Gastro symptoms and conditions

My son is 40 years old, diagnosed with Downs Syndrome. In April 2007 he had a sore on his leg diagnosed as Cellulites. 15 days of Lavaquin 750 mg. was prescribed. Since taking this medication he has had a complete personality change. He appears to be hallucinating and is constantly talking to himself. He previously enjoyed TV and music. He now continues to watch TV but with the volume very low. He is no longer interested in music. He is more involved in talking to himself. We have taken him for every medical test available with no problem diagnosed. He has also been to an Neurologist, again with nothing unusual noted. He constantly is in the bathroom attempting to go to the bathroom. Yes, he has also had all the urology and gastro. tests, nothing noted. Very frustrating. Appears to be the result of the Lavaquin.

I have been on Topomax for 2 years now at 200 mg. for mood stabilization. I was recently hospitalized for my depression and they upped my Topomax dose to 400mg saying it was the "therapeutic dosage". I went into the hospital weighing 116 pounds and I am 5' 6" tall. I started having diarrhea within a couple days. By the tiime I left 2 weeks later I had gone from a size 4 to a size 2. A month and 1/2 later I had lost 15 pounds, had severe abdominal pain everytime I ate, diarrhea every morning, nausea, and had absolutely no appetite.

My psychiatrist insisted it was not the medication and I went to a gastroenterologist for the full workup- ultrosound, colonoscopy, endoscopy and surprise surprise they found nothing. My Gastro doctor concluded it must be the meds so I started backing down on the Topomax and already the diarrhea has stopped. I am at 250 and up to 101 pounds now. I am taking in over 1200 calories a day but I still can't seem to gain weight. My doctor still doesn't believe it's the Topomax but it all points in that direction. Instead they insist I'm just not eating enough But I make sure to force myself to get down 3 meals plus 2 ensures and some snacks. I still am waiting to get some appetite back. I know some women would love to be in my place to have to try to gain weight but I feel like I'm dying all the time. I have no energy, I can't even get up in the morning to take care of my kids. My fiance left me because he got so fed up with my "sickness" and thought it was all in my head. I have my mother living with me now just to help me take care of my own children and it breaks my heart that I don't have the enery to play with them. I can't see my psychiatrist for 2 more weeks so I am taking my level of medication into my own hands which I know you are not supposed to do but at this point it's that or lie in bed feeling like I'm just wasting away.

I had a chronic cough which got worse and developped into bronchitis. My doctor gave me 10 days of 500 mg levaquin. Ten days later I went back, still coughing, even though the bronchitis was a bit better. He gave me another prescription for 7 days of levaquin with a refill.
A week or so into this routine, my legs started to hurt a lot. I thought I was just out of shape and needed to get back to the gym and do some stretching exercises. I could barely climb the stairs to the gym, but I must say that after working with the trainer and stretching a lot (and it hurt a lot) I was able to walk easier and the pain lifted quite a bit. . . for a while.
I also have developped total diarrhea, which made sense to me; because I was trying to kill bad bacteria in my system which I thought was causing the bronchitis.
Fortunately, last week I decided to go to another doctor because I wasn't getting better and I felt my old doctor was just overwhelmed by the health care system and was just going through the motions. This doctor, an ENT doctor, immediately diagnosed me with LPRD (acid reflux which goes all the way to the vocal chords, resulting in cough, tightness in the throat, etc.) I know he's right because I have felt the acid reflux thing at night when I have eaten late and had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner.
Tomorrow I'm heading to a gastro doc to attack the diarrhea, but I wondered if the leg pain had anything to do with the levaquin, since it came about after a week or so on the stuff. and lo and behold found all these postings which have now scared whatever shit I have left out of me!
I'm off to get some magnesium, as someone suggested and would appreciate any other tips anyone might have. My only tip is that stretching out your legs and butt muscles, does temporarily help a bit.

I was a healthy 59 year old woman until my doctor prescribed Levaquin for a minor eye pain. I was taking 500 mg. a day for 6 days and on the seventh day I broke out with thousands of hives all over my entire body.I also had severe chest pains and a terrible pain in my back and jaw. I thought I was having a heart attack. The doctor examined me and took an EKG. I had a normal EKG it was not a heart atatck. My physican precribed benadryl and sent me home. A few days later I started with a terrible burning in my esophagus and stomach , and the terrible hives continued. I went back to my doctor and he precribed Zyrtec. The Zyrtec helps the hives to "sleep". I find that 22hours into the 24 hour pill I start to see all of the hives popping out and itching. The doctor gave me a fat free .diet and sent me on my way. Two days later back to see my physican. I told him I was still in severe pain. My stomach and esophagus were on fire and that I was having terrible pain in my diaphram when bending over. I insisted that he refer me to a gastointerstional doctor as an emergency or I was going to the Emergency Room now. He sent me to a Gastro Doctor and upon examining me he said I had GERD. He also precribed a Fat Free Diet, and gave me a pill called Zegrid. This did not help at all. I than made an appointment for an Endoscopy. The findings are acute inflamation in the stomach and inflamation in the esophagus. I also have a hiatal hernia. The doctor told me to double up on the Zegrid.. The Biopsy will be back in two weeks. My pain continued so I called the gastro docor and he gave me Carafate. I continue to have the burning, the hives, pain in my diaphram and back, and now a feeling that I have something stuck in my throat. I never had any of these issues prior to taking Levaquin. I am going back to the doctor today as I have added naseua to the list of my complaints. I eat very lightly and drink very little as when I drink I sometimes get terrible pain in my diaphram. I have been to my primary physican 8 times, gastro 2 times, I have had about $500. in prescriptions, EKG's , Sonograms, Endoscopys, and Biopsys. I am starting to wonder if the medical profession set me up. Levaquin is poison to some people. Why did my doctor give me this medication for an eye ache.? It may be too late for me to debate the use of this medication that I took blindly,but maybe someone out there will read my story and think before they blindly take a medication that may change there life forever. Does any one out there have any of the same issues from Levaquin? Thanks for reading my story. Cheri

