Walking pneumonia symptoms and conditions

I'm a 22 year old female who is pending a lawsuit against Avelox. This drug ruined my life. I was a full-time student hoping to get into Duke University in Fall of 2010; it looks like all of my dreams have been destroyed after taking this deadly drug. I was diagnosed with pneumonia (pretty much walking-pneumonia) on August 8th, 2009...I have no slept since; it has been about 2 and 1/2 months. I did not get to go to school this Fall Semester to pursue my 15.5 units honors classes. I'm currently being told by the doctors of KAISER that I'm gong crazy, bipolar, psychosis, anything but a victim of this terrible drug. Please, help me with this lawsuit. I will let everyone know the status and hopefully we can bring many people to my court case and support!!!! my email: ******

Please do not ever take this drug!

-Brittany

I have had the worst year and a half of my life-it should have been the happiest! I was on Yasmin for about 7 years. This last year I had gotten engaged and was excited to marry the man of my dreams! The first few years on Yasmin everything was fine-I did not notice any changes. Over the last few I seemed to recognize some anxiety and started having panic attacks out of the blue. Well, in July 2008, I went to the Dr. and was misdiagnosed as having an ulcer-I really had mono and walking pneumonia?? I was having all kinds of anxiety and they could not figure out why I was sick. I went to all kinds of specialists-neurologists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, etc. They said nothing was wrong. I received a call from a friend of mine who is a nurse. She knew of my symptoms that had compiled over the last year and asked if I was on Yasmin. She told me to stop the pill but I did not think that this was causing me all of these problems. I ended up having severe insomnia, massive anxiety and panic attacks, irritability, moodiness, muscle aches, night sweats, chest pains, racing heart, depression, the list goes on...I wanted to cancel my wedding! I thought that I was going insane! I ended up at a therapist looking for some help. She was able to help me get through my wedding (December 2008)-thank God!
One of my friends wanted to get off the pill to try and get pregnant and decided to do so after my wedding. After 3 months, she was able to stop her anxiety and depression medicine...correlation?? She was on Yaz!
I immediately stopped the pill (March 2009) -that was the icing on the cake! I have NOT had a period since March, I still have anxiety and am in fear every day that something is going to happen to me.I still have insomnia and feel scared that all of this is taking a huge toll on my body-especially my heart. I just want my hormones to go back to normal so that all of this will end!
Does anyone have a similar story? Any advice as to when I will get back to normal?
Please do not recommend Yasmin or Yaz to anyone ever! It has ruined my life in every aspect. It has affected my relationships, work, school, my well being.
I would love any feed back and/or comments-help!

Had "walking pneumonia" in February 2008. Went to a couple of primary care physicians before I was finally prescribed AVELOX. I was 40 at the time and have no psychiatric history but within a day of taking AVELOX I suddenly felt like I was being pulled into a black hole of depression. That lasted about 20-30 minutes but felt much longer. The next day, the same feeling happened. I immediately went online and found all of these posts. I stopped taking AVELOX ASAP. Over the next couple of days, those feelings dissappated. I feel so fortunate that my symptoms went away. Every chance I get, I tell people, "DO NOT TAKE AVELOX!" I am wondering how AVELOX remains on the market! How many more people will be temporarily or permanently damaged by this toxin?!

My son Emmett was put on Omnicef for pneumonia and ear infection. On the second day of being on this drug he had terrible diarrhea, black and watery and he would scream every time he was pooping. He wouldn't sit and would cry if you tried to lay him down to change him-this made me think his stomach hurt pretty bad. Sometimes he would stand there and look at his stomach and just scream. On day 10 of Omnicef he had something on his stomach develop that looked like a heat rash that started off as white bumps then turned red. Two days later (2 days after the drug was all taken) the bumps became bright red and were everywhere. He also had swollen knees that were hot to the touch and wouldn't walk around. We went to the doctor and he said it was a reaction to something he ingested. He said we should give him Benadryl and just watch him. The Benadryl worked for a couple days then stopped working all together. New red spots would come back as soon as the others went away. Three days later we were headed to the ER because of swollen feet, all of his toes connected and his feet were so puffy he wouldn't stand on them, they were also hot to the touch. Luckily we saw a different doctor and he did some blood tests. It turned out he had mycoplasma infection which is also knows as walking pneumonia. He was given Zithromax and was better within 12 hours. The red spots and bumps and swollen extremities were all cleared up. I don't know if he was allergic to Omnicef because he is allergic to Penicillin or if he was just given the wrong drug for the walking pneumonia and it wasn't getting any better. It is definitely worth getting a second opinion in the same day after going through this last week.

