I was given levaquin 750 m for 10 days. i have severe pains in my calf muscles as well as in my biceps, and bottom of my feet. i thought it may have been from working out(although i work out regurlary) so i stopped, but the pain persisted.

Here's another story for you:

In December of 2007, I became ill with pneumonia. My doctor prescribed Levaquin 500 mg once a day for ten days. The only reaction he said I might notice is nightmares. Well, that was an understatement! After I took the first pill, I reacted very negatively. I went to bed that night with severe heart palpitations and I had the most terrifying panic attacks of my life. I really believed that I might die that night. I could not fall asleep. I kept “hearing” someone screaming in my ear every time I was almost ready to go to sleep, and I was having double vision. I was tossing and turning and freaking out. I finally went downstairs and laid on the couch so my husband could get some sleep. I got terrible sleep for only about 2 hours that night. I also had a terrible “headache” which was more like a sharp pain in the back of my head that lasted the entire time I was on the Levaquin. In the morning, I called my doctor to tell him that I had a reaction. His response to me (through the nurse) was that I had anxiety. He said I should keep taking the Levaquin and also take the ativan he was going to prescribe for me. At the time, I figured he knew best and that this reaction would be temporary. I had to somehow get through this course of Levaquin.

Within two weeks of stopping the Levaquin, I began having a burning pain in my left arm on the inside of my elbow. I wondered if I had a blood clot. That lasted a few days before it started to spread throughout my whole arm. I was experiencing agonizing, throbbing pain. Within another couple of days, my other arm was affected. I couldn't bend or straighten my arms. In addition, I was still experiencing heart palpitations and insomnia. Soon the pain spread to my legs. My knees hurt so bad, I couldn’t bend them to go up or down the stairs. All I could do was to sit and cry. Within the next few days and weeks I had the following adrs: blurry vision, dry eyes, dry mouth, ear pain, neck pain, shoulder tendonitis, popping, cracking joints, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea (I lost 6 pounds in two weeks), headaches, muscle twitching, muscle cramping, muscle jerking (myoclonic jerks), joint pain, EXTREME muscle weakness and soreness. My legs could barely hold me up and I was walking very slowly and stiffly. I couldn’t stand for more than a few minutes. I had pulsating, tingly neuropathy in my legs and feet that was very uncomfortable. My ankles were aching, my fingers were stiff, I had burning pain in my knees, I was even having spasms in my eyes. I had terrible pain and achiness in my lower back, I became very sensitive to noises (if things were quiet and I heard a noise, the right side of my face would spasm).

I am now almost seven months out from the initial reaction, and things have not gotten much better. I am still experiencing many of my original ADRS, just not as intensely as I was experiencing them. My worst problems are still pain in my left leg, stiffness in my feet, lower back pain, nervousness and internal tremors, blurry vision in my right eye, gastro-intestinal problems, intermittent tinnitus, and tachycardia.

I believe that reactions to FQs are grossly underreported because many people do not make the connection between their symptoms and the drugs. I am actually one of the lucky ones to have made the connection to prevent a repeat in the future. Also, I tell everyone I know about what happened to me and I believe I am saving people from suffering the same fate.

I only took 3 doses of cipro in total before realizing what was happening -- but boy was it too late!!! By my third dose I went from being a very healthy 23 year old male who was athletic for over 10 years doing Karate, Yoga, Football, Judo and other sports, I eat an extremely healthy diet, and generally take care of myself... to not being able to function at all. I noticed the side effects about two hours after taking cipro.

After my very first dose of cipro I had a cascade of symptoms that I never experienced in my life before such as; Bilateral Achilles Tendinitis, Tendinitis in both wrists, Chronic insomnia where I'd keep waking up every 1 hour (NEVER HAD INSOMNIA IN MY LIFE BEFORE!, Nightmares, peripheral neuropathy (burning, tingling, numbness), constant body tremors, dry eyes, dry mouth, dry skin, pulsating sensation in my stomach/neck/hands, pulsatile tinnitus, tinnitus, muscle pains, joint pains. Eye flashes, eye floaters, static vision, inability to adjust from light to dark (right eye), twitching, dizziness, stiff neck, head pressure, eye pain, ear pain, difficulty swallowing, aspiration, GERD, lack of appetite. I also had massive increase in spider veins, nail ridges, constant wrinkled fingers, nail growh abnormalities.

