1. RAW Cleanse Toxin Defense – optimal oral health and immune system support.
2. RAW Cleanse Organ Detox – natural detoxification of organs and GI tract
3. RAW Cleanse Digestion & Elimination – toxin capture and removal

I’ll explain each component as I go through them.  I got my kit from our local Sprouts store for a little over $30 plus tax, but you can get it online from Amazon (RAW Cleanse – 7 day – Kit) for just under $30 with no tax and free shipping.  I liked it because the product is Vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and claims to be less harsh than some of the other colon cleanse products on the market. Here are some pictures of the whole box and the 3 parts inside.

Garden of Life – RAW Cleanse Box

3 Components of the Garden of Life RAW Cleanse

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I still am frustrated that this happened to me, and mad about the Levaquin connection.  I make sure to tell everyone I meet that the ER doctors said it most likely wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t taking Levaquin at the time.  Have you had a similar experience, or are you currently taking Levaquin?  If you are taking it, I am telling you do not exercise while you are on it!  I wish someone had told me that!

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Scar Is Healing Well

I saw the doctor this morning and I am now cleared to get out of the boot and actually put a shoe on my left foot!  I’m really excited and can’t believe I have made it this far.  Two days ago, when taking out the trash, I put on my sandals just to run the trash can to the curb and it felt really good to have a sandal on my left foot.  Even though I have been going barefoot around the house without the boot, it was different to be in a shoe.  Mentally it felt like progress and it seemed to make walking a bit easier and better.  The doctor told me I am cleared to wear shoes when walking around and at work (sitting in front of a computer isn’t too strenuous!), but if I do anything even a little active like yard work or playing with the kids, he wants me back in the boot.  The scar is healing well and the hair is growing back on my leg.  I have been going to physical therapy three times a week and that is going well too.  We haven’t done anything too aggressive, but just moving the foot around and having the joint and scar area manipulated by the therapist is great.

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Wonderful boot on my left leg

I am making progress in my recovery from my ruptured Achilles tendon.  Yesterday I went back to the doctor and he adjusted the boot so it was in a neutral or 90 degree position.  Previously, the boot was angled down at a 30 degree droop in order to keep tension off of the tendon.  I am happy to be making forward progress, but going from the drooped and relaxed angle to a completely flat angle has been hard.  My tendon is really tight and has shrunk up so it is very uncomfortable to be stretched even into this neutral position.  The flat position is much easier to move around and more comfortable for things like sitting in the car, so overall it is good.  I still hate the crutches and I think that is the worst part of this whole ordeal.  Getting around on crutches just sucks.  My wrists are messed up and sore, and my armpits are getting sore and chaffed even though I mostly keep the weight off of the armpits like you are supposed to.  The hardest thing to get used to with crutches is that I can’t really carry anything.  I have been making great use of my back pockets and will stick food, bottles of water, whatever in my back pocket and hobble back and forth to the couch.  It is a real pain and I can’t wait to get off of the crutches.  More updates to come as I progress through this slow recovery.

This is the adjustable dial part of the boot

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After Surgery To Reconnect Achilles Tendon

I’m writing this while laying on my couch with my left leg in a splint after I had surgery yesterday to reconnect a torn achilles tendon in my left leg.  As a healthy active 37 year old, should I really be going through this painful ordeal, and what is the connection with the antibiotic Levaquin? 

Background

Two weeks ago on a Thursday, I had a terrible sinus infection that knocked me out.  I deteriorated quickly in the afternoon and by 7:00 at night I had to crawl into bed and stayed there.  I spent the entire day Friday in bed except for a trip to my Dr. to get checked out.  He confirmed it was an upper respiratory infection and prescribed Levaquin.  I had been on Levaquin before and I knew it was one of the more powerful antibiotics.  It had worked quickly in the past to clear up previous sinus infections.  After getting the prescription filled on Friday I got progressively better.  Fast-forward a week to the next Friday.  While at my chiropractor’s office for an adjustment, I mentioned the sinus infection and Levaquin.  She asked if I had heard about the spontaneous tendon ruptures caused by it.  Hell no, I hadn’t heard!  I immediately researched this on the web and confirmed that Levaquin causes a weakening and deterioration of the tendons.  This is even confirmed right on the Levaquin.com website:

• Fluoroquinolones, including LEVAQUIN^®, are associated with an increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture in all ages. This risk is further increased in older patients usually over 60 years of age, in patients taking corticosteroid drugs, and in patients with kidney, heart, or lung transplants. Call your healthcare professional right away at the first sign of tendon pain, swelling, or inflammation. You should stop taking LEVAQUIN^® until tendinitis or tendon rupture have been ruled out, and avoid exercise and using the affected area.

Seriously, WTF!  Why was I taking something for a sinus infection that was deteriorating the tendons in my whole body!

