Levaquin and panic attack

I was just prescribed Levaquin for a sinus infection/bronchitis. I am a healthy 36 year old who is not currently taking any medications. I got the Leva-pac, 5 days, 750 mg. each. The first night I slept fitfully, but was still feeling the infection, so blamed it on that. The second night, however, was HORRIBLE. Although my sinus symptoms were markedly better, I literally thought I was going to have a heart attack during the night. I had severe insomnia...only slept 20 minutes total from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., and in those 20 minutes I had a horrible nightmare/panic attack, jaring me awake with clenched teeth, profuse sweating and feeling as though I was choking. I was overly anxious, paranoid and had severe leg cramps. My heart was racing and I would alternate between being overly hot and then overly cold in a matter of minutes. It was an experience I never want to have again. My husband insisted I stop the antibiotic even though that is what you should never do with an antibiotic. Even though I have been off two days now, I am still feeling some of the effects, especially at night.

I knew it had to be that antibiotic!! My family doctor put me on Levaquin for a urinary tract infection a few days ago and the night before last I woke up in the early a.m. shaking all over and hurting in every joint in my body, and I have a foggy memory of it all too. It was very bad. I could not stand up without holding on to the wall because I was to weak and my legs felt like aching jello. I could barely move my neck and I thought I had meningitis it was that bad. I called 911 and the ambulance came for me. The doctor at the ER took blood work which was all normal and he told me I had a panic attack!, neck pain, and fatigue...I couldn't believe he told me I had a panic attack...I was asleep for goodness sakes. I have been hurting so bad that I was thinking I had something really serious. I hurt all over so bad that I can't even express it. I am so glad that all of you posted these side effects or I would not have known what was causing my problems. I will NEVER take that stupid drug EVER again and I hope they take it off the market. I hope someone will do something about this drug before it hurts more people like it has hurt all of us...I pray that you all will heal from the problems this medication has caused you.

I am 23 years old. I was prescribed Levaquin 750mg for a uti. I took my first pill at 3:00pm yesterday. That night, I wasn't able to sleep. I layed in bed, so tired, just wanting to fall asleep but couldn't. Then the cold sweats and trouble breathing started. By 2:00 a.m. I was having what I can only describe as a panic attack. It's 1:00pm the next day, and i've never felt this bad. THIS MEDICINE IS NOT GOOD.

I started Levaquin 500 MG on Thursday Aug. 29, 2008. I did not have any problem the first night. But the second day at about 3:00 PM I was working on my computer when my finger joints started to get stiff and my hands and arms started to shake. I just thought I was tired and forgot about it. At 1:30 AM August 30, I was awakened by someone shouting in my ear , You are going to die. I woke up in a sweat and my heart pounding. My hand were stiff and my knee joints were very tight. I also was in a very bad panic attack.
I went to my desk and wrote my wife a letter telling her how much I loved her and my dog Abby. I then proceeded to give her funeral instructions as to which funeral home church and buriel plot.. This writing was 3 pages long. I called my doctor and they as much told me this could not happen. My blood pressure was 240 over 120 when I took it. I took a valium and this calmed me down in 10 minutes. They gave me a new antibiotic for my Bronchitis. So I thought the nightmares and pain was over. Not so quick last night at 2:20 AM I was awake by the screaming in my ears you are going to die. I tried to call my wife but I could not get the word out for help. I tried to move my hands and fingers they would not move. Finally I rolled off the bed and yelled my wifes name she did not hear me.
This drug has set back my recovery from my panic attacks. This drug should be badded by the FDA. But as usual the government does nothing to help the public only big business.

I am 61. I was recently prescribed levaquin for an intestinal infection. Began having rapid heart beat, trembling, shortness of breath, floaters in my eyes, itching, thick tongue, lips tingling, irritability, sweating, feeling of brain fog. Felt like I was having a panic attack. Stopped taking medicine after 6th day. Now I can hardly move my head. My left shoulder and neck are hurting very badly -- feels like muscle spasms. After reading these posts about levaquin, I'm sure that is the levaquin has caused these problems.

I took this antibiotic for 2 days. I have no history of mental illness whatsoever and I thought I was losing my mind for 2 days. I had a panic attack 2 nights in a row and stayed up all night starring at front door afraid that someone was going to break into my home and hurt my children. I can not believe that this "antibiotic" is even on the market. This is an extremely dangerous drug. I called the doctor and he sounded like he didn't believe me- maybe I should share some of this stuff with him so he can experience the crazy too!

