Post Marketing Reports for August 2003

Message 15431 of 16592

From: "debberann46" <blondeandblonder@h...>
Date: Tue Aug 5, 2003 10:38 am
Subject: Tequin made me delusional!!!!!!!!
I hope you remeber me but i was offline a while and You had told me
to consult with a lawyer about Tequin making me delusional for 6
weeks! Well I had another go round with being delusional in January
of this year...I forgot to mention to you I been floxed very badly
because I have taken almost all floxin out there because of recuring
kidey infections!!! At one point I took them FOR 6 MONTHS before
they found out I had a kidney full of stone !!! Can you please get
back to me on this...I was really a mess and I am afraid it was
caused by all the floxins I took over the years....And I think my
mental healt has suffered....There is NO reasson fro my being
delusional!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My father is gone now but he was an epileptic and he was put on Cipro
and he ended up a mess from several bad seiezures!!!! He developed
what the neurologist call one continual seizure!!!!!!!
Thanks,
Debra Hunkins

Message 15421 of 16592

From: "kaumond" <kaumond@w...>
Date: Fri Aug 1, 2003 8:00 pm
Subject: Stroke while taking Cipro and Coumadin

My mother is 76 years old. She has taken Coumadin for eight years.
Last month the doctor prescribed Cipro for a UTI. The day she took
her 10th pill (5 days) she woke up with the symptoms of a stroke.
The neurologist said it is not related to the Cipro or coumadin. He
said it is ischemic (not hemorraghic) and thus it was a coincidence
that this happened. Has anyone ever heard of this?

Message 15432 of 16592

From: "nickjr4" <nickjr4@y...>
Date: Tue Aug 5, 2003 11:56 am
Subject: Norfloxacin causing numbness?
First post to this group.

Took norxacin for 8 days, last 4 of which also took norgesic, a
muscle relaxant. Didn't have any adverse effects until 5th day. Body
temperature very inconsistent, tingling sensation from head to toe,
anxiety/tachycardia, dry mouth, numbness in skin on limbs and face.
Stopped using the drugs but 2 days later I still have some numbness
in skin of upper right arm, upper right leg and above tail bone.

Any similar experiences? Does the condition clear up? If yes, how
long will it take?

Thanks,

Nick

Message 15437 of 16592

From: "Draw" <draw4u2day@y...>
Date: Wed Aug 6, 2003 12:21 am
Subject: Took Cipro for 7 days...7 too many!
Hello Everyone!

I am glad to see a forum such as this one. My Doctor prescribed
Ciprofloxacin for an Urinary Tract Infection a few weeks ago. I have
an allergy to penicillin antibiotics, so he felt Cipro was a better
alternative. Well, I will never take it again. I have suffered
dizziness, severe candida, heart palpitations, and digestive problems
as a result. I also get weak sensations in my ankles, and jaw where
there are ligaments/tendons.

Did/Does anyone get sensations of heat and tingling, and/or muscle
tremors in their legs and/or arms. It keep getting them in my legs
and it is terribly annoying as is the heartbeat sensation.

My heart goes out to all of you here who have suffered the effects of
a quinolone antibiotic. As far as I'm concerned they are no good and
belong getting pulled from the market. Okay..it is late and I am
irritable. Take Care and will be back!


Message 15494 of 16592

From: Cheryl Myers <cherylm203@y...>
Date: Thu Aug 14, 2003 9:31 am
Subject: Re: [quinolones] CIPRO and paresthesia
Hello,
I can relate to the episodic nature of your symptoms.
I have been down the MS road too. I still worry since
I have not exhausted all MS testing.

I had 5 days of Levaquin in September 02, Tequin and
Cipro in Feb 03.

I have fasciltations, a slew of eye problems
(floaters, halos, flashes, eye pain), and a lot of
burning sensations, nerve pain; like stabbing and
pinpricking.

All these(except for the vision) seem to go away and
come back with some episodes being worst than others.
I worried endlessly and now just am trying to deal.
Cheryl:)

Message 15501 of 16592

From: "canyonheathmom" <canyonheathmom@y...>
Date: Fri Aug 15, 2003 7:47 pm
Subject: THANK YOU SO MUCH
I want to thank the creator of this group and its contributors. You
probably saved me a lifetime of pain.

A couple of years ago, a doctor wanted to give me Cipro (which I'd
never heard of). I'm always cautious about meds, so I did some
research on the web first. After reading what you guys wrote on this
message board, I told the doctor that I refused to take it. I already
have thyroid disease and don't need any additional problems.

Now here I am on vacation in Aruba and I developed a bronchial
infection and swollen glands. What did the doctor want to prescribe?
Eleoquin. Well, that sounded awfully familiar, so I got an internet
connection and looked it up before filling the prescription. Sure
enough, it is the foreign Levoquin (Cipro). I called the doctor and
had him change me to a different family of antibiotics. Of course,
the doctor had "never heard" of anyone having problems with Eleoquin.

