Bitter pills symptoms and conditions

I started taking Levaquin for a sinus infection, a 10 day dose. I started noticing after a few days that I was irritable,depressed, aching and swelling from my wrist up to my elbow. After finishing my dose, the swelling went down. I am still having the pain. I have pain in my left shoulder, the cap of my shoulder. I have trouble sleeping because the pain gets extreme. I have pain in my right leg. The pain is on the back, the lower part--the achille tendon. I have trouble walking at times. The pain can be mild to severe at times. I even have the pain at night in bed. I didn't know what was wrong with me until a friend told me that these are some of the side effects of the medicine. If I had known, I would have never taken it. I feel like it is a struggle trying to get ready to go to work. I have yelled out loud at work because it would be so severe.

wow- glad I found you guys! I'm female, 54, thin, healthy, have always exercised and watched my diet. cholesterol went up to 280 a couple of yrs ago- tried more diet/exercise but it only came down to 250, so since then have tried 4 low-dose (40 mg) statins (crestor, lipitor, zocor, and now pravastatin), all of which after 2-6 months made me feel like I was jumping out of my skin and caused chest pain and palpitations that stopped almost immediately when I discontinued them. Also, I've always fallen asleep quickly and now take an hour or more, and recently my fingers have started falling asleep/tingling. I'm stopping the pravastatin today! Maybe 250 isn't so bad, if this is the alternative. Does anyone have any remedies to suggest besides low fat/low sugar diet? I just read that we should avoid reduced-fat milks (I drink 1%) because they contain oxydized cholesterol, which irritates the artery wall.

after taking cipro for a few year for prostrate infection I have developed a
reacurring cyst on my wrist. Has anyone experienced this sort of problem?

I was prescribed 750 mg per day yesterday for 5 days for bronchitis. I took my second pill today and I cannot bare weight on my legs, the achiness and knee pain is excruciating. My husband called my brother-in-law to help get me to the car so we could go to the emergency room. While we were waiting for him, I looked at my prescription info because that was the only thing different. I am also allergic to sulfa drugs and thought it could be a reaction to the meds. I called the pharmacist and was told this was not a common side effect but definitely could be from the drug and to stop taking it. We didn't go to the er but decided to wait and see if this would become better. I can't walk and I'm 42 years old! After 2 pills!!!

Today is Christmas day 2008. And a Merry Christmas to me ha!!!!!!!! I was given a prescription for the drug Levaquin on the 19th of December for a suspicion of pneumonia. The x rays done at the hospital found no evidence of pneumonia but my doctor wanted me to take it anyway because since I have asthma and my lungs sounded so bad I was told that I was at risk for developing any secondary infection that was out there. My husband filled the prescription on the 20th which was Saturday, took the first one of a seven day supply 500 mg tablets. About 4 hours after taking just one pill was awakened by severe and agonizing pain in both of my feet and my knees that I was writhing in pain. Since I have nerve damage in my feet anyhow I know what the pain that I normally experience feels like and instantly knew that this was not normal for me. When I thought that I finally might be able to walk I hobbled into the kitchen and dug the list of side affects out of the garbage (stupid me had not read them first.) I discovered that it was one of the side affects. Called the on call doctor in the morning since it was on the weekend and he stopped it immediately and put me on something else. I only took that one pill and since Saturday night every night I wake up in agonizing knee pain and I have never had pains in my knees before. The pain is so bad that I feel like I am ready to go on a morphine drip, or cut my legs off above the knees. Six days now from one pill, how much longer can this go on? I really feel bad for the people that contined to trust their doctors and continued with the full course of the medication and I realize that what I am experiencing is minor compared to what others are going through. This drug should come with a handout that says: Take this drug at a risk to your health!!!!!! Last night the pain lasted all night and I cried all night. Have to get through this day am entertaining for the holiday and have had no sleep. Actually getting afraid to go to sleep at this point.............D.