I work in a health care system and we have used levaquin for this last cough, cold and flu season. It has worked wonders for the various upper respiratory infections.

No one has developed rashes, boils, or bone/muscle pain. After reading the first response, her abnormal reaction sounds more like a bad case of shingles.

Then, I read the last post where the person drank two glasses of whine to help with the blah blah blah. Mixing alcohol with any type of medication will not help with Your sypmtoms were a "full fledged panic attack" as you stated from the beginning.

Nothing but idiots posting here!

I have never, ever responded to any of these "side effects" websites before! As a healthy person who very rarely requires medication, I had to find something on the web that would "explain" my suspected side effects for the Levaquin I've been taking for the last three days. This was prescribed for a UTI. The "new" side effect (that I didn't see addressed anywhere here) was what I can only describe as "asthma-like," to include wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Anyone else with this symptom? I was also overcome with a great sense of futility that just scared me. I am normally a positive, "the-sun'll-come-up-tomorrow" type person, but this just knocked me for a loop!

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 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.

In the fall of 2004 I was given levaquin to treat an infection in my colon -- this was as a follow up to hospitalization where I was given 2 other antibiotics (don't recall the names)

After I was discharged for the hospital I came home feeling great--seems that the infection in colon had been there for some time and had definitely ran me down.

I was taking the Levaquin daily as instructed and wanted to complete the treatment as recommended with Antibiotics. During this time, my stomach was giving me fits...I literally had an upset stomach continuously while on the Levaquin.

Aside from the stomach problems, I felt great--until one day all of a sudden it was like something snapped in my head. I began feeling a steady pressure and it felt like I was underwater.

My nerves literally went haywire...I could not sleep, I could not eat anything without having extreme nausea. I paced the floor for 5 solid days and nights without any sleep. I was hearing things...and the worst experiences was the panic attack like symptoms. I ended up going to the emergency room 5 times thinking I was having a heart attack.

My heart would race and my BP was so high in some cases the auto-cuffs would blow off my arm.

All that stuff started in 2004 and since then I have been under treatment for depression and generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks. I have lost feeling in my hands..down the side of my legs, and I still experience either constipation or explosive diarrhea-- It is usually one or the other--there doesn't seem to be a normal BM anymore.

If I do not take the anti-anxiety drugs I have been given then I will experience large muscle tremors.

I don't know that Levaquin did this to me but I find it highly unlikely that I could feel great and then all of a sudden I'm in an advanced state of clinical depression-- In one day's time???

I have also noticed that I can't concentrate like I used to do...I have actually been eating and will ask my Girlfriend what we are having for dinner. My gosh--I'm sitting there eating the stuff and don't even realize it.

I'm 42 years old and ever since I took Levaquin my life has been a constant living hell.

I took Levaquin when it first came on the market maybe 10 or 11 years ago.
I was about 29 at the time. I took 1 500 or 750mg pill before bed. I had previously been on Biaxin before and had no probs, .. anyway i had wierd lucid dreams all night then I woke up at like 5am and i mean WOKE up eyes wide open like a window shade, and I thought i was going to jump out of a 3rd story window. I was in total panic attack mode, sweating, shaking, mind racing, no control over my thoughts, and feelings of dread and suicide even harming my fiance. No joke. i had never felt like that before except after a bad experience with Angel dust laced marijuana when i was like 18. My heart was racing, and my fiance was wondering what the heck was wrong. In my mind i knew what was happening but it was real hard to control and stay where i was in my head. The next few weeks i was in a fog, and had this numbness on the right side of my face from the temple to the bottom of the cheek bone and around my right ear(which i have heard other people talk about in their levaquin experiences on different parts of the head) that was really intense for months, faded over years, and still appears occasionally to this day.Years later i found out my sister and her daughter had had similar frightening experiences. And read about some people that have dies. There is a book called less than 1%. Check it out. This stuff should be banned as far as im concerned.

I was a relatively healthy woman up until the day I took Levaquin for chest congestion. On the second day, I developed insomnia, hot flashes. panic attacks, feelings of impending doom, depression, muscle twitching, dehydration, blurred vision etc...I ended up in the ER for near-syncope/dehydration. I thought I was going crazy and the doctors couldn't explain the symptoms because all the tests came back negative for any diagnoses. The doctor prescribed ativan which has helped a lot. I drink plenty of fluids especially green tea (antioxidants) and lemon juice (purifier). No caffeine. I also take liverite and milk thistle to help restore liver function. Exercise nightly if you can. After 1 week, I can now sleep through the night but I still suffer from anxiety.

