Zithromax symptoms and conditions

I took my 2nd Avelox pill at 10am this morning, by lunch time I felt very jittery and anxious, and had isolated tingling in my left hand and foot. Tonight I had severe abdominal pain and then the subsequent emptying of the bowels (ok, that's gross!). I am a healthy 39-year old woman who has never had any side effects from medication. This was prescribed for a sinus infection. Thank you all for your posts about your experience with this horrible stuff. I feel better knowing that I'm not going crazy. Unfortunately, because this is a once-a-day pill, this stuff is still in my system. For those of you who are posting on this site saying you've had no side effects and this medicine worked great, you probably work for Bayer in their PR department....if not and you really did not have any side effects, this site is for those of us who HAVE had side effects.

i am a very healthy 55 year old who dances salsa 4-5 times a week, skis 4-5 mornings per week and works out at gym with wight 4-5 mornings. i developed a possible case of pneumonia and was prescribed avalox for 5 days (at $90.00 dollars no less) on the 3rd day i woke up ,and felt heel pain in my left heel and attributed it to0 a nerw pair of shoes i used for dancing. upon rubbing my heel and noticing NO callous or rubbed area i stood uo do experience sharp pain in my achilles tendon area. later on that same day i noticed my left shoulder area(rotator) seemed sore and did not make any connection since i use left arm to spin salsa partners. that same morning while drinking coffee at breakfast I read the sheets given to me by the HMO pharmacy to discover to my ALARM the side effect for people my age "possible torn achiiles tendon" as well as other tendon issues. alarmed i stopped to meds and called the PA who prescribed them.meantime i was on my way to Mexico and put on zithromax instead and upon coming home 10days later off of marvelox i still have extreme heel pain and discomfort in tendon areas . i finally went to see a doctor 3 days ago and upon telling him of these symptoms he told me there was "not a definite connection"....i proceed ed to almost start screaming and told him "not top talk to me like a stupid FU---ng 21 year old. i know my body and I HAVE BEEN VIOLATED AND when i confronted the head of pharmacy at the clinic she informed me thast on the computer Avelox was"blacklisted" for these side effects and it was posted on the system. when asked if this was permanent symptoms she did not know for sure and I informed them that I expected a call from their pharmD to discuss these symptoms,history,effects and possible remedies. i've been screwed and SOMEBODY will pay for abusing me!!
mark

I have been taking Levaquin for four days now and am suffering from serious lower leg pain, weakness in my right hand, nausea, my skin feels so hot all the time and not able to sleep. I am sure the Levaquin is causing this as this all started right after taking the first pill. I did not get an information sheet from the pharmacy that there were serious side effects to this drug. I was prescribed Levaquin for a sinus / ear infection because I am allergic to Zithromax (my liver reacts negatively with this antibiotic). I will not be continuing the course of antibiotic and hope the pain stops.

I was just prescribed a 5-day course of Zithromax Z-Pak for Strep throat. Within hours, my throat started feeling better. Within 24 hours I was back on my feet;however, I was left with a terrible side effect --- silivia the consistency of foam --- yuck!!!!! The only relief I get from this is when I sleep. Hope it disappears after I finish the course - in 3 days. The last time I experienced this foam like saliva was during my 4 pregnancies. I know for a fact I'm not pregnant again. Has anyone experienced this problem after taking Z-Pak? If so, how did you get relief? Did it disappear after you finished the course?

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 have taken two doses of Zithromax already for bronchitis. I took 2 in the ER and one last night. I woke up this morning feeling amazingly better. So far I've had no side effects. I've had a little bit of cramping but I am going to blame that on being on my period, and its not even that bad. I was so scared hearing all of these horror stories. I already have anxiety and a racing heart at times, but this honestly has not made me nervous or anything. I'm just happy it will help my infection and it's already helping so fast!