I have taken cipro before with no obvious problems and am now starting on it again for 2 weeks (1pill a day). This drug is one of a few that people who are allergic to penicillin and sulfa drugs can take to kill bacteria that penicillin normally does. This is considered a 'last resort' drug for us also. I've had a sinus infection as a complication from a dental surgery that refuses to go away for long enough for my mouth to heal - since July 10 (it is now 19Dec). I was prescribed Avelox for the first time yesterday which led me to this website while trying to find pricing info. $168 for 12 pills? at a Walmart? absurd. So I had the doc switched to cipro. They want me to try this 'type' of drug since the others haven't been able to completely eliminate the infection. I will keep in mind everyone here's side effects but I definitely have plans to do a heavy duty DETOX the minute my mouth is healed and I am off the drugs whether I have problems or not. I concur with the constipation though, all antibiotics seem to give me that problem while taking them. Another good reason to do a detox.

I never have the side effects that other people have. I am allergic to a lot of antibiotics but can take this one. It always clears up my infections with no problems. I always drink the extra fluid they recommend while taking it. I am not sure if this is what helps. Also, there is a warning that people over 60 are more likely to have side effects. So if you are over 60 maybe this is not the med for you. I am grateful that this medication exists.

My doctor prescribed 40 MG Simvastatin to be taken 1 on Thursday and 1 on Sunday.That doesn't seem like much but I have only taken them 3 times and the pains in my knees are much worse also my feet hurt, my neck is a little sore, I have bad cramps a few minutes after I eat and even during the night....I also have had 2 nights of very strange dreaming.
Several years ago I was on Lipitor and after a year I could hardly walk with my knees so I told the doctor I was not taking that any more..he put me on Zetia and I did well on it and the pain in my knees lessened a lot ,until my insurance co. decided not to pay for Zetia anymore, I told the doctor and he put me on Simvastatin. I am not going to take any more of it and will discuss it with the doctor next week,.

My 80 year old mom is going through Chemo for Bladder Cancer. She is also diabetic. Bacteria was found in her urine so the doctor gave her 4 tablets of Levaquin. Saturday night of Labor day weekend mom took the first pill. Sunday she woke up almost BLIND! She panicked and, thinking it was her diabetes causing the problem, took her blood sugar numbers. (She was so scared that she can't recall what the numbers were, just that they were 250+). She started taking her fast acting insulin. She couldn't get the blood sugar numbers to come down after numerous injections. She called me so confused and not knowing what to do. Thank God I wasn't gone that weekend. I rushed 18 miles into town. I calmed her down. We just kept watching the numbers and she kept taking her injections. About 6 hours later the numbers were down to normal for her. We narrowed the cause down to either the Levaquin or the infusion of platletts she had on Friday. We called the pharmacist and he said that Levaquin could cause blurriness of vision. She didn't take any more Levaquin.
It had been 10 days since she took that one pill and her eye sight is still messed up. When she tries to read the newspaper the letters jump around. She has a hard time reading the dosage numbers on her syringes now. She is so scared that her eyes won't get better and she will have to be dependent on someone.

UPDATE from Yesterday)))>>> well thanks to everyone i quit taking it yesterday BUT!!!---> today when i woke up i had a horrible head ache and it seemed to be coming from my left eye. i looked in the mirror and i have a really weird yellowish glazed tint in both my eyes and in my left eye a blood vessel has burst. i also noticed ive developed a skin rash on my right side of my stomach and on my left calf. My joints kept me up all night in constant pain which felt like someone was ripping apart my ligaments. I had a minor anxiety attack last night (Ive NEVER had anxiety before) and my body just feels weak, drained, and i keep getting really weird muscel spasms in my upper thigh. I tried to go out to the store earlier and as soon as i stepped into the sunlight a migraine hit me, and ive never been sensitive to light....Ive had a feeling of helplessness and worthlessness more in the past 24 hours than i have in a year. Im also experiencing horrible lower back pain and stomach pain around where my kidneys are.... I did have a small amount breast tenderness when i woke up and im not sure if that's another side effect...(no im not pregnant, had multiple urine tests in the last week)...I think ive only went potty maybe once today...and that was at like 9am...its now almost 9pm. Im pretty sure if this isn't over with or doesn't improve by 10pm im going to the hospital.....i cant drink water and im pretty sure im getting dehydrated....my skins turning pale, i have dark rings around my eyes.....etc.......has anyone else suffered with these things? Levaquin is by far the MOST painful, riskful, antibiotic ive been on...They should definitely take this sh*t off the market!!! =[[

