Levaquin and ants

I was given Levaquin on February 14, 2001 for a sinus infection. I had taken a Claritin ready tab before I took the Levaquin. Within 5 minutes of taking Levaquin, I literally felt as if ants were crawling all over the inside of my skin. I was in the bathroom when this happened and I remember that I started to sneeze non-stop. It got to the point that every time I sneezed, I could feel my throat closing and blood would come out of my nose. I knew I was in trouble. I didn't have time to wait for an ambulance and my mom, who has epilepsy and doesn't drive went with me to the ER. By the time I got there, 5 min drive away from my house, I was covered in huge hives. My hands, feet and face were also blue and I couldn't speak! I had gotten there just in time. I got 3 shots of antihistamine (benadryl) and 3 of hydro cortisone. My doctor was in disbelief when I went to see him the next day to tell him what had happened. Apparently my reaction was "rare", but by the other stories on this page-I don't think it is. It was a horrible experience going into Anaphylaxis shock. I now watch everything that is an RX and ask a lot of questions. I found out a few years later that I was also allergic to sulfa based drugs, almost the same reaction (not as severe) but I was ready and I knew what to do. Thank God for Benadryl!!!

Immediately after took the Levaquin and my throat began itching like 40 ants were crawling down my esophagus. My chest started physically burning like I'd drank alcohol. I stopped being able to talk within 30 seconds and within a minute I couldn't breath through my nose and I started coughing and couldn't breathe. My face swelled up like I had Down's Syndrome. One of my eyes couldn't see from the swelling. I turned beet red and had welps all over my body. When I got the hospital I thought I was going to die in the hallway..I felt like I was underwater and couldn't breathe. They shot me full of ephedrine in me and started breathing again. I asked if I could have more to take home and they said it was illegal for me to have. If I didn't live close to the ephedrine, I don't know how long I would have lasted.
The doctors said I needed to quit doing drugs(I was in my 20's). I was too weak and drained to disagree with him. He said the drug wasn't the cause. I can't believe this drug is on the market. I can't believe people are still taking it without any warnings. I talked to 2 lawyers , but they said my hospital bills wouldn't justify this going to court. I am glad this forum is here to warn people.