Yardville, NJ: Ten days of medicine could result
in a lifetime of pain for some Levaquin users. That is because
the drug has been linked to tendon ruptures and tendonitis. Although the
FDA has now issued a black box warning for the drug, that warning comes
far too late for many patients who have already experienced serious side
effects after taking Levaquin. Others say they think Levaquin did not
even help to heal their infections.
 "I
had a rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder and it developed an
infection," David M. says. "It was treated with two regiments of
Levaquin and it appeared that the infection had cleared up. But, the
infection reappeared seven months later. It was there the whole time.
"It was in my right shoulder and the shoulder is now in terrible shape.
The shoulder is very, very weak. I have a lot of difficulty using that
right arm. There is a popping in the shoulder since I used Levaquin.
"I had some tendonitis before I used Levaquin but I the tendonitis is a
lot worse now than it was before the surgery. I was given Levaquin for
both surgeries on my right shoulder. The second surgery on that shoulder
was a total failure—because of the infection, that two rounds of
Levaquin did not clear up, there was no chance for there to be
sufficient blood flow for the shoulder to heal properly. So now, the
shoulder is almost useless."
In addition to complaints that Levaquin did not properly heal an
infection, people have reported serious tendonitis and tendon ruptures
after using the drug. Dennis A., from Pennsylvania, writes to
LawyersandSettlements.com, I have been prescribed Levaquin several
times, had my left Achilles tendon tear and be reattached and now have
had another surgery to repair my right Achilles tendon." Dennis notes
that he has been off work since February and will likely remain off work
indefinitely, possibly with a permanent disability. He says he cannot
work, can barely walk and is confined to his home since taking Levaquin.
Treating a torn tendon can be a long process. James S. writes that he
took Levaquin to fight an infection and, within one month, began
suffering tendonitis. He eventually required surgery and by the time it
was over, the treatment had taken seven months.
Vicki B. says that although she only took Levaquin for five days in
January, she has had muscle and joint problems ever since. "I've dealt
with constant joint and muscle pain," Vicki writes. "My shoulders,
elbows, upper quad/thigh, knees, numbness in my hand and ankles have
given me trouble ever since…I can't hold a cup of coffee without pain. I
can't sit in a movie theater for a two hour movie without my husband
having to assist me to get out of the chair. I can't take my dogs for a
one block walk without my legs becoming very sore and fatigued."
Many people say they have suffered tendonitis and tendon ruptures since
taking Levaquin. If you were harmed by the use of Levaquin, contact a
lawyer to see what can be done about recovering any medical costs and
lost wages associated with your use of this drug.
If you were harmed by Levaquin you may be eligible to join a lawsuit.
Contact a lawyer to discuss your legal options.
August 4, 2008. By Heidi Turner
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/11051/levaquin-antibiotic-side-effects-3.html
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Savannah, GA: It seems like a strange trade-off: take Levaquin
for bronchitis and wind up with severe tendonitis. Most people would
expect that when they take a medication for illness, they may feel
drowsy or suffer nausea or headaches. They certainly don't expect that
they will suffer from tendonitis or tendon ruptures and wind up unable
to use their limbs.
 Yet
that is exactly what is happening to patients taking Levaquin, and the
situation is so serious that the drug now has a black box warning about
the risks. Unfortunately for Ann G., that warning has come a few days
too late. After taking Levaquin, she developed tendonitis from which she
is still recovering.
"I had bronchitis and I was prescribed Levaquin," Ann says. "I had it
filled—it was a 10 day supply—and I took it for the full time. The last
day was on July 11 and I had no problems with it to that point. I woke
up on July 13 with excruciating pain in both knees and in my shoulder. I
have had minor surgery on my knees and rotator cuff surgery on my
shoulder, but this was different. This was a really bad pain.
"I was on a cruise at the time, so the cruise was ruined. On the first
day, the pain was the worst and for three to four days after, the pain
was really, really bad. By the time I got back, it was about 50 percent
better, but it was terrible at first.
"When I got back from the cruise, I immediately called my orthopedic
doctor. He said, 'We just got a black box warning about that drug.' It's
a little late for me, but I hope this helps someone else in the future.
"It still hurts—I'm still in a lot of pain and it's a constant pain.
It's especially bad at night. I take Naproxen at night, but I wake up
when it wears off and I try to go without it during the day. I went back
to water aerobics because the doctor said that is supposed to help, but
other than that I'm trying to take it easy.