Im only 16 years old and ive been on levaquin for about 3 days now. My doctor told me off the bat that the only thing wrong with the drug were some "theories" on cartilidge damage, how ever, now i see for myself, and for many other people that is not the only side effect. He told me that no one under 18 is supposed to have it but i caught a severe case of sinutitus, and a uti which ive had for 2 months and nothing was working, so he put me on levaquin, once a day for 7 days. Ive now been having the following symptoms and im extremely scared!!
1. Constant fatigue
2. Extreme Migraines
3. Nausea, vomiting
4. Rapid heart beat (and chest pain)
5. Stiffness in joints and horrible pain...
6. Constant anxiousness, to where i cant get to sleep
7. Dizziness

Is there anyone i can talk to who's had these same problems? please email me or something im scared and i don't know what to do my mother doesn't believe me and she says its just a head cold....

******

Please help me!!

EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!!! GARDASIL HAS DESTROYED MY LIFE! I am 24 years old and a year and a half ago I was graduating college and planning to be a professional dancer and go to law school...I was perfectly healthy and energetic! In February of 2007 I received my first Gardasil shot. After a few days I started to feel as though I had a Urinary Tract Infection and was also feeling more tired than usual. The doctor gave me an antibiotic and sent me on my way.

In May of 2007 I received my second Gardasil shot and yet again, a few days later I started to feel like I was getting another Urinary Tract Infection. I went to the doctor numerous times between the second and third shot...all for bladder and urinary tract pain. For months I was on different antibiotics and they were not making the pain go away. After visiting a number of urologists, I found out that the urine cultures had all been coming back negative - showing no sign of an infection, so the antibiotics were pointless. All tests that I had run, both blood and urine came back normal. It is not standard procedure for a doctor to call you if your test results come back normal, but there was clearly something wrong, so I searched for a urologist who would believe me that I wasn't making up the pain I was in.

In August 2007, I had a cystoscopy done (they took a scope and went into the bladder to look in the bladder wall) and they concluded that I have an incurable bladder disease called Interstitial Cystitis. This is a condition where there becomes a defect in the bladder wall causing it not to have the protective mucus layer inside of it. The pictures of inside my bladder show red, raw skin, obviously showing the severity of my case of it.

There is no evidence as to what causes Interstitial Cystitis, and there is no proven successful way of treating it. The initial signs are exactly the same as a Urinary Tract Infection (painful bladder spasms, painful urination, body aches and back pain). The main difference is the fact that it is not an infection. There are thousands of people with Interstitial Cystitis who are misdiagnosed as having chronic Urinary Tract Infections.

I received my third Gardasil shot in October of 2007 and that is when EVERYTHING fell apart. The bladder pain became constant and there has not been one minute in a day since that shot I have not been in unbearable pain. This is when everything else in my body began to crash down as well. The other health problems and side effects from the Gardasil that I am having are constant sore throat, vicious migraines, vision changes, back pain, body aches, joint pain, sinus problems, vomiting, constipation, dizziness...I could keep going on forever!

I have tried all of the conventional treatment for Interstitial Cystitis and have gotten NO relief from the pain and other side effects. The doctors didn't know what to do, so they put me on OxyContin and a diet consisting of no acidic foods. That has now posed its own set of problems seeing as now my body is addicted to the narcotic, and I have gone from 5'6'' 125lbs to 100lbs over the course of a year due to the diet. I am extremely malnourished and have to take B12 vitamin shots once a week due to the severe anemia. I am 24 years old, and feel like I am 100. I can not live a normal life, I am going to lose my job from numerous absences, I lost my fiancé and am not able to have an intimate relationship anymore, I am extremely depressed, I have to have my family clean my apartment because I am too sick to do it, I can not do social activities because I am too tired and in pain. This vaccine has DESTROYED my life! I am desperately seeking out someone else who is having bladder problems due to the Gardasil so that I can contact an attorney. This needs to be OFF the market a soon as possible so that it does not run any other lives! Gardasil has caused some deaths, but in my mind, I'd rather die than live with the pain I am having. I did notice there are some posts regarding girls getting urinary tract infections... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have your urine cultured because there is a good chance it may be Interstitial Cystitis!

