Levaquin and diarrhea

I was diagnosed with pneumonia on July 6 and prescribed Levaquin 500 mg for 10 days. I took my last pill tonight and could not understand the pain in my right hip, red eyes which I suspect comes from the insomnia I have been experiencing since July 10. I am still having difficulty sleeping and tonight I feel extremely tire with discomfort in the back and shoulders. I wish I had read these comments earlier, I would have discontinue using this drug. I have not experience any depression, but lack of appetite, stomach pain and upset stomach. I have had intermittent diarrhea. How long will it take for this drug to get out of my system.

I am a 29 y/o male.this month i got a terrible sinus infection, probably due to a month's struggle with allergies. I was initially prescribed Augmenting but after just 1 pill i was up all night with stomach cramps & diarrhea. I was scared to take another dose so my dr. prescribed me Levaquin as an alternative. After reading the warnings I became very worried due to the fact that I already have lower back/hip and joint pain issues. I also work evening freight at Home Depot. After 1 Levaquin yesterday morning, I went to work ready to take it easy and not hurt my body more than it already does... after about 30 minute of simply opening small boxes and putting light-weight merchandise on the shelves, i began to feel extreme tension/aching in my hands and fingers.I was being very careful with my back & neck, but never even thought this might effect my hands??? I woke up this morning hoping it would be gone... no such luck, even after a full night's rest they still feel like i have arthritis, and no my hips (S.I. joints)are popping out like crazy. i am about to take the 2nd dose, only b/c my ears nose and throat do feel much better. I am just glad I picked up paperwork/and can afford to take a few days of LOA if this gets any worse. It is hard for me just to type this now : (. I'm scared.

I am 39-year-old very active healthy female. I can say I am tolerant to most drugs I have taken in my life so far. However, I took Levaquin yesterday and today, 750 mg per day for five days for the sinus infection, I felt so horrible starting 2-3 hours after I first took it. I felt nausea, headache, extremely fatigue, stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, lose sleep.I also felt painful in my heart area this morning......After checking on the internet today, I know I was poisoned by Levaquin. I felt more horrible that my doctor did not tell my the side effect even when I asked this question specifically when was given the prescription. I am not allergy to other antibiotics, and I had no clue why the doctor would think this medication is necessary to me. I decided to stop Levaquin, and also not to see that doctor again. Please be careful to pick your doctor, some are very dumb and cannot even treat a cold.

I had a terrible cough and rusty sputum. I was given 2 rounds of Z-Pak with no help. Finally I went to an emergency center (Doc in a box kind of place) I got a chest x ray and was TOLD I had pneumonia and given Levaquin. No info was given when I filled the prescription at the only pharmacy open that time of night-that should have been a warning but I was too sick to realize. 10 days of vomiting, diarrhea and SHOULDER pain in the side I had rotator cuff repair last year. My shouldr pain is pretty bad but not as bad as some of you describe. I also have a pacemaker on the other side, so when I went to my cardiologist the next week he said I had NOT had pneumonia, but a bad bronchitis according to the radiologist who finally read my x-ray.

He also said the Levaquin given me was most likely the cause of my symptoms. He said Levaquin is being massively over prescribed like all newer drugs and is becoming ineffective towards more and more infections. I wish I had known then what I know now. Go to a REAL doctor-not an intern moonlighting and get REAL medical advice. My shoulder is better with Tylenol and Omega 3/7/9 Fish Oil capsules. Ibuprofen is not as effective for me.

I have to admit I am dumbfounded. I "stumbled" upon this information tonight.
I am a very healthy and active 40 year old female with no health issues other than seasonal allergies and asthma. I went to the dr. 4 weeks ago for a sinus infection. I was prescribed 5 days of Levaquin (called a “Lev-pak”??). The sinus infection seemed better but the symptoms of that came back after 10 days and I went back to the dr. only to be prescribed a 2nd round of the same medication. Again the sinus infection seemed to get better and now a month later I went to the same dr. again today because the sinus problem came back but worse. Today I was prescribed a different antibiotic called Avalox. Since I had not heard of this drug I decided to look it up before taking it.
I now look back over the last month and am horrified that I have had these bizarre symptoms and here they are experienced by 100's of other people. And this is just one website, with people that took time to speak up. Just one. All of sudden I already feel better because I can explain so much. Not once was I warned about this drug either by the doctor or my pharmacist.
Everything I am about to describe I have either blamed on still being sick (and getting sicker from the presumed infection) or have blamed on other meds taken in addition for congestion, headache, stomach problems, wheezing, etc.

