Levaquin and anxiety attacks

My 16 year old son took Levaquin 6 months ago and had a bad reaction to it. His symptoms were severe muscle weakness (he would get exhausted walking from the parking lot to a store and back, severe joint pain (in thumbs, wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles), dizziness (he felt like the room was moving away from him and would lose balance), and headaches (a severe pressure in the back of his head that was constant and then shooting pains in his his head that would come and go for no reason). I should say he was in top shape before this and wrestling in the 125 pound category. He took Levaquin to prevent an infection after sinus surgery.

Now 6 months later, his joint pain is completely gone except for his knees. They still hurt when he does squats and they are not good enough for him to go back to wrestling, but he can walk around pain free. His dizziness is also gone as well as his muscle weakness. His headaches are still there and still constant, but not as bad as they once were; however, he has had them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months. He is on Lyrica which has helped make the headaches subside.

I have taken him to more than 16 medical doctors of all specialties, had multiple MRIs, CT Scans, blood tests, spinal tap, and an MRA. All come back negative. Thankfully, despite all of this, he still remains happy and positive that he will once again be 100% healthy; it will take lots of time, but he will get better. I know the first three symptoms (joint pain, dizziness, weakness) are clearly Levaquin related, but I haven't heard much about the headaches from people. Anyone else out there that has suffered from a constant headache after Levaquin? I REALLY want to hear about headaches from others!!!!

By the way, we have filed a medwatch already. I also know that Levaquin is not approved for anyone under 18 years old and he never needed such a powerful drug to prevent an infection, but there is nothing I can do about that now except to warn others. One of his UCLA doctors wants to write a case study on him to make this more known to others and I am helping him with that.

If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask. If you have had a headache from Levaquin, please let me know where in the head the pain was, if it is constant, what it feels like (pressure, shooting, throbbing), how long you have had it, and what, if anything, helped. THANKS.

Im not wanting to scare any of you, but my reaction to this family of antibiotics happened in Spring 2002. I took one dose of this quinolone antibiotic for a sinus infection and was in the ER four hours later. After taking the medication, I felt very fatigued and lay down on the couch, I woke up a few minutes later feeling like I was falling, and my heart sustained 170+ beats per minute heart palpitations for several hours. The last thing I remember was calling 911 because I was home alone and knew something awful was happening. The ENT's said that they had never seen anything like it. I experienced horrific anxiety attacks for weeks afterward. Keep in mind I had been a very healthy gal before and had never experienced any type of health problems. I now see a rheumatologist, a neurologist and a gastroenterologist. I have been diagnosed with MCTD (Multiple connective tissue disorder) a Lupus like illness. My neurologist says that my central nervous system was damaged in the reaction as well. He also says that physicians are grossly misinformed about this family of antibiotics, and in his opinion, anyone who prescribes them for anything less than a life threatening condition is committing medical malpractice. I agree wholeheartedly since my life will never be the same.

I was out of the county where I contracted a supposed bacterial infection. The doctor prescribed Levaquin 1500 mg (500 mg x 3) for five days. Within days, I was experiencing the most severe back pain (to the point where it would have been preferable to have been doused in gasoline and lit on fire), both arms went numb, my heart rate skyrocketed to 130 bpm and I began passing out. I seriously thought that I was going to die and here I was in the middle of Africa with no one to help me. I finally got home after a 35 hr flight that has to be the most traumatic experience of my life. Five months later, I am in constant pain with numerous trigger points and extensive connective tissue damage in my back. I can no longer write because my fingers are so destroyed by arthritis-like symptoms. I am suffering from anxiety attacks and depression. I have chest pain and palpitations on a regular basis and now my knee has suddenly developed tendinitis when I have not exercised for 2 weeks. This drug has destroyed my life. I am 27 years old and was healthy before I took this drug and now I have become completely debilitated. This drug should be pulled from the market immediately! I will be pursuing legal recourse for my pain and suffering and I encourage others to do the same.

Hi, my name is Pete I also was prescribed LEVAQUIN 750 mg on 2/5/07 I only took one pill . I stop taking it for it made me hallucinate & confused. I went back to my DR I told him about the side affects that I had encountered but he said that it should have not done this ; but of course the dr's do not have any clue of what this is doing to people this is why we need to post this information so that no one else will go thru what everyone that has taken this antibotic ( evil pill ). I have been off of it for 26 days & still get some anxiety attacks. I do say get your family & friends to support you during this painful time. My wife was told by a nurse that it would take 21 days for it to flush out of my system but I am still on other antibiotics. me and my family pray for each person who taken this ugly medicine.KEEP YOUR FAITH AND HOPE IN GOD!

