Avelox and stomach

I started taking 400mg yesterday for a sinus infection. Fifteen minutes after my FIRST dose, my stomach started cramping. About five hours later I noticed muscle pain in my thighs all the way down into my toes. It was like I worked out at a gym. This morning I have a metallic taste in my mouth that even lemon water won't cure. I have a VERY HIGH tolerance for medication and usually have to double whatever is prescribed. Fortunately I did not do that with this med since it was new to me. I will not be taking anymore. I will go back to the amox and deal with the infection. I read that apple cider vinegar was good for that - without the side effects. Seriously, beware if you are sensitive to drugs. This one surprised me.

Horrible side effects!!! Was just put on a 7 day of 400 mg. of Avelox for a bad sore throat, sinus infection and bronchitis cough & congestion. After taking the first pill the only good thing the pill did was ease my sore throat so I could swallow without a lot of pain. But I starting itching on my stomach and noticed pink hives but didn't link it yet to the Avelox. So I continued taking them for the next two days and started itching more on my stomach and also now on my shoulder/neck area from these pink pimple like rashes. I also started noticing that I wasn't sleeping and I was waking up through the night to drink water causing me to have incontinence. I also started getting horrible headaches and very high blood pressure. I would wake up during my sleep with this lumpy swollen feeling in the back of my throat. Also, my tongue felt like it was burnt, numb and tingling. After taking the fourth pill and since it was the weekend and my doctor wasn't in and being stupid I continued taking the med. Now by Monday I was on my fifth pill and I noticed that all these symptoms weren't going away. So I called my doctor and told her I wasn't continuing the last two days of the pills because of what was happening. She told me I was having bad side effects to the med and to stop taking them. I will never take Avelox ever again....a horrible med!!!

I just finished my last pill of Avelox today. I take the generic form of prozac each day. I was taking the meds at the same time because no one told me different. For the last 3 night I cannot go to sleep. When i do finally fall asleep i am worked by a panic attack that can last for a couple of hours. Stomach very upset and very nauseated. I also feel very sad and depressed. Had no idea it could be from this RX until tonight when I looked it up! Will never take again. Just wish I knew how long it will take to get out of my system????

I WAS ON AVELOX FOR 3 DAYS SEVERE PAIN IN MY STOMACH COMES AND GOES, MY LOWER BACK IS IN EXTREME PAIN I THOUGHT I HAD THE SWINE FLU , I CALLED MY DAUGHTER , SHE FOUND THIS PAGE I AM SCARED TO DEATH, I HOPE IT WEARS OFF . I CANT EAT OR DRINK , I AM TRING TO DRINK WATER TOO GET IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM,
DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW LONG IT LAST , I AM VERY IRRITABLE , MY LEGS ARE LIKE RUBBER .

I WAS GIVEN AVELOX AFTER I HAD A SINUS INFECTION WITHIN A COUPLE MONTHS. I WAS ALSO PRESCRIBED PREDNISONE. THE FIRST DAY I TOOK THE AVELOX I RAN A FEVER. I STARTED THE PREDNISONE THE NEXT DAY. I FIGURED I WOULD FEEL BETTER ONCE THE AVELOX KICKED IN. HOW WRONG. IT TOOK ME THREE TRIES THE NEXT DAY TO GET THE DOCTOR ON THE PHONE BECAUSE I HURT SO BAD. EVERY MUSCLE, EVERY JOINT IN MY BODY HURT. I DID NOT MOVE OFF MY COUCH. THE DOCTOR TOLD ME HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT BUT I COULD MAKE AN APPOINTMENT THE NEXT DAY. MY MUSCLES HURT SO BAD AND THE JOINT PAIN WOULD GO FROM ONE TO ANOTHER WITH WEIRD CHILL LIKE FEELINGS AT TIMES. MY MUSCLES IN MY ARMS AND LEGS WERE VISIBLY SHAKING WHEN I RETURNED TO THE DOCTOR THE NEXT DAY. HE BLAMED THE PREDNISONE. BUT TOLD ME AFTER A DAY OFF OF IT IF I STILL DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT TO STOP THE AVELOX. YA THINK? THREE DAYS LATER AND I AM STILL IN PAIN. AFTER 4 DAYS OFF WORK I HAD TO RETURN AND I HURT ALL OVER. DURING THAT TIME I CRIED FROM THE PAIN. MY STOMACH HURT, AND I WAS NERVOUS. I THOUGHT MAYBE I WAS LOSING MY MIND I HAD SO MANY DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS AND HURT SO BAD. WAS SO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO SUE THE DRUG COMPANIES. I WOULD LIKE TO SUE THE DOCTOR TOO.

