Post Marketing Reports for October 2001

4817From: byebye2u@h...
Date: Fri Oct 5, 2001 5:10am
Subject: New To All This - Help!

Hi,

I'm new and confused. I took levaquin for 18 days for a what I (and
the doctor) thought was a sinus infection. The Levaquin was
prescribed after I didn't seem to get better after the doctor gave me
Ceftin (10 days) and Biaxin (10 days). The sinus symptoms I had were
congestion, postnasal drip, headache, nausea, achiness, and fatigue.
It may have been just a bad cold and antibiotics were not doing
anything because it was not bacterial (I was not thinking this at the
time).

I noticed some leg achiness when I was taking the Ceftin.

In my first week of Levaquin, my ears started to itch and I had this
kind of full feeling in them. I thought it was the sinus
infection...but I wasn't sure. In the second week I started to feel
better, however I did have a couple of beers one night with dinner
and felt very nauseated that night and the following 2 days (I didn't
do that again). On day 18 of a 21 day supply I decided to stop taking
the Levaquin. On day 18, I started to feel congested again. This may
have been from a 19 hour plane trip that I had just taken 2 days
prior.

From day 18 forward things have gone down hill. Initially, the nausea
returned and I had muscle aches in my legs and feet. I went to the
doctor and he gave me prilosec for the nausea....which helped. He was
speechless when I told him of my muscle aches. I was referred to an
ENT (which took me a week to see). She didn't think I had a sinus
infection and gave me Guaifenex LA to promote drainage from my
sinus'. I have been taking that for a week......I still feel a little
congested but not as much. However, the muscle aches have
intensified and have spread to other locations of my body (fingers,
arms, etc). Some days are worse than others....morning times are
really rough, I feel like a truck hit me. I ache constantly.

I have been taking Ibuprofen for the achiness and as an anti-
inflammatory. I stopped taking the prilosec yesterday and so far so
good. I started to eat yogurt to replace the good bacteria that the 4
weeks of antibiotics killed. It has been 2.5 weeks since I last took
Levaquin.

I have several questions:

1.) It would appear this is Levaquin related based on what I have
read in this forum. But I am not totally sure since I had some
achiness before (but nothing like this). Your comments? Is there
anyway to check and see if Levaquin is the culprit....blood, urine
test, etc?

2.) Has anybody also experienced the ear itching or fullness in
addition to the other symptoms (nausea, achiness).

3.) Most importantly!!!!!! What can I do to treat this. I have read
some e-mails about some arthritic drugs that have helped. What are
those? Does anybody have success stories for recovery?

4.) What legal action can I get involved in to get quinolones off the
market?

Thanks for your help.

Brad


4790From: MSSTANG67@A...
Date: Wed Oct 3, 2001 10:22am
Subject: Re: Just wondering

Hi to all,

Melvin,

You mentioned that you had never run into another casualty of the quinolones
outside the forum....My daughter's teacher has been asking countless
questions about this problem. It seems that her two daughters had ADRs to
this family of drugs. One lost approximately a half year of college because
of her reaction and the other just started with PN after being put on cipro.
Her hands are numb and the family is very concerned because the daughter
wants to be a surgeon. 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"...I believe that more people suffer
than we can imagine but are not reported because of the doctors simply not
knowing or worse yet, caring enough to associate the symptoms with true cause.

My regards to all of you,

Michelle



4801From: Pat <BubNan1@m...>
Date: Thu Oct 4, 2001 10:48am
Subject: Re: Just Wondering

If I am getting your message correctly...You are underestimating the ADR to
Cipro.
In the forum my response is #4545.
And may I add, when I called my girlfriend in Nebraska and told her of my
husbands reaction to "a medication" (did not tell her it was Cipro) Her
response to me was "I know how devastating an ADR can be, I suffered
terribly when I took Cipro" 3 years ago and still have side effects.
I would not wish this on my worst enemy, however if doctors or even yourself
could share the experience of an ADR to Quinolones even for an hour. You
may change your tune.
Sincerely, Pat


4764From: Carole <carodien@y...>
Date: Fri Sep 28, 2001 2:44am
Subject: Foot Neuropathy

Has anyone developed foot neuropathy after taking Levaquin? I had a
kidney stone and levaquin was dripped into me. Don't know how much
as I was quite out of it with pain. The neuropathy got worse after
having back surgery in June. More pain and numbness, coldness, heat,
pin pricks, etc. in my feet since. Any solutions to this terrible
condition? Carole


4767From: cshinn1@a...
Date: Fri Sep 28, 2001 1:31pm
Subject: neurpathy

Carole....
(I am Carole, too!) my lasting adverse drug reaction is peripheral
neuropathy. feet, ankles, hands, arms up to elbows. I also have
burning in the face particularly eyes and mouth. As I understand it,
the facial burning is not PN, but more CNS connected. The levaquin
must attack both nervous systems. Only time has eased the discomfort.
I still have the eye and facial burning.
PN pain was treated with Neurontin, which did a wonderful job, but
certainly reduced my alertness, mental capacities. I am off
Neurontin now. I slowly reduced the dosages till finally off. I
cannot go off the tricycline anti depressant, that aids in the
facial/eye/mouth burning (as yet). I tried but the burning was too
much to handle. I took the Levaquin in Feb.1998. So you can see, it
takes a some time for the nerve endings to heal.
My three smallest toes on each foot is still numb. I have passing
pain on the top of my hands and in the 2-3 littlest fingers. It goes
away in seconds. (in contrast to continuous pain in the beginning of
the ADR). My feet and hands still get that cold feeling -
particularly in cold weather. They feel awfully cold, yet not cold to
the touch.
Vit B 12 (disolved under the tongue) is supposed to assist the nerve
endings in healing. Also exercise. Perhaps your doctors have you on
Neurontin. I also souped up all my vit/min supplements. Also believe
in adding Q10.
I wish you patience and healing!!!!



4776From: poetstormy@y...
Date: Mon Oct 1, 2001 1:56am
Subject: Levaquin/It only took ONE dose!

Saturday evening 9/29/01, I wasn't breathing very well and I decided
I should go to the ER. Well, suffice it to say they ran all their
tests and I had pneumonia. I usually get some mild form of it every
year, this time it was a bit worse. The doc said, "I'm giving you a
shot of Levaquin, and a pill of Levaquin then sending you home with a
prescription." I thought, ok great, jumpstart on getting well! Yay!

Wrong.
About an hour after I got home my fever was up, which wasn't anything
new except my face felt like it was a ball of fire. My skin was so
hot, abnormally hot. Not like any fever symptom I've ever had. Cold
wet towels helped somewhat. But it just felt like my head was going
to explode at any moment. Like fire, 'within' my skull'!
Another hour passed, after Tylenol and Advil. My fever decreased
about 6 points. From 102.6 to just about 102. I felt better, but the
hot burning in my head was still there and was beginning to spread
throughout my body. My skin was so flushed, I looked like a lobster.
Another hour, my fever was down to a little under 101. I decided
since I had not eaten that entire day I should have some soup.
So I had some vegetable soup. And drank some water. I began to notice
my left wrist was hurting. It felt like someone was squeezing it very
tightly. I dismissed it.

By this time it was around, i'd say midnight. I wanted to sleep so
bad. Being tired and sick. So I took another dose of Tylenol and
Advil, set my alarm to wake up for more fever meds so as not to let
my fever get higher during the night.
I tossed and turned the first hour, just dozing. The second hour I
couldn't sleep at all. I lay there wondering why my heart was trying
to jump out of my chest. My first instinct was, "I'm having a
reaction....
But I thought, no... it can't be that.
Maybe it's the soup, I haven't eaten in a while, and it's late at
night, it's an energy rush from food being eaten late at night!

Nope, wrong again.
I decided to get up and sit in a chair and try and calm my heart down.
I'm not the anxiety type. I'm level headed, good reasoning and have
worked in the medical field. So, of course, I'm sitting there
thinking of things that could be wrong instead of getting to the ER
as fast as I can. Duh!
So there I sat, around 3am, my heart about to jump out of my chest.
It was between 100 and 130 bpm. I thought, this is ridiculous. I got
online, looked up Levaquin and just sat there and stared wide-eyed at
what I was finding.

My heart sank as I realize I had a huge SHOT of this drug in my
system not to mention an oral dose. My next thought was, I HAVE to
get back to the ER, QUICK!
They were very nonchallant about the whole thing, saying I was
probably just having an anxiety attack. I was livid. Explaining how I
looked up the side effects and what I was expiriencing and so forth.
But to no avail.
They gave me an I.V. and shot me with some Ativan, which helped my
heart rate. And sent me home after a few hours.
I left with a prescription of Zithromax, this time. Which I've taken
with no problems before.

Today is Monday. Sunday and today I have woke up with nausea and
diarrhea. I feel bloated when I do try and eat. And I don't sleep
very well. I sincerely hope these things subside.

I just hope our voices cause such a noise that this drug will be
banned. It's aweful. And just after, one dose.

Thanks for reading my long post.
If there's anywhere I can write to express my outrage about wanting
this drug banned, please let me know. Thanks.

~Poetstormy


4777From: karenp <karenp@p...>
Date: Tue Oct 2, 2001 6:39am
Subject: 5 Years since taking Levaquin

A few of you may remember me from the past. I took Levaquin in 1997 and
shortly after began having joint pain, rash, anxiety, flushing of the
face, fatigue, tendon pain, traveling myalgias. This came and went on
and off for a couple of years. Had rheumatological workups a couple of
times, which showed nothing. My symptoms at that time did not merit and
MRI. I thought I was getting better except now, after all this time I
got hit with a whammy. I woke up with double vision the first of April,
began having severe burning and numbess, and razor like pain on
collarbone area, then broke out in rash along the site of pain.

