Fluoroquinolones symptoms and conditions

You really need to be extra-aware of the possibility of tendon damage. There have been a lot of reports on these side Levaquin. A lot of people have developed serious tendon injuries including tendon ruptures and severe tendinitis. Take a look at ****** -- there's lots of literature and studies showing that many takers of fluoroquinolones have suffered terrible side effects after just single uses. You need to be aware of this so you can take action (like getting to a doctor) before major damage sets in. Hope this helps.

You really need to be able to recognize the onset of tendon injuries. As you can see on the board here, thousands have developed serious tendon injuries including tendon ruptures and severe tendinitis. Take a look at ****** -- there's lots of literature and studies showing that many takers of fluoroquinolones have suffered terrible side effects after just single uses. Let's get out the word so doctors and patients are fully aware before undertaking the risk fluoroquinolines pose. People need to be aware of this so they are able to take action (like getting to a doctor) before major damage sets in. Hope this helps.

About a month ago I was given Levaquin, for Pneumonia. After about 5 days my face and neck swelled up, Then came the Prednisone at the hospital. I have never in my 38 years not been able to control my own body. I do take Zoloft,and Xanax for anxiety. No one said I would have a problem walking (legs are not working properly) eating,sleeping, Buzzing in my head. Unable to lift my 3 year old let alone care for her, I get extremely fatigued easily. My Husband has missed a week of work, and if your like us....NOT GOOD. Even trying to type is hard I must look at every letter, It's like I REALLY have to think to make my body move.My kidneys feel like balloons in my back when I lay down,Uncontrollable crying. I can't believe this has happened. We have been going through this the whole month of May.Is anyone able to control the shakes? Even my head is shaking??? I suppose if I had tried hard drugs ever, this might be what it's like. I Pray someone can help me. I am so afraid of what is happening to my body. By the way, when they put me on the Prednisone they did not give me a taper... Had to see another Doctor for that. So as I sit here today, hands shaking, head shaking, knees feeling to loose to walk on them, Hard to breathe, or even to think the way I could a month ago. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME...

I took Levaquin for a sinus infection March 26th... 5 doses of 750 mg. I felt slightly better initially but that lasted only a day. I think it was prescribed wrongly, I had a virus and was getting over it... not a bacterial infection. The problems started about a week after the 5 day course ended. I ended up in the ER feeling like I was going to die, some strangeness in my breathing and feeling as if I was having a stroke... like I was going to pass out. They found nothing wrong except an elevated blood pressure and did a d-dimer to see if it could be an embolism (at my insistence, I had no idea this could be from levaquin and thought I was having a stroke. After the ER visit, I just felt like I had the flu, but I didn't... weak, extremely tired with some muscle aches ... two weeks out I had a lot of pain in both legs, like charlie horses that didn't go away... that lasted several days to a week... the weird depersonalization and the anxiety has been intense throughout. Constipation (never ever had it before this drug) started about a month out from taking it. I still feel pain in my legs from time to time and a feeling like there is a tight band across the top of my left foot... like when you tie your shoe too tight and need to loosen the shoe strings, but I am not wearing shoes.

I have been taking this Leviquin for 4 days. I have had severe cramps in my calves and feet in the middle of the night. So bad that I get up and try to step em' off but to no avail. My muscles hurt so bad in my legs arms and I have been very sick to my stomach. Do these things go away? I am not taking one more of those pills. I would rather have sinus and bronchitis problems than deal with these horrific side effects!! Any feed back?

I am trying to spread the word on this drug, Avelox! It is poison and needs to be taken off the shelf.
We all need to complain to Bayer and the FDA. Although I am sure the FDA knew about all these side effects when they gave their stamp of approval on this one. It's all a business. They don't care how many people they kill as long as they make a buck!!!!!!!
Please take the time to share your bad experience with the drug with my readers so we can pass the word on this BAD drug.
******

I have had pain in my knees and legs after taking levaquin for pneumonia for 10 days. I am weak. It is hard to get up and down and very painful with steps of any kind. I am very depressed from the pain and inability to find anything that will help. I have been to an orthopedic doctor and had X-RAYS. Just given anti-inflammatory. No tendon or obvious reasons for pain. What do you do now? Who do you go to for help? In
the mean time, my breathing at night has gotten worse again.

