Levaquin and peripheral vision

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.

I was diagnosed with bronchitis a couple of days a go and was given a 5 day course of Levaquin 750mg. The doctor also gave me a prescription for the Z pack in case Levaquin did not work. Before I went to the doctor I had a fever of 102 for 5 days so I was ready to take anything. That evening Nov. 11th 2008 I took my first pill... and my last one. The onset of side effects started within 3 hours. It began with an extreme blinding headache and a very stiff neck. I finally fell asleep and had the most intensely bizarre dreams which I woke up from several times to find my self drenched in sweat. The night sweats were extremely intense and followed me through to the next day. I could not stop sweating... My head was pounding in pain, it felt as if my brain was swelling though my fever had subsided. I proceeded to turn the tv on to try to distract myself, but as I was doing so my mind was racing and I found it very difficult to organize my thoughts. My vision was very isolated meaning that I felt like I had lost my peripheral vision all together. I was unable to read silently without hearing the words in a loud voice in my head...very very strange. I had zero appetite and experienced serious diarrhea the next day. This drug felt overwhelmingly powerful kind of like dropping a nuclear weapon on a small village. I felt like my body was on fire for a moment as if i was given chemo therapy. While trying not to panic I realized that a lot of my joints were cracking. It was then I decided to go online and do some reading about this drug...WOW... I mean WOW... How do scientists manage to create a drug that can actually snap tendons... We can't cure anything but we sure can napalm the hell out of anything. That being said I decided to call my doctor and said WTF were you thinking giving me this!?! Needless to say it took about 60 hours for the one pill to wear off. I am terrified to think what would happen to me if I had finished the 5 day course. I know the one pill caused some damage, hopefully nothing permanent. I am now on the Z pac and it is very mild in comparison. Please listen to your body as I did and immediately discontinue use if you experience any side effects. I firmly believe that this drug is something you take only if you are dying and there are just no alternatives ie Anthrax.