Finally had an MRI of brain and cervical spine. Have demylinating
lesions on my brain. Demylination and inflammation (not a good thing) on
cervical spine. I have been diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis.
Have been worked up for Lyme because of red flat rash on neck and
cervical tenderness. Worked up for everything else that causes
demylination. My spinal taps show no evidence of the certain type of
bands and proteins that are often found with MS.

I wonder how many of you ol' timers have had a follow up MRI since your
initial problems with the fluoroquinolones?

Before I took the Levaquin I was strong and healthy. Never had a rash or
fatigue of any sort. Even now, my symptoms are baffling because it
doesn't really fit MS, especailly the rash thing. Two rheumatologist do
not believe I have lupus - I've had every test in the book and my rash
isn't like the one found in lupus.

I went on huge IV steroids for 5 days and it seemed to calm things down.
Now I am left with just fatigue and anxiety.

I believe Levaquin started this sequence of events.....my doc's don't
believe so although a rheumatologist I saw when this first started
believed that the Levaquin was responsible for joint and tendon pain.
She believed this because she had an assistant who experienced the same
thing.

Now I don't know if I have a true MS or this is just another downslide
since taking the Levaquin. In any event I am demylinating and it is not
a pleasant thing. None of the docs can explain the rash (just like the
one like many of you describe) accompanies my "attacks" or why my tendons
still hurt.

Maybe I had dormat MS that was activated by Levaquin or who knows what.
The after effects of Levaquin were bad enough, but top it off with MS and
you got yourself a winner.

How many folks have been diagnosed MS after taking fluoroquinolones? I
know my immune system got tweaked from the Levaquin.


4779From: TessiB@a...
Date: Tue Oct 2, 2001 3:51am
Subject: Re: 5 Years since taking Levaquin

It's been 11 month now since I took LEVAQUIN. Fortunately, I've been
amazingly healthy since I also had sinus surgery last December that put an
end to the chronic infections. I am however, having real problems with pain
and fatigue. I'm 42, and I know it's time for these things to start
happening, but I feel and act older than my 74 year old mother who has
osteoarthritis. I am taking Celexa for migraines, and getting the added
benefit for my fatigue, but I'm really afraid to take the other aches and
swelling to a doctor because I don't want to be treated with Vioxx or
Celebrex. (these cause high blood pressure). I feel I've aged 30 years in the
past 5. Just 5 short years ago, I was running and jogging, and felt I could
do most anything, mentally and physically. I've now gained about 100lbs and
find all efforts extremely difficult.
I'm sorry to vent, but sometimes you just need to.
My best to all of you,
Terri


4753From: Mary Templeton <flnolegirl@y...>
Date: Tue Sep 25, 2001 0:40am
Subject: Concerns for the safety for my child

Hello everyone,

I am hoping that someone out there perhaps has
knowledge of Floxin Otic. My little girl who is just
five years old has suffered terribly with ear
infections for most of her life and finally just last
may had an operation for ear tubes. The last four
months since her operation for the tubes, have been
truly wonderful as far as the quality of her health
has been concerned, since before we were sitting in
doctors offices every other week for yet more
antibiotics. Well the bad news now...She has
developed her first ear infection since her tubes and
she is absolutely miserable. Her school called me on
Friday to come get her because her ear hurt, So from
there we took her to the ER since we could see fluid
draining out from her right ear. The ER did little,
to say the least. They prescribed her Suprax and
Codeine syrup for pain. Well let me tell you I had a
bad weekend with her to say the least. She was
extremely irritable thanks to the codeine and
developed an allergic reaction to it, and the Suprax
never even kicked in after 3 days. Sooooo we took her
back to her regular pediatrician Today and her ears
were still bad so he promptly prescribed augmentin and
antibiotic ear drops. It was not until I got home
that I started to really freak out. The Drops are
called "Floxin" Otic. I was reading the prescribing
information that Walgreens enclosed and it tells you
not to use these if you are sensitive to any
flouroquinolones. It just bothers me, since I had
that bad reaction to Avelox. I had no clue that there
were ear drop quinolones. Can anyone tell me if these
have the same effect as opposed to the pill form on
your body or CNS? I really do love my daughter and I
would never dream of giving her something that would
harm her in any way. Until I know I don't have it in
me to put these drops into her ear. Thanks for any
help on this one!!!

Mary




4755From: No1DOSMOM@a...
Date: Tue Sep 25, 2001 8:30am
Subject: Re: Concerns for the safety for my child

Mary,

Those drops would be my last resort. My 16 year old daughter was given
Levaquin in March of 2000 and her life has become a life of misery and hell.
She has been in and out of a wheelchair since that time, has had 11 different
orthopedic devices and we are now seeing cartilage as well as tendon damage.
The CNS effects have been terrible. There is a reason why the FDA has not
approved the use of Quinolones in children.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions about the results of a Quinolone
adverse drug reaction in a child. Cheri is not the only child to be
affected. If you read past posts you will see at least three other children
that are going through Hell because of this family of drugs.
I don't want to scare you, but as a parent who feels totally helpless to help
the suffering of her c hild, I wouldn't want to see another parent go through
what my family is experiencing.

Pat


4757From: buddy.solomon@c...
Date: Wed Sep 26, 2001 8:29am
Subject: chlorine/bleach

Well, 9 weeks after my last dose of Levaquin, I continue to have
numerous problems that seem to cycle through good periods and bad
periods. So far, I haven't made a connection between any foods or
exercise that seem to make my symptoms better or worse. However, I
may have found a connection between my down cycles and exposure to
chlorine/bleach. It seems that my bad periods have been closely
associated with swimming or being around bleach products used around
the house. This may be a coincidence, but I was wondering if anyone
else has noticed an association between increased problems and
exposure to chlorine/bleach or other cleaning products.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Buddy


4712From: Aha1361743@a...
Date: Fri Sep 7, 2001 5:40pm
Subject: (no subject)

Thank you for this site! After a couple of years of Levaquin prescriptions
(5 or 6 three-week doses) for a chronic sinus condition, I have been spending
much of my time trying to figure out what is wrong with me. Went to the Mayo
Clinic in Minnesota for a couple of weeks and had about every test you can
imagine. That was followed by several other work-ups here locally that
included many blood tests and other neurological test - but none of this
yielded any insights into my symptoms. I felt like I was reading about
myself on this site. Here is a letter I wrote to my physician (not the one
prescribing the Levaquin) just a month ago.

Dear Dr._____:

My problem is sore, aching joints. My feet are the worst. It is
painful to walk almost all the time, but especially after I been on my feet
for an hour or two. If I get off my feet for a half-hour or so and them get
up to walk, it is particularly painful. Going barefoot makes things worse.
When I am lying on my side in bed, with my legs and feet together, even the
weight of one foot on the other is very uncomfortable. The more I use my
feet, the worse the symptoms.

The soreness is not limited to weight-bearing joints. My shoulders
ache as well. Reaching around my back to put my belt through the belt loop
in the back is something I must do very gently. My back is very stiff,
especially if I have been standing for a while. Sometimes it is difficult to
get in my car, because I can't bow my head enough to duck it under the
doorway opening. Sleeping is difficult, as I can't get comfortable and end
up tossing and turning much of the night.

Two weeks ago, Dr. ____ prescribed a prednisone taper for my asthma.
Within two days, I felt better than I have in months. Shoulders, back, feet
- everything - felt great. No limps, powering up stairs - no problem. Now
that the taper is over, I am right back to where I was. Everything aches
again, and it is this contrast that compels me to write. I hate prednisone.
My face breaks out like crazy with deep painful pimples that take many days
to resolve. And, I am aware of other much more concerning potential side
effects. However, I need to do something. It's getting to the point where
am able to do less and less.

I would welcome any insights or helpful suggestions anyone can
provide. Thanks -

Andrew


4713From: carolyn saccardo <csaccard@y...>
Date: Sat Sep 8, 2001 0:50pm
Subject: Re: Tequin

sharon, i had taken tequin and had a reaction on june
15. since that time by immune system continues to
react even though the drug is out of my body. i am
very reluctant to take steroids unless life or death.
i take benadryl and zyrtec. that seems to help
although i still am experiencing episodes of my mouth
and throat swelling. i try to remain calm as panicing
makes the situation a lot worse. i have myalgia but
have suffered from myalgia before so i don't know if
this was triggered from this or not. i was looking
for someone who experienced these same symptoms to
find out what they did and how long it lasted.


4716From: ike <ike@o...>
Date: Sun Sep 9, 2001 1:49pm
Subject: Re: Re: Levaquin and brain tumor

HI Linda
I would like to know if I could get a copy of that paper.
My mother took a course of CIPRO for a UTI 6 months ago, and She has been
sick ever since had all kinds of test run every thing was fine, and then
sent on to a urologist when 1 month ago blood in urine could not be cured by
regular so called DR, and we are now dealing with kidney cancer, which is
devastating.
The present problem is her loss of breath that no one is doing anything
about so she can't do much of anything, including talking.
The cancer is not effecting the lungs for the breathing according to three
specialist.
We have all noticed the sudden memory loss also along with head ache, pains
in the hips and very weak.
Mom is 60 and did a lot of Physical Labor all her life managing a store.
Any insight on this matter is greatly appreciated.
Thank You to all,
Regards Loretta


4698From: ian@f...
Date: Wed Sep 5, 2001 9:15am
Subject: Levaquin and brain tumor

This is a long story but I'll be as succinct as possible. My parents
spend a couple of winter months in Florida. In February 2001, my
mother went to a walk-in clinic and was treated for a minor sinus
infection with Levaquin. After a few days, my mother developed a
serious rash and the Pharmacist told her to stop using Levaquin.
Shortly thereafter, my father began noticing that my mother was having
some memory loss. She had difficulty remembering the names of people
she's known for decades. She knew who the person was, but had trouble
pulling out the name. My brother & his family went to visit them in
Florida and they noticed a decrease in her cognitive functions.