I have had ridiculous sleep patterns. I was either SO awake some nights that I felt like I could run 10 miles or SO exhausted by bedtime that I could barely walk up the stairs to get to bed. I have had extreme nightmares and dreams. In addition I have had at times practically NO peripheral vision combined with a blinding headache. I also had ringing in one or both ears that was very random. I seriously thought several times that I might have a brain tumor. I have had all these weird stomach issues. I have felt bloated and my abdomen area has been painful at times. I also have gone from either having bad diarrhea to being very constipated. My heart has raced at times both while doing physical activity OR sitting still. For about 3 days after the first round I had sharp pains in my left side (abdomen and arm). I have experienced bizarre hot flashes combined with being freezing cold minutes later with no fever at all. And last my right leg, particularly my knee and foot have just hurt at odd times (just waking up, walking up and down stairs, after sitting for a few minutes). All of these things separated seem so random so I never suspected Levaquin. Having read page after page…they are ALL explained.

I can’t tell you how much better I feel right this moment. I feel sane again. I will never, ever take Levaquin again and am so thankful I was smart enough to get information before taking Avalox, which would have been round three of this poisonous family of antibiotics. I don't know how long it will take for the Levaquin symptoms to go away but at least I'll know why these things are happening. Thank you.

Hello, I have read over most of these side effects and i would have to agree and be afraid of most of it. See I was diagnosed with bronchitis/pneumonia, they prescribed me these pills along with steroids. I have not taken the steroids yet but I did take my first dose of levaquin about 12 hours ago around 8 pm. With my dinner and plenty of water and fluids. I went to bed late with my fiance but not cause of the medicine, we decided to stay up and watch movies. Although, it did help my coughing and breathing, I felt bloated or ballooned up all of a sudden and it was starting to hurt my stomach. I figured it was the food I ate and all the water I have been drinking. So, next I noticed some minor vaginal discharge of which looks like when I'm ovulation so I pasted that as that. Now I woke up at 5:30 in the morning when I went to bed at 2 am and I can't go back to sleep! I woke up from a nightmare to see things in the dark to scare the %$^* out of me. I had this really bad taste and dryness to my mouth I felt like it was suffocating me. I cant seem to think straight or type well (I had to go back and review what I wrote but I might not have gotten all my mistakes) I feel like I have ADD I keep forgetting how to spell simple words... I mean the list keeps going and going. I am writing now because I am currently on it. I will not be taking this medication anymore much less the steroids but if anyone reads this, I hope you read first then take.

I was prescribed Leavaquin for pneumonia - 500mgs for 5 days. Have taken it in the past for pneumonia with no observable side effect except the dry mouth. However, this time, I have nausea, diarrhea, excruciating pains in my feet going up to both knees, (despite using lidocaine patches for neuropathy) insomnia, headache, stuffed up nose 3 hours after ingesting it. Additionally, I feel "down", lethargic, lack of clarity in thinking. I am stopping the Levaquin today, the last day. Thanks be to God for this website. I can see that others are suffering the same side effects.

I was prescribed levaquin also. I was given a 5 day supply. While taking this drug, I experienced severe diarrhea, major gas, and also had numbing sensations a few times in my hands....very strange drug...all the side effects did seem to go away a few days after I finished taking the medication.

I was prescribed LEVAQUIN 500mg/day for 30 days. In that duration this is the list of side effects: diarrhea, sleep disorders, insomnia or excessive, and I mean excessive fatique, washing the dishes made me want to nap. heart racing, trouble breathing, tingling sensation either on my left or right side of my body, headaches. I actually finished the script, and now I have a yet undiagnosed skin condition which looks similar to MRSA, but the culture came back negative. The skin sores are very painful, so my doctor put me on DOXYCYCLINE 400mg/day for 2 mos, it didnt help the skin condition and only worsened the effects of LEVAQUIN, now my doctor has me on BACTRIM, because he is convinced it is MRSA. I am also suffering from severe depression, i never contemplate suicide, yet i would drift in and out of daydreams of wanting to quit, dizziness, when I was on LEVAQUIN my equilibrium was completely off. This skin condition is very painful, and I am on my 3rd antibiotic since June. I think I need help too!

