Levaquin and warning labels

i have been prescribed levaquin many times in the past of my chronic sinusitis, it is not until this past two weeks that i had noticed severe symptoms, pain in feet, ankle, leg, hip and shoulder, making it difficult to walk and or do stairs. i have stopped taking levaquin, for 2 days now, i am hoping my symptoms improve. should the company not put stronger warning labels on this medication? or inform the medical community of the severe adverse reaction so that they can quickly diagnose their patients when they complain of these symptoms

EVERYONE who has suffered side effects from Levaquin or any of the drugs in that family, PLEASE submit a complaint to the FDA through Med Search. This website has the form which you can do online or print and mail.

I submitted mine 2 days ago, as advised by my pharmacist. I asked 2 of them about Levaquin and neither had heard of these problems, so we really need to publicize this.

We need to tell every doctor who has prescribed this and ask that they make a report as well Whether your doctor believes your problems came from the Levaquin or not, at least go and get your condition documented in a medical file. We may need this later to send to Med Search or the FDA.

My pharmacist said making these reports to Med Search is the way to get the warning labels updated. Hopefully this will also get the word out to all the doctors who prescribe this horrific drug that it is NOT to be used as a first line of treatment.

If everyone that has written on these websites makes a complaint and does so as soon as you can, we might be able to spare many others this unnecessary suffering.

I took Levaquin several years ago for pneumonia after being misdiagnosed and treated for bronchitis. Within three days, my breathing improved but my body felt worse. By the third day, I started having what I thought was joint pain in odd places: feet, ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, elbows and shoulders. I called the doctor who told me not to worry, that these were side effects that would go away. I kept taking it because I was desperate to get well after months of being sick and misdiagnosed, but the side effects worsened. I called again and got the same advice. By Day 13 and in tears, I started researching it and found a website that detailed the horrible side effects that people were experiencing, how the drug was implicated in bilateral tendon ruptures, how Nader's group had petitioned for warning labels detailing these dangerous side effects and been denied, and how the symptoms persisted in some for years.

By the time I stopped taking the drug (Day 13), I could not lift my right arm over my head, a symptom that persisted for about six months. I immeditaely went to see a rheumatologist who told me it was not my joints but my tendons that had been 'attacked' and that I should have stopped the drug immediately at the first sign of a problem. He said that over time I would improve.

What disturbs me is that my experience happened FOUR YEARS AGO and there were many who had similar experiences who preceded me by several years. That this situation still persists in unconscionable.

The side effects lasted for several years but the varied. At one point, every time I kneeled I felt there were rubber bands across the front of my knees that were about to snap. For a while, my ankles were very weak, etc.

I would say that it took about 3 1/2 years to be rid of the symptoms so it may take that long and longer for some to detox from this dangerous drug.

Hope that helps.

Susan