I am a 24 year old female. I got diagnosed with walking pneumonia after having a chest X ray at my doctors office. The doctor prescribed z-pak. I went home and took the first 2 pills and about 2-3 hours after taking it I suddenly experienced uncontrolled rapid heart rate. My heart was pounding so hard i almost fainted. I work in the medical field, and knew immediately that I was in trouble. My husband drove me to the ER, where I was admitted with a heart rate of 186 beats per minute, I honestly felt like i was going to faint, or die. Once they ran several tests and ruled out anything major IE blood clot, they determined I was having an extreme allergic reaction to the z-pak. They gave me IV benadryl and steroids, which immediately started to bring my heart rate down. I do not take any medications ever, other than supplements, this is the first time in 9 years that I have had to take an antibiotic, and this was the only prescription I was taking that day.

I was prescribed Levaquin after coming in with "walking pneumonia" I was given 5 days of Levaquin along with Prednisol. I have been off Levaquin for over a week and I am having severe stomach pain. I have tried Mylanta, Tums and everything imaginable and the pain will not go away. The doctor said the side effects should not be lasting this long. The stomach pain started about two days after taking Levaquin along with dizziness and has not stopped.

I love Avelox! I had a chronic sinus infection along with bronchitis and what was the beginning of walking pneumonia. I could not breathe out of my nose and my chest rattled, and I was coughing up yellow mucus that had a foul taste. My doctor gave me samples of 3 Avelox to start with, and a prescription for Doxycycline to take for 7 days after. I just finished my 3rd pill of the Avelox, and it is amazing how much better I feel! I will of course finish out the prescription of antibiotics that he gave me as well, but maybe he only gave me 3 Avelox because they aren't good to take for a full cycle, I don't know. All I know is that I have had none of the problems as described here and I can breathe again.

I took Levaquin for 2 1/2 days for walking pneumonia. I had to lay down for no less than 5 hours after taking it. It made me crazy while I was on it. i would be speaking to someone and just like that, I had no idea what I was taking about. First night my boyfriend found me outside on the sidewalk in my underwear trying to figure out how to clear my throat. Next day I'm told I went to work and then just walked out in the middle of a class and got on the wrong train. I have no memory of this whatsoever. That night I slept in front of the refigerator because I felt I had to for some unknown reason. Next day I went to the doctor and told him what happened and he said he didn't think it was the levaquin. I thought for sure it was so I told him I wouldn't take it and seemed a little miffed. He's not my doctor anymore. I know it was the levaquin especially after reading all this.

I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and my doctor prescribed avelox. 2 days into taking the med I developed cramps in the lower bowel and diarrhea and I was always tired no energy. I figured that the avelox killed the bacteria in my gut and started taking Acidophiles pills. 7 days into the meds I found this page and immediately stopped the avelox and called my doctor. He put me on biaxin and put a note in my record. NO AVELOX! Well it in now going on 4 week later and I still have diarrhea (explosive) and my doctor is baffled. He is sending me to my GI doctor now. I have Ulcerative Colitis. I am worried that avelox may have caused a flare up.

I'm on day 3 of 750mg of Levaquin for walking pneumonia, and I feel awful. I've been so nauseous that I feel like I have the flu now. It started yesterday, but is definitely much worse today. I'm not taking any more of this medication. I'm calling my Dr. in the morning. I feel lucky after reading all these other posts.

