Hobble symptoms and conditions

Struggling with a sinus infection that threatened to bore into my brain, resulting, ultimately, in seizures and death, I've been taking Levaquin now for three days. I'm experiencing anxiety and sleeplessness, however, it's not from the medication. It's from all the hyperbole on the internet.

Look, I understand that many have had adverse reactions to this medication. One dose of penicillin can kill you without warning. At anytime. No warning. I suspect that few of those labellings Levaquin "poison" would ever bother to consider that - or anything else. All wrapped up in your misery, you spout off with rhetoric that is really better left to lawyers and politicians.

If you were uninformed of the possible side-effects of this medication, blame your doctor. I see that the last post here is dated November 2007, and the bottom of this first page takes us to October 2006. Perhaps one could take a bit of responsibility for oneself and do some research on one's own before popping a pill handed out by a disinterested physician. This information is out there - and yes, your doctor could have seen it, too. But he didn't bother, did he? Neither did you.

So, yes, with my first dose, and despite the impact drill driving through my eye-socket, I waited for the seizures, swelling and signs of imminent demise. Nothing. Sorry. Oh, my sinuses feel better, I don't have a brain infection, and so I won't die frothing at the mouth on my living room floor.

I'm sorry you feel bad - and if you hadn't run off at the mouth calling what may be one of the last effective antibiotics "poison", I might mean that with some sincerity. Oh, and lest you forget, antibiotics are poison by definition - the idea being that they affect/poison/kill the source more than they do the host.

So let's stop the hyperbole, and simply say you had a bad reaction to this medication. Not everyone does. Your option might have been to skip the doctor and the meds altogether, and see how you'd fare. But that would leave the responsibility, and the blame, all on you, then, wouldn't it? Far better to spread it around some.

I was prescribed Levaquin for seven days in August for a strep throat infection. I took a "frontload" dose of 750mg and four doses of 500mg. I got off it after the 5th day due to strange feelings of tingling, burning, stiffness, and pain in my feet, ankles, knees, and hips.

For the first week or so after discontinuing Levaquin, I could barely hobble around due to the stiffness and pain in my legs. I took an Aleve every twelve hours for about 10 days, which helped a lot. As someone on this board suggested, I also tried drinking Ensure (apparently the calcium and magnesium helps to counteract the effects of the drug). Can't really say whether it did much, but at least I felt like I was doing something to repair the damage. I laid off vigorous exercise but tried to maintain some moderate activity so as not to let my muscles weaken.

I'm relieved to report the symptoms diminished over time. After about two weeks off Levaquin, I finally had a pain-free day. It's now been six weeks and I'm pretty much back to normal (though still being careful not to overstress my joints).

My heart goes out to anybody suffering from the side effects of this drug. I hope with care and patience you're able to recover. I feel lucky to get out of this without being crippled. I will NEVER take Levaquin again.

I started taking Lipitor Sept, 2006. Soon after I thought I had the flu and was really sick for about 3 weeks. I assumed the muscle pain was due to the flu. I've felt really tired, aches all over, muscle pain, horrible lower back pain (I also have 2 bulging discs but the pain is worse than it's ever been) and I can't sleep a whole night through. I wake up in the middle of the night due to pain in my hands (the joints in my fingers almost feel like there's fluid around them and it's hard to move them), or back and leg pains. For the last month the pain in the arches of my feet and heels have been getting worse, to the point that I can't walk without pain. I have to have good suppory tennis shoes on at all times to be able to walk. The aches and pains started slowly and kept adding up so I just didn't pin point any one thing as the source of my problems. When my husband watched me hobble into the kitchen tonight he told me that everything started after my physical in Sept. The only medication that was added to my daily meds was Lipitor. (the only other med I take is 1/2 of a .25 HCTZ for slight elevated bp) I am schedule an appt with my doctor ASAP but I think I will stop taking Lipitor as of tomorrow. If the pain is reduced then I will be able to report that I believe Lipitor to be the culprit.

In response to those who praise the virtues of Lipitor, I will tell you that I was on 10 mg/per day regimen for the past six and a half years. I first noticed bizarre weakening of my legs last summer but because I am 78, I at first attributed this to old age, but because the onset was so rapid and unexpected, I discounted what was happening at being due to my age. Then on Dec. 6, I was awaked by pain in my lower left leg so severe that I was literally crying. I could only hobble to my doctor the following day and he, by way of response to my question about Lipitor, suggested I stop taking it. He also gave me a prescription (thank God) for vicadin without which I do not believe I could have survived until today. I am still unable to walk more than a quarter mile or remain on my feet for more than a half hour or so. In looking back now, I began having sleep problems about four years ago, sleep apnia being suggested. However, my sleep doctor also said that I had RLS (restless leg syndrome) for which he prescribed chlonazapam. I have had recurring problems these past few years with my legs cramping up when I would drive any distance. When I recently informed my cardiologist of these experiences, he pretty much brushed me off by saying at while 2-3% of Lipitor users experience problems, on the whole it is a beneficial drug. In other words, they know that some folks are going to experience problems, but that's just too bad. What happened to the medical adage, "Above all, do no harm."