Levaquin and racing heart

The medical professional is particularly unhelpful in this matter. Talking with medical personnel about fluoroquinolone poisoning is a go-nowhere exercise. In an era when Monsanto genetically-modifies our seed stock you might think medical caregivers would advise us in advance that their prescription antibiotics mess around with their patients' DNA. (IT's that deregulation thing, yes?)

I experienced painful calves and a strange dream, possibly a nightmare, immediately, e.g., on the very same night, after having injested one Levaquin dosage for a prostate condition and maybe a year after separately having taken cipro for a week to combat traveler's diarrhea. The post-Levaquin early evening dream was strange insofar as I rarely drempt, and I never recall having been roused to wakefulness by a dream shortly after having gone to bed. Early on I did NOT associate Levaquin with the really terrible symptoms that I experienced within 60 days of having injested Levaquin.

My wheels fell off when I entered a period of insomnia. I thought my sleeplessness was stress-related because my health history includes a major depressive episode 11 years ago. I presented myself for help to a psychiatrist who prescribed a small dose of an atypical antipsychotic as a sleeping aid. My drug-induced sleep felt like a coma that lasted each night for a couple of hours. There were heart palpitations, agitation, panic attacks, racing heart, racing thoughts, insomnia, depression, paranoia, poor cognition, body shuddering, muscle twitching, night sweats, and pain in both Achilles heals. The symptoms filled a note book page. I felt like Jean D'Arc who was being burned chemically at the stake from the inside out. I would rise in the morning and then minutes later fall back into bed. I could stare off into space and completely lose track of time. I could not even find the right words in mid-sentence. I could not fill-in the registration papers when I presented myself for a second opinion at Mayo Clinic. I became a full babbling idiot. My wife said that I had retreated or devolved into some kind of primate or ape who communicated solely his emotional states by means of eye contact only.

I asked my doctors if the sum of levaquin and cipro had pushed me over my peak quinolone tolerance level. Or was it the medicine that the psychiatrist had prescribed to make me sleep? . I was no stranger to depression and I knew my symptoms were not merely emotional or psychological in nature. Why did I always feel as if I had been poisoned? The psychiatrist decided my paranoia warranted higher med levels. I declined the advice and stopped taking the meds altogether. My anxiety today is lower, my sleep is improved but fitfull. My neck aches. My head feels as if it were in a vise. It's not a headache and it's not painful, but there is a tingling, crawling, scorching sensation at my forehead and behind my eyes as if someone had beat me with a pillow and then filled my head with novocaine.

I'm not sure there's a moral to the story. It might sound a tad over-the-top, but I think we're faced by a pharmaceutical plague. There's really no excuse for the absence of informed consent. There is nowhere above ground, e.g., nowhere on main street, and no-one with whom you can speak in order to take the full measure of fluoroquinolone poisoning. If you are at this URL merely to find out about the FDA's recent black box warning re: Levaquin's link to ruptured tendons, you are in for peep into hell. Read the other thousands of postings on this site, and decide for yourself who bears the ring of truth.

Was prescribed Levaquin during the flu for the "possibility" of an infection. Developed severe leg cramps and swelling. Insomnia, have slept a total of about 3 hours in 3 nights. Episodes of depression, crying and anxiety with racing heart. If this was the only drug available to save myself from a severe sinus infection, or even death, I would chose the infection! Stay away from this antibiotic, it's unbelievable this drug is legal and even more so that doctors actually prescribe it to people. I guarantee they wouldn't take it themselves or give it to loved ones.

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.

The first day I started to get cramps in my legs they r sore and it hurts to walk. Also I had the racing heart I thought it might be anxiety. Also on the first day I developed a burning rash all up under my arm area and arm pits very painful. this is just now going away I think after 6 days. Took 750mg for five starting Jan 24 2007. Legs r still hurting.

levaquin was taken a month ago, still have symptoms, memory loss, knees still hurt, still mentally slow.
after first dose 750 mg. awake all night, racing heart, nightmares, headache, eyes were hurting, mentally slow, hard time walking, really feeling awful.
I can"t believe this medicine is still on the market, it ruins a healthy person.

