Levaquin and cipro

I have taken three 500mg doses of Levaquin since Saturday. They were prescribed by my urologist for a "possible" minor prostates that might be affecting my PSA (2.2). The very first night I was unable to sleep, tossing and turning all night. Thought nothing of it, and blamed it on diet or too much sleep the previous day. However, insomnia has continued for three straight nights and last night I woke at 4:30 AM with shortness of breath (had to take long deep breaths to feel like I was getting enough oxygen) that felt like an anxiety attack. Although there was no pain, I felt like my heart was pounding and rapid. Finally got a little more sleep and woke up feeling OK in the morning, but blood pressure was elevated. I continually feel like I'm on a caffeine high. I never associated it, but, I woke up second and third days with a sore throat and have had a few minor muscle twitches in arms, legs and abdomen.

I feel fortunate compared to others on this forum. I have stopped taking the Levaquin and have an appointment with my family doctor tomorrow. As a side note, I had an acute prostates this time last year and took Cipro for over one month with no similar side effects that I can recall. Does anyone know if two drugs from the same group can have such different side effects, or can I expect the same problems if I start taking Cipro again?

I have been prescribed cipro 2x for diverticulitis and has adverse reactions (after completing the recommended prescription) to dairy and fruits (citrus acid). When another bout of diverticulitis occurred, I asked my doctor not to give me cipro. He does some research and prescribes levaquin. I completed the prescription and now more than ever have adverse reactions to dairy and fruits and anything that has whey or citric acid in it. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg of exactly what I am allergic to. I have done extensive research of the adverse reactions from cipro and levaquin which for me once I eat these particular foods is extreme case of hives and skin rash. I have to take benydral. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it does not. I went to my gastroenterologist and allergist with complaints from taking these drugs and they have told me they have never had anyone come to them with complaints. Who are we kidding? With all the reading I have done, these drugs are poison. Although I know I am among the extreme side effect category, I need help and I can't get it anywhere. I have also read that these quinolone antibiotics are given to the animals, foul and fish that we eat. So does that mean we are ingesting extra quinolone into our systems when all we want to do is have it wear off? My wife feels that we should eat organic meats. I tried organic milk and I have reacted to it. I just want a bowl of cereal and a normal cup of coffee. Whey also gives me hives. Whey is in almost everything and so is citric acid as preservatives. If there are anyone of you out there that is or has experience similar to what I am, please let me know. My doctors cannot help me,nor do they seem to really even care. My wife has given them a lot of information she has been downloading from the computer. Hope this wears off soon. Every time I take one step forward, I wind up taking two steps back. Where is the help out there that we need? Since we are the minority who suffers from these drugs, doctors don't care until they have to deal with it. What is wrong with our medical society?

On 7-15-08 I had a total abdominal hysterectomy and was given Levaquin thru IV while I was in the hospital.3 weeks to the day later I had a abscess next to my bowel that had to be removed and again was given Levaquin thru IV while I was in the hospital,both times I got very sick right after I was given Levaquin and when I was discharged on the 2nd.trip I was sent home with Levaquin 500mg pills.After taking 2 of the Levaquin pills I again was so sick and could not keep anything down so I called my DR.and explained to him what was going on and I was told I had to keep taking the Levaquin.After a few more days had passed I went into the office to see the DR.and again told him how sick I was and that I was unable to go to sleep,again I was told to continue the Levaquin and that my hormones were out of balance and that was why I was unable to go to sleep.On 9-2-08 I finally went back to work after being off for 7 weeks. I still was suffering from insomnia and was only getting 2-3 hours of sleep a night but was feeling better.On 9-30-08 I had a follow up with my primary care DR.my blood pressure was 211/160 and my pulse was 177 and also had a bad cough with wheezing and was sent straight to the ER.I was admitted and for the next 6 days was given Levaquin thru IV and the more I got the sicker I was to a point I thought I was dying.I ended up with a rash all over my face and finally on day 7 a Lung DR.came into the room and took one look at me and said "oh my god,we have to take you off of that antibiotic")
I was sent home on day 8 and after being home for 3 days all of the Tendons in both legs,ankles,arms,hands and right shoulder were inflamed to a point where the DR.was afraid that they were going to rapture so I was on complete bed rest for 3 weeks.I am now suffering from both ankles swelled and ache all the time along with all of the minerals in my body have completely bottomed out along with the calcium and potassium and also now I have several inflammatory markers in my blood and have to go see a Rheumatology & Arthritis DR.My lungs have also been damaged from Levaquin and I am now using 3 different inhalers and I have never had a breathing problem previous to this.Now for those who have commented that we should have researched the drug before taking the meds in my case I was unable to do so being as though I was given it in the hospital ! I still have no idea how much damage I will be left with and what will be permanent.I will post again when I find out more on the damage that this drug has done to my 44 year old body.

I had been prescribed Levaquin for numerous sinus infections over the years and never had trouble with it till about three years ago! I took one around lunch time and with in 15 minutes my ears started to itch then I turned red from head to toe and was having difficulty breathing. By the time I got to the hospital I was in full blown anaphylaxis with intestinal and uterine distress (extreme cramping-very painful). I was in so much pain I just wanted to die, which if I hadn't gotten to the hospital when I did I would have. This is not something I want to ever go through again and wouldn't wish it on anyone. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this from a Levaquin or a quinolone?

They deleted my prior post. Apparently I included too much information that might be helpful to someone. I took Cipro and it's in the same class of drugs as Levaquin. If you want to know about herbal remedies that may help you, type in my name on this forum followed by dot com. That's the closest I can get to giving information without being censored. Sorry.

I was given Levaquin for a UTI about 2 years ago and ended up in the ER, the side effects were so bad. Thought I was having a allergic reaction,
heart poundings, felt like a just drank 3 cups of coffee, also muscles reacting slowly, like I couldn't move my arms and legs how I wanted to.
Unfortunately I have take Cipro a couple times in the last year, and the last dosage of that did it for me. On the 5th day I all of a sudden had extreme pain in my left knee, could hardly walk. I took a couple Advil and rubbed some icee stuff on it and it went away but that night my lower back and hips became also extremely painful. Severe pain. That was the last dose for me. (The pain was much less the next day and almost completely gone after about 4 days.) I called the Dr. and they told me to stop taking Cipro- which I had already done. What really bothers me though is I mentioned this to my orthopedic Dr. and he said he never heard of Cipro causing joint pain!
I am going to send him some literature, but wow!! couldn't believe that.

