Post Marketing Reports for September 2003

From: John Edward Roe <angelbab@s...>
Date: Mon Sep 1, 2003 3:05 pm
Subject: My story
Hi-I have been reading with a great deal of interest many of your entrys in this
forum, and have found them quite remarkable. I, too, am a sufferer of a
reaction to the antibiotics which you folks have been commenting on. I thought
perhaps I'd take a moment to tell my story, too.

In either late 1999 or early 2000, I was given antibiotics which I believe
caused my problems, and I am in the process of obtaining my drug records from my
pharmacy and from my physicians. On April 3rd, of 2000, I had a very bad
experience. I had been going prior to this episode to the YMCA and doing
aquacize and on one session, we began running across the pool in the four foot
end, and joining hands with other participants, and I noticed after class that
my right arch and heel had begun to hurt, but thought "no pain, no gain". Then
a couple of days later, on the 3rd, I was carrying my little granddaughter up
our stairway to put her in her bed, and when I placed my right foot on the top
step, my right foot literally "tore" and I felt the tissues tearing much like
tearing a piece of material, and then severe pain up the back calf of the same
leg. I hobbled to the bedroom, put the little gal in her bed, and closed the
door calling for my daughter to come and help me down the
stairs. My husband came home and immediately took me to the hospital ER, to
which xrays were done, and having found nothing broken, they put me in a type of
air cast and crutches. Then about 4 days later, I got into my orthopedic doctor
who immediately had an MRI done, and verified that I had in fact ruptured my
Achilles tendon and had torn plantar fascia. She cast me, and then a short time
later, I began having a problem with my left foot-the "ball" of my foot
suddendly began swelling terribly, and back to the orthoped I went, to discover
that I most likely had pseudo gout. The foot was aspirated, and the specimen
sent off for analysis, and sure enough, that is what is was, or so they thought.
Still no reason for any of it. I had been put on predisone, large doses of it,
and my sedimentation rate was high as well.I endured the cast and then was
placed in a heavy "boot" with steel flat rods up both sides of it, and this went
on throughout the summer into fall. In September, I
began having the same problems with my left Achilles tendon, so I was placed in
another boot. I made it through until the spring of 2001, but still had to use
them occasionally, and remember when my husband had a heart attack, and open
heart surgery suddenly, that I was hobbling up and down the hallways in both of
my boots. I began to get a bit better, and was able to be off them with
physical therapy, and thought I was ok. In the meantime, my brother read an
article by a Dr. Donahue that we get here in the midwest, and although our local
newspaper doesn't cover it, the one in my brother's town does. The article was
written by a runner who had been on Levaquin and then finished the dose, and
began to warm up and began running, and snap, his Achilles tendon ruptured-he
asked the doctor if there was a relationship here, and the doctor said, most
assuredly there was and that this was one of the side effects of the medication.
I took a copy of this article to my orthoped, my
general practictioner, my urologist who has prescribed the medications, and my
rheumatologist, and only the rhemuatologist had heard of the relationship of the
drug.

So, I continued to make sure that I was never given any of those kinds of drugs
again, and thought, oh, well, this is what happened, but as long as I never take
them again, I am most likely ok. Not so...this past March, I was awakened in
the night with a severe pain in my rectal area, making me believe that I needed
to evacuate my bowel, so I went in to the bathroom, attemped to do so, and was
unable to, and began feeling as though I was going to pass out, which I promptly
did. My husband came in and got me up from the floor after I had already fallen
and managed to fracture my tailbone, and hit the left side of my head on the
sink. We struggled to get back to our bed, and when we got to my side, I passed
out again on the floor, all the while having rectal spasms. My husband wanted
to call 911, but I made him get me back into my side of the bed, and get a cold
compress and wait until morning, when we could go to the hospital I preferred.
We did, and I went through a series of
tests, including a holter monitor which revealed nothing, and then on Monday
(this happened on Friday), I went to my orthoped, who again ordered an MRI,
which revealed nothing, and then I went to a neurologist who after many painful
tests could find nothing wrong either. My sedimentation rate was 62, and normal
is 0-30, so I was given more massive doses of predisone, (60 mg.and tapering
down), and I was kept at home for nearly 6 weeks. I had difficulty getting
around, was extremely tired, and could not do much of anything, which is a very
hard thing for me, since I sell real estate for a living, and so about the
middle of May, I went back to work. My general practitioner was so alarmed
about my condition that she tried to get me into Barnes Hospital in St. Louis,
as well as the Mayo Clinic, only to have me turned down at Barnes because one of
my problems is that I do have Fibromyalgia, and they routinely do not see
patients with that. I had a temporal artery biopsy done at my
doctor's request, which revealed nothing either, and then finally got in with a
better rheumatologist who gave me a thorough examination, but did not indicate
anything conclusive either. She did more lab work on me than most of the other
doctors had done, but still nothing. So, I just went along thinking well, it is
probably one of those "undifferentiated connective tissue disease of unknown
origin", which means, we just don't know. Now, all of the physicians I have
gone to regarding this spring episode of mine, all agree that there is
definitely something wrong with me, but what, they do not know.

