Jazz (London) on 10/28/2022
MJB2 (Kansas City, MO) on 10/19/2021
Skozrt (Los Angeles ) on 02/15/2021
Chilkat (Uk) on 08/04/2017
Warning
Please note the following : The FDA have again updated the warnings on this class of so called ' antibiotic'. because of our advocacy, this time confirming that are indeed associated with disabling & potentially permanent side effects of the tendons, muscles, joints, nerves, & CNS all which can occur together in the same patient, I know so, I exist in this horrific world every day along with many others. The FQs should only ever be used as a last resort drug, when all other suitable antibiotic options have been tried & all have failed due to the serious risks they pose.
Again, & I cannot stress this strongly enough, Please, do NOT take this so called ' antibiotic' unless you will die without it. Please google fluoroquinolone toxicity / FQAD ( fluoroquinolone associated disability ) for more information on this worldwide atrocity. You can find stories of pets who have suffered injuries from these so called antibiotics here. Http://www.floxiepets.com Https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm500143.htm
Diane (Rocky River Ohio) on 07/23/2017
Patco007 (Miami) on 07/13/2017
Teresa (Hertford, North Carolina) on 05/07/2017
Tony (Redford, Mi) on 03/19/2017
Keynote (Oregon) on 03/02/2017
Cristy (Hammond La.) on 11/19/2016
Budda (Va.) on 10/29/2016
Bob (Brea, Ca) on 10/13/2016
Stacey R (West Hartford, Ct) on 08/04/2016
I am sharing a recent experience we had with our puppy - by pasting a letter I sent to our vet practice. Thanks for sharing your stories. I am angry at myself for not researching this medication before giving it to our dog. The good news is that Sammy is improving every day and we have seen no further seizures.
--------------------------------
RE: Sammy R
August 2,2016
Dear Office Management,
I am writing in follow-up to express concern about the care of our dog, Sammy, in your urgent care clinic. As discussed, Sammy was seen by Dr. U. on 7/24/16 for diarrhea and Dr. Y. for seizure on 7/25/16.
I have the following concerns:
Sammy was given a medication, Metronidazole, for treatment of diarrhea. Dr. U. did not discuss treatment options nor shared information about potential side effects of this medication. Of most concern, is the fact that this medication is known to have neurotoxic side effects, even at low doses. No potential side effects of this medication were listed on the “Home Care Instructions” I received at discharge.
2) When your medical team is prescribing any therapy, risks and benefits should be explained thoroughly so that pet owner can make an informed decision. Dr. U’s failure to do this is simply unacceptable and substandard care.
3) Metronidazole is not recommended for use in young puppies. Sammy is 7 ½ months old. Given his age, why was this medication used as a first line approach for treatment of Sammy’s diarrhea? Why weren’t other treatment options offered and discussed with me?
4) I informed Dr. U. that I had given Sammy Loperamide during the night and that his diarrhea seemed improved the next day. Ironically, Dr. U. “scolded” me for giving Loperamide without calling to discuss first. Loperamide has few known side effects for Golden Retrievers. In effect, it is a much safer option than an antibiotic with known neurotoxic risks. I have consistently read in the literature “antimicrobial therapy and routine use of antibiotics in cases of acute uncomplicated diarrhea is strongly discouraged.” Antibiotics are specifically indicated only in animals with: confirmed bacterial infection, predisposition for bacterial translocation, and increased risk for sepsis. It would seem that prescribing Metronidazole as a first line approach for Sammy’s uncomplicated diarrhea was completely unnecessary.
5) When Sammy had a seizure within 24 hours of initiating this therapy, I again took him to your urgent care center. Dr. Y. agreed that the medication should be discontinued, but felt that the seizure was an unlikely to be a side effect. As such, she focused on investigating possible toxins and liver disease.