I started taking Prilosec OTC a month ago to treat GERD...just over a month ago. Very shortly after starting the medication, I noticed I was getting dull headaches and tension in my head that lasted throughout the day...not a migraine, but enough to be annoying. I also noticed as time went on that I have become very nervous/anxious, my heart rate jumps up easily, and now I am having blood pressure spikes that I never had before. I have seen that Omeprazole (similar drug) has caused similar problems in others, and even my doctor told me that the same class of drugs can cause similar problems. My GP is very suspicious, because all of this began after I took the drug. Even though I had slightly elevated Dr's office BP, it was never at current levels. And I cant sleep at night nearly as well, and that DEFINITELY started just after taking the meds. Anyone else experience this?? My Gastro Doctor is skeptical, but I think my GP DR thinks something is not right here and she suspects the medicine...

I took Omnicef because my doctor was not sure what kind of infection I had and he said Omnicef was a "well-rounded" drug. Meaning it deals w/all types of infections.
I had HORRIBLE headaches with this medicine. Completely opposite of everyone I've read on this site, I had constipation (where everyone else had diarrhea.) I also ended-up getting an intestinal yeast infection...Awful! My constipation & yeast infection eventually got so bad (no matter what I took for it) that I ended-up with (how embarrassing) a fischer. For those of you that do not know, that is a tear in the hole of your rear-end. It was severely painful and despite what I have taken to loosen my stool, I continue to have the awful tear to this day. (1 year after taking the medicine.) I went to gastro-entronologist and he said the only way to fix it (if not by laxitives) is by surgery. I'm hoping my injury will eventually heal by taking various laxitive stimulants.
I would not reccomend this drug to ANYONE!
Sorry for the gross details, but they need to be told to explain the extent of the injuries...

After first two days I had very bad diarrhea with bad gas and cramping. So I took Immodium. The diaherra got better but I still experienced some gastro issues. I also had a few bumps on my face that looked like acne. The next day I started to get very bad body aches in my neck, lower back, knees, hips and calfs. The rash exploded and was all over my face. Big red sore and very itchy. Benadryl cortaid help a little but not much. I looked up this site and will stop taking it and call my Doctor.

Scott

I saw my family doctor on September 24th for a chronic cough, daig. as bronchitis prescribed levaquin for 10 days (twice per day) with a second repeat if I was not feeling better, tonight I decided to search the side effects of this drug......I am shocked......I have suffered terribly for the past 15 days, gastro/intest issues, extreme gas, joint pain to the point of not being able to get off the toilet, so weak in the legs walking from downstairs to upstairs is totally exhausting. usually I tough things out but this drug is a killer. I am feeling much worst since being on it.
And to learn that it will take weeks vefire I am feeling better....ugh.

My significant other took Doxycylene, 100 mg, twice a day for two weeks to treat a swollen lymph node under his arm. During the treatment he experienced nausea, stomach pain, rash and cold sweats, nothing too bad. 3 days after the last dose everything got significantly worse. It started with sever chest pain, so bad we went to the emergency room thinking it was a heart attack or blood clot. They found nothing and discharged him. Over the next 3 weeks he started vomitting, diahrea and developed jaundice. Constant queeziness and chest pain. After numerous tests, ultra sounds, MRCP, the doctor has ruled out various hepatitas's and every other disease he could think of. He's also rulled out any kind of bile duct blockage after the MRCP. Its now been 7 weeks since all this started, my friend has dropped 40 lb's (190 down to 152) and still dropping. Our doctor (gastro interologist) has admitted he's stumped and is currently contacting a professor in Miami as a last hope. The only thing our doctor keeps comming back to is the Doxycyclene and that my friend may have had that one rare acute reaction. We're frazzled and don't know what to do next.

Guest 28108.....I believe I may have had that reaction...however the dr. told me I might have the flu...no indication that I might have reacted to the medication. Or that I might have had a gastro infection. I was violently ill and if you read my previous post ....many other things happened to me...horrible joint pain and much more. We need more info.

