Today is Christmas day 2008. And a Merry Christmas to me ha!!!!!...

Welcome to the Levaquin club. Sorry you had to join on Christmas but there really is no preferred time to take this poison. You are correct that it should come with a warning. At last most of the other poisons come with a skull and crossbones on them.

How long can the effects of one pill last? Google a book entitled "Bitter Pills" by Steven Fried. You can read the beginning online and decide if you should read the rest.

I wish you well..... soon!

Sorry for you.

But I am also glad that you realised right away that your pain could be a side effect.

I would also recommend Bitter Pills by Stephen Fried and apart from that there is more interesting interesting information and patient stories on the webb-sites, www.fqresearch.org and www.fqvictims.org.

You can also Google the words floxed or floxies.

That`s what people call themselves when they have been hurt by this group of antibiotics - the fluoroquenolones (may be the wrong spelling).

In the name of the substance there is often an ox or flox.

Also read the patient stories on Cipro (Ciprofloxacin) and the other antibiotics in this group. They all have similar side effects.

I have never taken this type of antibiotics but a close friend did. He also had other medications.

The best thing you can do for yourself and people around you is to educate yourself when it comes to diseases/medications. The whole truth is not in the package insert and people react differently to the same type of medication.

If you have reacted to this type of antibiotics you should not take it again.

I hope you are feeling better now.

Greetings from Sweden.

my doctor gave me a 10 day -supply of levaquin to take for a sinus infection, 5 days into it i did not feel any better-actually, i felt worse --i quit taking it.right now, 3 weeks later i have problems with my ankles-hey hurt--also i went through 8 days of a severe ear infection -i went to see an ear ,nose and throat doctor and he told me that their was nothing wrong with my ears -thank God that pain is gone but my ankles still hurt-my doctor should have warned me about the side effects of levaquin before giving it to me

Debbie,
my sympathy with all you have said here. Having spent many nights wishing my arms would fall off instead of hurting so! My problems started after the first dose and became so bad that i decided to discontinue the medication after the 6th dose. My reaction was immediate enough and severe enough to be clearly related to tthe antibiotic whic I has taken. However, I have had blood tests, x-rays, ultrasound and my doctors are willing to call it anything except quinolone toxicity.

lizziew.....You will never at this point and time get any doctor to admit that the drug is as toxic as it is. It is going to have to take one of their own to be injured by it or at the least someone very famous. It is too bad that we the common man that are making the doctors and the drug companies rich have to suffer by their ignorance......Debbie