Health groups symptoms and conditions

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 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 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.

When my daughter was 15 her dr suggested she get the vaccine. Trusting the doctors advice, i ok'd it. The first two injections were fine. Immediately after receiving her 3rd, her arm, neck, and shoulder got really sore and then about two weeks later she developed severe pain in her upper abdomen causing her to pass out. That was on November 22, 2007 and she hasn't been the same since. She has suffered severe pain, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, IBS, anxiety attacks and depression brought on by the sickness. Our life for the past year has consisted of going to doctor after doctor trying to figure out what is wrong with her. She has been diagnosed with mono, UTI's, had her gal bladder removed, etc. Funny, they diagnose her with all these things but no treatments have worked. She went from being a very beautiful, active 15 year old girl with lots of friends and activities to barely being able to get out of bed in the morning. My question is, does anybody know how to help or what to do ?

This is painful for me to type due to the pain in my hands & fingers. I had ankle surgery to fix a torn ligament and an ankle scope on Oct. 30, 2008. I was put on 500 mg of Levaquin to prevent infection. On Nov 4th, my entire body felt like it was beat up. I could barely get up off of the couch. I also developed severe pain and burning in my foot. I couldn’t support my weight on crutches due to pain in my arms & wrists. I took this dose for 10 days. On Nov 24th, I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I ended up being hospitalized for 10 days. I had severe swelling in my ankle and bruising up to & including my toes. The doc thought it was an infection so I was started on 2 types of IV antibiotics. Didn’t get any better. On Nov 26th, the doc tried to aspirate it and only dried blood came out. It was sent for a culture and came back negative. He asked me how my pain was and I told him the back of my ankle hurt really bad. He said “the MRI that was done on Nov 25th showed I developed tendinitis in the Achilles tendon. I asked him how that happened since I haven’t walked on that foot since my injury date of August 23rd. He said he wasn’t sure. I had 2 previous MRIs (Sept & Oct) which did not show tendinitis at all! On Dec. 1st I went back to the operating room so the doctor could cut open the golf ball size hematoma on the outside of my ankle. He got a lot of jelly-like blood from the back part of my ankle. He left the drain in overnight and then removed it. I was released on Dec 3rd with a script for 750 mg of Levaquin for 7 days (which I finished yesterday). The swelling is down about 25% and I have been out of the hospital for 8 days now. The pain in my body was so horrible today that I went to my family doctor. She did a thorough exam of my joints-which was complete agony!!!! She explained that she was going to run some tests to see what is wrong. She explained to me that she thinks this is a reaction to the Levaquin & she has had patients who have had ruptured tendons from this medication. She sent me for bloodwork and gave me a script for morphine (Avinza) to control the pain, which 750 mg of ES Vicodin and 800 mg of Ibuprofen didn’t make it any better. I feel helpless as my 9 year old has to do everything for me because I simply cannot get up. I hope my doctor figures this out real soon! This is unreal to have to suffer like this. I will keep everyone on this page in my prayers! Good Luck to everyone!

I am 52 and took levaquin (the doctor described as a very high dose needed for what he felt was a generalized infection he couldn't pinpoint). Within 2 days I began feeling very weak. I also had moved to a new town and couldn't return to the prescribing doctor. I felt so very weak and felt actual pain in my heart I became very scared and went to a friends because I was afraid to be alone. I called the local pharmacist and was instructed to stop taking the levaquin. The following day I went to a new doctor in my new town and my nightmare began.
The new doctor stated "you have a very large heart murmur". I told him no doctor ever told me this before and he insisted they must have, I just don't remember. He decided to do an echo and diagnosed aortic stenosis. He stated it didn't require surgery, yet but would in a few years.
Fast forward to now, 2 moves for my work and changing doctors. Also, to be frank I think a firm denial on my part that I could not have heart trouble diagnosed under the age of 50.
I have received a variety of "borderline" diagnosis'. From COPD, Hepatitis and an inability for my heart to pump proper blood flow to my lungs. While I have had "many" diagnosis there isn't anything concrete and no caused determined or resulting changes to be made to improve my general health.
The one symptom I have, that seems to have worsen as time passes is that what I do seems to build up over time. Energy used and strength used (to carry something while walking) seems to build up to the point of exhaustion and inability to even get out of bed. I have been hospitalized for chest pain 4 times in the last year. The last one being after a business trip, where I took a train and needed to roll and/or carry a very large suitcase. the first night I began to feel weak. The second night my face swelled to a cartoonish state overnight and I began to feel very congested, coughing continually. I didn't go to the hospital because I didn't want to be in the hospital away from home. I Stayed at the conference and returned at the end of the week. A friend took me to the hospital and I was in Congestive Heart Failure. Once released from the hospital, I began to arrange to move back to my home state, to be closer to my family. Now I am here and if I do much of anything (even heavy housework) within days I am too weak to do anything. I am barely managing because I am not working, but I must return to work because I am fast becoming broke. But, how can I take a new job if I know that I can't work long-term. I haven't found a new doctor yet, because most here are not taking new patients and I am just not sure the type of doctor to go to. I am also afraid that they are just stabbing in the dark. Diagnosing borderline "everything" and the treatments for not knowing what is going on could make things worse.
If you have read this far..thank you. If you could reply with suggestions, please do. I feel like my health has been ruined and I don't know what to do to get it back. I only took levaquin for 3 days and all this time later, I still feel pain in my heart. Which is the strangest thing because "before" levaquin I "never" actually felt my heart at all.
Any suggestions , I would be the most grateful.