I was prescribed 750 MG of Levaquin after a ER visit on Saturday, August 16th for a sinus infection. Both Saturday and Sunday I had diarrhea. I took the second pill on Sunday and I did not sleep the entire night. I was sweating so much. I felt out of sorts and scared in my own home. I started to turn on the lights. I even tried to sleep with my bedroom light on. It was an awful night to say the least, I won't go into all of the details. But I did start to question not only my physical health but mental. I knew I had been stressed out, but this never happened to me before. I was not able to work Monday. I took the third pill Monday not realizing this was all a reaction to the antibiotic. I was speaking to a close friend late Monday afternoon about my horrible night. I did not tell her what I was taking. She informed me that one time she was taking a antibiotic, Levaquin, and that she had a similar reaction and even hallucinated. I was relieved to know that I was not loosing my mind but it was the medication. I called my doctor's. office and they said stop taking it. They said they were aware that this had happened to some patients. Gee, thanks for telling me in advance. They suggested I take Benadryl to help me sleep. Needless to say, what a horrible experience I had. And this night was worse. I was sweating even more, could not sleep, tried to take a shower to cool off and then I started to hallucinate. I tried talking myself out of it, but the medicine was too strong. I called my God Mother and she talked me through it. Again, all the lights had to be on, I felt very anxious and scared. IT WAS AWFUL. If you have a sensitive system I would not take this! It is now August 21st and I still can not sleep. I am still out of sorts. I wish I knew in advance. All I know is I am telling everyone I know, DON'T TAKE LEVAQUIN!!!

After my vasectomy I developed a horrible infection called epididymo-orchitis which is extremely painful accompanied by horrible swelling of the testicles. The ER Dr. put me on 500mg of levaquin once a day for 14 days. I am on day 6 of the antibiotic and for 2 days now I am experiencing extreme abdominal pain to the point of crying and collapsing, sever diarrhea but feels like I can't empty my bowels which makes the abdominal pain worse. Until I read some of these other stories I didn't realize that my knees and hands ache like I have horrible arthritis may be due to this med. I would much rather deal with the pain and swelling of my testicles than the side effects of this drug.

I am 67 years old and I had a PSA level of 5.7 as of April 16th 2008. In the year 2000 my PSA level was 11 and Dr did biopsy and found no issues. On May 8th my present Dr prescribed Levaquin 500 Mg to treat my PSA. As of today I have taken 18 tablets of Levaquin 500 mg. On May 24th evening I started getting fever tiredness and diarrhea. Took Paracetamol 500 mg to reduce fever. Temperature reduced to 97. If I didn't take any fever reducing medicine my body temperature started increasing. on May 26th temperature started increasing and it reached 102.6 and got admitted into emergency. At emergency they did run several tests and later discharged asking me to continue with fever reducing medicine. Also I was told to continue with Levaquin 500mg. Though I am taking fever reducing medicine with Levaquin, today my body temperature reached 105. On May 19th,2008 I had a blood test and came to know that my PSA had reached 6.2. I don't want to take Levaquin any more.

I was prescribed Avelox for pneumonia, which I had a severe reaction to. I was driving in my car with my kids and suddenly didn't know where I was. I was so confused and pulled the car over and vomited. I rushed home and was launched into a full-fledged panic attack. I was then given Levaquin and I was fine with it other than some mild malaise and a little dizziness for the 7 days of 750mg, but my symptoms just came back soon after and I developed a sinus infection and was put back on the Levaquin. I took one 250mg pill yesterday and had the same thing happen, severe fatigue, weakness and numbness in my hands and arms, dizziness, confusion, panic attacks, blurred vision and severe diarrhea. I felt floaty and out of it for the rest of the day and night. I woke up this morning and I feel much better, other than some left over anxiety about taking the prescription. THE GOOD NEWS is that my symptoms are gone now that the antibiotic has been metabolized and secreted from my body. I did see some floaters in the shower today, but I believe they were because I strained my eyes when looking to far to the right. I drank 2 glasses of wine to help with the increased heart rate and insomnia that the drug caused--worked well!! I would never, ever take this antibiotic again.