My Story

The next day, Saturday evening, I was playing basketball at our local community center with my boys.  Nothing big and strenuous.  We had been playing for about 45 minutes when I missed a shot and shoved off with my left foot to go after the loose ball.  *bang!* I collapsed on the floor.  I looked around and asked “what was that – what hit me?”  It felt like a stray basketball had slammed into the back of my leg and I was in agony.  Someone gave me a hand and I stood up, but I knew something was terribly wrong.  My foot felt “floppy” and walking was a terribly odd sensation of not being able to push off on my toes.  I could stand fine, and could shuffle a walk, but right away I thought about the Levaquin and ruptured tendons.  It had happened to me.  In an instance, I realized that this “side effect” had happened to me and that the next few weeks, months, or longer of my life had just changed.  I sat back down and someone brought me a bag of ice.  I examined the back of my heal, and sure enough – instead of a taught band of tendon on the back of my left heal it was completely soft.

After icing it down for a few minutes, I hobbled out to the car with my boys and dropped them off at home before continuing on to the ER.  After about an hour, I had the official diagnosis of Ruptured Left Achilles Tendon and a fiberglass splint to go with it.  The pain from this is really severe.  It was a constant pulsing of pain, and then if I stepped on it wrong it would be a sharp stabbing pain.  The pain medicine from the hospital helped, but couldn’t fully mask the pain.

More than the physical pain, I keep thinking that this never should have happened.  I exercise regularly and eat healthy.  I am at a good weight and generally fit.  I have been mountain biking for years and hardly ever miss a week.  I even have an Excel spreadsheet tracking the dates and mileage of all my riding going back 4 years.  Why should a healthy, active 37 year old be faced with a torn tendon like this?

When searching the web for info on the Levaquin/tendon connection, the most prevalent links are for lawyers pursuing class action lawsuits against the makers of Levaquin.  It is really a shame that this horrible side-effect has been known about for years and they haven’t done more to promote awareness or get Levaquin off the market.

I am very interested in your feedback – have you had an issue with Levaquin and tendons rupturing or do you know anyone who has?  I am also interested in my legal options and if it would be worthwhile pursuing one of these class action lawsuits.  More than just the medical bills, I think it is lame and unethical to keep a drug on the market where the side-effect is so much worse than the fix.  The lost time is a huge deal to me.  My kids have spring break coming up soon, and I will be on crutches and less mobile.  I was considering planning a trip and any hopes of that are now dashed.

Further Reading

The best site I found for info on the Levaquin connection to ruptured tendons is this page at the Tendinitis Expert website.  From there, you can explore his website for other tendon information.  For general information on ruptured achilles tendons, the Wiki entry is a great place to start.

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1) Minimize

The first tip is probably the most important.  You just can’t do everything in life.  When you try to do too many different things and get spread too thin, this is the single biggest threat to becoming a quitter.  Instead, focus on what you really want to spend your time doing and minimize out everything else.  For example, I was signed up for several survey-taking websites.  I had made decent money over the years taking surveys, but I figured out that it took up considerable time to complete the surveys and took time away from what I really wanted to be doing with this blog and other online ventures.  I chose to quit the surveys so I could finish more items that i really wanted.

• Quit what you don’t really want or need so you can focus on finishing the important things.

2) Commit

Once you have cleared away the extraneous items and tasks, look at what you have left.  If you really are passionate about something then take the time to reflect on why you want to accomplish that project and imagine what it will feel like to complete it.  Make a commitment to the task and make a conscious commitment to finishing the task.

• Knowing why you are doing something – and having a vision of what it will feel like to complete it – can help you make it to the end.

3) Serialize

Now that you have committed to a small selection of items, put each part of the task in an order and do the steps one at a time.  One huge risk of being a quitter is taking a shotgun approach and doing a little here and a little there.  You can’t tell how much progress you are making and it isn’t clear what to do next.  If you know exactly what comes next, it makes it easier to overcome that inertia and jump back in when you have time.

• Do things one step at a time to get to the finish.

4) Organize

Having good organizational skills will help you immensely when it comes to finishing projects.  Keep all your supplies or equipment organized and in good shape.  Being organized will help you to track how far along in the project you are so you can clearly know what is left to accomplish.  Also, when everything is well-organized you will find that you want to keep going and it will be easier to pick up where you left off.

• Clarity will help you see where you are in the process and make it easier and more enjoyable to keep going.

5) Segment

This is somewhat in opposition to #1, Minimize.  You can’t completely minimize and only have a single thing to work on, so segment your life into different areas.  Then when you have a specific area, it is much easier to apply all the rest of the rules to a specific segment.  For example, I had a ton of books I wanted to read and I had about 4 different books that I started and never finished.  I segmented “book reading” and got my act together.  Then in this narow space, I was able to apply the other tips much easier.  First, I made a commitment to set aside time for reading and finish everything I had started.  Then, I serialized reading them by putting my books in a stack right on my nightstand and read only the top one.  I also organized my reading by setting up an account at goodreads.com to track the books I had read, were currently reading, and planned to read.

• Divide and conquer: apply all the other tips to each segment of your life.

Logan Challenge

I challenge you today to start with #5 and segment areas of your life.  Then find one segment – an important one, or maybe a small simple area to get you moving – and then apply the tips to that area.

Good luck, and make sure to give me feedback if this was helpful or if you have your own suggestions.

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