I took Avelox five years ago to clear up an sinus infection that kept coming back every 2-3 weeks. I was prescribed regular antibiotics each time, it would go away, and then come right back. To get rid of it for good, my doctor prescribed me 400mg of Avelox, one per day for five days. It totally wiped out the infection and it never came back. Awesome, right?

Unfortunately it also destroyed most of the bacteria in my stomach leading to a bad case of c.diff for 2 weeks and permanent lactose intolerance.

It did exactly what I needed, but the price was very high indeed. Though my health has been better since then, I still get sick 2-3 times a year. The duration lasts longer than for most people, but I don't care. I do not take antibiotics anymore. If I ever do, it will need to be a life threatening condition.

I was diagnosis with bronchitis (sometime in December 2008) I was prescribed avelox, and took it for the 7 days . About a week or so later I started noticing little pimples (hives) on my stomach. I didn't make a big issue but then as time went on I started noticing red rash patches on my chest area and the the little pipples turned into little dry patches (hives) all over my stomach area and on my both sides of my waist to upper arm area.

Wow..well I finally went to the dermatologist (February 2009) and was told it was my body reacting to fluid from being sick and it does take a long time to take away. Today I still have the same hives and as I google more and more I am really believe that it was the Avelox. It is one thing to have an allergic reaction to medication but this issue seem to have occurred to too many people around the same time period.

WOW!! I cannot believe I found you all! I am having severe reactions after taking Avelox. I took it for 9 days, stopped it on 12/20/08. Sice then, I have continued to experience extreme dizziness, confusion, sleeping problems, stomach upset, depression and severe anxiety. Please someone tell me I have some sort of recourse here. I am about to lose my job over it. Thanks ~

Back in April I came down with a Sinus infection (I basically can diagnose myself because this is all I get these days). Well, the doc told me that since I hadn't had the wretched sickness 7 days (I was on day 5), that i would have to wait til Monday. I wish I had picked a fight, because by Monday, my throat was so swollen I couldn't swallow my own saliva! I had to refreeze EVERYTHING to numb my throat before even trying to drink any thing. So, I went to my physician and he prescribed me omniceff. Usually that does the trick, but by that Wednesday (day 9), I had trouble breathing, my sinus got backed up and caused pink eye, and apparently I also had Laryngitis. I went back to my physician, bent over and begged for a shot of something (my family knew I was bad if I was begging to come face-to-face with my phobia). So they gave me a shot, pink-eye eye drops, and other items. All samples so I wouldn't have to pay for the very expensive prescriptions.
By that Friday, I still hadn't gotten better and found myself living over the trash can because the mucus was so bad I vomited anything warm. He sent me to the Ear-Nose-Throat doc for the following Monday.
Phew, this doc helped me. He was the one to find that my sinus caused a respiratory infection and Laryngitis. He prescribed me Avelox and gave me a stern warning to read all the side effects and eat a good amount of food and to keep track of any issues I have with it.
So I went home with my Avelox samples and took one after eating a large bowl of grits with eggs...I hadn't eaten like that in 2 weeks, so I was praying to keep it down. Once I finished eating, I did my online research and found that Avelox is almost the last prescription they give you before sending you to the hospital and that it was the same prescription as the pink-eye eye drops only in pill form!!! I noticed that if I didn't eat a high-caloric diet while on Avelox, I paid severely with stomach aches, nausea, dizziness, and sometimes cramping and vomiting!!! The doc was serious.
I was on this med for almost a month before I kicked the crap out of my infections!

