Health care system symptoms and conditions

My husband was prescribed 500 MG of Levaquin for 10 days due to respiratory infection. When I got the medicine home, I read all of the warnings and possible side affects. He is 61 and has had tendon damage in his shoulder and his lower leg from taking Cipro two years ago. He had severe joint pain from Bactrim and hallucinations from Flagyl. From these previous antibiotics he still suffers pains and limitations of movement. What is worse is that they prescribed Prednisone with the Levaquin. It clearly states in the warnings that Levaquin taken with Prednisone increases the likelihood of tendon damage. The warnings state that people over 60 have increased risk of tendon damage. Why on earth did his doctor prescribe this? My husband is 61 and was too sick to research all of this on his own. It has obviously become more profitable to make people sicker.
I found this forum and called his doctor. I refused to give him this terrible Levaquin and asked for a prescription for something milder. The Doxycylene seems to be working just fine to clear his infection.
A word of warning to all to not drink the Kool Aid that they give you without asking questions. Any health care system that sustains itself by keeping people ill is a bad one. Think about it. If people are healthy, then where is the profit?
This Levaquin sounds like some kind of bad snake oil to me and I am thankful to have read the warnings and then found this helpful forum. I am so sorry for the pain that most of you have suffered and are suffering. We are living with damage from antibiotics and we understand your anger. Take good care of yourselves.

I am a healthy female with little to no history of adverse reactions to medications. I was prescribed a 10 day dose of Levequin (500 mg) for a minor but stubborn skin abscess. After the third day, I woke up with significant joint soreness in my fingers. Progressively the soreness spread daily to my wrists, elbows, ankles, knees, hips, etc. I did not suspect the antibiotic at first, but I know my body, and I know something was WRONG.
After my 8th dose I decided to look online...it is at least good to know that what I'm experiencing is definitely from Levequin. Thank you all for sharing your stories.

I especially found MERCEDESLANE posting on April 15th interesting. I guess this person works in the health care system. Considering this uncompassionate individual, who apparently wants everythone to know he has a Mercedes, can't spell (whine), and does not have basic grammar skills. Wow...my faith in the our health care system is stronger than ever. But what do I know, I'm just an "IDIOT" with shingles that needs to have a couple of glasses of whine while I pop my remaining Levequin.

I've had my Mirena in for about a month now, and honestly, it hasn't given me any problems. Of course I had cramps in the first week, and spotting for the first 3 months or whatever...but I can truly say that I love this birth control, and I hope not to get the negative side effects like most of these women. If you are considering the Mirena for birth control, talk with your doctor. If you have problems, talk with your doctor...if you're pissed off because you feel like you wasted your money, maybe you should take a second to think about it...neither you nor your doctor can look into a crystal ball to find out how something will effect you. But please, if you are considering the Mirena, don't decide against it because what a bunch of middle-aged women (with less than healthy reproductive systems) said. I'm 20 years old, and this IUD is a blessing.

After having been floxed back in December, I am finally able to say I'm symptom free. The only permanent damage I have is a floater in my right eye. I'm grateful that I have it because it occurred on the third day of 750 mg levaquin and because of it I stopped immediately. I also had tinnitus, ruptured tendons in my ankle a torn rotator cuff. I had pain in my rib cage that felt like someone punched me in the lungs. I had an eczema like rash on my elbow, neck and back but that went away in a matter of days. I had a low grade fever and night sweats. I noticed real improvement at the four month mark (things were the worst at the 2 month mark) and now at nearly 6 months, I can say I've completely recovered. Make sure to eat organic meats, dairy, eggs and produce because they put fluouroquinolones in non-organic animals and once you've been floxed it only takes a small amount to cause a reaction. I also take supplements--a good multivitmin, extra C, Acai juice, glucosamine and chondroitin with ASU (to stave off the inevitable cartilage erosion) SAM-e and MSM. I'm able to do vigorous exercise with no ill effects and I'm sleeping well. I will not take any prescriptions nor will I trust any doctor unless it's a matter of life or death. As long as we continue to have a "for profit" health care system, our well being will be secondary to the obscene wealth gained by pharmaceutical companies and the entire health care industry. It truly is caveat emptor as long as we live in a country where corporate profits trump the public good.

I work in a health care system and we have used levaquin for this last cough, cold and flu season. It has worked wonders for the various upper respiratory infections.

No one has developed rashes, boils, or bone/muscle pain. After reading the first response, her abnormal reaction sounds more like a bad case of shingles.

Then, I read the last post where the person drank two glasses of whine to help with the blah blah blah. Mixing alcohol with any type of medication will not help with Your sypmtoms were a "full fledged panic attack" as you stated from the beginning.

Nothing but idiots posting here!