"My shoulder pops constantly, and when it does, it's a sharp pain. My
knees also pop. If you touch a spot on my shoulder, I'll scream, it
hurts that bad. It is hard to get up if I've been sitting down. The pain
is getting better, but it still hurts.
"I just want other people not to have to go through what I went through.
I won't feel safe taking an antibiotic again—at least, I'll never fill a
prescription without checking it on the Internet. I hope this helps
someone else in the future."
If you were harmed by Levaquin you may be eligible to join a lawsuit.
Contact a lawyer to discuss your legal options.
July 27, 2008. By Heidi Turner
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/11051/levaquin-antibiotic-side-effects-3.html
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Springville, MO: Three years ago Janice was
flown to hospital with a severe infection and high fever. She was
treated with the antibiotic Levaquin and just days later, she
was ready to go home. But because of Levaquin, her ordeal hadn't even
begun.
After a few days recovering at home, she started to get other
problems. "I was talking with my doctor in California and said I didn't
feel good; I was itchy all over," says Janice. "He asked me what drugs I
was taking and when I mentioned Levaquin he told me to stop taking it
immediately—I'd taken enough. About one week later both my thumbs hurt
and they were swollen. I assumed it was because of all the IV I'd had in
the back of my hands.
"I started to exercise but my entire hands hurt and both shoulders had
sharp pains, especially when I tried to lift anything. And I couldn't
sleep without pain pills. But I just assumed my shoulder hurt because of
my neck--from being in a hospital bed for so long. Next it was my left
foot—a sharp pain, like someone was stabbing me. And it woke me up at
night--I didn't get much sleep during this entire time.
Then I thought it must have been carpal tunnel surgery that I had a few
months ago acting up. My doctored ordered an MRI on my left hand. Boom,
it showed the tendon ruptured or torn. Then she ordered an MRI on my
right hand and right shoulder. Bam—ruptured tendons there too. My
shoulder was hanging on by a thread and my left shoulder wasn't much
better—ruptured. I kept taking more pain killers.
My doctor had just read about Levaquin and Cipro's side effects in a
medical journal and told me the damage caused by these fluoroquinolone
drugs. I couldn't believe it. Then I went online and started collecting
data. A doctor has a website for victims of pharmaceutical drugs. One
section is about Levaquin and Cipro and people have even died!
I had surgery September 30, 2006 on my right shoulder. They put a
titanium pin in the bone and that left me out of commission—it took a
year to recover. After that I had an MRI on my left foot—it showed a
possible tendon tear but it's more difficult to find a tear in the foot.
Meanwhile my thumbs hurt so bad I saw a hand specialist and he
determined I had arthritis. I'd never had arthritis. I asked him about
the tendons and he confirmed they were torn.
Why don't doctors research these drugs before they prescribe them?
However, my new doctor told me they were getting ready to black-box
Levaquin and Cipro—he knew this drug was to blame for all my injuries.
I was active before this drug did a number on me. I used to do stuff and
take care of the farm. It's like it sucked the life right out of me.
Sometimes the pain gets so bad at night—I'm tired all the time and in
the morning I often wake up in spasms—I wake my husband up screaming in
pain. There is longevity in my family and no arthritis, but I sure don't
want to live to be even 70 with the pain I'm enduring.
Some doctors will just think I am too old or something else is causing
it. I was 60 when this happened and it's certainly put a damper on my
retirement.
And it isn't about time doctors knew about these horrible side effects?
They never told me of Levaquin's side effects in the hospital. Patient
Bill of Rights be damned! They don't tell you anything, especially when
you go into emergency. And I am on Medicare (Medi-care-less) so it's
even worse.
I got a call from the LawyersandSettlements lawyer and it looks like I
will go forward with a lawsuit-- if I am within the statute of
limitations. I want this story told. And I suspect it has done even more
damage. When I read about other people it was heartbreaking but at the
same time it helped me a lot, knowing what is causing damaged tendons,
knowing I am not alone."
August 18, 2008. By Jane Mundy
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/11070/levaquin-tendon-ruptures-levquin-lawsuit.html
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| Speedwell, VA: John
suffers from chronic respiratory problems and for the past four years,
he has been treated with Cipro. "It helped my breathing but I just found
out that a tendon in my shoulder has separated—I am sure Cipro is to
blame," says John.
John took 750 mg of the fluoroquinolone twice a day for 10 days. A
few weeks ago, he was using a cordless drill to mount a picture on the
wall. "I was holding the drill and all of a sudden I got a sharp pain in
my right shoulder and my arm dropped," says John. "I couldn't hold my
arm up; I lost all strength and without my control it just came down."