Unfortunately, until someone dies from this drug, it will not be taken off the market. The FDA doesn't have your best interest at heart and does not care how medication side effects affect you because they are funded by the pharmaceutical companies. I have learned a grave lesson....read all inserts before ingesting anything.

It is 2:00 a.m. and i am up writing about the seriousnes of this drug after reading all other postings.This is my third nightof taking levaquin and I am just coming down from a major aniexty attack tonight. I had a major one the first night of taking this medicine but i thought it was stress related. I realize now it was not. I cannot sleep without having crazy dreams and wake up feeling like the world is crashing down on me. I can't breathe and feel like my heart is racing fast. Earlier i was walking in the mall and actually felt so much pain and weakness in my legs that i was afraid i was not going to be able to walk out. that never happened to me before. I was at work earlier today and felt an overwhelming sleepiness. I notice that the joints in my hands and knees hurt. I cannot believe a madicine can cause so many problems!! I felt like calling an ambulance from the panic attack i just had. This drug should be removed from the market and people should get together to protest this drug and file a class action suit. How do we go about it? Anybody know steps we can take?

For a severe cold, our doctor gave my husband 3 free samples of Levaquin at 750mg to take for 3 days. A few hours after taking one capsule, he started to experienced: shivers, numbness, nausea, arrhythmia, nervousness, didn't want to be alone and had a sort of panic attack and later insomnia... and he's not the kind of guy who experience these kind of reactions ever. I was really concern.

My husband said he didn't know what was happening to him, that he felt strange and wasn't quite himself physically, he had nausea, numbness, arrhythmia and nervousness the second day too. At first, I thought it might the cold which could of got worse, but it seemed so bizarre. So after being with the same symptoms. we both knew something had to be wrong and the only thing different was he was taking Levaquin. He stopped taking it and began to sleep and slowly began to feel better. I think LEVAQUIN should be taken off the market. The side effects are horrible!

I am on my 13th day of a 14 day course of Levaquin. I have had severe restlessness due to body tremors, and anxiety. On the 7th day I threw up and had severe stomach pain, and today I have muscle aches which have been getting progressivly worse over the course. Considering the side effects, I called my Dr. who told me to complete my course of medication, and not to worry about the side effects; this has made me seriously consider continuing seeing him. I will NOT take the last pill as I simply cannot continue to attempt to function with little to no sleep, muscle pain and panic attacks. I'm glad to have found this web site, thank you all for sharing, at least now I am sure my symptoms are from the terrible medication.

My doctor gave me Levaquin for an infection.
I noticed soon after taking my hands were getting very numb.
I thought it was maybe carpal tunnel doing this.
I finished the medicine on a 6 day course.
I started having numbness in my neck,legs hurting and aching very badly .
I have feelings of suicide and going crazy.
I have had panic attacks in the past but this was different much more intense in nature.
I also am light headed and really feel out of sorts with my body.
I will never again take this medicine.
I would love to know how to get this out of my system and what foods to avoid.
Please if anyone knows for sure some help email me with the answers.I am a single parent and do not enjoy my daughter seeing me this way.
It is very frightful for us both.

After taking the first dose of levauin, I couldn't sleep and was very dizzy- thought it was from my sinus infection. After the second dose, I developed severe feelings of anxiety amnd had panic attacks! I stopped the medication, contacted my doctor who said it was an unusual side effect from the levaquin ( yeah right). Unfortuanetly for me- I am now allergic to every antibiotic out there which leaves me with nothign to take if I get sick!!!

I had panic attacks while taking Levaquin 750 mg. I have been off Levaquin for 1 week and now I have pain in my left and right arms that is unexplained.

Was prescribed Levofloxacin for a sore throat while on vacation in Thailand, 1 pill, 500mg, each day for 5 days.

