Leviquin symptoms and conditions

This is the 3rd time I am taking levaquin in about 3 years. I had a MRSA type infection in my eye 2 years ago that I got in the hospital visiting my dying mother. She by the way died of a mysterious"infection" in her spine but frankly reading all of this I suppose it could have been caused by levaquin because they never found an infection but she complained of so much pain in her spinal collumn that they had to put her of morphine. No cause was ever determined but she was a dialysis patient and was given Levaquin on a regular basis for the infections that are common with having a stint in her arm. Her circulatory system collapsed and they could not do dialysis on her and she died after a week.
Getting back to my situation. I got the infection when rubbing the tears out of my eyes and woke up the morning of her funeral with a bad infection in the eye. Was going to eye doctor every week for 3 months thought I was going blind. Took 3 months of 750 mg dose. And multiple eye ointments. My eye sight took a hit and I now need to wear glasses for driving always. Used to have near perfect vision before this. This past year I took it again for Lyme's disease and after about a month after I developed and nerve or tendon pull in my neck that they could not explain how I got it. But I went to the emergency room and they gave me a neck support to wear.
Just was on Levaquin again for upper respiratory infection. Woke up in the middle of the night second day I was taking it. My head was pounding and it felt like it was going to explode (literally). At the same time my chest felt like it was collapsing. I thought I was really going to die and I was entirely coming undone in my mind. I called a friend at 2:30 AM and asked him (who is religious) if he knew any prayers for those who are about to die. I truly felt this was it - the end. No one told me about Levaquin's side effects until the other day when I was reading on the internet. I now have a pulsating sound in my ears that sounds like it is linked to my heartbeat. Never heard this sound before. Its been there for almost a week and it started a few days after I stopped taking the levaquin. I also have been noticing I have a shortness of breath and I am trying to move in a week. I keep getting very fatigued and have to lay down. Find myself falling asleep quite frequently.

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 started taking Levaquin 500mg on Jan. 28,2009 after having it prescribed fby my cardiologist for a lung infection, after he conducted blood, urine and heart ecosonogram tests over the three previous days. I had an infection, everything else was fine. I am 55 and have mitral valve prolapse and have been treated 20 years ago for atrial fibrillation, hence my primary care doctor is a cardiologist. Willingly starting the treatment of one tablet a day, I noticed insomnia the first and subsequent nights, tiredness and probably depression as my friend and wife said I was acting a bit "needy" and anxiety. My family commented on my anxiety as did my friend who I only email and phone. My infection noticeably improved so I was feeling better and marked it up to having been sick, until the 4th day when I starting having shortness of breath and I noticed a feeling I knew well but had not experienced in 20 years, my heart area hurt in a mild way and I felt flutters, just enough that I pulled the medical paper for the Levaquin and read the side effects bar. Low and behold all my side effects were listed. "Rare but could happen in patients predisposed to heart problems" On Monday Feb 2nd I called the doctor with my concerns but he assured me that is was not the Levaquin but he made me an appointment to check things out. So one week into the 10 day course of treatment I had another checkup only to find an erratic heart beat but on the slow side not the pounding which is normally associated with this problem. So now my doctor "who is a friend" so I am not a number, wants me to start on an anticoagulant"Coumadin" to ease the pumping in my heart and then further exams and medication for "life" for my fibrillation! Problem now is I have one more pill of the Levaquin of the 10 pill series which I "should take in 10 minutes ( I just found this site)! I have decided not to take any more test or medication of any kind until I feel this Levaquin is completely out of my body. Does anyone have any ideas how long that could be? P.S. My heart still feels like it did earlier in the week!

I knew it had to be that antibiotic!! My family doctor put me on Levaquin for a urinary tract infection a few days ago and the night before last I woke up in the early a.m. shaking all over and hurting in every joint in my body, and I have a foggy memory of it all too. It was very bad. I could not stand up without holding on to the wall because I was to weak and my legs felt like aching jello. I could barely move my neck and I thought I had meningitis it was that bad. I called 911 and the ambulance came for me. The doctor at the ER took blood work which was all normal and he told me I had a panic attack!, neck pain, and fatigue...I couldn't believe he told me I had a panic attack...I was asleep for goodness sakes. I have been hurting so bad that I was thinking I had something really serious. I hurt all over so bad that I can't even express it. I am so glad that all of you posted these side effects or I would not have known what was causing my problems. I will NEVER take that stupid drug EVER again and I hope they take it off the market. I hope someone will do something about this drug before it hurts more people like it has hurt all of us...I pray that you all will heal from the problems this medication has caused you.