The doctor was observing me for very low globulin G levels and had me on 500 mg Keflex for a month trying to make my body "respond"? I took a bad sinus infection, went to my ENT, and he took me off the Keflex and put me on Cipro (500 mg) twice a day. I had taken this almost two weeks when my ongoing appt. with the first doctor came due. I called her office and they said I must come on in to get my lab work done. I did and she saw how sick I really was. She took me off Cipro and put me on Levaquin which I had never taken. During the first three days, I got sicker and sicker.
I thought it was just the "sickness" getting worse. One day I sat staring into space for over an hour without realizing what I was doing. Also, that day I noticed large knots in various places (under the skin). I live alone and became increasingly concerned. May I say, during that space in time,
I lost 25 lbs almost immediately. Nassau, sinus worse, felt terrible, and
hurt like the dickens. I could not sleep (and still have problems with it) and thought it all me, having never read anything about side effects. That night at 2a.m. I found the sheets that came with it, read, and identified with
everything written on the paper. I had to take one hand and put it under the opposite arm at the shoulder to help move it from my side. The muscles in the upper arms were like - separated. I found large knots under
my arms as on my body in various places. I could not raise my arms away from my sides. At 8 am I phoned the doc's office. They said, oh! it couldn't be that bad. I faxed the underlined, highlighted sheet to them and fifteen minutes later they called. The doctor said not to take any more
and it should be out of my body in 48 hours, if not see my primary phys.
She knew my GP had retired to help with her son, and had talked to me about taking her place until I got someone. A lot of it was out of my body in approx. 48 hours but my right arm (upper) and upper right leg was a mess. It is some better after April - Oct. taking medicine, therapy, and exercise but I still limp, especially when I get tired. There had been no strength for a long time. It was like the muscles separated and tendons enlarged, strutted, are very painful. The challenges are great up and down steps, etc. Can't lay on that side at night, put pillows under and between legs and when the doctor examining did a "frog-leg" with the right one, it didn't want to hold me up for several days. When I walk it gets to hurting very badly. Can't cross my legs when I sit. Wiggle and turn when sitting.
The very bad thing is this: The doctor never tried to help me get over this. When I went to other doctors for help, most of them looked the other way completely. For example, I tried to tell my new primary about the problems and pain from the muscles and tendons - he suggested lab work and a colonostomy. A rheumatologist kept saying I had "hip" pain. He did sent me for therapy though with a diagnosis of tendinitis in the upper arm.
He never addressed the case and cause. I would like to know if this is something to last the rest of my life. What can be done? You can only have therapy so long. An assistant told me to look this up on the internet.
I did not know this existed but I'm glad to know it has not all been my
imagination or "in my mind". My symptoms: dropped 25# in about three weeks, nausea, depression, sleepless, severe pain, taunt stretched tendons, droopy separated muscles,dizzy, and more. If anyone has any answers of who to contact and what to expect, please tell me. I've had anyone I talked with or saw to make note to never give this to me again.
God bless all experiencing these bad side-effects and make us well
again. --By ******

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 am a healthy female with little to no history of adverse reactions to medications. I was prescribed a 10 day dose of Levequin (500 mg) for a minor but stubborn skin abscess. After the third day, I woke up with significant joint soreness in my fingers. Progressively the soreness spread daily to my wrists, elbows, ankles, knees, hips, etc. I did not suspect the antibiotic at first, but I know my body, and I know something was WRONG.
After my 8th dose I decided to look online...it is at least good to know that what I'm experiencing is definitely from Levequin. Thank you all for sharing your stories.

I especially found MERCEDESLANE posting on April 15th interesting. I guess this person works in the health care system. Considering this uncompassionate individual, who apparently wants everythone to know he has a Mercedes, can't spell (whine), and does not have basic grammar skills. Wow...my faith in the our health care system is stronger than ever. But what do I know, I'm just an "IDIOT" with shingles that needs to have a couple of glasses of whine while I pop my remaining Levequin.

I am taking Levaquin one time a day, 500 mg. for diverticultis. I have fibromyalgia so attributed symptoms of EXTREME FATIGUE to that but this is fatigue like I've never known. I can't do much of anything. I don't work outside the home so will just deal with it if it cures my infection. I'm using sleep meds too...but that could be fibromyalgia kicking in too. But fatigue is much worse. I hope it kills those bad bacteria!

Through the past years I have been looking for information about the quinolone antibiotics, Levaquin, Cipro and others.

I have not taken this kind of medications myself but a close friend did and I am absolutely sure that`s why he suffered psychiatric symptoms as well as extreme sesitivity to light and also had cramps/convulsions.

It`s a terrible long story which also etails other medications for instance statins.

I am surprised at how similar quinolone and statin side effects seem to be.

A few minutes ago I found a new site which might be interesting:

Google for "Death by Levaquin" and you will probably find the site I am thinking about.

If I write down the exact address it will be replaced by *****.

O passed away at an old people`s home at the age of 74. I will never forget his suffering.

The best thing you can do for yourself and the people around you is to "educate" yourself on diseases/medications and how the pharmaceutical industry is run.

Here are two books on that issue: Overdosed America (John Abramson) and The Truth About The Drug Companies (Marcia Angell).

Don´t give up.

Im only 16 years old and ive been on levaquin for about 3 days now. My doctor told me off the bat that the only thing wrong with the drug were some "theories" on cartilidge damage, how ever, now i see for myself, and for many other people that is not the only side effect. He told me that no one under 18 is supposed to have it but i caught a severe case of sinutitus, and a uti which ive had for 2 months and nothing was working, so he put me on levaquin, once a day for 7 days. Ive now been having the following symptoms and im extremely scared!!
1. Constant fatigue
2. Extreme Migraines
3. Nausea, vomiting
4. Rapid heart beat (and chest pain)
5. Stiffness in joints and horrible pain...
6. Constant anxiousness, to where i cant get to sleep
7. Dizziness

Is there anyone i can talk to who's had these same problems? please email me or something im scared and i don't know what to do my mother doesn't believe me and she says its just a head cold....

******

Please help me!!

I have no personal experience of Levaquin or the other quinolone antibiotics (Cipro etc.)

A very dear friend was prescribed Ciprofloxacin during the summer of 2004. I am sure that was the reason for his sudden confusion among other things.

His suffering made me look for information on the Internet and I read a lot of books by Peter R. Breggin and Stephen Fried.

Today I just received another one - Medicine Madness ( Peter R. Breggin) and I am happy to say that he has also included a chapter about ordinary prescribed drugs that can cause psychiatric symptoms.

He, for instance, writes about "Antibiotic Madness".

It`s about this very group of antibiotics.

Here are some lines from his text:

"Hardly anyone thinks of antibiotics as potentially dangerous psychoactive drugs but many of them are".

"Levaquin is a member of the quinolones family of antibiotics, a group that is known to cause severe emotional reactions".

The best thing you can do for yourself and the people around you is to inform your self!