I have a history of sinus infections. After two rounds of Augmentin did not clear up my latest one, my doctor finally gave me the steroid pack and Avelox. He had tried to avoid the steroids. I have had them so many times. I finished my steroids 5 days ago and my Avelox yesterday. I read the side effects and did as it suggested. Since it mentions low potassium would not be good I ate a banana every day and had some orange juice to keep my potassium levels up. The drug warms against taking any pain killers such as Aleve, Advil, etc. One earlier reviewer admitted taking Aleve and had a bad reaction... well.... bad move.... I have had no real side effects that I can say for sure are Avelox related. I did feel a little less focused at times, but was not obviously groggy or woosey. I did have a little abdominal discomfort that I usually do not have with drugs, but it was short-lived and only occurred 3 of the 10 days. Many people have bad effects because they do not follow the warnings against anti-acids, pain killers, low potassium, etc. Some people are more likely to react to any medicine, while others like me rarely have a side effect. My tendons did not hurt... nothing.... People who are out of shape, have a poor physical life style, etc. sometimes help contribute to the drugs reactions by being in basically poor physical health to begin with. America is one of the fattest, out of shape nations out there due to our abundance of everything. The majority of persons can take Avelox with no real issues. I will take it again. I truly feel concern for those who had problems, but sometimes we are partly guilty by how we don't take care of ourselves when we are well...... As with any drug, some persons will react no matter what... It's often just a matter of inherited genetics...... Be safe everyone, and take time to evaluate how you take care of your body and really decide to do better. For the record I am almost 58, 5-9 158 pounds and work out semi-regularly.... Take care of that temple God gave you. Its the only one we get on this Earth,,,,,,

I was hospitalized with a severe kidney infection, later to be told it was e-coli. After several days of intravenous antibiotics along with prednisone in my IV to help manage terrific arthritis pain, I came home from the hospital with a prescription of levaquin, prednisone and something for my stomach that I could have gotten over the counter. I have progressively gotten sicker on my stomach, had severe attacks 3 to 5 times a day, headaches, extreme fatigue and weakness. Worst of all were the crazy thoughts when I woke up partly due to nightmares and partly to just not feeling myself and having a feeling of loss of control of all my emotions. I told my husband I believe I was going into a depression. After stumbling onto this site, I threw the 5 remaining levaquin in the trash and thank God that I found all the information I have today on this POISON. I agree with many that the side effects far outweigh any good this antibiotic has done for me. I continue to be very sick and weak. I just hope when I wake tomorrow this mess is out of my system for good.

I am a 57 year old male, who is in very good shape and active playing sports. I had a bad cold and had just finished a 3 day "burst" of prednisone per my asthma specialist. I am supposed to keep it on hand and take it if my usual meds and "rescue" inhaler are not working, and I feel that I am going into an infection (asthmatic bronchitis). The steroid treatment did not work, so I saw a doctor who prescribed Levaquin (with a coupon for $15 off) - for 10 days. The pharmacist remarked that they had seen a LOT of these coupons and that the drug reps must be doing their jobs. I read the warnings which noted that "in rare instances, ...". after I got home. Since I was leaving town immediately and did not have time to change meds, I took the Levaquin. I have suffered leg cramps for over three weeks now and don't know when or if they will disappear. The cramps appear in my hamstrings, groin, thighs, and calf muscles. They are debilitating. Sometimes I can barely walk. I am no longer able to play racquetball. I try to stretch out and warm up thoroughly before physical activity, but the cramps still appear in one muscle group or more - then I stop immediately.

Update: I took Levaquin 2 months ago, stopping after 7 daily doses of 500mg for an upper and lower RI. I did not have the extreme reaction to it that others here suffered. I had general fatigue, brain fog, loss of appetite, dizziness and tight joints. I had always exercised regularly prior to Levaquin. I also had a sudden onset of bloating and inability to digest food. Doc said Levaquin wouldn't cause those symptoms. It's hard to tell if it was the Levaquin, but...

Now 2 months after my last Levaquin dose, my joints seem OK, I can exercise, although I don't push it too hard since that can aggravate any joint damage done by L, the brain fog is better, and the digestion is still a problem sometimes.

Levaquin symptoms can appear months after the last dose, so I am being vigilant.

God bless everyone here who has had horrible experiences with Levaquin and I hope that your bodies will heal as the months go by. I will be posting updates in the future.

I was given Avelox at my clinic for bacterial pneumonia, the doctor said it was a wonder drug and I'd be up and running in a couple of days. I took the medicine that night and I got very dizzy and started sweating, felt like an anxiety attack so I took my xanax and it helped a bit. The next day I tried to get up and about 15 min. later my head started buzzing and my ears were ringing, I tried to walk up the stairs and dropped to my knees at the top step and fell to the ground. I didn't lose consciousness but I couldn't move or speak for several min. when I started to come to, I crawled to my bed and everything was spinning, I started to have severe chest pain and was rushed back to the clinic. The doctor said to stay on the Avelox and take it before bed and finish all the dose, so I did, and gradually got worse and worse. I went to my doctor the day after Christmas and told him what happened, he said I still had crackling in my chest and my cough was still bad, he put me back on Avelox for 3 days, so I've now been on it for 10 days. I became so weak and couldn't eat, it felt like the food wouldn't go down, I was sweating, dizzy, still had cough so I called my doctor again and he put me on prednisone taper and another 5 days of Avelox. Two days later I ended up in the hospital with severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscle weakness(felt like I had lost muscle), severe bone pain to the touch, sweating, extreme fatigue, decreased mental ability, confusion, headaches and chills in my legs. It has been over three months since I first got sick and I feel worse today, my doctor's have no answers or solutions, just let it run its course. I feel trapped in my body, I'm 33 and a mother of two active kids, and I can barely get out of bed most days. I feel like my life has been taken from me and I want it back.