About 3 weeks later, my parents returned home. My father quickly took
her to the family doctor, who scheduled an MRI for a month later. In
the meantime, she had appointments setup with an eye doctor because
she had difficulty focusing and an ENT specialist because of "ringing
in her ears". Well, the eye appointment came out fine and the ENT
specialist basically brushed aside the memory loss issues by saying
it's a sign of aging. My mother is 59. The type of memory loss she
had was not the type one would normally expect. She could not pull
out names of cousins, aunts, etc. After another day or so, we all
knew something was seriously wrong and we could not wait the month for
a MRI. My father called our family physician and told him we can not
wait. Our PCP immediately set up an emergency MRI at the hospital.

Well, the MRI showed a large spot in the left temporal lobe region of
the brain. Things looked dire and we chose the best possible
Neurosurgery hospital in our area, which happened to be one of the
best in the country. The neurosurgeons were very thorough in their
testing of my mother and stereotactic surgery was scheduled to remove
the brain tumor. All went fine and my mother came out of the surgery
very well. She still has some memory loss but that is to be expected
since the surgeon had to remove the damaged brain tissue from the
tumor. After a couple weeks of testing by the pathology team, the
diagnosis came back as a Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET). PNET
tumors are known to travel across the Central Nervous System (CNS)
thru the spinal fluids. Thankfully, the only evidence of the PNET was
in the one location in the brain and had not travelled.

My mother has since undergone six weeks of brain and spinal radiation
therapy and her latest MRI shows everything to be clear. She now is
scheduled for MRI's every 3 months. She is doing very well
considering the nature of her surgery and the intense radiation
therapy. She is nearly back to normal. Now, back to the Levaquin. I
have done some intense investigation and noticed that others have had
CNS disorders from the Levaquin. I have yet to run across another
person who developed a brain tumor, but several with aneuryism or
strokes. It seems to me the type of tumor diagnosis in my mother
(PNET tumor - CNS related) would be consistent with ADRs from
Levaquin. Most brain tumors are not involved with the CNS but hers
was.

Has anyone ever run across another case of a brain tumor/Quinolone
connection? In my heart I know Levaquin was the cause, but all the
doctors I have mentioned this to have basically passed it off as
"probably not". They just say we have no idea what caused it. My
main focus has been on getting my mother healthy over these past few
months. But, now I want to trace the Levaquin connection. I would
not wish what my mother has gone thru on my worst enemy and would like
to make others aware of the possible negative reactions. At the very
least, Levaquin should NOT be prescribed for simple sinus
infections...only as a last resort. Sorry this was so wrong. If
others have had a similar brain tumor reaction I would like to hear
it. I am not looking to sue anybody, I am just trying to help prevent
this from happening to someone else. Personally, I will never take a
quinolone antibiotic after what I have learned.


4704From: ldbuckle@b...
Date: Wed Sep 5, 2001 5:26pm
Subject: Re: Tequin

Sharon,
I took Tequin in Feb. 2001 for a severe UTI. Discontinued after 5 days
because of debilitating ADR-type symptoms - flared up pain in left knee that
had ruptured from Floxin, took all the strength from my hands (still can't
open jar lids, unscrew bottle caps, etc.), middle finger - left hand -
terrible pain and tendonitis (still can't close left hand), total
exhaustion, floppy eyelid - left eye (still the same), twitchy right eye
(for a month), mental fog, forgetfulness, sleepiness, weak muscles, so weak
that my feet felt too heavy to move when I put my shoes on!, etc. For me it
was a bad drug.

On the other hand, I have a friend who had pneumonia at about the same time,
was given massive amounts of Tequin IV and had no ADR whatsoever!

I wish I knew what determined whether you'll react badly or not...or how
long... or if any of us will ever be ourselves again.

Lynn


4673From: Elaine Mueller <elaine_mueller@h...>
Date: Wed Aug 29, 2001 2:58pm
Subject: Re: questions

Sharon, what 50,000 did you sign up for? Did it have to do with quinolone
injuries? I am recovering from surgical repair of my achilles tendon, which
ruptured after being treated with levaquin. No lawyer interested so far--I
was "warned" but didn't read warning in time. Is there another recourse or
does the 50,000 refer to something else entirely? Thanks.


4679From: Elaine Mueller <elaine_mueller@h...>
Date: Thu Aug 30, 2001 2:39pm
Subject: Re: questions

Sharon: I took nine levaquin in late February, in treatment for pneumonia.
the tendonitis developed midtreatment, got progressively worse. Only one
tendon, left leg. It ruptured in early May. During surgery, considerable
necrosis was discovered, which had to be scraped away. the remaining thinned
out tendon was reconnected. I was unable to walk for ten weeks. Since then
have again been able to walk, thankfully WITHOUT PAIN. I consider my surgeon
a genius for having restored my mobility. Only other ADR from levaquin was
mouth sores, very painful, which at the time I thought was due to the
inhaler I was using for pneumonia, but mouth sores persisted long after I
stopped using inhaler. This has since cleared up. Considering what others
have gone through, I guess I was lucky.


4686From: jay_davis242@y...
Date: Fri Aug 31, 2001 9:58am
Subject: My experience, any advice

Back in June of this year I used Cipro for 28 days for a case of
Prostatitis. 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. Well I lasted one more day and was off
of the stuff. I know the ADR's before I took the drug so I quess I
knew the risks, so I thought. Anyway the tendon pain went from my
legs to by elbows then to my shoulders. The pain was so bad the
first week I was on percocet. Anyway my GP did'nt believe the Cipro
caused the problems, and ran every know infectious disease test, all
came back negative. Tested for Ra, negative. Finally I went to see
an infectious disease specialist and then a rumatologist, they
believed that this was diffently Cipro and began treatment. Two
months have almost gone by now and I see a PT twice a week to work
the tendons with stretching exercise and this as really helped. I
can get around ok now and I do believe I'm healing. My doctor said
that it could take up to six months for the tendon problems to
resolve and I will have to continue therapy until they do resolve,
but I'm hopefull. Any additional input or support would be very much
appreciated.


4655From: hotstocks123@h...
Date: Thu Aug 23, 2001 2:25pm
Subject: Does this ever end, Effexor?

I was floxed over 2 years ago with 300mg twice daily for 8 weeks. At
first I didn't have many problems. Then after a few months I noticed
I could not excercise at all. I used to excercise all the time and
never hurt. If I try a few push ups, the next day my arms are
severely painfull and numb/cramp/hot/weak for months! I get random
numbnesses in my arms and face. Over a year ago I rollerbladed
slowly around the block once (I used to aggressively rollerblade
miles before floxin with no problems) and the next day I couldn't
walk my knees hurt so much and my left leg felt like it was lit on
fire for 9 months. It is over a year and I still limp half of the
week and usually have some pain in the knee or burning sensations
under the thigh, knee, or heel. I have learned to simply not
excercise or excert myself in any way or suffer severe debilitation
and pain for months or years. This even happened with just 3 minutes
on an eliptical (no impact machine) I had sore elbows and knees.
Mentally though I was fine, except slight worry about my condition
and inability to excercise anymore. I had a MRI of the knee and it
showed up ok, even though 1 year later I am still in pain.
Rheumatologist said I am fine. Now a neurologist wants to do some eeg
study and poke me with big needles for a half hour as well as a brain
mri with contrast. He doesn't think I have MS, but wants to rule out
and see if I really have nerve problems or if it is all in my head.
I am seeing a psychiatrist because I can't sleep AT ALL for days, but
now with xanax I can usually sleep at night. 2 years after the
floxin I started having severe anxiety, panic attacks, random
numbness and tinglings, nausea, dry mouth, numb tongue and bitter
taste, and uneasy feelings, smothering feeling, sick feeling etc.
The psychiatrist thinks all this pain like a sore leg for a year is
all in my head, I don't see how pain that is basically in the same
place, but does move up and down the leg on different days or with
whatever limb I overuse is all in my head. However I do believe that
maybe the floxin ruined my nervous system and makes every little
stimulus seem like pain and then the damaged nerves from excercise or
whatever take a year or more to heal. Anyhow can anyone tell me when
this ends? When it gets better instead of worse? The last 6 months
have been mentally horrible feeling bad all the time and not
sleeping, eating much, etc. The psychiatrist wants me to start
Effexor XR this weekend, but I tried paxil a few months ago and was a
vegetable for 3 days and had to quit. I have heard effexor makes you
vomit and it is almost impossible to get off it, with severe
withdrawl symptoms. But these kind of things always get exagerated
on the internet, and my psych. really thinks Effexor will help since
he thinks I have GAD and maybe somataform disorder or fibromyalgia.
Of course no one believes its the quinolones! Can anyone give me
advice on when this goes away? Whether I should try the effexor xr?
Whether I should do that painfull EEG test at the neurologist, I told
him if I do do it, I am comming in on xanax and vicodin! He basically
said ok. Any advice would be helpfull, I am falling more and more
apart every day.