Took my first dose on Wednesday 11/12/08, and felt amazing. I could not believe how much better I felt when I got up Thursday morning. Took my second dose around lunch time, and noticed that by Thursday night I wasn't feeling too well. Had a hard time sleeping Thursday night as my legs were bothering me. Called the Dr. this morning, as I felt like I might be having some side effects. Wants to see me tomorrow to make sure I'm not having tendon problems. Legs feel weird...just a rubbery feeling, and some mild pain. Makes me feel like I have to move them. Also, felt jittery upon waking this morning. Can't sleep...wake up at 4:30am - 5:30am and can not get back to sleep. I just want to get well, and they give me a medicine that should not be prescribed unless other antibiotics have not worked, and then be supervised the entire time on the medicine. I am so mad, I can't see straight! Now I have to waste more time, going back to the Dr. (not my usual Dr. BTW...I had to go to a "walk in" clinic because I couldn't get into see my normal Dr. soon enough), so that he can tell me my legs are fine, and write me another stupid presciption! I've been dealing with trying to get some meds for almost a week now! CRAZY! Not to mention this crap is really expensive! $60 for 10 stinkin' pills. Would of been $160 if I didn't have insurance. That's a lot of money down the drain! Guess I'm glad I never took my 3rd dose of this stuff, or I might of done some serious damage! DO NOT TAKE THIS...IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK!!!!!!!!

I had been suffering from bronchitis for over a week; my doctor believed that it may have been developing into pneumonia so he prescribed a seven day supply of Avelox along with an inhaler (for my congested airways). About an hour after taking the second pill (day two) and a couple puffs from the inhaler, it felt as if my throat was spasming (possibly closing), my chest hurt, and I felt incredibly anxious. I actually called 911 (which I have never done before) and the EMS suggested I stop using the inhaler. So I did. I stupidly finished off the week's worth of Avelox (yesterday 11/9) and am still struggling with moderate to severe anxiety. My stomach has hurt almost all day today, and it still feels at times as if my throat is spasming. Has anyone else experienced this?? I thought it may be anxiety-related, but now I'm not so sure.

I'm seeing my doc again tomorrow and plan on telling him that I never want to use Avelox (or any fluoroquinolone) again!!

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.

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 went to my primary doctor last Wednesday. He gave me samples for a 5 day regime of Avelox to treat a head/chest cold. Well, the cold does seem a little better, but, I would have never traded that to the side effects I am experiencing now! I took my first daily dose of Avelox last Wednesday. On Friday I thought I had dry skin. By Sunday I was itching so bad that it was almost unbearable. My eyelids are itching, burning and swollen, my forehead looks sunburned from the itching and scratching, my chest, stomach, back and thighs feel tingly and are itching NONSTOP. I am taking an antihistamine, but it doesn't seem to be helping much. I hope this goes away. I cannot imagine what this drug does to people that have allergies and sensitivities to medications. I have never experienced an adverse reaction to medications before this. I would never recommend this drug to anyone.

On 7-1-08, I went to the doctor for ETD(tubes blocked) and a Sinus infection. The doctor prescribed Avelox for my symptoms. I began taking this in the evening and by the following morning I developed mild stomach pains. I went through the day in discomfort but did not think that I needed to go back to the doctor. By the evening (2nd pill) the pain in my stomach increased 10 fold. The pain would come in waves about every minute. It felt as if someone was sticking a knife in my stomach.

This continued through the night and into the morning. At 8am, on th 3rd, I was back in my doctors office to see what was going on. They told me to stop taking the Avelox and put me on a different medication. I then went and spoke with the pharmacist who suggested that I try some over the counter gas relief medicine. I took the gas relief medication and it decreased the pain to a mild stomach ache.

It is now the 7-5-08 and the mild stomach pains are still here. I thought about going to the E.R. to have blood work done to see if there is some sort of medication that can counter-act the Avelox. I will wait one more day. I will never take this medication again.

I was put on Avelox to treat a sinus infection after about the 2nd dose I felt extreme panic and anxiety. I was then put on xanax to calm my nerves because i was so bad. After about the 6th day of taking Avelox I realized it was this that was making me feel crazy, anxious,depressed,panicy and worst of all my stomach constantly felt like I was on a roller coaster ride!!! I quit taking Avelox on my own, today is now the 3rd day I have been off and I feel better, I will admit that I did have some very minor panic issues prior to Avelox but this medication put me way over the edge. Be very cautious when put on this medication especially if your a nervous type person to begin with!!!

I was given a free 10 day coupon for Avelox by a physician to treat an awful cold that wouldn't go away. He also wrote a prescription for, and I got it filled at a pharmacy, an inhaler. Avelox is the WORST medicine I have ever encountered in my 69 years!! I took it for 4 days and QUIT (today) the *^%(% thing. Who wants to be dizzy, crabby, anxious, short with people, impatient, thirsty all the time, constantly gasping for breath, and NO energy at all?
Bayer should be prosecuted, condemned for creating this poison pill. I can't believe this med it is still allowed for public consumption!??