I have taken Cipro & levaquin or several occasions for several years. I DID NOT KNOW OF THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF THESE DRUGS ON TENDONS AND OTHER MUSCULOSKELETAL EFFECTS. A FEW DAYS AGO I HEARD A LEGAL AD ON TV WHICH CAUGHT MY ATTENTION: ' IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE HAS TAKEN LEVAQUIN AND SUFFERED A RUPTURED TENDON, CALL....... ' OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS , I HAVE HAD THREE ROTATOR CUFF INJURIES, TWO OF WHICH REQUIRED SURGERY AND A LONG REHAB, AND A "PROBABLE" TENDON TEAR OF MY FOREARM FOR WHICH I WAS ON LIGHT DUTY FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, REHABBING W/ PT, STEROIDS, BOTH ORAL AND INJECTIONS, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MEDS. AS MOST OF THESE INJURIES OCCURRED AT WORK- I AM A CCU NURSE- AND WAS TREATED BY OCC MED DOCTORS, AND THEN REFERRED TO SPECIALISTS WHEN I WASN'T GETTING BETTER, I WAS MADE TO FEEL AS IF THESE INJURIES WERE SOMEHOW MY FAULT, THROUGH POOR LIFTING TECHNIQUES,ETC. AT NO TIME DURING ALL THESE TREATMENTS FOR INJURIES DID ANY HEALTHCARE PROVIDER PUT THESE TWO THINGS TOGETHER AND ASK QUESTIONS, AND NOR DID MY OWN PHYSICIAN. THIS WOULD LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF THIS DRUG HAS NOT BEEN WELL DISSEMINATED TO THE MEDICAL PROVIDERS.

I've never been on Levaquin. However I was on Cipro for over a month at 1500mg per day. I experience the sore foot, the aching knees, extreme fatigue (18+ hours a day didn't seem like enough), unable to sleep straight for 8 hours, Nightmares, unable to eat.

I've been off of Cipro for about 3+ weeks now and all of those symptoms have gone away. Just a week ago I developed a new symptom... my Hair is falling out rapidly. If I run my hands through my hair I get about 20 strands each time repeatedly. When I shower my hair clogs the drains. I just want to know if anyone has gone through the same thing as I have. I'm really scared right now... It has been a really rough last 5 months :(

19 year old female prescribed levaquin for a kidney infection after a round with cipro did not cure a UTI. Symptoms gradual at first but began with chest pain a couple of days into treatment. The doctor said it was costochondritis which sometimes comes on during infections and was not serious. He told her to continue the medications (this was not her regular doctor...he had closed for the day so she was seen at the after hours clinic). Other symptoms include: Headache (drinks plenty of water), muscle aches and pain, dry mouth and throat, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite. When the chest pain spread across the front of the chest and into her back and she had experienced swelling around the eyes and in face that same day we went to the emergency room. After many tests, this doctor said it was the levaquin and told us it had been black boxed. He said they had been told in the ER to immediately take anyone on levaquin off of it if they came in experiencing pain or other symptoms. He said she should be better in a few days. He shared that he too had similar problems when he took it and thought it was going to kill him. When Monday gets here we will make a return visit to her family doctor to follow up on all of this. After reading all these other people with the same or similar symptoms, I am worrying and I am praying that she will not continue to have trouble. We hope all of you are better soon. Please don't take this drug again!!!!!!

i was prescribed Levaquin in April for pneumonia. I took 1 pill in the morning and by mid-evening felt gross. My stomach was in knots, head was fuzzy. I decided to NOT take any more and let my body fight it. Last week I had awful pain in my ear/jaw and thought it was my tooth so didn't go to the DR. right away. Finally I couldn't handle the pain and went. He said I had an ear infection and immediately wrote a script for Levaquin despite me telling him how it made me feel in April. He said it was no big deal, the feelings would go away. I came home and against my better judgment took what I had left from April. (6 pills) I am done them now, but was looking up Levaquin on line because I feel like crap, my ear and jaw still hurt like hell, and tonight my leg started to hurt. I have a flaming esophagus as I sit and type this at 2 in the morning because I cant friggen sleep. Pain my chest feels like I inhaled glass. My husband said he noticed I haven't been acting right...news to me. I'm cranky because all this crap did was make me feel worse. DR. told me to take 2 aleve in the a.m. and Tylenol/Motrin every 4 hours after that for pain. I just got done reading that NSAIDs shouldn't be taken with Levaquin. Nice to know after the fact. My stomach has been turning for 5 days and food is absolutely disgusting. I have awful diarrhea from this med too, which the doctor said was normal.. good to know that spending hours on the toilet was"normal". I've been teary too. Crying over nothing, literally sitting at the pc playing a game of cards and I busted into hysterical sobbing OVER CARDS!! Hopefully I will feel better in a few days and nothing else happens. DO NOT TAKE LEVAQUIN!!! Save yourself the trouble.

Hi all, I was amazed to find this site. I too have had a rough life for the past eight years! I am going to be 39 in a few days but this story starts back in August 21, 2000. The day that put me in HELL for the next eight years and still going through it. Prior to this day, I had a lot of UTI's and Pneumonia and several times prescribed both Levaquin and Cipro. I did develop Achillies tendinitis but I thought this was due to my active life style, see I was an LPN and a firefighter. So I went for treatment to fix the Achillies tendinitis. This was a foot Dr that of course gave me a cortizone shot in it. I cant remember how much earlier this was that this took place and I am still not sure if this is what did it but as I am thinking back these are the things that come to mind. On August 21, 2000 I was on a fire call and my right Achillies tendon popped off the bone! They took me away by ambulance. The Dr in the ER said to go home with an air cast on, eat or drink nothing and come back in at 10:00am and they would possibly do surgery. Well, I did just that. The orthopedic Doc said oh yeah it is achillies rupture will have to go in and tie back all the little fibers. So away to the operating room I went. They gave me a spinal and just knocked me out. I was awakened suddenly by my Dr. voice loudly saying " Holy shit it peeled off the bone!" And another nurse saying let me see! I came up on my hands and they grabbed me put me back down and knocked me back out! (I still have night mares over that!) Anyway, I spent the next 3 months in a cast. During this time, I was told from over usuage of my left foot, I now was developing tendinitis in my achillies tendon in the left foot! Which this sent me to a wheel chair. They took the cast off in 3 months then I was still no weight bearing for another month. Then i had physical therapy for about 6-8 months with little improvement. I complained to the Dr about the left achillies tendon and he said he would not do anything about it unless it too popped! So now many Dr later, and many many medications tried and many surgeries later, and now diagnosed with Lupus, Sjogrens, and Fibromyalgia, the most my rheumatoligist says is I have a connective tissue disorder, and taking cancer medication (Methotrexate) I am now disabled at 39! My life taken from me. I have situational depression, panic attacks, sleep trouble, Suffer from post traumatic stress, nightmares, basically my life is a mess and it is over. On July 1, 2008 I had to go to the ER cause I was sick. I had been run down and feeling bad and sleeping a lot, disoriented, couldn't stay awake. They found I had another UTI and a sinus infection. The Dr Says we will put you on Levaquin and that should take care of both problems. So he left, it took me a while for it to sink in that I should stay away from that drug, so I caught him and told him, he said to me that this was only found to be in kids while they are young and developing that it causes tendon rupture, and besides he said, one dose will not hurt you. I took 5 pills, one a day. Since then I have been in so much pain all over my body it is unreal! It still took me days to figure out that it was the Levaquin doing this to me! I feel like at random someone is sticking a knife in different muscles in my body! I felt like I had done Tie bo for 24 hours straight! Even my butt muscles hurt so bad to sit here and write this email! I have days when I cant even use my hands! Write my name with a pen. I am not sure if this is all due to these drugs, but I am most miserable and not a bit better. I may have just made it worse by taking this last round of them. Has anyone else had this kinf of symptoms?