4646From: Mary Templeton <flnolegirl@y...>
Date: Wed Aug 22, 2001 3:50pm
Subject: Re: questions

Hi Holl,

I just had my ADR to Avelox about a month ago now,
among aches and pains that bore deep into my muscles,
bones and Joints, and severe insominia, I have also
been experiencing bouts of depression. I had never
been depressed in my life before my reaction to the
quinolone. Now there are good days and bad days.
Sometimes All I can do is cry and not know why I feel
so sad. I do believe from what I have read on the
boards and heard from friends here that it is fairly
typical in some people. There are alot of supportive
people here who do understand, thankfully, because it
is hard to go through depression alone.

Mary


4648From: indiomary@a...
Date: Wed Aug 22, 2001 8:43pm
Subject: Re: Digest Number 416

My primary symptom from my Cipro ADR was depression. While I had had brief
periods of "minor" depression before, Cipro threw me into a full-scale,
suicidal, incapacitating, major depression lasting a year. My psychiatrist
said that anitbiotics can cause my conditions. I asked her whether the ADRs
were temporary or permanent, she said "I always have hope." That translates
from doctor-ease as "not much chance it will improve."

Melvin, do you have a guess on how the FQs cause psychiatric/psychological
damage?

Mary Franklin
IndioMary@a...


4649From: pal1@i...
Date: Thu Aug 23, 2001 1:33am
Subject: Levaquin

I took Levaquin for an upper respiratory infection , started the 29th
of April 2001 for 10 days. Immediately following the 10th day I
began to have feet, heel, calves of the leg and hand pain. I thought
it would just go away, so I toughed it out for several weeks. It got
so much worse. I went back to my Dr. who ran test and said I had a
slightly elevated ANA and wants to do more blood work. He put me on a
medrol pack which while taking, my pain subsided. I am through with
the medrol now, and my pain is coming back. I am convinced after
reading the adverse reactions to Levaquin that I am in pain as a
result of taking that drug. If anyone would like to email me to talk
about this, please feel free. pal1@i... What I would like to
know, has anyone found out how long this "tendonitis" will last? How
depressing!


4617From: scott_dotson2001@y...
Date: Thu Aug 16, 2001 11:28am
Subject: 27yr. old very healthy male with tendonitis on Levaquin.

I have been on Levaquin for two weeks for non-specific urethritis.
It seems to have cleared up the infection, but since about 1 week
into the treatment I have started to develop some joint pain. It
started in my left knee, which has been operated on 10 yrs. ago and
seems prone to tendonitis anyway. It then went to each elbow,
achieles tendon, top of left foot, hips and lower back. The weird
thing is that none of the pain was terribly bad, there was no
swelling, and it never stayed in the same place very long. For
example, one day the left knee would hurt, the next day it would feel
fine, but the left elbow would hurt, etc... Is this common? I now
feel like I have some muscle soreness in my groin and bicep. I don't
know what's going on. I have read instances of things like this on
the board, but nobody really states age. Again, I am 27, athletic,
and otherwise very healthy. Any insite would be much appreciated.




4627From: flnolegirl@y...
Date: Sat Aug 18, 2001 5:45pm
Subject: Severe reaction to Avelox..continuing problems

Hi all,

I am so happy that I have found this forum. I have been searching
for information on Avelox for weeks and seems most doctors and
pharmeceutical companies seem to want to sugar coat everything. I
was prescribed Avelox about three weeks ago. I have had lumps and
discoloration on the top of my foot since May and my doctor wanted to
treat it as a skin infection first before doing a biopsy, so he
prescribed Avelox. I am allergic to Penicillan and also Sulfa, so he
took that into consideration. Well I took my prescription home and
was approximetly 3 days into my treatment when I began to experience
the most horrific pain in my legs, and then it radiated to my ankles,
my wrists, elbows, Knees, and it was a pain that bore deep into my
bones. I couldn't sleep, I felt shaky and on edge, my heart was
seemingly racing and I just felt sick. The next morning I called my
doctor and they wanted me to come right in. I went in and the nurse
took my blood Pressure and it was 140/100! She was a little alarmed
since it is always normally 100/60 as a rule. The doctor told me he
thought I was having a reatcion and gave me an injection to
counteract the reaction and sent me home. I felt great for about 8
hours after that injection he gave me then the pain returned that
night again with a vengence! This was all about three weeks ago,
since then I am continuing to have radiating pain off and on as
recent as last night when I was experiencing pain that radiated from
the back of my knee, to my heel and ankles and leg. The pain made me
cry! I have also been experiencing bouts of severe insomnia which I
am unsure if it is related to the Avelox or not. I do suspect that
there must be residual amounts in my system, however I was hoping
that someone here might know if my suspisions might be right. If
that is the case how long will the pains in my bones and joints
last? I have not been back to my doctor since my reaction and it
almost makes me afraid to go back. As far as medical conditions I do
have kidney stones and Horseshoe Kidney, frequent urinary tract
infection and Asthma. I am 31 years old and normally very healthy
though. Hope to get some feedback.


461From: tploskon@r...
Date: Fri Aug 20, 1999 9:58pm
Subject: Any dangers of stopping Levaquin?

Hello everyone. My girlfriend was recently prescribed one dose of
Levaquin (500mg) per day for 2 weeks, for what her doctor thought
was pneumonia. She was taking Augmenton for a case of pluresee (sorry,
I don't know how it's spelled, so I wrote it phonetically). That's an
infection of the lungs- it didn't go away, so he suspected pneumonia.

He also prescribed Vioxx (I'm not sure of the dosage). She recieved her
chest x-ray back yesterday- she does not have pneumonia. She was
complaining to me that she thought these drugs were making her feel "off".
She can't sleep at night, she feels angry for no reason, and once she
felt like the room was closing in on her. She also had a red bump on
her cheek that came & went, maybe in the space of a half hour.

I went on the internet to try to dig up some information on the drugs-
and good thing I did! My question is, do we have to worry if she stops
taking this drug without finishing the bottle? I see no reason for her
to be taking such a risk, especially since she doesn't have pneumonia
in the first place!

Thank you for any information you can supply me!

-Tom P


465From: beaux@t...
Date: Sat Aug 21, 1999 1:47pm
Subject: No Subject

Hi everyone,
This is Linda. I was taking Levaquin last week for a sinus infection
and asthma and stopped after the first two doses. I was asking if anyone
else had received sample packs without inserts. It looks like a lot of
people had the same experience as I had, even a lot of the same symptoms.
I went back to work Monday and am happy to say that I am feeling better
and have been able to move around fairly well, although I get tired quicker
than usual. I am still having short periods of dull headaches, lower back
aches, shooting pains in my wrists up to my elbows and ankles, and pain in
my knees. I also still get waves of nausea, get short-winded and my
fingers tremble, especially if I am hungry. The cramps in my calves,
ankles and toes have nearly gone away but I still feel them trying to
tighten up frequently. None of this is work-related. I get plenty of
excercise working and am usually in great physical and mental shape. My
husband and I are professional housecleaners and are very happy working
together. However, the last two days in the car on the way to work, I
suddenly felt so depressed that I cried. My poor husband must think I'm
losing my mind. I have no reason to feel depressed and my temper is short.
I am posting this message to tell anyone who is filing a lawsuit that
they can use any or all of my messages for testimony if it would help in
any way at all. I am in no position to take action myself right now, but
would love to help get Levaquin taken off the market. I hope you all are
at least getting better.
Linda



469From: vman47@h...
Date: Tue Aug 24, 1999 0:21am
Subject: Re: Floxin & Tremors, throat & tongue swelling, siezu

I too suffered a devastating reaction to Floxin in October of 98. I am
still recovering but have come a LONG way. It took my life for a while,
and my identity. I became "different person" as well.

I just wanted to write to encourage your sister that things will get
better. It will be slow and hopeless at times, and there may be some
residual effects (though some recover completely), however, things will
get better.

Best of luck to you both.



474From: clemencia delosrios <cdelosrios@y...>
Date: Sat Aug 28, 1999 4:32pm
Subject: Re: Cipro & my Achilles tendon

I just had a small surgery and my doctor gave me
CIPRO, 250 mg por 2 days, I am so afraid of the side
effects that I don't want to take it. Besides I had I
life threatening reaction with TROVAN. The doctor
says the dose is so low that it won't affect me but I
don't believe her. I wonder if 250mg is a safe dose?

CDlosrios


5004From: Beadit42@a...
Date: Thu Oct 18, 2001 1:13pm
Subject: Re: Levaquin uses for Anthrax?

I agree with your husband. I have been sick for 5 years now because of Cipro
and Floxin. My son for over 2 years with Levaquin. We are just one happy
family!

Sherry


4962From: kings1978@y...
Date: Mon Oct 15, 2001 4:41pm
Subject: Re: to Rocky

First, Thank ALL you people for your input...

I will take this opportunity to paint a fuller picture of my
situation. Sorry if all this has been cussed and discussed before (It
more than likely has) but since the symptoms of this are varied and
often vague I'd like to see where on the spectrum I am, or maybe, I'm
way off on the wrong track.

1994- Cipro 1 week maybe 10 days. Dont recall... no problem
1996 late or 1997 early, Cipro, 1 week, no problem
1997 June Oflox 2 pills-- dry mouth, headache, all the annoying
symptoms and also the calf/heel/ achillies tendon /foot pain. Bad.
Lasted about 6 weeks but went back to normal.

1998 Spring... ONE cipro pill, milder foot/calf/achillies tendon
involvment. 6 weeks later , all normal

March 1999.. while at computer late one night sudden "cold burn"
electric shock down both legs followed by stiffness, pain. Calfs got
real bad that summer but eventually recovered about 99% NO MEDICATION
at this time. Since this event my feet/calf/heel/achillies tendons
have never fully recovered. Some days are worse than others though.

I was well aquainted with all possible side effects of quinolones. I
had a shock reaction to sulfa once and since then I always learn ALL
about what I put in my mouth.

