Avelox and levaquin

I took my 2nd Avelox pill at 10am this morning, by lunch time I felt very jittery and anxious, and had isolated tingling in my left hand and foot. Tonight I had severe abdominal pain and then the subsequent emptying of the bowels (ok, that's gross!). I am a healthy 39-year old woman who has never had any side effects from medication. This was prescribed for a sinus infection. Thank you all for your posts about your experience with this horrible stuff. I feel better knowing that I'm not going crazy. Unfortunately, because this is a once-a-day pill, this stuff is still in my system. For those of you who are posting on this site saying you've had no side effects and this medicine worked great, you probably work for Bayer in their PR department....if not and you really did not have any side effects, this site is for those of us who HAVE had side effects.

In 2002, my doctor prescribe Avalox after two, ten day doses of Levaquin didn't seem to work for a sinus infection. I was very tired, swollen, vomiting and unable to urinate. At the hospital tests determined that my blood sugar was out of control, as was my blood pressure. I had excess potassium and several other nutrients were depleted from my body. It felt as if bugs were inside my skin and my mouth was very dry.

I stayed in the hospital 12 days because my kidneys had shut down. I was put on dialysis. My new doctor says that my kidneys are still sick. I have excess protein. Normal levels are 17 and mine are about ten times higher. I have to take a pill to protect my kidneys every day.

I have learned a lot about natural medicine and have improved my health. It took a several months and painful biopsies before the experts determined the cause. It was a combination of the two drugs.
epbp.....VA

The best drug out there !! No I am not ignorant enough to make these cart blanche statements like some of these posts---Millions of people have used this drug successfully like I have. Just because it works for one individual they should not recommend it to the world nor if it causes you personally some harm YOU SHOULD NOT POST A STATEMENT THAT INFERS IT WILL HARM EVERYONE--IN-OTHER-WORDS GET A LIFE!

Well, I had foot surgery. Several days later when I returned to doc my foot was obviously infected. He gave me Cipro AND Levaquin at the same time even though they are in the same family of drug. I went home and ate supper then took my first dose. I had a weird feeling like I was about to pass out and was home alone. I unlocked the front door and waited for EMS to arrive.

They checked me out and I was going to go to ER by car. When I stood up, I turned white and fell back on the sofa. I had a rash on neck/chest and felt like someone was squeezing my chest all the way around my body. They said my blood pressure dropped. They gave me epinephrine in ER. I looked at my daughter and said it is happening again. I thought the top of my head would blow off. I turned white and started vomiting everywhere. Turns out the nurse should have given it in the muscle not by IV.

A few months later, I took my first dose of Avelox (also in same family as Levaquin and Cipro) for a sinus infection. (I think it caused palpitations the one other time I took, but I do that occasionally anyway so I didn't connect it to the antibiotic.) Second time I was out at a restaurant with my sons. I felt like I was about to pass out again. I called an ambulance because they aren't old enough to drive. I told them about my reaction to Levaquin, but to my surprise my blood pressure was sky high. Again it felt like pressure in my chest but no difficulty really breathing. Since I had an "atypical" reaction, I had to stay overnight in the ER and be evaluated for a heart attack! I had an EKG, stress test, and cardiac enzymes drawn all night. What a pain! Then the dufus ER doc told me to continue the antibiotic. My daughter, who is a paramedic, said just nod and smile. Then go home and throw it away. Call your regular doc and ask him to change it. That is exactly what I did.

Now I am petrified every time I have to take antibiotics! I have to talk myself through it.

Second time I took it, I felt weird again.