As a nurse I was sure that this was the best medication for my upper resp. infection. I thought I was having anxiety attacks and was constantly checking my irregular pulse. I read the side effects and then these postings and have stopped after the first 3 doses. At least I'm not crazy and not having a heart attack. Although I can still feel my heart flutter in my chest. No more of this medication for me.

i am 22, and before the levaquin and tequin i was healthy and normal.
Last november while visiting family for thanksgiving, i came down with strepthroat. i couldnt get an appt with tricare so my mother gave me some tequin, she had used it for strep throat. Since then my life has been a living nightmare and it has been the worst year of my life. I took the tequin for 4 days. on the 4day, i left to go back to VA where i live. I got horribly sick that day, but thought nothing of it as my husband and son had gotten the 24 hr bug while we there. pretty soon i started having anxiety attacks and chest pain left and right. The came the stomache PAIN. I thought i was having appendicitis. I ended up going to the er once sometimes 2x a month for things like severe abdominal pain and chest pain, anxiety attacks going out of control, and unbearable migraines (which i had never had before.) i was diagnosed with lots of different things, IBS, Ulcer, pulled muscles, chest wall pain, and once even gall bladder dysfunction. So as a result of all that i have been perscribed all kinds of things for the pain the nausea the headaches the unbearable insomnia etc.
These things caused a major rift in my marriage. My husband has at a few times talked of divorce bc he couldnt stand the hypochondriac *as he put it* that i had become. I have thought i was going crazy, have contemplating hospitalitizing my self etc. Recently my PCM and I decided to try a perscription for depression. One of the major symptoms of depression is"persistand physical symptoms that DO NOT respond to treatment. Such as Headaches, digestive disorders and headaches." so i tryed it. Then a week ago i stepped on something outside and went to get a tetanus shot. They perscribed levaquin 750 mg a day for 5 days, and gave me a 750mg dose at the hospital. That was Monday. it is now 430 am on friday and this week has sucked. My side effects have included insomnia(even with my nightly ambien), nausea, burning/tingling in my entire right arm, chest pain, a sinus infection, knee pain, back pain, shoulder/neck stiffness, headaches, jitters, something kinda like blurred vision..like right on the verge of not being able to focus. Constipation, pain in my hands, and almost overwhelming fatigue.
regretably i had already taken todays dose, and i started feeling bad again so i decided to look up all my current meds online to see if maybe it was an interaction of sorts. I tried the levaquin last, as it is an antibiotic. After reading 9 pages of nothing but negative comments i decided to flush the remainder of the bottle of pills down the toilet. I plan on filing a compaint with the FDA. This is poisin and I cannot belive with all the side effects it is still on the market. I cannot believe that for almost a year my life has been a living, tormenting hell. And all b/c of something that is supposed to make things better? If you read this please stop taking the pills and see your doc about another alternative. I agree that the drug should be taken off the market and soon. i also agree that a class act lawsuit should be filed. These side effects LAST A LONG TIME, they interfere with your ability to function on a daily basis. I am very interested in talking with others about the problems with the side effect, and the longevity of them. My yahoo email/ID is ******* i would appreciate and be thankful for any advice, and i would also like to be in contact with others who have suffered as i have suffered.

i used levaquin for 7 days before stoping. i was taking 500 mg and right away i found i could not sleep. my lungs filled up to the point that i had to go to the emergency room for treatment. after 2 weeks of no more then 2 hours of sleep a night, my doctor gave me ambein. a sleeping pill. i have had anxiety attacks, panic attacks and a feeling that some thing was terribly wrong and even had suicidal thoughts. i have never felt so sad and depressed in my whole life. it has been a couple of weeks since i quit the levaquin and i have times that my heart races, blood pressure go's up, and feel like i can't get enough air. i get a pressure head ache above my eyes and aspirin just don't seem to help. i didn't know what was causeing this till i read postings from this site. thanks for the info and i hope this don't last as long as it has for most of you. at 66 years old, i don't need this kind of problem, luck to us all----******

I was prescribed a month course of Levaquin for a sinus infection I had for 2 months that did not go away after 3 courses of 3 different antibiotics. Within 1/2 hour of taking the drug, I experienced severe hives along my jawline. I should have stopped taking it right away, but the hives went away, so I continued.
That night, I had terrible insomnia and anxiety attacks. I felt like I wanted to jump off the roof or drive my car into a tree.
The following few nights I slept a bit better because I took the pill in the morning, but my dreams were vivd and strange.
I experienced some nausea, but thought nothing of it. My second week on the drug, I started to get a severe pain in my lower back, then between my shoulder blades. As the week went on, into my third week, my body flet as though I had been hit by a truck, and that it was riddled with arthritis from head to toe. I had previously suffered from planar facititis which was now again in full force, my ankles burned with pain, shooting pain in my knees, calves and lower thigh in extreme pain with hot burning - itching on my chest and when I developed severe neck pain and headache, I called my doctor. I had found this site and realized it could be the drug. It was the only explanation. PS my sius problem was worse than ever!!
My doctor told me to immediately stop taking the drug and not to exercise, stretch, lift or make any sudden movements to protect my tendons.

I was livid. He prescribed Augmentin, and I don't know why he didn't in the first place. NO ONE TOLD ME how serious the potential side effects of this drug are. I can't tell you how much work and how much of my life I have missed being in so much pain. I cannot sleep at night with the pain.