I took 4 500 mg doses of Levaquin for a sinus infection on Aug 19-22 2008. I am now almost 5 months out. I suffered multiple adverse reactions and have been waiting to post to see how things resolved. I am 39 years old and in excellent health. I rarely see doctors and have never had anything chronic. This is what I experienced: extreme fatigue, all over muscle soreness/stiffness, severe headaches, tingling/numbness in hands/feets, serious shoulder problems requiring ortho, physical therapy and chiropractor, irregular heart rhythm, irregular kidney function, constant ringing in my ears, impaired vision. Currently most of these are resolved except irregular kidney function (although this has improved), shoulder issues (not normal yet) and ringing in my ears.

You can't judge the full scope of your reaction by your body's initial reaction. As time unfolds you will get the big picture of how this drug harms the various systems of the body.

I can not begin to explain how taking this drug has impacted my life and my family. I have 3 children to take care of. I thank God that I am healing and have now resumed almost all of my daily activities. I pray that I will soon be back to full health. This is absolute madness. I am so sorry that so many of us have been injury in such a way.

My eighty year old wife wa given ten Avelox tabs and told to take them one each day for her lung infection.
She has taken them five days along with a cough syrup which contains codeine.
The result is that she has been sleeping about eighteen out of every twenty=four hours.
After finding this site, I stopped her from taking ant more of them.

I have taken three 500mg doses of Levaquin since Saturday. They were prescribed by my urologist for a "possible" minor prostates that might be affecting my PSA (2.2). The very first night I was unable to sleep, tossing and turning all night. Thought nothing of it, and blamed it on diet or too much sleep the previous day. However, insomnia has continued for three straight nights and last night I woke at 4:30 AM with shortness of breath (had to take long deep breaths to feel like I was getting enough oxygen) that felt like an anxiety attack. Although there was no pain, I felt like my heart was pounding and rapid. Finally got a little more sleep and woke up feeling OK in the morning, but blood pressure was elevated. I continually feel like I'm on a caffeine high. I never associated it, but, I woke up second and third days with a sore throat and have had a few minor muscle twitches in arms, legs and abdomen.

I feel fortunate compared to others on this forum. I have stopped taking the Levaquin and have an appointment with my family doctor tomorrow. As a side note, I had an acute prostates this time last year and took Cipro for over one month with no similar side effects that I can recall. Does anyone know if two drugs from the same group can have such different side effects, or can I expect the same problems if I start taking Cipro again?

Im sad to find out all the problems people are having from levaquin. But now Im able to put 2 and 2 together because Im realizing whats been compromising my health. This is my second year with bronchitis and my second prescription of levaquin. I now believe its what has caused me horrible nightmares, suicidal thoughts, irritation, mental anguish, stress tendon/muscle pain in my arms and shoulders. I bent over to pick up my dog to help him into the car and I got a terrible pain in my chest. I thought I was dying. And I still have a rattle in my lungs after 2 weeks of levaquin so it has not helped at all. If anything it has caused me more problems that has opened the door for additional medications of unknown origin. I wish I could find a real witch doctor.

Oct. 9,2008. I was given Avelox Monday Oct 6,2008 from my family Dr for a sinus infection . I went home & took the prescribed dose of 1, 400 mg tablet, and15 minutes later I felt a burning sensation coming from my toes to my face , I was having problems breathing , I suffer from asthma when I have any kind of sinus or cold type illness. ,I thought that was what was happening,but the inhaler did not help,, I couldn't stand up ,I couldn't sit up , I couldn't talk , I went into seizures,& started puking . I honestly thought I was dying , I couldn't even call 911 , thank God for memory call, my mother called 911 as I was home alone with my 5 year old granddaughter .
I was so incoherent ,I couldn't tell the EM"s what happened, all I could get out was anti.. The EM's thought I was either overdosed or having cardiac arrest . In the ER,the doctor's gave me all the anti allergens ,and I started coming out of it. I was soaked w/ sweat from the burning, I couldn't
speak right, it was if I had a stroke . My legs and body hurt so bad, I never experienced this much pain . 4 days latter I still am not alright . My entire body was red , I was so afraid to take even an Advil the next day . Then I heard the ER Dr. told my husband they're having a lot of problems w/ this Avelox! I asked an attorney if this is a suit and he said not unless it becomes a class suit! How on earth did the FDA approve this stuff ???
I would tell everyone ,this stuff is not worth the risk ! I came close to dying over a sinus infection ! DO NOT USE THIS AVELOX !