I was prescribed Levaquin 1000 mg. for 5 days for pneumonia the last week of December 2006. I was also prescribed Prednisone. Everything I ate tasted like metal. A couple of days after I started taking the Levaquin I started experiencing muscle cramps in my rib cage which are so severe it makes me double over in pain. After more than a year I still have the muscle cramps which now include not only my rib cage, but the arch of my feet and sometimes legs. I have a torn tendon in my left arm which didn't happen until about a month ago, but I am sure it is caused from muscle damage from the Levaquin. I am also on Advair Discus 250 which I didn't take before using the Levaquin. I didn't require inhalers or other medication before the pneumonia. My doctor now says I have COPD caused from asthma and chronic bronchitis. I used an Albuterol inhaler when I first got sick because the pneumonia was so bad. I thought after taking the Levaquin I would get back to normal. But even after the infection was cleared up I would get out of breath, so I returned to my doctor. She did an x-ray and said I had COPD and prescribed the inhalant. What I don't understand is that I didn't have breathing problems before the Pneumonia. I didn't have joint pain and muscle cramps either. I have had to quit working this past year because of it. I cannot go without the Advair, I can no longer walk long distances without pain. I have constant muscle pain just trying to do normal housework. How long do the effects last? Must be a lifetime.

I was in the hospital for a bowel re-section. On the third day, they switched me to Levaquin because I spiked a fever. I was released four days later (after 2 doses of I.V. Levaquin per day) and sent home with three days worth of pills. Ever since I've taken the Levaquin, I've had horrible shoulder and back pain and feel somewhat neurotic. The doctor said that it's a side effect from Levaquin. I have one day left of the medication and will continue to take it, but I'm curious if anyone else has had mental side effects. All I've read about is the joint and muscle soreness. Please help! It's affecting my sleep and daily routine. I don't recommend this and will not take it in the future (not to mention the cost of the medication!)
thanks

I finished taking seven days worth of Levaquin about one week ago. I feel like I am dying. I have Fibromyalgia so I thought I was having a bad flareup. I told my husband this is the worst I've ever felt. I usually exercise, walk, swim and try to move so I dont get stiff from the fibromyalgia. This is very different. My muscles in my thighs and calves are burning, upper body weakness, bizzare nightmares (I usually dont remember my dreams). I cant get out of bed untill around 11:00. I just keep falling asleep when I try to get up earlier. I try to get some exercise and fall onto the couch in tears. I cant think straight and I am so weak. I cant believe my Dr. gave it to me knowing I suffer from chronic pain already. I took it in the past and stopped because of nausea and depression. But I wanted to tough it out this time to get rid of UTI. I also read that you should not take if you have had a reaction to Cipro. I had huge hives from cipro. I wish I had that reaction with the Leviquin so I wouldn't have full body pain. Even my feet hurt. I wish I never heard of this drug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God for this forum. It's my second day taking this poison and I am feeling AWFUL ..insomnia, anxiety, flu like sympotoms and all this time I was thinking I was going crazy. I am just worried about what would happen if I stop taking it, but at this point I can't feel any worse. It is obvious to me now that we cannot put our heath on anybody's hands, except ourselves. I can't believe this things is still being prescribed after everything I've read about it.

I have terrible sinus problems, which my doctor put me on Leviquin for. I took a twenty day dose of it, and this is the worst thing I have ever been through in my entire life. Excrutiating pain in feet, ankles, knees, elbows, fingers, and also stabbing pains all over my body. Also sweat perfusely, and I wake up every night from nightmares and/or pain. When I wake up I can hardly move my fingers, or stand up to walk. Also I have numbness all over, and now I have high blood pressure which I never had before. My doctor thought I had rhuematoid arthritis, but the test was negative. He said he doesn't think that it is from Leviquin, but after reading all these stories, I am positive it is. It has been a month since my last Leviquin, and I am still not any better. I have to lay down on the couch about every hour because of this pain, and I don't want to do anything or go anywhere anymore. I guess now I have to see a Rhuematologist. I just don't know what else to do, and I am afraid to take any more pills than what5 I am already taking. I am very depressed over all of this.

Just got back from the dr. She said it is definitly caused by Levaquin. The knee pain etc. is from this drug. She said it putme right over the edge after taking it for only one week. Hopefully it will subside. This is a powerful drug that attacks cartilage and joints and should not be used by people prone to arthritic conditions. Anyway, I feel better knowing I don"t have Lyme or anything more serious. GoodLuck to all of you out there, hang in there.Marsh

I had racing pulse, heart pain, headache and nausea the first time I was prescribed Levaquin for a UTI. I called the doc's office and was told I it had nothing to do with the med. I took it, all the while feeling miserable, for the whole prescibed dose. I was prescribed it again, and had similar reaction, called and asked about it, and was told that my culture came back negative and I should stop taking the med. I was happy to do so. Third time it was pneumonia. I got a shot first of a penicillin derivitive, then was prescribed Levaquin. Within 24 hours I had severe hives, along with feeling awful, which my have just been related to the pneumonia. Went in to the doc, and was taken off the Levaquin, and told to never take any of this class of drug again, because my doc said the next reaction could be much worse. I was switched to a penicillin derivitive and put on a prednisone pack for the hives, which took a couple of weeks to go away even after stopping the Leviquin.

