I want to start out by thanking the others who have posted to thi...

I want to start out by thanking the others who have posted to this website. My dad is 83 years old and was hospitalized for bilateral pneumonia. The doctor gave him 4 days of Avelox by IV and prescribed Avelox 400mg by mouth for seven more days. We have been up every night since he was discharged. The first night he was very confused. I did not think to much about it because often when older people are moved from one environment to another they become disoriented. This did not get much better so I looked up the side effects on the computer for Avelox 400mgs. I was amazed at all of the known side effects. We have been up every night since he has been home. Yesterday I gave dad the second dose of Avelox against my better judgment because I had read all these postings. I showed these listings to my sister last night (she is an RN) and she said not to give dad anymore of this. I cannot believe the mess we find ourselves in because of taking this medication. I think it is more like poison than medicine. He woke me up at 4:30am this morning telling me that there was a cat underneath the window blinds at his bedroom window. He made me stand back and pull the blinds clear to the top. There was no cat and my dad looked at me so pitiful and confused. I tried to explain to him that it was this medicine and that we had stopped giving it to him. God love the man he has been to hell and back because of this junk. If you look at the posting for February 10th 2003 you will see as I did a list 3 and 1/2 to 4 pages long listing the side effects. This medication is more like poison!!! I would NEVER give this to anyone again. It has literally been a nightmare for my dad and I both. PLEASE DO NOT LET ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY TAKE THIS MEDICINE!!!!! Learn from my mistake. I just told my dad that I was very sorry for giving it to him. I would never knowingly give anyone something that I thought might hurt them. He has had many of the side effects listed. Dear God how I regret giving him that poison!!! I would suggest to anyone before taking a new medication to look up the side effects on the computer or talk to the pharmacist before starting a new medication. At least that way you will know what to look for. Please don't make the same mistake I did!! As I sit here typing this I hear my dad in the next room talking in his sleep. No wonder he is probably having another nightmare. His body jerks and twitches when he is asleep. It is hard to see a loved one go through this and know you were partly responsible for it. It is now almost 7am and I hope he and I both can get a little more sleep. AS I SAID EARLIER LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE!!!! DO NOT TAKE THIS "MEDICATION".