BLACK BOX WARNING ADDED The FDA notified makers of fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drugs for systemic use of the need to add a

CERTAIN ADVERSE EVENTS
This documentary puts a human face on the suffering
of those who have suffered an adverse reaction to the
fluoroquinolones. As well as an in depth analysis of the FDA's
failure to protect the patient. How can a hand full of antibiotics
destroy one's life? This film attempts to answer that question.

BLACK BOX WARNING ADDED
The FDA notified makers of fluoroquinolone antimicrobial
drugs for systemic use of the need to add a Boxed Warning
to the prescribing information about the increased risk of
developing tendonitis and tendon rupture in patients taking
fluoroquinolones and to develop a Medication Guide.

LITIGATION TENDON ISSUES
If you have suffered a tendon rupture or other tendon injury as a
result of being on a fluoroquinolone drug there are a number of
legal firms that are accepting such cases. Currently there are
a significant number of product liability cases pending in Federal
Court involving levofloxacin/ofloxacin.

SURVEY REQUEST
It is strongly recommended that you fill out a Med Watch Report as
well as taking a moment to fill out our Patient Survey form (only 16
questions). Post Marketing Reports are very important in identifying
unusual adverse reactions. You need not use your name or e-mail
address to assure your privacy in your response.

FQ Toxicity YAHOO DISCUSSION FORUM
This is our original discussion forum hosted by Yahoo. This forum
has been made available to the victims of the horrendous adverse
reactions associated with the fluoroquinolones as a courtesy of
FQresearch. All visitors are invited to join this forum.
Yahoo Group Forums:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fqtoxicity

PATIENT STORIES
  We are encouraging visitors to submit their own stories and
describe how these drugs have affected their life. A number
  of victims describe in vivid detail how their lives had been
destroyed due to the careless scripting and abuse found
  within this class. Please join them in telling your story.

FLUOROQUINOLONES IN CLINICAL PRACTICE
The fluoroquinolones are NOT to be considered a first line agent
for any disease state. They are to be considered a drug of last
resort when all else fails. Though a necessary tool to be found
in the physicians arsenal, they are approved for very few if any
minor infections. We have compiled a list of approved usage
as well as the proper clinical guidelines for visitors to review.

WHAT IS AN ADVERSE REACTION?
An adverse drug reaction (abbreviated ADR) is a term to describe
the unwanted, negative consequences associated with the use of
different medications. ADR is a particular type of adverse effect. The
term is preferred over the colloquial and imprecise "side effect", as
the term "side effect" implies that the effects are not explained by
the pharmacological actions of the drug.

SYMPTOMS
   To look up a symptom by name just Click Here to see a list of
   adverse drug reactions to the fluoroquinolones beginning with that
   letter. For general information regarding a condition we suggest that
   you log unto Google and do a search. There are any number of
   medical sites online that would be able to provide the basic
   background regarding such conditions.

THE FDA AND THE FLUOROQUINOLONES
The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for assuring that all
drugs are both safe and effective, carrying minimal risk to the patient.
Of course some drugs are extremely toxic and dangerous and their
use is restricted to such cases that the benefits outweigh the risk.
But the FDA refused for more than fourteen years to add "Black Box"
warnings to these drugs and continues to approve new drugs in this class.

PUBLIC CITIZEN
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, of Public Citizen, has filed numerous petitions with
the FDA seeking proper warnings and in some cases the removal of
the drug from clinical practice. The FDA has all but ignored these
petitions and has continued to allow the careless scripting of these
drugs and has failed to provide for adequate warnings to the patient.
Everything found on this site has been forwarded to the FDA.

READ THE DRUG LABELS
The proper use of any prescription drug requires that the physician
engage in a Risk / Benefit discussion with the patient. This must
include all of the relevant risk information being made available to the
patient as well as the potential benefit to be derived from taking the
medicine. Informed consent cannot be obtained absent of such a
discussion.

FLUOROQUINOLONE TRIVIA
It has been estimated that more than 10% of the world's population
has been prescribed a fluoroquinolone. Yearly sales are well into the
billions of dollars. Any number of these drugs have been removed
from clinical practice due to severe adverse reactions including
fatalities. Many foreign governments, as well as the United Nations,
have banned a large number of the fluoroquinolones.

SCRIPTING ABUSE
Scripting abuse runs rampant and for the most part the
treating physician has no idea how dangerous the fluoroquinolones
truly are. Even though these drugs are to be considered a drug of
last resort when there is no other alternative available, they are
handed out like Halloween candy for the most frivolous reasons.
Recently the FDA has approved clinical trials for pediatric use.