Strangely enough, however, is that in July of this year, I began having severe
pain in my right ankle area, it would come and go, but sometimes when it would
come on, I would feel as though the ankle would give way and I would fall, so
after it kept up, I thought I'd better get back to the orthoped. She took one
look, didn't even have to have it xrayed, said those tendons are going again,
and put me back in my old boot. I did that for two weeks, back to the doctor,
and then a cast on the same leg, only to swell up and have to be cut off two
days later in an ER. Then, the left one began swelling too, so now I am in two
boots and crutches again. I go back to see my orthoped in three days, to see
what her take is on this problem again.

I should tell you that I have suffered for over 25 years with pain-I have had
two back surgeries, over 20 years ago, but will face more in the future, and
have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia, and now this. Aside
from all of the problems that have already been diagnosed, I have managed to
work very hard in my life-I spent 10 years working the health field as a Medical
Social Worker in two long term care facilities and an acute care hospital and
have owned three flower shops as well, and presently am desperately trying to
hold on to my career as a real estate salesperson which I have been at for 5
years now. It is very, very hard to do this type of work when one cannot even
drive a car, and must rely on others to get around.

Whatever this "thing" is that is causing me all of this repeated stress has to
be related to the fluoroquines, I am sure now that I continue reading about all
the side effects. I have learned from my urologist's office that I was not only
given Levaquin, but Cipro as well, and that coupled with the large doses of
predisone I have taken, not to mention prior to that, having had spinal
catheters placed in with more steriods given, as well as having been injected
twice in my chest wall for costochondritis, my elbows, my hips, my foot, and my
shoulder, it is no wonder I am having my problems.

I have, through this forum, learned about the law firm in Philadelphia, and have
completed intake form and hopefully will be considered for some kind of help. I
am very discouraged, and pray that there can be some hope for me, for I am not
that old (56), and do need to continue to contribute to our income.

I write this to let you folks know that this reaction is very, very serious, and
that I am still suffering from what I also believe is a connection to these
drugs, and most likely will be suffering for a very long time. Thank you for
your patience in reading all of this-I do appreciate your support and keep on
helping others. Thanks...Nancy Roe



From: "butterflylibra61" <butterflylibra61@y...>
Date: Tue Sep 2, 2003 1:43 am
Subject: levaquin 500 mg tablets
I have been taking the levaquin now for 17 days for a skin infection,
and for the past four days my hands and feet have been swollen and
sore, the joints of my fingers are so sore even typing is painful,
could this drug be the cause of this?





From: "maktraveler" <maktraveler@y...>
Date: Thu Sep 4, 2003 10:08 am
Subject: 7 months & still limping
What type of specialist do I see which might be able to identify what
has happened to my leg muscles/tendons?

How can I get relief for the pain? 7 months after taking Levaquin I
am still partially disabled. I seriously walk with a limp now. Any
exercise makes my quads and calves burn like I just skied down a
mountain of black moguls. Which by the way would be impossible for
me to do this winter, if ever.

I've read some suggestions, such as:
--Medications such as amitriptyline, or Neurontin (gabapentin)
--B-vitamins
--magnesium
--omega-3 oils
Has anyone had success with these for muscle pain & weakness?

