A former marathon runner is warning others after a routine prescription left her in a wheelchair and needing round-the-clock care.

Talia Smith, 45, was given the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin (Cipro) for a simple urinary tract infection in April 2021.
After just three tablets, she says searing, electric-like pain shot from her feet up her legs. Her muscles became rigid, and she struggled to walk, swallow, or even lift her arms.

Despite repeated hospital visits, she was initially sent home with painkillers. Within five months she had lost drastic weight, entered hospice, and could no longer live with her husband, a disabled veteran, because both now need intensive care.

Cipro belongs to a powerful antibiotic group called fluoroquinolones. These drugs can, in rare cases, cause long-lasting nerve and tendon damage. Experts estimate serious side effects in at least 1–10 people per 10,000 users.

Smith says she asked about risks but was reassured the medicine was safe. She later discovered it carries FDA “black box” warnings for problems such as tendon rupture, nerve pain, tremors and seizures.

With her doctors, she helped persuade US health authorities to formally recognize this reaction, often called “floxing,” as a reportable condition. The CDC added it in July 2024, a move one specialist compared to “landing on the moon” for patients.

Smith now urges people to question every antibiotic prescription:
Check whether you truly need it, and research the risks before you swallow the first pill.