Coffee cup symptoms and conditions

OH MY GOD!!!! I thought I might be imagining things. I was prescribed Levaquin and clyndamycin on December 15 2008 for a urinary tract infection that appeared to have gone systemic. After 2 days my right knee swelled up. I went back to the Dr the next day and he looked up both antibiotics in his little book and said the clyndamycin could cause joint swelling and pain. He told me to stop taking the clyndamycin and take 600 mg of ibuprofen for the joint paig. His little book said nothing about levaquin. Well I kept taking the levaquin and the pain spread literally to every joint in my body. I could not walk and had trouble even holding a coffee cup. The pain was unreal. I completed the 10 day course of the levequin as instructed. The joint pain was getting worse. I called the Dr. again and they did blood work to rule out arthritis and stuff like that. He put me on prednisone which has significantly helped with the pain. He said it may be a coincidence that I have developed arthritis and that it had nothing to do with the UTI. Well as I was watching TV last night I saw a lawyers commercial for a law suit against levaquin and cipro. Then today got on the internet and found this site. I am going to call the Dr. and tell him to update his little book he looked up the levaquin in. My fear is how long after you stop taking this poison does the joint pain end? I wish I would have known all of this sooner. I will never take this drug again.

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

My father has been taking Lipitor for 5-6 years. It wasn't until my mother passed away in Dec. '07 that I started looking into his health. He used to be a hard working and vibrant man, but sometime in the summer of '06 he started doing less and less around the house. His hands would ache and so would his joints, he could not grip things like he used to, he would wake up at night in pain. He is 77 years old and had a stroke about 8-10 years ago. After looking into Lipitor I saw all the possible side effects and it warns not to take if you are over 70, have had a stroke , etc., etc., BUT the doctor kept him on it. Feb 4th, I talked him into getting off of it. We will let the doctor know after a month or so. Hopefully he still has a chance to get somewhat back to the man and workaholic father I know him as.

Well....an update on my update. Legs aching again. I thought the symptoms were gone. Apparently not. Leg pain and nausea. I am just hoping against hope (and praying!) that these are not permanent. I've been off the Levaquin for 2 weeks+ now after being on it for 12 days. This drug is a nightmare.

I have had surgery on my elbow for a bone spur and tendon repair, I have a tremendous amount of pain and am not aloud to use my arm for anything for almost 6 to 8 weeks, no lifting, no pullin. no pushing only some writting and am only able to lift the wieght of a coffee cup. This has been very frustrating to me, I have been on vicodin and percacets for almost three weeks and now started Ultracet cause it is "non-narcotic" I am so far having no pain relief and no side affects, all this stuff on this page has actually scarred me but I don't know where all these symptoms are coming from I sure hope it kills the pain in time but this first dose has done nothing for me

I was on Lipitor for about 5 weeks, had muscle pain and weakness....now my muscles ache and hurt all over, am weak in the arms and legs, having trouble walking and holding my coffee cup......I stopped it cold turkey, and will not take it again!!

I am a 62 year old healthy male. About two months ago I was prescribed 500 mg. Levaquin by my urologist for a suspected prostate infection. Within the first 24 hours I experienced strange visual effects and extreme fatigue. By the third day on the medication I began to notice motor coordination problems. On the fourth day I awoke with chills, major hand tremors, and extreme motor coordination difficulties in my hands (I was unable to pick up a coffee cup with only one hand). I stopped taking it at this point, of course, and the symptoms gradually declined. It was a terrifying experience.

About one month later I had a relapse of the original symptoms and immediately arranged an appointment with my regular physician, who ordered a brain MRI and a prescription for a beta blocker to relieve the tremors. The MRI was negative. My symptoms improved markedly, almost immediately, and have not returned, even though I am no longer taking the beta blocker (after one month of regular dosage). I have my fingers crossed for the future.

I learned that my sister had similar reactions to Levaqui, suggesting that there might be a genetic predisposition to such an extreme reaction. From now on I will indicate to medical personnel that I cannot tolerate any member of the fluoroquinalone family of antibiotics.

As a side note, it turned out that I did not have a prostate infection after all but rather that a sudden upward jump in a PSA reading led the urologist to suspect the infection. A retest showed that the reading was anomalous, completely out of line with my history of lab tests for PSA. The worrisome part of this experience is the physician's willingness to prescribe such a powerful drug without clear indication of an infection.