My 16 year old son took Levaquin 6 months ago and had a bad react...

I was poisoned 3-1/2 years ago by levaquin. I had pressure headaches so bad that I thought my head would explode. Of course I was afraid to take any aspirin or advil because you aren't supposed to mix nsaids with levaquin. I did take tylenol but it didn't help at all. I had my kids and husband take turns massaging my head. That did help a little. I still have some pressure from time to time but it's much better. Your son should never have been given this poison. Why did he give it to him? There are safer meds available. There is no excuse except that he probably didn't know. and if he did, please get a lawyer. He should lose his license to practice. I'm so sorry this happened. I'm still so angry that my life was changed forever from this poison. Please go to www.fluorquinolones.org. you;ll get some good advice from others that have also had reactions to this class of drugs. By the way, did you know that this medicine is to be used as a last resort and not given for prevention of an infection. Your dr was negligent to do this and take a chance on permanent damage to your son.

The first symptoms I had after taking Levaquin was an awful ear/jaw/head ache. It was mostly pressure in my ears, but also an aching and sometimes stabbing pain from my ears, up the sides of my head, to the top of my skull. Weekly massage therapy helped. If you can afford it, I would imagine that accupressure or accupuncture would do a world of good. I'm glad your son has made a near full recovery. It's only been a couple months for me, so I'm still struggling. (27 year old female)

I will say a special prayer for you. You are so young and you have your whole life ahead of you. Just know that you will make a full recovery. Thank you for responding and for the information about your headache. I am confirming what I have believed for a while now...that his headache is indeed due to the Levaquin he has taken. It appears to me that the Levaquin settles in and attacks the weakest point in the body the worst at the time the drug was taken.

Take care of yourself, stay positive, and most of all, keep going on with your life!! You will recover.

I only took the drug for 5 days and the effects are horrible. On the third day, I had what I thought was a stiff neck. On the fourth day, I thought the flu was coming back. I had achy muscles and joints with the pain in my neck. On the fifth day, I could hardly walk. The pain in my ankles, knees and hips was excrusciating. It took about a half and hour before I could walk upright. I also had swelling and tingling in my fingers of my right hand. I stopped the med. right away, but the pain in my joints is still bad, expecially if I sit or lie down for any period of time. Also my achilles tendons are so tight, that I am afraid I might rupture one or both of them. I can't believe that 5 pills can cause so much pain. It has been 2 weeks and the pharmacist says it lasts an average of 5 weeks. I am so sorry for your son's suffering, This drug should not be out there. AMA from MO

i have the headache that you are describing. it feels like pressure in the back of my head/base of my skull. i also have like a shooting pain on the sides of my head. it feels like my head is going to explode....why are they prescribing this drug if it causes so many problems? i trusted my dr, and im so sorry i did. i will never take any meds without doing research first!

Yes, I started taking Levaquin yesterday and ever since I have had this horrible headache, and of course I can't take anything to relieve it b/c you're not supposed to take any sort of aspirin with this medication. This headache kept me up all night last night. My headache occurs in the front and it feels very very tight. Like someone constantly pulling and tightening a rope in the front of my head. I still have this headache and it is the next day.

I, too have terrible headaches from the levaquin. They are so, unbelievably strong and seem to start at the joints above my ears and reverberate all over. In addition, I have terrible, arthritis-like stiffness in my hands, aches and pains all over my body, and trouble walking. I'm 35 and I hope I'll be able to get over some symptoms like your son has!

March 9th, 2008

Hello Everyone,

I came down with pneumonia and a sinus infection two weeks ago and was prescribed Levaquin, 500mg per day. I had already been having sinus pressure and pain. When the headache pain seemed to explode exponentially, I just assumed that it was due to the sinus infection and that it would take awhile for the medication to reach a therapeutic level. I told my husband, who is an ER Doctor, that I was feeling desperate with pain, that it was the kind of pain that one fears might drive them insane. He was sympathetic but also thought that it would just take time as I was very sick. After a week I suddenly developed train wrecking pain in my back and hips. It took 3-4 housr of painful exercises on the floor to be able to walk. That pattern repeated again the next day, which was yesterday. My husband came home from a night shift in the ER this morning and said we should look up Levaquin's side effects. I was amazed to see so many people having the same problems. My husband will not prescribe it again to anyone. The difficulty for physicians is that when drugs become available, their pharmaceutical reps praise them so highly as the newest thing to help people fight resistent strains of infection, and there is not much literature available about side effects. It isn't until they make a clear connection between the drug and it's negative effects that they can do something about it. In this case, my physician husband could observe me before and after taking the drug and became alarmed. But it caught even us by suprise. Thank you to every one who took the time to post their symptoms to help us make the connection. I am hoping that it doesn't stay in the system too long. My sympathies to you all.

HNB

Yes indeed, my husband just got off a dose of Levaquin 500mg. prescribed for a ear infection. Besides really bad headaches he also has had vivid nightmares, he admitted to me today he had suicidal thoughts, he cannot sleep even when taking sleep aids. Ringing in his ears constantly. Joint pain.

Hello sir, first of all i want to share my sympathy with you and your son, i also took levaquin but i am 19 and i know i has caused me damage, now i cant walk much but, i hope levaquin did not damage me i took it only 7 times and stopped use right after i felt pain, i want you to know that the drug will affect the brain and cause severe problems as

"Irreversible Peripheral Neuropathy, (permanent nerve damage), increased QT prolongation, Torsades de Pointes, central nervous system (CNS) events including severe nervousness, agitation, chronic insomnia, anxiety attacks, nightmares, and paranoia. Toxic Pyschosis has also been reported." wikipedia search levaquin. I also have a real victim video who states having all these symptoms the link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpDkN_KJmdA Please contact me when you read this and tell others about it, the fda says only 9% of patients end with irreversible damage.. but from my experience and what i have researched more than a 35% will have some type of irreversible damage.. please e-mail me: teinorbak@yahoo.com