I was prescribed Levaquin in Feb./March for 30 days. I have had tremendous pain in my heels since then. I am walking slower as every joint and muscle in my body hurts. I can barely stoop down and it is getting worse. I can not sleep. I thought I was just going through some depression and stress until I started reading about it in the WSJ and now realize I fit many of the symptoms being discussed.
We all need to take some action as this is only going to get worse for everyone.
FDA?????????????????

Hello,
I have just found out about this and have been on cipro and levaquin and guess what. 2 weeks ago i was jumping in a pool and the tendon in my arch let loose. I went to the orthopedic doctor and he sent me for MRI then put me in a boot cast. It felt like i stood on a golf ball and it still hurts like hell. I have problems walking on it still. My doctor stated that i will most likely be flat foooted now in the foot that the tendon let loose. then i seen this on the news. Damn i have never had problems in my foot. He called planter facititus.

All I can say is that when I heard that CIPRO and if I understand correctly LEVAQUIN will now have the "Black Box" warning, I thought THANK GOD. .I wonder how many people are "the box" from the drug and/or from committing suicide from this horrific drug?

THANK YOU, FDA, for listening to those who contacted you via letters and emails. Also, who knows? Maybe this board made a little bit of difference.

Either way, a warning is not a ban. I can't understand how Bextra could be pulled off the market and LEVAQUIN "lives all" to do more damage to some.

Pray for this drug to be further scrutinized and researched!!!!!!!!!!!!

On June 17, 2008 I had an emergency appendectomy. They put me on Levaquin in the recovery room. By the time I got to my room I was covered in a horrible red itchy rash--I layed there scratching like a squirrel for hours. When I told the nurse, she said everyone has that reaction and she put Benadryl into the IV. They CONTINUED to give me the Levaquin with a Benadryl chaser until I couldn't take the itching any longer. Finally changed the IV to Cipro---no more itching! I am home now, very very sore and extremely tired. I could have done without that rash-----it is still all over my arms, neck , chest and back--very RAW because I scratched like crazy! Hopefully in a few days it will disappear. Will NEVER take Levaquin again, that's for sure!!

Took levaquin,500mg,for 10 days to combat infection in my left toe. Infection stopped,however pain in both calves is severe. Started on left leg then also rt. leg. Been off the med for 3 days. Seems to be better in am but gets awful as the day wears on. When will it stop? Is there long trm damage?

My doctor prescribed Cipro for a UTI I had. My symptoms were minor. Within 2 doses of Cipro though, my symptoms got worse. Fever, excruciating lower back pain, shakes, all over pain. Thank God my boyfriend was aware of what was happening (because I wasn't). He gave me Cipro 2 more times and had been keeping track. Within 15 minutes of me taking it, all the symptoms would flare up. Finally he said we need to call the doctor, this drug is making you ill. We called the doctor and he said, "no way is it the drug, just continue taking it" So I did 2 more times. And then my boyfriend demanded and threatened the doctor to reconsider. And you know what, I went in to the doctor they gave me a shot of something else, and within 10 minutes I had no fever, no pain, no nothing. And they said I must've had an allergic reaction. It's interesting now to hear how we all MUST HAVE had an allergic reaction. Or that the drug is unsafe. My input here is to just remind people to pay attention to how their bodies respond to any drug. Keep track. No one knows our bodies better than we do.

I am a 49 year old male and took a 14 day course of Cipro for a UTI. By day four the souls of my feet were very sore, especially first thing in the morning but no other side effects. Mentioned sore feet to Dr after 7 days of Cipro but he did not believe it was from Cipro and had me complete the course. After 14 day course of Cipro feet were now so painful that I could barely walk on them especially after resting or getting out of bed. Also burning sensation on skin of feet and hands and some minor tremor. Saw a specialist and he immediately confirmed Cipro as the culprit and advised never to take that drug family again. Have since done the whole web search thing and discovered the whole saga of these drugs. Other symptoms have also appeared, some pain in middle of back, sharp pain in middle of back of both knees, hot and cold flushes, pain in left bicep, fingers that are very susceptible to joint injury and feelings of weakness and anxiety. Has been over three weeks now since I stopped Cipro and condition shows no improvement, may even be slightly worse. About to try a shotgun approach with treatment as there appears little documented evidence of anything conclusive on line. Starting course of anti-inflams (Voltaren) and these have already reduced the pain in my feet. Also magnesium and calcium supplements (theory goes that it may mop up any remaining Cipro and there is plenty of reports from sufferers saying that symptoms continue to appear for some months after stopping Cipro), Vitamin B6 (can apparently help with some types of nerve pain and tingling) and Fish Oil (omega 3's can help reduce inflammation). Not very scientific I know and can't be sure that all these are compatible with each other but am a bit desperate at this stage. Bracing myself for a three to six month recovery (just based on experience of many others). At this stage I am just hoping that damage is not irreversible as this appears to be a real risk. As everyone here will agree it is amazing how this situation is being allowed to continue. I could have stopped my Cipro on day two or three if I had been made fully aware of the risks and what to look out for. I am no expert by any means on this but from what I can gather Cipro and its relatives do nerve damage by the very way they work. It appears that anyone taking these drugs will inflict some nerve damage but for many it will not manifest to a degree that is a problem or at least a noticeable problem. So in some ways we are all sufferers, just to varying degrees. Another point mentioned often is that the symptoms may not appear for some months after the Cipro is stopped and therefore is not always associated with the drug. Also some say there is an accumulative affect with using the drug a second or third time. Symptoms may appear only after multiple use or symptoms may get much worse and more likely irreversible with multiple use. It's all scary reading. At this stage I am just hoping I can make a full recovery. Do damaged nerves repair themselves, does the Cipro eventually leech out of our systems .... I don't know. I will post in this forum again in a few months or sooner if I make a recovery.

I took Levaquin for 2 days and woke up with both arms from the elbow down having the worst spasm ever, felt like contractions at times. I also had eye twitches and headaches and thoughts of feeling like I was poisoning myself. I did something very similar 6 months ago on Cipro, I took 2 rounds of it and by halfway through the second round I took myself off, I felt like my spine was swelling and I had vice grip headaches with that. My Dr. said they ae cousin meds of each other and I should NEVER take them again. I cannot believe they don't watch you more closely when giving something that has some serious side effects.

I am a 54 year old, very active female. Had a UTI and was given 750 Levaquin. I have taken 10 days worth and began having a sore swollen ankle, followed by right knee pain, followed by shoulder and arm pain. I have never experienced muscle pain to this degree before. I am scheduled for a doctor appt in 3 days. I started trying to imagine what could be causing this. I took a shot and looked up Levaqin side effects this morning, after another night of no sleep and severe shoulder pain. Well guess what, from everything I just read I think I found the source. The problem now is how do I get my life back???? The one thing I am sure of is it's time to stop taking the poison!!!

