Dr. Mark Land (as seen on ABC24 Eyewitness News, Memphis Tennessee) in which he states: "...such side effects are very 'rare'...such reactions are mild and easily reversible..."

Click here to read the Text

Click here to view the Eyewitness News Video

When the patient presented with symptoms of the known, listed and published adverse drug reactions the treating physician’s response(s) are as follows:

…told us maybe he pulled a muscle because everything came back normal
(tendon and muscle damage has been reported in medical journals since 1982)

…She had no idea that an antibiotic causes depression. She talked to a pharmolocogist to find out more. I even called the Stanley Center and they were not aware of this problem.

…told me that he had done a study of quinolines and found out that they caused depression so they cancelled the study. (severe psychiatric reactions have been reported with ALL the fluoroquinolones)

…The mom explained to him what had happened to Cheri (an adolescent at the time)--his response--"That's crazy--there are no side effects like that--the girl must be mental." (this child has undergone numerous operations to repair damaged tendons and now is stuck in a wheelchair)

…He was un-convinced that CIPRO caused the original problem. He intends to recommend a Rheumatologist

… NO doctors will attest that it is from the drugs.

… My Doc doesn't believe it's from the Cipro because I "stopped taking it and it's out of my system." His answer is to eat Motrin the rest of my life. (studies have indicated the presence of Ciprofloxacin YEARS after therapy had been discontinued)

… I reported all of this to the doctor and you know what he said! Totally ignored my complaints like I was a hypochondriac

… He had no advice and said he had prescribed this drug many times before and had never heard about a problem with it. (the FDA issued a warning regarding tendon ruptures back in 1996)

… The Doctors and Nurses aren't much help and claim they've never seen this reaction before

… she advised me to not search the prescribing information out on the internet as there is a lot of "junk" out there (the number one source for valid mainstream medical journal entries is the Internet, which got it’s origins from the exchanging of scientific information long before it’s use became available to the public. Prescribing information is readily available on the FDA websites)

…. I called the manufacturer and they really could have cared less. I notified my doctor and got the same reaction.

… She went back to the prescribing physician and showed him some literature/studies on PN related to quinolones. He dismissed the studies as junk."this doesn't happen"... (the FDA issued new warnings regarding irreversible peripheral neuropathy in the fall of 2004, this was first reported back in eighties)

… At the 14th day, I noticed pain in tendons under my knees. I called by doctor and he told me to stay on the drug for the full 6 weeks he prescribed (completely ignoring the manufacturers warning that such therapy must be discontinued when tendon pain occurs to prevent spontaneous tendon ruptures)

…Like you, my doctor says quinolones cause only regular tendinitis (numerous studies indicate severe and irreversible tendon damage, some cases resulting in the necessity of joint replacements)

…I have an appointment with an ortho/sports doctor, but his nurse practitioner was very skeptical about the possibility of joint injury occurring from quinolones (such injury has been reported since 1982)

…One doctor told me at that time that I couldn't possibly be having a reaction to it

…The doctor simply refused to believe it was the Levaquin.

…My 12-year-old daughter was given Cipro and developed tendinitis in all of her joints from her back down. The effects are lasting 7 months now and we don't know what to do to help her. At first the prescribing doctor ignored us and told us it was arthritis or a sports injury (this child is now crippled for life)

…The doctor who set up the appt with the neurologist said both he and the neurologist do NOT think these symptoms are related to the Tequin

…I have not found a doctor who believed me about the Cipro ADR's even when I gave them reprints of journal articles to substantiate my claims.

…None of the doctors I have went to seem to know anything about this issue and that quinolones can create problems and joint pain for some people.

…My doctor told me to take a second pill after the first caused projectile vomiting, dizziness, and the inability to stand.

…I've seen four different doctors including a neurologist and have yet to convince any of them that I have been floxed.

…Today is day two on Levaquin and I now have numbness/weakness in my right arm and hand/almost like joint pain. I called the doctor she said was not related

…His answer of course was no it can't be Cipro and keep taking it. My mom took me to the E.R., no help.

…The doctor says it is severe tendinitis and has me on Naprosyn for pain and a round of prednizone. He laughs when I say it has to be from the Levaquin and suggests that of course, I must have pulled the muscle...don't I recall doing that? (I did NOT pull the muscle or do anything to injure it)

…My doctor doesn't think the two are related because "it wouldn't have caused a problem two
months later.

…the last time I saw my doctor he told me to see a shrink--h-e-l-p..


…Doctor's response:
"There are always side effects listed and you will probably find something wrong with any prescription--so prescribing something else will not change anything."
"Yes, tendon ruptures do occur, but they are extremely rare and the occurrence was noted in trials--in puppies."
…My response:
"So there weren’t no human trials or any evidence of this occurring in puppies?"
…The doctors:
"Again, you're simply going to find something wrong with anything we prescribe."

