Levaquin and agony

To the best of my knowledge I never had any of the 'immediate' symptoms.
My problems are probably due to the fact that I was prescribed Cipro 3 possibly 4 times from Aug 06 - Dec 07 and then finished up Dec 07 with a round of Levaquin. My father is over 60 and was recently given Levaquin and had immediate and serious problems. He is seeing a doctor recommended by the CDC today. Yes, he is even working with the CDC on
this one. Due to all he is being told he is convinced that the medication is behind my medical decline as well. Since taking these medications (symptoms started slowly in 07), but after taking the Levaquin at Christmas time I never got up from the couch. My thyroid gland has quit working, my adrenals are shot, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, blew out 3 disks in my back, vision is deteriorating rapidly, and really so many things I can't list them all. I had a complete physical
in Oct 05 and was given a perfect bill of health. Through Aug 06 I was riding my bicycle 33 miles per week. I'm still trying to figure out what hit me??
What my father has been told is that in some individuals Levaquin will attack the glands (like the thyroid) and will compromise the immune system. This damage appears to be permanent. All I know is that I went from being extremely healthy to terribly sick. If in a day's time I have enough energy to load and unload the dishwasher it is a banner day. I can
not work and seem to get worse instead of better as each day passes.

My husband also had pneumonia at Christmas and took Levaquin but does not seem to have had an problems. I suspect it was possibly the cumulative effect of having basically 4-5 rounds of the antibiotic in a years time. According to the people at the CDC that have spoken to my father the symptoms that I have can all be traced back to the medication. One never knows what effect a medication will have. Just please be careful when taking this medication, and limit how many times you take it.

I took Levaquin 500 mg for 10 days for pneumonia starting Jan 23, 2008. It got rid of the pneumonia but after about a week being on them I ached all over but especially in my biceps, moving was agony. My doctor said I must now have a virus but I've never had a virus that made my biceps so painful. Yesterday my left knee swelled up twice its size, today after being off it for 18 hours it is still just as big. Sleep is impossible, everything hurts and feel wired. I've been off the Levaquin for five days now and symptoms are still progressing. Was going for a battery of tests today, then last night my daughter who is an RN found this site and said there is your problem. Don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

I had bacterial pneumonia a few weeks ago they gave me Levaquin as well, After the hospital I notice some pain in my left arm. A week later I was unable to straighten my arm now the pain has moved up to my neck and back and is slowly reaching my right shoulder. It seems that though you ask doctors question you never get answers and yes its true about this pain I have been in agony for almost a month now and can not find any type of relief. I was treated with a 7 day regimen of medication and I don't know what is worst the pneumonia or the pain. If there is any where to find relief as a natural source please post it

Thank you

I don't know what to do, I have been on Levaquin (750 mg) for approx. 8 days now, I have 6 more days to go. I was prescibed this drug due to being diagonosed with MRSA. However the infection has gone away, I began to have extreme pain in my both knees. Sleeping has been difficult as well waking up with night sweats. I will bare the pain for the 6 remaining days. But if the pain tends to get worse, I will need to consult my physician

I went on levaquin-2 rounds of it, due to pneumonia. I felt very out of sorts and discombobulated. Dizzyness, word recall problems, insomnia, diahrrea. My tongue was coated with a thick white film. One night my tongue and my hand felt very disconnected to me, and I had a strange but familiar taste or sensation in my mouth but I couldn't name it. It lasted 3 or 4 minutes. I think I may have had a petit mal seizure. I have been having trouble with my vision, things I read are blurry now, and I have never worn glasses, or had vision problems before. I have been off of this medication for 6 days now, and I am still feeling some of these side effects. I rarely have any side effects from medications. I will never take this again.

OMG, I was on Levaquin for approx 4-5 weeks, 500mg twice a day. I have muscle aches, deep body aching, feel like I ran a marathon, my feet hurt so much that I have to limp when I get up to walk, my legs feel like lead, strange pains throughout my body at any time of day or night, my right foot swelled slightly, and my right hand is stiff and I have to pry it open in the morning. Today I felt so weak, I thought I would pass out.
I've been off this drug for almost two weeks now, with no end in sight from these side effects. Why the heck are doctors still prescribing this drug. Anybody interested in a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer?