I was prescribed levaquin for 7 days for a sinus infection. I was a little leary because last time I was prescribed Cipro, I had the same reactions I'm having now, these side effects at that time were confirmed to be a reaction to the Cipro. The symptoms I have are all over stiffness/soreness, and severe joint pain, especially in my hips. My skin is very sensitive to touch and my feet even hurt with just regular limited walking. I know many people have no side effects from this med, but I know personally that it is causing unfavorable side effects from mr.

I have a freind who had a bladder nfection, not the first of course. She is 80 years young, very active etc. I told her about my problems with Levaquin and told her NOT to take the Cipro they gave her, because every time she does she has "trouble with her knees and back" mysteriously!!!! Well, she took it anyway and ended up in the hospital with heart paplitations ,irregular heartbeat etc. Guess what they put her on to stop any further infection, you guessed it, Levaquin!!! Shes been home from the hospital now and in the house for over two weeks, has trouble walking now!!When will it end? Marsh

I have a friend who has recurrent bladder infections. I had told her a million times not to take Cipro because of the side effects. She is elderly and whenever she does take it she gets these other symptoms with her knees and back and is almost a cripple for quite a while. Well, she started it three days ago and is now home with a BAD BACK, etc. Why do the doctors prey on these older people and not tell them the consequences?I asked her about her infection,"Oh, thats gone" she says, but her back and kness are acting up!!!Shes been in the house for 2 weeks unable to move. What a cure!!!!Marsh

I posted a few months ago about the terrible side effects I had by taking Levaquin and Cipro on two different occasions for prostate infections. I have been off these antibiotics for almost a year now, and the good news is that I am almost back to normal. At one time I could barely walk, but now I can walk for 3 miles with no problems. I had gone to 9 different doctors and none of them had a clue that it was the antibiotics causing my problems. Luckily, I contacted a very intelligent medical resident at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta that immediately knew that I was having severe reactions to the Levaquin, and that Cipro had caused similar problems for me a few months earlier. A Pharmacist at Emory University also agreed that the antibiotics had terrible side effects for some people. After months, the pain has finally gone away.

I read where Senator Robert Byrd had been hospitalized for reactions to antibiotics he was taking for an urinary tract infection. I'll bet his doctors gave him Cipro or Levaquin. Has anyone heard what medications he was taking? Just Curious????

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 took Levaquin for 5 days (500mg). By the end of that time I was having
extreme joint and muscle pain. Diagnosed for Pneumonia while I was
out of state over holidays. Upon going to my home doctor she immediately
knew this was the Levaquin and after 10 days of prescribed steroids I seem to be past this. THERE WAS NOTHING IN MY DRUG BOOK OR
IN THE INFO AT THE DRUGSTORE THAT ALERTED ME TO THIS SIDE
EFFECT. Please be aware of this. Also stomach bloat and pains.

Hey all. I suspect many of you would agree that one of the most infuriating aspects of this antibiotic nightmare is that seemingly, there aren't many {none that I've dealt with} doctors/nurses or pharmacists that will even acknowledge the potential {and VERY REAL} side effects of these drugs.

On 01/10/08 I was put on Cipro 500mg twice daily, two week supply, for epididymitis, which likely stemmed from a bacterial infection/urinary infection back in late Oct of 07. It's an infection that can require a lengthy dosage due to eliminate bacteria growth. I was also prescribed a painkiller along with it.

That night after dosing had horrible nausea/vomiting, and chalked it up to the painkiller ... which at that point it likely was. Within a few days the groin pain from the infection had subsided a great deal, and although felt a little 'odd' from the Cipro, nothing too noteworthy. At eight days into treatment, became nauseous around the clock with bizarre flu like symptoms. I called the doctor at the ER who had diagnosed me, and she switched me to Doxycilline {sp?}, which isn't a quinolone. After stopping the Cipro, nausea disappeared. However, within a week the pain of the infection returned, apparently due to the weaker antibiotic.

So I was re-checked on 01/24/08 and put on Levaquin, 250gm once daily. Within a day or so the pain subsided once again, but on the third day developed horrible diarrhea and pain in my left knee/leg. Stopped taking it immediately, and decided to research my dilemma online, where to my horror I've discovered all sorts of people from all walks of life experiencing debilitating side effects from this grouping of fluoroquinolone/quinolones antibiotics.

I'm now on Cephalexin, and the pharmacist I spoke with today assured me that it's not part of the quinolone grouping. He also suggested that I must be part of that small pool of the populace that has trouble with quinolone antibiotics ... one begins to wonder just how "small" this pool is given how the average person isn't likely to associate muscle/joint pain with the antibiotic they're ingesting.

How this POISON has lasted so long on the market without more exposure/media coverage speaks volumes about the state of corporate America, with nearly every social system compromised {usually at the expense of the corporation's victims} , with little or no help from the corporate owned mainline media, which serves as nothing but a megaphone platform for vested intertests to transmit "official" opinion to the unwary. So here I be with very painful knee, which I should add is already compromised due to a major tibial plateau fracture in 2001.

I'd love to know whose palms are being greased to keep this rat poison available ... hell, I even had to pay over our insurance co-pay fore the Levaquin, as it's apparently a "top shelf" drug.

Good luck everyone ... and it probably doesn't need to be said, but man, I know after this I will check and double check any and every antibiotic that may be perscribed to our daughter in the future!

I've been on Levaquin 500mg for almost a week. All of a sudden I have pain in my right arm, mainly from my shoulder to my elbow. It kind of aches/burns. I also have some pain behind my right knee and in my middle to lower back. Are these side effects of Levaquin? I didn't have any of this until I started taking this medication. I have a call into the doctor, hopefully something will help the discomfort.

I took my first dose of Levaquin at 6:30Pm on January 3rd. Soon after I developed a sunburn like rash, puffy eyes that got really bloodshot, a severe-severe headache, fainting, low blood pressure (70/40,) pain and heaviness in my knees that made it difficult to walk, pain in my back in the midsection, a ringing so loud in my ears that I thought something must have been banging on the house, and sensitivity to light and sound. The headache was so bad that I the air blowing through the vents at the hospital was painful to hear. I was in the hospital by 2AM, and remained there for 4 days. Mainly because the staff did not believe that the Levaquin was the culprit and gave me another dose once I was feeling a bit more like myself..

I was put on Avelox and went on a cruise. Well on the third day of taking it I broke out in hives, had difficulty breathing, could not walk, the pain in my legs were so bad and had a burning sensation from my nose to my pelvis. I felt like I was on fire inside my body. Well, the doctor on the cruise ship gave me many medications to combat the allergic reaction and thankfully I was fine after that. I still to this day have severe joint and muscle pain. I didn't realize until I read all this that it could have been due to the Avelox. I was on Avelox, Cipro, and Levaquin also for a sinus infection. That was Aug. 2006 and quess what still feel like crap with the pain in my legs and feet.

