side effect: bleeding at urethra For a long-term sinus infecti...

I was on lavaquin, only experienced severe diaherra. But I can take CIPRO, Brand name for lavaquin. go figure?

TO STOP URETHRAL BLEEDING while I am taking levaquin (Leva-pak), I have started eating cranberries and continue drinking lots of water. Although it slows down the bleeding, it does not relieve it altogether or take away all of the pain. Consequently on this second day on the Leva-pak I AM NOT TAKING TODAY'S PILL.

PLEASE DON'T START CRANBERRIES IF YOUR BLOODY URETHRA HAS OTHER CAUSES:
there are 6 kinds of kidney stones. four thrive in acid urine, three in base urine.
REMEMBER, I AM A POST OFFICE EMPLOYEE, NOT A CHEMIST, DOCTOR, RESEARCHER, OR HEALTH EXPERT.

Chapter 1 B of the saga of bloody urethra due too not enough water-drinking with Leva-pak pill and my search for relief from bleeding and discomfort.

I guess I shoulda used the name Windy, for my roundabout story-telling style. Anyway I chose Leaveapack because that is how the package I got suggests it be pronounced, due to that line over the E. Not that my doc said it that way, he said it like it levitates, as I recall, but mostly called it the L-Pak. And, besides, Leaveapack sounds kinda ambivalent, like my feelings about taking pills #2-5. Should I leave the pack alone or, having my doc's leave, should I take more. Or, it might be kinda like someone left me a pack, like some wonderful inheritance from my rich uncle. (That would have to be Uncle Sam, and I don't look for any inheritance from him, just tax collection and wanting our kids to be soldiers.)

So far we are not quite up to chapter 2 in this account of my bloody urethra, probably resulting from my untimely forgetting to drink water every few minutes after swallowing pill #1. Not up to chapter 2, I say, because I have not yet taken pill #2 of the 5 in the pak even though 8 hours ago was the time for it.

As you may recall I said bloody urethra is uncomfortable, but not so bad that I want to rush to the emergency room or sue somebody. Still, I did want some relief. And what seemed like related pieces of information were playing tag in my brain. There was something somewhere about not taking antacids within 2 hours of taking levaquin. (Did I spell it levaquil last night? If so the unconscious musta been translating my urethral pain into porcupine quill dimensions. Ouch, and my apologies for the mistake.)

Anyway,one piece piece of information was that word antacids. I found no information on the evil consequences of violating that rule, but the idea is there: antacids are not good with this drug. So would they also cause crystals in urine? And I was wondering if cranberries, with their reputation for relieving urinary tract infections, might help me dissolve my crystals. I think I heard that cranberries make urine acidic.

Kidney stone bits of memories arrived upstairs also. (The upstairs was very interested in helping the downstairs out of its discomfort and so was searching through its Fibbermcgee's closet for helpful solutions.) Now I have been spared the pains of kidney stones, but some of my friends and kinfolk have not. So I've heard of sitting in a tub of water or something and having some kinda waves break up the stones. Course crushed rock in there does not really sound like much improvement to me. Maybe peeing gravel is less painful than peeing stones, but it still doesn't sound good.

Somehow I got to PH. Oh yes, a kidney stone familiar stopped drinking milk and avoided calcium for years to prevent another attack of the kidney shrapnel. No calcium, no ore to mine for making calcium carbonate or calcium someotherate stones in his case, I mean in his kidneys' case. I am thinking that calcium is alkaline. I can recall its ?crystals?, that white build up around my faucets. I used Limaway, which I recall being an acid, hydrochloric acid, I think. Sounds like the digestive stuff in our tummies. I wonder if all that Levaquin dissolves in our acidic tummies only to recrystallize in less acidic areas of our bodies, like the blood, kidneys, bladder, and urethra. THE BLOOD. OMG are my arteries in danger of getting scratched and then covered with plaque??

No, I got to thinking about dissolving the “crystals” because, seeing that the after-the-horse-was-stolen kinda water drinking I was doing was not bringing about the desired changes of comfort or stopping the blood, it was time to try another tactic. For years I have known that water is the most universal solvent. It dissolves crystals of salt and sugar and even stones. But these Leva-pak crystals seemed to be still, well, crystalline in spite of lots of water. I think crystalline means has sharp sides or points. Maybe to cause bleeding and pain.

