Achilles tendon symptoms and conditions

I took 1 Levaquin pill 500 mg one evening in September 2007 for a kidney, UTI infection. My left side went numb and started tingling, my left hip hurt, I could not put weight on my left leg, had to limp to walk. I had severe pains shooting through my head, felt dizzy, nauseous, weak, had to stay in bed for 3 days after taking medicine. I could only limp to eat and bathroom. I called doctor, they said KEEP TAKING IT. NOT. They told me that these were normal side effects. I read on the internet that these are NOT NORMAL side effects. I didn't take anymore and read about alternative medicines. I was still in a lot of pain in my kidney and bladder. So I asked for Bactrim, a sulfur based drug. It worked great on the kidney/UTI. But since I took the Levaquin, my joints hurt and pop, my achilles tendon is painful everyday, my shoulders have excruciating intermittent pain and my hip hurts inside when I move it. Also, there is a lot of crackling and strange sounds in my joints now. My wrists have been having a lot of soreness as well. I just read about Levaquin causing these problems for years after you take one pill. I didn't know all of these symptoms might be connected to the Levaquin. Does anyone know how to get the Levaquin out of your body and joints???

i am a very healthy 55 year old who dances salsa 4-5 times a week, skis 4-5 mornings per week and works out at gym with wight 4-5 mornings. i developed a possible case of pneumonia and was prescribed avalox for 5 days (at $90.00 dollars no less) on the 3rd day i woke up ,and felt heel pain in my left heel and attributed it to0 a nerw pair of shoes i used for dancing. upon rubbing my heel and noticing NO callous or rubbed area i stood uo do experience sharp pain in my achilles tendon area. later on that same day i noticed my left shoulder area(rotator) seemed sore and did not make any connection since i use left arm to spin salsa partners. that same morning while drinking coffee at breakfast I read the sheets given to me by the HMO pharmacy to discover to my ALARM the side effect for people my age "possible torn achiiles tendon" as well as other tendon issues. alarmed i stopped to meds and called the PA who prescribed them.meantime i was on my way to Mexico and put on zithromax instead and upon coming home 10days later off of marvelox i still have extreme heel pain and discomfort in tendon areas . i finally went to see a doctor 3 days ago and upon telling him of these symptoms he told me there was "not a definite connection"....i proceed ed to almost start screaming and told him "not top talk to me like a stupid FU---ng 21 year old. i know my body and I HAVE BEEN VIOLATED AND when i confronted the head of pharmacy at the clinic she informed me thast on the computer Avelox was"blacklisted" for these side effects and it was posted on the system. when asked if this was permanent symptoms she did not know for sure and I informed them that I expected a call from their pharmD to discuss these symptoms,history,effects and possible remedies. i've been screwed and SOMEBODY will pay for abusing me!!
mark

I was given Levaquin for a kidney infection. It seemed to help break my fever but after only one dose, I broke out in rash and later that night had tingling in my legs. My hand felt numb. When I called the oncall doctor she told attributed to anxiety. I told her I was anxious because all of a sudden my hand had gone numb and knowing that was a danger sign I refused to take anymore. Later that night, I could not walk or stand or bear weight on my legs. My shins and Achilles tendons were burning and only because of the internet did I know what was happening to me. Only 1 out of three doctors would agree I was having a drug reaction. For some odd reason, the doctors REFUSE to believe or acknowledge this was caused by Levaquin. No wonder the side effects are "rare" if no doctor will acknowledge the pain their patients are going through....how can the drug companies get any real feedback. Funny thing is only after I sent an email out to my team essentially warning them about this drug did I find out my coworker who had been on medical leave had suffered the same fate of torn achilles tendon and only after 3 months of PT is finally walking without pain. WHAT IS WRONG WITH our world when no one will listen to us. Thank God for the internet. I can walk now and have no pain standing (lasted only 2 and half days) but I am scared about the future as I know the results are lingering. I have been exhausted this whole weekend and wonder if its just me recovering as my PCP had me quit all antibiotics even at the risk of getting my kidney infection back. Well nice to know our stories are the same...and its not in our heads. BTW, my ER doctor told me it was a good drug and very unlikely the cause of my leg pains. They rather believed I had pneumonia or lyme's disease before they would believe it was caused by their beloved drug. All I can think now is I hope one day they are given this drug and it cripples them like it has so many others. Sometimes that is the only way they will acknowledge the truth. It has to happen to them or someone they love.