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 too have been on a regimen of 750mg of Levaquin for an infection on my leg. On day 2 I could not figure out why my upper keft arm was hurting me so much. I as so many others, wrote it off to hanging drapes and cleaning out my pantry. Four days later the pain started in my right arm and again, I was trying to figure out what in the world was going on. It's an intense pain like I've never had before. I have Crohn's disease so I wrote some of it off to that as well. I saw my Doctor today and didn't even think about telling her about the Levaquin (different Doctor prescribed it). As I lay in bed this evening unable to sleep I decided to do some research on Levaquin as it was the only thing I could think of that was causing problems. Boy, did I discover something. Thank you all for posting your issues on this website. I will be seeing the prescribing doctor tomorrow and will let her know the outcome of the drug and will make sure that I will never be taking Levaquin again. Too bad we can't get this word out to everyone being prescribed this drug. It's dangerous and hardly worth it. There has to be something else out there that we can take. .

Comment: What is behind the ignorance and denial found within the medical community regarding the true safety profile of the fluoroquinolones?

An editorial in response to the FDA's recent addition of "Black Box Warnings" to the fluoroquinolone class.

Written by the Director of the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation, Mr. David T. Fuller.

The Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation continues to collect post-marketing reports regarding the non-abating nature of the severe and crippling adverse drug reactions associated with fluoroquinolone therapy via the Internet. Ever since the research forum went on line, the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Forum hosted by Yahoo has received thousands of reports, including numerous associated fatalities. The homepage for the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation, www.fqresearch.org has accumulated over 4000 medical journal entries, newspaper articles, post marketing reports, lawsuits and other such supporting data the clearly shows the rampant ignorance and denial within the medical community regarding the non-abating nature of such events.

For more than forty years, since the introduction of Nalidixic Acid in 1962, the victims of fluoroquinolone toxicity have been denied the medical care they so desperately need as their physicians have routinely failed to recognize, treat and report such events. Peripheral Neuropathy, spontaneous tendon rupture, severe and non abating joint and tendon damage, resulting from such toxicity, are all known, listed and published adverse drug reactions to these chemotherapeutic agents, commonly referred to as fluoroquinolones or quinolones. Yet the victims continue to be told by their physicians "it cannot be the drug".

Numerous news stories since the anthrax scare back in 2001 have documented such injuries, with the most recent being the death of the daughter of one member of the research forum, whose death was the direct result of such careless scripting of these toxic and dangerous drugs. Another forum, the quinolone adverse drug reaction forum, hosted by Yahoo since February 14, 1999, has accumulated over 57,000 such post regarding the damage this class of chemotherapeutic agents can and will do. The law firm of Sheller, Ludwig and Badey, one of the largest class action and medical malpractice firm in the Northeast, had filed a class action lawsuit against Bayer AG, the manufacturer of Cipro. This suit was filed on behalf of all those who have suffered such damage including the Capitol Hill Staff, the Washington Postal Workers, and the employees of the American Media who were exposed to Ciprofloxacin as a result of the Anthrax Scare. This suit was later withdrawn alleged to be the result of the astronomical cost of such litigation.

In spite of the overwhelming evidence of the non-abating nature of such injuries, the FDA continues to approve new drugs within this class together with new indications for those already on the market. Ignoring the 9,711 reports that include 806 associated deaths and 39,128 total reactions found within the AERS reports for Levofloxacin. (Levaquin Nov. 1997 - May 30, 2007) In 2004 these numbers were 5,276 reports, 473 associated deaths and 19,792 total reactions respectively. Together with the 8,766 reports which include 837 associated deaths and 40,395 total reactions for Ciprofloxacin found within the AERS reports as well. (Nov. 1, 1997 - June 5, 2007) Where as these numbers were 4,995 reports, 480 associated deaths and 20,890 total reactions in 2004. As well as the following:

Floxin: Nov. 1997 - May 30, 2007

Total reactions: 13,495

Total death outcomes by case: 311

Total individual safety reports: 2,962

Proquin (ciprofloxacin) Nov. 1, 1997 - June 5, 2007

Total reactions: 40,151

Total death outcomes by case: 831

Total individual safety reports: 8,688

Tequin: Nov. 1997 - June 5, 2007

Total reactions: 15,494

Total death outcomes by case: 196

Total individual safety reports: 5,307

Factive: Nov. 1997 - June 5, 2007

Total reactions: 1,979

Total death outcomes by case: 7

Total individual safety reports: 1,108

Avelox: Nov. 1997 - June 5, 2007

Total reactions: 30,160

Total death outcomes by case: 337

Total individual safety reports: 7,391

Almost fifty percent of such chemotherapeutic agents have been removed from clinical practice or their use severely curtailed, due to toxicity issues. Yet, Mr. MacCarthy, the 2001 Vice President of U.S. Medical Science at Bayer's West Haven facility stated in 2001"If you are telling me that someone had these effects and they were persisting, long term, months to years after treatment I would be surprised."

