When Mateo Ramirez’s doctor gave him antibiotics to treat his mild stomach bug, he had no idea the lifechanging effects it would have.
The New Englander was left paralyzed and partially blind by a drug millions of Americans are prescribed without being told about its extreme side effects.
Mr Ramirez was prescribed ciprofloxacin, or ‘cipro’, for a suspected urinary tract infection (UTI) linked to a food poisoning bug he caught in Panama in 2017.
His infection quickly cleared, but by the second week on the medication it felt like a ‘bomb had gone off’ inside his body: bumps erupted all over his arms and he was blighted by extreme pain that ran from his shoulders down to his feet.
As it got worse, he partially loss function in his legs, leaving him needing a wheelchair. He also suffered partial vision loss, making him legally blind.
He is one of the tens of thousands of Americans left with life-changing injuries that results in damage to nerves and tendons after taking a group of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones, which includes cipro.
Patients call it being ‘floxed’.
Yet despite patients going public with similar experiences, physicians are still prescribing the drug to at least 2million people every year.
Mateo Ramirez is pictured above a week before taking the antibiotic (left) and following taking the drug in 2019, shown needing to use a wheelchair and leg braces
Looking back, Mr Ramirez told DailyMail.com he was prescribed the drug for a suspected UTI, but lab tests never proved he had an infection.
He said his medical notes indicate the UTI was ‘suspected’, meaning doctors thought he had the infection but could not confirm it.
Mr Ramirez told this website: ‘I was basically disabled for nothing. I didn’t have a urinary tract infection at all.’
For some sufferers, the reactions of being ‘floxed’ are immediate — occurring within days of a first dose — but for others, like Mr Ramirez, it may take a week or two to experience a reaction.
Cipro is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used to treat a wide range of illnesses, including UTIs, chest infections and conjunctivitis.
Common side effects include diarrhea, nausea, discomfort in the eyes and a bad taste in the mouth — although these normally subside after a few days to weeks.
In some cases, the FDA says patients taking the drug have suffered from ‘disabling and potentially permanent side effects’ of the tendons, muscles, joints, nerves and central nervous system.
The FDA approved ciprofloxacin in October 1987 for treating bacterial infections, but in 2016 said the drug should only be used for cases of acute sinusitis, bronchitis and uncomplicated urinary tract infections because in other cases ‘the risk of serious side effects generally outweighs the benefits.’
Since 2008, the FDA has added three black box warning labels – the agency’s most severe warning – to the drug’s prescription label after it received 60,000 reports of patients suffering harm while on the medication.
Mr Ramirez is raising awareness about the risks posed by ciprofloxacin. He is pictured above with Talia Smith, who also suffered from a severe reaction to the antibiotic
Cipro is not the only antibiotic to treat a UTI. Others include trimethoprim, sold under the brand name Primsol, and doxycycline, known as Vibramycin or Periostat.
Mr Ramirez initially suffered from tendinitis, inflammation of the fibrous cords that attach muscles to bones, causing the bumps in his skin.
Soon after he started to experience pain that felt like being under a ‘burning machine’ in his legs and arms. At one point, it was so bad he couldn’t use his right arm.
Over the next few weeks, he began to struggle to use his legs or stand-up — leaving him needing braces and a wheelchair.
Ramirez, who had just graduated from college at the top of his class, said his debilitating condition led to him having to claim disability benefits in order to care for himself.
He tried to work after losing the use of his legs as an advisor for other disabled people, but after exceeding his income allowance by $80, he said he was ordered to pay back all the benefits he had received — about $21,000.
He also caught Covid in 2020, saying it caused a serious infection that left him fearing he would lose his life. He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and was out of work for four months.
Also during 2020, he lost his home and was forced to move into supported living. He doesn’t expect to ever be able to move out.
Mr Ramirez has tried to sue the hospital that prescribed him the antibiotics.
Mateo regularly posts pictures of himself smiling on social media, although he does not expect to recover to the point where he was before taking the antibiotic
A law firm took up the case but, after Covid hit, they dropped it — citing the outpouring of public support for healthcare staff, Mr Ramirez told this website.
He is now past the three-year deadline his state imposes for claims to be brought against complications from medical care.
Today, Mr Ramirez says he still needs a wheelchair because he struggles to use his legs and cannot see anything in the center or corner areas of his vision.
He works at a home helping other disabled people, but the number of hours he can work are still limited in order for him to keep qualifying for disability benefits. He still needs to pay back the $21,000.
Ciprofloxacin is suspected to have such a severe impact on patients because it may damage the mitochondria, or energy factories in cells, reducing energy available to cells in the body to keep everything functioning correctly.
As well as concerns over the side effects, some doctors no longer prescribe ciprofloxacin because the medication can be ineffective, with some studies now suggesting about one in five bacterial infections are resistant to the drug.
