Levaquin and negative side effects

I took a 2 week treatment in January for a bronchial infection. At the end of the 1st week I began to experience pain in my right elbow and forearm. It is now mid May and the pain has spread to include my wrist joint and the back of my hand as well as the initial sites. There have been periods of as long as 4 days when I have felt no pain and then it returns without injury, mis-use, or over-use. If ever prescribed by a medical provider again I would refuse Levaquin citing SEVERE negative side effects.

My 17yr old son was given this antibiotic for a sinus infection, he had not been on any antibiotics for at least one year.
Our family doctor gave him a HUGE dose of Levaquin, 750mg for 5 days. He finished the dose 2 days ago but is still experiencing sevaral negative side effects of Levaquin.
He has pressure in his chest and feels exhausted, weak, nauseated, and feverish. He has no appetite and has an extreme headache in the back of his head. He is unable to go to school because he is dizzy and sleepy.
In my opinion, our doctor should never have prescribed this particular medication. There are several other antibiotics available without these side effects. Another factor was the expense, the cost was 125.00. This is ridiculous when other options are available. I am left to wonder if the physicians have a motive for prescribing new drugs, could it be more beneficial to themselves than to the patients receiving the medication?
I am disappointed and feel this drug needs further testing.

#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.

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.

I've been on levaquin 500mg for 4 days now. i haven't noticed any negative side effects. my kidney infection is slowly getting better. my kidney has been hurting so bad that maybe i won't notice anything else til that fades away more. so far so good!

After reading the posts of all the negative side effects for Levaquin, I must say I am definitely in the minority as I have experienced NO life-altering side effects from this drug.

I have experienced UTI's (being treated now with Levaquin for a UTI that reached my kidneys) since my bladder was damaged (actually torn open) during a hysterectomy several years ago. I have taken both Levaquin and Cipro (not at the same time, of course) to treat these recurring UTI's. I have NOT experienced negative side effects to either Levaquin or Cipro and am actually happy to have something available to clear up these UTI's......wish I had filed a malpractice suit against the doctor who "torn open" my bladder during the hysterectomy.