I am a 32 year old sane woman with a degree in Psychology. I was prescribed levaquin for walking pneumonia. This is day 7, and I am in tears because I truly thought I was having a psychotic break for the past 5 days. My roller-coaster of symptoms include emotional instability, paranoia, violent thoughts, thoughts of hopelessness and suicide, overwhelming gloom, facial numbness, insomnia, and the feeling of tingling in my mouth and throat. I am going to stop taking this medicine right now, and I've already called my doctor. I just wish I would have linked this to the only medicine I'm taking much sooner.

I started the NuvaRing in October of 2007 and I have had some very interesting side effects. While I can't say for sure that all of my side effects are directly related to the NuvaRing after reading all the comments on this website I took it out last night. In November I started having trouble breathing and it felt like I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. I called my doctor and although I have never had a history of Asthma he felt I was having an acute Asthma attack. He gave me an inhaler to use three times a day until I felt better. But I never got better. I went back to the doctor and he started me on Spiriva and sent me for a chest x-ray. My chest x-ray showed walking pneumonia so antibiotics were the course of action now. I felt better for a bit but about three weeks later I was right back where I started. I was very weak and tired all the time. I would become winded just by walking up the stairs. Nothing I did seemed to work. A few weeks later I went back to the doctor for the forth time with a cough I could not control. It was hard to breath but I didn't feel sick. No cold or flu symptoms just a nonproductive cough. So now this is late January and I finally get a diagnosis from my doctor - full blown pneumonia but he did not do a second chest x-ray. So I take the antibiotics and for a few weeks I'm feeling pretty good. But last week I started up again with the shortness of breath and coughing but this time it's accompanied with headaches and a fever of at least 102.5. I went to the emergency room and found out that my heart is working harder than it should and I may have been throwing blood clots from my legs. The ER doctor did a chest x-ray which was normal although all my symptoms were exactly the same as a few weeks before when I was diagnosed with pneumonia. My lab work showed that my white blood cell count was normal so I don't think I had pneumonia at all. Signs of blood clots can present themselves like signs of pneumonia. I was told to look for pain or swelling in my legs and so far so good. I have a follow-up appointment in two weeks so it will be interesting to see if my heart is back to normal. I'll post back to let you all know but please ladies think twice before taking this BC. For me it was not worth the risk.

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 prescribed Levaquin 750 for 5 days for resolving pneumonia. I didn't finish the last pill due to increased heart rate and severe anxiety. These symptoms did stop for me. However, about a good 2-3 wks later my wrist started hurting. I thought I may have slept on it funny or something. Then a day or two later, my jaw started hurting so bad I couldn't chew at times. Another 2-3 days which leads me to today, I am having tingling/shock sort of feelings running thru my legs and arms and still having the jaw and wrist pain. I have an appt next week with my doc. I'm sure she'll send me thru all the tests everyone here has mentioned to no avail. This is very frustrating and scarey. I wish folks would repost and let the rest of us know how they are progressing. I will post back after my visit. I am going to try the magnesium and 5-htp the gentleman said worked for his wife. I am becoming a firm believer in a more holistic and natural approach to healing. I know sometimes chemical medicines save lives but this one has caused my life a lot of pain that I feel was not necessary for a very light case of walking pneumonia. Good luck to everyone. Please keep your progress updated to help the rest of us out.

I was given Bactrim after a laser procedure to my face. For the first seven days, my only symptom was a very red face which I unknowingly attributed to the laser procedure. On the eighth day, my face was very much improved in colour which I later realised was because I had accidently missed two doses of Bactrim. When I recommenced with the Bactrim the next morning, within a few hours my face was intensely itchy and red and I broke out in a rash all over my torso. At this point I became concerned and did some internet research, only to realise my symptoms were all Bactrim related. Apparently sulfite allergies are relatively common amongst the population, and I now know why I get a flushed face when I drink beer or wine.

I was prescribed Levaquin yesterday by my doctor for bronchitis/walking pneumonia. I took the 500mg. tablet last night and could not sleep! He prescribed it once a day for 10 days, but I can't see not sleeping for so long. I'm thinking of discontinuing it and going back to the common 5 day Z-pack.