I started taking Levaquin for strep throat. I am 22 years old and it good health. I was supposed to take it for 5 days. During the 5 days my stomach felt a bit uneasy, but I was expecting that because i usually have a small stomach ache when taking anti-biotic. On the fourth day i ended up bed ridden. I woke up with severe diarrhea, and threw up. I attempted to go to work, but my symptoms got worse. I ended up in bed with severe stomach and body pain for the rest of the day not able to move or hold anything down. If i tried to drink or eat anything i either threw it up or had diarrhea. It was worse than the flu. I then looked up side effects of Levaquin and found the following: feeling restless or anxious; nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain; headache, drowsiness, dizziness;sleep problems (insomnia). I fell under each of those categories. This drug is evil. They said keep taking it but consult with your Dr... yea right. I was DONE with it. I'd rather get strep again than go through that again! DON'T TAKE LEVAQUIN!

I had a chronic cough which got worse and developped into bronchitis. My doctor gave me 10 days of 500 mg levaquin. Ten days later I went back, still coughing, even though the bronchitis was a bit better. He gave me another prescription for 7 days of levaquin with a refill.
A week or so into this routine, my legs started to hurt a lot. I thought I was just out of shape and needed to get back to the gym and do some stretching exercises. I could barely climb the stairs to the gym, but I must say that after working with the trainer and stretching a lot (and it hurt a lot) I was able to walk easier and the pain lifted quite a bit. . . for a while.
I also have developped total diarrhea, which made sense to me; because I was trying to kill bad bacteria in my system which I thought was causing the bronchitis.
Fortunately, last week I decided to go to another doctor because I wasn't getting better and I felt my old doctor was just overwhelmed by the health care system and was just going through the motions. This doctor, an ENT doctor, immediately diagnosed me with LPRD (acid reflux which goes all the way to the vocal chords, resulting in cough, tightness in the throat, etc.) I know he's right because I have felt the acid reflux thing at night when I have eaten late and had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner.
Tomorrow I'm heading to a gastro doc to attack the diarrhea, but I wondered if the leg pain had anything to do with the levaquin, since it came about after a week or so on the stuff. and lo and behold found all these postings which have now scared whatever shit I have left out of me!
I'm off to get some magnesium, as someone suggested and would appreciate any other tips anyone might have. My only tip is that stretching out your legs and butt muscles, does temporarily help a bit.

It has been three weeks since my daughter and I have taken our last pills of Levaquin. She still has terrible pain in her hands and has suffered from severe headaches. I have all of the symptoms of a heart attack and stroke in fact, I spent several hours at the ER and went through many tests. No heart attack or stroke and sent me home. My son and his wife did research and found out all of my symptoms are from taking levaquin. My heart rate regularly is never over 65 and it jumped to 117. My blood pressure went up to 209/106. The top of my head went numb from front to back and also numb in the back on the bottom half. So bad at times I thought I was going to faint. I have word recall problems, diarrhea, strange taste, vision problems, had an irregular heart beat, extreme anxiety, upset stomach, nausea, loss of appetite, fear of dying, heels on my feet hurt bad, sweats, muscles twitching, swelling in my throat and made me hoarse, can't sleep.
Levoquin is not for me!!!!! I am so thankful to my kids for looking it up so I know what I am fighting against. I am also thankful to all of you for writing it here so that we can try to help each other.

