Levaquin and wrists

I took Levaquin 500 mg. because of recurring Cellulitis. I will NEVER take this antibiotic again! I fell into a sense of hopeless and felt like I was hit by a mack-truck. I have been experiencing joint pain like never before. THe doctors have said it is okay to return to exercising, but i will not likely be able to do that because of the ongoing joint pain. My knees, feet, ankles, wrists and fingers continue to be painful, even 2 weeks after being off this medication. I continue to struggle with ongoing low-grade nausea and occasional dizziness, which is scary when driving! This is the worst medication in the world and should be taken off the market. I am PRAYING that these side effects go away.

I'm so glad that I found this page. I injured my back 3 years ago and have been taking prescribed opiods for the pain. Recently got a bad UTI that lasted 3 months and they thought it spread to my kidneys, so they put me on Levaquin. The first 2 days nothing but soreness,I felt like I had been held down and beat with a bat. The 3rd day I noticed some swelling on my ankles and attributed it to working and standing on my feet all day. By the 6th day(this past Saturday) I can barely stand my knees and hips hurt so bad that I cut short my training with my Thoroughbred Shelby. I even had to ask my husband to come with me so that I could at least get him brushed out and groomed. I couldn't even hold a large groom brush. I literlly have to roll out of bed and try to prop myself up. My hands and wrists are so swollen that it's hard to just sit up on the side of the bed, and my lower legs, ankles and feet are all pitting edema with pain in every joint and difficulty just standing and walking is even harder. Thank God I have a cane that I use intermittently for my back. Here I was worried that my kidney's had shut down. I also have been looking on the net and found all my symptoms related to Levaquin. I'm not taking this any more.
This drug is dangerous, like others here, not 1 doctor even said a word about this side effect/ allergic reaction I could have. Not even the pharmacist. Sickening. All for a buck in their pocket.

HOW ABOUT THIS MED. OH MY GOD I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME. I HAD BRONCHITIS,SINUSITIS,AND TONSILITIS,AND I FELT AWFUL, WELL I WAS PRESCRIBED THIS POISON AND NOW I FEEL 10X WORSE, IF ANYONE IS READING THIS THAT IS PRESCRIBED THIS PLEASE PLEASE DONT TAKE IT. YOU WILL BE SO GLAD YOU DIDNT. I HAVE EXTREME PAIN IN MY KNEES,WRISTS,ANKLES,HANDS,AND ARMS. I FEEL LIKE AN OLD WOMAN AND I AM 42.WHY ISNT THIS TAKEN OFF THE MARKET? HAS ANYONE GOT ANY LAW SUITS THAT ANYONE KNOWS OF. I AM GOING TO CALL MY LAWYER.THIS NEEDS TO BE STOPPED.PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANYONE HAS ANY INFO

I am a 57 yr old male taking 24 days of Rx Levaquin for prostatis, - seemed to clear it up but immediate side effect of lots of pain in my wrists, ankles, knees, and back. It is now 2 weeks off and very little pain subsiding. Tingling in fingertips and toes.

Reading all these comments, I suspect that this tendonitis might be more common than the drug companies have stated.

I was prescribed Levaquin for what appeared to be impetigo on my outer ear. The first dose gave me a monster headache and very weird almost-dreams (because I couldn't sleep). After the second dose, I had a horrible stabbing pain in the middle of my back, my wrists and upper arms began to ache, my vision was disturbed and I couldn't concentrate. Weirdest of all was a sudden compulsion to shave my head (which I thankfully snapped out of). I'm a textbook normal 45 year old woman, otherwise healthy, and professionally employed. It's been 30 hourse since my last dose, and the mental stuff has subsided, but my arms and hands are still very painful. This is a bad bad drug. I'd have to be on the verge of death to consider it again.

