Post Marketing Reports for April 2000

Doc 72
1876From: swoz107c@a...
Date: Sat Apr 15, 2000 1:48pm
Subject: Re: avelox

I took two pills only. Now that I am out here reading everything I
realize I took it with 800 mg of Ibuprofen. I wonder if that is how
I got so messed up. I am now seeing a rheumatologist, cardiologist
and possibly a pulmonary specialist- depending on blood test and
chest x-ray results. This all started with a horrible sinus
infection- anyone else with similar story??

Doc 71
1865From: swoz107c@a...
Date: Fri Apr 14, 2000 3:09pm
Subject: avelox

Has anyone had any joint/muscle pain or lung problems while taking
avelox? I think I had a adverse reaction and my health is going down
hill.

Doc 70
1850From: No1DOSMOM@a...
Date: Wed Apr 12, 2000 7:17pm
Subject: Re: rheumatologist

Cheri saw the orthopedic specialist Tuesday. He said she has multiple
tendinopathy on her right side and acute tendonitis of the right Achilles
tendon. He gave her 600 mg of motrin, but Cheri had a BAD reaction to the
RX. The doctor said basically we are now reduced to just applying ice for 20
minutes at a time or until she can't stand the pain from the ice. He said
steroids were out. He said he has seen some adults hit with this reaction,
but he has never seen a child (and yes, he said Cheri still is a child, and
should NEVER have been given this drug) hit. He said her reaction is much
worse than he's seen before because of the fact she is a child. Now she
cannot write, type or draw with her right hand and she's in the wheelchair
because she cannot be on the foot at all. She's an honor student so we are
using very creative ways to get school work and homework done.

She saw one of her pediatricians yesterday. He was horrified and couldn't
believe her condition. He actually had tears in his eyes. He said the same
old mantra: "She should never have been given this drug." He apologized at
least a half a dozen times for recommending the idiot who gave it to her. He
was totally unfamiliar with Levaquin. When I mentioned that this drug was a
Quinolone, the man almost had a heart attack.

It seems the drug companies are really pushing pediatricians to use ear drops
and eye drops for babies and children that contain--YOU GUESSED
IT--quinolones. He immediately called his nurse into the examining room and
told her to get a memo out to all of their doctors to stop the use of these
drops in any of their patients. He said he was going to spread the word
among his colleagues about what a quinolone did to one of his pediatric
patients.

Maybe by word of mouth, people will become educated so others don't have to
go through what Cheri and all of you are going through. God, I hope so.

All the best to everyone.

~Pat Fakes



Doc 69
1836From: loriemc@w...
Date: Tue Apr 11, 2000 4:35pm
Subject: Re: Can this be due to levaquin???

In a sense, I was lucky. I was sick in bed with a sinus infection &
was not involved in any activity. My left should & knee both started
bothering me, then the pain moved to my right shoulder & knee. I
almost went to the emergency room as the pain made it impossible to
sleep. I asked about the Levaquin as that was the only thing
different, but I was told that there were only 1/2 of 1% of people on
Levaquin with joint problems. I've stopped the Levaquin any way & am
waiting on tests. I suspect that I don't have Rheumatoid Arthritis
or gout, etc., but it may be put down to Fibromyalgia. This is my
first time on Levaquin, but I had Cipro before. I stopped taking it
because I couldn't keep it down. I have severe allergies (hayfever),
which is in itself a type if autoimmune condition. I wonder about
the relationship between these types of things; especially when I
can't manage to avoid sinus infections longer than a month or so.

Lorie


Doc 68

1831From: No1DOSMOM@a...
Date: Sun Apr 9, 2000 6:21pm
Subject: 16 Year Old - Levaquin

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in ER with my daughter Cheri. She is now in
a half cast until the Orthopedic doctors see her tomorrow. The
rheumatologist and ER doctor felt that something had to be done in the hopes
of stopping a rupture of the tendons.

Interestinly, the ER doctor was very young. When she walked in and saw how
young Cheri was and read that it was from Levaquin she replied: "Who the . .
. is the idiot who gave this drug to your daughter? In my opinion it should
never be given to anyone under the age of 21 because of growth plates." She
went on to say that now whenever she gets anyone in ER with tendon problems
her first question is "Were you on Levaquin?" She said the warning bulletins
are out there, but the doctors are not paying attention. She was really
upset. Cheri has also developed a lot of pain in the shoulder, so I would
imagine the orthopedic dr. will order an MRI I hope this coming week.

Went round-for-round with the rheumatologist Wednesday. On Thursday when
Cheri started in so much pain with the ankle, the rheumatologist finally
admitted he read some of the things I had sent him and was now convinced it
was from the Levaquin. He said something like: "I am so embarrassed, it
didn't realize. . . Obviously I'm not completely up-to-date . . . etc, etc,
etc.

As Cheri said: "At least, Mom, he understands now and won't to this to
anyone." Small comfort.