The members of the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation had been telling Mr. MacCarthy's employer exactly that for years prior to him making such a statement to the press. Those within the media who have an interest in interviewing those who "had these effects and they were persisting, long term, months to years after treatment" are welcomed to visit our website and forum. For we state unequivocally that Mr. MacCarthy was being less than forthright in the statements he had made back in 2001. Such documentation has been made available to the firm he works for year after year. The adverse reactions experienced by the members have shown to be both persistent and non-abating, "year after year", contrary to what Mr. MacCarthy had stated publicly. As one member of the forum so eloquently stated, "Mr. MacCarthy is mistakened"(sic) as we have the documentation as well as hundreds of such victims to prove all that we state here which is available for public scrutiny.”

Those within the media who have an interest in interviewing those who “had these effects and they were persisting, long term, months to years after treatment” are welcomed to visit this any one of the thousands of such websites found on the Internet as well. Mr. MacCarthy apparently could not be bothered to take the time to do so prior to making the comments that he had in 2001, in my humble opinion.

Here we are SEVEN years later, and we still continue to hear such denials from the manufacturers and the medical community even though these numbers have increased dramatically. Levaquin has been reported as having the most numerous, non-abating and severe adverse drug reactions associated with its use on Mediciations.com

A review of the online adverse drug reaction reporting forum: www.Medications.com (October 2002 – February 2004) revealed that Levaquin was associated with approximately 17% of ALL adverse drug reactions being reported to this site, irregardless of the drug being reported upon. Medications.com started receiving such reports as of October of 2002. Medications.com is an Internet community that allows people interested in commonly prescribed drugs to interact so that they can discuss the implications -- both positive and negative of using these important tools in modern medicine. Medications.com list over 4,500 drugs in common use to date, users have posted thousands of side effects and messages about many of these drugs.

The total number of adverse reactions, regardless of the drug mentioned, as of 2-11-2004, totals approximately 4,469. Levaquin, by far, received more such post than ANY other fluoroquinolone drug listed on this site. Of the 774 adverse reactions reported for all of the fluoroquinolones listed, 752 were for Levaquin. The only fatality listed for a fluoroquinolone was for Levaquin. 97.5% of all adverse reactions to the fluoroquinolones were reported for Levaquin. As such reports are received anonymously the verification of such reports was not feasible nor did we attempt this. But one can assume that receiving this many reports over a sixteen-month period that the majority of such reports are indeed valid. This study also lacks the necessary controls required to present the above as fact and as such should be viewed for debating purposes only.

A review of the side effects posted on Medications.com (October 2002 – February 2004) for the fluoroquinolones used in clinical practice in the United States revealed the following:

Avelox 8 post

Ciprofloxacin 7 post

Floxin 5 post

Levaquin 752 post w/(1) fatality

Tequin 2 post

The predominate adverse reactions reported for Levaquin are as follows:

Nuerotoxicity

Tendon Damage and or rupture

Insomnia

Non abating injury (multiskeletical)

Peripheral Neuropathy

Gastrointestinal

Anxiety and Panic attacks

Vision Problems

Rash, sweats, taste perversions, hearing loss

ALL of which those who suffer such reactions are being told by the treating physician to have no association with fluoroquinolone therapy. This trend is repeated on a number of adverse drug reaction forums dealing with the adverse drug reactions as they relate to the Fluoroquinolones. As the above data has not been verified other than visiting this site and doing a physical count the absolute accuracy has not been determined.

Since the time that this analysis was performed the numbers have increased so dramatically to the point that it is no longer feasible to even attempt such a comparison today. And yet the NUMBER ONE drug with the most adverse reactions, as well as the most severe adverse reactions, continues to be levaquin on that site.

In spite of the overwhelming evidence presented at that 62 Meeting of the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee that the fluoroquinolones cause irreversible joint damage in the pediatric population the FDA has recently added the use of Ciprofloxacin in the pediatric population, Treating children as young as one years of age. We are currently faced with a clear and present danger regarding these drugs as the FDA, ignoring the tragic results of such careless scripting, has now authorized this use knowing full well that the physician will continue to abuse their discretion.