…I just wanted to mention that I had an adverse reaction to Levaquin (neurological) and my doctor refused to return my calls after the initial complaint I made about my adverse reaction

…I have been told by several doctors to "stay off the computer" as well. They totally devalue opinions and advise from people who are suffering from the FQ problems.

…When I told my Doctor that I am in a group of people who have had ADR's to Med's she told me to stay off the computer. The next week I rec'd a certified letter in the mail that she was no-longer going
to be my physician and no reason stated.

…I have had sore tendons and joints for the last two weeks the doctor didn't seem to be concerned and prescribed another thirty days at 250mg per day.

…Has anyone experienced complete loss of sense of taste as a side effect of Levaquin (Levofloxacin)? My doctors insist this is not a known side effect of this drug; however, there could be no other cause as the onset
was following the initial dose of Levaquin two weeks ago. (Loss of taste is a known, listed and published ADR to Levaquin)

…My doctor of course thinks I am nuts or that it’s something else entirely

…Our doctor who is unfortunately very arrogant said there is NO WAY the Levaquin is still in his body after a month and that the only thing wrong with my husband is that he needs to get some sleep.

…Well, when he heard Internet he totally blew everything off that we said

…I've asked my doctor a number of times to send me to this specialist and she always refused saying that ''it was all in my head'' and sending me to psychiatrist instead.

…I have now mentioned the quinolone adverse reactions to at least 8 physicians (including 2 orthopedic surgeons, an ENT doctor, an allergist, 4 general practitioners...NOT ONE of them has ever heard of these
reactions. I failed to convince any of them, and they just looked at me as if I were an idiot.

…I don't know if this is any consolation, but I, too, have had doctors tell me I'm an idiot or there's no way that my problems could be linked to antibiotic usage

…24 hours later I am still shaking and dizzy, my doctor thinks I’m crazy, she's never heard of such a reaction. I feel like I'm having an anxiety attack, my muscles are trembling

…I called my doctor's office the next day, but, of course, they said it was not drug related.

…Thanks- I have all that information- but none of my doctors are willing to read it or acknowledge it yet

…He of course like all the doctors I have seen to date say it is not the Cipro that did this

…But when I speak to doctors about this, they think the problem is psychological

…I returned to my doctor who said this was not a side effect from the medication. I then visited another doctor who said I was


…Every doctor said to me that my symptoms didn't resemble any of the side effects of Levaquin. They were dead wrong

…Just try mentioning "fluoroquinolones" and adverse drug reactions in a doctor's office and you would think you just let loss a string of profanities in the middle of High Mass.

…I remember when I first went to my regular doctor when I first got hammered by Levaquin. He swore up and down there was no way possible Levaquin could have caused it. Even after I told him my urologist who prescribed it said the Levaquin could have caused my problems..

… Her doctor put her on Paxil. She had no clue that these were side effects of Cipro

…Glad but not glad I'm not alone. Talked to the doctor, he says there are no side effects

…Now disabled, unable to work Doctor says it's osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia & and unknown
polyneuropathy--what's your opinion?

…When I was in to see my doctor about the heart thing, I brought up it also being a side effect of Levaquin. She continued to deny my symptoms were Levaquin related. That very day, my doctor had another patient come in with the exact side effects I was having - also having taken Levaquin.

…I went to a doctor here in Germany again and asked to be put on a new antibiotic, one not in the Cipro family, and he put me on Avelox- Moxifloxacin. I checked it out on the Internet to be sure this drug wasn’t a new nightmare waiting to happen...it was the same family.

…An no matter how many doctors I went to or how many times I went to the pharmacy, they all said the quinolones wouldn't have caused my symptoms

…The doctor at the workers' comp clinic (the one who prescribed the Cipro) stated categorically that Cipro doesn't cause this kind if adverse reaction

…It's kind of scary that the symptoms are not abating; yet the doctors refuse to acknowledge it might be a drug reaction causing the problem

…Oh yes, the doctor refuses to entertain any notion that the medicine may have caused my pain and wouldn't file an Adverse Drug Reaction report

…I called the doctor and had him change me to a different family of antibiotics. Of course, the doctor had "never heard" of anyone having problems with Eleoquin.

…My doctor swore up and down that it was the best drug to get rid of my pneumonia and that none of his patients have ever complained about any side effects.

…When I told the Doctor and the pharmacist, they both told me that the antibiotics wouldn't cause my symptoms

…The doctors refuse to relate his seizures to the Avelox.
 

I am 21 months out, and when I was in the cardiac ward
of the hospital, and the doctors shook their heads, "no", when I said I thought I was reacting to the cipro I had just taken....only one person actually seemed to listen to me. He was a male nurse, and former army recruit who worked in the Washington, DC area during the anthrax scare. He said there were tens or even hundreds of people who experienced hallucinations and a litany of bizarre symptoms while on the drug.