Has anyone had the experience of previously taking Levaquin without side effects, then when taking it again, developed severe headaches, joint aches, muscle pain and weakness, etc? I am currently going through this. I've taken Levaquin before probably 2 or 3 times due to upper respiratory problems and not noticed any side effect but this time, I've taken 5 days worth, 3 in hospital 2 as outpatient dose and can hardly move. I had the same experience in 2004 with zithromax. Had taken it without side effects, then suddenly when taking it again developed such bad chest pain, I thought as did my doctor, that I was having heart attack and spent a week in hospital before figuring that one out.

i TOOK AVELOX FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY FOR A BRONCHIAL PNEUMONIA THAT JUST WOULDN'T GO AWAY AFTER A MONTH. MY DR GAVE ME SAMPLES FOR 7 DAYS & SENT ME OFF ON MY VERY WAY. I TOOK THE FIRST & ONLY PILL AT AROUND 10AM AFTER HAVING A PIECE OF TOAST AND A CUP OF COFFEE. AT AROUND 10:30 I BEGAN GETTING EXTREMELY DIZZY, I FELT MY LEFT ARM TINGLING & GETTING NUMB, MY FACE TINGLING & NUMB, MY CHEST BECOMING TIGHT & FELT THIS EXTREME HEAT COMING FROM MY BODY. I FELT AS THOUGH THAT I WAS GOING TO DIE.LUCKILY I TAKE CLONAZEPAM WHICH IS AN ANXIETY MEDICATION, IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT, I SWEAR I WOULD HAVE GONE OUT ON A STRETCHER. IT EASED SOME OF THE ANXIETY BUT NOT ANY OF THE TINGLING OR HEAT I WAS FEELING. I WAS MAKING MISTAKES AT THE REGISTER AND MY HEAD WAS EXTREMELY FOGGY AND FELT AS IF I WAS WATCHING MYSELF DO THINGS! I ENDED UP CALLING MY SISTER TO COME INTO THE STORE & COVER FOR ME SO I COULD LEAVE & IMMEDIATELY CALLED MY DR WHO TOLD ME TO STOP IT. I COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT ONE DOSE COULD DO THAT. EVEN TODAY, I STILL FEEL WEAK, MY FACE EVEN SWELLED OVER NIGHT, AND MY ARM IS STILL TINGLY & EVERY SO OFTEN I GET A PAIN IN MY CHEST. THE DR PRESCRIBED ME ZITHROMAX BUT I AM WAITING TO TAKE IT AFTER THAT WHOLE FIASCO WITH AVELOX. ID LOVE TO SUE THIS COMPANY'S PANTS OFF!! HOPEFULLY THESE EFFECTS WILL GO AWAY & NOT STAY WITH ME!!

Our son has a non-allergic rash to penicillin at age 1, so he was put on zithromax to cure his bronchitis. Since then, he's had no antibiotics. Until last week, at age 6-and-a-half, when the doctor diagnosed an ear infection. He's been on Omnicef for a week, and has been very irritable! Flies off the handle at any moment, growls at his siblings... he has just generally lost the ability to "deal" with things. Our younger son has been on Omnicef twice for ear infections, and has had NO adverse reactions to it, other than some very loose stool, which is almost expected. I guess it works differently for each person!

I had a really bad upper respirator infection, for which my doctor prescribed Azithromycin (3 day dosage) didn't work, so he prescribed Avelox (7 day dosage) I have taken 3 of the 7 pills, the only side effect I have noticed, is really bad heartburn, which leeds to nausea. Not sure if I should take the last four pills. It has quelled the coughing and the congestion, but if I do not finish the prescribed dosage, will the infection return. I could cease the Avelox and continue taking the Hydrocode cough syrup he also prescribed, as it is the only linguring symptom of the infection. No other side effects noticed.

Have taken Avelox for bronchitis and pneumonia in the past. I was well-informed as to possible side effects, and it was suggested that I drink a glass of tonic water daily, that the quinine in it can help offset problems of this class of drugs, the quinolones.
Started myself on it last night for a five-day course, again for bronchial infection (very bad cold turned into bad cough, bringing up discolored mucus, bad taste in mouth). I have asthma and have had bronchial infections many times following a cold.
Had the slightly jumpy reaction, trouble sleeping, and snatches of a song fragment replaying in my head. Finally fell asleep and feel ok this morning--better, actually, as i think i caught the infection at an early stage and it will be gone with a five-day course of this drug.
The reason I have been prescribed this med is that I am allergic to virtually every kind and class of antibiotic. I can successfully take quinolones and sulfa (like Bactrim)--that's it.
However, I've found it to be very effective and the side effects quite minimal. I am drinking that glass of (diet!) tonic water, taking the medication on a full stomach (something carb, like pasta or lots of bread), and being careful not to do any heavy lifting for next couple of weeks to avoid any tendon issues.
This is a very effective drug for those of us who cannot take Zithromax, Penicillin, Erythromycin, etc. My doctor, who runs the pulmonary dept at a hospital, is well-versed in what to use and when.
Will let you all know if there are any problems during or after the 5-day course.