ALL my literature lists all these symtptoms BUT nowhwere does it say
they are permanent. So what if you take a pill and you get calf pain
or tendonitis? That stuff didn't bother me. It's like dry mouth and
constipation. A side effect is a side effect. If it's too much stop
taking the pill. But ongoing, permanent disability is totally
different. Just saying these effects can happen in the patient insert
doesn't seem to cover the bases.

Also, and I think this might be of some signifigance....

Someone on this board posted that they get a flare up of symptoms
whenever they take a steroid based drug for allergies. I cannot
locate this post. This past JUNE I was taking some Flonase, a
steroid based drug and got a major flare-up of the foot/calf pain.
Especially the very tender achillies tendons.

There is a steroid substance known as "Quinolone" used by
weightlifters. Maybe there is a cross-over sensitivity here between
steroid medications and FQ antibiotics but I am not a chemist. These
might just as easily be non related substances.

Like I said before, I am not always 100% sure this is quinolone
related. The lag time between last dose and onset most notably. But
there are so many things that do point that way. The way my legs feel
NOW and the way they felt after the Flonase and the way they felt in
1997 and 1998 while taking the Oflox and Cipro. The same pain. the
same place. Can't be evil spirits, mental illness or Lou Gherig's
Disease. I have been to the MS web site and even in my condition I
still wasnt able to convince myself that it's MS

Does any of this sound familiar to you FQ ADR sufferers or am I
sounding more and more like I have something else.

Sorry for the long post

Rocky


4930From: kings1978@y...
Date: Fri Oct 12, 2001 1:33am
Subject: Re: qeustion for group

I had taken Cipro twice with no adverse reaction. 1994 and 1996. Then
in 1997 I took Ofloxacin and had the bad tendon, calf, keel, and foot
joint pain. About a yr later I took ONE cipro and got a milder case
of the leg, and tendon pains. So the cipro apparently was fine. The
Oflox sensitized me to what I am assuming is all other
Flouroquinolones for any future use. Even tho I am not technnically
alergic to these drugs I had them put in my records that I am
allergic so as to preclude any prescriptions in the future.

Also, and i dont know if this is necessary but why take chances, I
will not take Macrobid either. Even to it's not an FQ one of the
reactions listed at Medscape is "neuro-toxicity". Dont know if it
also affects tendons but I wont get involved with anything that had
neurologocal implications.


4943From: JTuttle962@a...
Date: Fri Oct 12, 2001 11:08pm
Subject: Re: clotting issues and pain

Hi everyone,
I haven't posted in some time due to more jaw surgery but want to add
that I am still suffering a great deal with tendon/joint issues in ankles,
knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders and spine.
I took Levaquin in December 1998 and several periods of Cipro in 1999
thru some of the 8 oral surgeries. I have osteonecrosis of the jaws and have
now lost all teeth and am learning how to deal with full dentures. Am
currently awaiting the results of the last 7 teeth/bone biopsies.
I was on a 3 month trial of Lovenox in 2000 which didn't seem to help
with the pain. Lovenox is a low molecular weight injectable heparin. In
July 2001, however, I started oral Coumadin with the goal of getting my INR
to 2.5. I have clotting disorders, unknown prior to the first jaw surgery.
These clotting disorders contributed to the death of the jaw bone. The
higher the INR (on a scale of 1-5) the longer it takes your blood to form a
clot. Lovenox can stop a clot from forming as well as break down existing
clots; Coumadin (warfarin) can not break down a clot once it forms.
The purpose of this post is to tell you the oral anti-coagulation has
greatly helped my joint/tendon pain. What a surprise! Most swelling is
totally gone. It comes back if the INR falls under 2.5. I know this sounds
radical. Coumadin in its worst form is rat poison...so I hope that tells you
how much pain I have been in since 1999 to be willing to injest this
drug....but I also have to tell you it has helped.
Your doctors will tell you they have never heard of this and maybe it is
something none of you want to try. If you do, you need to find a really good
research-oriented hematologist (I found one at a cancer center) and ask them
to do all the blood tests they know of for if a person clots too fast. Most
folks don't have this done until they have suffered a heart attack or
stroke...or had a really hard time conceiving for children. If it turns out
you have some of these clotting disorders, trying an anti-coagulant might
help with the pain.
The hemmy I found told me that he didn't know anything about how my
clotting disorders affect bone and tendons...but he didn't need too. He says
I should be anti-coagulated for life just from a vascular point of view. How
long did it take me to find someone willing to look at my health from this
angle? 2 years. I wish you luck.
I will never, ever, take another quinolone antibiotic unless I am at
death's door.

Judie



4918From: tigressproductions@y...
Date: Wed Oct 10, 2001 5:01pm
Subject: Re: tendon surgery

--- In quinolones@y..., "Elaine Mueller" <elaine_mueller@h...> wrote:
> It's been a long time since I have been in touch, but I continue to
read
> everything that's posted.

Hello group,

I have been reading the postings but have not posted anything myself
in a while now. I took Levaquin in May of 2001 for a possible UTI.
I had tendon problems immediately and they have gotten worse instead
of better. I've had constant swelling and pain. I also have other
problems: irregular heart beat, sky high blood pressure, high
cholesterol.

I have had MRIs on both ankles several months ago and they indicated
acute tendonitis. I am not certain my insurance company will pay for
more MRIs although I do have another doctor's appointment next week
and we'll see what he suggests. My question is: at what point do you
realize your tendon is probably ruptured? Can you no longer walk at
that point? If you have had surgery for your achilles tendons and you
can guide me in any way, please email me directly. I check back to
the forum once a week now.

Thanks for any guidance. Best to all.

Regards,
JL


4924From: hsimmens@a...
Date: Thu Oct 11, 2001 9:33am
Subject: heart problems

I took Levaquin for 10 days 15 months ago and developed bilateral achilles
tendonitis that I still have. In the last few days I've had progressive more
intense skipped beats/arrhythmia. Could this be related to Levaquin so many
months later? If so has anyone been successfully treated? I hope to see my
cardiologist later today and would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks
Herb



4927From: cshinn1@a...
Date: Thu Oct 11, 2001 4:53pm
Subject: heart/Herb

In the beginning of my ADR to Levaquin, my blood pressure shot up. a
couple months from taking the Levaquin pill - I found out I had an
enlarged heart and a leaky valve. Whether that was present before, I
do not know. But absolutely during the first 3 months of the ADR I
had funny chest sensations. Not pain but one time specifically I had
a "sinking" "detaching" feeling happen. I waited a few minutes to
see what was going to happen next, as I felt it had something to do
with my heart. It was not heart palpitations - just a weird terrible
sensation. About 4-5 months ago I had heart palpations and what felt
like skipping a beat every 7-8 beats. Tests gave the diagnosis of
Cardiomyopathy. The heart is not able to pump adequately.
Though...the most recent test revealed the enlarged heart has reduced
in size since the test back in 1998 that first revealed I had an
enlarged heart.
Is it all related, I don't know. I have no other elements in my life
to have caused it. Arteries are clear. No toxic exposure except for
Levaquin. No rheumatic fever as a child, etc. Did have heart
palpations in 1996 (I believe it was) when I was diagnosed with
Graves disease (hyperthyroidism). That was corrected immediately.
Keep us posted on the outcome with your cardiologist. I wish you
well...something that can be corrected easily! (ie., beta blocker).




4880From: D.K. Heinemeyer <dakota@i...>
Date: Tue Oct 9, 2001 9:49am
Subject: Levaquin IV reaction

Hi everyone, I found you quite by accident. Did not know this forum
even existed! I was doing a google search on 'cipro allergic reactions
penicillin' - in light of the anthrax scare I wondered about my risks of
allergic reaction. My jaw dropped when I realized that Cipro is a
quinolone like LEVAQUIN. Guess I won't be taking that!!

I went to the emergency room January 8, 2001 with severe pain and
nausea--turned out to be a kidney stone. I went through about two
months of hell before my Urologist scheduled me for an ESWL (shockwave
therapy) to get rid of this thing in February. Dr. prescribed Levaquin
for me to take because I had swelling around my kidney and he wanted to
ward off any further urinary infections. Within days I started to get
terrible joint pain, hips, knees, wrists. Did not think much of it, at
least Levaquin-related. On Jan. 24, I got a severe pain in my left
leg, and I thought I was going to die of a blood clot or something.
(Please note, I am a healthy person, this whole episode was totally
shocking and unexpected for me) My mother rushed me back to the
emergency room. They could not find anything out of the ordinary, ran a
battery of blood tests and sent me home. Meanwhile the hip pain became
really horrendous, I even mentioned it to my doctor. He had no
explanation. The next week I had to go in for OP surgery to insert a
bladder stent in prep. for the ESWL treatment. They hooked me up to
IV. Right before they wheeled me up to surgery, they started a Levaquin
drip. Almost immediately I felt a burning sensation, and then the red
streaks started up my arm. I was getting really upset. The nurses kept
watching it. As I was on the guerney heading in to Op room, I showed my
doctor, who promptly asked the nurse to remove the Levaquin drip. The
next week when they were prepping me for ESWL, after the IV was
inserted, they started the Levaquin again--I alerted the nurse that I
had a problem the week before and she said ok we'll watch it. Within
minutes, the itching started, then the red streaks up my arm, and I felt
flush. I called the nurse and they immediately stopped the Levaquin
drip. I attribute my joint pains to the Levaquin. The reactions speak
for themselves, luckily it never progressed to breathing problems or
some of the things others have shared on this list.