I am trying to spread the word on this drug, Avelox! It is poison and needs to be taken off the shelf.
We all need to complain to Bayer and the FDA. Although I am sure the FDA knew about all these side effects when they gave their stamp of approval on this one. It's all a business. They don't care how many people they kill as long as they make a buck!!!!!!!
Please take the time to share your bad experience with the drug with my readers so we can pass the word on this BAD drug.
******

I have a history of sinus infections. After two rounds of Augmentin did not clear up my latest one, my doctor finally gave me the steroid pack and Avelox. He had tried to avoid the steroids. I have had them so many times. I finished my steroids 5 days ago and my Avelox yesterday. I read the side effects and did as it suggested. Since it mentions low potassium would not be good I ate a banana every day and had some orange juice to keep my potassium levels up. The drug warms against taking any pain killers such as Aleve, Advil, etc. One earlier reviewer admitted taking Aleve and had a bad reaction... well.... bad move.... I have had no real side effects that I can say for sure are Avelox related. I did feel a little less focused at times, but was not obviously groggy or woosey. I did have a little abdominal discomfort that I usually do not have with drugs, but it was short-lived and only occurred 3 of the 10 days. Many people have bad effects because they do not follow the warnings against anti-acids, pain killers, low potassium, etc. Some people are more likely to react to any medicine, while others like me rarely have a side effect. My tendons did not hurt... nothing.... People who are out of shape, have a poor physical life style, etc. sometimes help contribute to the drugs reactions by being in basically poor physical health to begin with. America is one of the fattest, out of shape nations out there due to our abundance of everything. The majority of persons can take Avelox with no real issues. I will take it again. I truly feel concern for those who had problems, but sometimes we are partly guilty by how we don't take care of ourselves when we are well...... As with any drug, some persons will react no matter what... It's often just a matter of inherited genetics...... Be safe everyone, and take time to evaluate how you take care of your body and really decide to do better. For the record I am almost 58, 5-9 158 pounds and work out semi-regularly.... Take care of that temple God gave you. Its the only one we get on this Earth,,,,,,

Extreme nausea and loss of appetite. Pain in the stomach area after I eat anything. I took Avelox 400mg for 7 days for sinusitus and bronchitis when Z-pak did not work. I had had reaction to Cipro and Levaquin years ago, but the doctor still prescribed Avelox to me. I still feel sick at my stomach and have pain after I eat and it has been 4 days since I took the last Avelox. I am continuing to spit up mucus and feel like my throat is constantly raw. 3 days after taking the Avelox, my tongue was red in the middle all the way back to my throat and I had red blister like spots on the roof of my mouth.

Feb 27 Being treated for severe sinuitus tk avelox 5 days knee swollen, muscles acheing in legs switched to levaquin took one day knee still swollen, tendons aching, joints ache When will this let up been 2 days+ S.

I had a similar and horrifying reaction to Avelox after taking only ONE PILL. I took one pill and within four hours had to crawl into the room to my husband to get me into the ER. For probably five months I suffered severe reactions all caused by this ONE LITTLE PILL. I couldn't walk or move without pulling muscles and tendons, my tendons felt so stretched that merely moving my leg felt like I would snap my tendon. I literally could NOT WALK or STAND. I also had eye involvement, chest pain, bone pain, shortness of breath, and just extremely odd and random different reactions to this ONE pill and I can only THANK GOD that I did not take more than that. I was told this IS a very rare possible side effect and NEVER to take any FLOROQUINOLONES again. I have the bottle marked POISON - DO NOT TAKE in my counter to remind me never ever to take anything like this again. Luckily, by 6 months and I was able to gain full motion again in my limbs after rehabilitating myself slowly and carefully without pushing myself to cause any further damage. If you have similar reactions DO NOT PUSH YOURSELF, wait and listen to your body, because you can snap tendons like rubber bands. I have also come to find out that this side effect was not as rare as they made it out to be, just do a search "levaquin and muscle pain" "avelox and muscle pain" "floroquinolones serious side effects" - and you will see that you are not alone. This was over 4 years ago when I had my reaction and at that point they statistically knew and had documented that 70,000 people had this severe reaction (not to mention the countless others who probably went undocumented.) Tell everyone you can and everyone you know about this drug. I do. Be careful with Sulfa drugs as well. Many people who cannot take Floroquinolones cannot take Sulfa drugs, and the worst thing about that is, you might take them successfully three or four times and on the fifth - get bad reactions. I can now not take Floroquinolones, Sulfa or Macrobid. Please take care of yourselves, I sympathize with everyones situation. If anyone has any questions, feel free to write me at ****** my name is N. What's worse is you feel CRAZY when you tell people "I took one pill and I can't walk...." But it is a FACT that's what it can do to you!