Has anyone had the experience of previously taking Levaquin without side effects, then when taking it again, developed severe headaches, joint aches, muscle pain and weakness, etc? I am currently going through this. I've taken Levaquin before probably 2 or 3 times due to upper respiratory problems and not noticed any side effect but this time, I've taken 5 days worth, 3 in hospital 2 as outpatient dose and can hardly move. I had the same experience in 2004 with zithromax. Had taken it without side effects, then suddenly when taking it again developed such bad chest pain, I thought as did my doctor, that I was having heart attack and spent a week in hospital before figuring that one out.

It has been almost two years since I took one tablet of 500 mg levaquin for a throat infection. I immediately felt lightheaded, then came the hot prickly skin, rapid heartbeat, insomnia and just a feeling of doom. I did not take another pill. Right after this my ankles started to hurt and podiatrist said had a torn posterier tibial tendon. To this day, I cannot walk without a limp, and can only wear athletic shoes with orthotics. If I stand for or walk for a small period of time I am in a lot of pain and have to sit. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis from the inflammatory markers in blood tests and rf factor, even though mri of my hands and wrists are normal. My right shoulder and arm hurt, my wrists and fingers hurt, my knees, neck. It is better, but I will never be the same as I was - no more running, walking my dog, going camping with my daughters girl scout troop - can't go hiking. I am 50 and I feel like I am 90. Would like to sue someone.

This is painful for me to type due to the pain in my hands & fingers. I had ankle surgery to fix a torn ligament and an ankle scope on Oct. 30, 2008. I was put on 500 mg of Levaquin to prevent infection. On Nov 4th, my entire body felt like it was beat up. I could barely get up off of the couch. I also developed severe pain and burning in my foot. I couldn’t support my weight on crutches due to pain in my arms & wrists. I took this dose for 10 days. On Nov 24th, I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I ended up being hospitalized for 10 days. I had severe swelling in my ankle and bruising up to & including my toes. The doc thought it was an infection so I was started on 2 types of IV antibiotics. Didn’t get any better. On Nov 26th, the doc tried to aspirate it and only dried blood came out. It was sent for a culture and came back negative. He asked me how my pain was and I told him the back of my ankle hurt really bad. He said “the MRI that was done on Nov 25th showed I developed tendinitis in the Achilles tendon. I asked him how that happened since I haven’t walked on that foot since my injury date of August 23rd. He said he wasn’t sure. I had 2 previous MRIs (Sept & Oct) which did not show tendinitis at all! On Dec. 1st I went back to the operating room so the doctor could cut open the golf ball size hematoma on the outside of my ankle. He got a lot of jelly-like blood from the back part of my ankle. He left the drain in overnight and then removed it. I was released on Dec 3rd with a script for 750 mg of Levaquin for 7 days (which I finished yesterday). The swelling is down about 25% and I have been out of the hospital for 8 days now. The pain in my body was so horrible today that I went to my family doctor. She did a thorough exam of my joints-which was complete agony!!!! She explained that she was going to run some tests to see what is wrong. She explained to me that she thinks this is a reaction to the Levaquin & she has had patients who have had ruptured tendons from this medication. She sent me for bloodwork and gave me a script for morphine (Avinza) to control the pain, which 750 mg of ES Vicodin and 800 mg of Ibuprofen didn’t make it any better. I feel helpless as my 9 year old has to do everything for me because I simply cannot get up. I hope my doctor figures this out real soon! This is unreal to have to suffer like this. I will keep everyone on this page in my prayers! Good Luck to everyone!