I started taking Levaquin on Thursday October 4 for a sinus/throat infection. 5 days later and I feel wired out of my mind. Strange thoughts, increased energy intertwined with panic, wrist/hip pain, very little sleep. Severe stomach pain, constipation, nausea and vomiting, gagging reflex. Also mouth sores, and terrible taste in mouth. This has me very concerned. I am grateful that this isn't my imagination. Thanks for this forum. Why is this drug still on the market. Karen in Winnipeg, Canada

My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year. It has been in the mild stages until last week when she was hospitalized for diverticulitis.
Upon being discharged she was prescribed Levaquin 500mg to be taken once a day for 12 days. Because the cost of the drug was $132.00, I had them cut the rx in half.
Since taking this drug my mother has had morning sweats and worst of all it has made her combative and belligerent. I know as Alzheimer's progresses that some patient become this way but based on the fact this she did not become this way until she began taking this medication, I believe it exasperated her condition. And since taking her off of this drug, she has become more calm but it has had to work itself out of her system over the past 6 days.

I have been taking levequin 500mg for a spider bite. The doctor gave be a ten day supply. I noticed after a couple of days that the taste in my mouth was nauseating. Then the pain in my arms and legs was just horriable. Then the diarrhea started and I though Id never get rid of it. The waking up in the middle of the night and it felt like I had ran a race in my sleep, I was exausted, I couldnt get my head off the pillow. I will never take this poison again.

Well I took only one pill for an ear infection and 2 hours later I had, sweats, diarrhea and unbelievable stomach pain. Now I am in the third hour of the drug and I have back pain. This is the worst side effect I have had with any medication. I wonder what the treatment for an ear infection was 50 years ago. I think the FDA is failing. It is apparent that drugs are being pushed to the mark and dam the side effects. I wonder who is on the take$$$. The fact that a drug lists a ton of side effects does not constitute the right for the FDA to allow the drugs be placed to the market.

TO Guest #41844
Who do you work for a drug rep.?

I began taking the drug three days ago due to severe sinusitis. 750mg. for 5 days. I stopped today due to severe weakness, nausea, pain in lower back, diarrhea, blurred vision. sleeplessness and lack of appetite. A coworker told me the same day I started taking it that her son had a severe allergic reaction to the same drug within half an hour of taking the first pill. Since then 3 other co-workers have told me they have experienced very similar reactions to the drug and my mother as well.
After picking up the drug at the pharmacy I asked the pharmacist if there had been any complaints about the drug since I had never taken it, heard of it and the doctor said it was very strong. The pharmacist indicated that no problems had been reported. As many antibiotics as there are on the market I would certainly ask for something else........
BTW I reported it to my pharmacist and my doctor today.

AFTER THREE DAYS I WOKE UP WITH COLD FEET - TIGHT CALVES - THE COLD FEET STAYED ALL DAY - AT END OF THAT DAY MY FEET TURNED RED AND BURNED - IT HAS BEEN 4 DAYS AFTER MY LAST DOSE OF 5 TABS - I NOW HAVE DIARRHEA - WHAT'S NEXT! - CALLED MY DOCTOR - SHE DIDN'T THINK THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM - I DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT DOCTOR AGAIN!!!!!!

Levaquin IV in hospital for 2 days, then one 500mg tablet per day for a month. Semi hallucinations in hospital may have been due to infection but diarrhea for 2 months was not. About three weeks into the medication it started affecting my heart beat--arhythmia and increased rate--causing considerable distress and malaise; I presumed that my heart was permanently damaged. It may well be so, but now three months out the symptoms have lessened and I'm begining to feel like my old self. I hope never to have to risk my health on Levaquin again.

Began taking Levaquin 1/26/07 for a sinus/ear infection. I have taken Levaquin twice in the past for the same thing and had no problems whatsoever. However, this time I experienced horrible nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. I also had some shoulder pain, though it was not debilitating. But the most worrisome side effect was that I began my menstrual cycle. I am on Depo Provera and do not cycle until I am due for my next shot, which is not until March. It has been that way since I've been on Depo (8+ years) with no fail. I have stopped taking the medication and have gradually started to feel better. The only difference between this time and the previous times I've taken Levaquin is that I've also recently started taking Cymbalta. Does anyone know if this may have suddenly caused these side effects? Should I call my doctor or is stopping the medication enough?