I was prescribed levaquin for for a respiratory infection. Instead of getting better I got worse. I was weak, began to have joint pain as well as the infection problems. I called my doctor after doing research on the internet. He told me to stop levaquin and to take advil. This didn't help. When I went back to him he tested me for lupus, ms, and RA. He eventually sent me to an arthritis specialist that I am still seeing 5 months later. Although she had never heard of these side effects until I explained them she has supported my concern that I have been suffering from an adverse reaction to the medication. I still suffer from joint pain and swelling as well as an acute burning pain in my thigh. The only treatment that I am receiving is steriod shots in my joints which do offer some relief. As I sit here tonight my leg is extremely painful. Will it ever go away or are we all doomed to suffer these ill effects the rest of our lives. I hurt... if anyone knows of a class action lawsuit please share the information.
Gypsy
52 yrs old

im 27 and thought i was in good shape. i was given levaquin for an upper resp. infect that the z-pack didnt cure. i was given 7 day dose, and since day one my legs have been sore and achey. then my wrists and elbows became sore, for a minute i thought that i was having hallucinations, i thought no way. then my ankle joint and knee joints begun hurting SOOOO bad, i had a hard time falling asleep, and became scared over my legs, afraid to call the doctor back thinking that it was something else, after reading all of your side affects, i am SO glad to hear that i am not the only one, i still have 3 more of these lovely pills to take, and i do plan on getting in touch with the doc now. i never had a hard time staying awake, i would take it at night and could never get to sleep, also seemed to have slight anxiety, the worst of it all is my legs! i want to cry they hurt so bad, and i have two little ones at home, its not like i can lay around all day!!

my father had fluid on his lungs and started levaquin for 12 days. He took himself off of it on the 12th day after severe swelling in his hands, feet and joints. He's been to every doctor in austin since and no one can seem to explain it to us. He is very depressed, has trouble moving, sleeps all the time, severe joint pain and swelling of his hands and feet. No one here seems to be saying anything about the side effects going away. Someone please tell me that this will get better. Is there any hope of it getting better? Has anyone recovered?

I took Levaquin for 14 days and it has been 3 1/2 weeks since I stopped. Every night I am crippled in pain mostly hands, wrists and knees. Does this go away? What treatments have people used?

I have taken almost two complete 7-day rounds of Leviquin and just today realized that my aches and pains are probably due to it instead of chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. I will not take those last two 500 mg tablets! I have extreme joint pain and swelling of the wrists. I have been blaming lower back pain on the 16-hours of sleep I had on Sunday! My hip joints hurt so that I can't raise my foot to step into pants when dressing. I'm sure I read the Rx paperwork when I filled this prescription, but don't remember seeing extreme pain as a side effect. Why didn't my doctor warn me?

I took levaquin for 4-5 days more than one year ago to treat a sinus infection. I began to have pain in my ankles, knees, hips, wrists, elbows after just 2 days on the antibiotic. To inquiry, my doctor told me the tendon pain was NOT a side effect of levaquin. By speaking to my pharmacist, I learned she was very wrong, and discontinued the drug. More than one year later, I am still in pain, and have difficulty walking.

I'm addressing this to the 52 year old healthy woman. I believe whole heartedly that the pain that you are suffering is an ADR (Adverse Drug Reaction) to the Levaquin. You must stop taking it and tell your doctor that you insist that he/she prescribe another antibiotic that is not part of the Flouroquinolone (Cipro, Floxin, etc) family. When you stop taking the drug the pain should subside, but it can linger for weeks or months after you stop taking it. Also, do not take any form of Ibruprophen (Advil, Motrin, etc) with the Levaquin. I know that I read somewhere that the two should not be taken together. Also, no steriods should be taken with Levaquin either. I am about for weeks out from my Levaquin experience and I also suffered from severe joint pain in my arms, wrists and hands down to every finger. My pain has gotten better, but every day when I wake up one or two of those joints still hurt. It comes and it goes. Trust me, everyone who reads this site or posts to this site believes you when you say it's the Levaquin. My doctor knew it was the Levaquin that was causing the pain. I didn't have to convince him and you shouldn't have to convince your doctor either. Make that doctor change that prescription to another antibiotic to treat your original problem. Take the suggestion from the other guest on this site and visit those websites to get yourself educated about this drug. You may also find comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Trust me, you are not alone.