In my case, Cipro tablets were prescribed for a potential prostate infection. The first dose was taken on 12/12/07. While taking this medication, I experienced "pens and needles" and shooting pains all over my body, leg pains behind my knees, right groin swelling to the point I could barely walk, and chest discomfort just below the sternum. The chest discomfort started after the second dose. My use of this drug was discontinued on about 12/17/07 (after 6 doses). I threw it away. Read the label BEFORE you start this medication. It's quite alarming after the fact.

I let my physician know about my problems with the Cipro and he then prescribed Levaquin, 500 mg, which is the same class of antibiotic. This was confusing to me later since I told them about the problems with Cipro. The doctor knows best...right- so I took 1 Levaquin per day from 12/21/07 until 12/26/07, again about 6 doses. My symptoms re-appeared after about the third day. Pen and needle pains re-occurred although they never entirely went away from the Cipro, severe swelling and tendon pain behind knees- especially the left knee, some chest discomfort, swelling in the armpits, and groin area. Swelling sensations were most prevalent behind both knees and the armpits. Shooting pains also occurred everywhere in my body, especially in the arms and legs. Shooting pains also occurred in my head and jaw with no warning but were less severe. The bottoms of my feet also hurt at times. Sleep was difficult to come by so extreme fatigue set in. I have been off the Levaquin now since 12/26/07 (5 days) and still have some shooting pains but some of the swelling has subsided. The symptoms have reduced but not disappeared entirely. I will never take a quinolone antibiotic again. My suggestion to others is to file an Adverse Drug Reaction report with FDA on their Medwatch website.

I again saw the physician on 12/27/07 and he said that it's "possible" I could be having a rare side effect. Another physician I know said I was having some type of hypersensitivity to the medication but that he had never come across such a case in his practice. Just my luck.

I took Cipro at 200 milligrams / 6 pills / 6 days about a month ago.

I cannot/barely sleep, I'm constantly wired.

My left leg voluntarily/involuntarily twitches sporadically.

My body feels like some kind of horrible "bubbles" build up and are then released...everywhere...probably some kind of circulation thing, I don't even want to know.

My legs have nerve pain occasionally, my right arm has pain occasionally.

My digestive tract has rare pains and is irritable/snazzy...I don't know when I'm full, I barely know when I'm hungry.

I have to force myself to urinate, as my body does not give me the "I'm full, empty me" signal anymore.

I get white lines of light that streak across my vision rarely.

I lost most of my emotions except the humor I receive when I think how horrible it is. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.

My son is 16 years old, a wrestler, and was in excellent health. He developed sinus issues and had surgery on September 17, 2007 (he had a headache on the left side of his head which the ENT said was due to sinus issues). After sinus surgery, the doctor prescribed Levaquin for 10 days. After 4 days, I called his doctor and told him he was getting worse and not better. The doctor said not to worry. After that he had sleepless nights, felt like the room was moving away from him, became dizzy and light headed. Then the joint pain came. First in his thumbs, then wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. He developed severe headaches in the back of his head. The headaches were moderate to severe and with him 24 hours a day. He became extremely weak and his dizziness continued. He was tested for many diseases through numerous blood tests, had a spinal tap, MRI, MRA, CT of the spine, CT of the sinuses, x-rays of the knees, and an EEG. All came back normal, except his sinuses were still swollen which is normal after sinus surgery. He has seen numerous medical doctors (primary, pediatrician, two neurologists, allergist, two Ear Nose Throat) and is now seeing a pediatrician in UCLA and has appointments to see more UCLA doctors.

He has been out of school now for a couple of months. Luckily, the school has him on home instruction and sends teachers to the house and he is maintaining his honors classes. To give you all hope, he does appear to be getting better, but it is a very slow recovery. Up until two weeks ago, some days were okay and some days were pretty bad. It comes and goes like that. At first I never suspected Levaquin, but stumbled across the side effects when I was trying to research what was wrong with him. The only thing I found that had helped some people was taking high doses of magnesium (the kind ending in "ate" is better absorbed). I was and still am nervous about giving my child a lot of any type of vitamin, but no one was able to make him better, so I gave him 250 mg three times a day for three days. It could be just a coincidence, but about 3 days after I stopped giving him the magnesium, all of the joint pain was gone except for his knees, which still hurt if he bent down.

After a couple more weeks, he still had severe headaches, knee pain, some dizziness and some weakness, so I thought I would give it another go and gave him magnesium three times a day for 4 more days. After the 4 days of magnesium, he started on a new medication called Lyrica. His knee pain is almost gone and his headaches are minor with only an occasional flair up. I can see in his eyes and how he reacts that his is feeling better than he has in a long time. He has always been a happy kid, but I can tell he has his special spark back.

For the last two weeks, I just give him one 250 mg of magnesium a day, multi-vitamins, and Lyrica. By the way, one of the blood tests I requested was for magnesium, and it showed his level was normal. So, I have no idea if it is time that is making him better, the magnesium, or the fact that he is taking Lyrica. He will still continue to go to the doctors, none who believe Levaquin could be a cause, until he is completely back to normal. I believe that Levaquin was likely a culprit in his overall health issues, especially since no one can figure out how my healthy, energetic son suddenly became so ill he could no longer go to school. For the past two weeks now, he has had good days mixed in with okay days (no bad days though!!!) He has had only 2 weeks so far of better health and we hope it continues to get even better. Good luck to all of you and my prayers are with you. I hope somehow this will help someone.

My son is 14 years old and was given two rounds of this drug for an infection (two weeks and one week respectively). Last round in the middle of September. The pain started with the first round and got worse the second time. Real bad. We had him tested for a multitude of diseases and x-rayed the knees - all came back normal. We finally stumbled onto the fact that the joint pain coincided with the drug - WE WERE NEVER WARNED!

Well, he's a heck of an athlete/student/good kid...and has been wrestling since he's 5 years old, has competed nationally and this sport is "his thing." Well, now he's finally in high school and can barely make it through practice - can't go live at all. The pain and stiffness ain't going away even though he's been off it since September!

What in the world can we do to treat this effectively (or t all)? Doctor prescribed anti-inflammatory meds and they did nothing. Physical therapy is doing nothing. Ultrasound treatment on knees is doing nothing.

How long will it last?

Help please anybody with any information - we're disparate.

Prayers are welcome too.

Thanks.

Craig V. (Dustins Dad)

side effect: bleeding at urethra

For a long-term sinus infection that has drained my energy, I took my first pill in the Leva-pak about noon today with a large glass of water. Ate lunch. Planned to vacuum, but it was difficult to get into and around in our garage (we made a space for a car to go in now that mornings bring frost outside.) So I ended up moving things around in the garage. Major moving around, some stuff heavy. I was thrilled to have energy and strength to actually do something at last and to think of how long I had been listlessly surviving and at times even bedridden before this magical pill.