It's 9 montsh later and I still can't walk far, howver I do feel I have recovered about 70-80% and am left with only a few symptoms now (about 5). But I am really lucky because there are thousands of people out there that never recover to the degree I have...

I cannot believe this happened to me, especially considering just how active and healthy I was days or even hours prior to my first dose of cipro. I was also 'floxed' on my birthday.

I am a 34 yr old woman who took 3 doses of Levaquin for a UTI 2 months ago. The original prescription was for 7 days, but I stopped after the 3rd day. It was making my blood sugar go down, so I went on the internet to research it. When I read all the horror stories, I decided to stop it and have my doctor switch me to another antibiotic. My symptoms began the next day, AFTER I stopped the drug: fibromylagia type heaviness in muscles, severe anxiety, panic attacks for no reason, insomnia, neuropathy, and joint and tendon pain. Two months later, and I still have tendinitis in my ankles, shoulders, arms, and thumbs. I have joint pain in my knees, wrists, and sometimes in my right hip. My back aches and is very tender. I can walk, but not long distances. The neuropathy has died down, but I still have tingling in my feet. The anxiety has improved, but not completely gone. There has not been one day in the past two months that I have not been in pain. There are so many people out there like me and worse. To add more misery to our ordeal, the medical community that has put us in this predicament has left us totally alone in trying to cope with this. My doctor recognizes all my symptoms are from Levaquin, but does not know why it happened and how to fix it. This is totally outrageous!

Tendon rupture is the least of the patient's concerns. This class is associated with irreversible peripheral neuropathy, fatal liver and kidney damage, fatal hypo and hyperglycemia, SJS and TEN, toxic psychosis, spontaneous ruptures not only of the tendons but also muscles, ligaments and cartilage, the list of serious adrs is boundless. More than half of the drugs found in this class have been removed from clinical practice due to severe and even fatal adverse reactions.

I just received a report of a 14year old male who tore the cartilage in both knees requiring extensive surgical intervention as a result of being on levaquin to treat a nail infection. Not to mention they young lady who has been in a wheelchair for the past decade due to the damage done to her tendons which rendered them beyond surgical repair. She was given cipro for an earache.

Within the NDA (new drug application) for levofloxacin we find clinical studies that revealed an adr rate in excess of 40% (one or more reactions) and a number of listed fatalities. We find these same numbers with all the NDAs for this class. This tendon issue we are now discussing was first revealed to the FDA back in 1982 (bailey et al). The FDA did NOTHING until Public Citizen filed a petition in 1996 seeking both black box warnings and dear doctor letters. The FDA did neither. Another petition was filed by the Attorney General of the State of Illinois in 2005 seeking these same actions. In 2006 Public Citizen once again petitioned the FDA. Rather than respond to these petitions as required by law, the FDA stonewalled the petitioners for more than three years. It was not until suit was filed in Federal Court by Public Citizen to compel the FDA to respond to these petitions did the FDA do anything.

And what they did was nothing more than a 'slap to the face' to those of us who have had our lives destroyed by these drugs. It is far too little, far too late. And we would not even be tossed this 'bone' if this lawsuit were not pending. This is nothing more than a blatant attempt by the FDA to avoid full disclosure of the true safety profile of this class which will be required when they lose in Federal Court.

Bayer issued a European "Dear Doctor Letter" in February of 2008 in regards to fatal liver injury as a result of being on Avelox (Bayer's replacement for Cipro). Yet we see no such letter being issued here in the States, nor do we see the FDA requesting one either. This class has been crippling and killing patients since the mid sixties. For more than forty years now the FDA has hidden the true safety profile from both the patient as well as the treating physician.

Those who have an interest in reading this forty years worth of medical journal entries, case reports, newspaper articles, clinical studies, etc., that documents all that I state here are invited to log unto More ... The FDA is also grossly misleading when they state that the risk factor is one in one hundred thousand. The actual risk is .5% to 16% depending upon which citation you prefer to reference as well as the year in which it was published.