So, in a nutshell, THANK YOU ALL for helping me avoid this dangerous
drug. I think in the future I'll take a printout of Cipro and all its
equivalent names with me. You can never be too careful.

-Lynn from California


Message 15531 of 16592

From: "devimootie" <devimootie@y...>
Date: Wed Aug 20, 2003 8:42 am
Subject: New Symptoms?

I took cipro on and off for 3-4 years for recurring UTI's--last dose
in Feb. '03. It wasn't until March that I found this forum that I
felt I finally had an explanation for the joint pains, muscle aches,
foggy thinking, hives and panic I was experiencing--though most of my
symptoms didn't occur while I was on the cipro--but sometime
afterwards. Just in the last few days, I have been experiecing
something completely new. My arms--at night especially--feel like they
are falling asleep with tingling, numbness and heaviness. No matter
how much I move or shake them, they don't "wake up". My legs have
these hard to describe pains running along the inside of my upper
thigh to my knees. My husband says I should go to the doctor--but I'm
the one who informed her re. floxing. So I'm sitting here in a
dilemma I'm guessing is familiar to some or many who use this
forum--wondering if I have "a real disease", frustrated by lack of
anything the med. professionals can do, and wondering if the cipro has
found a new way to visit me. Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated.
Devin.



Message 15546 of 16592

From: "dragonfly54729" <dragonfly54729@y...>
Date: Thu Aug 21, 2003 1:30 pm
Subject: Levaquin
First off I'm a 30 year old white female. For the most part healthy
except for below. I'm average in weight, don't drink or smoke to
speak of.

I started getting sick back on June 23rd of this year - intially I
got a cold which turned into bronchitis. I started out with the
achiness all over and then it progressed to the bronchitis - I was
treated for the bronchitis with Zithromax for 5 days. After that
treatment was done I felt achy still. The week of July 7th I went
back to the doctor and had them test me for mono which came back
negative but they also did a CBC screen on me too. One of my levels
came back high - Granules?? and the NP thought it possibly was
bacterial so she put me on Levaquin for 10 days. After the 10 days
were up within two days of being off the medication I was achy again -
and tired. So I went back and was tested for 3 different strains of
Lymes disease. My results came back negative on all of them and in
the meantime she put me back on 10 days of the Levaquin. Well I took
the last on on Tuesday. Since this past weekend I've been more then
just achy (flu like achy) I hurt in my joints - hips, knees, ankles,
back, wrists, and fingers. I haven't been sick at all to speak of
just achy and tired. Does anyone have any ideas what is going on?

I received a reply to this post on Web md. THe writer stated that
their nephew experienced much of the same problems. My question is
with me starting out with achiness is this possibly not related to
the Levaquin? I am now more then just achy - I hurt all over. Help.


Message 15569 of 16592

From: "elvis_8_8" <elvis_8_8@y...>
Date: Sun Aug 24, 2003 2:26 pm
Subject: Oral symptoms after 3 months off from cipro.....
i was on a 2 month dose of Cipro 500 mg and Amox-Clav(1 week) when i
started having trouble chewing food because my esophagus was swollen
and i could literally feel the food going down the throat passage,
with a feeling of excessive dry mouth. now its almost three months i
am off the drug and i still feel a little difficulty swallowing and
also can see some swollen spots at the end of my tongue and still
feel dry mouth with a white coating on my tongue all the time? can
anybody please tell me how long will it take to these symptoms to go
away.... i am really scared and nothing seems to help..........

Message 15572 of 16592

From: "nickjr4" <nickjr4@y...>
Date: Sun Aug 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Subject: Thanks all - I just said NO.
To All,

I don't know if being in touch with this group has kept me out of
harms way, but I think it's a distinct possibility. I had 8 days of
norfloxacin for prostatitis about a month ago, and although the doc
said he thought it was the muscle relaxant (norgesic) that caused my
symptoms (wide swings in body temperature, dry mouth, anxiety,
numbness in limbs, loss of appetite) he could not explain
pathologically how the norgesic might have caused these. He
acknowledged that there were cases of ADR's to fluoroquinolones, but
he could not come up with even a rough estimate of the percentage of
people who experience the ADR's after taking the drugs. (Does anyone
know the figure by the way?)

All of the ADR's I had seem to have ended. The numbness was the last
to go. Hopefully I will not have recurrences months down the road as
some others have had. I am hoping that discontinuation of the drugs
after only 8 days will have proved to be a factor, as I note several
folks here discussing late arriving symptoms based on several weeks
of FQ use.

I just got a new prescription from another urologist for the same
prostatitis. He wanted to put me on 4 weeks of Ciprofloxacin. I asked
him how he would assess the effectiveness of another antibiotic
(Bactrim) versus the Cipro for my case, and he said the effectiveness
would be about the same. Needless to say I told him NO CIPRO and
asked for the Bactrim instead.

I actually think he may be correct that the number of people who have
ADR's like this are relatively small compared to the number of
prescriptions that are written, but having had a brush with symptoms
that sounded quite familiar to those dicussed in this forum, I felt
it was prudent to avoid this class of drugs. They may help others,
but there was at least some evidence that they might be bad for me.