6) I now know that neurotoxicity and CNS symptoms (including seizure) are well-documented side effects of Metronidazole. Dr. Y's decision to disregard the seizure as a possible medication side effect (despite the recent initiation of the medication within the preceding 24 hours) also resulted in a missed opportunity for Valium treatment. The literature states that it can take up to 2 weeks for neurological side effects from Metronidazole to resolve. This time frame is significantly reduced through the use of Valium therapy. I feel certain that Dr. Y did not even consider Valium as a treatment option for possible neurotoxicity/neuro side effects. Instead, Sammy spent the next week with lethargy, pacing, panting, confusion, and had TWO more seizures within the next 24 hours.
This experience has been extremely stressful for Sammy and our family. I have learned to never unquestioningly follow the recommendation of a vet without first doing my own research. Although it remains to be seen if Sammy’s seizures and behavior changes were indeed a side effect from this medication, he is improving daily. Whatever the outcome, it does not excuse Dr. U’s obligation to discuss risks of a therapy he prescribed.
Please use our experience as an opportunity to make changes to your urgent care practice.
I encourage the vets in your practice to review literature on the use of this medication and it’s risks. All vets should also be aware of the recommendation for treatment of neurotoxic side effects with Valium which has been shown to facilitate a quicker resolution of symptoms.
“Most canines who develop neurologic signs secondary to metronidazole administration have received weeks to months of therapy, but toxicity after short-term therapy at relatively low dosages (<60 mg/kg/day) has been reported.”
Diazepam as a Treatment for Metronidazole Toxicosis in Dogs: A Retrospective Study of 21 Cases Jason Evans, Donald Levesque, Kim Knowles, Randy Longshore, and Scott Plummer
J Vet Intern Med 2003;17:304–310
I would also encourage the urgent care vets to use a more conservative approach to treatment of uncomplicated diarrhea.
Most importantly, the vets in your practice should always discuss possible side effects and risks associated with a recommended therapy. The neurologic adverse effects of metronidazole are well documented in humans and companion animals. I can assure you if Dr. U. informed me that neurotoxicity and seizure were know (albeit rare) side effects, I would have opted for another treatment. I cannot overstate this point.
Gerrie (Plymouth Ma) on 08/02/2016
Ayre (Wi) on 05/17/2016
Investigate side effects before allowing your dog to have any drugs- We wonder why the vet doesn't provide a warning sheet.? Why doesn't the FDA require this with pet meds? Our loving 7 yr old welsh terrier- we believe had a toxic reaction to this drug- our vet had prescribed this- and gave her another dose of this as she was being released from an overnight stay-when we arrived home and placed her in the house- she immediately was having a bad reaction, going in circles under the table, along the wall-we picked her up-and held her she seemed to calm down, she then rested-So we thought she was o.k.- the next morning took her out to relieve herself-she acted like she was blind!!! . Now totally confused, wobbly, -took her for a 2nd opinion they confirmed that she was now blind- due to optic neuritis inflammation- and that we should see a specialist at the emergency clinic-Went to the ER clinic- they briefly looked at her-and the tech decided she wasn't serious enough-and that the earliest appt was the next day- by the time the specialists were able to see her-it was now 2 days later. This new clinic ran lots of blood work- for $1200.00- We found out she tested positive for Lymes Disease. As we began to investigate her conditions and symptoms on line- Under METRO we saw the warnings- which she had now developed-sudden blindness, Neurologic symptoms, head tilt, confusion. 1)Our first vet administered this on a empty stomach-suppose to be given with food- we now learned 2)Not to be given when Lymes disease is present-which we later found she had 3) she now also had new liver damage due to the steroids she was given too. We feel our dog was poisoned, and mis- diagnosed, in error. Looking back (too late)We wondered why she wasn't put on emergency iv's to flush this out of her system?
To make a long story short- we had to put our sweetheart to sleep.
After looking online-We also brought these printouts of warnings in to the emergency clinic-neuro Dr's attn-at our first appt- she dismissed all of our concerns- and said "Not Likely"
As a final note- We never had to take a pet for advanced care before-(and hope we never do again)-for we have lost faith in professional vet medicine. They instead insisted we restart this drug- and they wanted a liver biopsy, MRI and spinal tap-(that next night when our dog was crying out in pain (it was suggested she was actually not in pain??? perhaps instead- out of her mind- and not coherent?)We weren't going to allow her to be a lab rat-anymore- we knew we must take her back to our new local vet and put her down- For Ayre- No more sorrow no more pain- but we feel this was really botched up.
