Optic nerve symptoms and conditions

My 17 yr old daughter received her first Gardasil on April 17,08 with only pain at the injection site on June 16th 08 she received the 2nd within days she started complaining of severe headaches and eye pain so I scheduled a routine eye exam thinking that her glasses may need to be updated. After her exam her optomatrist called me intot he room telling me that she had severe swelling of her optic nerve and scheduled her for an MRI before we could get that done she went to the ER for severe pain in the eye and headaches there they did the MRI and it was normal no tumors or anything that would cause such headaches. On July 3 she called me from work asking to be picked up because the pain was so bad she could not function at all she was weak, dizzy and overall just not feeling good. I took her to the ER again where they performed a spinal tap and tons of bloodwork and admitted her for pain control on July 5th she had a 2nd spinal tap and every day more bloodwork was performed so far ALL tests ran have come back normal. She was in the hospital 5 days. She seen her ophthalmologist a week after being released and we talked to her about the Gardasil and she felt there was enough "coincidence" to have my daughters pediatrician file a adverse reaction form. That has been done and my daughter has learned to live with the pain since nothing seems to help it anymore. Also the last 6 weeks she has had bad insomnia and nose bleeds.

My father has been taking Warfarin for 13 years now 2.5mg a day. He's been complaining of headaches, heavy feeling in his head, dizzy spells, extreme fatigue,swelling of his legs, spontaneous numbness of his fingers, blurred vision, cold hands and feet, loss of balance and memory loss. I have spoken to his Doctors and no one believes him that the Warfarin is doing this to him. By the way, he was diagnosed with AF 13 years ago.

Does any one experience the same symptoms? what can he do? he is 77 years old.

I was prescribed 750mg of levaquin 9/11/07. I read all the side effects but also read in many scientific studies that the odds of these side effects occurring were slim. I believe the exact figures were around 1-3%. I have my bachelor's of science in biology and am planning to attend graduate school next year, so I thought I was educated enough in the realm of how drugs interact with the body. "1-3%" is such a low probability, right?

I took one pill at approximately 9pm then around 11pm I began to feel dizzy and light headed. I had been drinking water all day and continued to do so after taking the first dose so I decided to go to bed. I awoke the next morning still dizzy and my muscles ached. Then, while walking to the bathroom to put my contacts in, I began to hear ringing in my ears until it was all I could hear around me, I developed tunnel vision, then completely blacked out. The only way my vision returned is when I sat on the ground with my head between my knees barely moving. I remembered reading that levaquin could cause hypoglycemia so I literally crawled to the kitchen and poured a plethora of sugar into a cup of gatorade and drank it as quickly as I could. I've never been more thankful to be an athlete and keep that in my refridgerator constantly...well... I WAS an athlete. I haven't been able to walk, let alone run, without my head throbbing with each step.

It is now 9/19/07 and I still have a pounding headache that won't go away. It is as if my optic nerve is on fire. I've tried vitamins, flushing my body with constant fluid, sleep, massage, and an optometrist examination for new contact lenses in case the headaches were due to eye strain. Nothing has seemed to work. My sinus infection that the levaquin was initially prescribed for has subsided but I can only hope that this headache will subside as well.

Has anyone else experienced an on-going headache as well? And if so... what have you found provides relief?

For anyone who is taking steroids of any kind, injections such s Kenalog apply, should be having their eye doctor monitor their eye pressure. About 8% of the population will have their eye pressure (IOP) go up. This is damaging to the optic nerve over time. In my opinion, ANY doctor giving these shots should be required by law to inform patients of this potentially harmful side effect. Because there are no visible effects with the vision until it is too late, no one has their pressure checked. I heard one study say that one out of 2 people will have this side effect with long term usage. Take it from someone who is a steroid responder.

My mother is currently using Alphagan-P to lower her IOP. Her doctor has recommended that she switch to Xalatan or add it as a second drop at bedtime. I want to be especially cautious given that she is monocular and 90% of her optic nerve is damaged ( she seem to be progressively losing her perpheral vision despite an IOP of 13-17 ), and she has some macular degenerative problems. I understand with Xalatan, there could potentially be macular side effects. I would appreciate it if anyone has used Xalatan or Alphagan-P to comment on side effects that they may have experienced or efficacy and also if anyone may have some insight or perhaps personal experience related to this. I would be so very, very thankful for your help.