I was prescribed this when I was diagnosed with Walking Pneumonia. It made me feel extremely weird, identical to what the #10257 entry on this forum. I stopped taking it because I felt like I was going crazy.

MY 13 MONTH OLD SON HAD BEEN ON SINGULAR FOR ABOUT FOUR MONTHS. HIS PEDIATRICIAN PRECRIBED IT AFTER HE HAD AN EPISODE OF BRONCHILITIS FOLLWED BY CROUP AND THEN BY WALKING PNEUMONIA. HIS CHRONIC COUGH DID NOT GO AWAY. I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY CHANGES HE STILL HAS A COUGH WHEN HE SLEEPS EVEN DURING THE DAY. I THINK MORE THAN ANYTHING THE SINGULAR DRIED OUT HIS MOUTH CAUSING HIM TO COUGH MORE. THEN I NOTICED THAT IN THE PRESCRIPTION BOX IT MENTIONED THAT IT CAN CAUSE A COUGH. I TOOK HIM OFF THE THE SINGUALR ON SATURDAY. I HOPE TO SEE POSSITIVE RESULTS FROM IT.

I was recently given a five day 750mg@day prescription of Levaquin for a treatment of "walking" Pneumonia. During the second day of Levaquin I developed a body rash--like, all over my body. Back to the hospital with seasoned medical "experts" telling me I had "chicken pox", "hives", "herpes", etc..etc... A young female Doctor looked at my rash and diagnosed: "Drug Reaction". She took me off Levaquin, prescribed a two week course of Penicillin, plus drugs to combat the rash and within two weeks the Pneumonia and the body rash was gone. Sooooo, with what I'm reading on this site, my question is: Why is this poison...this Levaquin still being prescribed??

I have been using Advair 500 for 11 days. It was prescribed for asthma, which I have never had before. I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia in April and then concurrent with the pneumonia - asthma. I have been to two asthma/allergy specialists recently. One wanted to keep treating me with antibiotics and I said no. The second specialist prescribed the Advair. I immediately felt better...wheezing was gone inside of a week - completely. I am supposed to use the 500 for a month and then go to the 250. While I haven't gained any weight, I am unable to sleep, feel warm all the time, and am experiencing migraine type headaches, and neck pain. I've read some of the posts here and I am concerned that I've read about people stopping the Advair. Shouldn't one be weaned off the Advair like other steroids such as prednisone??? This is all very new to me and I just haven't felt well in over 2 months...want to get over it and get on with life. Thank you!!!

I'm only on the third day of Levaquin 500mg, but I'm so glad I found this website. My doctor prescribed Levaquin for my "borderline walking pneumonia." I was initially glad to have a pill to get me on feet again since I was down for a week with coughing. The first day was great, I slept a lot, felt weak but I was positive. Yesterday I took my 2nd pill and had all this initial outburst of energy. I got a lot done around the house and even had appetite for a steak and potato dinner. This morning after the 3rd pill, I definitely took a turn for the worse. I felt this weakening, to the point I could hardly stand up, so I thought I would lie down and I slept for 3 1/2 hours straight with chills and really intense dreams. I could hardly get up, and then I felt nausea, got the shakes and more chills. I have never felt so bad in a long time. Thanks to this website, I got a lower dose of medication (Z-pack) and hope the last Levaquin pill has passed thru' my system. I felt very scared and thankful that others have experienced similar side effects so I didn't feel so all alone.

I began taking Levaquin two weeks ago for walking pneumonia. I asked my doctor at the time if I could exercise, and he told me after a couple of days it should be fine.

The pain started below my right calf. A day later, the same pain in my left leg. The next day, my shoulders, my biceps, my elbows, my wrists, and worst of all...my knees. I had to hold on to something to stand up and actually move my leg over with my hands to drive.

I called the doctor. He told me to go off of it a day to see if the pain went away. I did. The pain subsided. I called back according to his directions and gave him the news. He told me that he thought the side effect was very unusual and go back on it.

I did for a few more days...then the pain started again, so I took myself off the drug. I will never take it again. If my symptoms from the pneumonia come back, he will need to put me on something else.