My daughter is 18 months old. She has a bad ear infection that doctor thinks that it is lingering since it has started a month ago. Omnicef was her 3rd dose of antibiotics that we tried after amoxicillin and augmentin. After her 2nd dose she started getting red in her cheeks and had loose bowels, after 4th dose she was covered with hives and rash all over her body, worst on her cheeks. After taking her to the doctors office, we were told that she has allergic reaction to omnicef. She was given benadryl (4x 1tspn per day),doctor said it might take a week for the rash to disappear and for the ear infection she was prescribed with zithromax ( 1tspn per day for 3 days). If anybody has experience with this kind of problem, I would appreciate some feedback.

I have just finished Levaquin 500m once a day for 10 days for a horrible sinus infection that would not go away with Zithromax. I am about to finish my Dexpak(dexamethasone) tapered dose in 4 days. I have taken Levaquin and dexamethasone before with no problems. This time I have insomnia and the worst joint pain. I am 33 years old and 135 pounds I feel like an inactive obese 70 year old. I can't sleep right now because my joints are killing me. It is even hard to sit on the toilet and get off the toilet. I find my food sits in my chest. I have started taking Probiotics and I put a heating pad on my chest which feels like a board after I eat. I am glad I am finished the medication and only hope I start feeling better. Good luck everyone.

Zithromax/Z-Pack does give you the cramps and diarrhea only side effect i got, but it pushes the infection out of your body,this medicine does work.

I went to my primary doctor last Wednesday. He gave me samples for a 5 day regime of Avelox to treat a head/chest cold. Well, the cold does seem a little better, but, I would have never traded that to the side effects I am experiencing now! I took my first daily dose of Avelox last Wednesday. On Friday I thought I had dry skin. By Sunday I was itching so bad that it was almost unbearable. My eyelids are itching, burning and swollen, my forehead looks sunburned from the itching and scratching, my chest, stomach, back and thighs feel tingly and are itching NONSTOP. I am taking an antihistamine, but it doesn't seem to be helping much. I hope this goes away. I cannot imagine what this drug does to people that have allergies and sensitivities to medications. I have never experienced an adverse reaction to medications before this. I would never recommend this drug to anyone.

Hi Gang,
I have a problem of my own with bactrim, but I want to start this post by saying I am an emergency room physician assistant and I prescribe bactrim all the time due to a number of reasons - one, it does, according to state guidelines, cover MRSA (people misunderstand that MRSA is a PENICILLIN resistant staph - but USUALLY responds to bactrim, levaquin, or cipro (ciprofloxacin). And two, traditionally bactrim is the cheapest and I personally try my best to keep my patients costs down (I have 6 kids and even I cannot afford the $800 a month cost just for insurance so we put money in a health savings account and pay cash for everything - though we rarely go for just "colds" like so many do). But I developed a UTI which tend to be real bad in men as we do not get them as much as women do - this is due to the urinary tract and anatomy differences. Almost ALWAYS a UTI is from E. COLI 80-90% of the time - don't let that scare you as it is a normal digestive enzyme - but outside of the digestive tract or if exposed to an outside source like bad meat - it cause infection), why that matters is some antibiotics, like zithromax, do not cover that bacteria.

Well, to the point. I started on it for my UTI, normal dose, 2 times a day. I noticed I was having some weird dizziness and even slurred speech - no rash. I noted in this blog that people worry SO MUCH about the rash, but the rash is usually not any big deal. We see it, but unfortunately what we see scares us more than what may be going on silently inside of us!