My 19 yr. old son recently starting taking Levaquin for a tonsillitis (throat infection) and he has now had severe chest pains from the Levaquin. Has anyone else reacted this way from this medication and if so, what did you do to get the chest pains to stop. He has stopped taking the Levaquin, however the chest pains have not lessened. When he tries to eat something, the chest pains get worse. Please someone out there help me if you can! I hate to see my son in such pain.

I was prescribed 7 days 750mg of Levaquin on 9/10 and finished 9/16. I was originally diagnosed with bronchitis but went back to the Dr. yesterday cause I was not doing any better and he now says it's viral. I've gone to the hospital because I passed out on 9/13 and continue to faint at least once a day. I have tingling/numbness in my hands, ankles, toes, my knees hurt, my lower back is in a lot of pain, almost to where it is not tolerable, I'm dehydrated (I'm drinking and eating, just not as much) it is extremely painful to eat, my tongue and my gums hurt terribly. Last night I had a horrible dream (I don't dream usually, not nightmares) and today I started to hallucinate (mildly) A week ago I was functioning normally, a mother of 3, playing with my kids and now I can hardly walk without assistance, I can't go to work, I'm in constant pain. Someone please give me some kind of guidance. Will these feelings ever go away? What should I do? Thank you!!!!

My husband was having gastrointestinal problems for about a week. The PA at his primary care physician's office prescribed Levaquin for 7 days. Blood taken ½ hr after Levaquin started showed liver levels to be a little high. By the 3rd or 4th day my husband was jaundiced. Blood taken on the 6th day revealed liver levels dramatically higher. He is still jaundiced and liver levels are still at the higher level. Had ERCP procedure, CT scan of abdomen and MRCP, but no conclusions other than stricture of bile duct and possibly pancreatic cancer, although a mass has not been seen on any film. Has this happened to anyone else on Levaquin? Doctors want to try ERCP again and if that does not work then the Whipple Procedure which is major surgery to remove a possible pancreatic cancer that they have not seen.

Began taking Levaqauin on/about 19Mar08. Became symptomatic (agitation + insomnia followed by a host of psychiatric ills) within eight weeks. I'm in a living hell now, which might or might not be related to flouroquinolone, e.g., levaquin poisoning. There are more than 2000+ posting on this site that go back five or so years. Most of the postings constitute one-way communiques from hell. (Go ahead, read a representative sampling of the postings.) Here's the question: what became of these people who wrote their awful posts? Are they still alive? Did they find cures? How does one contact some of the earlier posters?

My 9 year old son only took Singuliar for about 5 weeks. He had side effects almost immediately, he was so aggressive, angry all the time, headaches, stomach ache and feeling like he was going to throw up, bad nightmares, a horrible rash, biting his nails, not focusing in school and got into trouble all the time, no appetite but his little body seem puffy all over. He has been off this medication for 3 months and he is still not 100%. He cries at little things and still has the same rash and with meds it is not going away. He had to change schools as he still was having problems in school. He just seems like he is not the same little boy and something is just not right. I do not know what to do at this point. Doctors say it should be out of his system by now, but if it is than there is permanent damage to his brain as he is just not the sharp little guy he was. We have had to take him out of all sports. Anyone else having these same problems???