I find the manufacturers to be grossly misleading the patient and physician alike when they state that this class is a safe and effective antibiotic with minimum side effects. I have forty years worth of medical documentation that proves that they are anything but for those who care to read it, rather than this line of misleading and false information being provided by the FDA.

I took Levaquin while living out of the country for a suspected bacterial infection. By the last day of treatment, I had burning in my muscles and nerve pain so badly that I could no longer function. My heart rate was extremely elevated (170 bpm) and I had severe anxiety and panic attacks. My arms went completely numb; I began passing out whenever I stood up and had to be immediately sent home. I experienced depersonalization, blurred vision, sensitivity to lights and noise, and became agoraphobic. By month 3, my tendons, muscles and joints were hurting me so badly that I could no longer walk. I developed tendonitis in every major tendon in my body, peripheral neuropathy, blood glucose and distubances, liver damage, and damage to the valve of my heart as well as disorder called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS- which means that my autonomic nervous system can no longer control my heart rate and my blood pools in my lower extremities) all as a direct result of Levaquin. I am in pain on a constant basis and there is nothing that I can take to ease my suffering because I have developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and my liver enzymes are so damaged. It has been an absolute nightmare; I wished for death many times. It is now a year later and I have not been able to continue on with my studies or resume work. I have lost everything that I have worked so hard for and I am only 27-years-old. Levaquin has destroyed me; I used to be healthy and happy and now I am broken.

I am glad that the media and public are now starting to pay attention to the dangers of fluoroquinolones but I am very angry that this had to happen to me, or anyone for that matter. I never once was informed that there were any potential risks with taking this medication. I am in shock that it has not been pulled from the market as the FDA’s numbers on adverse events are very low and I personally know 7 people that have had serious problems with this class of drugs. The pharmaceutical companies knew that this drug was dangerous and they failed to release information because they knew that it would interfere with their profits- that is truly criminal.

I took Levaquin about 2 or 3 years ago. The Doc gave it to me for a sinus infection for 10 days. On the 7th day I could hardly get out of bed. Every bone in my body ached and I could hardly walk. I threw the rest of the pills away. I have never felt the same as I did before I took them. Since then I have been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy. Of course the doctors do not think the meds could cause it! It is a shame the amount of money the drug companies are making off us being poisoned. Why can't the FDA or someone get these drugs of the market and do a better job of letting new ones on. We are being used as guiana pigs.

The fact that Cipro and quinolones can cause permanent, untreatable tendon damage as highlighted by the need for a black box warning, that leaves patients with crippling untreatable pain, is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the other severe and permanently disabling adverse reactions that Cipro and other quinolones can inflict. The product information sheets provided by quinolone manufacturers fail to indicate that some individuals will suffer from multiple adverse reactions that will become permanent and untreatable. They list a wide variety of adverse reactions that would seriously impair anyone’s quality of life, psychological, neurological as well as physical, if one had to live with only a few of them for life. Some of these reactions can develop days, weeks or months after taking these pills as well, making if more difficult to identify the drugs as the culprit of the disease.

I as well as numerous other individuals, who have tried to report these reactions to their physicians and the FDA, have been ‘ignored’ or ‘rebuffed’. I have a ‘constellation’ of symptoms from taking Cipro in 2006 that do not respond to treatment. My permanent adverse reactions include tinnitus, hyperacusis, visual distortions and light sensitivity, smell and taste perversion, insomnia, anhedonia, chronic fatigue, anxiety and severe depression, loss of appetite, peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hypothyroid, brain fog, memory problems, constipation and 25 pounds of weight loss in addition to the muscular and degenerative bone issues. Tendonitis is a small part of the entire picture. If you find this hard to believe, check the ADR lists for Cipro and Levaquin. They’re all listed, but are considered “rare” reactions. Only tendon damage and peripheral neuropathy are indicated as possible permanent adverse reactions. What I and many others dispute is how “rarely” they occur, and we report that many of these adverse reactions cannot be treated and remain permanent long after taking the drugs. And when people report that they do occur after taking Cipro, or Levaquin, doctors are reticent to admit they were caused by the drugs, especially if they develop in these ‘constellation’ of maladies.