I was on my second round of a 10 day courses of Levoquin for diverticulitis. 5 days into my second round, I started to have an allergic reaction every evening from 8:30 ish to midnight-ish. It would start with a tingly painful tongue, then tongue feeling slightly swollen ,then slighlty swollen and numb, itchy lips and gums, then to the back of my throat and up my ears. My salvatory gland production increased, was slighlty nauseated and had a headache. Then 2 hours into the reaction, I began to get short of breathe and had a racing heart and palpiations. I currently take prendisone for Lupus so I'm sure this masked the allergy to some extent. I continued on the drug for another 5 days of these nightly reactions, elimainating other meds and foods I was eating in an attempt to figrer out what I allergic to, until I finally saw my doctor who immediately discontinued my leviquin. Because of my Lupus, I am always in chronic pain but since taking the levoquin, every single muslce in my body is extremely sore and tender, even my scalp. I've been off it for 3 days and on high doses of prednisone and my lips are still a bit sore and puffy feeling and my muscles still hurt but seems to be improving a little bit but not as much as I would have expected being on such high prednisone.

It's been seven days since I took my last of five doeses of 500 mgs. of levaquin.

Still have racing heart, muscle aches and pain.

I've been to the dr and the er - they just say go home and wait it out.

Does anyone have an idea of how long this will last, and has anyone completely recovered?

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Thanks!

This drug is the devil! I have typically been very tolerable to different types of drugs, but all that changed with Levaquin. I felt fine for the first day or so and then one morning at work I developed a headache. This quickly developed into a racing heart, the shakes, inability to concentrate and finally the WORST feeling of depression I've EVER experienced! I honestly thought I was losing my mind! Luckily I foiund this site! For most of the next 24 hours I felt the way one might feel minutes before giving a presentation in front of hundres of people -- almost like a state of panic. It was miserable! I've never been one to post messages, but I'm doing this in hopes that it helps someone else.

Finally, I have found a site that makes sense of how I am feeling. End of Oct, went to Dr for severe migraine-like headaches, no other cold or sinus symptoms. MRI normal except mild sinus inflammation left maxillary, so prescribed 10days Levaquin 500mg. After the 2nd-3rd day, developed trouble sleeping, legs and arms felt heavy, slight dizziness when walking, discomfort in breast bone and headache worsened with neck ache. Started Prednisone which then helped the stabbing headache. Day 8 my left maxillary sinus started hurting/swollen ,I was feeling sick,and neck really ached. On day ten, my cheek was beet red, hot and swollen, and I had a dentist appointment (my dr said levaquin wasnt effective for MVP, need to take Clindamycin--I took it more than twelve hours after last dose of Levaquin). That same day,the doctor stopped levagquin then prescribed biaxin XL to take later that night (had taken before for MVP dental treatments without problem). I was nervous about all the antibiotics even though they were spaced out more than 12hrs between plus the prednisone--asked the doctor repeatedly and two different pharmacists who all insisted all ok and absolutley necesary for the severe inflammation. The nightmare begins!!! That night I had severe gastric pain and nausea, I felt totally devoid of energy. I called dr-- said biaxin causes severe gastric pain to stop taking it. I couldnt get out of bed the entire day. That night, I developed racing heart--stomach pounding out of chest, severe nausea and headache with neck ache. Went to ER--dehydrated, Xray and blood work normal so sent home with pepcid for the gastritis. I still felt like I was dying! Heart palpatations/pounding out of my chest plus severe nausea and stomach pains,not able to eat, trouble sleeping, "flu-like" feeling constantly with lowgrade fever. That went on the entire week--worse part the sinus infection still needed to be treated so prescribed Avelox(had taken in past for sinus infections) for ten days. Exactly two weeks from 1st ER visit, awaken in middle of night with "stomach" pulsating out of chest HR130+, went back to ER still feeling sick, ache all over, high BP and pulse with mild fever. This time they did abdominal xray, ct-scan and US--all normal (except tons of kidney stones) and so was the blood work--sent home as the mystery gastrtis case told to have upper GI scope ASAP. Endoscope in mid Dec, found only mild/moderate inflammation of eosphagus, yet I couldnt eat anything other than yogurt and soup? I started to feel better Christmas day, and have been making progress back to feeling more human, but not myself. My normal coloring is almost back. I have a few good days which are always followed by few bad days. I have aches and pains everywhere in my body from my shins to my breast--but usually concentated in neck, shoulders, hips. I still have the nausea in am with hot flashes and dry mouth, but are getting less intense. I am 35, perfect health and exercised daily for 2hrs prior to Nov. I cant believe that antibiotics could have such toxic effects and long staying powers. I cant attribute the symptoms I am having strictly to levaquin---but since I still feel the way I did when I started the Levaquin (prior to the prednisone and other antibiotics) I believe that some of the residual sideeffects are from Levaquin. In case,you think I am an uneducated idiot for taking so many meds--I asked several Dr and pharmacist before taking each med, plus I have a Ph.D. in biology.