I am desperately looking for someone who is having some of these symptoms so that I can go to a lawyer and get something going before things like this happen: Numerous states are pushing to make it mandatory that girls receive the vaccine before they enter the 6th grade. We can not let this happen! We all need to stick together and somehow fight this and get out lives back!

Let me know if you are IN - and also what you thought about my post!

You can email me at ******

Bless All of You!

*~Amber~*

I have never experienced the side effects of statins myself. I have never taken any - nor would I if my numbers should be too high.

I have had the opportunity - or rather was forced to - to "educate" myself on the cholesterol issue as i had 3 relatives suffering from side effects.

They were all over 70 and had taken Simvastatin (Zocor) for years.

In 2003, when I had just got an Internet connection, I started to look for information and was surprised to find these sites:

******

I also found "Stopped our statins" (google for those words) where there is a lot of information.

Under print articles you will find a very informative article from The Weston Price Foundation about the different statin studies over the years and also about the side effects.

Are you sure that a high cholesterol will cause heart problems - or is it just propaganda from the pharmaceutical and health industry?

After having visited some of these webb sites and read some of the books you might have changed your mind - like I did.

Your cholesterol is very important for your body and essential for your brain among other things.

Why should you live better and longer if you use medications to lower it?

It`s just to read all these patient stories - what quality of life is this?

I would suggest that you also read the messages for the other statins such as Lipitor, Zocor (=Simvastatin) etc.

All statins have similar side effects.

Here are some books that you might find interesting. Some about the cholesterol issue.

The Great Cholesterol Con (Antony Colpo)

The Cholesterol Myths (Uffe Ravnskov)

Lipitor - thief of memory (Duane Graveline

Malignant Medical Myths (Joel F. Kauffman)

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Overdosed America (John Abramson)

The Truth about the Drug Companies (Marcia Angell)

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Bitter Pills (Stephen Fried)
about quinolone antibiotics such as Cipro, Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin etc.

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The Antidepressant Fact Book
Your Drug May Be Your Problem
Toxic Psychiatry
Medicine Madness
(Peter R. Breggin - all books about psychotropic drugs)
____

What if medicine disappeared?
(Gerald E. Markle and Francis B. McCrea)

How doctors think
(Jerome Groopman?)

My 81 year old mother, who has Diabetes and Blood Pressure (and who is on eleven medications) was given a prescription for 750(!!!) mgs of this drug, by the doctor's physician assistant for a mild upper respiratory infection. Four days later, she ends up in the hospital delirious and confused, with pain in her back and legs. She recognized no one. After a few days, and constant intravenous fluids, she came back to herself. She's always been sharp as a tack, and in pretty good shape for her age. When she was brought to the hospital, they thought she was stroking, and of course, she couldn't tell them that she was just prescribed this medication. All her battery of tests came back negative for stroke. Her useless doctor never even showed up at the hospital. If she had, she could have told them about the prescribed Levaquin. When she was released from the hospital, I called the pharmacist and asked what medication that she was taking could of caused this - and he said without a doubt, the Levaquin. This stuff is absolute poison and should not be on the market. How it got approved, I don't know - maybe kickbacks to them - for sure kickbacks to the doctors who prescribe it and claim side affects are very rear with this medication. If you are every given a prescription for this - ask your doctor for something else.

It`s very important to educate yourself when it comes to medications.

When I saw people close to me suffer I had to find out why and I am quite sure that it had to to with side effects.

I started to do my own "research" in 2003 and it continues to this day.

One of the groups of medications that I have looked at is quinolone antibiotics to which group Levaquin belongs.

Most medications in this group have similar side effects. For more information go to:

Please visit www.fqresearch.org and www.fqvictims.org (?).

Also search on Google for "floxed" or "floxies". That´s what people call themselves when they suffer from side effects.

