Levaquin and chest pains

I was prescribed Levaquin by my Dr. for a sinus infection. There were 10 pills and I was to take one a day. No one mentioned any of the side effects or drug interactions except to not take antacids within 2 hours of taking the meds. During the coarse of me taking the medication I began having substernal chest pains which I thought was just horrible heart burn, but it got so bad that I woke up screaming multiple nights from the pain. I also started having pain in my ankles, legs and especially my knees. The pain in my knees gets so bad that I think my knee caps are going to shatter when I walk especially when going down the stairs. I didn't know any of the drug interactions and my father in law who is a physical therapist has always advised me to take ibuprofen for muscle and joint pain so that's what I did, but little did I know that was only increasing the effects on my central nervous system. I am also experiencing bouts of nausea, confusion, light headedness, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and I actually thought I was having a mental breakdown.. I was freaking out on my husband and very depressed even having suicidal thoughts. It wasn't until my mother randomly mentioned that she had heard about the FDA issuing the Black Box warning that I connected the dots and had already finished the meds. I called my doctor's office right away and was told that the symptoms I am having are not side effects of the medicine. Maybe the Dr. doesn't listen to the news either.

I was prescribed the one dose of Levaquin yesterday for a urine/bladder infection. By midnight my children were dialing 9-1-1 because I developed severe chest pains, could not breathe and had strange thoughts and visions. I am 40 yrs. old and have had no problems like this whatsoever. I also had chills, shakes, and strange feelings. They did the normal tests in the ER - EKG, blood work, chest x-ray - all normal results. After being discharged from the ER I still felt strange and could not sleep. I went on a website and looked up side effects of Levaquin and was shocked to find I had a majority of them. I'm at work now and wanted to do more research on the internet when I stumbled upon this site. Wow you guys are describing my symptoms perfectly. Thank God I only took 1 pill. I am still shaky and not 100%. I will definitely try the magnesium and other remedies. Thank God for this site. This drug needs to be taken off the market immediately.

Two weeks after taking Levaquin for a urinary tract infection, I developed a rash/hives that covered my entire body. I had frequent violent itching attacks and wanted to scratch my skin off. After two days of the hives, I went to Urgent Care and was given a steroid shot and Prednisone. The next day I had severe chest pains and shortness of breath. I went to the emergency room and and EKG came back abnormal. My white cell count had shot off the charts to 35.0 I was admitted to the cardiac unit and was put through a battery of heart tests. All came back unremarkable. After three days of blood tests, CT scans and nitro tablets, I was released with no conclusion as to what I was experiencing. The rash continued, just not as bad and I've experienced joint pain. One week after the intial symptoms, I began experiencing dizziness and loss of vision. It has now been two weeks. I've had a MRI on my head to determine the cause of the dizziness and the vision loss and results from the MRI are pending. I was a healthy 46 year old before taking Levaquin. Currently, I cannot work a full day without vision loss or dizziness. I've been so perplexed as have the five doctors I've seen as to what the cause of my symptoms could be. After reading many comments from Levaquin patients, I now believe that I've found the cause.

I took Levaquin for recurring sinus infection - my doctor prescribed 3 different series. By the 3rd prescription I had developed severe joint pain, mild depression, rapid heart beat and chest pains. Blood tests showed that my cardiac risk factor was elevated. I have been off of the medication for over 6 weeks, I am taking nutritional and mineral supplements but still experiencing joint and tendon pain throughout my body. While I have exercised all of my life just walking is painful. My tendons 'pop' at odd times and are very painful. I also have nerve pain/spasms that randomly shoot through my joints.

I was given levaquin 500 and told to take 1 tablet two times a day. After taking just 4 tablets I started to experience a wierd phantom taste and smell, heart palpataions, shortness of breath, difficult swallowing, insomnia, chest pains, brain fog, confusion, to tell you the truth I feel like I am being piosoned. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG!!! IT IS POISON!! It is a very powerful antibiotic and should only be used when all other antibiotics have failed and only as a last resort. Don't be a guinea pig for the pharmacutical companies! Don't be a fool this drug could take your life, it is not worth it when there are other good antibiotics with less side effects avaiable to you.

Levaquin is probably one of the most damaging drugs in the market. I was given Levaquin 500mg for 20 days by a Urologist for a possible urinary infection. (It later turned out that the frequent urination for which I was given this medication had nothing to do with urinary infection and all the symptoms remained the same after completing the 20 day course, but that is a different story).