I challenge the FDA to explain to me how they expect a child who cannot even walk or talk yet to register a complaint of joint and tendon pain. Numerous studies have indicated that such use in a pediatric patient runs the risk of crippling the child for life. One such patient has undergone numerous surgeries to repair this damage and remains crippled to this day. Yet additional clinical trials continue aided and abetted by the FDA, for other drugs in this class other than Ciprofloxacin. A disaster that is detailed within the 62nd meeting of the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee where it was so eloquently stated:

“…when we talk about the issue of arthropathy that potentially includes a number of things, ranging from simple effusion, for instance, of a knee joint, which might rapidly resolve after the conclusion of therapy, to a more permanent disability. ..” (sic)

“…in September of 1997 there is now a ciprofloxacin suspension which is available, and although it continues to have the same warning statements about arthropathy in juvenile animals and the potential concern in pediatric populations, obviously, the issue of off label use will extend over to pediatric populations in this formulation….”(sic)

“…An important safety question is, what adverse events should be monitored, and Doctor Goldberger alluded to this earlier. This is some of the examples I present. One is permanent lameness, reversible lameness, joint effusion, joint pain, and even latent articular disease or damage that may occur months or years following drug exposure, and there may be others….”(sic)

“…And, data submitted to the Agency, as well as data from the scientific literature, indicate that these lesions don't appear to be reversible…”(sic)

“…Doctor Stahlmann in Berlin is working on an idea that it may be an effect between the endocrines, the magnesium and the matrix and the quinolone. And that data is just coming out now. But as to the exact mechanism, I think you're right. I don't think we have a handle, as far as I know, on the exact mechanism. If there's anybody else that does, I'd sure like to hear it…”(sic)

“… Relating your personal experience, I was wondering about the potential for a delayed effect that in fact one might have a patient who had some histologic changes that would not be manifest clinically for many years. Is that a potential?” (sic)

“… I think it is a potential…”(sic)

“… In trying to assess toxicity with a very sensitive assay, obviously you've got tissue that you can look at in your animal models. There is some human data that were collected by Doctor Urs Schaad using MRI scanning in children and I'm wondering if you can correlate some of your histopathologic findings with MR in the animal model to give us an idea of how sensitive it would be sort of as a follow-up to Doctor Klein's question is the MR something that will be able to predict long-term outcomes, even if there are no clinical symptoms during therapy….”(sic)

“… That I don't know. I'll just be perfectly frank. I don't know. But on the slides I've seen from the animals from the chronic study, the repaired articular cartilage that is there is principally fibrocartilage yet it will provide the same joint margin and it has a calcified base and when we stain it with safrain O screen there's no proteoglycans there so it's going to make it an extremely chondromalaistic area and beyond the one year I can't tell you what the results will be…”(sic)

“…Anyway, it was by a group in Vienna where they looked at the articular cartilage of postmortem specimens of articular cartilage from kids with cystic fibrosis that had been on quinolones for a period of time and they found that there was damage in the chondrocytes….”(sic)

“…There were no deaths reported in U.S. pediatric zero to 18 year old cases where a flouroquinolone was reported as the suspect drug. However, there are eight deaths in the whole cohort of suspect and concomitant flouroquinolone drug reports in the system. Five of these deaths reported ciprofloxacin as a concomitant drug and not the suspect drug. These five were U.S. cases with ages ranging from seven months to six years. The remaining three deaths were all foreign, all 18 year old patients with either ofloxacin or norfloxacin reported as the suspect drug….”(sic)

“…There are 14 reports of arthropathy or arthralgia in the pediatric zero to 18 year old flouroquinolone reports. One report of a 14 year old girl had both ofloxacin and lomefloxacin as the suspect drug so there is an extra count because of the two flouroquinolones on this one report. This particular report indicates that a pediatric orthopedic surgeon diagnosed femoral anteversion as the cause for the girl's arthralgia, therefore you see it listed twice, and not the flouroquinolones. Most of the reports indicated that either an involved knee or elbow with or without other joints was involved….”(sic)

“…One interesting case which is not included on this slide for arthralgias was a 15 year old boy who received ofloxacin IV for an emergency appendectomy and had not grown more than his 70 inches in height over the last year. The 15th percentile for height for a 15 year old boy however is 66.5 inches and the expected growth rate is about two inches per year…”(sic)

“…Three patients had their seizure after the first dose of flouroquinolone, one on ciprofloxacin and the other two on ofloxacin, one of which had received ofloxacin several months earlier…”(sic)

“…The 15 psychiatric reports are a loose grouping of reports which include events ranging from euphoria to psychosis. The ages range from five to 18 years with the median at 15 years. There were two suicide attempts, one on ofloxacin and the other on norfloxacin, three reports of hallucination, one each on ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and norfloxacin, and one report of aggressive behavior with confusion in a patient who had a psychiatric history and was on norfloxacin. The seven cases of photosensitivity were reported with lomefloxacin with one case on ciprofloxacin and two cases on ofloxacin. …”(sic)

“…I will mention that there were 152 U.S. cases aged zero to 18 years in the U.S. AERS system suspect flouroquinolones in the WHO line listing. The country with the most pediatric reports in the WHO foreign reports is the United Kingdom with 177 reports followed by Germany with 72 and France with 71. The rest of the countries had 20 or fewer reports….”(sic)