So I have these symptoms and now I have a lump under my jaw that I can hardly open my mouth and still slurred speech. The Mrs thinks I am taking something else or who knows what, but I almost felt like a stroke. No headache, some nausea at times, but no rash. The jaw pain and I guess a left side neck pain are pretty intense today. I am stopping the bactrim and I promise I will be a bit more sensitive to others who I prescribe it to! I was looking for side effects and came across this blog.

Jamie B. PA-C******

I'm a 32 year old male. This is probably the 5th time I've taken Zithromax. Unlike previous experiences, this time I got a horrible rash on my face, chest, neck, and little red spots all over my body. They itch horribly and I'm hoping they go away on their own. I am going on week two and they are still around. Last year, I was given a very strong antibiotic for an infection that just wouldn't go away. I took one dose and threw the rest out because the resulting full-body rash was horrible. I think that some of us may develop an allergy to certain families of antibiotics as we age. Either that or our immune systems are degraded. Who knows. I've also been dealing with chronic anal itch for 2 years now, and that is a horrible thing to live with. FEELING OLD!

My Dad,a 78 year old highly functioning man, was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday evening, June 25, with a case of bacterial pneumonia. They gave him his first dose of Avelox, at 10:00PM. Twelve hours later, he was hallucinating, agitated, had an irregular racing heartbeat. He also had severe tremors, shaking. They gave him more medication for his heart and transferred him to the cardiac unit. They put him on a blood thinner, heart medication. Tested his heart and examined his brain. All tests came back negative. Thank God my father's heart is strong, or we probably would have lost him. 3 days later, I was on the internet researching Avelox, and noticed immediately that all of his problems were side effects of this drug. My family notified the doctor immediately and demanded that they switch my father's meds. The doctors did so reluctantly. They had never heard of these kind of side effects related to Avelox, even though it affects almost 3% of the population. My father had his last dose of Avelox on Sunday. Today, Tuesday, he is still having some "visions" and is confused. I don't know how long it is going to take for these side effects to disappear. The doctors are no help. This medication has caused my father and family severe stress, and prolonged his stay in the hospital. It has cost the insurance company extra money, since they had to do unnecessary testing on my father to try and determine the cause of his symptoms. He was also given additional meds that he never would have needed if they had just prescribed Zithromax from the beginning. AVOID AVELOX - IT COULD KILL YOU!

I had a really bad case of strep throat because I thought it was a cold or flu and didn't go to the doctor for 12 days...but then I finally went because my throat hurt so bad and my glands were so swollen. I don't have insurance and maybe that's why the doctor gave me ten free samples of avelox right off the bat instead of just prescribing penicillin. I took the first dose and I would say my sore throat and swelling were 80% gone within the FIRST THIRTY MINUTES. So, definitely this is a very strong antibiotic compared to the Z-pak (zithromax) I've taken for bronchitis before. It's now day 4 and I have to say I am reluctant to take it for 10 days!! I haven't had any severe reactions, just bloating, diarrhea, dizziness, and some tiredness. And pretty strong nausea for the first hour, so I have been pushing the dose time from 9am to gradually later at night where I am not so sensitive. I am 33yrs old, healthy and eat well usually so I think my strong constitution has kept me from some of the more severe reactions I see above. HOWEVER, I do feel that it's a bit too strong! Surely there must be some way to lower the dosage of this antibiotic? I feel that it's worked well, but it just is too much like a SLEDGEHAMMER!

Two days ago I took out my third molars (wisdom teeth), afterwards I took a prescription strength 600mg Ibuprofen with no side effects. I took another pill 6 hours later, and I have been having the worst upper stomach pain, much worse than the tooth ache ever was since then. I have been waking up with agonizing pain every hour for the past two nights, and I can't even take Tylenol for my tooth pain now since my stomach is so messed up (I tried and it cause horrible stomach pain).

So on top of having to treat the stomach problem, I can't take any pain medication for my teeth and I'm just miserable. I'm 25 years old and have never had stomach problems before, the first night I thought I was poisoned or something and I was dieing. I think the small label on the bottle that says "if it causes upset stomach, take it with crackers or bread" needs to be replaced with "it doesn't matter what you take it with, it can cause much more pain that you have ever imagined." Because it actually doesn't matter if you take it with bread, or inject it to yourself, the function of ruining the stomach lining is because of it's anti-inflammatory chemicals, not direct contact with stomach.