Who administers this site? I posted a side effect last night after I registered and then this morning I got an email saying there was a reply to my posting and when I tried to log in, my account was inactive and my posting had been removed, as had the reply to my posting. I don't know if it is because I put a link the an online reporting tool where the FDA is compiling feedback from people/or their children who have experienced terrible side-effects. Here is the link again and I urge you all to report your cases: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/early_comm/montelukast.htm

My son is 3.5 and has been on Singular for 2 months and just like all of the other stories about the other young children posted here, he is a different kid after being on Singular. Last night was the first night I took him off of it. All of the side-effects that are mentioned here are the same ones my son is experiencing, nightmares (screaming in the night), hyper, aggressive, reliving injuries from days past, the day care telling me that they now have concerns about how different he has been lately and the even used the term "bad behavior". They said he is hyper, he screams, not listening, aggressive. He is a favorite at day care since he is so loving, polite and kind. I know all parents say that, but pretty much anyone who has met him compliments me on how well behaved he is. I am even nervous to have people over since he seems out of control and I have found myself ensuring people that he isn't normally like this. I have taken him off as of last night and I am hoping he will get back to his old happy-go-lucky self soon. Does anyone know how long it can take to get this poison out of their system? I pray that there are no permanent side-effects.

PRAISE GOD for all of the stories shared on this site. And I've only read page one. My husband called me back today to say that he "googled" Singulair and found some interesting things (to say the least). While we were on the phone, my three-year-old was in the throes of another meltdown, kicking me, hitting me, throwing whatever he could get his hands on. My older two boys, 8 and 12, were ordered, once again, to lock themselves in their rooms to avoid being hurt by him. He will throw stuff, bite, hit, kick, and, at times, spit on us. This disturbing behavior is rather constant lately. He is like a mad man. Very scary.

Caleb has been on Singulair since about age 1, when he was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis. Unfortunately, we initially equated his rages with the onset of "terrible two's" and dismissed his behavior to a chorus of "oh, he's just a boy!" My husband felt, at times, that I was just not disciplining him properly. I intuitively knew, having raised two other boys, that this behavior was abnormal, even for severe tantrums. We received a variety of suggestions from his pediatrician, caregivers, and grandparents, all to no avail. We have several calm days but things always deteriorate back to insanity. He is VERY unpredictable.

Last Thanksgiving, Caleb (age 3) was kicked out of his daycare setting for biting and hitting. Once I witnessed him run as fast as he could into a group of playing children, falling on them, kicking them. He would walk up to sweet little girls half his size and push them down as hard as he could. It was a nightmare. My husband had to take 3 weeks of leave to stay home with him while we prayed and searched for new care. We had him evaluated and he was staffed into the "developmentally delayed" program in our school district (for poor adaptive skills and personal/social behaviors). We recently had his tonsils removed, hoping that some of the sinusitis symptoms and behaviors would improve. They really haven't. This past week we have been looking into the Feingold diet. We have been PRAYING for answers. The last time we spoke with his developmental neurologist, he recommended a trial of Risperdol (sp?). We feel like more meds would be like a band-aid, not a solution. But his rage is becoming unbearable.

So, that brings us to today. I was so moved by your accounts. Unlike so many of you, we don't have much of a "before" to go by. But his "after" sounds VERY much like what you have all described. It's probably the pure rage that I see on his face that is the scariest part. And at the same time he seems desperate and vulnerable. He truly seems to snap. If we had pool chairs, I can just picture him throwing them (citing another post :).

We are going to throw the Singulair away. He will never, ever have it again. Even if this isn't the cause of his problems, I certainly don't want to exacerbate any behaviors with this toxic medicine. I will post again just to let anyone who's interested know if this changes his behavior. I am praying that my entry will help someone else, just as all the other postings have helped me. I have renewed hope.

I have copied many of your comments to a Word document. I will be sharing it with a high ranking officer at the medical clinic/hospital on Keesler Air Force Base. I hope that he will discuss this with his staff and that perhaps we can at least make a difference here. I, too, will be filing a report with the FDA. I can only pray that this medicine has not permanently altered his developing brain.

WOW!!! I am glad I came across this website. I have twin boys that will be 7 this month. One has been on Singulair for about 3 years for allergy induced asthma and my other son has been on it for 9 months for allergies. I am taking them both off of it today. The son that is taking the medicine for 3 years has become increasingly angry and gets upset over small things. Over Memorial weekend, he lost a game he was playing on the wii and exploded. He was banging his head and then started to hit me. NEVER in my life have I seen him attack anyone. A few days later he threw rocks at his friend because he wanted the wagon. Over the past 3 years I have noticed some change in him and just took it as growing pains. He has always been a strong will child. However, over the past 3 years he has gotten worse and since he has physically attacked me and his friend, I have decided to send him to counseling. Now I firmly believe it is the Singulair.