You are right, I was unable to support that cipro caused
this and the ENT said definitely not

These docs don't know a darn things, these drugs
as we all know are ototoxic. I am sick of trying to prove the harmful
effects of Cipro to them.

[regarding fluoroquinolones].” Adverse events are generally mild and require no therapy,”
Robert Guthrie, MD
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine,
and Pharmacology at Ohio State University, Columbus
 

“Most adverse effects with the fluoroquinolones are mild, transient and rarely result in discontinuation of therapy.”
Safety Profile of Moxifloxacin
Professor Lionel Mandell (Departments of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, McMaster University, Canada) reviewed safety issues with the fluoroquinolones as a class.
 

“Dr. Ball noted that 97% of patients taking grepafloxacin think that the drug affected their sense of taste and many of them have refused to continue taking the compound for that reason.”
Dr Peter Ball (Department of Medical Science, University of St Andrews, Scotland)
9th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Berlin, Germany / March 21-24, 1999
 

1: Am Fam Physician 2002 Feb 1;65(3):455-64 [Texto completo]
Quinolones: a comprehensive review.
Oliphant CM, Green GM.
University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy, Casper, USA. coliphant@wmcnet.org
“serious adverse events include prolongation of the corrected QT interval, phototoxicity, liver enzyme abnormalities, arthropathy, and cartilage and tendon abnormalities. The new fluoroquinolones are rarely first-line agents and should be employed judiciously.”
 

Safety of the new fluoroquinolones compared with ciprofloxacin.
Ball P.
“Ciprofloxacin is well tolerated; the incidence of adverse events is low and serious adverse events are rare.”

Tolerability of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Past, present and future.
Ball P, Tillotson G.
Infectious Diseases Unit, Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.
“The new fluoroquinolones are essentially a well tolerated group of antibacterials”
 

http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_17892.php ( ASK DR DONAHUE SYNDICATED COLUMN) 7-22-2005

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My husband, 65, had a drug reaction to Levaquin. The tendons that connect his calf muscles to his heels got so sore, he could hardly walk. Also, his thigh muscles were painful. He called the doctor's office and was told: "It can't be from the drug. We use it all the time." Another man my husband talked to had the same side effects.

Is there any way to reverse this problem? Have you heard of it? -- G.E.

ANSWER: Levaquin (levofloxacin) belongs to a family of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. A rare but known side effect of this antibiotic family is tendon inflammation. The Achilles tendon -- the heel cord -- is the one usually affected, but it can happen to other tendons, too, such as shoulder and hand tendons.

In a small number of users, the tendon actually tears apart. 
Joint and muscle pains are other possible side effects of these drugs.  For most, rest leads to recovery, and recovery is usually seen in two to four weeks. Some take as long as two months to recover, and a very few can take a year or more.

Why would drugs with such side effects be on the market? The first reason is that they are very valuable antibiotics that can come to the rescue when all other antibiotics fail. The second reason is that these side effects are quite infrequent, and almost everyone has a quick recovery from them when they do occur.

I'm a 28 year old male, and recently took Cipro (4 weeks) and then Levaquin (4 weeks) for a prostate infection. I was fine on the Cipro, but started to experience muscle twicting a couple of days after switching to Levaquin. Since I've stopped taking the Levaquin (7 weeks ago), I've continued to have muscle twitching and burning muscle pain. The muscle twitching involves just a small part of the muscle and is sporadic. The twitching usually occurs in the calves, but I also notice it in the arms, back, butt, and feet. Sometimes it is just a single twitch, and other times it is a couple in a row. The burning/achy pain is somewhat all over (like after the flu), but usually in upper arms, shoulders and thighs. One of my calves also seems a little stiff, but I don't know if it's related. I can move my leg fine, just the upper part of the calf (below/around the knee) seems tight.

So far I've gone to my primary care physician, and he did some strength tests and tested my reflexes... he said all were perfectly normal, and there was no need for me to see a Neurologist. He seemed to think everything could be benign, and possibly caused by stress/anxiety. He didn't mention the Levaquin though.

My questions:
Do you think my symptoms could be caused by the Levaquin?
If not, what would cause them?
How does stiffness start in motor neuron disease, and would it start before weakness?
If I went to a Neuro, would they even do an EMG if strength and reflexes were fine?

Thanks for your time.

This Question in The Neurology Forum is being answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic , consistently ranked one of the best hospitals in America. 11/18/2004

MikeJ I am aware of no relationship between your symptoms and Levaquin. I cannot find any references to suggest that the Levaquin caused this. It is possible that these symptoms are a reaction to a viral illness, or possible from stress (as your primary doctor suggested). If your examination is entirely normal then there may be no use for an EMG. I think it is unlikely that this represents motor neuron disease. Good luck.