Back to web surfing. I googled levaquin PH. My goodness, up came atomic diagrams and chemistry gibberish beyond anything I saw in chemistry class about 45 years back. Or else I have a mental block against all that mysterious stuff. But the page did finally say things like the Leva-pak tablets are crystals of levaquin (they called it some three hundred sixty-four-letter-long chemical name). Also said that the crystals dissolve best in an acid PH OF 6.7, but that by PH 6.9 the crystals dissolve at only about 1/6 the maximum rate:

AT http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/levoflox.htm

The data demonstrate that from pH 0.6 to 5.8, the solubility of levofloxacin is essentially constant (approximately 100 mg/mL). Levofloxacin is considered soluble to freely soluble in this pH range, as defined by USP nomenclature. Above pH 5.8, the solubility increases rapidly to its maximum at pH 6.7 (272 mg/mL) and is considered freely soluble in this range. Above pH 6.7, the solubility decreases and reaches a minimum value (about 50 mg/mL) at a pH of approximately 6.9.

I ALSO googled, PH of urine. Google brings me to sites like this one:

http://rnceus.com/ua/uaph.html

Here are important points to remember about urinary pH:
An accurate measurement of urinary pH can be done only on a freshly voided specimen.
During sleep, decreased pulmonary ventilation causes respiratory acidosis. As a result, a first waking urine specimen is usually highly acidic.
Bacteria causing a urinary tract infection or bacterial contamination will produce alkaline urine.
A diet rich in citrus fruits, most vegetables, and legumes will keep the urine alkaline.
A diet high in meat and cranberry juice will keep the urine acidic.

So, my diet is already high in meat, well maybe not high, but I am part carnitarian. (Really I consider myself a likitarian. If I like it and it likes me, I eat it. Otherwise it's no way, Jose.) But there's been no cranberry juice in my diet the past few months, maybe even years. Jellied cranberries are another story. Being two days after Thanksgiving, we have some left over in the fridge. So, how acidic is my urine? Should it be more acid to head toward 6.7 or less?

THE LITMUS TEST. Or really the lack of litmus paper in my house leaves me wondering. Is my urine already too acid to easily dissolve those bloody magic Levaquin crystals? Or am I too alkaline?

I made a guess that I was too alkaline. 7 is the PH # that is neutral for acidity/alkalinity. One of these websites says so. Numbers below 7 indicate acid, those over indicate basic (alkali).

OK, so I have been eating meat and vegetables. Maybe that puts my urine at about 7, midway between acid and alkaline. I decided to try to make it more acidic by eating about 2 tablespoons of leftover jellied cranberries. I go to bed too, which also should acidify my urine due to my lowered respiratory rate.

I awaken a bit later to pee, of course, what with all the water I've been drinking the past 5-6 hours. And Glory Be, there's no blood. Some pain still, but less than before. Arising rather late today—all that googling takes me a long time, so many false leads before I hit on the info I want that it was after 3 by the time I got to bed,—so I got up late feeling energetic and still blood-free downstairs, tho slightly pained during urination.

I felt energetic and had to decide whether to stick to business and clean my house and cook for the coming week or to go out on a hike on a beautiful, cool, sunny day with great hiking pals I have not seen in a very loooooooonnnnngg time. What wonderful choices to have to pick from. All sounded great, but if I spent all day here telling you all this stuff, I wouldn't get to any of them.

So I jumped up at this point, off to live my life before I even got this properly posted.

I ran off to the store for craisins, being more portable than cranberry juice. Wouldn't you know that heavy respiration, I was on foot for a half mile each way, brought back blood and increased pain. I don't know what happened to the rest of the day, but it went. Food is NOT prepared for the week, house not vacuumed, boxes in garage not yet all unpacked and items shelved, and TODAY'S PILL Levaquin IS STILL IN ITS BOX waiting until the bleeding stops for at least 18 hours and the doctor's approval to take part or all of the second one. Durn pricey pak if I only ever take one. But if my energy stays up and the bleeding and pain stop and the sinus problems clear up, probably taking just one will have been better than taking none or taking all 5, which might bring on all those other woes y'all wrote about.

In rereading this, it seems I failed to mention that table salt increases urine acidity. Salt keeps the kidneys busy pulling out the sodium so it doesn't get out of whack in our blood systems, and that disposed sodium in the outgoing urine makes the urine more acidic. BUT BUT BUT
BUT BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT USING SALT TO CONTROL URINE ACIDITY BECAUSE IF THE KIDNEYS ARE NOT HEALTHY ENOUGH OR FAST ENOUGH, THE SODIUM CAUSES BAD ILLNESS related to high blood pressure and other stuff. you can google that one if it interests you.

