Levaquin and toilet

I have just finished Levaquin 500m once a day for 10 days for a horrible sinus infection that would not go away with Zithromax. I am about to finish my Dexpak(dexamethasone) tapered dose in 4 days. I have taken Levaquin and dexamethasone before with no problems. This time I have insomnia and the worst joint pain. I am 33 years old and 135 pounds I feel like an inactive obese 70 year old. I can't sleep right now because my joints are killing me. It is even hard to sit on the toilet and get off the toilet. I find my food sits in my chest. I have started taking Probiotics and I put a heating pad on my chest which feels like a board after I eat. I am glad I am finished the medication and only hope I start feeling better. Good luck everyone.

I too was given 20 days of 750 mg each of Levaquin and felt a pop in my shoulder while rolling over in bed and not have intense pain there which is probably my rotator cuff tear. But I also experience the most crippling intense pain to both my knees and lower back. My knees felt swollen and very painful to where I couldn't even get out of a chair, climb steps , sit on the toilet. I am a paramedic and am seriously considering leaving this job after over 25 years due to this pain. I have had some minor dizziness and some mood swings. I went to the doctor after being off Levaquin for 1 week and told her of my symptoms and she put me on a Prednisone pack which has helped me with my back and knee pain to the point where I can walk with little pain but it didn't help my shoulder pain with decrease strength in it. I don't know yet if this is a permanent cure for my knee pain or back pain. As far as my shoulder, I believe that I tore the rotator cuff and will need surg. I have also heard that prednisone is not good to take with levaquin. I was prescribed prednisone prior to taking levaquin and wonder if that started all the problems. AND OF COURSE MY DOCTOR DID NOT TELL ME OF THE SIDE EFFECTS WHEN EITHER OF THESES DRUGS WERE PRESCRIBED. But at this point, trying prednisone after completing the levaquin DEFINITELY helped my knee pain.

I have been taking Levaquin for sinus infection after Augmentin didn't keep it from coming back. All I can say is that I am completely exhausted. I wonder if it is the drug or something else. No muscle pain. I don't know if I should stop taking it or continue. Tonight I was walking for exercise and couldn't finish because I thought I might faint. My heart was beating and I was shaking. Do you think it is the drug? HELP!

I took Leva-kill last November, 500mg for 10days due to a resistant ear infection. On the 3rd day, my back felt like it was on fire. Went to ER, did one blood test for muscle deterioration, came back fine.Told to keep taking. I thought I was going to die. I felt and still feel like I was poisoned. Seems to be permanent. Some days worse than others. Check out FQVICTIMS.ORG.Any doctors and dentist I have seen says not Levaquin {about ten]. One ENT said "I bet" when told levaquin made me feel like dying, but that was it. Has anyone heard of any hope? Is this really permanent?

I was given a 10 day dose of LEVAQUIN for a mild bronchitis/respiratory ailment on Jan. 29, 2008. I took 1 500mg pill for the full ten days. Three days after I stopped taking this medication, I experienced incredibly painful swelling in both knees. I could barely walk, and couldn't bend my knees. I was scared, upset, and in absolute misery. I spent a week literally throwing myself backwards onto chairs. It was unbelievable. When I could finally get to my normal health care provider 5 days later, she immediately identified the culprit as the Levaquin I had taken. She said she knew it to cause people's tendons to burst. It was obvious since it was both knees that it was not an injury and I never had any other problem with my legs. I am, or shall I say I was an avid walker. I was told to see an orthopedic doctor if I had not improved in one week. I had not improved in a week. The orthopedic doctor sent me for an MRI which showed irreversible, permanent cartilage damage in my left knee. The right knee he didn't MRI at the time, saying he could determine what he needed to know from the one knee and would only be able to do corrective surgery on my knees in 6 week intervals. This horrible drug has permanently altered my way of life. I was a 53 year old active, ambulatory adult who would walk miles a day. Two months later, I still have constant knee pain, cannot stand for long periods of time without leaning on something and can no longer kneel, etc. I can only walk around a bit and if I'm on my feet for long periods of time I experience knee, ankle pain and swelling. I sent a report to the FDA who obviously cares nothing about this situation, since I'm not the only unsuspecting person to have this happen. I've been studying this drug now and there was evidence in animal clinical trials of joint and tendon damage, To me it would have been no different an experience if someone had come up and hit me with a baseball bat across both knees. I am permanently damaged from Levaquin. I think it's criminal this drug is given to younger ambulatory adults at all.