I feel sick every day, every minute of every day since July 2006. This is consistent with many of the reports of other individuals who took these quinolone drugs and experienced these ‘constellations’ of reactions that remain permanent till this day. My condition has deteriorated over these past years and continues to do so. No doctor has been able to treat any of my symptoms, let alone explain why they happened all at once.

If Cipro can damage tendons, it certainly can damage other organs and muscles…which is why so many quinolone sufferers report a constellation of symptoms - because this class of drugs has the potential to cripple every system in the body, physiologically, neurologically and psychologically. There is a compilation of evidence at More ... , which should be reviewed by the FDA and medical profession. We hope that eventually the FDA will reexamine their data, that people will be taken seriously when they report these symptoms, that there will be stronger warnings as to the other permanent side effects of Cipro and related drugs, and that serious research efforts will begin to determine why this class of antibiotics are so damaging to some individuals, so others will not be injured.

Every morning when I open my eyes, I awaken to this nightmare. There is a "sickness" that feels like my body has been poisoned. My hands and feet are swelled and sore...my entire body is stiff and painful...the ringing in my ears...and a full, bloated feeling in my gut...I feel like I should be dead. It is only by the grace of God and the love of my 2 children that I am able to pull myself up out of bed, and make it painfully down the stairs. Crying will do no good, as I know I must be strong to fight this horrendous ordeal that has become my life. Knowing that there are others who are living this nightmare gives me a sense of strength...and compassion. There are no more words to described what we are going through emotionally, let alone physically. How could something so unbelievably criminal have happened to us?? And why is this insanity being allowed to continue?? How many more innocent people will have their lives destroyed...how many more must suffer...how many more must die....before something is done?? Someone tell me, what will it take??

The poisons that robbed my children of a mother were AVELOX and LEVAQUIN...20 pills. I traded a sinus infection for this life of pain and misery.

~Shells~

I was a healthy 42 yr old mother of three with a doctorate that I worked very hard to get. After taking 4.5 days of cipro for a simple UTI, I couldnt work for almost 3 months and I lost my practice. I suffered tendinosis, very painful, head pressure, vasculitis, peripheral neuropathy, tachycardia, and countless other adverse affects.
It is 7 mos later and I am still suffering. There is no cure or treatment, just try to figure out a way to deal with the loss of function and ability to care for my children and to continue my career.
All this is robbed from me. I now have multiple tumors over my body which I did not have before. I dont know what my future is now. I could have had a wonderful life. Now I look through tear filled eyes all the time. Is someone from this site going to help us?

I would encourage you to look at this site where lots of people have shared their reaction

More ...

I took levaquin for a bladder infection. ON my 3 day of taking it I had such bad pain in my body the spasm teh weakness. Brain Fog etc. IT took 4 months where I felt like I could walk and then again on the 10th month BAM I was hit so hard with my achilles. I can not walk or stand for more then 5 minutes. Noone wants to take responsibilty for the medication that was given to me. I wish when I took it there was a warning I would not have taken it. I wanted to get pregnant again because as they say my clock is ticking but how can you do that when Levaquin screwed me up so bad. I have no idea what I will wake up with every morning.

Christine. This has just happened to me last night. I thought I was having brilliant progress with my tendon issues and now 9 month mark I have had a massive flare up in both achilles tendons and cannot function at all... I can't walk but have to crawl around the house. I feel like crying because I was so healthy and active before. What has this drug done to my tendons ! :(

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics have damaged many people. I know of this severe damage on a personal level since I suffered such and adverse reaction to the fluoroquinolone antibiotic Levaquin myself 22 months ago. Since then I have had daily pain and disability of my nervous and musculoskeletal systems and for several months had endocrine and gastrointestinal problems as well. The disability and damage caused by fluoroquinolones is long term and may gradually escalate in that more severe problems such as worsened neuropathy, neuromuscular disorders, musculoskeletal disorders and endocrine disorders once initiated by the fluoroquinolones may develop with a delayed and insidious progress.