Now about the side effects. I started having on and off chest pains about a month ago and now the frequency of those chest pains have grown to almost persistent chest pain. It is getting me very nervous. I also notice my left knees are sometimes totally limp and unable to move.

Those doctors who prescribe this medication without becoming aware of its side effects and not informing the patients about its side effects should be prosecuted to maximum extent by the law and it should be considered a felony to prescribe this medication without considering alternatives.

I would like to know if anyone has noticed any of the symptoms getting better with time. I am curious to know if we can expect any of the symptoms to get better with time or worse? Also, I would like to know if anyone has been able to treat any of the side effects.

We need to get a petition together and file with FDA about Levaquin and its disastrous side effects. How can FDA approve this medication without a thorough study of its side effects?

Looking forward for any responses.

Thanks.

I just took Levaquin for 5 days. I found this site last night and promptly stopped the drug and called my doctor for a replacement. Today I woke up and found my arthritis much worse, tendons hurt, eyes feel like seeing through a thin black curtain, dizzy, and exhausted. I have some chest pains that I have had for the whole five days. When I took the drug I got nauseous, dizzy and very tired. I couldn't sleep all night though and was very anxious and angry. I am on several other drugs including some very strong ones for pain but these are new side effects. I don't know if the pain drug is causing some of these effects but they are much worse after the Levaquin. I feel like suing my doctor for putting me on this drug but I won't.

Took one 500mg levaquin last night for sinus infection, sore throat, cough. Awoke several times during the night because my eyes were tearing, and felt "sticky", but did not get out of bed because I was too tired. At 5 a.m. I finally went to look in mirror, and my eyes were red and puffy, & my face was swollen. I felt dizzy and almost fainted. My legs also ached badly around the thigh/knee area, and it was painful to walk the stairs. I had some chest pains on and off during the day, and my rt. eye is still hurting. I am now on benadryl. My doctor wants me to take prednisone, a steroid, but at this point I am afraid to take any more prescriptions. The only reason I agreed to the levaquin is because I had taken it once in the past. 1999 according to my dr. He said he has noticed cases of patients who have a reaction to it the second time around. I am through with antibiotics. These side effects are too scary. I would rather have the sinus infections.

Metallic taste, loss of real taste, constipation (NOT diahrrea!), disrupted sleep with nightmares, chest pains, sweats/chills, dry mouth & throat making it difficult to swallow, anxiety, depression, shakiness, irritability, leg pains, reflux worsened, blurred vision.

I HAD A SORE THROAT AND LEVIQUIN WAS PERSCRIBED FOR ME. I HAVE BEEN TAKING THE DRUG FOR SIX DAY'S. ON DAY NUMBER 5 I EXPERIENCED DIZZINESS TO THE POINT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO HARDLY STAND. I ALSO HAVE CHEST PAINS AND LEG AND MUSCLE PAIN. I HAVE ALSO HAD TROUBLE SLEEPING AND MY FACE FEEL'S FLUSHED ALL THE TIME. THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH ANY ANTIOBOTIC SO I WILL COMPLETE MY SEVEN DAY DOSAGE AND HOPE THAT THE SIDE EFFECTS WILL GO AWAY.

I was 500 mg Levaquin daily for 7 days started June 12, 2003, skipped the 19th and took my last dose 20th for sinus infection. I quickly developed an irregular heart beat and chest pains. I am already am on medication for these symptoms so I continued to take the Levaquin. Toward the end of my 7days I had wild dreams at nite, moderate to extreme joint and muscle pains, neck pains, stomach pains, a rash on both my arms up to my clothing line that is still getting worse at this writing July 12th, 2003. I have dizziness, incoordnation, and my mouth clamped so hard shut one nite that it woke me up and and I chipped a tooth!
I am so exhausted that I can barely get around! It has effected everything I am doing!
I returnrd from the doctor yesterday and he agrees is severe allergic reaction to the medication. It feels more like toxicity to me. This stuff needs to be taken off the market!

I also experienced loss of appetite while taking levaqin by the fourth day. I was given the prescription after apparently having a relapse of a sinus infection. I now have chest pains, difficulty breathing, fatigue, and I now ralize, the pain in my right hand the first night after taking this medication, could also be attributed to this drug. I contacted my doctor today to let him know of my side effects. Since I also have fibromyalgia, I was under the impression all of my symptoms were due to it except the loss of appetite. My doctor changed my medication to doxycycl. I am about to check the net on it, too. The pharmacy gave me a printout and it lists the same side effects. By the way, I also got the "weird" feeling and my stopped up for no reason, and I felt like my heart would race at times.CathyN