Months later, I am happy to report that the jt. pain has disappeared and
I feel healthy again. I refuse to answer when people ask me about my
kidney stone because I don't want to jinx myself, but let's just say I
drink a hell of alot of Vittel (the premier bottled water for stone
formers) these days. My heart goes out to all of you who have been
'poisoned' by the quinolones, and thanks for letting me share.

Oh, and let's all pray that this anthrax stuff is an isolated incident
and that the population is not subject to massive doses of Cipro!
-Dakota



4836From: jwk <jwk@c...>
Date: Sat Oct 6, 2001 8:20am
Subject: Re: tendon surgery

Because I have had a head injury and am much worse since taking levaquin
almost 3 yrs ago, I have a hard time explaining things but will try to tell
what happened as I tried to sue the doctor for not reading the insert. I
had several doctors (two of whom were neurologists) say that had the doctor
read the insert, she would have known that I wasn't a candidate because I'd
had a CNS injury and possible head injury in the past. I only had
dizziness in the beginning and even though I went back to the doctor 3 days
into the treatment and complained that I felt worse (I really felt like I
was dying but that sounded hysterical), they said to keep taking it. I went
back at the end of the 10 days complaining of the same things. I now have
quivering of the brain that won't stop (simple partial seizure disorder),
continual (hangover) headaches, I've developed cataracts (also now listed as
an adverse reaction), just had a basilar cell carcinoma taken off my chest
which could or could not be related at all, muscles burn, am fatigued and
weak, have left temporal and right frontal lobe damage, memory loss, poor
judgement and deductive reasoning problems, etc etc. I can't get into a
seizure specialist (my previous two appts with Barrows clinic were cancelled
by them) in my state until next year.
I sent my records after speaking with them, to the Sheller group in pa to
see if the doctor could be sued for negligence. I've emailed them since
it's been 9 mos at least and have heard nothing and my time limitation is up
this dec but apparently they can't prove that the damage wasn't there before
the levaquin because I hadn't had an EEG before nor neuropsych testing.My
EEg is abnormal now, none of my previous eye exams showed cataracts, the
neuropsych testing showed up the damage. I don't know, I'm surmising that
because I've heard nothing back as to why they won't be taking my case.
Maybe there's simply not enough return to be had for all the work that would
go into it. I've not been able to understand how people can sue for putting
burning hot coffee in their own lap and we can't for doctor's negligence.
Perhaps a lawyer type could explain this to us.


4841From: SPIKE115@C...
Date: Sat Oct 6, 2001 2:32pm
Subject: (no subject)

I am new to this group,so glad I found it.I tell everyone I know never take
Levaquin,this drug should never be given to people with minor things like
sinus infections ect. Its been a nigtmare,Lucky my doctor Admited my problems
are from Levaquin,A few of my friends refused to take Levaquin and thier
doctors basicly told them thats crazy Levaquin is safe,andthat scares me
because it not a safe drug.I would love to see it pulled and replaced with
safe drug.hope everyone gets back to pre Levaquin. Kelly


4844From: flnolegirl@y...
Date: Sat Oct 6, 2001 10:19pm
Subject: Seeking some Good Advice

Hi all,


I just need to talk to anyone who will listen and maybe get some
support and good advice.

I first, wanted to thank everyone in this group for being so
supportive of one another, we may all be experiencing our symptoms
differently, but we share a common bond in that we are all trying to
recover, however that might be, whatever that might take. I really
consider myself lucky in that I probabally have not suffered nearly
as bad as some of you have, however, nonetheless I have had my share
of the suffering from my ADR. I would like to let everyone know that
I hope to be there for anyone who needs a friend or just someone to
talk to as well.

I took Levaquin last march when I had an extremely bad upper
respiratory tract infection and high fever and flu like symptoms, I
seemed to do fine other than extreme shakiness on the round of
Levaquin and had no clue about quinolones at the time. Then in early
May I developed lumps under the skin of my foot. I thought they were
bug bites, but they never itched and they were actually under the
skin. So I waited and when the top of my foot became discolored in a
patch of skin where the I still had the lumps so once again I called
my doctor. My doctor wanted to treat it as a skin infection first
so he prescribed me Avelox since he thought I responded well to the
levaquin last March. Well, I thought I had taken 3 of those pills,
but now realize I had only taken 2 Avelox pills and my reaction was
horrific for me.

I went to bed that night and had really bad pain that travelled. The
pain first seemed to grip my feet and ankles, then my knees, hips,
shoulders, elbows and wrists, fingers etc. I realized that it was
attacking my joints. I was also feeling as if I was getting that
same shaky feeling that Levaquin had previously caused in March, and
my heart was racing. I cried, I hurt.

I didn't know what to do really. I felt like maybe I was
imagining all this but knew I really wasn't. After all who ever
heard of an ADR like this? Aren't people supposed to get hives or a
burn rash? Such as in the case of pennicillin and Sulfa reactions??
Well I called the dr. the next day cause it only seemed to be getting
worse, and when I went in my blood pressure which is normally 100/60
was 140/100 and my Doctor apologized and seemed sincerely sorry for
me, he acknowleged it was most likely a severe reaction to the
Avelox, gave me an injection and sent me home.

I felt good for about 8 hours after that injection and have never
been the same since. The pain had returned that same night, and it
came and went for the next few weeks. I have occasional pain still,
but like I said not nearly as bad as many of you.

My problems mainly stem from the psycological side effects this drug
has left on my life. Kind of ironic for me, since I am a full-time
college student majoring in "Psychology" and a full time mother of
three small girls. I have had bouts of depression which seemed to
follow like a month after taking the drug.


I have never been depressed in my life, before all this. I have
always been the happy-go lucky person and very easy going. I have
also experienced frequent bouts of very jittery nerves, however The
worst part of this though I would have to say is extremely severe
Insomnia. If I do get tired and fall asleep I am only to awaken every
hour wide awake again, and I have to wonder how long I can truly go
on like this.

I really want to avoid drugs, and don't know what to do. I have
talked to someone else here who has to chug a few drinks before he
falls asleep, due to his insomnia. There has to be a better
alternative right? Also I would like to speak with anyone else who
is also suffering from insomnia, jittery nerves, or depression.
Maybe somebody else has taken Avelox?

Well thanks all for listening to me, I really do appreciate it.

Mary Templeton



4828From: hanginloose65@y...
Date: Fri Oct 5, 2001 8:30pm
Subject: --> to Sharon, about Tequin

Hi,
I'm 36 - had an RTI and was given Tequin.
1 a day for 10 days. I took my 5th one today and that was my last.
Yes, I felt strange too. I've never seen a bottle of antibiotics
that said
'May cause drowsiness/dizziness" Well, I certainly felt dizzy, and
nauseaous.
Every time I needed to take the next dose, I thought I was getting
better, but
after taking a pill, WHAM! felt sick all over again. Terrible.
My hands and feet got very cold and achy today. I felt very
strange indeed.
I don't know what to think, but after reading about other Quinolone's
I'm discontinuing
my usage of this stuff. It's a very weird antibiotic. YUK!!!

HL



4832From: Elaine Mueller <elaine_mueller@h...>
Date: Sat Oct 6, 2001 4:59am
Subject: tendon surgery

It's been a long time since I have been in touch, but I continue to read
everything that's posted. I am the one who suffered tendonitis and tendon
rupture, with surgery. I took levaquin for pneumonia in late February,
2001; I suffered tendonitis immediately. The pain was severe and finally
immobilizing. The achilles tendon (the only tendon affected thank god)
ruptured in early May. The surgeon who did the repair found considerable
necrosis which he stripped away before re-attaching what was left of the
tendon. I didn't walk for more than ten weeks. Finally, when I could walk
again, I had to "relearn" walking with physical therapy. Now I am pretty
much all right, although I can't walk a lot without suffering pain in my
ankle. The ankle and foot swell at the end of a day of moderate activity and
my foot and ankle swell so that I have to wear adjustable sandals. However,
I thank God that I can walk at all. I feel that Levaquin was prescribed in
a rather cavalier way because I was not very sick (I had a mild case of
pneumonia) and other, less dangerous, antibiotics couldhave been tried
before going to a quinolone. But I thank God for the brilliant surgeon who
saved my mobility, and realize that many others have suffered far worse ADRs
than mine. My comment is this: for those with severe tendonitis pain, I
wonder if there is, in their cases, necrosis, and if they can ever get
better with allthat dead tissue hanging around? Any thoughts on this,
forum?


5141From: jdrose69@y...
Date: Fri Oct 26, 2001 9:58am
Subject: I can't believe this

Thank-you. I just want to say thank-you to everyone in this group
and of course those that started it. Without this group, I would
have dismissed myself as crazy and wondered why at 32 I was beginning
to see my otherwise healthy body deteriorate.

I had pneumonia in the fall of 2000. After several antibiotics I was
put on the wonder drug AVELOX from Bayer. The pneumonia cleared and
I was healthy again after a 4-6 week ordeal. I did however develop
heart palpitations and was an anxiety riddled wreck. I thought it
was just the pneumonia and the fear of death put into me by a
thoughtless doctor at a clinic.

Spring 2001, I contracted a Bronchial infection (may have been a
leftover from the pneumonia). Again...the doctor put me on AVELOX.
While I don't recall feeling as anxious, I do recall the heart
palpitations. I also injured my foot walking off a raised floor in a
shed I was building (an otherwise innocent activity). It was sore
until approximately August. I played a full season of baseball with
the injury, and the next mornings were filled with pain for about 5
minutes. Figured it was an isolated issue.

Mid 2001, I continued to have heart palpitations. Had an ECG and
everything is fine according to the doctor. It is normal and nothing
to worry about. The pain in my chest must be a pulled muscle because
my heart is very healthy and BP is perfect. The palps continue.