I am 52 year old healthy woman.Went to my doctor with tender lymph nodes(possible sinus infection).He prescibed lavaquin 500 mg twice a day for two weeks.By the 4th day every muscle and joint in my body began to ache.My ankles ,fingers,wrists,knees and arms hurt so much I could not walk.I called pharmacists,and my doctor's office who told me I must continue taking this drug.Last night I woke up crying in all over pain,advil did not help.I'm going back to my doctor today after taking 10 of these horrible pills.Why did he prescribe this?No one wants to admit these side effects were caused by levaquin!

Penny.... Hang in there because I do not think it has to do with Fibromyalgia. Keep reading....

This is a follow up to what I posted on 2/9/06. I went to see my internist today. He is not the doctor that prescribed the Levaquin. The doctor that prescribed the Levaquin suggested that I see my internist because he didn't know why I was having the joint pain. The internist asked me a bunch of questions and then asked if I was prescribed any mediactions lately. That's when I told him Levaquin. He said that is what is causing the joint pain. He told me that it is a reaction that can come on after stopping the drug. He said that it can affect any or all of the joints. In my case it's my shoulders, elbows, wrists and fingers. He told me that a lot of peolpe suffer the most in their knees and ankles. He said that not only does it cause joint pain, but it also causes tendon pain. He said that a reaction can happen with any dosage. It has been 16 days since I took that Levaquin. The pain is getting better. The internist told me that maybe another week or two before my joint pain is completely gone. He told me never to take Levaquin again and he told me to never take Cipro. He was very supportive and I didn't even have to bring up the subject of Levaquin side effects to him. The minute the word Levaquin left my mouth he knew. If I experienced this pain after taking just one dose I hate to think what would have happened to me if I took the entire prescription.

To all who are going "crazy" trying to figure out if the Levaquin is causing the joint pain........ It most likely is. This is a very dangerous drug and my heart goes out to everyone that is suffering from the horrible side effects.

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!

Don't give up. For me, it is getting better. I was given Levaquin 5 day dosepack for a recurrent URI and also after extreme fatigue following major surgery that just kicked my butt. In 24 hrs of taking the drug, I went from pure exhaustion to no sleep for 48 hrs straight. The severity of pain in my wrists, calves, feet and various other extra muscle pains (that were not there before taking Levaquin) was unbearable. It was over the weekend and I did continue taking the drug until Monday - finishing the dosepack that day. I was in the doc's office that very day and all they could say was "I've never known this drug to do that...." and of course my reply was to 'read the side effects in the PDR'. That was about 5 months ago and they have noted my file to no longer give me this class of antibiotic - even though this was the first time I was on Levaquin, I'm told there are other meds in it's family that I've taken for years with no problem (Bactrim?). Today, I still suffer from hand weakness & pain and bilateral feet pain. It is nowhere near the severity as the initial onset. Hang in there, take it ODAT & drink plenty of water & juices to flush your system.

My father is quite elderly and has dementia. He was taken to the hospital last week for an "infection" that was causing him to become extremely weak. After 4 days in the hospital they still couldn't figure out what was causing the infection so they prescribed a 7-day round of Levaquin. Five days after taken Levaquin both his feet and ankles as well as his hands, wrists and forearms have swollen so much he can't close his hands. He is in extreme pain. We had no idea what might be causing this and now that I found this website I realize that Levaquin could very well be the problem. If the swelling doesn't go down within the next day or two I will have to take him back to the ER. I only wish that I would have found this website before I allowed him to take it.

my last pill was jan 25 after a 6 week course. my main symptons are join pain and swelling in my wrists, fingers, ankles and toes. is this common? almost gone some days, really bad and stiff other days. my rheumy thinks it's arthritis and we did blood work today. sure hope it's just lingering effects of the levaquin. any of you have the same side effects im having?

teri

I was prescriped Levaquin 500mg for Bronchitis and have started feeling joint pains in my shoulders and wrists and forearms. I thought I was dehydrating but something told me to check side effects of this medicine. I don't think I have ever taken it and my doctor said she had given it to me before. I am going to stop taking it because after one pill I am miserable with this pain. I have a newborn, I don't even feel like picking her up. I would rather have Bronchitis! Also I have started itching too, another sign something was wrong.