“…And with regards to muscular-skeletal events, 21 percent of the patients had an event in ciprofloxacin…”(sic)

“…We have focused our analysis on joint disorders and pefloxacin. 79 cases were reported and consist mainly of arthralgia. I don't know the pronunciation of hydrarthrosis -- 49 persons. It involved the knee in 52 cases, the wrist in 20 cases, the elbow in 20 cases, the shoulder in 6 cases, the ankle in 5 cases, and the hip once. It is associated with a functional discomfort in all cases, and when the duration of this discomfort is known, it can persist more than one month in 61 percent of these cases. But the outcome was favorable in 58 cases without discontinuation in two cases. …”(sic)

“…There have been sequelae in three cases with knee effusions persisting one year later in one case with discomfort following 8 months later in the second case. The third case is articular. It is a 17-year-old patient who experienced arthropathy and the drug was not suspected and the treatment was continued two following months. It leads to destructive arthropathy of the knees and the hip and prothesis was performed three years later. He was treated for a cerebral abscess. The outcome was unknown in 18 cases. In 9 cases, there was no follow-up. In the 9 last cases, we had a follow-up three months later and patients were not -- were still with disabilities and after we have no evolution….” (sic)

“… It is my understanding that one of the children had a joint replacement, is that correct?”

“ Pardon me?”

“ One of the children with the complications had an artificial joint replacement?”

“Yes.”

“…If an irreversible cartilaginous lesion can occur, it is very likely that is going to cause problems down the line and we can't even anticipate what they are like…” (sic)

In spite of the following proven horrendous side effects:

Permanent disability

Permanent lameness

Joint effusion

Joint pain

Latent articular disease or damage that may occur months or years following drug exposure

Lesions that don't appear to be reversible

Potential for a delayed effect that would not be manifest clinically for many years

Damage in the chondrocytes

Eight deaths (five of which involved Ciprofloxacin)

14 reports of arthropathy

Seizures

Stunted growth

Suicide attempts

Hallucinations

Photosensitivity

Knee effusions persisting one year later with destructive arthropathy of the knees and the hip

(And with regards to muscular-skeletal events, 21 percent of the patients had an event in

Ciprofloxacin)

As one member of this advisory committee stated “…If an irreversible cartilaginous lesion can occur, it is very likely that is going to cause problems down the line and we can't even anticipate what they are like…”

As such the FDA has no idea what risk these children face nor how to treat such events once they occur.

Yet in conclusion this committee stated “…We clearly want to encourage development of these drug for use in pediatrics…”.

Within the newest package insert for Ciprofloxacin we find peripheral neuropathy being added as a severe, non-abating adverse drug reaction. A disease state in which the peripheral nerves are so badly damaged the patient will spend the rest of their natural life in severe, non-abating pain for there is no treatment protocol available for such a disease state that offers any relief. But we see no “Black Box Warning” concerning this. Of additional concern is the fact that there are also ongoing clinical trials regarding the use of other chemotherapeutic agents within this class involving pediatric patients as young as six months of age.

For more than forty years since the introduction of Nalidixic Acid in 1962, severe and permanent injury to the patient has been documented. Not one year in the past twenty six has gone by without additional articles being published in the leading medical journals documenting the horrendous damage these drugs can and will do since the introduction of Nalidixic Acic. Now the FDA has given their blessing on the use of chemotherapeutic agents within the pediatric population.

The use of these drugs will NOT be restricted to the approved indications either. The FDA has stated “…obviously, the issue of off label use will extend over to pediatric populations …” So now a child with a minor ear ache or sore throat will risk being crippled for the rest of their lives and the FDA will continue to turn a blind eye to such abuse for it is NOT within the legal rights of the FDA to control how such drugs are used once they have been approved. The FDA has no say in the manner in which a physician chooses to utilized a drug once it has been approved.

As such we now look forward to a whole generation of pediatric patients being destroyed by the careless manner in which such drugs are utilized and the treating physician will continue to fail to recognize, treat and report such events. Just as they have been doing for the past forty six years. Numerous forums now exist on the Internet in which the adult patients have been reporting such severe reactions since 1999. We can all now look forward to the distraught parents of these children joining such forums as a direct result of this total and complete failure of the FDA to protect the health and welfare of the pediatric population. Ignoring their own research and the findings of their advisory committee, they have approved a proven dangerous and toxic drug for the use in children.

The Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation continues to collect post-marketing reports regarding the non-abating nature of the severe and crippling (and at times fatal) adverse drug reactions associated with fluoroquinolone therapy via the Internet. Since one of the first such forums went on line back in 1999, over nine years worth of horror stories regarding the damage these drugs can and will do have been forwarded to the FDA. In spite of the overwhelming evidence of such severe and at times fatal adverse reactions, the FDA continues to refuse to take action. In a letter we received from the FDA, (circa 2004) Frances T. Gipson, FACHE Office of Executive Programs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, stated that “…we will weigh all risks and benefits associated with Fluoroquinolone Class Drugs prior to taking any additional action…We will continue to monitor future adverse events reported to us.” To add insult to injury regarding such inaction by the FDA, Gipson also states “…It was also noted that the majority of those adverse events reported are well-known side effects of the Fluoroquinolone class of drugs…” Three years later (circa 2007) Public Citizen received a reply from the FDA to their petition seeking Black Box Warnings stating the very same thing almost word for word. So did the Attorney General of the State of Illinois in response to their petition filed a year earlier.

For more than forty six years, since the introduction of Nalidixic Acid in 1962, the victims of fluoroquinolone toxicity have been reporting such “well-known side effects”, only to be denied the medical care they so desperately need as their physicians have routinely failed to recognize, treat and report such events. Peripheral Neuropathy, spontaneous tendon rupture, severe and non abating joint and tendon damage, as well as fatalities resulting from such toxicity, are all known, listed and published adverse drug reactions to these chemotherapeutic agents, commonly referred to as fluoroquinolones or quinolones. Yet the victims continue to be told by their physicians “it cannot be the drug” and the FDA continues to “monitor future adverse events.” It surely does not get any sicker than this.

Numerous sites continue to be added to the Internet dealing with these reactions in an effort to draw media attention to those of us who are left outside the city gates, like lepers to be pitied and ignored. On any one of these sites you will find tens of thousands of case histories, posted in the very words of the victims themselves, which describe the horrific suffering they or their loved ones have endured as a direct result of the FDA’s failure to prevent such carnage. You will also find postings regarding those who have forfeited their lives due to the rampant ignorance regarding the adverse reactions associated with these chemotherapeutic agents.

The recent addition of this frivolous “Black Box Warning” only emphasizes the fact that such adverse reactions experienced by such victims have shown to be both persistent and non-abating, “year after year”, contrary to what Mr. MacCarthy had stated publicly seven years ago. The comments made within the video presented by the good doctor from John Hopkins emphasizes the fact that NOTHING has changed since then either when it comes to the rampant ignorance found within the medical community.

Since 1999, over nine years ago, we now have added over fifteen different sites to the Internet that deals with these issues. All dealing with what Mr. MacCarthy claimed to have no knowledge of. Perhaps he may wish to read the postings under “In Fond Memory Of” on the fqvictims site. It has been stated that “dead men tell no tales” but thanks to the efforts of those involved with bringing this new site on line; they have been given a chance to do exactly that. For you will find post after post detailing the horrendous manner in which such fatalities related to the careless and thoughtless use of these dangerous drugs, have occurred. No doubt Mr. MacCarthy has no knowledge of the permanent nature of such reactions either. Over a thousand documented fatalities, forty thousand severe adverse reactions, four thousand medical journal entries, fifteen new adverse reaction websites, nine years worth of post marketing reports, and the FDA continues to state that they intend to “continue to monitor future adverse events reported to us”. The victims continue to report the carnage, yet no one is listening. Perhaps with this “new” warning, somebody, somewhere, will. But somehow I rather doubt that we will find that they work at the FDA.

You would also note that Internet sites that published this new warning and allowed people to post a comment have been overwhelmed with patient’s complaints. I rather doubt that this would be taking place unless the drug in question is truly defective. People have far better things to do with their time I would imagine.

Mr. David T. Fuller

Director

Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation

www.fqreseach.org

fqresearch@aol.com

davidtfull@aol.com

About the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation

The foundation is a non profit organization consisting of those who have suffered irreversible and non-abating injury as a direct result of fluoroquinolone therapy. The foundation is dedicated to presenting the research regarding these issues in the hope of preventing such injury to others and to make such research readily available to those who have shown a prior interest. We strive to present accurate and up to date information to the victims of such scripting abuse so that they may be in a position to receive the medical care such rampant ignorance has denied them. Such documentation is readily available via the forum or the homepage www.fqresearch.org

The author of this Editorial has NO financial ties whatsoever with anyone found within the legal or medical field. There are no known conflicts of interest to disclose, and the Foundation has never accepted any donations, of any kind, from any person, corporation, or special interest group since it's inception.

Levaquin is a wonderful drug and one of a very few that help men with prostatitis. If you have ever suffered with a prostatitis infection you know what i mean. No problems here with Leviquin.

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

To all the people who are just starting to make the connection between their symptoms and Levaquin or other fluoroquinolone antibiotic: There is a lot of information available on the internet. Check out the following websites: fluoroquinolones.org, antibiotics.org, medicationsense.org, fqvictims.org, fqresearch.org. There are also support groups on yahoo for sufferers. Please don't forget to file a medwatch report with the FDA. Finally the FDA is starting to listen to the victims!