After the first day, I caught what I think was traveller's diarrhea (my travel partner also caught it). However, the anxiety I experienced was tremendous. After 24 hours the belly was better but I had intense feelings of panic, and some of the blackest feelings I can ever imagine, like nothing would ever be right again in my world, no matter where I was, or what I was doing. I took all 5 days of the Levofloxacin, the last day was two days ago. It all culminated at the Bangkok Airport, on our way to Cambodia. We had a 3 hour layover and I was panicked, crazy and my mind was whirling at a million miles an hour, much like what I imagine an acid flashback would be like. It felt horrible, like my mental health was hanging by a string, only I didn't know what was going on. I've been looking forward to this trip for 2 years and all of a sudden I just wanted to GO HOME, only the thought of home didn't even comfort me. I was close to running screaming around the airport and so restless.

But it passed. And I was fine that night. Yesterday I was pretty good, except I had another panic attack last night that prevented me from leaving the hotel room for dinner. I managed to get through it by walking around and then falling asleep. Food still wasn't appealing, at all, though, but that could be attributed to the traveller's diarrhea. Had a bad dream, which seems pretty par for the course according to comments here on the board.

Today has been pretty good, food is back to being appealing again, no panic attacks. I hope that I will be experiencing no further side effects now that the drug has been stopped, but the feeling of being crazy scared and filled with black thoughts and wanting someone to make it STOP is one that I won't soon forget.

I wish everyone the best and wish that more people could post hopeful stories about recovering and feeling better.

I was given 750 mg of Levaquin for sinus/ear infections, along with a prescription cough syrup. The first night, I had difficulty sleeping, along with racing heartbeat. I thought it was from the codene in the cough syrup, so I left it off the second night, but continued with the Levaquin. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY! I had racing thoughts, pounding heart, leg cramps, terrible acid reflux and nausea, but worse than that, was CONSTANT thoughts of someone close to me dying. It was the next morning that I read in the 'packaging information' that the side effects 'could cause' sleeplessness, leg pain, anxiety, depression, nausea, etc. I won't take it again.
D

I took Levaquin for 8 days for a sinus infection. During that time I could not focus (mentally or visually), felt like my heart was coming through my chest and had SEVERE panic attacks. I took 2 trips to the ER but it was no help. Since stopping the drug (I was supposed to go 3 weeks), things began to get better but I sleep all the time and still have nervousness and panic at times.

Do these things get better in time? How long? Is there anything I can do to help the effects go away? I'm a 46 yr old male in good health and right now I can't even work! Please respond.

Hello,

I am a 24 yr old healthy male. I took a levaquin for an infection from a spider bite. I took the 750mg pill at 11pm and about 2:23am I woke up w/a racing hearth beat and felt like I was going to dye. Me heart felt like it was going to fly out of my chest. I was really frantic and went outside to get fresh air. I had to wake up parents and tell them what was going on. After the severe panic attack my heart was still pounding. I was terrified and didn't know what I should do. My blood pressure severly dropped and I got the chills. I was dizzy and couldn't even walk straight. I felt like throwing up and couldn't sleep. I was restlest throughout the night and had major anxiety. This is the worst antibiotic ever. I am stopping my dosage and calling my Dr. to change my medication. Do not take this medication! This has some serious side affects. www.medlineplus.com is the best place to read about side affects of all the drugs in the world.

Today I feel a little bit better but still am a bit anxious.
If you need another antibiotic I would try Amox-Clov 875mg.
I was taking Amox and never went through any of this shit that I had to go through with Levaquin

I was prescribed levaquin in March of 04. I thought I was dying. I was on my 9th day of 500 mg. I took the Levaquin on this particular morning at 9:00 a.m. Around 11:00 the strangest feeling overwhelmed me. I was terribly confused. I couldn't even pick out a shirt to wear. I was shaking uncontrollably. I started to cry. My heart was racing. I was afraid of everthing. The sound of the t.v. drove me out of the room. I couldn't read a magazine. I paced back and forth. I couldn't sit down. I couldn't eat. I thought about calling an ambulance because driving was out of the question. My husband took me to the E.R. After 10 hours there, the doctor determined it was a reaction to the Levaquin. I still had occasional panic attacks even 1 1/2 years later. My heart kept racing. I was so so scared. It took me 2 years before I could even accept the fact that a vitamin was safet to swallow. Having had this reaction, it made me so afraid to swallow any other kind of pill. Even a vitamin. My mom also had to be taken by ambulance to the ER after taking Cipro. Same family, I know. She was in bad shape. It makes me so angy that my GP said, it couldn't have been the Levaquin!!!!
What is with these doctors?