And I have not yet found where and if price is reasonable to buy a ph meter for measuring my urine's ph.

If doc wants me to take any more of these pills in the L-pak, I'll get more craisins. And eat more meat. And pass up the citrus. Amazing that something like citrus that tastes so sour can make the urine more alkaline, but that's what the website says: cranberries to increase urine's acid, citrus to increase its alkalinity. I'm probably too old to handle more salt.

Fare well. I leave you to decide whether to take your next L pill or not. And if you get the bloody urethra from Leva-pak*, consider some cranberry somethingorother if your stomach can handle it. Otherwise starting at once drink lots and lots of non-alcoholic liquids. Set your alarm, carry your water with you, and keep drinking and peeing. And lie down quietly if bleeding persists because slower respiration reduces the urine's ph, making it more able to dissolve Levaquin crystals.

Have a great day and a great life. Because I am headed into the work week, I most likely will NOT get back here to tell you any more of my story. --Unless it turns out REALLY BAD. I don't expect it to, though.

-leaveapack to leave L-pak or not to leave it, that is the question.
To find out which patients will benefit from it before prescribing it is a desirable goal.

Off to bed now. Gotta get up come morning. The USPS calls.
--Leavapack

wow!!! you either work for a pharmaceutical company or the lev has given you cns issues. You need to get checked out by your ob-gyn. you should not be bleeding. (if you really are). you seem to joke at the thought that people are suffering from this family of drugs,(fluroquinolones) Your post is very disturbing. Whoever you really are, keep your "humor" to yourself or share it with the dr that you visit that puts this poison out there to get the "gifts" from you. You are a sad excuse for a human being.

WHY DON'T YOU GET THE INFORMATION FROM THE POSTAL WORKERS (IF YOU ARE ONE) THAT WORKED DURING THE ANTHRAX SCARE AND SEE HOW MANY HAD TO RETIRE BECAUSE OF TENDON PROBLEMS, CNS PROBLEMS. MANY ENDED UP CRIPPLED BY THIS WONDERFUL POISON.

Dear Helen 950.

I am sorry to have so offended you by my optimistic methods of coping with what I hope will be a very short-term experience and fear.

Since I have been in phys therapy for 2 1/2 months now for tendon troubles, I certainly have great concern to avoid further problems with them.

As to my coworkers exposed to anthrax who then took levaquin as Cipro, I imagine a few are quite unhappy with the distressing side effects, but perhaps even so they are glad to be alive, watching their children and grandkids grow and sharing their life's experiences and wisdom with others. Of course, some might wish they hadn't survived it since the pain and debilitation is so difficult to live with.

I suspect that blood from my urethra would interest a urologist more than an ob-gyn. Still, compared to other things, like kidney stones and inablility to void, this little item is a mole hill.

I lived with a close relative who was always scaring others with stories of the dire consequences from every action or lack of action a person could take. Now I have learned to meditate and not make more of my situation than it is. I have this moment to enjoy to the best of my ability. Since I don't expect to get it back to live over again, I try to live it as comfortably and relaxingly and hopefully as I can. Scaring myself with visions of disasterous consequences is not my idea of living comfortably and well.

I see that you have more information than I do at this point about what misery happened to those survivors who took levaquin (Cipro). And I am aware that some who took it as Cipro did not even survive. Still I feel that it is the best treatment currently available for trying to survive anthax and some other diseases. It also may be able to offer me better health by clearing up my sinus problems, which also are debilitating.

So far, and now this is day #3, I have not taken the second pill. I want to be comfortable and sure I will drink enough water and fill up on cranberries and then take only a small dose to see if it will cause the bleeding and pain to return. If those things happen, I will look for alternative solutions to the sinus problem. If they don't, and adequate water is what I always needed, I may be able to complete the prescription. But I am cautiously considering my options, and carefully watching my reactions to meds and foods, all the more so because of this online board.

Thank you for sharing your perspective on my experiences. I am sorry that others who probably were equally careful have had bad results from these and other drugs. I certainly do not want to be another one. But I also don't want to stay stuck in the quagmire of sinus headaches and misery, not if there's a high chance to improve my outcome using modern medicine.

I guess that I still believe that there is a high chance that this med will help my sinus problem. It certainly seemed to while it was in my system. But it also had the one different side affect that I wanted to record on the board here in the hope that others who have already dealt with it will reply to me with information about what they did about it and their outcomes.

So far, that has not happened. But perhaps it will yet in the next couple of days.

Again, thank you for replying.

Leaveapack.