John saw his doctor and he ordered an MRI. " He also injected a
steroid into my shoulder but it gave no relief," says John. "The MRI
results showed a tendon in my right shoulder had ruptured and
separated--right now there is a one-inch separation of this tendon.
I had no idea how this could have happened. The MRI results stated
the following: 'a complete full thickness tear of the sutraspinatus
tendon with medial retraction of the tendon body'. It goes on: 'A full
thickness and near complete tear of the infrastinatus tendon.
Subscapularis tendon myopathy.'
The surgeon told me I need a complete shoulder replacement joint.
With the problems and damage, I will need three orthopedic specialists
to perform the surgery: one neurosurgeon, one orthopedic surgeon and a
third surgeon who specializes in connective tissue. And I might need
donor tissue from a cadaver or artificial material, one of the two.
It is my opinion that this all happened from taking Cipro. I never
experienced any trauma, and I didn't do any heavy lifting—at all. I just
held a lightweight cordless drill and everything in my shoulder popped.
I am only 53 and except for my pulmonary problem, I was in pretty good
shape--up until this incident.
The Cipro manufacturer did not give any notice of contradictions of
any steroids and now I found out that steroids, combined with
fluoroquinolones (i.e. Cipro) compound the damage. Now with the black
box warning, it apparently recognizes that there is a contradiction with
steroids. Instead of having moderate tears, complete tears can result.
The two will compound damage to the connective tissues—a bad
combination.
First and foremost, I need my shoulder repaired before any more
atrophy happens to the muscle or tissue. Recovery time is about six
months. Meanwhile, I'm on Percocets 7.5 mg and inflammatory meds until I
get surgery. In fact they have even talked about reverse surgery repair
but I don't want to go there.
Regardless, I will have limited use and range of motion. One doctor
at Duke University hospital said I will not be able to lift anything
heavier than a glass of water for three months post-op. Luckily I am
retired but I'm unable to enjoy a quality of life. This year is going to
be physically challenging and who wants to spend a year going through
surgery and physical therapy because of a drug company's greed? And I
bet a lot of people out there are likely worse off than me."
August 8, 2008. By Jane Mundy
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/11036/cipro-lawsuit-tendon-rupture.html
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Perryville, MD: Sophia's urologist first prescribed Cipro last
October when she was diagnosed with kidney stones and again after
she had surgery. But the pain she experienced back then was minor
compared to what she is suffering now--Achilles tendonitis.
"I was still bleeding about three weeks after surgery so my
urologist treated me with another round of Cipro," says Sophia. The
antibiotic seemed to work; Sophia returned to work and resumed her
active life.
But shortly afterward, for no apparent reason, she had a shooting
pain in her left foot when she walked. "The pain was in my heel,
right under the arch and it seemed to be getting worse," says
Sophia, "but I tried to push it out of my mind." Three weeks
later—around the end of March—she couldn't ignore the pain anymore.
"I was coming down the stairwell at work and missed a few steps
because of the way I was walking and landed on my left foot," she
says. "I called a podiatrist and she ordered an MRI—it showed
Achilles tendonitis. She fitted me with a Cam Walker Boot and told
me to take it easy…
About four weeks later my podiatrist advised me to get a second
opinion because my foot wasn't getting any better, so I saw a doctor
this time and had another MRI on July 12th.
At the time I had no idea how this could have happened. It
couldn't have happened by any kind of trauma. I don’t do anything
strenuous, just causal walking. Then a few weeks ago I saw an ad on
the Internet about Cipro and its link to tendonitis. I was shocked
but in a way relieved: It just clicked—I couldn't figure out how my
tendon was damaged but now I know. And all this time I thought it
was a string of bad luck—kidney stones, infection and torn tendon.
I don't know if I will ever trust pharmaceuticals again. I trust
that a drug will make me feel better; I trust my doctor who writes
the prescription. So far I haven't talked to my doctors about Cipro
because I am losing my trust in them.
I certainly won't be taking Cipro again or anything else in that
class of medications [fluoroquinolones]. I have no idea how an
antibiotic can do this to tendons but I am leery of taking another
antibiotic, period. Coincidentally, my husband was in hospital last
week and he was given Cipro so now I am worried about him; I wanted
to tell the doctors not to give him this med but at the same time he
has a nasty infection. But will Cipro affect him later like it did
to me? My husband has to see his doctor next week and at that time
we will ask for an alternative medicine.