I was given Avelox at my clinic for bacterial pneumonia, the doctor said it was a wonder drug and I'd be up and running in a couple of days. I took the medicine that night and I got very dizzy and started sweating, felt like an anxiety attack so I took my xanax and it helped a bit. The next day I tried to get up and about 15 min. later my head started buzzing and my ears were ringing, I tried to walk up the stairs and dropped to my knees at the top step and fell to the ground. I didn't lose consciousness but I couldn't move or speak for several min. when I started to come to, I crawled to my bed and everything was spinning, I started to have severe chest pain and was rushed back to the clinic. The doctor said to stay on the Avelox and take it before bed and finish all the dose, so I did, and gradually got worse and worse. I went to my doctor the day after Christmas and told him what happened, he said I still had crackling in my chest and my cough was still bad, he put me back on Avelox for 3 days, so I've now been on it for 10 days. I became so weak and couldn't eat, it felt like the food wouldn't go down, I was sweating, dizzy, still had cough so I called my doctor again and he put me on prednisone taper and another 5 days of Avelox. Two days later I ended up in the hospital with severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscle weakness(felt like I had lost muscle), severe bone pain to the touch, sweating, extreme fatigue, decreased mental ability, confusion, headaches and chills in my legs. It has been over three months since I first got sick and I feel worse today, my doctor's have no answers or solutions, just let it run its course. I feel trapped in my body, I'm 33 and a mother of two active kids, and I can barely get out of bed most days. I feel like my life has been taken from me and I want it back.

I suffer from chronic sinusitis and rhinitis. When I develop severe sinus pain and headaches, I break down and get antibiotics from doctor. I had an allergic reaction to Levaquin (hives), so the doctor put me on Avelox. It worked well and I've probably had it 4-5 times in the past 2-3 years. I had one round of it a couple of weeks ago and was fine. However, yesterday I was suffering from the pain, nausea, etc again so the doctor gave me another round of Avelox. Within 15 minutes my ears and throat started itching, then the palms of my hands started itching like crazy and turned bright red. Itching and rash spread to my underarms, then to my chest and back. I was feeling a little tipsy too. I knew what it was so I took Benadryl right away and called the doctor. He confirmed the allergic reaction and took me off the drug, said to take the Benadryl, drink a lot of water and no meds until this is out of my system. Bottom line: an allergic reaction can occur at any time, even if you've had the drug before. I keep Benadryl on hand at all times, just for that reason.

I've recently had a staph infection on my right knee, and my regular dr. was closed so I decided to go to a nurse practitioner. She decided to give me samples of Avelox and actually had me take one of them in the office. Little did I know I was about to experience hell on earth!! After taking the first dose, I began to get extremely dizzy and disoriented but I slept well the first night. I thought I just felt bad from the staph infection and figured I would take another dose of the Avelox. Big mistake!!!! After that second dose I started having uncontrollable anxiety, depression, extreme confusion, and even became paranoid that I had some type of serious illness. I couldn't eat or function well at all and I have 3 small children to care for. When I tried to sleep I felt like I was passing out rather than falling asleep. I saw weird images in front of my eyes and jumped out of bed at 2:30 am panic-stricken. I found this site and saw what so many others have been through and was convinced it was the Avelox. But I've been off of it for 2 days and I still feel out of it, unable to think clearly, and have an odd detached feeling. I'm hoping this is not permanent damage. I just want to feel like my old self again! And I agree with so many others- Avelox should be taken off the market!! It is a horrible drug!!!!!

1) Stop going to the doctor for "sinus infections". This is one of the most over diagnosed, over treated, self-limiting illnesses in the world. Because 90% is viral, it's also the leading cause of antibiotic resistant bacteria in out-patient medicine. Get some Afrin and blow your nose.
2) Avoid taking fluoroquinolones (Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox) as an outpatient. These powerful drugs should be used to save lives in the hospital. The leading exception would be a urinary tract infection that is resistant to all other antibiotics.
3) All fluoroquinolones can cause tendon ruptures, especially the achille's tendon in patients over 65. This is a devastating injury, though rare with this class of antibiotics.