Still in pain in Denver

MaryK


From: "lechienfou1" <youngreps@s...>
Date: Tue Sep 9, 2003 9:11 pm
Subject: My Levaquin adverse reactions - 2 1/2 months post dose

Here's a thumbnail of my experience w/Levaquin, and I am seeking
advice.

In mid June 2003, PCP (primary care physician) gave me a week's worth
of Levaquin 500 mg for a sinus and bronchial infection that was not
responding to 2 days on Erythromycin.

Within hours of the first dose taken around 9 p.m., I was "edgy",
jittery, unable to sleep. The second day dose produced similar
nervousness, and I started to experience joint pain in my left hand.
By the third day I was dizzy, utterly exhausted, as if a vampire had
sucked all the blood from me, I had heart palpitations, anxiety,
weird dreams and continued to have the joint pain. My PCP advised me
to take Xanax at night to sleep. The following morning I was feeling
so unwell--- I had never had an adverse reaction to an antibiotic
before--- that I went to see my doctor. He advised me to finish the
course of Levaquin since I only had 4 more days, but he said I could
cut the dose in half.

On the way home from the doctor, I nearly passed out while driving.
I had never experienced this sort of fatigue/dizziness before. I was
frightened by this and only took one more Levaquin pill before
deciding that it was having a toxic effect on me.

It is important to note that my PCP at no time warned me of any side
effects of this drug. He did not tell me not to consume caffeine or
NSAIDs which I was doing (coffee in the morning, and Advil for the
sinus headaches), nor to avoid the sun nor that the antibiotic would
do a clean sweep of my friendly bacteria in my colon and I would need
to supplement with yogurt or pro-biotics. In short, he seemed
unaware of the potentially serious side effects of the drug.

In the ensuing weeks I experienced intestinal pain/tenderness which
the gastro-entero I consulted with said was probably "mild
colitis"from the antibiotic. I continue to have joint pain off and
on, as well as some degree of cloudy thinking, forgetfulness,
agitation, fatigue, insomnia which is worsened by caffeine and
ingesting sugar. Most recently I developed involuntary
twitches/tremors in my left hand, the same area where I have joint
pain, as well as some degree of peripheral neuropathy
(tingling/numbness in arm), in addition to my right ankle
periodically feeling "sprained".

I am a basically healthy 47 year old woman, mom to 2 year old
twins,and have had an active life with no major complaints. But I am
angered by the experience of taking a potentially dangerous drug
without being advised of the side effects. When I actually read the
list of acknowledged side effects (provided by the drug company), I
was shocked. There is no way I would have taken this drug had I been
aware of the potentially serious adverse effects.

My questions are the following:
Are there others out there who continue to experience agitation,
nervousness, CNS effects long after discontinuing Levaquin, but
related to consumption of caffeine, sugar, NSAIDs?

Is there a legal practice out there that is specializing in cases of
adverse reactions to fluoroquinolones? Have any class action suits
been filed?

Are there any effective remedies to counter the CNS reactions and
peripheral neuropathy, as well as joint and tendon pain?

Thank you for your help!!

Leslie

From: "pkpinc2003" <pkpinc2003@y...>
Date: Wed Sep 10, 2003 6:52 am
Subject: 95 year old mom with Levaquin symptoms
Hi-

I am amazed and greatful to find you site.

My 95 year old mother who is normally pretty alert and mobile has
been bedridden for 2 days in severe pain, which she describes as
burning in her neck, wrists, behind her knees and feet. This is not
just arthritis (she's had that for years and knows the difference)
and she is confused and her head feels "funny". She is also having
stomach problems- first the runs then " a feeling like she has to go
but she can't". She also complains about chest pains and
disorientation. And difficulty sleeping at night and drenching sweats.

Her doctor has had her on Levaquin , I think for the first 5 days of
every month, for a chronic bronchial problem.

The difficulty is that many of these problems are also problems of
the elderly. She was diagnosed with "mild angina" and does have some
arthritis. But the extremity of the pain in this case,
the "coincidence" with the other symptoms, and the fact that she
herself reports that she hates to take the Levaquin becuase it makes
her feel strange, lead me to check this out further, and to find
yoiur site.