I took Levaquin 750 for 10 days for a sinus infection. I took first 5 doses, went to see my doctor again 6 days later because I was still sick. She prescribed again 5 does of Levanquin 750. I am still coughing and I feel very tired. It did not help at all. I am still sick and I have muscle pains in my two calves and stress Achille tendon. I am a runner and I have sometimes problems with my calf: I have been not running too much recently and I was wondering how come suddenly I had those muscle pains in both my calves. I am not sure if it is related to Levaquin, but when I read all those comments, I am worried. Why I have been prescribed this antibiotics if it is obviously dangerous?

I have posted here before when suffering the severe leg pain. I took pain meds for 2 months and it seemed to have subsided. Then, 10 days ago, right beneath my achilles tendon pain, on the side of my foot, under my ankle bone., started giving me severe pain. I could not understand what happened, it hurt as if it was bruised. When I looked at the area hurting me, there was no bruising but was swollen so badly I looked like I had a baseball under my skin! I am having difficulty walking now. I have an awful feeling that I may have a ruptured tendon! I am seeing an orthopedist on Monday afternoon. Has anyone here had a tendon rupture? How would you describe it to be? I'd appreciate if anyone with experience like my own would email me asap!!!

I posted several months ago on this string and wanted to update. I had bloodwork done for the 1st time since I quit the 20mg of Lipitor in August. LDL went from 123 to 210. Total Chol went from 191 to 285. HOWEVER all shooting pains I had been experiencing in legs, feet, and chst are GONE! Went back to my Dr. today, told her that same result and my serious objection to taking any kind of statin and she prescribed CRESTOR while telling me it was more potent than Lipitor! WTF!!!

I refuse this course, am drinking 30 - 40 ozs. of water each day now like I should have been, doubled my CoQ10 to 200mg/day, finally getting back into the gym to lose weight and get the HDL up from the level of 36 it is now. also started to drink the new yogurt type "shot" of Promise for cholesterol that provides 2 grams of plant sterols per day.

I will not take statins ever. I WILL find a natural way to keep my Chol under control. I've also been convinced that you don't have to be at or under the 200mlg of total chol to be healthy. Look at your C Reactive Protein and Homosiytes (sp?) If they are in range you should be good.

I know Lipitor was the cause of my rupturing each of my Achiller tendons a year apart while playing tennis in my late 40's Muscle pain soon followed.

I am 35 and I took Levaquin about 3 months ago when I experienced pain in my hands and achilles tendon. Fortunately I figured out what was going on before I had a rupture. In an effort to repair the damage one of the things I did was take a few joint and tendon supplements. I took Ligaplex I, Super Cissus RX, Fish Oil, Glucosamin, Condroitin, and MSN. I believe these supplements where a big help in my recovery. If you are going to use these supplements make sure you take them as directed because each has it's own recommended schedule.

I was “poisoned” by Levaquin -- resulting in acute tendinitis in both Achilles tendons.

Background:
I am a healthy, athletic male in his mid-50s who has never had an Achilles tendon problem. In early July 2008, my doctor (general practitioner) prescribed Levaquin for an infection. I took the medication for 14 days, as prescribed.
Sudden onset of acute tendinitis in my Achilles tendons occurred near the end of the medication period. The tendinitis occurred in both Achilles tendons simultaneously. Nothing related to my lifestyle would have caused the tendinitis.

Symptoms:
Symptoms included the following at one time or another:
1. aching
2. sharp pain
3. feeling of heat/burning
4. tightness
5. pins and needles in small areas (micro tears?)
6. weakness at rear/base of each heal.
7. When I woke-up each morning my tendons and the back of my heal pads felt sore, weak and tight.
At the height of the problems, I had extreme difficultly walking and negotiating stairs, and I thought there was a risk that my tendons would detach from my heal bone.

Doctors’ Advice:

My general practitioner’s and my podiatrist’s advice was to: (a) not run, cycle, hike or otherwise exercise my legs in any manner other than easy walking and swimming, (b) gently stretch, (c) take ibuprofen, (d) ice regularly, and (e) use heal lift shoe inserts made by my podiatrist. Their advice was based on the view that the damage that was done is more like damage cause by an injury than damage caused by an insidious drug. My readings on the subject indicate that little is known about the mechanisms behind this fluoroquinolone-specific toxicity. It is believed that the tendon’s collagen fibers become disorganized and infiltrated with small blood vessels -- resulting in weakness. And there are no specific treatment plans for this problem.

