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I started taking Levaquin 500mg on Jan. 28,2009 after having it p...

Posted at 2:12 PM on Feb 06, 2009 by patrick53, #38710
I started taking Levaquin 500mg on Jan. 28,2009 after having it prescribed fby my cardiologist for a lung infection, after he conducted blood, urine and heart ecosonogram tests over the three previous days. I had an infection, everything else was fine. I am 55 and have mitral valve prolapse and have been treated 20 years ago for atrial fibrillation, hence my primary care doctor is a cardiologist. Willingly starting the treatment of one tablet a day, I noticed insomnia the first and subsequent nights, tiredness and probably depression as my friend and wife said I was acting a bit "needy" and anxiety. My family commented on my anxiety as did my friend who I only email and phone. My infection noticeably improved so I was feeling better and marked it up to having been sick, until the 4th day when I starting having shortness of breath and I noticed a feeling I knew well but had not experienced in 20 years, my heart area hurt in a mild way and I felt flutters, just enough that I pulled the medical paper for the Levaquin and read the side effects bar. Low and behold all my side effects were listed. "Rare but could happen in patients predisposed to heart problems" On Monday Feb 2nd I called the doctor with my concerns but he assured me that is was not the Levaquin but he made me an appointment to check things out. So one week into the 10 day course of treatment I had another checkup only to find an erratic heart beat but on the slow side not the pounding which is normally associated with this problem. So now my doctor "who is a friend" so I am not a number, wants me to start on an anticoagulant"Coumadin" to ease the pumping in my heart and then further exams and medication for "life" for my fibrillation! Problem now is I have one more pill of the Levaquin of the 10 pill series which I "should take in 10 minutes ( I just found this site)! I have decided not to take any more test or medication of any kind until I feel this Levaquin is completely out of my body. Does anyone have any ideas how long that could be? P.S. My heart still feels like it did earlier in the week!
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Reply 9 months ago on Feb 06, 2009 by missimin, #16837

I started Levaquin four days ago for bronchitis. The first night I had insomnia, the second day I was fine and since then every time I take a pill I get nausea and feel lightheaded for over three hours. I've also been experiencing leg cramps.

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Reply 9 months ago on Feb 07, 2009 by rosaria67, #16848

Your doctor should be ashamed of him/herself for prescribing such a dangerous medication to someone with a pre-existing heart condition. Doctors are so ignorant about the side effects of this medicine. It does not surprise me that your doctor denied that the medication caused your problems. It did! It did the same thing to me, and then some. The problem is now not how long will it take to get out of your body, but how much damage did it do to you while you were taking it? Hopefully the damage is not permanent. I took this medication almost 14 months ago and I still have episodes of rapid heart beating as well as other problems. It is getting better though and hopefully it will for you also. Tell your doctor you will never take another fluoroquinolone. This includes Levaquin as well as Cipro, Avelox, Noroxin, Factive, etc. These medicines are dangerous. You can find more information on www.fqresearch.org. Good luck.

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Reply 8 months ago on Feb 21, 2009 by nancysmith, #17306

I had the same problem with Levaquin, It has a cardio effect and will cause a Qt stroke volume problem and irregular heartbeats as well as central nervous disorder problems. Since I last took it almost two years ago I have not felt normal and have had numerous medical issues which I attribute to Levaquin. Go to the FDA website and read all of the negative information on this drug. FDA has instructed the company to revise their labeling and has issued warnings.

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