What is worse is that no one knows or can imagine what I am going through and therefore are not sympathetic, nor do they allow me to rest. They expect me to be my old self which is currently impossible.

I have been off the drug a few days, but I do feel the symptoms subsiding a BIT. Not a lot, but some. I hope it won't take too long to get back to normal.

God bless us all in the hands of these doctors and drug companies.

What is worse is that my husband works in the Pharma industry and looked up the drug in his drug reference. Even there, it makes only a brief passing mention about tendon ruptures with this drug. Something has got to change.

My advice? Don't even risk taking it. Maybe you will be free of side effects and it will work beautifull for you. But try everything else first, and no matter what you take, read boards like this and become educated before youtake anything. It is oUR responsibility - since we cannot rely on doctors or the drug companies to come clean.

Pray for me...

I went to the emergency room for a dull pain in my lower back left side and was given an IV, a blood test, and a CT scan. After no signs of kidney stones were found the ER doctor sent me home and prescribed LEVAQUIN, IBUPROFEN, and METRONIDAZOLE antibiotics thinking that I might have gotten diverticulitis.
After 1 week of taking LEVAQUIN the side effects were right on! I could not sleep for more than 3 hours, I have anxiety attacks and my skin became dry no matter what lotion I put on it. I also had the runs and blackened stool ( and I thought I had a serious case of internal bleeding ). I have prolonged dizziness and nausea that even when lying down I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I have a lower center backpain that makes me feel strained ( like dead weight on my shoulders )and although my backpains have dulled a little bit but now, I'm still feeling muscle cramps in my lower and upper back, and have muscle spasms on my left inner thigh.
I always feel like I'm going to have a headache but I become lightheaded like I can't think straight and I am very anxious.
I have not have had any serious diseases and my checkups are always clean.
By reading these articles I have found relief knowing it could not be a serious problem I have, but could be major side effects caused by this drug.
I don't know what this drug cures but one thing i know is that it is very potent and dangerous for people with other health disorders relating to asthma, anxiety, insomnia, and others.

I cannot recommend this drug at all from what I see posted here today. And knowing the side effects are so extreme I begin to wonder why it is being recommended by physicians.

Should'nt they know any better?!
This experience has really awaken me to the new culture of drugs we have in the market today. Before I take another drug, I will find out more about the side effects.

My mother has been taking Levaquin for pneumonia for 3 days and has begun to have panic/anxiety attacks. I don't know what to do for her. She needs the medicine....something. She sounded like she was on her last leg before she started taking the Levaquin.

I was given a ten day precription of Levaquin 500mg. for a sinus infection and infected tooth by my medical doctor. Four weeks earlier I had stopped taking my hormone therapy. I woke up with very bad hot sweats and at the same time panic and anxiety attacks. My mind would focus on something upsetting and I couldn't stop it. I would wake up retching and had a sore shoulder and knee. After about a week of taking this drug I started with just crying for no reason. My husband thought I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.I went to my medical doctor and was told that I had three choices. To go back on HRT, Take a drug like paxil, or see a counceler. He never mentioned that this could be from Levaquin. I then went to my Gyn, and he put me back on the hormone therapy that I had been getting off. After eight days on Levaquin I decided to stop it. That first night I slept just fine. I am so angry that neither doctor mentioned that this drug had such bad side effects. I told my medical doctor that I have a hard time taking medicines as I always get reactions.At times I still feel a little shaky.I sure am going to let my doctors know about this. Thank goodness I found this site on the computer. I thought I was going crazy.

22--Female, after 2nd dose of Levaquin-500mg for treatment for an ear infection, started having major anxiety attacks. Rapid heart beat, shaking, shortness of breath, thought I was seriously going crazy. Didn't know what was happening to me. Not informed of the side effects. Should have checked out myself, but have been on so many meds that I didn't think too much about it. MISTAKE. Scared me a lot. After checking out the side effects of levaquin on the internet, stopped taking it immediately. Have felt fine since. Took about 32 hours to start to feel back to my normal self. Will always check for side effects from now on and will never take levaquin again.

I was purscribed Leviquin for an Upper Respitory Infection. I was also given cough syrup with codeine.
After about 3 days, I started experiencing moderate anxiety attacks and paranoia. Immediately I suspected the codeine and stopped taking it. After two days my attacks subsided. Then on the third day, I had another moderate attack. I called my Dr. and he took me off the Leviquin too. The next day I was fine, but then two days later, I had a severe panic attack, I attempted to sleep, and could not. It lasted a gruelling 3 and a half hours.
I visited my Dr. again, and he did an intervention and put me in the psych ward for depression and anxiety. It took two days and 100 mg of antidepressant to level me out.

I have never had any reactions to codeine or any antibiodic before.

I've been on Levaquin for 4 days. I feel rotten! My mouth feels like I've eaten a hunk of metal, I'm so irratable and having Anxiety attacks. Isn't there any other options for Prostritis instead of a body shattering medication? I HATE this stuff.