As for me, I can’t even walk—I've been ordered to stay off my
foot for six weeks and then will I start physical therapy. I just
hope it heals and I don't need surgery."
Sophia is one of many people who have suffered from Cipro's side
effects. Victims of the 2001 anthrax attacks still have health
problems due to Cipro—an antiobitic that was supposed to treat and
prevent deadly anthrax infections. One sufferer, John Angell, worked
on Capitol Hill as staff director for Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
when the anthrax attacks occurred. Although Angell wasn't diagnosed
with anthrax, he was treated with Cipro as a precaution, to prevent
infection. But just days later, he reported terrible pain in both
his Achilles tendons to the Wall Street Journal. Eventually he had
to change jobs and today Angell walks with a cane.
In July the FDA asked the manufacturers of fluorquinolones,
including Cipro, to issue a black box warning. Unfortunately the
warning didn’t come soon enough for victims like Sophia and John
Angell and many more sufferers.
August 12, 2008. By Jane Mundy
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/11062/cipro-fluorquinolones-antibiotic.html
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|
 Los Angeles, CA: An antibiotic
produced by Bayer AG is plagued with a reputation for attacking
tendons, and nobody knows why. The fact remains, however, that the
tendency for Cipro to evoke tendonitis and tendon ruptures has
earned the drug a black box warning from the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA).
The irony is that it appears to have taken the threat of a
lawsuit to do it. And no, not against Bayer AG, but against the FDA.
Drug companies have to deal with lawsuits all the time. Critics,
in fact, accuse the drug manufacturers of building lawsuits and
litigation into their business plans. While morally reprehensible,
the reality of a drug earning a manufacturer billions of dollars in
revenue, but costing millions of dollars in litigation and
settlement fees, is simply good business.
However Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group originally
founded by Ralph Nader, had a problem with Cipro's relationship with
a patient's tendons. Cipro is the commercial handle for
fluoroquinolone, a class of drug that is associated with tendon
problems, and not just with jocks, either. One would expect a
demographic group hell-bent on running, cycling, tennis and squash
to experience tendon problems.
What alarmed Public Citizen were the number of Cipro patients
over 60 who experienced tendon problems, or those patients who had
undergone heart, kidney or lung transplants.
The numbers speak for themselves: 407 ruptures by the end of last
year, together with 341 cases of tendonitis in a population that was
not largely active, at least not in the sense that tendons would be
unduly stressed. Critics also made the point that adverse reactions
to drugs are only reported about 10 percent of the time, and when a
drug doesn't appear to be the natural culprit, the reporting rate
could be even lower.
Unless otherwise informed, how could a 60-year-old conclude that
his, or her ruptured Achilles tendon—the most common rupture—may
have been a Cipro side effect? Instead, they would be forgiven for
assuming that the injury was caused by moving the wrong way.
And so two years ago Public Citizen petitioned the FDA to step up
the warnings for fluoroquinolones, including the addition of a black
box warning, the requirement of professional medical guides that
would highlight the risk for consumers, as well as the provision for
so-called 'Dear Doctor' letters.
When the FDA had failed to respond by January of this year,
Public Citizen launched a lawsuit. That seemed to get the FDA's
attention, and last month it added the black box warning to Cipro
with regard to the relationship between tendon issues, and
fluoroquinolones. The agency is said to have made no mention of the
Public Citizen lawsuit, but made the point that Cipro warning labels
have been updated between 2001 and 2004. The FDA resisted the
addition of a black box warning, given the assumption that doctors
would discuss any, and all risks with their patients. However, a
continual flow of adverse reaction reports appeared to suggest that
those warnings were either not provided, or not heeded.
Thus, the FDA decided to go the black box route with Cipro, and
also ordered medication guides to inform patients about the new
warning. While it stopped short of ordering the 'Dear Doctor'
letters, the FDA did authorize the distribution of medication alerts
to more than 100,000 physicians and 170 medical organizations.
It should be noted that while tendon ruptures could occur quite
suddenly, more often than not they are preceded by a week or two of
discomfort. The latter, those in the medical community say, can be
useful in switching from a medication such as Cipro that could be
the ultimate cause of the discomfort, thereby mitigating the
potential for a tendon issue before it happens. But the consumer
needs to know that Cipro might just be the culprit, in the first
place.
Public Citizen thinks the Dear Doctor letters would have been
helpful.