I took a 10-day course of levaquin for a sinus infection starting 12/22/06 and ending 12/31/06. I am a 43-year old female, fairly healthy. I experienced the following side effects intermittently during that time: acid reflux, diarrhea, tremors in my hands, fast heart-beat and I had a period in the middle of my cycle (I take birth control pills). I am not sure if that last one is related to the levaquin, but it's never happened to me before. Has any other woman experienced that with this or another antibiotic? I've taken other antibiotics before and only experienced nausea when taking it on an empty stomach and occasionally a yeast infection.

I started taking 750 mg of Levaquin as prescribed by my doctor on Wednesday, December 27th for my bacterial pneumonia. The following morning I had arthritis like pain in my shoulders, neck, elbows, calves and even my feet. I also had diarrhea, nausea and fatigue. I continued to take this medication because I thought I was having "flu" like symptoms because of the bacterial pneumonia. I stopped taking the Levaquin today because I had researched the side effects yesterday evening. The nausea and diarrhea have subsided. I still have the arthritis like pain in my joints and fatigue.

After first two days I had very bad diarrhea with bad gas and cramping. So I took Immodium. The diaherra got better but I still experienced some gastro issues. I also had a few bumps on my face that looked like acne. The next day I started to get very bad body aches in my neck, lower back, knees, hips and calfs. The rash exploded and was all over my face. Big red sore and very itchy. Benadryl cortaid help a little but not much. I looked up this site and will stop taking it and call my Doctor.

Scott

I was prescribed Levaquin 500, because of bronquitis for one week, in that time I experienced:

diarrhea
nausea
numbness in arms, hands, fingers
extreme swelling in joints
insomnia
difficulty to stand up, walk
bruses in eyes and arms
no strength
tingly or electric sensation in hands

I went to many doctors, but none of them knew what was happening, until one of them told me this was called Serum Sickness, which is an extreme reaction to the drug. TWO MONTHS HAVE PASSED AND I STILL HAVE THE SYMPTOMS. It is affecting my life, because I depend of others to do certain things for me, because of the extreme pain, and weakness.

i took cipro 500mg for three days for a bladder infection and 3 days after i stopped cipro i got yellow diarrhea and its lasted for 7 weeks and continuing. im seeing doctors everything negative.scared to death.

I only took one Levaquin 500 mg pill (prescribed for bronchitis) and got horribly sick. I was so dizzy I nearly fell when I tried to walk. I went back and forth from blazing hot and sweating to freezing and shivering. My hands and feet were numb and tingling. I had diarrhea. Worst of all, I could barely breathe, felt like my lungs were too tiny to get any air. Finally got back to nearly normal with Benadryl. However, it's now 3 days after I took the single Levaquin pill and I still have tingling and numbness in one ankle and calf. I am horrified to see how many other people are having severe reactions to this drug, and I want to know WHY IS THIS POISONOUS DRUG STILL ON THE MARKET?

I had BAD sharp leg pains and COULD Not sleep sick to my stomach w/ Diarrhea I felt like I was NUTS!!
I finally for some reason looked on Computer for Feed back and WAS amazed!!!
I WILL NEVER take this medicine again and only took it for 4 days!

Severe nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, headache, exhaustion, weakness, sweats. I stopped this after 7 days. I hope this horrible feeling goes away soon. I did not feel this bad with the diverticulitis I had before going on this, and now I feel horribly sick and have even missed work because of this. I am also having trouble sleeping. I never will take this again.

I experienced severe glucose level swings with Levaquin, and I mean severe.

Then, I developed urinary incontinence and diarrhea which lasted for weeks. Then, the tightness and pain in the achilles started.

I was weak, and I am not sure that I have recovered from it yet, as I continue to exhibit an altered taste sensation, and have a horrible metallic taste and no amount of brushing or gargling can clear it.

My feet and legs have begun to burn and tingle, but I have back problems, so I am not sure that it is related to Levaquin.

Overall, I think this is a very dangerous drug, indeed.

my husband took levaquin for pneumonia..it seemed to help that problem..however, after completing the course of treatment he began to feel "uneasy" stomach wise and a week or two later began having unrelenting diarrhea...we are still struggling to find a definitive diagnosis..he is hospitalized at this time...has anyone else had this kind of reaction and if so, what have they done....thanks for responding..milli

Was out riding my horse and was thrown off and broke my front tooth, and it became infected, so my sister gave me some Levaquin. I taken it before for the same tooth but this time it was worst, pains in both knees, sick to my stomach, diarrhea, sore joints, and my heart rate was skipping and very fast at times. I had these systems before but never connected it with Levaquin before. But now looking back, every time I had these systems I was on Levaquin. I will never take this drug again!