POST MARKETING SURVEILLANCE
In theory the FDA's Med Watch program is supposed to alert the
FDA to any adverse reactions that develop once the drug is in clinical
use but in practice this program is useless. Less than 4% of all
such events are ever reported to the FDA. On the Internet there are
forums that discuss these events and the number of members is in
the tens of thousands, yet the FDA has shown no interest in this.

IN THE NEWS
We have accumulated thousands of newspaper and magazine
article that detail the horrendous damage caused by these drugs.
since the 1930's such events have been reported in the media,
including deaths, yet the patient continues to be unaware of the risk
associated with fluoroquinolone therapy. The treating physician also
continues to deny any such association.

ADVOCACY
All that is required for such evil to continue is for the victims to
remain silent. We, who have had are lives destroyed by these drugs,
have refused to do so. We have petitioned the FDA, written letters to
the media, members of Congress, as well as the medical and legal
community since 1999. We shall continue to be tenacious in our
efforts to inform the public of the real safety profile of the Quinolones.

CITATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION
Since the 1930's such events have been reported in the leading
medical journals. We have accumulated well over 4000 such journal
entries, case reports, newspaper articles, etc., that support all of the
claims being made within these web pages. Since the introduction
of Chloroquine in 1934 serious adverse events have been associated
with these synthetically manufactured drugs.

DOCTORS, RESEARCHERS AND PHARMACISTS
Most physicians have little to no training when it comes to
adverse drug reactions. You will find that most physicians will deny
any association with these events and fluoroquinolone therapy. The
average researcher is employed by the drug companies and "ghost
writes" articles that praise the fluoroquinolones while research into
the side effects is ignored. Pharmacists are rarely kept up to date.

PROPAGANDA
The amount of false information and misleading statements
regarding the safety profile of the fluoroquinolones is staggering.
Numerous drug manufacturers have received warning letters from
the FDA but that has not stopped the aggressive marketing of the
drugs. Fraud, unethical clinical trials, dissemination of misleading
information have all been a contributing factor to this.

ADOBE PDF FILES
As a number of documents found on this site go back sixty to
seventy years you will find them to be PDF files. In order to access
such files you have to have Adobe Reader loaded on your computer.
This utility is available from Adobe at no charge. PDF files is one of
the original file formats used when the Internet first came into
existence and for years has been the format used.

DONATIONS
This web site is being offered as a free public service. We do not
accept any donations, financial support or advertising of any kind.
Visitors are under no financial obligation what so ever as a result of using
this web site. However it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort
to educate others and to in reach out to those who have suffered in
the same fashion as you have. So please share this site with others.

THE CORRUPTION NEVER CEASES

All that is required for the victims of adverse drug reactions to be frustrated in any attempt to
sue the drug manufacturers is for the medical community to deny any such proven association.
If it is not generally accepted in the medical community that these drugs can cause this type
of damage, then the victims will forever be denied their day in court due to draconian Daubert and
Frye Standard of Proof.

"Drug companies write the package inserts of all drugs, carefully including the information
they choose and omitting information they want to avoid. Drug companies underwrite a large
percentage of continuing education courses for doctors. In doing so, they make sure that the
speakers represent the company view. Drug companies design studies that are meant to
produce favorable results and then publish the studies in medical journals. Studies with
unfavorable results are not published. Drug reps typically bring stacks of studies, all
favorable, which impress doctors, who no longer have the time or motivation to search the
medical literature themselves. Drug reps do not include independent studies with less
favorable conclusions. Many doctors never see these."

Source: THE MEDICAL PROFESSION AND THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION

                 The Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation
                                               (Read More)

       The foundation is an Internet Community consisting of those who have suffered severe and
permanent injuries due to fluoroquinolone therapy. We acquire information from all over the
world and present this information to both the patient and the physician. It is our hope that
one day that the treating physician will be in a position to entertain a rational and factual risk
benefit discussion prior to prescribing these drugs. The fluoroquinolones are a very important
tool to be found within the physician's arsenal for treating serious and life threatening
diseases. However this is not the manner in which they are prescribed today.

       The Foundation supports the numerous adverse reaction forums found on the Internet so
that patients who have suffered such reactions will have a place to turn for accurate
information and moral support. For the most part these reactions are life long chronic disease
states that defy treatment. There is no known treatment protocol and the ignorance found
within the medical community is rampant. We wish to change this. One patient and one
physician at a time. We hope that you would find something of value within these Web Pages
and request that you take the time to fill out the patient survey, which consist of 16 short
questions, as well as file a Med Watch report with the FDA.

We also invite visitors to join our discussion forum hosted by Yahoo by following this link:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/fqtoxicity/

Fill Out The Survey Read the Survey Responses File A Med Watch Report