Fall 2001 (Last week), I could feel the chest infection coming back,
so I rushed to see the doctor to get more AVELOX immediately to clear
this up before it became Pneumonia again. I have heard that getting
it again is commonplace and didn't want to be spitting up stuff for
the next four or five weeks. After taking about three days of a 10
day prescription my heel began to feel funny again. I can't beleive
I didn't put the two together until now (a week into my 3rd
prescription). I get a feeling like there is a pulling sensation in
my left heel area, and my heart palpitations seemed to be worse
again. I don't have any anxiety problems to speak of this time.

My symptoms seem rather small in relation to others, but I can't help
but think what if. What if I didn't destroy the two pills I had left
in the prescription and never related the symptoms with the times I
took the medication, and took it again and again. I just hope the
heel pain lessens over time, and the heart palpitations also vanish
over time.

Thanks again folks!

John Rose.



5143From: julietlacy@h...
Date: Fri Oct 26, 2001 10:54am
Subject: Re: PLEASE Help ! Need Information !

I was prescribed Floxin at 18 weeks pregnancy and I`ve researched
this issue extensively.ONE pill will circulate in a fetus amniotic
fluid and body for quite a while as quinolones are 85%-95% excreted
renally and a fetus swallows it`s urine over and over until the waste
goes out to the placenta.So ONE pill was all it took for my baby to
have her defects,the most prominant one being SEIZURES ,which Adults
can get after only ONE pill.But there is no clear-cut literature out
there that specifically states it causes seizures in babies exposed
to quinolones.I also have recieved adverse defects from FDA,and it
shows numerous Stillbirths and birth defects,but as the FDA blacks
out the names of the doctors and/or consumer,there is no way for me
to touch base with any other parents who ,if they been getting the
run around like me from LOCAL MD`s,then they may also be searching
for information.Yeah, quinolones do have a place,but no pregnant
women should take them unless absolutely needed.So my only way to
find these other parents and maybe be able to assist them,is to post
on groups,etc...
I`ve been a member of this group fo almost since it was created,but
have only recieved a 1 response when I did post.Anyways if anybody
has any info and/or suggestions on how to request the information
that the FDA has,it would be welcome.



5044From: John Shipek <jwshipek@i...>
Date: Sun Oct 21, 2001 0:39pm
Subject: Avelox reactions anyone?

Last Friday I finally found what I have been looking for since late January.
I am not suffering anxiety problems, I am a victim of Avelox, a quinolone
drug.

One evening in late January, my body started twitching. It was so
pronounced that I went to my gynecologist the next morning to see if it was
a possible toxic shock case. He did a pap smear, and blood tests for
hormones and autoimmune disease. All showed nothing. The next day I was
such a wreck I went to my GP's office and was told that it was probably
associated with the stress I was under costuming a Cinderella play. I
should wait until that was over and the twitch would probably subside. She
gave me some Xanax so I could get to sleep and told me to continue using St.
John's Wort for the anxiety.

April came and went. Took a vacation to Portugal for a month. Twitch at
its worst would spasm my entire right arch and jerk my big toe downward. I
could sit and watch this.

I also had some pain in my forearms at the onset in January.

In June I made an appt with an internal medicine dr. She said I should take
Celexa. I told her I felt I was not suffering anxiety except the anxiety
caused by the twitching. She said take 100 mg of Calcium and keep track of
what happens. This helped a bit but I still was twitching about every 2 to
5 minutes. These twitches were most prevalent in my legs in the beginning.
It almost felt as if they were crawling as I lay in bed. The twitches also
have been all over my torso but never went to my head until August. They
feel as if the muscle has been tense and they are shaking to get to the
relaxed state. Sometimes they twitch once and other times up to 6 or 7
times. They are in large muscles deep under the skin.

Felt this internal med dr. was not who I really needed to see and went to a
neurologist. He did the office exam for ALS and MS type disease. I show no
muscle atrophy or weakness. He said it was highly unlikely I had any
disease but he could do an EEG or a blood test for muscle protein if I
wanted. So far I have not chosen to do this.

About a month ago my left lower eye lid started to twitch. If I don't blink
too hard it doesn't. I'm living with it.

Oh yeah, in the end of April, my massage therapist found something funny on
the back of my left knee. As she massaged it, it popped. I suffered pain
from about 4 in. above and below my knee (in the back only) for about 3 or 4
months. I am thinking this was probably related also.

I have proposed that this was a continuation of a reaction I had to Avelox
last October 3-7. On the 3 dose I experienced taste perversion. On the 5th
dose I had a big anxiety reaction - had to cancel my camping trip and go
home to bed with Valerian. Did not seem to have any other reaction after
that until January.

I watched "Erin Brockovich" with my husband last night. Made me feel like
we all need to get ahold of her and ask her to take on the quinolones. If
nothing else than to get the dangers of these drugs known to the doctors who
prescribe them.

I would appreciate hearing from others with reactions to Avelox. My Dr.
told me it was a new drug last October when he gave it to me.

Gail


5045From: cfm531@a...
Date: Sun Oct 21, 2001 9:29am
Subject: Re: Avelox reactions anyone?

Gail.....I have had a terrible reaction to Avelox on the 5th day of taking
it. I was rushed to the hospital about an hour and a half after my 5th dose.
I honestly thought I was going to die. I felt an indescribable feeling,
something like a "sinking" or "waves" inside my chest. I was very weak, my
blood pressure was 150/100 and my pulse was 120. My face was so flushed and
I was extremely dizzy. They diagnosed me as having a bad "sunburn" and/or an
"inner ear infection." I knew it was neither as I am a sun worshiper and
have had many ear infections. The severe symptoms lasted about 5 hours.
They did an EKG and all sorts of blood tests. Other than a high white blood
cell count (which shows infection, which is why I was taking the avelox in
the first place), the tests were all negative. I was told to continue the
Avelox so I did and the same thing happened within an hour after taking it
the next day. I called my doctor and got another prescription. Since then I
have had nothing but severe heart palpitations and fluctuating blood pressure
and pulse. I was told it's anxiety but I know it's the Avelox. The same
symptoms come and go without any reasoning. Sometimes it just happens out of
the blue and sometimes it happens after I get very stressed. I also was
diagnosed with an arrhythmia (an extra beat here and there through out the
day) which I know was from the Avelox too. I too would like to know of
anyone else's adverse reaction to Avelox. Please feel free to email me at
cfm531@a... if you have anything to share. Good Luck and keep me posted.
P.S....I also have developed a twitch on my left eyelid about a month ago,
but it seems to be dissipating this last week.



5014From: maryskeller@y...
Date: Fri Oct 19, 2001 0:35pm
Subject: A way to get the word out

Hi everyone, I'm Mary and I've been reading your posts for the past
few weeks, looking for information on what quinolones do to people's
hearts.

My father was given Cipro for a sinus infection. He started feeling
pain in his chest, like he was having a heart attack, after two days
on the drug. We got him into the hospital on time, thank God. They
said it was because of QT interval prolongation due to Cipro. The
heart doctor kept saying that he doesn't put people on quinolones
because of precisely this reason. He took Dad off Cipro immediately,
and he seems to be fine, but I wanted to find out more to see if
there's some other symptoms we should expect.

The information I've gotten off previous posts has been amazing. I'm
really grateful you guys have put together this forum for people like
me who want to know what happened with my father.

This whole business with Cipro and anthrax frankly makes me sick. How
many elderly people like my father are going to end up dying or almost
dying because of Cipro? I was thinking of ways to get the word out on
this drug and all the quinolones, and I finally thought of a website
that I go to often: the Drudge Report. Drudge is that guy who
investigated the scandal with Monica Lewinsky so aggressively.
Whatever your feelings are on that, you have to admit the guy was a
bulldog when it came to investigating it.

So my thought is that maybe if enough people email Drudge about this
at drudge @ drudgereport.com (take out the spaces), he may start
digging into it. This guy seems like he'll do anything to expose
conspiracies to keep the public uninformed. If there's ever a
conspiracy to keep people uninformed, this Cipro and anthrax business
is it. I'm going to include in my email the geocities quinolones site
and links to the articles they have featured there, since he'd need
some hard evidence. Hopefully some of you guys could do the same?

I feel really sorry for all of you who have gone through these
horrendous adverse drug reactions. I know my father seems to have
gotten off lucky right now, but I'm praying he doesn't start with the
problems some of you guys have. Thanks so much for this forum, and
take care, all of you.

Mary Skeller


From: alviener@h... [mailto:alviener@h...]
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 7:40 PM
To: quinolones@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [quinolones] Re: does anyone ever get better


Bless you for sharing your experience with "cycling." I took Cipro
from August 15 through September 1, 2001. After 2-3 days I began
feeling aggravation of my pre-existing neuropathy in my toes and
balls of my feet, and other paresthesias in my hands, arms and legs.
My GP told me not to worry about it and to finish the Cipro. Two
weeks after finishing the drug, my symptoms got worse. I returned to
the GP who told me it wasn't the
Cipro. I went back to the neurologist, who originally diagnosed my
neuropathy, who told me it could be the Cipro and that it could take
anywhere from 3-4 months for the side effects to abate. Over the
next month, my symptoms gradually decreased. Then they suddently
became worse than ever for no apparent reason. I had much worse
numbness and pain in my feet, blurred vision, and paresthesias
(numbness, bunring, needles and pins) over
my entire body which were exacerbated by contact with anything such
as shoes, chair backs, etc. I returned to the neurologist who opined
that
the Cipro could not cause my side effects to suddently get
significantly worse 1 month after discontinuing its use. He
performed another nerve conduction test which supposedly varified
objectively that my nerves were not suffering further damage.
Because I also complained of sore, swollen knuckles, he recommended
that I see
a Rhumatologist to rule out a auto-immune disorder (where the immune
system attcks normal tissues, causes ie: rhumatoid arthritis). Other
than that he had no answers. I left his office feeling rather
distressed. However, over the next week or so, I noticed that the
side effects had almost gone away completely. I was high as a kite.
Then, about a week ago, they returned worse than ever. Last night I
was so uncomfortable I was ready to go to the emergency room. Today
I read yours (and others) comments about "cycling." I am now certain
that these symptoms are side effects from Cipro. It has been about 2
1/2 months since I finished the Cipro prescription. I can only hope
that the neurologists comments that my "neuropathy" Cipro side
effects disappear in 3-4 months. Best of luck to all.