I am in New York and she is in Florida, so it's frustrating to try to
care for her long distance (I just came back from seeing her there so
I witnessed her pain first-hand) .

After reading some responses on your site, I told her to stop taking
the Levaquin and to make an appointment with her doctor. I read about
avoiding chicken and caffeine. Drinking lots of water. Anything
else you can recommend first hand? And where can I find an updated
list of drugs that interact adverseley with Levaquin? She's on quite
a few medications and I'd like to make sure they are not contributing.

Thanks for any advice.

From: "drkl6969" <drkl6969@y...>
Date: Thu Sep 11, 2003 9:20 pm
Subject: Re: My questions are the following:
Im a Doctor that prescribes hundreds of prescriptions for
quinolones per year and almost never have a problem with my
patients. Occasionally one will have an immediate upset with the
med such as nausea or stomach problems but I have never had
a serious reaction to the medication so to hear your problems
with it and many others is perplexing. I still have great confidence
in the medication and feel it is generally very safe but to hear
from you guys, it's a small cut above a poison. Why the difference
in experience???? Doctor L


From: "rainydaytoyz" <rainydaytoyz@y...>
Date: Fri Sep 12, 2003 6:28 pm
Subject: HELP! Tongue blisters + sick 4 years because antibiotics
Hi. I just joined this group. I will tell you what happened to me and
maybe you can tell me if I've come to the right place. I was very
healthy until 4 years ago when I was given IV of antibiotics for
infection from Yellow Jacket sting. Soon after and for the last 4
years my body temperature dropped 2 1/2 degrees, mouth blisters,
painful joints, eye twitching, hot face, feel like I have the flu,
diahrrea every day, allergic to tons of foods and chemicals.

A month ago I got something lodged in my food. Had to have operation.
Doctor gave me IV of antibitocs while I was under anethesia. Now my
taste buds are all swollen, my tongue is full of white patches, I'm
allergic to all food and water and it's hard to swollow. Face buring
hot, but body temperature low.

No local Doctor can help me. Just tell me to go home and my body will
heal itself. Sign of getting older. Heck i'm in my 30's and after 4
years I'm not getting better. But now I'm more scared then ever. Have
I come to the right place and does anyone have any suggestions? Rainy




From: "luann53051" <luann53051@y...>
Date: Mon Sep 15, 2003 12:28 pm
Subject: I am SO GLAD to have found you all!!
Hi there!
I took only a three day course of Cipro for a UTI about a month
ago. A week after taking it, I started to experience
tingling/numbness in my arms and legs, muscle cramps, vision
problems, and backaches. This has continued, even after a month of
not taking the medication.

My doctor has performed many blood tests, but has not found
anything. I am scheduled for an MRI this week, and I am really
scared. I am afraid of ALS or MS.

Could my reaction happen even if I had only three days of the
antibiotic? And, the reactions didn't start right away, is this
possible? Do the symptoms ever go away?

I know I have a lot of questions. Any answers would be appreciated.


From: "markofloxed" <osi73@a...>
Date: Tue Sep 16, 2003 10:29 am
Subject: Levaquin and Cipro effects - is this for real?
At the end of June I had some urinary symptoms that I called my doc
about, without seeing me he said you probably have a UTI and
prescibed Levaquin for 14 days.

After the 14 days I went into his office, my symptoms were better but
still there. He said I think you have a prostititus. A couple days
before that I had experinced soem chest pain and some tingling or
pins and needles feelings in differnent parts of my body, but I
didn't think anything of it, so I diodin't even mention it to him.
He prescribed me the Levaquin for 4 more weeks. I left and over the
next few days the tingling got much worse as did the chest pains. I
called the doc back and told them of these reactions and they said
they had never heard of them and it wasn't a side effect of
Levaquin.

A few days later I went to a Uroligist for my urniary problem. He
agreed with my primary care doc that I had prostititus and had never
heard of any of the symptoms that I had like the tingling or chest
pains. He gave me CIPRO to take for four additional weeks. I ended
the CIPRO in mid August.