She will also see the eye doctor tomorrow. We think her eyes may be getting
a little better. . . hopefully!!!

~Pat Fakes

Doc 67
1821From: MBILLIK@p...
Date: Sat Apr 8, 2000 5:45pm
Subject: So what is the upshot of all this???

Ok -- I got tendon problems say it is due to levaquin.

Does it go away??

I suspect I might need surgery if the tendon is torn.

My concern: it seems all your tests come out normal. If my tendon is
not torn, they may not be able to do anything.

Mel




Doc 66

1817From: MBILLIK@p...
Date: Sat Apr 8, 2000 4:52pm
Subject: Can this be due to levaquin???

I have taken levaquin on 2 occasions for sinus infections.
This is because 18 months ago, I had a bad case of pneumonia followed
by adult-onset mononucleosis after having a miserable sinus
infection. So, they don't want to take any chances when a sinus
infections gets bad.

Anyway, first time, no problems; it worked great.

It also worked great the last time as far as eliminating the sinus
infection. At that time, I was also renovating my bathrooms, doing a
lot of painting on the ceiling and putting up borders. A few days
after that I started getting shoulder pain which got worse each day.
I was still taking the levaquin (I forgot about the warning relating
levaquin to tendon problems).

Since then (6 weeks ago) my shoulder is terrible (fortunately it is
my left shoulder and I am right-handed). My doctor does NOT think it
is due to the levaquin since the work I was doing fits in with the
symptoms. I am now undergoing physical therapy. If that doesn't work
I have to have an MRI. We suspect a possible tear in the rotator cuff
(tendon) which might require surgery.

HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PARTICULAR SYMPTOM (I've read about knee
problems).

Mel


Doc 65
1780From: tzap2@w...
Date: Tue Apr 4, 2000 8:32pm
Subject: Need help w/reaction to Cipro

My nightmare began in January 1999 when I was given Cipro for a UTI I
didn't even know I had. Three days into taking this medicine I started
getting severe pains in both my legs and loosing my hearing. My story
is very long and drawn out. I went from doctor to doctor for 6 months
as my health deteriorated. I am now left with profound bilateral
hearing loss, tinnitus, inner ear damage that effects my balance as well
as nausea and vomiting, vision problems and pains in both my arm and leg
joints. I have been poked and prodded from head to toe by doctors
looking for a disease to assoiate this to. Hearing tests have shown the
severity of my ear problems. The only other tests that have revealed
something are blood panels showing an elevated Westergren Sedimentation
rate and Anitnuclear Anitbody which also was elevated as well as being
speckled and titered. I had 1 vial of spinal fluid showing an elevated
white cell count. The doctors have had me on predisone since July.
Last month I was taken off of it. They have me on about 8 other
medications as well. I have been told my the ENT doctors that I won't
regain my hearing because I didn't get treated for so many months. The
Rhumatologist I am currently seeing does not know what to make of it
all. He of course like all the doctors I have seen to date say it is
not the Cipro that did this. It was something else that caused all my
problems. I have been put on a private disability through my company
since July last year. The company felt that I was a liability to them.
My world has been turned upside down and I am not the same person I use
to be. I would like to know that I am not alone. I live in Raleigh,
North Carolina amd would appreciate any and all comments and/or
suggestions as to a course of treatment. Also, I have seen several
postings referring a Dateline report as well as a New York Times
article. I would like to find out more about both. Do people file
lawsuits for this? Thanks for taking the time to read through this.

Warmest Regards

Tina

Doc 64
1775From: No1DOSMOM@a...
Date: Mon Apr 3, 2000 5:05pm
Subject: Blood Tests - 16 year old FQ'd

We received a call from the rheumatologist today. All of Cheri's blood tests
are normal. I think he may be stumped.

I told him the pain in her right shoulder, arm, elbow and wrist seems to be
getting worse and that her eyes are still light sensitive. He suggested she
take a Tylenol for the pain. I'm afraid to do that because I seem to
remember reading that Tylenol, etc. can cause more pain.

She is supposed to see him again a week from this Thursday. She will see the
new ETN this Thursday and have all the eye tests repeated next Monday. When
she saw the rheumatologist last Thursday he said he was 90% positive it was
an ADR to Levaquin, so we are very grateful that the tests did not show
anything else wrong, but . . . he certainly didn't know what to do next.

I asked him if we put heat and then cold on her arm would it help the
condition. He said no.

Just wanted to keep you updated. This is so frustrating. She went back to
school today (first time in almost 2 weeks). She could not program on the
computer with her right hand--had to do everything left handed and by the end
of the day she couldn't even take notes in her Honors History course. When
she came out of school, the tremors in her right hand were terrible. She is
in all Honors courses, so the school has given her permission to dictate her
homework to me.

Take care everyone--any suggestions would be appreciated.

