Kate, I'm on Cipro 3x a week for ... well, a month to begin with. And a huge amount of vitamins and probiotics. So, I've got Epstein-Barr, Lyme's, AND cat-scratch fever.

Yikes, Jilli, I remembered you were being tested for all three, but didn't realize they had actually diagnosed you with all of them! I'm so sorry.

They haven't put me on Cipro yet; maybe that will be the next one? I'm getting more and more convinced that the infection never really went away entirely, and has now started to ramp up again. Ugh, do not want.

I'm not sure I get what the big issues is with tardy slips though.

Yeah, I agree that the punishment seems way, way too harsh, but I'm also a little confused about the point of the demonstration. They don't think they should have to get tardy slips? ...Why? Are they arguing that there shouldn't be any consequences for being tardy? Or was the intention just to create disruption?

I think the issue was that when tardy, every student has to go to the cafeteria where there is a special "tardy table" to get marked up for being tardy. Instead of going to class and having the teacher note it, the student ends up being even later by having to divert through the cafeteria (not close to the classrooms at this particular school). I *think*, but am not sure. That's what would irk me!

eta: which reminds me of a construction shop where i once worked, where if you were late you had to bring donuts. So if you were running 2 minutes late, and stopped to buy donuts, you would thus be more like 15 minutes late. Some guys would preemptively stop for donuts if they thought they might be late, thus making them considerably more late. We ate a lot of donuts there.

Kate, I'm on Cipro 3x a week for ... well, a month to begin with. And a huge amount of vitamins and probiotics. So, I've got Epstein-Barr, Lyme's, AND cat-scratch fever.

They haven't put me on Cipro yet; maybe that will be the next one?

You guys, PLEASE keep an eye on your joints/tendons if you're taking Cipro (also Avelox and Levaquin). It can cause severe joint/tendon damage (like tendons rupturing and/or snapping), often irreparable.

I'm not saying don't take it; I'm just saying, IF you have joint/tendon pain, tell your doctor immediately. There's always other antibiotics that don't have the side effect of rupturing your tendons.

YMMV.

It can cause severe joint/tendon damage (like tendons rupturing and/or snapping), often irreparable.

This completely freaked me out when I took Avelox for the pneumonia. Since everything hurt, I was convinced I was going to blow every joint. I'm certain the drug saved my life, but jeez. Scary stuff.

I'm certain the drug saved my life, but jeez. Scary stuff.

I would take it if my condition/illness was critical, but beyond that, a doctor is going to have to do a LOT of convincing me why a different antibiotic won't work.

I had a doctor give me Cipro for an ear infection, and after a couple of days, all my joints hurt horribly. It took about 2-3 weeks for it to stop. I know other people whose tendons got really fucked up after Cipro, and there's tons of reports in the literature about it as well.

Is all of that anecdotal rather than empirical data from a double-blinded prospective trial? Yes. But the amount of anecdotal evidence is enormous. (Also, there are medical articles about it, though they're retrospective descriptive studies rather than prospective studies designed to look for one specific outcome.)

I would take it if my condition/illness was critical, but beyond that, a doctor is going to have to do a LOT of convincing me why a different antibiotic won't work.

This is even more reinforcement for my shock that the hospital gave me ZERO information about ANY of the drugs they gave me. I would not have known about the tendon danger if a nurse-practitioner friend hadn't come to talk me out of the Prednisone tree.

Mercy. I'm glad that is over.

Do they have any clue as to HOW it fucks up joints? And if they don't, how do they know it isn't fucking up other less obvious things as well?

Creepy.

It can cause severe joint/tendon damage (like tendons rupturing and/or snapping), often irreparable.

Damn it, Hubby's been on that stuff multiple times!

Do they have any clue as to HOW it fucks up joints?

One article that I skimmed said it induces cell death in the tendon-y bits.

It can cause severe joint/tendon damage (like tendons rupturing and/or snapping), often irreparable.

Yikes, I have been on it many many times.