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Dangerous Drugs [1]

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Date: 2023-03-16

Bobby Caldwell

Before I cut to the chase, I want to talk about the death of yet another gifted and talented musician, the second in the five weeks since Burt Bacharach’s death on February 8th.

Burt Bacharach, who was 94, was reported to have died from natural causes, which is understandable, considering his age.

Bobby Caldwell, who was 71, died Tuesday after a six-year decline in his health due to the side effects of Fluoroquinolones, a group of broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, which he took in 2017. His Facebook page, which was last updated in June of 2022 states that he suffered bilateral Achilles tendon ruptures and developed peripheral neuropathy after taking these antibiotics for several days, leaving him in a great deal of pain and limiting his mobility. He continued to perform with the aid of a wheelchair, cane and his caregivers until his condition worsened.

“Bobby had always planned on performing and making music for the rest of his life. He never could have anticipated what happened to him. It's truly heartbreaking”.

No, he couldn’t. I am assuming he sought medical care for treatment of a bacterial infection, was prescribed one of the antibiotics in that group of Fluoroquinolones, which includes: Cipro, Levaquin and Avelox and ended up permanently disabled and dead. He isn’t the only one. The Atlantic, in a 2021 article discussed how the overprescribing of these drugs led to disabling side effects, and 200 deaths from suicides, and the FDA’s continued dragging of their feet, when it comes to protecting the public from the dangers of these medications. www.theatlantic.com/… At what point are they finally forced to admit that its disadvantages outweigh its advantages? When even more people are disabled or die?

I lay awake last night thinking about this and my son, who had a serious reaction to Cipro when he was 19. He had come down with a nasty case of the flu, and I sent him to the doctor to be examined and have a chest x-ray done, because he had pneumonia seven years before and I wanted it ruled out. That...idiot doctor did not take a chest x-ray, but put him on a round of Cipro, instead. Less than 24 hours later, he woke me up in the middle of the night, in distress, broke out in welts and near-anaphylactic shock. Fortunately, we only lived five minutes from the hospital and they treated him immediately with IV steroids and Benadryl. As for that doctor, I gave her hell. She had no answer when I asked her why she would prescribe antibiotics for a viral illness because they are useless. USE-LESS. Anyway, fast forward to about a month ago, and my son tells me he has been to see a Neurologist because he has developed tremors in his hands and the results of an MRI are pending.

Holy shit. Don’t tell me that the Cipro he took 26 years ago were so neurotoxic that it is causing these tremors. I hope not. I have taken Cipro and Levaquin before and don’t plan on taking them ever again.

The tragic death of Bobby Caldwell is a dark reminder that we should be asking questions when we are prescribed medications.

Want to know how good he was? Give him a listen:

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/16/2158572/-Dangerous-Drugs

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