My other son has been on it since August. He started to have anxiety within a month of taking it. His behavior has been stressed, depressed and not wanting to play with other kids. He was biting his nails to a nub, licking his hands, not talking to anyone at school and rubbing his head. I have also noticed he does like to look at the person he is talking too. Of course I thought the worse and thought he was being molested. I went to his Teacher and she has worked very hard with him, but he is still a loner. If you knew him before, he played with everyone and enjoyed life. I was told by his Ped. that he had anxiety and to have him see a shrink.

I am hoping that after taking them both off this medicine, I will see improvement.

I have a three year old son who has severe allergies. He's been taking singulair for 2 years on & off just in the allergy season. He started taking, singulair again in the beginning of April. One morning he woke up and both eyes were really swollen and red, I called his doctor's office and told them i thought he had pink eye, after 2 different drops and no change I brought him into the doctor's to see if it could be his allergies, and they agreed and started him on Zyrtec. I still was not impressed with the results so i brought him back yet again to see if we could see a specialist. Instead they put him on nasonex to try.
In the beginning of March I started to see a change in my usual happy fun loving son. He was scared to sleep in his bed, waking up in the middle of the night from bad dreams, uncontrollable screaming fits that would last up to an hour, saying he wants a Boo Boo. At first we thought it could be jealously over his new brother, or maybe something at his school.
Then i found this website and everything clicked, how scary it must be for a child to have these horrible thoughts and not be able to understand or stop them. What are the people at merck thinking??
Can any one tell me when the symptoms stop. He's been off for a week and we see some improvements. But he still has these fits with almost an OCD tendency to them (mainly when he's overtired), stomach pains, lack of appetite.

My son is almost 6 yrs old. He has been taking Singular for approx 3 years, in addition to Claritin and Nasonex. This is all for his allergy to mold. His doctor started him on these meds after a 6 month episode with sinus infections leading to asthma-like symptoms. We have not noticed anything unusual about his behavior until approx 3 months ago. He started waking up every night (2-3 hours after going to bed) with bad dreams. At first he would not fully awaken and fall back asleep immediately. After a month or so of this happening most nights, he had two nights in a row where he woke up screaming and was inconsolable for about 30 minutes. We initially thought it was night terrors, but he was not scared or fearful, he was just upset/angry. He would hit the bed repeatedly and yell. He didn't know what he was upset about but would talk about how he thought we hated him, he was dumb, etc. After about 30 min he would 'snap out of it' and return to his normal self and go back to sleep easily.
At first we thought these were night terror brought on by a recent fever, but he had another episode last night. He has also been falling apart at the littlest things and getting quite violent (for a 6 yr old). He was sent to his room yesterday evening because he was complaining about the dinner his mom made (lots of complaining these days..). He had a total melt down an started throwing things and hitting the door so hard he put a hole in it.
Some of this behavior I would chalk up to normal kid stuff, new baby brother, etc. But I am suspicious about the negative thoughts, bad dreams, and instant melt downs... I stopped giving him Singular today and we will see what happens. God bless you all as we figure these things out...

I have two sons on Singulair, my three old was suspended today from pre-school for bad behavior. Screaming, biting, scratching, and hitting have been going on for the last few months. But worse the past two weeks. He has always been active and played like a boy, but he has been getting violent. We have tried positive reinforcement, praising good behavior both verbally and with rewards, I have tried time-out, being grounded, not being able to participate in activities, no t.v. and old fashioned butt spanking. All of this with no positive results. I am not looking for an excuse for my child's behavior, but could Singulair really be the cause of his aggression?

My 4yr old son has been on allegra for 2 yrs now and it seems that it wasn't doing much anymore. so our doctor prescribed Singulair. He gave us a two week trial to see if helped. Well!!! Our once happy go lucky 4yr old is now very emotional and gets upset very easily and can't stop crying ( even says he can't stop crying) when he gets upset. He is unable to console rationally when he is worked up. Today was the last dose of the two week trial and I after reading all this, it was and will be his last dose...

Parents beware of Singulair
I would two to one rather chase him around with a tissue.

My 2 year old son was put on singulair to help with asthma and allergies. Within 2 weeks we noticed a change in him - he wasn't the happy boy he normally is. We wound up in the ER one weekend after he had 3 petit mal seizures. The ER doc diagnosed febrile seizures. I wasn't convinced. Our pediatrician didn't agree, either, and sent us to a neurologist (but he didn't think singulair was the cause). The neurologist also hadn't heard of seizures associated with the drug.

My poor boy had an EEG and was in doctors offices, hospitals at least once a week until the EEG results came back normal - scary for a 25 month old child. I stopped the medicine immediately after our ER visit - call it mother's intuition. He hasn't had a seizure since. Although the doctors aren't convinced singulair caused the seizures, I firmly believe it did.