October 31th
2007
1:04 PM
In July of 2005, I was prescribed 14 doses of Levaquin 750 mg for a bad case of viral pneumonia and mononucleosis. After two days of insomnia, I developed extremely painful feet, especially the bottoms of my feet. Last month (Aug 2007) I was diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis of the Hip, and just had my right hip replaced (total). At age 45, I am fairly young to have developed such an ailment and other than July of 2005, have been healthy and active my entire life. In retrospect, I am beginning to wonder if Levaquin caused my avascular necrosis, as the doctors are at a loss.
-- By spookytoes | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
April 7th
2007
7:21 PM
I am currently on a 10 day/500mg dose per day of Levaquin for an absolutely awful sinus and upper respiratory infection. I am gradually improving, maybe 10 % each day, but I have noticed general malais and an overall loss of appetite together with stomach cramps and mild diarrhea, primarily after dinner. I almost feel as if I could have mononucleosis..just tired all day with little if any gumption to do anything. Also, I have terrible pain in the bottom of my feet when I get up in the morning as well as blurred vision when I try to read. So, is it worth it? Well, ultimately, if I get rid of this infection it will be, but like with so many drugs, you have to suffer in another way to stop suffering in the first place. I'm not sure which is worse.
-- By markchip7 | Reply | Private Message me
July 22th
2006
9:06 AM
I began taking lisinopril in late February and unfortunately had developed mononucleosis at about the same time (just my luck). As some may know, adult mono can be more of a chronic situation that lasts several months as opposed to a short, severe illness when you get it as a teenager.
Anyway, I was completely attributing all of my symptoms to mono, but I think I may have been allergic to the linosipril and did not get alarmed since with mono you need to endure very severe symptoms and essentially grin and bear it. Has anyone else here had an allergic reaction to the drug but kept on taking it? Just curious. A few of my symptoms that were not entirely indicitve of mono included swollen neck, face and throat as well as a reddish discoloration of the face. Again, all of this happened shortly after starting lisinopril, but I just persevered since I thought it was mono. I wonder if maybe I got over the allergy since I am still on the drug although the symptoms have largely dissipated...
-- By brock_zz | Reply | Private Message me
October 31th
2008
10:59 AM
Hi, my name’s M. and I posted my story on here about a month ago. Unfortunately, I’ve made no progress. I was hospitalized again mid-October for numbness and tingling sensations in my legs, which is a symptom of guillian-barre syndrome and supposedly needs to be treated very carefully. I had an mri of my brain again, this time including my spine to check for possible tumors. I was sent home the next day, negative for guillian-barre, but having received no answers. I was crawling up the stairs by this time, and was too weak to walk without holding on to furniture to support myself. My legs felt like cement blocks, and the neurologist specifically said, “I don’t know why you can’t walk.”
-- By kenziex3 | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message meSince then, I’ve developed acute mononucleosis, which increases my fatigue and muscle pain, and causes me to sleep about 15 hours a day. Recent blood work also showed I was positive for an autoimmune disorder called Myositis, which is a painful disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack its muscles and connective tissue. I was referred to a rheumatologist, who was the least sympathetic person I’ve met in my life, and told me my physical exam was perfect, so she felt the Myositis must have been a false positive. She re-ran the blood work, and the Myositis was negative. This is of course a relief, but how we’ll ever know which test is correct, I don’t know. The rheumatologist did notice the weakness in my legs and my difficulty walking, and suggested physical therapy to help gain my strength back. She also prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication that took away almost all of my pain. Thank God, something finally worked for me. We then saw the physical therapist who said, “We can probably make you stronger, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
I’m seeing an osteopathic specialist who is convinced my illness is directly related to Gardasil. Through ancient medicine methods, she introduced a vile of Gardasil to my system and noticed an immediate weakness. I’m not sure if I totally believe in her practice, but the fact that she noticed a rejection to Gardasil the minute she introduced it is enough to convince me. She believes that my immune system was basically poisoned by the vaccine, which is causing it to fight off things I need. She also said it probably doesn’t recognize the mono as an infection, and decides not to fight it. For a normal, healthy person, mono can last up to 3 months. For someone like me, no one knows how long it could last. It was my immune system’s weakness that allowed me to develop mono, and it was the Gardasil that weakened it in the first place. So thank you Merck, for yet another thing I have to deal with.
And that brings us to today. I’ve missed about 30 days of my freshman year, so I’m assuming summer school will be necessary. My high school won’t provide a tutor, so I can only take my core curriculum classes, and am having difficulty keeping up with just those few. I’ve gained some strength in my legs, and it’s a little easier to walk with the anti-inflammatory, but I still can’t walk very far without resting. I’m also taking an anti-depressant to help me focus-hopefully it’ll lift my spirits. Since I received the vaccine, my periods have been painful and irregular. The constant nausea, headaches, and occasional stomach pain/joint pain continues, along with extreme fatigue.
The doctors make me feel like a crazy person who faked this to get out of school. How could I possibly fake nausea for thirteen weeks straight, and pain that kept me up crying almost every night? How could I fake my difficulty walking while it’s causing me to miss both of my volleyball seasons? Before this, I had hardly missed a day of school in my life, and refused to stay home whenever I got the flu because I hate falling behind. I’ve played volleyball tournaments with sprained ankles and chipped elbows, I can handle pain, and I’m not a baby. If the doctors would take five minutes out of their time to try to get to know me, maybe they would see that. And the few who actually take the time to be pleasant don’t listen. They tell you they know, that they understand, but they don’t. They won’t drag themselves out of bed in the morning feeling nauseous and half asleep; they’ll be able to walk into their office without feeling like they want to collapse, and they’ll go home to the people who care about them and will actually be awake long enough to enjoy their company. No one will tell them they’re insane, and the worst part is that most of them won’t take the time to realize how blessed they are just to have the ability to do those things. How can the doctors not have sympathy when they’re the ones who put this poison inside of me?!
I know I’m very lucky compared to girls who have experienced more serious side effects, and am thankful that we were able to make a connection between my illness and Gardasil after the first shot. But I’m living proof of what just one stupid shot can do to you-how can you put yourselves or your daughters at risk of what I’ve gone through? The benefits are not just worth the risk..
My 15th birthday is coming up in just a few weeks, and all I want is to be normal again.