After 2 months of living with these symptoms, I decided to change course.

My Approach to Healing:

Because I never believed my pain was the result of inflammation, I stopped icing and taking ibuprofen. Because stretching seemed to further weaken the tendon and set me back, I stopped stretching. Because I believe that the body heals itself best when used, I started cycling at an easy pace. I then worked-my-way-up to cycling more aggressively, and to walking in the neighborhood. That’s where I am today. Two days ago I had my first day without discomfort in 3 months. Yet, I have a long way to go. I am not yet hiking or running. It’s a slow healing process with occasional setbacks when I push my tendons a bit harder than I should, Given the progress I have made, I am hopeful for a full or nearly-full recovery in another few months.

Other things I have done in the past month:

1. Taken L-Lysine (1000mg daily), which is believed to aid collagen formation.

2. Taken Magnesium (250mg daily), which some believe may help leech the fluoroquinolone molecules from the tissues because of the affinity of these antibiotics for minerals.

3. Taken Fish oil pills (3000mg daily), which improves circulation

4. Used a heating pad, which improves circulation

5. Started regular Acupuncture (first time for me), which improves circulation

What you can do:

1, Be easy on your tendons until you get a handle on the problem. Don’t over-use tendons when they are in a weakened state.

2. “Listen” to your body and take steps you think best to help the healing process.

3. Tell your friends to beware of potential side effects from fluoroquinolones.

4. File a MedWatch report with the FDA at fda.gov.

5. Share your findings/advice on this forum.

Good Luck

To the best of my knowledge I never had any of the 'immediate' symptoms.
My problems are probably due to the fact that I was prescribed Cipro 3 possibly 4 times from Aug 06 - Dec 07 and then finished up Dec 07 with a round of Levaquin. My father is over 60 and was recently given Levaquin and had immediate and serious problems. He is seeing a doctor recommended by the CDC today. Yes, he is even working with the CDC on
this one. Due to all he is being told he is convinced that the medication is behind my medical decline as well. Since taking these medications (symptoms started slowly in 07), but after taking the Levaquin at Christmas time I never got up from the couch. My thyroid gland has quit working, my adrenals are shot, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, blew out 3 disks in my back, vision is deteriorating rapidly, and really so many things I can't list them all. I had a complete physical
in Oct 05 and was given a perfect bill of health. Through Aug 06 I was riding my bicycle 33 miles per week. I'm still trying to figure out what hit me??
What my father has been told is that in some individuals Levaquin will attack the glands (like the thyroid) and will compromise the immune system. This damage appears to be permanent. All I know is that I went from being extremely healthy to terribly sick. If in a day's time I have enough energy to load and unload the dishwasher it is a banner day. I can
not work and seem to get worse instead of better as each day passes.

My husband also had pneumonia at Christmas and took Levaquin but does not seem to have had an problems. I suspect it was possibly the cumulative effect of having basically 4-5 rounds of the antibiotic in a years time. According to the people at the CDC that have spoken to my father the symptoms that I have can all be traced back to the medication. One never knows what effect a medication will have. Just please be careful when taking this medication, and limit how many times you take it.

I am taking Levaquin one time a day, 500 mg. for diverticultis. I have fibromyalgia so attributed symptoms of EXTREME FATIGUE to that but this is fatigue like I've never known. I can't do much of anything. I don't work outside the home so will just deal with it if it cures my infection. I'm using sleep meds too...but that could be fibromyalgia kicking in too. But fatigue is much worse. I hope it kills those bad bacteria!

Have been taking Januvia since March, developed ankle pain and swelling, diagnosed with Achilles tendon rupture and tendinitis needing surgical repair. Now with severe sudden onset of left shoulder pain without any precipitating event, unable to elevate left arm secondary to pain.