The health care system has failed me and led me to believe that I had many issues "inside my head." I was on yasmin since spring 07 and was fine for half a year until the symptoms one by one crept up. I too was experiencing the fatigue, the vomiting, the mood swings, the depression and anxiety. I've been known to be very laid back, very easy going, so when I had my first panic attack ever, I knew something was off.
Soon after, I started to experience heart palpitations, chest pains, shortness of breath. One day I was so freaked out I went to the E.R. with a standing heart rate of 142. When all the tests turned out clear, they told me that I should visit the psychiatric clinic. When they asked if I was on any medications, I told them I was on yasmin. The doctors looked at eachother with a confused look and asked me "What's yasmin?" Shows how much they know!
I was getting better overall until a few late-nite episodes had me waking up with my heart pounding and my thoughts racing. This happened two nights in a row which disheartened me since I thought I was slowly getting better. Then, I found this website, and everything made sense. I stopped taking the pill that night, and that night, I slept fine. It's been about three weeks since I've been off of yasmin and I'm 80% back to normal. I was at the point that I thought I would never laugh as loud or never smile as much as I did a year ago. The other day I caught myself with a huge smile for no reason at all . . . and that's when I knew I was on track to recovery.
I started to ask around and found out that many women have experienced very negative effects from yasmin. Last week, I told the woman whose office is next to mine and she proclaimed "I had the same thing too! So did my sister!"
The doctors won't believe you. Many of them are buttered up by the drug companies. Even my sister who's an RN told me that sometimes, you need to be your own doctor. And for symptoms of anxiety, depression, I would recommend 5-htp. It's a plant-derived natural supplement that increases the production of your seratonin. It's so easy to get misdiagnosed and placed on some other medication that has other adverse side effects.
Spread the good word, ladies. We must reach out to one another and take care of one another like sisters. Afterall, who else is there who we can rely on?

I just got a very condescending private message from a doctor on this site who said that while my articles from Europe are very helpful that I don't know what I am talking about and that I could mislead the public. Then I see how many parents and patients got a condescending attitude from their own doctors.

Well the public has been mislead but it is not my fault. I don't see any experts in this field stepping up to the plate to acknowledge that these side effects exist, have been reported by authorities in other countries, and that these experts are interested in learning why they are happening. This is an extremely widely prescribed medication that involves the lives of millions.

Merck's research director was quoted as saying that they know of no mechanisms by which these side effects could be related to psychiatric adverse drug reactions. That was a flat out LIE. So what if I quoted you a research article from China that was very complicated and yes, could possibly be misinterpreted by somebody? I just needed to give you an example. The only expert so far that had the guts to give you a truthful statement was Dr. J. Douglas Bremner. Thankfully, he corrected a misunderstanding about saying that it was "unclear."

I hope that we will all hang in there and something will be said by somebody, anybody on this site that will make the FDA listen and investigate Singulair (montelukast) all the way back to the very original studies done in test tubes not on people. And, then take a new look at it from the standpoint of what we now know about human genetics. I guess I will keep repeating myself about one size does not fit all.

I would also PRAY that all clinical studies on Singulair (montelukast) would be suspended until the FDA decides why these side effects occur. And that they would issue a statement to doctors to make conservative decisions regarding treatment with Singulair until the results of the investigation have been reported.

I hope that nobody thinks that I am trying to mislead anyone. The answers are either unknown or being hidden by Merck. How would I know the answers? I don't work for Merck. How many other people are out there trying to translate articles in foreign languages to see what's going on? American doctors are calling Merck and being assured that there is nothing to these claims.

I wonder how many experts there are that just don't want to be another Jeffrey Wigand or don't know what is wrong?

I know that I am ranting but somebody should do it.

Natto Kinase is an alternative to Warfarin and I am now using it. I have had stomach upset and gas with Warfarin and do not trust most doctors anymore. I went to five doctors with pain and swelling in my left lower leg, and shortness of breath. I put the diagnosis in their pockets. I stated: "I'm on estrogen, couldn't this be a DVT?" Oh no, this is normal we women age. The US Health Care system is nothing more than about money. It is money-driven, not care-driven. The ultrasound was cheaper than the idiots I went to. I do not plan on staying on Warfarin and am delighted the Japanese can offer an alternative!!

I was on Deltasone for a week prior to Brain Surgery and two weeks thereafter. I weighed 118lbs when I started to take the medication. Within 8 weeks my weight had increased by 62lbs. The increased weight first appeared around my waist then spread. My urine became bright green with large amounts of suspended protein visible to the naked eye. I developed what I was told was IBS which is how the health care system accounted for the blood in my stools. My urinary P.H. level went from a average 7.0 to a 5.0 and below beacuse I no longer absorb potassium. Unusual mood swings, severe anxiety attacks, insomina, muscle spasms, because of the severe heartburn my Zantac dosage was increased leading to more side effects from the Zantac and at one point (for 5 months) my bladder just barely function and I could only pass urine in small quanities even though my bladder was full and painful. After an ultrasound the first urine I passed was 75% gravel to the 25% urine. An average blood pressure reading for me is now 95 over 59 with an elevated pulse. Still the Nova Scotian Health Physicans either did not know or did not believe me that it could possibly be drug side effects. After all I was only on the Deltasone for 3 weeks. I am now seeing a Homeopathic Doctor, an Osteopathic Practioner and a nutritionist. Deltasone/Prednisone should be recognized as a dangerous narcotic.

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.