ANOTHER SIDE EFFECT????

Been awhile since I posted. After 3m on it I had horrific anxiety and panic attacks. It's now 3m since I took my last pill and I am 95% back to normal.....however......

Over the past month I had to see a gastro doc because of horrific left side pain, vomitting and constipation (TMI but some of what came out was bloody mucous). After a CT scan and colonoscopy I have been diagnosed with colitis. I have NEVER had gastro issues my whole life. After reading up on colitis and IBD/IBS I have read that there is a connection with colitis and birth control pills bringing it on.

Anyone else?

Denise

Like so many other people on this website - i too have traveled through the medical profession from one doctor to another and have had no success getting to the bottom of all of this. I am so sick of it. I started on Advair 250/50 about 8 months ago and my life has basically gone down hill from there. I have been to Neurologists, Gastro doctors, had MRI's, Upper & Lower GI's, ultersounds and many blood tests. I am happy to report that I went off of Advair about 3 weeks ago - but my symptoms have not gone away. I will say that they are getting better. There were many times that I thought I was dieing or would rather have died than lived the way I have been living. I know that I need to get another doctors opinion but I dont want to go through more testing.
I am 33 years old and would really like my life back. I have a husband and two children. We are a very active family and I need like I have lost control of my body. I want to be able to enjoy my family again without all the aches and pains.

I was basically not functioning for 3 - 4 months of my treatment during the worst of it. My legs would give out on me. I ended up in the emergency room because my whole left side went numb. They told me that it was all in my head and to check with my neurologists. What a joke. My whole body felt like I had the flu all the time.

I still have the bloated stomach - painful at times
fatigue
heartburn and reflux
weight gain across the abdomen
pain/aches across my upper chest area, shoulder and back

If anyone has had any success getting rid of there side effects I would love to hear from you. Also if anyone has had success with alternate medicine - please let us know.

After three doses of omeprazole, my blood pressure went to 220/110 and I developed an itching all over my body. Emergency room personnel treated the episode as an allergic reaction, gave me an antihypertensive and Zyrtec; and my blood pressure returned to normal. Bloodwork and EKG were normal. My insurer had me switched from Aciphex (prescribed for gastro-esophogeal reflux disease) to the generic omeprazole; I am appealing since others and I have had such a bad experience with omeprazole. Physicians should prescribe omeprazole with great care; in my experience, it sucks.

I have been taking Prilosec and Omeprazole for more than 5 years. I have had trouble with itching, dizziness, and now, tinnitus. The itching which was intense on my calves was solved by washing with a wash cloth and not taking a shower or bath, as my doctor recommended.

The dizziness comes and goes. The tinnitus is new. My pharmacist said that tinnitus usually starts immediately upon introduction of the drug, but it is possible for it to occur at any time. Over the years I have identified the foods which cause distress (most food), and I am extremely careful. One bite of, let's say, pizza, will cause a great deal of gastro distress for days.

I also feel like I am completely dependent on the Omeprozole, because I get ill within 1 to 2 days if I do not take it every day.

It's amazing to read everyone's posts. Thanks for sharing. I don't feel so crazy or that there's just something seriously wrong with my stomach. I've been on Yasmin for a year now and while I haven't had serious mood swings which is good, sometimes the gas and bloating has been so bad it looks like i'm 4 mos pregnant! I have an appointment with a gastro. doc tomorrow because in addition to the gas, I've had horrible stomach pains that have kept me home from work and made me sure a couple times that I had apendicitis. I didn't believe my b-friend when he said it might be the pill, but I'll talk to the doc about it tomorrow.

I'm confused because the nurse practitioner who put me on Yasmin did so because of the low dose hormones and my history of depression. I haven't been too depressed or anxious (which is great!), but my boyfriend has because I have virtually no libido! I also thought that was me. I do love not using condoms though, and wonder if anyone has any ideas about other low dose pills?

I was prescribed Levaquin for a sinus infection. I finished my last pill (10 days worth) Sunday (3 days ago). On Friday (5 days ago), I woke up with discomfort - dull pain in my stomach (solar plexus area) which has continued. On Sunday, I took Maalox and got diarreah. Since Sunday, I have experienced alot of gurgline, as well as, dull pain in stomach, upper and lower intestines. It seems to improve temporarily when I eat something. This morning (Wednesday) I had painful gas. I just called my gastro doctor and he can't see me for 2 weeks. Help!

Extreme constipation, and discomfort. Because of pressure pain in my upper right quadrant, burping, nausea I had an ultra sound and chest x-ray done. The results indicated that now I have sludge in my gall bladder. Am waiting to see my gastro Dr. These symptoms started when I was on Les col. Never had a problem with my digestion in this way or with my gall bladder.

My first entry was 12/09/09. I failed to mention that the ultrasound also indicated that my kidney was enlarged. Was referred to a nephrologist. Have not been yet.
The Gastro Dr. is having me have a hida scan done on 12/13/02. Am having right flank pain now and the nausea is occuring everytime I eat anything.