Saw Levaquin on the news yesterday. I was very pleased to see that they are putting a warning on this med. I thought it was just me with a problem with Levaquin. I have allergies to antibiotics anyways so I attributed my problems to just another allergic reaction to an antibiotic. Wow!
I took Levaquin in April 3 years ago for a respiratory infection of some kind. I then had the same experience I have with allergies where my tongue felt swollen. I called the nurse and she told me to take the next dose anyway. I did so and my chest/esophagus felt like it was on fire. I couldn't breathe. I went into the Emergency room and they gave me a lidocaine/maalox combo that would take the pain away for a while and diagnosed me with reflux.
I went on some reflux medications later that caused more problems for digestion. The more we tried to solve it the more my system reacted. I ended up in the emergency room about 5 times that year. Two were for chest pain from the esophagus and two were from severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). I became allergic to many categories of food and lost down to 110 lbs. I went to naturopaths and other specialists and none of them could pinpoint any problems. I was tested for Celiac and had two upper GI and one lower GI that year alone, My Dr. bills totalled more than $5,000 for that year.
The next year I had given up. The only doctor that I would go to was the allergist and the new GI doctor I had found. I still worked but was in such severe pain that I did nothing but sleep when I got home. I cried and begged God for death or healing all night long. I was losing my hair in great handfuls. They put me on ativan and I became addicted to the stuff. I was allergic to most foods. I had a diet of about 6-10 foods that I would cook homemade and I would never eat out unless I knew what and how the food was prepared. I took vitamin c in very high doses and that took the pain away.
I slowly re-introduced food back to my system. Now I have a less restrictive diet but it still is limited. I am now allergic to all nuts, rice, sunflower seeds (sunflower oil is used in most potato chips), some other grains, and melons. I still have problems with legumes and some other foods.
It took 2 years for the pain to subside and I still have digestive problems with diarrhea on and off. I am fine just as long as the pain stays away. I don't mind being limited on my diet.
I had noticed that my legs and joints hurt during that time too- but the other pain was so severe and my diet was so limited that I attributed that to diet.
If there is a class action lawsuit on this stuff I would like to be involved.