24 yr old relativly healthy Male. I developed a Urinary Tract infection and was prescribed by an ER doctor 8 days worth of Levaquin (500mg) within days I was so depressed, anxious, couldn't keep any food down. its been 6 days and I've lost 14 lbs. I stopped after the 4th dose and refuse to take it again. I threw up after just about every meal and was only able to keep the broth portion of Chicken Noodle soup down. I experienced several panic attacks, numbess in all my extremities, and my heart was racing. My blood pressure was normal but I felt as if it was beating out of my chest and the pulse could be felt in various portions of my body. I remember by the 4th day of taking it that I wanted my Urinary Tract Infection back as the side effects were much worse than a UTI. Its been 3 days since I've been off it and I'm still experiencing some nervousness, tingling in arms and feet. my body is aching. I am still exhausted and still trying to gain my appetite back. I can eat solid foods agian but only so much and I find I'm turned off by foods I would normally be craving. I experienced confusion, loss of concentration and cold sweats. I remember waking up in the middle of the night freezing but within minutes of wrapping up in a blanket I felt I was in a Sauna. This Drug has no place on the market and I'm scared to find people on here who have been off it for months and still feeling side effects. I am also relieved that I figured out the cause. If the side effects linger for long than a couple of weeks, you can add me to the list of people who will look into a lawsuit!

I was prescribed 500 mg Levaquin for a bacterial throat infection. About 4 hours after taking my first dose and going to bed, I jolted out of my sleep in a panic. My heart was racing and I was covered in sweat. I assumed I had experienced a nightmare but after several minutes my symptoms did not subside. I felt "out of my body," my head was spinning and I was experiencing what I now know was a severe anxiety/panic attack. (I almost asked my roommate to rush me to the hospital) At that point I did not connect the anitibiotic with this reaction. I took another dose the next night and again experienced the dizzy~lightheaded~sweaty~slight paranoia-type symptoms, but not to the extreme as the first dose. On the 3rd day when the joints in my right fingers felt swollen and painful I decided to cruise the internet for side effects. I was shocked to see so many others had experienced something similar. I'm discontinuing this drug (a wasted $35) and will warn others about my reaction.
*On a side note: My roommate was placed on the same drug and spent 7 days on this medicaiton. She experienced no adverse side-effects.

Am a 28 yr old female and I was given 4 samples of Levaquin for a UTI, i went on the website to read about the drug, since am healthy and have never had any bad reactions to drugs and they listed minimal and rare side effects I took it, the first night I didn't sleep but my UTI was clearing up, but the second night within two hours of taking, it made me crazy, panic attack, anxiexy, my head was racing out of control, and i was soooo hot i run to put cold water over me, i turned on all the lights cause i was afraid i was being attacked by a force, and at one point i wanted to take a knife and stab my head, thats when i began to scream and my husband ran to comfort me, he held me and i began to pray and am not religious, out of deseperation i took some night quill and after 30 min i began to calm down and to somewhat sleep,thank god because we were about to go to emergency room, this all happened last night and am still in bed cause i feel out of focused, and still a bit afraid. i have been on-line today researching and am appaled of how bad this drug really is, i will never take this and i will tell everyone i know about it, and i went n filed a complaint with the FDA and suggest everyone else does so, now i just pray i don't get any other side effects.

I was prescribed Levaquin for fever after ACL reconstruction surgery. I have a histroy of panic attacks but they have been well controlled for years. After the second day taking Levaquin I began to feel panic and anxiety about my recovery overwhelmed with negative feelings and emotions. I experienced extreme fatigue, muscle aches and restlessness at the same time. Recovery from the surgery is hard enough and now I have to deal with these emotional issues.

back in april 2006 I was give levaquin for brockitis. I have had leg and foot pain. now my right arm cannot be lifted above shoulder high with out pain. I have had pulpitations ever since and am being sent to see a cardialigist on the 26th of june. I had an e k g at my doctors office and it is not normal now. I don't get panic attacks any more and the head ache is much less, but I still cannot sleep more then 4 hours at a time. after reading all these posts, I know what caused it, but dose anybody know how to get better. my doctor just keeps sending me for more tests. i wonder how much money he makes by sending me for all these expensive tests..former---******

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

The first time I took levaquin was june of 2005 no problem I felt great.
The second time I took it, thanksgiving 2005 I felt as if I got ran over by a truck. My potassium dropped to 2.8 and I was having panic attacks and increased heart rate. I had to go to the e.r. on several occassions for potassium replacements. My wrists felt broken, couldn't figure out that one as it was so odd. It's a day away from February 2006 and I ampresently on azithromycin for sinus infection haemophilus influenzae and am just starting to feel better since Thanksgiving. There are other antibiotics to treat sinus infections. I will Never take levaquin again!

i will never take this drug again! took only one 750 mg tablet for strep throat,and was rushed to the er for panic attacks and throwing up. i had to be put on xanex,and, it took over 48 hours for the anxiety to go away. still scared of it coming back. bad reaction. i have told my friends to stay away from this medicine!