I read about it now, and apparently the deaths from Ibuprofen and Aspirin (anti-inflammatory pain medications) caused by gastrointestinal problems is about as many as deaths by HIV-Aids in USA*. I don't see any Ibuprofen awareness rallies though. I wish I had time to sue someone because I really really want to.

******

I've had 4 back to back sinus infections - doctor prescribed avelox for #3 and #4.

I had severe anxiety and depression on Day 7 with the avelox, thought it was the singulair, stopped taking the singulair.

On #4 sinus infection dr prescribed the avelox for 14 days, on day 7 i was severely depressed and anxiety ridden and severe thoughts of killing myself, then looked up avelox and saw the side effects.

Doctor prescribed cipro saying it was not a quinone - same effects, even worse anxiety and depression.

I'm off the avelox and the cipro, now waiting to go to an ent in two weeks and on self prescribed zithromax to get over the sinus infection because the doctor won't prescribe anything

had a sinus infection after a cold- z pack did not work - was given prednisone and 21 days of avelox - after 7 days had a lot of dizziness and lightheadedness - feeling hot and warm - tongue feels hot and inflamed and worst headaches - no more sinus infection - stopped the drug - anyone know how long it might take for headache to abate after stopping this drug.?? please email me at marlenie1955@yahoo.com. thanks.

I was prescribed 5 mg. Lisinopril at the end of September. It took a couple of months for the cough to develop but it came on very suddenly and uncontrollably. I would have to bring bottled water and cough drops with me everywhere because it would come on so quickly. The doctor said it was bronchitis and prescribed zithromax. Still no relief from the cough. I was also having lightheadedness, joint pain and numbness in my fingers. I went back to the doctor after another month of coughing and was prescribed more zithromax and tussionex cough medicine ($50 a bottle) and was diagnosed with a winter cold even though I told the doctor I had no cold symptoms. I called the doctor after finishing the antibiotics and told her the cough was still the same. She wanted to give me yet another dose of zithromax which I said I didn't want because I did not feel sick and did not want to keep taking antibiotics so she told me she would give me an RX for allergy medicine which I never picked up. At this point I was so upset I went for a second opinion and was immediately taken off the Lisinopril. It took a little more than 2 weeks but the cough and all the other symptoms have now completely disappeared. I trusted this doctor but my body was telling me that something was not right and I'm glad I finally found out it was the lisinopril.

I was prescribed the 5-day Z-pack for bronchitis and after two days I quit taking it. I am not psychologically and emotionally perfect (who is) but this drug is causing extreme agitation, nervousness, hard intense dreams that leave me fatigued even after a full night's sleep, and depression with crying spells. I am aware that this drug stays in your bloodstream for a long time. It's half-life is 68 hours and after taking 500 mg. on Feb. 6 and then 250 mg. on Feb 7, I still have somewhat less than 200 mg. in my blood today, Feb. 13. Even at today's level I still have no relief from my symptoms and I am praying that this will all go away when the level of the drug gets to a certain point.
My bronchitis is gone and I am trying to live my life as if I have no symptoms (I teach 7th grade U.S. History) but I cannot ignore the fact that I feel like I am cracking up.
I am not trying to bash this drug. Most people are fine with it. Good for them. But some people have these types of problems because I have seen stories like mine on many internet places.
Hang in there anyone who is suffering like me. I hope it goes away and I can return to my life where I get nervous now and again and maybe once in a while I do not sleep well.
This is horrible.
Anyone who has gone through this and returned to normal please respond. I need to hear some good news.

My son was diagnosed with his first ear infection at 12 months old. He was prescribed Amoxicillin, but broke out in an allergic rash. We were then prescribed Omnicef ($50 WITH insurance!). He wasn't even on it for 24 hours and started vomiting anything and everything he put in his stomach. I gave him about a day to see if it was a stomach virus, but it continued. I called the doctor's office who told me to take him off the Omnicef and see if the vomiting continued. Within 24 hours, all vomiting stopped, so I called the doctor's office back and was given our 3rd and final antibiotic...Zithromax...which was the cheapest of the three.