I would also recommend Stephen Frieds interesting book "Bitter Pills".

Medications are needed sometimes, but not to the extent that they are prescribed today!

took Levaquin 500mg x 5 days end of March ,2008- no problems except still with bronchitis sx.Saw Allergist who said not enough,long enough-put on 750mg x 21 days, again no side effects and got better. after 5 days off, started productive cough so placed on another 16 days of 750mg. On day 13, awoke with terrible pain in knuckles, knee. Completed med as drug book only listed tendon pain not joint pain. Now 4 days after completing, pain in elbows as well as knees, less in knuckles. None of joint pain sx listed on Pharmacy info either.

Are you guys for real? In reading through the side effects blogs it really reads like it is all the same person writing, maybe someone trying to beat up on the competition or something. It did scare me out of letting my 24 year old son take it for severe sinus infections, however and I just hope that two days of a 750mg dose per day doesn't show forth the negative effects in the days to come!! Please tell me it's not as bad as it sounds!

I have never, ever responded to any of these "side effects" websites before! As a healthy person who very rarely requires medication, I had to find something on the web that would "explain" my suspected side effects for the Levaquin I've been taking for the last three days. This was prescribed for a UTI. The "new" side effect (that I didn't see addressed anywhere here) was what I can only describe as "asthma-like," to include wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Anyone else with this symptom? I was also overcome with a great sense of futility that just scared me. I am normally a positive, "the-sun'll-come-up-tomorrow" type person, but this just knocked me for a loop!

I had a UTI and was given Cipro. I wake up shaking and having chest pain. My elbows hurt and my toes. I had diarrhea and stomach cramps as well as leg cramps. I am almost feeling like I have a panic disorder now, because I am so nervous about nothing. I wake up every night with either the palpitations in my heart. I thought I was having a mitral valve prolapse which I had almost twenty years ago. Now I have developed a spot in my eye like spider webs which now it has turned into a flash of light on the side of my right eye. I believe all this is from the Cipro. I was fine before it.

Hey you all......the lipitor saga continues. I posted #23428 on Sept 6th. On Sept 13th I picked a 30 pound piece of fabric up at work and there was a big POP in my left arm. Distal Biceps Tendon rupture.....TORE it off the Bone. I have been weightlifting for 20 years and never had an injury such as this. I am used to lifting much heavier weights with no problem. Had surgery to reattach 9/18...7 weeks post op and still in brace. Will take a year to fully heal. Both my doctor and Ortho said they have never heard of tendon rupture caused by statin drugs...but I am convinced that it was directly related to lipitor damage/side effects. I did have my doctor shaking in his shoes, I told him with conviction that I would never again take a statin drug and I held him responsible. Would like to hear from anyone who may have had tendon issues while taking this drug. I hope we all get better soon!
Peace
Brian

Are you for real? While I can understand what you are TRYING to say, this posting lacks any degree of understanding of the problem. Obviously you have not experienced what some of these people (myself included) have experienced.

Just out of curiosity, if someone starts taking a medication and it is determined they are going into anaphylactic shock, should they continue?

Also, your own posting references "last-line of defense..." and there lies the problem. The FDA is approving things based on political motivations rather than objective criteria, drug companies are legalized pushers looking to make a buck, and doctors are overzealous and overworked so they are handing it out like candy. Last-line?? Not quite.

Bottom line, this stuff is poison to some people and not only should they stop, they never should have started on it. Read "Bitter Pills", read the web, talk to "good" doctors, but get some information before running off at the mouth.

Uh, I have read a number of postings where people are PROUD they stopped taking this last-line of defense antibiotic. Read up and be prepared before you take it. Stopping short only breeds drug resistant bacteria. If people didn't do this, we wouldn't need these horrible medicines.

You, and all the others that do the same, are RESPONSIBLE for this medication's existence. Had you kept taking that Amoxicillin back, when you were a spry 18 year old, instead of stopping when you "felt better", there wouldn't be a constant bacterial arms race.

Stopping these medications mid-treatment is a disservice to HUMANITY.

Keep it up, and next time you get a staph infection, you might find there are no antibiotics that work anymore.