Innocuous symptoms and conditions

I had a Kenalog injection on Monday, July 23 which was supposed to alleviate pain in my right shoulder due to a torn rotator cuff. Since receiving the shot, my arm has gotten so much sorer and I am unable to use it, even like I was using it before. The pain keeps getting worse; it's only been two days. I will wait and see what other effect it might have on my body.

THANK YOU ALL for posting!!!

I've had chronic bronchitis attacks three months in a row now, and now suspicion of pneumonia on top of it. I had a feeling something wasn't quite right when my doctor said, "Let's pull out the 'big guns'" and prescribed Levaquin, but the pharmacy's patient advisory leaflet only mentioned a few innocuous side effects. I picked up some guaifenisen and ibuprofen at the pharmacy at the same time.

Get home, pop a few ibuprofens for pain in my diaphragm from coughing so much, make dinner, take my first levaquin with dinner as prescribed. After dinner, infojunkie that I am, I search for more about this stuff, and found your and other boards. Thank goodness!

It's too late to stop those ibuprofen, but I know not to take any more for the next four days of levaquin treatment (should I wait longer?). I also know not to have caffeine and to drink lots of water, which won't be a problem, and to discontinue use if any of those serious side effects occur (thanks for nothin', patient advisory leaflet).

I'm going to be very guarded in my taking of this medicine thanks to your posts. I really need to be able to breathe better; I'll keep you posted!

I've taken Levaquin before with no ill effects. This time around for a sinus infection...I'm 5 days into tx and last night I couldn't sleep at all. Severe insomnia, worse than with Sudafed. Was restless and agitated. I didn't like that very much but I successfully zeroed out the effect with a sleeping pill. Still, I'm considering D/C'ing the med since I never had this effect before. I don't know...it's a very effective antibiotic.

I agree with a lot of people posting to this group who realize that all medications, even innocuous aspirin, have severe and sometimes even deadly side effects. In the medical world, we all have to practice the "buyer beware" creed: Research everything that goes into your mouth. Figure out what literature and the public is saying, learn how to interpret side effect percentages and put it in perspective by looking at side effects for OTC meds, too. There is hardly a single med out there, Rx or OTC, that hasn't caused *someone* to have a severe side effect, but we need to evaluate which side effects are acceptable risks and which not. Weigh the benefit with the risk.

Minor illness + large % irreversible side effect = don't take it.

Deadly illness + large % irreversible side effect = what do you have to lose?

Anything in between is a judgement call between you and your brain....

I agree...Drs. should tell us more about these things...but since we all know by now that the medical establishment is being driven more and more by HMO attitudes and Drs. are driven to prescribe drugs based on the basket of brownies and free samples that the cute drug rep brought in this week, let's just agree that it is now OUR responsibility to figure this stuff out for ourselves.

I's a sad state, but the medical establishment is not going to change. We all need to realize that we are the last stop on the road between sickness and health.