So my thanks go to all for sharing information that helped me to make
this decision.

Nick



Message 15589 of 16592

From: "cerfur2001" <cerfur2001@y...>
Date: Mon Aug 25, 2003 6:57 pm
Subject: swollen lump in throat felling
its been a while seence i posted in the forum been like to months
with dealing with my possible adr to tequin/cipro i was wondering if
the following syptems are normal for the adr to quinolones i have
done alot of searching but have yet to find the definitve answers i
am looking for first one of my bigest problems is a strong felling of
a swolen lump in my throat it comes and goes or cycles along with the
clasics like muscle pain and such i also apear to have cloudy vision
like im looking through fog this also cycles i also get a dizzy
felling no sping just like im about to pass out and i dont have much
balnce i hate being a newbie to a forum i hope i am not anyoin you
all thanxs for the help.



Message 15590 of 16592

From: "canyonheathmom" <canyonheathmom@y...>
Date: Mon Aug 25, 2003 7:06 pm
Subject: Avelox and heavy feeling in legs?
I have pneumonia and I reluctently took Avelox, despite all I'd read
here. My doctor swore up and down that it was the best drug to get
rid of my pneumonia and that none of his patients have ever
complained about any side effects.

I have been taking 400 mg of Avelox for a week. A couple of days ago,
my legs began feeling heavy and tired. My arms also feel a speck
achy. I've just been laying in bed and laying around the house for
the past 2 weeks, so it is not over-exertion. Also, I am in very good
physical shape. Since this feels a bit like tight muscles, I tried
some stretching exercises. They didn't help.

The feeling is one of heaviness, tiredness, from my butt all the way
down the back of my legs to the heals. They aren't numb, just very
achy.

My upper back and shoulders also ache, but I thought perhaps that is
from all the coughing I've done in the past 2 weeks. Although the
cough is almost gone, I still have coughing jags several times a day.
My lower back feels tight, but again, I thought it is probably from
all the coughing.

Does any of this sound familiar to you guys? Is the Avelox making my
legs and arms feel heavy? Should I stop taking it? I'm still sick
with pneumonia, so the doctor would have to put me on something else.
I'm supposed to take the Avelox for another week.

You can email me directly at canyonheathmom@y...

-Lynn

Message 15652 of 16592

From: "Miati" <miati_elkasrawi_ayyoub@y...>
Date: Wed Aug 27, 2003 11:08 pm
Subject: Life Ruined after Levaquin
I was given levaquin by IV for pneumonia 2/4/02. Within 3 days i was
reduced to crawling--i almost fell out a window trying to stand up on
the 2nd floor of my new home. I ended up with bilateral achilles
tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, damage to the tendons behind my knees,
both wrists and elbows. I was treated by an orthopedic surgeon for
the tendonitis who wanted me to see a rheumatologist/immunologist
because he suspected the levaquin may have exacerbated an underlying
immune deficiency. I spent a year in a cast on my left foot so that
the tendon could regrow and in February 2003 i had the tendons
reattached surgically. The levaquin has left me with systemic
sclerosis (scleroderma--sjogren's disease, raynaud's syndrome),
ankylosing spondilitis, psoriatic arthritis (leaving me with a
restricted chest), anxiety, uncontrollable bladder, varying degrees
of tendonitis, insomnia, etc etc ad nauseum, ad infinitum. Because
of the year in a cast, I may now be facing a pulmonary embolism which
I will be tested for this upcoming week. Too much PAC $$, special
interest groups and caveat emptor. I'm doing some personal research
into candida albicans being the culprit after taking antibiotics,
completely against my physician's recommendations. There's got to be
something better than western medicine.

Message 15707 of 16592

From: "reflexlvr" <sszczepanski609@e...>
Date: Sat Aug 30, 2003 11:32 am
Subject: New to the group, just found you
I went to my doctor two days ago for what I suspected and she
confirmed was a bladder infection. She prescribed Levaquin, which I
took home with me (free samples). I took one pill, a 500mg dose,
and within 20 minutes my neck started itching terribly and my ears
burning. Within minutes after that, my legs and feet began itching
so bad I immediately jumped in a shower just to try to get some
relief. My lips began to swell and I called the doc - got the "on
call" doc who confirmed that yes indeed I was having an allergic
reaction. He prescribed 50 mg of Benadryl every 6 hours (thank god
I had some at home) and lots of water. My facial swelling
continued - at one point my nose was nearly indistiguishable! - and
my throat began to swell. I was steps away from going to the
emergency room when, I guess the Benadryl kicked in and the swelling
very slowly began to subside.

The next morning I went back to the doc and got a Cortizone shot to
relieve the swelling and a new antibiotic for the bladder infection
(Septra, to which I've had no reaction thus far). The only
lingering effect today (2 days later) is some slight swelling above
my eyes and a sore left achilles. HOPING that will fade with time.
Geeze, I've NEVER had an allergic reaction to ANYTHING. That was a
frightening experience!