It's now Sep 16th. My urinary problem has appears to be gone, and my
chest pain is better, but I still have it every once in a while.
Although now I have burning sensations all over my body, mostly my
legs, prpbably a few times an hour. They just last for a few
seconds. I am petrified. Could this all be a cause of these
medications? Has anyone had similar reactions? Will this go away?
I am planning on going to my doc soon, but I doubt I will get
anywhere with him. Please help, I am going out of my mind, thinking
I have MS or cancer or something!!


From: Daniel Dobleman <danieldobleman@y...>
Date: Fri Sep 19, 2003 11:24 am
Subject: Re: [quinolones] Re: Tendon Rupturing..

I took seven days worth of levaquin at the end of April, on the eigth day my
achilles tendon spontaneously ruptured. Two days previous to this I thought I
had sprained my ankle for no apparent resaon. My podiatrist asked if I had been
taking levaquin, and viewed this as the cause. Finally started walking again on
Sept. 2. Hope this cheers you up.

From: "jaa0317" <jaa0317@y...>
Date: Sat Sep 20, 2003 6:31 pm
Subject: Loss of peripheral vision

I had an episode last sunday where i lost my peripheral vision for an
hour in my right eye. I was sent to the ER they did a cat scan. They
could find nothing but advised me to see an opthamolgist and
nuerolgist in the morning. I called and set up an appt with a
opthamolgist and he felt it was a migraine.
Called my nuerologist and he has sent me for an MRI and MRA.
Has anyone had anything similar happen?
It may not be related to the levaquin but i'm just checking.
I will see my nuerologist next week once he gets the results of the
MRI and MRA from today.
Julie


From: "grantmeyer99" <wollam@b...>
Date: Sat Sep 20, 2003 7:53 pm
Subject: new member, how long do side effects last????
Hi. I am a new member. My name is Nancy and I am a 35 year old
mother with one child and a home based business. I have a history
of allergies to antibiotics and recently had sinus surgery, two
weeks ago today. I was given Tequin for 10 days as a preventative
antibiotic and I have take it before. Unfortunately, I think I have
had a reaction to it and am having a combination of side effects.
After three days on Tequin, I started to become very dizzy and
disoriented, almost feeling like I was watching the situation from
outside of my own body. I thought it was the anesthesia, which is
always somewhat difficult coming out of anyway. I saw my surgeon
one week post op and he thought my dizziness and disorientation was
due to lingering effects of anesthesia. Now I am two weeks post op
and I am still dizzy, disoriented, confused, and my muscles are very
fatigued and aching all the time. It feels like I have been in a
severe car accident. I took the full 10 day course of antibiotics
and the symptoms are not really getting worse, but not any better
either. I am wondering if this will go away by itself or if I need
to try to do something, if anything to help lessen the pain and
fatigue I am having. Also, my doc told me to take Benedryl and let
time take care of the medicine getting out of my system. Does anyone
have any thoughts or ideas on this.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Nancy


From: "sunflower43017" <lkbienkowski@a...>
Date: Sun Sep 21, 2003 6:49 pm
Subject: Levaquin?
Hi everyone,
Sounds like I might be in the right place. I am on day 7 of taking
Levaquin for a Sinus infection. I am allergic to pennicillan, sulfur
drugs and Ceclor. I think I am having a bad reaction to the
Levaquin. I have been having more & more vertigo and feeling
more "spaced out" as the week has gone on. I thought my sinus
infection might be getting worse, but Dh suggested it might be one
of the drugs I am on. I also have been using Flonase and Mucinex. I
take Buspar for anxiety. I am also experiencing more anxiety and
severe depression. I usually do not suffer from depression. I feel
very drugged and tired. I've also had some pins and needle feeling
in my legs and hands. Could the increasing dizziness and depression
be from the Levaquin?