I have a freind who had a bladder nfection, not the first of course. She is 80 years young, very active etc. I told her about my problems with Levaquin and told her NOT to take the Cipro they gave her, because every time she does she has "trouble with her knees and back" mysteriously!!!! Well, she took it anyway and ended up in the hospital with heart paplitations ,irregular heartbeat etc. Guess what they put her on to stop any further infection, you guessed it, Levaquin!!! Shes been home from the hospital now and in the house for over two weeks, has trouble walking now!!When will it end? Marsh

I not sure that what I am experiencing is related to my 9 month course of 750 mg Levaquin, or my simultaneous 9 month course of 300 mg Rifampin, or my 6 week course of IV Vancomyocin twice a day........You all are talking about days and weeks....I have been on these hardcore meds for substantially longer. I became infected with Staph Epidermidis in the disc space of L 4-5 during surgery to correct degeneration in my spine. I am now left with joint pain from head to toe, Uveitis, a scaly rash all over my trunk and arms, stomach pain, further degeneration in my spine, insomnia, severe fatigue, depression, and what I call "brain fog." I have been told by the team of Doctors caring for me that the only symptom that relates to my medication is possibly the Uveitis. I would like to know how you all are attributing the medications to your ailments? (insomnia, depression, fatigue, joint pain... for example) Are you sure that they are not symptomatic of another disease process? After stopping the medications has your health become normal? I have to remain on this medication for the remainder of the year. I do not have the option of just flushing it down the toilet, as someone previously posted. There are only a few medication that can combat my illness, but I would like to know that they are not harming me in the long run.

After being given Levaquin last year, I developed severe insomnia. After the 2nd day of no sleep, I flushed the rest of the pills down the toilet. I was unable to sleep until I finally got some sleeping pills from my doctor at week later. The insomnia lasted almost a month. It was unlike anything I have experienced before. Regardless of how exhausted I was, I felt like I could not fall into sleep, I would just float on the surface but could not go under. I was afraid I was going crazy from sleep deprivation and that I would never sleep again. It was a true nightmare. Fortunately, the insomnia did finally go away but I have placed a note in my medical files to never prescribe Levaquin to me again.

I took Levaquin as a treatment for pneumonia. After 3 days on the drug, all my joints were stiff and I had difficulty breathing. I called my doctor and I was told to continue the medicine. After a week, the reaction continued to get worse, I could hardly move, my breathing got worse and I had to be put on oxygen. My hands were like clubs and I couldn't open anything. I sat in a chair all day. It took me a half hour to get out of the chair to go to the bathroom. My hands were so swollen that I could not flush the toilet with my hands. I had to use my elbow to flush it. I saw doctors thinking I had rheumatoid arthritis. I saw pulmonary specialist and my lung capacity was at 48%. They sent me for many blood tests, cat scans, and I even had an MRI to try to find the cause. Finally, my heart doctor found out that some people were having adverse reactions to Levaquin. She found out that it caused severe anemia, breathing problems, and joint pain. She dosed me iron and within a week I was finally beginning to see the swelling in my hands start to decrease. I was out of work for 3 months.

I took Levaquin 500 mg for 6 days. After about 3 days my left ankle, knee, and the back side of my left thigh became so sore I had difficulty walking. I was extremely tired and slept later than I normally do, which is rare for me. This morning, in bed, my left thigh became so hot it felt like it was wrapped in a heating pad with the temperature turned up extremely high. Later, while getting a shower, I noticed the back of my left thigh had a "hivey" type of red rash on it. I did an internet search and found this page. I'm very concerned because in September 2007 I had a triple heart bypass. I threw the remainder of the Levaquin down the toilet. NEVER AGAIN....

I took this drug for a kidney infection and now can hardly walk or sit on the toilet. The pain in my knees is excruciating especially at night. I can not turn over in bed without pain and they don"t seem to bend anymore. My doctor thinks I am nuts.I have not slept an entire night since this started. It came on all of a sudden after two weeks on this crap. Please, somebody tell me this is going to go away in a while!!!Marsh