I have Chronic Lyme Disease, as well as several very resistent co-infections and secondary infections. I've been following several treatments over the past few years, the last one included Levaquin.

Within two days of starting it, I couldn't get up by myself after kneeling down because of extremely severe joint pain. I thought I was having a bad reaction and cut my daily dose in half; should have been smarter and stopped it altogether. I also had insominia.

After a few more days, the hands and elbows were affected. After a while, I decided to research Levaquin online and realized that I wasn't having a Lyme outburst, but were being "poisoned" by Levaquin.

I cannot get up by myself, I canno't go up or down the stairs, I cannot peel potatoes or open jars, typing is painful, my whole body is in constant pain and I don't know how long it will last. I'm 35.

I should have taken my chances with Lyme. This is even worse.

hello i am on leviquin & someone said not to take milk or yogert while on this medication is that true..said it will kill the effect of the medicine. ? thx

January 18,2007 I took my first of a seven day dosage of 500 mg. of Leviquin as a 2nd tier anti biotic. By the second day I couldn't get out of bed to get to the bathroom without help from my wife. When I did finally get there I had severe diahria for the first couple of days. Like a fool I trusted my doctor and stayed the course for the full seven day dosage. I finally called my doctor after I couldn't walk and scheduled another appointment that following week. He probed and prodded me , ordered some blood tests and scheduled an appointment with a rhuemotologist. In the mean time my wife Googled -"adverse reaction Leviquin". Well the fear of the unknown was solved BUT now I realise I'm stuck with something I might never get rid of , much less walk normally again.Well we armed with this information that was ALL over the internet and headed to see the Rheumatoligist. Some of you probably see where this is going. I was diagnosed with rheumotoid athritis. I insisted it was leviquin poisoning which he replied that he never heard of it. TOTAL DENIAL ! I was hoping for a cure, some answers, some hope that I would be normal again ---- but no , I get total denial from a professional. I'm guessing if there was ever a conspiracy in the medical profession , this was definately one. Well I needed a second opinion so I scheduled with a different clinic. I wound up getting more blood tests that only showed severe inflammation. All my joints in my hands, feet, knees,elbows, & shoulder were swollen. I love modern medicine. Anyway the diagnosis was that he was 95% sure it was "severe rheumotoid athritis" but ---- he would not rule out Leviquin because of experience with some of his other patients. At Last! Some ray of hope, not much, but enough to know I wasn't crazy for thinking that Leviquin was involved. Not that it mattered except for peace of mind because I was stilled treated for SRA. Its three months now and my kitchen counter looks like a drug store btween the meds and the vitamins. I've been on 25 mg's of methotrexate once a week, 10 mgs of prednisone 6 days a week with folic acid. For the first two months I was also taking 2400 mgs of Ibuprofin to help with the swelling. The last month I have cut that in less than half. Now I'm walking again although always having been a long strider my pace is quite a bit slower but nonetheless encouraging. But the intriguing part of all of this healing was I had also changed my diet drastically. I took (still taking) any vitamin, mineral, antioxident,(fresh from a juicer) that in any way shape or form was advertised in alleviating SRA. A two week vacation to Roatan was also squeased in where I partook in fresh fruit, fresh noni & fresh seafood . I combined this with daily snorkeling excursions. To make sense of this, I was being pushed around the Miami airport in a wheel chair (thanks American Airlines) on the way down. On the way back I was walking a decent pace while pulling my carry on luggage. So the big question is , was it the lifestyle change, the meds, or just time that has gotten me to this point. Don't really know and only kind of care. I'm just happy to be able to walk again , crumble crackers in my soup, take the cap off of a milk carton & open a beer can (I own a bar & resort). I have a ways to go yet but I'm encouraged by my progress. I had no idea three months ago how I was going to run my business when the season started. I hope everyone has as good of a spouse and friends as I have to help me when I was down for the 9 count. I hope this helps all the victims out there. I've also talked to nurse friend's and my pharmiscist and it's amazing how much of this drug is prescribed without adverse reactions. We're just in the minority, luck of the draw. Good Luck!

Hi my name is Julie,
I started taking Levaquin for a bacterial infection on Monday Jan 1st. Within 48 hours I felt better.The third day Wednesday the 3rd on Levaquin, I noticed my neck was strained. I thought I slept wrong. The 4th day I had shoulder pain on the same side of the neck pain. The fifth day my arms were aching terribly. I was still taking the levaquin, it was my last day of levaquin 750 mg. I did not associate the pains I was having until it was too late. The last day of Levaquin in the evening, my arms and shoulders were in severe pain. Then my arms went numb, burning and tingling and severe pain. I could not move from the elbow to the shoulder. It lasted for 5 hours. Today is Jan, Saturday the 13th and my arms are moving slightly, however their is great pains in them. Especially in the shoulder. How long will this last? I seriously can't take much more of this. This 750mg of Leviquin for 5 days may of cured my bacterial infection, however it has caused other severe muscularskeletal problems.