Severe dizziness and headache, mild nausea and diarrhea

#12891. Wrong...guess again. I don't work for a drug company. Let me guess...you also think the Govt is monitoring all your phone conversations, right? My comment was not meant to stir brash comments. I was merely stating that Levaquin has worked very well for me (and others I know). I was actually shocked to see this forum with all of the postings. The idea of "group-think" is not a new one. If I give you a pill and tell you it causes 99 out of 100 people to feel dizzy, I can guarantee you that you'll feel dizzy even if it's a Pez candy. My point was that although this forum may raise some issues, we are not the medical community. Maybe it is a dangerous drug that hasn't been labeled as such yet. Maybe it isn't. I respect that you had negative side-effects, but it doesn't apply to everyone.

Take a gander at the following:
Stomach bleeding, tinitus, hearing loss, confusion, vomiting, diarrhea, liver damage, CNS damage, stoke...and 300-500 deaths per year. The drug ... ASPIRIN.

If you don't trust your Doctor to prescribe a safe drug for you, then change doctors. Getting medical advice from the internet is a very scary concept at best.

I took 5 days worth back in March of 04. I had diarrhea for a week afterwards. Then the muscle and joint pain moved in. I could barely walk when I got out of bed in the morning. My hands and fingers stiffened up. Everyday it seemed like a different part of my body would hurt. Now, 15 months later I am still dealing with the pain. Been to several doctors including neurologists and rheumatoligists. Family doctor found out I had an hypothyroidism and put me on levoxyl thinking it may help the joint inflamation. Also said I had a high R factor. Every now and then, certain joints in my body would swell up for one day and would be gone the next.
I am so tired of feeling this way and it seems like no one takes me seriously. I am fed up!
That's my story and thanks for listening.

It is my 10th and final day of Levaquin 500mg qd. I began taking it for sinusitis that became pharyngitis/laryngitis. Since beginning the drug, I have experienced decreased mental acuity, lightheadedness, food and drinks taste salty, extremely bizarre & lucid dreams -- sometimes 5-6 per night that I can remember or at least can remember how strange they were. Also, I have experienced everything from diarrhea to complete cessation of BM, bloating, and extreme nausea.

Lost the pamplet to drug effects on this pill so i thought i wouls come to this sight to see what the word(s)were on it! What an eye full!!!! The nausea, blurry vision, diarrhea, insomnia, no appetite neck pain, headaches(i get enough of them without this stuff) and leg pain. How can this be good for you with so many negative side effects!!!? I want the regular antibiotics back. I have been on this for 6 days and have 4 to go. Don't know if i can continue.

Just took Levaquin for 4 days for sinus infection and had so many of these side effects, severe joint pain, insomnia (followed by surreal & disturbing dreams when I could sleep), dizziness, nausea, worsening of my headache, chills.
Stopped medication.
Research in "The Pill Book" mentioned that Pepto-Bismol (bismuth subsalicylate) and antacids reduce the amount of the drug absorbed.
Taking bismuth subsalicylate helped ease my joint pain and other symptoms in a couple of days.
I hope this helps someone else!

My 79yr old mother-in-law was given Levaquin at the ER on New Year's Eve for a bronchial infection (?) Her regular DR couldn't see her that day. She has since been in the hospital twice with severe diarrhea. The 1st time it occured x-rays showed an obstruction in her intestine but no mass was found. She was given fluids, a tube down her nose to pump out stomach contents and sent home after 3 days. She began having severe 10-15x daily, diarrhea and was then again admitted to hospital. Her DR keeps saying he thinks Levaquin caused this.

Is this permanent? What can be done now?

Well my doctor prescribed Levaquin for a sinus infection. I took my first pill yesterday morning about three hours later I starting feeling Nauseous. At about nine that night I starting vomitting, then came the severe cramps in my stomach along with diarrhea which lasted until about 3am. When I woke up the next morning I still had a stomach ache and had to run straight back to the bathroom. I am calling my doctor now. I am afraid to take another pill.

