat low T3, which probably is not helping the situation now…

Do you think NDT/Armour would be a good route in my position and what dosage?

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I should point out that prior to having a varicocele, my thyroid was fine (TSH 0.6 or thereabouts). I have heard that testosterone (and LH) actually increases T4 to T3 conversion, which may explain this. I did not have any autoimmune or thyroid issues prior to the varicocele, so maybe TRT + HCG will help optimise the T4/T3 process.

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Can’t answer that question because it’s one for a doc who can look at your entire situation and suggest.

I can say that if thyroids screwed up, then taking t4/t3 will help. Jsut take less t4 and less t3 because t4 converts to rt3. So more t4 creates more rt3.

If you feel fatigue trying thyroid for a few days is not going to cause any harm.
Especially if one takes both t4/t3.

For testostorone if you have all the low t symptoms it will help. Your free t is very low and I would take it if I were in your shoes.

How old are you? It’s even lower if you are 30s or 20s

Takes months to achieve success so get that through your head because you don’t want to start and quit 3 months in if it’s not working .

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Thanks for all your help, man! Much appreciated.

I think the main issue is I do not specifically feel “fatigue” per-say (nor depression or anxiety), but more so the most concerning thing is my short term memory is shot. This is impacting my performance at work greatly, since I work as a developer. My brain used to be near photographic, and now I feel in a constant “fog”.

I’m 36 at the minute, so TRT probably is a wise option at my age. I think a lot of my symptoms are from low E2, what are your thoughts on that? it’s always been lowish and I know that can lead to pretty bad ED and the like.

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In relation to something like NDT/Armour, can one “test” that for a week then drop it safely? I would be curious to see if that improves my situation.

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Thyroid hormones, like testosterone, can take a few months to adjust to. I would not recommend Armour without checking FT3 (total T3 is a less useful test), as you might need a different ratio of T4:T3 than what is in Armour. It is also best to start T3 at a low dose and slowly increase to avoid a shock to your system. Optimal Lab Values-how we as patient learned to interpret lab results - Stop The Thyroid Madness

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Thanks for your insight - I actually ordered a new set of labs today and will post them when they arrive. These include free t3 as well.

How safe is it to take t3 on it’s own? I was under the impression the half life is low.

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T3 is less safe than T4, it should be used carefully if there is an illness, as it will stress the body by forcing an increase in metabolism.

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Dam David this cipro poisoning sound awful. I can’t help with that but you should get your thyroid tuned up before attempting TRT. TRT usually doesn’t work if your thyroid is not functioning correctly.

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The worst mate, honestly. Regret the decision everyday to take that poisonous antibiotic, but I am not alone in feeling that. I should have been warned about the serious dangers that come with it. Check out some of the reviews here to see people disabled from it:

It’s hard to say how to tune up thyroid though, I don’t really want to go the T4 only route (as I’ve seen a lot of negative stuff regarding that), maybe some kind of T4/T3 combo is best.

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I agree. The thyroid meds seem to have a lot of sideeffects and finding the right ones and amount can take some time. That said if you can get your thyroid function properly your sex hormones might come back on their own.
Even if it does you could consider TRT or something a bit more to try and regain your strength and skin conditions.
Are you supplementing your collagen now?

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I am, yeah - but new collagen takes on average 100 days to form, so a lot of the damage is done. Incidentally your testicles, eyes and every organ is made of it - so no doubt it’s done a ton of damage to my heart and other organs as well. In fact, a lot of people “post” Cipro end up with low testosterone, so probably getting on TRT now would be a wise move.

I am starting to think TRT + Armour/NDT or some kind of t4/t3 combo might be the best route, but it’s tough to tell. I did hear of one guy who did this and it he is good now.

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Just be really careful you don’t know how much damage you have done and starting TRT sideeffects can be stressful. Water weight, blood pressure, hormones all of them fluxuating over shooting under shooting. If you carry some body fat high E2 follows, think girlfriend on her period but for men. Just be ready the first 6 months of TRt can be hell if your doc starts you out on too much. The TRT junkies on these forums don’t ever talk about that side of this treatment.
You will get hints when reading new guys asking questions of why is this or that happening.

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For me thyroid worked with first pill. I took a compound pill and 1/2 hours later I felt better and as long as I take my pills twice daily I feel consistently good. No more fatigue and brain fog.

Trt wont work very well in removing this fatigue and fog until thyroids optimized. Commit before doing it. Make a thousand percent sure you need this. No want. Need. Because it can be hard to dial in and find benefit. This is why I suggest a good doc. Not a clinic I used to believe in defy but they are only good for super basic therapies and folks who are frying to save money or are dialed in and just need.a script .

For complicated casss you find resolution faster using a doc who specializes 1on1 attention.

I would do both at your age and enjoy whatever life is left. We have no clue if we live go 100 or 39. One day at a time. If I can’t make it through today I won’t make it much further.

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