Al


5348From: robishere4321@y...
Date: Tue Nov 13, 2001 2:11pm
Subject: I took cipro. Care to share your wisdom?

Hello all,

My name is Rob, I'm a 28 year-old male. I took
cipro (500 mg twice per day) for 3 days ending about 8 days ago.
I stopped my 7-day regimen early due to fever and headaches.
Since then I've noticed other more disturbing side effects, and since
finding
this forum I'm pretty worried. I saw my doctor today
about my still-lingering symptoms, and he said he
doesn't think the cipro caused them. I gave him
a copy of the Cohen article and asked him to read it
so we both get on the same page.

I guess I'm in the same boat as a lot of other
newbies to this mess. I have a couple of
questions for the forum, since it seems to be the
best source of information I can find. Obviously
my doctor is no help at all so far. Can anyone else
confirm the symptoms I've noticed so far?
1. difficulty concentrating and visualizing:
When I try to concentrate, it just is not easy.
When I try to visualize things, it seems like
other thoughts instantly override what
what I'm thinking. Just trying to form a
mental picture of my own creation is sometimes
difficult. When I read, it seems harder than
it used to, like I'm just not absorbing the
information as well as I usually do.

2. poor balance: I feel like I'm off-balance sometimes.
I think this is related to my inner ear, because when
I stand on one foot with my eyes open, that's still
pretty easy. But if I close my eyes, it's much harder
than it used to be. Also, if I spin around with my eyes
open or closed, I get dizzy with just one spin and
almost fall over. I like to swing dance, so this is a
problem.
Sometimes when I just tilt my head a little while talking
to someone I feel off-balance.

3. Nausea: I've been having some nausea over the last few days
at various times for no apparent reason. That is unusual.

4. Whole body feels weird: my entire body just feels a little
weird,
like it's not quite mine, or it's a little numb or something.
Is this what I've seen called "depersonalization?" It's
a little like I'm in a dream world.

5. Asthma symptoms: my chest has felt a little tight a lot since
I took the cipro, like I'm having some mild asthma for no
good reason. I have had mild asthma in the past. Could
it be a coincidence? Maybe. Could all these symptoms
be a coincidence? Doubtful.

5. Tinnitus: I have a constant, low-volume whine in my ears that
wasn't there before.

6. Possible muscle weakness: I'm still trying to confirm this,
but my muscles just feel weaker, and my left hand sometimes
doesn't seem like it works as well as it always has.

For me, the first two symptoms I listed are the most discouraging,
mainly because I consider them to be special giftings of mine.
Some of my symptoms seem to have improved a little in the last
couple of days, and I'm praying every day that I will be fully
healed.

I haven't noticed any tendon problems so far, but I'm
very concerned about the possibility.
I'm one of those on-again, off-again exercise people,
and I'm wanting to be exercising again. Should I hold off for 2
months,
or just start very gradually, or what? Does anyone know
more about how the FQ affects the tendons? Does it weaken them
temporarily, or semi-permanently until they have time to heal and
strengthen
again? Does it affect everyone's tendons, or only some people's
tendons? I'm trying to evaluate how likely it is that my tendons
are messed up. Maybe I haven't noticed anything since I haven't
been strenuous with them. Or maybe it's because they weren't
adversely
affected. I feel like maybe I should do some mild exercise to help
strengthen them, but I don't want to risk a tendon rupture. Does
anyone have any recommendations?

I'm also interested in tips on how to prevent this in the future.
The main thing I can think of is to not allow anything into
my body without an understanding of its possible benefits, risks,
and alternatives. For cipro, I had no idea that any of the side
effects
could be long term, and no idea that there were gentler and less-risky
alternatives that could have been prescribed for my garden-variety
urinary tract infection. What sources do you all use when trying
to figure out if you will take a medication or not? I looked at an
online Physician's Desk Reference and checked out the entry for cipro.
It's not even very clear that the side effects can be long-term,
although the number and type of side effects listed does make cipro
look pretty scary. I haven't been able to look up doxycycline in
there, does anyone know what I should enter?

I saw somebody mention a book about coping
with minor brain injuries. Does anyone else have any tips along
those lines? I guess I'm wondering if there are any mental
and/or physical exercises I can do that are specifically designed
to help with my symptoms.

Thanks for any input. If anyone would like to form an informal
prayer group about this with me, let me know.

-Rob


: Mary Templeton <flnolegirl@y...>
Date: Mon Nov 5, 2001 10:17pm
Subject: Update Severe pain and knot below left knee

Hi All,

Just wanted to update all of you. I am having an
awful time, as I full well knew I would. I finally
broke down and went to the ER over the weekend because
my knee was still balled in a tight knot, and my leg
was killing me to walk, especially to go up steps.
Anyway, I had a terrible experience at the hospital.
First of all let me ask one thing, is it just me or is
there a sudden surge in the increase of physician
assistants as opposed to MD's??? Well I got a
physicians assistant who totally disregarded anything
I had to say, he did not even acknowledge my pain, all
he did was order three x-rays of my knee, (which I
knew were unnecessary since they only take pictures of
bone) anyway needless to say they were alright and he
told me he thought I had a fatty cyst, (Huh???)
Anyway, he is full of it since pain is accomponying it
and it is my opinion that he just did not want to
bother with me since he ran no tests other than the
x-ray. One more thing....he stated that I should
watch the egg sized lump, since he didn't think it was
a blood clot but he wanted me to keep an eye just in
case!!!! If he even suspected a blood clot shouldn't
of he ran tests??? My husband was angry, he has
worked in the medical profession himself for many
years and he thinks this total incompatence....What do
you all think???????? This behavior is unnacceptable
as far as I am concerned...just how much schooling is
required to become a physician assistant anyway?


Mary


5267From: susan_w_77429@y...
Date: Sat Nov 3, 2001 3:23pm
Subject: Levaquin - Oh, my legs!

I took my first Levaquin 500mg Oct. 30, 2001, at 2 in the afternoon.
Later that night, my left knee started hurting. Who would connect
knee pain with taking a pill? Oct. 31, 2001, at 3 in the afternoon,
I took my second and LAST Levaquin. After going to the Internet and
reading about Levaquin, I flushed the remaining 4 pills down the
toilet. By bedtime I could not bend my left leg at the knee. It
felt tight and swollen and hurt mainly in about a 6 inch span going
from my knee upward. My right leg started feeling the same way, but
not as badly. Nov. 1, 2001, I'm hobbling about like an old woman.
Today is Nov. 3, 2001 and my left leg is sorer than ever and right
leg is about the same. I also have some pain in my left wrist. What
troubles me is that there is no information that I can find that
tells a person how to help oneself. With as many complaints as I
have now found posted on the Internet, I don't understand why
this "drug" has not been pulled off of the market. I can't see any
point in letting innocent people be exposed to something this
destructive. It's evil to do so. Please tell all of your friends
and relatives as I am doing to NEVER take this "medication". I was
given the drug for a case of bronchitis. My best wishes to all of
you as you try to recover.


5273From: sdorshan@a...
Date: Sun Nov 4, 2001 6:24am
Subject: Re: Levaquin - Oh, my legs!

>>>>I took my first Levaquin 500mg Oct. 30, 2001, at 2 in the afternoon.
Later that night, my left knee started hurting. Who would connect
knee pain with taking a pill? Oct. 31, 2001, at 3 in the afternoon,
I took my second and LAST Levaquin. After going to the Internet and
reading about Levaquin, I flushed the remaining 4 pills down the
toilet. By bedtime I could not bend my left leg at the knee. It
felt tight and swollen and hurt mainly in about a 6 inch span going
from my knee upward. My right leg started feeling the same way, but
not as badly. <<<<

Susan - this is exactly what happened to me after 1 Levaquin (except that I
had taken Levaquin, Floxin and Cipro before that without any problem). I
don't remember how long the pain lasted, but I'm pretty sure it was gone
within a few days. I have no lasting knee problems at all.

Just go easy on the legs, and give it a few days.

Scott



5211From: mariem4ca@y...
Date: Tue Oct 30, 2001 10:29am
Subject: Treatment options

I am delighted to have found this website and to recognize that I am
not alone in this mess. It's been very difficult finding out the
reason for my symptoms and then dealing with the medical profession
to get the acknowledgement and help needed. However, the anthrax
emergency has allowed a more open discussion of Cipro's side effects -
hurray! I would like to have some information on what types of
treatments have helped people. In particular, I have severe achilles
tendonitis and have tried just about everything. I am taking an
arthritis medication - Vioxx - one of the new cox2 inhibitors, and
wondered if anyone else had found it useful to deal with the
inflammation and pain? Also - I am curious to know what the time-
limit is (if any) for side-effects from treatment to be considered
past (i.e., a year after taking the drug, two years??). Any advice or
information would be appreciated.