The Atlantic
What Americans Don’t Know About Their Medications
People who have faced debilitating side effects say we need better warnings on drugs. The FDA hasn’t been enthusiastic.
The Atlantic
A few days ago, an unusual offer landed in my inbox. “Do you want to interview this man before he ends his life?” read the subject line of the message sent by Linda Martin, who, out of concerns for her safety, would tell me only that she is in her 60s and lives on the West Coast.
She said that John Fratti, a 50-year-old former pharmaceutical-sales representative, was “making plans to end his life in the next few weeks because he can no longer stand the pain caused by Fluoroquinolone Toxicity.” That’s the term Martin and others use to describe the side effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, a class of drugs that includes ciprofloxacin, sometimes called Cipro, and levofloxacin, or Levaquin, which are taken for severe bacterial infections. She added that Fratti had already obtained a powerful sedative that can be used in assisted suicide.