In the meantime, should such recent efforts help to mitigate, and
even prevent serious tendon injury, then terrific. However, anyone
who has suffered a major tendon injury knows all too well the
debilitating effect it has, and the impact on an individual's life
and livelihood.
And if that injury happened in relation to the ingestion of Cipro
prior to the addition of the black box warning, during a time when
the FDA appeared to be stalling while Public Citizen formally
petitioned the agency to step up warnings in an effort to protect
people…
Perhaps a call to a Cipro legal professional would be in order.
You may have lost income, and racked up medical bills you can't pay
for. You may not have even recovered. If it can be proven that Cipro
caused your injury, and no one made you aware of the risk, you could
be in for some compensation.
August 19, 2008. By Gordon Gibb
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/11103/cipro-side-effects-antibiotic-drug-3.html
| August 28, 2008. By Jane Mundy
Elkhart, IN: In April 2001 Lilly's doctor prescribed Levaquin
for a bone infection and said she would have to stay on it for
the rest of her life. Fortunately, Lilly saw a specialist who
told her to stop taking it, immediately. Lilly believes that if
she had stayed on Levaquin she would be in a wheelchair today.
"The first time I took Levaquin I woke up in the middle of
the night and couldn't get my breath," says Lilly (not her real
name). "That should have been the first sign that I shouldn't
take it.
By May I had aches in both shoulders, like I had tendonitis.
I couldn't even lift my arms to put on my coat, it was so bad.
Then the same pain started in my knees. I called my pharmacist
to ask if a medication could be making me feel this way and he
said that Levaquin could be to blame.
I phoned my doctor who prescribed Levaquin and turns out that
he was a demon in disguise. He said if I go off the drug I could
die, and he also said the pharmacist was full of BS. This doctor
had no bedside manner…
Then I called the pharmacist back, I really didn't know what
to do. He told me to call the manufacturer-- Ortho-McNeil
Pharmaceutical, Inc. They said the same thing: stop taking it
immediately. I called the doctor back, again. "I told you that
you have to stay on that pill or you will lose your life,' he
said. I deferred to this doctor and from April till October, I
don’t think a prison camp could have been worse.
I stayed on Levaquin. I was literally shuffling across the
floor at this point; it got so bad that I was almost an invalid.
Then it hit my Achilles tendons. It got to the point where I had
to lie straight on my back and put my arms on my side like a
board because I couldn't lie down any other way.
This part is embarrassing and it is why I want to remain
anonymous: when I went to the toilet I had to fall back on the
seat and I couldn't wipe my bum because I couldn't get back
there—my husband had to help me! You would have thought I was
100 years old and completely disabled yet I am only 58 now.
On the July 4th weekend I called the doctor back and told him
I couldn't live like this anymore. He just screamed at me and
told me to call him back Tuesday.
I called the IU medical center at Indianapolis and they told
me to come over right away. I saw the rheumatoid doctor and even
had psychological exams. I knew I had tendonitis but they kept
testing me. 'We have a prognosis: it is your Levaquin,' they
said. I had known this all along! They replaced Levaquin with
Bactrim and to this day I am still taking it. Then the medical
center tried to call my doctor: apparently he refused to talk
about it.
Recently I read an article in the newspaper about a man
having severe tendonitis because of Levaquin and I mailed the
article to this doctor with a note: 'You put my life through
hell and I hope you don’t do it to anyone else. And you owe me
an apology,' I wrote. I still have the bottle of Levaquin he
prescribed me.
Yesterday a man was cutting a tree down in my front yard and
he complained to me that his arm hurt. 'You wouldn’t be on
Levaquin by any chance,' I asked. 'NO, I am on Cipro,' he
replied. Interesting. I was told at the medical center that I
was a rare case but now I have subsequently found out that many
people have reported serious side effects from fluoroquinolone
antibiotics (quinolones) such as Cipro, Levaquin, Floxin, or
Tequin--since 2001.
It took four months to recover from tendonitis but my
shoulder tendons are still very sensitive. For instance, if I
garden for too long, they will flare up again. I don't think I
will ever be 100 percent better. That drug should be taken off
the market. It might help some people but it is certainly not
for everyone…I hope I can help others by telling my story.
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/11150/levaquin-antibiotic-side-effects-5.html
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"The
first time I took Levaquin was back in 1999 for pneumonia," says Lynn. "The
antibiotic eventually worked but I took a long time recovering and was out
of work for at least a month: I had broken two ribs coughing and separated
the cartilage where the ribs insert into the spine. That really hurt; it
felt like someone stabbed me in the back.