I took Avelox for the first time yesterday evening at 9pm for a sinus infection. I awoke having to pee at 4:30am. On my way back to bed I became extremely dizzy, laid down-felt worse. My stomach was in pain and I felt I had to throw up (although I never threw up). I had chills and hot sweats. I couldn't fall back asleep because my heart was beating so fast. I have a continuous tingling throughout my body all the way to my toes.

Having to go to work at 8am- I still have the above symptoms, as I write, along with swollen eye lids and dry mouth. Driving to work was a chore and my hands while typing this are extremely heavy and somewhat uncontrollable. Meanwhile, my sinus infection is getting better.

I would advise anyone who has sensitivity overall to medications- not to take this drug.

I took one Avelox on Friday March 21, 2008 to treat a sinus infection and within 5 minutes my face, back and arms turned beat red. As I looked in the mirror I could see that my lips were very swollen. Within 10 minutes my entire body was beat red and I was extremely itchy especially my head and back. I figured I was having a reaction to the medication so I took a Benadryl which did not seem to work until I took the second dose. I ended up feeling sick the entire day and really achy from head to toe. I had terrible pains in my stomach and every time I stood up I felt as if I were going to fall back down. I was very dizzy and felt just out of it. I was also sneezing nonstop. I went to the doctor and was told that this medication works well for a sinus infection but one of the side effects is an allergic reaction. I have not taken another one since Friday but today is Sunday and I am still a bit red, still itchy (especially my head), still dizzy and still feel out of it.

I am a 43 year old female who, until I found this site, thought I was dying of bone cancer - I am not even kidding. I just finished the last of my 10 day prescription for Avelox (for bronchitis and sinusitis). And I feel like I have been beaten about the head and body. Honestly, every part of my body aches and I can barely walk. I have absolutely no energy; throbbing and shooting pains up and down my arms and legs. Not to mention sharp pains in my chest area periodically. I have very clouded and unclear thinking abilities; and my neck and head hurt so bad not even an 800 mg ibuprofen helps. Oh and let's not forget the chills which are right down to the bone - I cannot get warm and I have yucky night sweats to boot. I would most certainly be interested in a class action lawsuit. I really hate that I took 10 days worth and wonder when I will start feeling better. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE AVELOX - it is not worth the painful side effects! The prescription flyer I received with the medication did not mention any of the side effects I encountered.

I was prescribed Avelox for a sinus infection and bronchitis. I didn't have any problems with the Avelox until after the second dose. By the third dose, my abdomen was extremely distended- to the point that I could barely eat b/c the pressure from my abdomen was pressing into my chest area and caused trouble breathing. I saw my doctor after the 3rd dose and explained how bloated I was. She told me that sometimes antibiotics upset your stomach. I was told that I didn't have to take any more of the Avelox (which I wasn't planning to take anymore anyway). It has now been 8 days since I've taken Avelox. I am still bloated. I think the bloating is slightly better. But I'm still miserable and wondering when I will feel better. I dread eating because I know I'll feel worse when I do. I'm just thankful that I haven't had some of the other reactions I've read about here. I'll never take Avelox again.

I have had the same reactions you all describe but here is how you can sort of combat them.

Take a drug called Dicetel with your food, it prevents bowel spasms and eases the nausea and vomiting. A lot of the overall sick feeling you get from Avelox is because of the stomach upset, nausea and vomiting

Take an anti anxiety drug called Ativan each morning or as required.This prevents the sudden tightening of the chest that Avelox causes which prevents you from being able to take a breath in, which then leads to symptoms that resemble an anxiety attack because your body releases chemicals to prevent the spasm and they cause symptoms like an anxiety attack. Ativan is technically is an anti anxiety drug but it relaxes the chest muscles allows you to take in air and thus stops the rapid heartbeat which then leads to these bizarre effects. Let your doctor think its anxiety if you have to, the key is to get the drug down and kill the infection, do what you have to do.

Now keep in mind you will still be bedridden due to exhaustion and weakness, because Ativan makes you drowsy, and Avelox makes you toxic but at least you wont be freaking out, breathing wildly, or throwing up and you have some hope of beating the bug