I am a 36 year old woman living in hell for 3 months now.

In early October of last year I was admitted to the Hospital with diagnosed bronchitis a possible pneumonia. I was given Avelox which is a member of the Fluoroquinolone drug family. At the time I was in sever distress, could not breath, and was extremely weak from the infection. I stayed in the hospital for 6 days while they gave me Avelox along with various other meds to treat my symptoms and was released after finally getting a clear chest x-ray. The drug had done its job. But it was a week later that hell started. I was re-admitted to the same hospital with sever abdominal pain. They told me that I had hepatitis due to a reaction from the Avelox. My Dr. Also suspected I could have Wilsons Disease so he prescribed a liver biopsy, to say the very least this was a painful procedure. The biopsy came back negative and the liver function began to return to normal just as the pain everywhere else began.

joint and muscle pain
headaches
insomnia
uncontrollable twitching
arm and leg numbness
neck pain/spasms
a mass on my left breast (further diagnosed after mammogram, CT and Biopsy as a side effect to the Avelox)

My internist, Rheumatologist and the liver specialist all suspect “Post infection pain syndrom”.

However, after hearing now 3 separate times from 3 seperate Dr's about the possible side effect of Avelox I did a little research and every single one of my “symptoms” are on the lists of dangerous side effects for this drug. Now none of my Dr.s can tell me if I will ever get rid of the pain I am in. None of them seem to be able to do ANYTHING but treat my symptoms. By treating the symptoms all they can do is pain management which means pain killers. I simply can not function day to day with most pain killers so I am forced to live with the pain.

More drugs than I have ever taken, Dr.s visits, time off work, stress and a standard of living that simply put is not living, not to mention the tremendous outlay of cash...to say the least I am frustrated.

I had a really bad upper respirator infection, for which my doctor prescribed Azithromycin (3 day dosage) didn't work, so he prescribed Avelox (7 day dosage) I have taken 3 of the 7 pills, the only side effect I have noticed, is really bad heartburn, which leeds to nausea. Not sure if I should take the last four pills. It has quelled the coughing and the congestion, but if I do not finish the prescribed dosage, will the infection return. I could cease the Avelox and continue taking the Hydrocode cough syrup he also prescribed, as it is the only linguring symptom of the infection. No other side effects noticed.

My 20 yr old daughter was given Avelox 400mg to take one per day for 7 days for a sinus infection. Two hours after taking the first pill last night she became very drowsy and extremely nauseous and vomited several times. Her heart was racing and she felt unexplained anxiety as if she was having a panic attack, and couldn't sleep most of the night. Why don't doctors think before giving out medications!? Or at least warn the patient of these side effects which appear to be VERY common!

I was hospitalized on Christmas with a severe infection of my colon, so when I got discharged 5 days later the doctor prescribed Avelox 400 mg. for the last 7 days it has been hell. I cannot catch my breath even if I'm just sitting there, my chest is very tight, and it feels like my heart just wants to give up from trying so hard to breathe. I keep asking myself should I call an ambulance because it gets so bad with the anxiety that I cannot catch my breath. I'm 34 and in good health. but tonight after taking Avelox for 7 days I finally decided to research the side effects just to see if this was causing all my problems. This drug should be outlawed or the doctors prescribing it should sit down for 5 minutes and tell the patient all the possible side effects. where is the compassion in these doctors these days.

My eighty year old wife wa given ten Avelox tabs and told to take them one each day for her lung infection.
She has taken them five days along with a cough syrup which contains codeine.
The result is that she has been sleeping about eighteen out of every twenty=four hours.
After finding this site, I stopped her from taking ant more of them.

I was prescribed Avelox for a sinus infection and bronchitis after relapsing twice following treatment with amoxicillin and Levaquin. The doctor had provided me with 12 sample packets and advised me to take (1) 400 mg tablet each day for 12 days. He then wrote me a prescription for another 14 day supply and advised me to wait to fill the prescription until I determined if I could tolerate the drug. That statement should have been a red flag for me, but, I didn't think twice about it.