From: "watters5" <watters5@y...>
Date: Wed Sep 24, 2003 9:49 am
Subject: Avelox
I've been fighting a tonsil infection for about 3 weeks now. Doc
first gave me Augmentin which I took for 8 days. Once off the
Augmentin within 24 hours I had 'white spots' on my tonsils (oops,
the infection is not gone). So I went back to the doc and he puts me
on Avelox. Took my first (and only) pill at 5pm at night and had a
whole slew of reactions includeding: dry mouth, dizziness, anxiety,
slowing of heartbeat, slowing of breathing, weakness, floating
sensation, confusion/disoriented, and sense that every muscle in my
body was completely relaxed (almost too relaxed), felt funny in my
sinuses (a sudden clearing of my sinuses - like I had just eaten an
onion!), also had a strange feeling in my lungs/chest. Slept fine
except the first 2-3 hours of sleep I would wake up gasping for air -
like I had forgotten to breathe. All this after only one pill. What
the heck!? Does this sound familiar to anyone or am I completely
loosing it?!

From: "Char Goetz" <adair1@c...>
Date: Wed Sep 24, 2003 11:17 am
Subject: Re: [quinolones] Avelox
No! your definately not losing it. I too had a similiar reaction to Avelox the
first time I took it. Unfortunately, when I asked my pharmacist if these
reactions could be from taking the medicine, he told me no and that I should
take it again without any problems. When I did, I immediately went into
anaphalyctic shock and have had numerous problems for the past two years now
with my body. Sooooo don't take another pill, there are plenty other
antibiotics out there that will help you.
My body is slowing healing and I am starting to feel back to normal, but it
takes time and trust me you don't want to take a chance with any more Avelox.
It destroys you completely. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.
Charlene
 

From: "antiavelox" <antiavelox@y...>
Date: Wed Sep 24, 2003 8:20 pm
Subject: Nursing and Avelox
I was given Avelox despite the fact I was nursing. My son had a
seizure the second day after taking the Avelox, he then had a series
of seizures two weeks later. The doctors refuse to relate his
seizures to the Avelox. He was 6 months old at the time. He is now
on Phenobarbital. I am concerned of any possible long term effects.
I too have had several adverse effects including excrutiating tendon
pain. I am convinced that the seizures are a result of the Avelox,
but I need more information to convinve the doctors. They need to
accept at least the possibility to be sure that the proper treatment
is given. The phenobarbital is working well and there have been no
other events with my son, thank god!!

From: "sirhcdaets" <sirhcdaets@y...>
Date: Thu Sep 25, 2003 3:53 am
Subject: uk consultant needed
Does anyone know of a UK rheumatology consultant that is sympathetic
too or open minded enough to accept that cipro can and does cause a
miriad of rheumatalogical complaints.
story: I had a 2 week course of cipro in oct 2001 to try and clear up
a chronic and persistant ear infection (staph-aur ,e-coli ,possibly
others).during the course of treatment i had a strange feeling
throughout my body as if all my senses where out of alignment.This
was not a pleasant feeling , but i put it down to the healing process
and that the infection was being killed off and possibly producing
toxins.It was a relief to finish the course of cipro ,i cant remember
if the treatment worked but the infections where soon back and as
persistant as before.In April 2002 I was prescribed another course of
cipro after my GP had taken advice from another consultant as to
whether the cipro was appropriate after my feelings from the previous
dose.
a day or so into the course of treatment we had a glourious sunny day
in British terms , and I sat and relaxed in the garden.Afetr a dozey
afternoon and starting to come round from a nap I felt stiff and
slightly fluey.I was greatly shocked when i obseved that my hands had
greatly swollen ,stiff and painfull.The next morning was even worse
with my hands stiff swollen and in a claw like possition.
I assumed I had A flu like bug and just needed rest.On taking a cipro
dose on that day I briefly read the monograph (too late now!).
I did a quick search on the internet and BANG ,i had found the
forum.It was like being hit by a sledge hammer.
My gp stopped the course of cipro but the damage was done.
A consultation with the rheumatologist and MRI scan confirmed I had
tenosynovitis in both hands.The rheumatologist suspected a reaction
to cipro but felt confident the symptoms would subside with
discontinuation.All other tests ,esr ,rf blood tests etc proved
normal.
After several months now of unabating symptoms the rheumatologist has
done a U turn and is oppossed to the connection of cipro and symptoms
and suggests symptoms are largley agrrevated and maintained by
depression, and a course of anti-depressive therapy is needed.I
strongly refute that I am depressed , with that in mind the
rheumatologist has suggested I seek a second oppinion.
This is why I need a cosultant who can objectively consider and
evaluate without pre-dissposed bias.
ARE THERE ANY MORE FLOXED PEOPLE IN THE UK.PLEASE GET IN TOUCH