~Pat Fakes

Doc 80
1959From: tzap2@w...
Date: Fri Apr 28, 2000 7:26pm
Subject: Re: Re: Eye problems and contacts

Janet:

I too had problems with double vision. One on the many of my long list.
I had the same treatment as you. My eyes are still not 100% normal as
they are very sensitive to the light and my visual acuity is not what it
was before being "floxed". Just thought I would let you know that you
are not alone!
T
Doc 79

1958From: Janet Turner <govtjanet@h...
Date: Fri Apr 28, 2000 7:09pm
Subject: Re: Re: Eye problems and contacts

Shortly after finishing a 9-day course of Levaquin, I developed double vision (diplopia). I had to take Methylprednisilone for 6 days. The neuro-opthalmologist says I have inflamed eye muscles, and possibly inflamed optic nerve due to the sinus infection. In the book "Bitter Pills" by Stephen Fried, he mentioned that his wife after being Floxed was examined by a neuro-opthalmologist and had atrophied optic nerve. The bottom line is get checked out by an opthamologist


Doc 78
1956From: pdunn@t...
Date: Fri Apr 28, 2000 2:30pm
Subject: Does it get worse?

I believe I have had an ADR to Levaquin, although mine seems to be
relatively mild so far. I took 500 mg of Levaquin for 10 days (I
wish I would have stopped after day 1, though) and experienced
tingling in both arms the night I took my first dose. I called my
doctor's office the next day, but, of course, they said it was not
drug related. I finished the full course and, by the end, I was
experiencing tingling and complete numbness in my arms as I slept.
It only occured while sleeping or lying down. I also noticed that I
became more anxious and depressed during these 10 days. After
getting off Levaquin, I don't have as much of the tingling or
numbness, but I still don't feel like I did prior to the Levaquin.

My question is this:
Is your initial reaction to the drug indicative of how the next few
months or years will be, or are any of you getting worse since
getting off of Levaquin? Like I said, I didn't seem to have the
major symptoms some of you experienced initially, so I wonder if that
means my reaction will be milder?

As I said before, compared to the other postings I have read, my case
seems to be fairly mild. My biggest complaints right now are that I
seemed to be fatigued by the end of each day, muscle stiffness and
slight joint pain, my attention span is not like it used to be, I
seem to have more floaters in my eye than before, and I occasionally
feel dizzy or unstable (but only for a few seconds at a time). My
heart goes out to those of you who have had worse experiences than
me. Basically, my problem is that I don't feel like myself any more,
and I think a lot of it has to do with Levaquin. I'm only 26, and I
can't imagine not being like I was before. Although, for me, if I
can occupy my mind with something else, I seem to do better.

I encourage all of you to email your stories to Dr. Jay Cohen at
safemeds@d... who posted to this site earlier in the year.
I got a response from him today. Although he does not have the time
to devote to the quinolone issue right now, he did say he would
pursue it when time allows. Maybe he can add some legitimacy to the
cause since many doctors don't want to believe it. However, my
doctor is starting to believe it a little more now. Good luck to all
of you. Thanks!


Doc 77
1954From: sgttroy@m...
Date: Thu Apr 27, 2000 11:43pm
Subject: Levaquin and Laryngeal Spasms

I was on a 10 day dose of Levaquin back in January and I thought I
was going to die. Not 8 hours into my sleep I woke up with a locked
up throat. No air in/out. I did the 911 thing 3 different days and
fortunately I was able to begin breathing again. To make a long
story
short, I have been to several doctors only to tell me that I have
Laryngeal Spasms which was most likely cause by Levaquin. To date I
have to take Benadryl everynight and prevacid about every other night
to keep the acid out of my throat. I can't find a doctor to give me
a
straight answer to stop the spasm in my throat. So I just live with
it hoping sonner or later it will relax. I had a bad doctor who
failed to realize that I was having an allergic reaction to Levaquin.

I have sent a medwatch card to FDA and notified the drug manufacture.

I am one half of 1% according to the manufacturer. What a pain in the
tail bone to go through. Good luck to those who suffer as I do.

Troy

Doc 76
1899From: MBILLIK@p...
Date: Sun Apr 16, 2000 10:19am
Subject: So, what to do (tendon problems)?

I sent a post yesterday, but I don't see it on this egroup, so let me
ask the question again.

I took levaquin for a severe sinus infection. I now have severe
rotator cuff problem left shoulder and my right shoulder & right
elbow are also giving me problems.

I am doing exercises and hoping that will help. If not, I'll have to
get an MRI and see an orthopedic surgeon.

Does this stuff ever go away or at least get better???
What CAN be done to help alleviate or cure the problem?

Mel




Doc 73
1885From: swoz107c@a...
Date: Sat Apr 15, 2000 5:15pm
Subject: Re: avelox

Thanks- I have all that information- but none of my doctors are
willing to read it or acknowledge it yet- Haven't given up yet
though. I'll keep checking the boards.