I took levaquin almost 4 years ago for a period of a couple of weeks. I noticed joint pain in my elbows, hips, knees, and wrists. I stopped taking the pills when I did a search for side effects because I knew something had suddenly changed with my health. With no particular warning a year after stopping the levaquin I started having lower back pain that lasted for almost two years constantly and now comes every month or so. I have recently suffered tendon damage and joint pain in my right thumb, and after 9 weeks I am healing very slowly. My right knee is very tight, with pain in/under the knee cap. I have very stiff/ painful achilles tendons on both feet. I know levauin caused joint pain wile I was taking it and I believe I am still suffering from it's ill effects. I am a slim 36 year old, otherwise healthy male. I think levaquin may have aged my joints 30 years in just a couple of weeks.

I am on my 3rd day of Levaquin, and I have decided to switch my medication to Augmentin. I have taken Augmentin before 875mg for my sinus infections, and it seems to clear my head up fine. Although I have had a previous sinus infection come back after taking Augmentin this Winter, my doctor thought that Levaquin would do the trick.
As of my 3rd dose, my sinuses feel better BUT:
My neck feels like I've been doing shrugs all day
My back itches
My wrists hurt
My testicles hurt from where I had a Vasectomy
I'm anxious
My throat it as dry as the desert
Headaches that come and go
Sore leg muscles
Trouble sleeping
Tightness breathing
What I do is call my doctor and tell them that "I know my body," and when my body doesn't feel right, I need to change my meds. I know Augmentin has worked before, and I believe it will work again. Guess what? They changed it!
I will never take Levaquin again, and I will tell anyone that this pill is nothing but an experimental dose that us humans are testing for Alien life. I don't know what to do with the rest of my pills, since I think they will POLUTE the Earth if I throw them away.

I took Levaquin for 3 days (of a 7 day course) and I will NEVER take it again. I thought I had a kidney infection or UTI, but the Dr. wasn't sure (test results today say no infection!!). After the first dose, I noticed a little tingling around my mouth. By the second dose, I had joint and muscle pain, especially in my thighs, wrists, and knees. But worst of all, after the third dose, I had TERRIBLE, severe, diarrhea, which not many people seem to mention here. It was almost the worst I've ever felt. The medication did much more harm than good. I am still very weak and have joint pain (3 days after taking the last pill). I would never recommend this to medicine to anyone.

I began taking Levaquin two weeks ago for walking pneumonia. I asked my doctor at the time if I could exercise, and he told me after a couple of days it should be fine.

The pain started below my right calf. A day later, the same pain in my left leg. The next day, my shoulders, my biceps, my elbows, my wrists, and worst of all...my knees. I had to hold on to something to stand up and actually move my leg over with my hands to drive.

I called the doctor. He told me to go off of it a day to see if the pain went away. I did. The pain subsided. I called back according to his directions and gave him the news. He told me that he thought the side effect was very unusual and go back on it.

I did for a few more days...then the pain started again, so I took myself off the drug. I will never take it again. If my symptoms from the pneumonia come back, he will need to put me on something else.

I was given Levaquin 500 mg a few days ago to treat 2 conditions: a sinus infection and an infection in my foot. Within a day, I had a horrible rash on my arms and legs, and I felt terrible. Unfortunately, I had taken the 2nd dose, so a total of 1000 mg. I was also developing stiffness in my joints. I had taken Levaquin several times before, prescribed by an ENT, for stubborn sinus problems, and didn't seem to react to the drug. But this time I certainly did. I was taken off Levaquin and put on another antibiotic. But the side effects have been awful. The rash is pretty much gone, tho I still have some prickly skin sensations. The joint stiffness in my hips is much better, but my fingers, wrists and forearms are still sore and stiff. I was told Levaquin has a 3 day half life, so I am at about day 5. I am just hoping all these symptoms subside, but I am not expecting it to be a quick deal. I think Levaquin is extremely toxic. I am a 56 year old active healthy woman with an 11 year old daughter still being raised. I am grateful my side effects weren't any worse. I am going to register a complaint with the FDA and I wish there were a class action suit against the manufacturer's of this awful drug.