About 8:30 I came in to pee and found my undies bloody. Bravo, I said to myself, 10 years post menopause and I got my period again. This is the drug of youthfulness: energy and menstruation. Fortunately I still have a few sanitary items around for female friends who visit, so I got to be one of my friends.

But it seems that the blood is coming from the urethra, not from the vagina. And I have some discomfort there. So I recalled that the drug pakage said to drink plenty of water and realized that I hadn't had any more drinks since about noon or 1. I drank another glass of water and headed back to the garage.

I finished up the garage (who said I'm obsessive?) about 9:30 and came in to find out more about the new drug. I saw that the pack said right on it that drinking plenty of liquids PREVENTS THE FORMATION OF CRYSTALS IN THE URINE. So I drank 2 more glasses of water, thinking maybe crystals have formed in my urine and are cutting into the tissues of my bladder and urethra making them bleed. Guess these crystals must be softer than kidney stones or maybe much much smaller, because I've seen the pain folks get with kidney stones, and I would not be sitting here reading your experiences and now typing up my own to share with y'all if I had as much pain as kidney stones cause!

Anyway, with those two more glasses of water, I came online to see the deal with urethral bleeding caused by Leva-pak, and what do I see. Well, the first website I went to said about reading the pharmacist's paper that came with the L-pak. (My doc calls it L-pak, and I hope it's not gonna be L for me as it has been for most of y'all.) Now I wondered if the pharmacist had even put one in. Went and looked and sure enough, there it was, and it said to drink plenty of water "to prevent the formation of crystals in the urine." No further info about those crystals or their side effects. Some words about bleeding but totally vague, like does drinking water cure bleeding?? Who knows?

That paper the pharmacist put in my bag also said that one of the side effects can be "excitement". I thought, that's my side effect, and I am very happy about that. Garage is too. Hubby is too. Life is good. Leva-pack is good for me, for us for the world.

Anyway, back at the puter, eventually I found y'all and your many stories of pain and suffering caused by Levaquil. But, lo and behold, NOT A ONE OF YOU HAS MENTIONED MY BLOODY SIDE EFFECT. That goes to show what drinking plenty of liquids can spare you. Save ya a quarter wasted on sanitary pads you coulda given your female guests. Save ya from washing blood out of your undies again. Save ya from worrying about whether to call the doc (pharmacist is home in bed by now and tomorrow is Sunday. It figures.) And whether to take another pill.

Sheesh, it's a slow business trying to type up my story for ya, now 11 and time for more water, I figure. Be right back again...ok. I see the bleeding continues but it's a LIGHT DAY.

Well, now I've read this whole webpage top to bottom, and I feel pretty worried about taking enough of this Levaquil stuff to get exploding tendons and total nerve damage and pain and suffering and crippling and insanity and death by anaphylactic shock if I take another one.

I probably will take another one, just being sure to drink plenty a water too. Excuse me a sec while I go get another, as it is now after 10....okay I'm back now.We'll see as time goes along about taking any more. And if I am a good scout, I should come back and provide the REST OF MY STORY in a few days.

I saw that someone here said that Cipro is a fluoxosomethingorother too. I don't know why the doc didn't pick Cipro for me today instead of the Leva-pak. Maybe the last drug rep in his office gave him some good lines about the advantages of L as opposed to C, who knows? Anyway, if Cip and Lev are in the same family, I must say that as a postal employee, I am ready to take Cipro at the drop of a hat if our new machines spot anthrax in the air where we work. Sounds like those postal employees who died would have survived if the docs had recognized what was wrong with them and given them the Cipro early on. At least, other people who showed up sick afterwards with anthrax exposure got Cipro, and most of them survived, I heard.

The upshot is that I hope we don't take away the fluoxisomethingorothers until we find somthing better. Law suit perhaps, but not to deny the life-saving drug from EVERYBODY because some folks have bad side effects. Instead, we should find out how to test each person for having trouble taking it. You know, put a little drug in with some of their hair and a little in some of their blood and a little in some of their pee and see if it curdles or grows sprouts or something to show how each patient will react to it. Then tell each one what to expect from the various drugs available for that person's ailment. Then the patient can decide which side effects he wants to sign up for or if he just wants to stick with his original ailment.

I have not decided whether I will take any more of these pills. I will observe my crochety side effect and watch for any new ones that may pop up before I make my decision each day. I am very very concerned about long lasting muscle and tendon pains. I have not been able to hike now for about 3 months due to loss of energy, strength, and confidence. And I sure don't want to miss 3 more months trying to get over exploded achilles, burning knees, seizures, or nerve damage etc.

As a postal employee, I never do any research into cures for ailments. I am fairly experienced with ailments. I cannot provide you with any good excuses for not seeking to find cures for our health troubles.

I feel lucky to have been born when and where I was. I waited until central heat, air conditioning, cushioned seats in heated, air-conditioned autos(spare me from buckboards on unpaved "roads"), and penicillan. That penicillan brought me through pneumonia in 1947. Had I arrived 5 years sooner, I doubt it would have been available to me. Hmmm, I wouldn't a been available to share my story with you folks this evening either. So I must say a blessing for all those who try to improve my health when I go to them for help with my various complaints. Sure, money may be highly motivating for some of them, but Donald Trump and Bill Gates found ways to make money without going into medicine or research and drug development or doctoring.

So far, that's my story, my red flag today.

May THE FORCE be with each of you as you search for the best solutions for your ever-new mind and body problems. May we seek wisdom widely and recognize that what used to work for us often won't work any more because our bodies keep changing. We are along for the ride and hope to make it as pleasurable as possible as we round each curve and surmount each hill.

God bless us all, each and every one.
Christmas is coming...Tiny Tim's words echo through the years.

I was given levaquin 500 mg 6 days ago for phlebitis. Since I started I have had terrible anxiety, panic attacks, fear of dying, nightmares, crying jags, and very sore neck and shoulders. I called my doctor today and asked about the side effects of this medicine. I am NOT going to finish my 10 day dosage. I'm done. I've never been so miserable. This is strange because all this past summer I took low-dose levaquin, 250 mg 4 days a week because I have bartonellosis, a co-infection of Lyme disease. It didn't bother me beyond some leg pain then, but now it's a whole new story. I am TERRIFIED of this antibiotic and modern Western medicine in general.

I had a sore throat. The first doctor said mono. The 2nd doc. said no mono or strep --must be viral. Third doc says viral and puts me on predinsone, levaquin and darvocet because my uvula was swelling from infection. White count was elevated and had low grade fever. That was Friday..............................The Monday after that I had severe pains in my left side. After teaching went to ER they said gas after 2 minutes. Next day level 8 pain same side went back to ER. They said skeletal prescribed me 4 more drugs and told me it was viral too. Went to internist on Wednesday had to miss teaching he scheduled CT on Thursday morn. Level10 pain almost passed out on Thursday eve missed school/teaching. Friday admitted to ER at different hospital beyond any level of pain I have ever had, blood pressure through the roof, heart palp, they gave me morphine and phenagrin and muscle relaxer for spasms.