I have just had two bouts of cellulitis in my legs. I had some side effects from strong antibotics, so was put on leviquin, after taking for 5 days (6 days is a full RX), I am experiencing tightness in my throat, my mouth seems to be "raw" making it hard to eat. Everything I try to eat or drink is extremely bitter. Also, I seem to have some joint pain.

Took leviquin 500 for 8 days before I realized what was happening to me. Side effects included: severe panic, altered mental state, constant sleep, loss of appetite, pounding heart rate. After 2 trips to the ER no help was provided. I stoped the Leviquin early (was supposed to take it for 3 wks) and immediately started feeling better. The anxiety is much less but still present and I still sleep all the time.

Has anyone had similar experiences and, more importantly, how long does this last?

Please help!

I went to the Dr. and was given 500mg of Leviquin to take for 10 days. I was so tired and on the 10th day my knees started to swell and feel so stiff I could hardly walk. It was on the Thanksgiving holiday so I could not call my Dr. I was really concerned something was going on.

Leviquin Almost Killed Me!

Within 2-minutes I was dialing 911 and thank God the Paramedics arrived in time. My entire face swelled up including my eyes and lips. My air passages closed and spasamend shut. The ER Doctor almost had to insert a breathing tube to keep me going. I am still shaky and have difficult breathing now.

My Doctor should have never given me this drug as I had a similar reaction to Cipro some years ago.

Be Warned! Leviquin & Cipro CAN KILL!

I had a UTI (urinary tract infection), I was given Leviquin too.. I had to go to the ER due to the fact I felt like I TOO WAS HAVING A STROKE.. SHARP PAINS IN MY HEAD CONSTANTLY!!! P.S. No Dr.. I repeat, no Dr. will put down a medication, this is there domane!! I was up all night last night and really thought i was goind NUTSSSSSSSS!

I took leviquin 5 months ago for a sinus infectin. It was the third time I'd used it for sinus. This time I immediatly started with tingling in my legs and hands. Its been 5 months since I used it and the tingling has not gone away. I wonder if it ever will.

I have been off Leviquin for a week. I am so depressed that I cannot function. does any one have any answers? How does this take to get out of your system?

I am a 32 year old male who gets occasionally bad sinus infections. i found this site yesterday after 3 days on levaquin, and had numerous side effects, notably: light headedness, weakness in my legs and hands, headache, sleeplessness and a nigthmare that caused me to sleepwalk. ( which I had never done before!)

I planned on stopping this medication as I did not feel right and had a softball game in the evening. Well I only lasted 2 innings of the game when I chased a foul ball and crashed into the fench and went to the hospital with a severly sprained ankle. i blame this on the fact that i was out of sorts and not really paying attention to my location on the field due to the lightheadedness of the medication.

at the hospital I was asked if i was currently on medication. when i told the nurse i had been taking leviquin and was not feeling right, she responded by saying she did not like the drug and had similar effects herself. Another nurse agreed. When I told the attending doctor she stated that levequin was not normally a drug she would prescribe as it is very strong and recommended i talk to my physician and use something else.

Use caution when using this drug, do not plan on doing any strenuous activities as your degree of concentratioin could be altered. I will not take this drug again and have been drinking lots of water to get it out of my system. It seems to be helping .

After taking leviquin for 5 days, I realized that my knees were getting so stiff that I could hardly get up and down. I have a torn cartilage in my left knee but it does not require surgery. I had been very active doing yardwork, riding bicycle, et. and then, BOOM, I couldn't figure out why I was having so much problem with my knees. I take the herbal joint complex all the time which always helps with any arthritis. While I was so sick with this sinus problem, I forgot to take my joint complex so I figured that was my problem but I have found nothing that does it any good at this point. This is the 6th day after the leviquin and I am still as stiff in my knees as I was in the beginning. I have been taking advil at least twice a day. I had no idea that this medicine could have caused it but decided to look it up on the internet and was shocked to find out how many people are affected this way. I can assure you that I will not take Leviquin again
ever.

I have taken almost two complete 7-day rounds of Leviquin and just today realized that my aches and pains are probably due to it instead of chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. I will not take those last two 500 mg tablets! I have extreme joint pain and swelling of the wrists. I have been blaming lower back pain on the 16-hours of sleep I had on Sunday! My hip joints hurt so that I can't raise my foot to step into pants when dressing. I'm sure I read the Rx paperwork when I filled this prescription, but don't remember seeing extreme pain as a side effect. Why didn't my doctor warn me?