I've had recurring bronchitis for years and have used just about every drug, so my physician gave me someLevaquin about 2 months ago with 2 refills in case of another bout. Well, the first go around (7 days 500mg.) went fine and the bronchitis cleared up. The seconf go around, last week, was quote different. I took a pill and started to feel some relief; I took a second pill and hell broke loose. I had chest pain, numbness in my hands, a mild panic attack and trouble breathing. So I called the Pharmacist and he said STOP now!.
He then asked me if it was the first time I had tried Levaquin and I told him no. He then told me that it's not unusual for your body to produce a protein that then lives in it aftee the first shot and the, upon a second dose sees the Levaquin as a foreign body and produces these respitory dide effects.
I say this becasue he continued to tell me that had I not stopped I could have been hospitalized within a couple of days.
My point is that such an incredible drug with such wonderful potential for good can kick you in butt big time and that any side effect should be considered a red flag, stop taking it and report the effect to your physician post haste.

I am a 31 year old male, have always been in good health with no known allergies, eat a healthy diet, and have worked out with weights and cardio twice a week for the last year.

I recently went to see a doctor for strep throat. I was given amoxicillin and the strep went away after 7 days.

Two days later, the strep symptoms started to gradually reappear. I went back to the doctor and was prescribed 10 days of Levaquin. I did notice some side-effects of rapid and irregular heartbeat, mild panic attacks, confusion, depression, vivid epic-long dreams, and minor dizziness. I had not previously read anything negative about Levaquin and just thought these were normal symptoms of being medicated for strep throat. The strep symptoms went away after 1 day of being on Levaquin.

Then my REAL NIGHTMARE began. After about 2 days on Levaquin, a SEVERE rash/hives started to spread over my body, starting with my hands. I went back to the doctor, was told I had contact dermatitis from "something" I was allergic to, and was given an anti-inflammatory shot in the arse and Kenalog ointment to apply. As directed, I had always taken great pains to avoid being in the sun whatsoever while on antibiotics. The rash continued to grow worse and worse over the next several days.

I went back to the doctor and was given another anti-inflammatory shot. I asked if the rash could be a result of the Levaquin, and the doctor quickly brushed that "absurd" notion aside! By the 9th of my 10 day trip on Levaquin, the rash had completely spread all over my body, even under my palms. Frightening! Only the soles of my feet and groin area have been spared this horrible-looking, itching madness. On that 9th day, it even started to appear on my face. Though the doctor insisted I should, I did not take the 10th dose of this "poison."

I wish I had done my research and found this website sooner! I have now been off of Levaquin for 48 hours and the rash is still raging strong. The itching has almost brought me to the brink of insanity. I have taken Benadryl tablets and used Benadryl gel and thankfully, they have brought me some minor amounts of comfort. My NIGHTMARE rash does not seem to be going away. I look like some sort of medieval, infected "plague victim." I am severely depressed and the rash is now so horrific-looking that I do not even want to leave my house! I have now read some accounts on this site about this sort of rash happening, but never learned just how long I can expect to endure this HELL?

I was never given ANY warning at all about how serious this medication is, and how threatening it's side-effects can be. I would rather have that nasty strep throat back than now look like some plague-victim and be itching non-stop, unless I'm stoned out of my mind on Benadryl!!!

I have never in my life enjoyed wearing the mantle of a victim, but I truly feel that some sort of cruel injustice has been done to me. Having this never-ending rash has now dragged me into such a deep depression that I feel I may soon need to seek professional mental help. Any advice on how I might make this rash go away and be back to looking like a normal human being would be greatly appreciated.

I wish all of you out there a speedy recovery from your personal LEVAQUIN NIGHTMARE. Thank you.

I took my third dose of Levaquin (for bronchitis) just before finding this site during insomnia. I woke up with my heart pounding, sweating all over, in nearly a panic attack. I calmed down while playing a handheld game (keep the concentration away from the symptoms to ease anxiety) and noticed my vision greying a couple times, but attributed it to being tired at the time.

