I started taking Levaquin last Friday ( the 11th) for a severe si...

I read your posting to someone at work. He told me when he was in the hospital with a severe ear infection that spread in his head, he told me he had severe joint pain and was put on Norco which helped with the pain. He didn't know what antibiotic he was on, so he called his wife who said it was Levaquin. His pain lasted just two weeks after he stopped the Levaquin. The reactions to this drug are different for each individual and the lasting effects are different for each individual. Hopefully yours won't last long. My 16 year old son's joint pain lasted for 2 1/2 months and it was quite painful, but he could still get around so long as he didn't have to use the stairs and he definitely could not run.

I really wish I could reassure you that this won't last. First, I hope that you have stopped taking this and have reported your reactions to your DR., make certain that they notate this in your medical file....then, PLEASE file a MedWatch report with the FDA (www.fda.gov/medwatch). This is imperative as it is the only way that stronger warnings will be posted on this drug (called a black box warning). I took this drug two years ago next month (yes I remember the day EXACTLY as it changed my life dramatically) and now live with moderate to severe chronic pain, permanent nerve damage in my R achilles tendon area which has resulted in nueropathic pain (so not fun!), pain in all joints and tendons. I struggle to stay positive and keep the faith that this condition will fade. I take pain medication daily, every joint supplement that comes along to see if it will help, no luck yet, but I will keep trying, I take Omacor (fish oil) as well. I was healthy, athletic and prided myself on being strong and in shape. I was unfortunately told to take NSIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory) and it made the condition worse, so be careful there. Continue to read and educate yourself. I never thought anything like this could be possible from an antibiotic, and now know that I must be my own advocate and my own watchdog. The medical community just wants to treat me with MORE drugs! Needless to say, I am extremely CAREFUL now. Stay strong and I really hope that this improves for you. Thanks!

Thank you for replying. I have a couple questions though. How old were you when you took it? How long were you on Levaquin? What do you take for the pain? I've been advised by a couple doctors to contact a lawyer just in case, did you do that? Do you know anything about lawsuits with these kinds of cases? Also you said that you were active and in shape, are you able to work out now? I called my Dr. when i started feeling severe pain and the receptionist put me on hold and then connected me with my actual Dr. ( In my experience its quite hard to actually talk to the dr. over the phone so this makes me think that he knows this is serious) He only told me to stop taking it, he didn't say anything about why this was happening or what I could do which also makes me think he feels he did something wrong by giving it to me without warning and for just a sinus infection. Anyway I wish you the best and i'd really appreciate if you have the time to answer my questions.
Thanks.

Hey man, I'm just a few years older than you and also very active. I just finished my dose for a sinus infection. I started having joint pain a few days ago, and finally thought that maybe it was from the medicine. Have you had any positive replies to your post? If so, please pass some of that hope on to me!! I'm also a bit freaked out now....my symptoms aren't near as bad as the majority on here, but it still worries me. Thanks! Brian (bsandman27@hotmail.com)