Jessica (Port Hueneme, Ca) on 08/31/2015
I had two different cats of different ages given Baytril for different reasons. Both of them died 2 weeks after being given the drug. They took the pills for one week. I watched and kept taking them back to the vet. I complained that I knew it was Baytril and was brushed off. With both of their lives ending in a final seizure. Take this drug off the market. I see way to many complaints all over the internet.
Cielle (Athens, Greece) on 03/06/2015
Warning
I just thought that she was ill due to the respiratory thing and since I don't usually give cats any conventional meds, thought that perhaps it just takes some time for them to kick in... But today she is really tilting her head to the side, she was not able to keep her balance and actually fell to the side... I looked at the side-effects and saw that it said something about "pressure in the head" (translating from Greek medication notes... ) and that if one feels it to immediately stop... I have stopped it and hope she gets better... I called the vet and he said he had never heard of this happening with this medication and that she could have already had something underlying causing this... I just don't believe it, she was absolutely fine with her head and balance etc... I know it is the antibiotic and feel very sorry that I gave it to her... I mean it says "don't give to pregnant women" and "don't give to children under 8" in the medication notes!! What on earth would make anyone think it is ok to give to small animals!!! ???
Cathy (Ortonville, Michigan) on 02/08/2015
I saw your site while I was doing research on diabetes in animals. If possible I would like to get more information from you. This is why.
I have a 10 year old Huskidoodle, he has always been super healthy. He got an ear infection that was annoying him and home remedies were not working so I decided to bring him to the vet. Besides this ear infection he has not had any other health issues whatsoever and I have had him since he was a puppy, so I brought him to the vet and the recommendation of treatment for his ear infection was an ear cream and a steroid shot. I allowed them to give him the shot and I applied the cream for a week and his ear cleared up and he was back to normal for about a month. Then he started drinking a lot, became extremely tired, not eating like normal and lost 4 pounds and also started having accidents in the house. Which he never has before except in his first 2 weeks of being potty trained. I did not bring him to vet until the second week of this because now I was scared and it was not getting better.
We went to the same vet and he had a urine test and full blood work done. I was told it is diabetes and he was put on insulin 2 times a day. The insulin is Novolin N and for now it is 20 ml twice a day and in 10 days he goes in for a check-up to see if his dosage needs to be adjusted.
I need other peoples opinions about all of this, he was so healthy and happy and active and now he is sick and miserable. Was it or could it have been the steroids shot? It was so quick, from healthy to I thought I was gonna lose my poor boy. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerly, Cathy
Rita (Miami, FL) on 12/17/2014
His vet gives me Clavamox. I force feed him some food and 1 hour later I give him 1 ml of Clavamox. Soon after he ingests the antibiotic, he vomits the food I had given him and the hairball came out, his temperature goes down, but he seems to become weak, lethargic, and not able to walk well or sit up well. I just thought he had not eaten well and this is why he was like this. He still doesn't want to eat so I force feed him again water, food and Nutrical to keep him from dehydrating every 4 hrs. 12 hours later I give him another 1 ml of antibiotic.
Sunday morning he feels extremely cold to the touch, he doesn't want to eat or drink water, he is severely weak, almost unable to walk and unable to sit up. I don't give him the antibiotic and I start force feeding him food, water, Pedialite, and Nutrical every 2 hrs, and heating up towels and putting them on him to bring up his temperature, but he just gets worse as time passes. He has severely shrunk in size by now, seems to be very dehydrated no matter how much I gave him. I rush him to the emergency vet clinic where he dies.
I later find out in the internet that an allergic reaction to Clavamox makes them vomit and drowsy which were symptoms my cat presented, and Clavamox can also make their muscles weak which my cat also developed. My cat seemed to have had a severe allergic reaction to Clavamox.Be very careful in feeding this antibiotic and if you see any of these symptoms don't wait and rush him to the hospital immediately, it can mean the difference between life and death.
Debbiehd (Dayton, Ohio) on 07/06/2014