From: "Suzanne Ryan" <sryanne@e...>
Date: Thu Sep 25, 2003 11:23 am
Subject: Re:rash
Has anyone experienced the never ending rash? I was in the hospital
with bronchitas and was on Levaquin for over three weeks, then off
and then on again for four days and began experiencing tendon and
muscle pain. Stopped the drug but also then developed a rash that
just won't go completely away. The last time I was on Levaquin was
around July 5, will never take That again. I also had a reaction last
September with Avelox , the feeling of having one to many.I have
noted to my dr. that I am alergic all these drugs.


From: "dx832001" <dx832001@y...>
Date: Fri Sep 26, 2003 12:44 pm
Subject: pain when falling asleep/relaxing
Hi,
I am new here. I was floxed twice (Levaquin for 30 days and Tequin
for 30 days). I started feeling foot pain when I was taking Tequin. I
stopped 6 months ago now, but still have very strange symptom that
comes and goes. I have foot pain, but it doesn't manifest itself when
walking or standing, rather when I am lying down on, expecially when
I am deeply relaxed e.g. right before falling asleep. This pain, when
present, stops me from falling asleep. It feels like a pull in my
foot originating somewhere by big toe and going into the calves. When
I feel it before falling asleep, it can be excruciating. I was
wondering if anyone else has this exact symptom and if they were able
to shed some light on what causes it or possible treatments. The
doctors that I saw are basically useless (I had a podiatrist tell me
that he doesn't treat anything above a certain line on my ankle -
You'd think he could go a few inches up hah).
Thanks for this group and good luck to everybody,

Dan


From: "grantmeyer99" <wollam@b...>
Date: Mon Sep 29, 2003 8:09 am
Subject: Re: new member, how long do side effects last????
THanks so much for the advice. I have been off line for over a week
and just got back. I was out of town and my laptop would not keep a
connection.

I am worried about all of the issues with FQ, but I am feeling a
little better. I will read as much as possible tonight after my son
goes to bed because I have an appt with my surgeon, who prescribed
the Tequin tomorrow and I want to be able to talk to him about this.

Nancy


From: "deancshaffer" <deancshaffer@y...>
Date: Mon Sep 29, 2003 9:05 pm
Subject: New member with some questions (Avelox Related)
At the beginning of this month I became ill. Fever, chills, aches and pains,
etc. Just a bad cold or the flu, right? Well, maybe, but within a few days
whatever I got went right to the lungs. I get bronchitis fairly easily and
that's what I thought it was. I usually get over it with little help within a
week or so. Not this time. Finally, last thursday I bit the bullet and went to
Urgent Care (no health insurance). They took x-rays and diagnosed me with
pneumonia. To help me out with the cost the doc gave me about 7 samples of
Avelox, but no patient info. I went ahead and took it that night. I'm a city
bus driver and the next day I had to, for the first time in 5 years, call for a
relief driver after starting my route because I was too weak to continue. Since
that time I've missed 3 days in a row NOT counting the day I at least worked
some of the day. Now mind you, during all this time I was sick I'd only missed
one day of work. I didn't feel good, but I was able to work.

So that's the background, now the questions:

In nothing I've read is there any mention of extreme fatigue as a side effect of
Avelox. Have any of you had this adverse reaction?

I also have some shortness of breath, some trouble concentrating, some chest
tightness, etc. but the main problem right now if fatigue.

The confusing part to me is those very same things are also symptoms of
pneumonia. The concern is that the fatigue didn't become dibilitating until
AFTER I started taking the Avelox.

Finally, the chest seems to be loosining up so I guess the Avelox is working.

Dean

From: "swataz" <swataz@y...>
Date: Mon Sep 29, 2003 9:22 pm
Subject: Re: New member with some questions (Avelox Related)
I had bacterial pneumonia this past July, and let me tell you, it
KNOCKS YOU ON YOUR BUTT something fierce.

If you are feeling extremely fatigued, I would venture to guess it is
because of the disease, not so much the meds, but it could be both...

Hope you feel better.

-swat