Here I am a perfect state of health get a sore throat and the next week I am in the hospital because of the 2nd ct saying that I am full of poo. 4 weeks later I am still in pain, missed 12 days of teaching and now they say i have ibs. I miss my active life before. I believe the combination of these drugs caused this. I am young no children and very healthy. Ultrasound,s blood works, 2 ct scans with dye, colonscopy, xrays show no probs. Which is great but still in pain. Anyone PLEASE HELP the doctors are taking their sweet time while I have lost weight and stay in bed which helps the pain. Bending over, lifting, eating, pooing, sneezing, coughing, hiccuping can make it worse. It is intense SHARP pain. I have cut out everything med wise except for Miralax and now I have diarrhea and joint pain.

They want me to take Dicyclomine and IMIPRAMINE, MIRALAX and Levisin sublingual and Diflucan.

I have experienced an allergic reaction to Levofloxacin:
face swelled up, strong heart arythmia, throat was closing and about 24 hrs later my skin burnt leaving a dark necrotyzed patch that fortunately turned normal after a couple of days. After more than 1 year my body seems to react to any kind of medicine that i used to bare, even if taken in small quantaties. I suffer of liver pain if i eat food containing a bit of fat, regular stomach pains and now suffer of arythmia. I have a child and am scared that i couldt pass on any kind of consequence on a second one.

I wish I had seen this page BEFORE I finished 5 days of Levaquin 500. The meds were prescribed for a post-upper-respiratory infection hacking dry cough that had been going on for nearly 3 weeks. I finished the meds 4 days ago and still feel super crummy. Levaquin did nothing for the cough (acunpuncturist stopped it with with several well-placed needles in my outer ear) and - before I saw this page - thought of asking the doctor for another round since I was still sick and seem to be getting worse. I have intermittent headaches, a racing heart, blurred vision, am so tired I never want to get out of bed. I'm also having a recurrence of sciatica in one hip and thigh and - new symptom! - the foot on that side is so sore it's hard to put my weight on it. I was told to report any joint or tendon pains but, according to the doctor, "they are very rare." I'm sure he told me about the symptom to protect himself "just in case" but it was clear he really didn't believe there would be problems. I took the medicine for three days, then stopped for a day because I didn't feel well. Then I thought, "Suck it in - there's only 2 pills to go and then you won't infect anyone. You don't want to be Typhoid Mary for the next antibiotic-resistant killer strain of some bug or another, do you?" I am devastated to think these symptoms will persist as long as people on this site say they will. I keep thinking I can sleep this off, or that I'm really sick with something that requires a different antibiotic. ( And how stupid is THAT?) But, from what I've read here, that's not likely to be the case. I'm 67 years old and already have compromised immune system plus sleep apnea, high blood pressure, narcolepsy, and asthma. Is there anyone out there who has been able to resolve these symptoms in less than three months? I refuse to believe I have to feel this way for the foreseeable future. And boy, am I mad! At myself as well as at the doctor. I usually research everything before I take it, but this one just slipped under the wire.

My wife had a UTI (urinary tract infection) and the doctor prescribed cipro-something which did not work. Two days later the pain continued and it started to make her back feel very sore (infection spread to kidney). The doctor prescribed Levaquin and she felt better within an hour or so. As I recall, a 5 day supply cost $100 so this is not cheap, but our insurance did offset that quite a bit. Two days after she started taking it, I found this site and read all of the horror stories. Fortunately for us, the 5 day dose is now over (since yesterday). My wife has not experienced any side effects and her UTI issues have disappeared.

I took levaquin, cipro and avalox in a 4 month period due to a severe sinus infection, back in Jan to april of 2006. I had tolerated it most of my life, but at that time, I had had 'neck surgery due to 2 pinched nerves, left shoulder operated on, major tears, due to extreme 'flat roof roofing repair' for 6 months trying to save our 'dream home from satan'. (we lost it, foreclosure)
I complained to my dr the next day, (and most every week) he ignored my halluciations, (actually "snickered" in my face), mood altered, ignored my complaints of feeling like a hot rake tearing my muscle and tendons apart. pain, told me to continue taking it:(, blame me for listening and NOT doing research soon enough, I learned later the dr is supposed to STOP the drugs immediately to rule out tendonitist to prevent pernanent irreverable damage AND it's not to be given to 'muscle challanged people'). after that 3rd round in a 4 month period, I told him I'd rather die than to take them again. mom always told me I was allergic to pennicilin, I wasnt, it helped clear my infection.

I now have hodgkins lyphoma, (affects men mostly, i'm female, 51 yrs of age), I shouldnt have 'this cancer'. My face started breaking out w/2 types of skin cancer, basal cell, and precancer A. keratosis eveywhere. I was 120 lbs, cut muscles, always had been physical. Now, flab, lost mucle strength everywhere. Every day now is filled w/severe pain and NO dr will listen, I've been called crazy so many times, I could puke. The dr's dont WANT TO KNOW because of the extensive lawsuits that will exist due to them NOT knowing side effects and stopping meds, it's their 'brotherhood', protect each other no matter what the patients 'cost' is, as in mine, complete mind and body destruction:(
To MOST people, this drug is okay. To many of us, it's a life destroying slow death. Cant work, cant get disability. Have reached for 'help to heaven' so many times, but never followed through:(. I still HOPE for some dr to listen and do necessary tests so I can sue the crap out of my previous g.p. He should have known . HOPE is a forbidden 4 letter word, yet I cuss like a sailor.
Peace my fellow quin sufferers, Sandie in S.C.

I was on Levaquin in February of 06. Although it helped the sinus infection, the price has been great. I had severe burning and tingling in my lips. Lower lip still numb after 20 months. Soreness and weakness in fingers--sprained two fingers while doing routine things. Stabbing pains in soles of feet, decreased over 4 months. Excruciatingly sore Achilles tendon, especially sore to the touch. Large muscle twitches in arms and legs. Decreased over several months. Ear ringing began--still have it. Dramatic increase in floaters in eyes also during the course of the drugs--still have them. Serious back problems began then also, with 4 herniated discs being diagnosed 5 months later. I have read that connective tissue damage may result from Levaquin. I feel that everthing that stated then is related: back, ears, eyes, numb lips, hands, etc. I checked with my doctors office, told them the symptoms, and I was instructed to keep taking the drug if I wanted to get well. But I only spoke with a nurse. . .shame on me. Good luck to all of you.

WOW!! am I thankful for this site. My 73 year old mother was given a 5 day, 750 of Levaquin for pneumonia yesterday. She is to see another doctor tomorrow for setting a date for surgery on an abdominal anyrurism. She has taken 2 doses and is feeling really down not even wanting to talk. I was told by a friend that the drug family Cipro is really bad so I decided to check out this one and I am so thankful. I just got off phone with mom and she is not going to take anymore. She is going to double up on her nutritional supplements especially MAX GXL which will help with the cellular inflamation and magnesium to get this Levaquin out of her system as quickly as possible. Again thank you