I took Levaquin several years ago for pneumonia after being misdi...

I took Levaquin several years ago for pneumonia after being misdiagnosed and treated for bronchitis. Within three days, my breathing improved but my body felt worse. By the third day, I started having what I thought was joint pain in odd places: feet, ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, elbows and shoulders. I called the doctor who told me not to worry, that these were side effects that would go away. I kept taking it because I was desperate to get well after months of being sick and misdiagnosed, but the side effects worsened. I called again and got the same advice. By Day 13 and in tears, I started researching it and found a website that detailed the horrible side effects that people were experiencing, how the drug was implicated in bilateral tendon ruptures, how Nader's group had petitioned for warning labels detailing these dangerous side effects and been denied, and how the symptoms persisted in some for years. By the time I stopped taking the drug (Day 13), I could not lift my right arm over my head, a symptom that persisted for about six months. I immeditaely went to see a rheumatologist who told me it was not my joints but my tendons that had been 'attacked' and that I should have stopped the drug immediately at the first sign of a problem. He said that over time I would improve. What disturbs me is that my experience happened FOUR YEARS AGO and there were many who had similar experiences who preceded me by several years. That this situation still persists in unconscionable. The side effects lasted for several years but the varied. At one point, every time I kneeled I felt there were rubber bands across the front of my knees that were about to snap. For a while, my ankles were very weak, etc. I would say that it took about 3 1/2 years to be rid of the symptoms so it may take that long and longer for some to detox from this dangerous drug. Hope that helps. Susan