Is Your Brain on Fire?Neuroinflammation and Fluoroquinolone Toxicity
(Part 1)
Understanding Neuroinflammation
After countless hours of research, attending seminars, and treating hundreds of individuals in my practice, I've come to believe that neuroinflammation is one of the most commonly overlooked problems affecting people who have experienced fluoroquinolone toxicity. "Floxed" refers to individuals who experience symptoms resulting from the use of fluoroquinolones, a class of antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections. These symptoms can range from extreme fatigue, tendon rupture, and joint and muscle pains to nerve pains and nervous system disturbances like neuroinflammation.
Neuroinflammation is inflammation of the brain, and it occurs when the brain's immune system is activated in response to an inflammatory challenge, such as the use of fluoroquinolones. Research shows that fluoroquinolones love fat tissue, and since the human brain is primarily composed of fat, neuroinflammation can present as a variety of problems. Many people who come to me for help are in a dichotomy, meaning they have symptoms that seem opposing or unrelated.
The Variety of Neuroinflammation Symptoms
For example, an individual may experience Achilles tendon pain accompanied by pain in their elbow. Others might report mood swings, anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, or simply not feeling or acting like themselves. However it manifests, it's essential to pinpoint this neuroinflammation and address it with a proper treatment plan in order to recover. If left untreated, a tendon tear will seem like nothing compared to the neurological problems that might lie ahead.
Your Brain on Fire
For someone with neuroinflammation, it's almost as if their brain is on fire. It's important to understand that the brain doesn't have pain receptors like other parts of the body. If you hit your thumb with a hammer, pain receptors will let you know that something is wrong by causing you to feel pain in your thumb. However, the brain doesn't respond in the same way. If you could theoretically hit your brain with a hammer, it would not elicit that same pain response. Instead, the brain signals there's something wrong using different methods, like brain fog, memory problems, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide, insomnia, reduced brain endurance, and chronic fatigue.
Chronic Fatigue and Other Symptoms of Neuroinflammation
Chronic fatigue is a common symptom of neuroinflammation that I often see in patients. It's similar to driving your car around with the emergency brake on. The car has to work harder, requiring more energy and gas, just to complete the task it was meant for. That is your brain when it's inflamed. It has to work ten to twenty times harder when neuroinflammation is present, which results in a spectrum of symptoms ranging from slight brain fog to full-blown chronic fatigue. In extreme cases, untreated neuroinflammation can lead to coma, seizures, difficulty speaking, and tremors.
Subtle, Moderate, and Severe Symptoms
Many people have some or all of these symptoms, but it's essential to determine which are present and how to classify them. I've broken down the list of possible neuroinflammation symptoms into three categories: subtle, moderate, and severe. It's important to identify your symptoms so that they can be addressed properly with a treatment plan.
Subtle symptoms:
Brain fog, reduced mental speed, and reduced brain endurance are classified as subtle symptoms of neuroinflammation. Experiencing brain fatigue after a long drive, where you’re being exposed to strain and stressors over a period of time, is one example. Another is experiencing brain fatigue after exposure to certain chemicals or scents, or after eating certain foods.
Moderate symptoms:
Mental health disorders like depression and anxiety fall into this category. Inability to concentrate on tasks, excessive sleepiness, lack of motivation or appetite, insomnia, and the inability to be physically active are also moderate symptoms of neuroinflammation.
Severe symptoms:
Difficulty speaking, tremors, disorientation, and involuntary twitching can be signs of severe neuroinflammation. Shaking, or lack of balance when completing simple tasks like walking, can also be present. More serious symptoms like seizures, dementia, and even coma are possible if left untreated.
f these symptoms sound familiar to you, then it’s possible you are suffering from brain inflammation. In the next part of this blog series, I’ll go over the different tests available to determine whether you have neuroinflammation and how severe it might be