I am into my 6th day of taking 500mgs a day. The first day my calves tightened up-felt like I'd been exercising too hard. My mouth has been dry, and now the bones in my hands ache and I have a fever. Today was spent over the sink barfing, or rather, trying to. I have heartburn/acid reflux that keeps gagging me. Feels like someone punched me in the chest and then set it on fire. I haven't been able to eat anything since yesterday because it just sits in my throat and then comes right back up. I also wasn't expecting severe constipation, as the other antibiotics had given me diarrhea. I'm glad I found this site because none of the literature mentions any of these side effects, and my doctor said there were no side effects. I was prescribed for pneumonia/bronchitis/sinus infection, and after the first day I was impressed because the lung pain and coughing had lessened considerably, my head stopped hurting and I could breathe. I didn't think much of these symptoms, even though they were new, because I was told there were none. I attributed them to the fact that I have Epstein-Barr. Now my guess would be they are directly related to the medication. I'm glad I found that other people have had these reactions, too.

I took Levaquin for 10 days for a sinus infection, 2 tablets of 500mg each day. The first few days I had severe diarrhea, lack of sleep (4am, 3am and 2am for the first 3 days), dizziness, headache. Stopped taking it a week ago, still have dizziness and headache, especially in the evening. And it seems to be getting worse! I am a 32-year-old male that works out 5 times a week, never had any problem with other antibiotics.

my doctor put me on levaquin for a sinus infection. i took the medicationthe past two days and had the most excruciating stomach pains, uncontrollable diarrhea and loss of appetite. I was miserable. I will call the doctor today and see what else I can have but I will never go through this antibiotic again. It was horrendous. I would rarther live with the sinus infection.

I was given Levaquin for a upper respiratory infection. The first day I had diarrhea from 12:30 until 10:00 that night. I just assumed it was part of what was going on with me. My husband and I are remodeling a house, and I having carpell tunnel so I assumed my hands hurting was from the hammering and working at the house. However, it was a different hurt. It hurt in the joints and all the way to the bone. Then it moved up my arms, my elbows hurt terribly. My shoulders and in-between my shoulder blades are painful. I have been taking Levaquin for at least 10 days now, but no more. I have been getting up in the morning only to walk like my grandmother. My ankles hurt so very bad. I have cried for 2 days now worrying if I have rhumetoid arthritis, or worse. My mother died of cancer. She had breast cancer, and then was cancer free for two years. In the following winter, her legs and bones hurt. She also had arthritis (her father had rhemetoid arthritis) so we assumed that's what it was. It was cancer in the bones. She was diagnosed in January and died in April of that year. I have been so afraid, scared and really was terrified of finding out what was wrong. I also started drinking Mountain Dews because I had no energy and felt so bad. Then when my hands started swelling I started taking motrin. Now I have learned from some of you on here that that's exactly what I shouldn't have done. I am so thankful for all of you sharing and knowing now that I'm not alone or a whiner. I'll pray for all of you and I will do my part to try to get this medicine off the market.

Renee'

Though levaquin has been extremely effective against my pneumonia, it came with several of the side effects previously mentioned: severe diarrhea, preceded by stomach cramps, joint pain, a metallic taste, disrupted sleeping patterns and yes, weird dreams and near hallucinations. I've also felt very foggy--as if my brain weren't functioning normally.
I usually scoff at the list of side effects on a prescription, rarely having problems. This time, though, I think I experienced nearly all of them. I'm now taking Flagyl to counteract the effects of Levaquin, to no avail so far.

I am on 4th day of taking Levaquin for a possible UTI. The diarrhea started this morning. I did have some nausea yesterday after taking the medication and dizziness with my first two days. Other than that, the side effects for me have been tolerable enough to deal with. I have a 14 day prescription of 500mg and will take for the full time.

After the 3rd day I had diareah bad, then insomnia, a feeling of being bloated with air, and I stopped the meds myself 2 days ago. I've only slept a bout 2 hours in the last 3 days. Hopefully the dilussional effects other people on here experienced doesn't hit me.