I've been taking Levaquin for about 3 weeks. Last week, suddenly, every joint in my body started aching. I mean from my neck, hands, hips, knees, ankles, feet, everything. For the past week, when I wake up, I can't even make a fist without experiencing excruciating pain. I've always been very active, running, basketball, soccer, skiing, you name it, so this is scaring the heck out of me. I'm 47 years old, and up until a week ago, I was hiking with my family, running everyday with my dog. Now I feel like I'm 100 years old. It hurts to walk, stand up, etc! I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow! I'm ticked about this!

My wife is experiencing severe muscle pain in the back and rib area after taking this drug. Has anyone gotten better after they stopped taking the medication or is everyone still suffering?

I am so glad that I found this website, because I thought all of this was just me! Nine days ago, I was prescribed 750mg of Levaquin/once a day for 14 days. I was just about to take today's dose but after reading only page 1 on this site, will NOT be taking the 9th dose, nor will I be taking any more of this stuff at all! Mine all started with a toothache a few weeks ago, and ended up in the ENT's office with the above prescription with a CT-Sinus scan after 14 days of being on Levaquin. I always read the side effects of any prescription that I'm given, and I was aware that Levaquin could cause ruptured tendons so I've been very methodical with every move that I make...my husband had a ruptured achilles tendon a couple of years ago and that's the LAST thing I want to go through. However, after reading this site, I now understand that all of the other symptoms that I've been experiencing over the last several days are most definitely side effects of Levaquin that they aren't admitting to. Plus, it doesn't seem to appear that being cautious about how you move makes much of a difference when you're taking this stuff. Metallic taste in my mouth; Thrush and a lack of having full taste; swollen knees, extremely sore and aching legs, hips, and back/neck area; nausea; jittery spells very shortly after taking the medicine; hot, then cold spells...everything listed here! Why are doctor's continuing to prescribe this stuff left and right?? I'd rather just have a sinus infection!

I have just finished taking Levaquin for a 10day treatment for pneumonia. In the last 5 days or so I have noticed stiffness in my achilles tendon (no pain) until I get moving. I have also notice a tremor in my hands and no muscle weakness and shaking in my triceps and quads. Of course I hadn't read the precautions to this drug before noticing these symptoms. I contacted both my pharmacist and physician and neither seemed concerned and told me if I was really worried to go to the emergency room. I am wondering if these symptoms will disappear since I am no longer on the drug, how long it will take, and how long I should worry about tendon damage----is the possibility of rupture forever???

I was a healthy 42 year old male who took Levaquin for a sinus infection. The same day as the Black Box Warning was issued; I was having my third tendon reattachment surgery. I have to wait at least 6 weeks before I can undergo yet a fourth tendon rupture reattachment. At least it takes my mind of the Achilles Tendinopathy, joint pains, headaches, uncontrolled muscle twitching etc. I consider myself one of the lucky ones since so far it has not affected my kidneys, liver, heart, eyes and other side effects that many are dealing with from this class of drugs. I would urge a real journalist to take the time and look at the real number of cases. The Fda numbers are misleading. The clinical data coming from other counties are showing much higher rates of tendon ruptures and other life threatening side effects.

2 yrs. ago my husband had been on Vancomycin for an infection from a hip operation. He had an allergic reaction and was given Levaquin in the ER. Not long after the dose was given, he was not able to walk at all his fever spiked and he said he was blind at one point. It did not last but since then he had been slowly declining. He has trouble with his inner ear balance and he can hardly lift his right foot to clear the floor. He bearly feels anything from the knee down on both legs. We have been to many specialists/neuros, MRIs, nerve conduction test and there is nothing to show what is the cause. Can anyone tell me how we could find out for sure if Levaquin may be the culprit.

Sue

I was given the Zpak several times for infections, approximately 5 or 6 years ago and now suffer from tendon rupture a few year back. Yes, the Achilles tendon, which pinged to a lot of other troubles in my body that I now have to live with.