I proceeded to take the Avelox for 9 days before the side effects kicked in. The first thing that I noticed was itchy skin. I didn't associate the itching with an reaction to Avelox right away because it was mild itching. By the 10th day, the itching was very severe all over my body. I took Benadryl and went to bed. When I woke up, my face had swelled up, my eyes were practically swollen shut, I had a rash on my entire body from head to toe but most noticeable on the upper half of my body. The itching was unbearable and my body kept going between chills with extreme shaking and teeth chattering to profusely sweating. At this point, I finally associated my symptoms with a reaction.

I stopped taking Avelox 5 days ago. It took two days and a bottle of Benadryl before the rash and swelling subsided. The severe itching also subsided after two days. However, I still have mild itching and some swelling. I've also had two severe migraines in this 5 day period along with fatigue and an upset stomach. I've also continued to experience chills and profuse sweating.

This is a wicked antibiotic. I would strongly advise against it. I've never experienced anything like this before. It's scary.

What exactly do we need for a class action suit, guys?

Side effects: Severe disorientation as if very drunk (vertigo, dizziness, feeling "out-of-body" or high), hallucinations (including feeling things crawling on me), overwhelming fatigue (as if I hadn't slept for days), muscle soreness (as if I'd exercised for hours), joint and tendon pain (especially in hands, wrists and ankles), insomnia, nausea (lost 8lbs in a few days), racing heartbeat, dehydration, ringing in ears, stomach cramps, yeast infection and spotting.

The drug immediately made me sick but I thought it was just the sinus infection, and unfortunately kept on taking it. The side effects were actually worse AFTER I stopped taking it (I got much worse before I got better).

If you're on this stuff, STOP IMMEDIATELY. If you're scared and experiencing side effects as I did, PLEASE KNOW that they are real (you're not imagining things) but they WILL go away. Listen to your body, rest as much as you can, and drink plenty (and I mean PLENTY) of fluids. Despite the nausea, eat SOMETHING (toast, bananas, applesauce).

This is a 24-hour drug, so (verified by my pharmacist) due to its half life, it takes a MINIMUM of four days to leave your system. I only started feeling non-drugged a full 7 days after I stopped taking it. The fatigue lingered (kind of like getting over the worst bout of flu EVER) but now it's slowly going away, too. This stuff was an overwhelming blow to my physical health (I've NEVER been this sick), but I'm getting better. YOU WILL, TOO!

Prescribed avelox for sinus infection, 10 days worth, have taken 5 days, shortness of breath, weakness in limbs, gaseous stomach, Sinus infection feels a little better, but the shortness of breath has me a little worried. Anyone experiencing similar side effects to this medication?

I posted my reactions to Avelox yesterday (they were quite severe) but I would like to add other symptoms that, while less severe, have proven more persistent than the initial and very frightening reaction I had to ONLY ONE PILL of Avelox (see below).

Yesterday I had strange pains in my jaw and left hipbone and I pulled my left forearm muscle with very little movement on my part.

Last night my eyes were spasming followed by brief flashes of red light. When I closed my eyes the spasms continued, but followed by flashes of white light. Today my eyes are sore and seem to have difficulty focusing.

I only took one pill and am still feeling effects two days later. Avelox is a terrible drug and it baffles me that my doctor did not know that these side effects were possible.

I took 15 days of Avelox in March 2004. This was given with Prednisone (Medrol) which enhances the possibility of an ADR. I initially had lower leg and Achilles tendon pain, then sharp wrist pain. Paresthesia soon followed. I called my ENT who told me to quit the medication. Nevertheless, a couple days later, I developed a rash on my palms which looked like allergic vasculitis, and the paresthesia intesified. My GP suspected a drug reaction and performed CPK tests. CPK 3 came back elevated but later returned to normal. A couple weeks later, numbness developed in my toes.

A neurologist has so far diagnosed me with bilateral ulnar neuritis (nerve inflammation in the elbows), carpal tunnel syndrome, and tendinitis. There is also evidence of a peripheral neuropathy. I can no longer exercise, and it hurts to type. My hands are still red and inflammed.

ADRs to this drug are virtually identical to those of Levaquin. the drug is extraordinarily dangerous, and should be reserved for the most aggressive infections.