Just an update! First off, PLEASE I implore you, CONTACT the mfg! They need to submit these side effects to the FDA which can alert and prevent this from happening to other unsuspecting patients like ourselves!

Okay just got back from the dr's (rhumotologist) Good News, Bad News and Good News! First she knew IMMEDIATELY what was going on and this is what happens with this drug (to those who get the burning of the knees and muscle pains) you get tendonitits from the medicine and it works so rapidly it breaks down all your muscles in your legs, joint areas ect. Your arms and hands bounce back easily because they're not weight baring joints for the most part, however, the legs, knees, ankles are not so easy to build back up. The bad news is that this did happen and it is going to take 3 to 6 months of aggressive therapy (my choice on aggressive, I could have done low impact, but I don't have the patience, would rather brave the pain and get it over with!) to build your muscles back to where the medication broke them all down. The other good news is that it will go away (according to dr.) So I am VERY optimistic and have a great outlook now!

To the poster who asked about gaining weight, I lost weight, had nightmare, sleeplessness, tremors and nausia, all that disappeared (tremors being the longest lasting out of them) pretty much after I stopped the medication. The knees, ankles and thigh muscle contractions, are still going strong but I am being careful where I was not before I knew what was going on and now I am looking forward to getting back to the gym and therapy and get this over and done with!

Okay PLEASE again EVERYONE www.levaquin.com will give you the manufacturer's information, PLEASE contact them, PLEASE if they are forced to put warnings on the lables, then someone else will know when to stop taking the medication if they start to feel muscle pain and burning. Thanks everyone and I hope everyone is feeling better!!

I was given Levaquin in August 2004 for a sinus infection. I have had joint pain, muscle pain, headaches, and other strange, unexplainable aching. I have had severe aching in my lower back, knees and legs, causing extreme pain to walk or bend. Sometimes it is almost impossible to get out of bed. The pain seems to move around my body. The doctor could not give me any explanation for this. It has been over two years now and I'm not any better, in fact, it is worse. If I try to exercise, walk for any distance, or do any small project, it leaves me in agony the next several days.

I was given Levaquin for a toxic spider bite. I was given Levaquin & Clindamycin to remove the toxins from my body. I have a wonderful doctor. She would have NEVER given me this drug, had she known about the possible side effects. For over two weeks, every muscle & joint in my entire body has put me through agony everytime that I moved. Please, let's get drugs such as this off the market. When I finally found information on the drug, it stated: During & even after you are taking this medication you run a risk of tearing tendons in your body. The main ones being in your shoulder & your achilles tendons. THE COMPANY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO WARN ALL PHYSICIANS OF THESE SIDE EFFECTS!! Some of us are already in enough pain without adding to it with an antibiotic that is SUPPOSED to help you. WHAT A JOKE!!

I was prescribed Levaquin 500 mg for an infected wound on my elbow.
The infection did decrease but didn't actually clear up and the drug affected my intestines causing inflammation and slight bleeding.
The effect on my joints had me hobbling around like an old man, unable to walk properly and stairs were agony to climb.
Within 24 hours of finishing the course I felt much improved and today I feel better still.
Verdict; Erythromycin from now on.

Ok, here goes! I've waited to enter this until I left the levaquin nightmare. This drug made my life miserable for three months. Iam a very healthy active person even ran a marathon in Novemember. I was prescribed levaquin for a lung infection in February. Was prescribed 500 mg for a week. When I started taking the drug I had very bad neck spasms but just assummed the drug was ridding me of infection. The full effects of the drug became more evident towards the end of treatment.
I was extremely tired, sleepy, very weak muscles hardly able to push the gas peddle without feeling weak. The thought of walking to the mail box was overwhelming. I had internal chills and shivering, muscle aches, muscle spasms and muscle twitching and just felt dreadful. This went on for about three months. I am still not myself but I think I am on the road to recovery. I was told by my doctor that I had neurotoxicity to levaquin. I cannot tell you how much money and agony this has caused me. I was also referred to a rheumatologist, and a neurologist to rule out other diseases.I went to a naturopath, my obgyn, my dermatologist (
weird skin things) I worried like crazy that I would never be the same all because of an antibiotic. This drug should be taken off the market immediately. Good luck to all of you who are suffering. I have things that seemed to help me but I think time is the only cure.