I am diagnosed with COPD. On March14, 2008, I visited my pulmonologist due to having a bacterial infection in the lungs and nose. I was given a script for Levaguin 750 mg for 7 days. After my first dose, my feet felt like they were on fire. I spoke with the pharmacist and he said it could be a side effect. I finished the meds with a lot of trepidation, feeling uneasy and anxious. However my large toes began to have a tingling sensation, which I reported to my PCP and he said to keep a check on it. I just came from my PCP today, July 8,2008 and now, in addition to my lung problem, I have peripheral neurophathy, involving all my toes and also my hands. This medicine is dangerous, as looking back at the time after I took this medicine, I was seriously considering ending it all! I will never take any medication in the future until I research it thoroughly. I trust my PCP and I trusted my pulmonologist, but I feel the pulmonologist should have informed me of the possible bad sich effects. Be careful out there!!!

Muscle weakness, pain, tingling

After taking levaquin, I still suffer from muscle weakness, pain, and tingling several years later. My doctor who is one of the top specialists in New York has seen what this drug has done to me and is doing research for an article in a medical journal to put the word out of the horrible side effects of this drug as well as increasing the knowledge to hopefully figure out how to counteract this.

If you are/have suffered similar results, please contact me at ****** and we can discuss how you can send your case information to my doctor for the study and medical journal article. We need more scientific studies and literature out there about this drug and the side effects.

I was prescribed CIPROFLAXACIN 500 mg 28 tablets twice a day. I developed Achilles tendon on my right leg
while playing volleyball. I am using crutches and off from work with short term disability. This drug did not cure my existing problem
but created new problem. Even when such side effects were known to the Physicians and Pharmacists I was not made aware of this. As a United States of American citizen I am requesting FDA to please ban such drugs
that cause such side effects.

I am a 49 year old male and took a 14 day course of Cipro for a UTI. By day four the souls of my feet were very sore, especially first thing in the morning but no other side effects. Mentioned sore feet to Dr after 7 days of Cipro but he did not believe it was from Cipro and had me complete the course. After 14 day course of Cipro feet were now so painful that I could barely walk on them especially after resting or getting out of bed. Also burning sensation on skin of feet and hands and some minor tremor. Saw a specialist and he immediately confirmed Cipro as the culprit and advised never to take that drug family again. Have since done the whole web search thing and discovered the whole saga of these drugs. Other symptoms have also appeared, some pain in middle of back, sharp pain in middle of back of both knees, hot and cold flushes, pain in left bicep, fingers that are very susceptible to joint injury and feelings of weakness and anxiety. Has been over three weeks now since I stopped Cipro and condition shows no improvement, may even be slightly worse. About to try a shotgun approach with treatment as there appears little documented evidence of anything conclusive on line. Starting course of anti-inflams (Voltaren) and these have already reduced the pain in my feet. Also magnesium and calcium supplements (theory goes that it may mop up any remaining Cipro and there is plenty of reports from sufferers saying that symptoms continue to appear for some months after stopping Cipro), Vitamin B6 (can apparently help with some types of nerve pain and tingling) and Fish Oil (omega 3's can help reduce inflammation). Not very scientific I know and can't be sure that all these are compatible with each other but am a bit desperate at this stage. Bracing myself for a three to six month recovery (just based on experience of many others). At this stage I am just hoping that damage is not irreversible as this appears to be a real risk. As everyone here will agree it is amazing how this situation is being allowed to continue. I could have stopped my Cipro on day two or three if I had been made fully aware of the risks and what to look out for. I am no expert by any means on this but from what I can gather Cipro and its relatives do nerve damage by the very way they work. It appears that anyone taking these drugs will inflict some nerve damage but for many it will not manifest to a degree that is a problem or at least a noticeable problem. So in some ways we are all sufferers, just to varying degrees. Another point mentioned often is that the symptoms may not appear for some months after the Cipro is stopped and therefore is not always associated with the drug. Also some say there is an accumulative affect with using the drug a second or third time. Symptoms may appear only after multiple use or symptoms may get much worse and more likely irreversible with multiple use. It's all scary reading. At this stage I am just hoping I can make a full recovery. Do damaged nerves repair themselves, does the Cipro eventually leech out of our systems .... I don't know. I will post in this forum again in a few months or sooner if I make a recovery.