I've been experiencing tightness in the neck and non-bronchial-related difficulty breathing since my first dose, but I did not attribute this to Levaquin at the time.

I've only taken three doses and am disturbed by what I've found in this list of messages, especially since some of the effects seem to be permanent! What should I do now to help prevent symptoms from recurring?

I have taken Levaquin in the past with few side effects, dizziness, lack of concentration, it was for a UTI, so I drank more water than usual, and at 500 mg, I started to feel like it was just a little too strong after 2 days, then I cut it in half to 250 mg, and did pretty well.

I recently, 10 months later was given Levaquin for a sinus infection, I have experienced several side effects at only 250 mg's. I took one at 8:30 AM and felt ok for the first couple of hours, then I started to urinate more and more, I felt like I had taken a diruetic and being as I am mildly dehydrated most of the time from not being able to drink enough fluids during the day as I have difficulty swallowing, this frighten me, I became weak, confused, cold sweats, dizziness, panic attack, felt faintness. I then decided to drink down some orange juice as I know how it feels when my potassium level drops, after the orange juice I felt somewhat better, so I truly believe the overproduction of urine and lack of adequate fliud intake caused my potassium to drop. My stomach is a little upset at the moment and I generally don't feel well, SO I would say, I will not be taking this drug again.

I was given Levaquin for a sinus infection. I just took one dose and was up, running at full speed for the next 30 hours. What a horrible experience. I had the sweats, my heart was racing, I could not sit or stand still. I had a major panic attack. Lost my appetite and had this bad taste in my mouth even when just drinking water. I tried everything to get this drug out of my system. I called my doctor and she told me that she was sure it wasn't the Levaquin, but if I wanted to I could stop taking it. You bet I will stop taking it and will never take it again!

7 days into my Levaquin I began suffering panic attacks, severe dizziness, tinnitus, severe muscle pain, visual problems, nausea, difficulty walking, huge mouth sores, severe body aches and pains, sweating, insomnia, night terrors, seizures, and on and on. One year later I am still suffering from some of these.

A little over a month ago I took Levaquin for 14 days for pneumonia. During that time my side effects were nausea, dizziness, night sweating, insomnia, minor panic attacks and heart palpitations. I took them anyway, wanting to get over the pneumonia. I was prescribed Levaquin yesterday again because I had a cold and felt chest tightness. Last night was the worst night I ever had.... incredible muscle pain within the first couple of hours of taking the first pill on the back of my neck, legs, arms and back. I could not sleep all night turning and rolling trying to find a position where I had no pain. It got so bad that I felt I could not breath. The nausea and throwing up started this morning. I called my doctor's answering service this morning and he said to stop taking them immediately! He also told me to take Benadryl tablets, 25mg, 4 times a day until I can see him Monday. This antibiotic has really serious side effects on some people.

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

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

I started taking Levaquin last Thursday for a minor sinus infection. I have never had a drug reaction prior to this one. I have never had an anxiety or panic attack. By Friday I was in ER with dizziness, heart palpitations and fatigue. I was released, told I was okay. I didn't even think of the Levaquin as a possible problem and the doctor never mentioned it as a possibility. I continued to get sicker. Iwas so fatigued I could not make it through the day without 2-3 naps. I am 43 years old and walk on the treadmill 6 times a week. I couldn't even walk up the steps without alot of effort. Thank you for this website. I started to suspect the reaction yesterday and looked at this website. I didn't take my dosage this morning. I didn't notice much improvement until about noon. Tonight, I went on a 40 minute walk. I'm not all the way back but I sure feel alot better. I am also a Type I diabetic. That was the most fatigued I have ever been, just like when I was diagnosed with diabetes. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I was a 52 yr. old healthy female and was diagnosed with pneumonia in October of 2002. My doctor prescribed 500 mg Levaquin. It did seem to help with the pneumonia, however while taking it I had the first anxiety and panic attacks I had ever had. Had bouts of crying. Was unable to concentrate, and could not sleep. Since that time, my eyes have been extremely watery and my allergy medication is no help. I am often achy and as of late I am experiencing pain in my right arm near the top. I have very little energy,no interest in seeing friends or doing things I used to enjoy. I have no interest in sex. I think this drug is very dangerous and should be taken off the market.