I too have nothing new to add just wanted to share my experience. I had severe bylateral ear infections accompanied by a sinus infection. My dr. gave me 10 days of augmentumn (sp?) it didn't work so she then prescribed 10 days of Levaquin (poison!) my insurance company didn't approve it at first so the pharmacy put a call into my dr.'s office and was waiting for an alternative. I was in so much pain from the ear infections that I did the single worst thing that I regret in my life. I called my insurance company and had them overide the rejection and approve the medicine, I wish to God I didn't. I did ask them if it was a controversial medication and they said no, just that it needs to be approved. Well, I started on Monday July 2nd and by Wednesday July 5th my knees started to ache really bad, just thought I walked a little too much on the 4th (nothing out of the ordinary I walk all the time and swim) well I thought it would subside and NEVER ever ONCE thought it was due to an antibiotic (aka levaquin/poison). I experienced sleeplessness and nauseau and didn't think anything of it, I know most antibiotics can make you nausiated. Well, by Sunday I could barely walk and when I had to crouch down to get something, I had tears in my eyes trying to stand up, the burning in my knees was unbearable and I still didn't relate it to the medicine, I had NO idea! Well, by Tuesday I took my 9th dose and my ears had felt better but my knees were getting worse, so I woke up on Wednesay and didn't take the medicine and then called the dr.'s. I asked if this could be related to the medication because it's not getting better, and the nurse said, I've never heard of that before, but hold on. She came back and stated "it says a side effect can be tendonitis and she said I needed to come in right away" I saw the dr. and she said, yes it's a side effect but it happens mostly in teenagers, but she was a little concerned that I was still having severe joint pain more than 24 hours after stopping the medication and that she wanted to do a lyme test. She told me that even if the lyme came back negative she was going to put me on dicylomine (sp?) for 3 weeks as a precaution because lyme tests can produce false negatives. She said wait another 24 hours and if I'm still in pain then she will prescribe the lyme meds. Well, 24 hours past and I got the lyme back, negative, my knees were killing, my muscles started to shake in my upper thighs and I was getting vibrating sensation along with muscle contractions. I called them back and on Friday and stated that I did some research on Levaquin and this is a side effect of the medication and I am NOT taking another antibiotic for a disease that I don't have! They asked me if I could wait until Tuesday to come see the dr because she was on vacation and I agreed hoping that my pain would subside with the prescription motrin and some ice. By Saturday (yesterday) it was moving down to my left shin and both the back of my ankles were killing like they were stiffl. I called and they said to put warm heat packs on and take the motrin and they would see me tomorrow if necessary. Well, the trembling in my legs were so bad that I had to take a diazapam to calm them down (which I didn't want to because I wanted to measure the pain, but couldn't stand it any longer) and put heat packs all day. I got some sleep last night (most likely due to the diazapam) I think the ice is worse for this but it feels better at the time. I am NOT getting any better, what is going on with me? I cannot believe this company has not been put out of business! I am going to see the dr's on Tuesday and am treating my condition as if it's tendonitits, I am now experiencing the muscle contractions in my arms. I am drinking water like it's my job and trying to stay off my legs with just a bit of stretching. I do pilates and go to the gym but have not gone since the 2nd of July the day I started the medication and am getting frustrated because I need to go for my back (arthritis of the spine with some herniated discs which are killing me now because I haven't been able to excersie or stretch). I am SO furious that this drug is on the market, the nurse said that it was a serious but RARE side effect to the drug and that she has never heard of anyone having it, well I don't think it's as rare as they would like to think and would like to do something about getting it taken off the market!

PLEASE tell me PLEASE has anyone just ONE person recovered from this HORRIBLE nighmarish pain and anguish? I am looking for that one beacon of hope that others have recovered and are feeling better, please anyone. I have children and I need to take care of them but I can't move my legs without excruciating pain going through them, especially the burning of the top of my knees. ANY help on how you took care of yourself would be great help to me. Thank you all!

I took Levaquin 750 mg for 2 days. The first night it made me sleepy and drowsy. The second night I took it, I was high. I felt like I was a zombie. I sat in front of my computer rocking back and forward. And al I wanted to do while I sat there was take more and more and more levaquin. I wanted sit there and eat them like they were candy. That urge was so overwhelming. So, I hurried up and I flushed them down the toilet except for 3. Knowing that they were there, I wanted to eat those 3, so I flushed them.
That was the worst night of my life. I said to myself if this is how high suppose to feel. I don't ever be high.
This drug need to be taken off the market.

I saw my family doctor on September 24th for a chronic cough, daig. as bronchitis prescribed levaquin for 10 days (twice per day) with a second repeat if I was not feeling better, tonight I decided to search the side effects of this drug......I am shocked......I have suffered terribly for the past 15 days, gastro/intest issues, extreme gas, joint pain to the point of not being able to get off the toilet, so weak in the legs walking from downstairs to upstairs is totally exhausting. usually I tough things out but this drug is a killer. I am feeling much worst since being on it.
And to learn that it will take weeks vefire I am feeling better....ugh.