This progression of the fluoroquinolone toxicity syndrome is well know by its sufferers and not recognized by health care givers. There has been no investigation in to the reactions. This lack of attention stems from of an antiquated FDA reporting system and the inadequate under-representation of the seriousness and frequency of the adverse reactions. The makers of fluoroquinolones have no interest in investigating adverse reactions when doing so will hurt them financially. It is only recently with the weight of litigation pressing down that the FDA has published its incomplete and grossly inadequate boxed warning about the potential for fluoroquinolone toxicity.


I have met many other patients suffering from the adverse effects of fluoroquinolones. Many of them reside in my community including 3 physicians and more than twenty patients.

Although these drugs may be life saving in certain infections when less toxic antibiotics may fail, they have been promoted for use as first line treatment for sinusitis, and urinary tract infections, and are often given indiscriminately to unsuspecting patients by uninformed and cavalier physicians for such benign illnesses as the common upper respiratory infection. Unfortunately for many patients they are trading a mild short term medical problem for a serious long term one.

Sincerely,


Todd Plumb MD

Yesterday, July 15, 2008, I took my 10th and final Levaquin. 4 days ago, I noticed sleeping was uncomfortable as I sleep on my side and my shoulders became "worn out" quickly and had to sleep on my back. Then next day and since have knuckle pain in the 4 fingers, not the thumbs.
Worst though is foot pain, as if I can feel every bone in my feet. It makes me walk gingerly for a few minutes, but they "warm up" fairly quickly.

This is not now a debilitating pain, but Levaquin side effects occured to me just a couple of days ago. I just looked it up 30 min ago and am alarmed at the volume of materials and complaints describing joint pain and the longevity of the pain.

I'm glad I came here if for no other reason than to give and have a record of my very recent experience.

Does this resolve in any number of patients, and where is that data coming from.

Thanks.

I'm a 27 year old male who finished a little over 6 weeks of cipro in may of 2008. As I was on the drug I noticed increasing muscle and joint stiffness, dizziness, and issues with neves(such as eye twitching and icy pains shooting down my leg). I assumed these would abate when I stopped the drug, and continued to take it as the doctor refused to give me another antibiotic and I was desperate to get well. Big mistake.

Within a day of stopping I had shooting pains down my legs, and my joints started hurting and cracking loudly when moved. I had constant muscle spasms, tightness and pain in my arms and legs that left me unable to leave the house for a week. I also developed a constant ringing in my ears (for the first time in my life) which has not decreased since. Along with a host of other smaller symptoms.

All of my symptoms are still with me over 2 months since stopping the drug and improvement has been very little. I sincerely hope a law firm will one day have the tenacity to launch a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers of these drugs.

"I sincerely hope a law firm will one day have the tenacity to launch a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers of these drugs."

Two such class action lawsuits were filed after the anthrax scare in regard to cipro. One was later dropped due to the excessive cost involved and I have heard nothing further on the other. Additionally a number of Federal individual product liability suits are pending agaisnt the manufacturers of Levaquin at the moment.

Not to mention the vast numbers of medical malpractice cases regarding the misuse of these drugs as well that have been filed over the past two and half decades. Seems the only people that care about our injuries are attorneys. The medical community surely does not.

There are any number of support forums regarding the fluoroquinolones as well that some folks posting here may want to visit. The top two being the quinolone forum hosted by yahoo and the fqresearch forum hosted by yahoo as well. Just do a google search for their internet addresses. I do not want to abuse our host's hospitality by posting complete links to other sites on theirs without thier approval to do so.

41 year old healthy male.had gross hematuria. prescribed two weeks of cipro, 1000 mg a day. started having insomnia, after three days. did not associate with my doctor prescribed anti-biotic. after 7 days, pain in feet, wrists, and elbows. after three weeks, myoclonic jerking in my sleep. been over a month now. pain in feet and hands have gone away. the sleeping is a little better, but the myoclonic jerking has gotten worse. i can deal with the joint pain over this neuropathy. it's very scary.

Jeff, you will find well over 50,000 post on the quinolone forum which documents what these drugs have stolen from patients. That forum has been online since 1999. You will also find tens of thousands of more such cases on medications.com where levaquin is found to be by far the worse drug in this class. There are literally thousands of such sites that detail the horrendous side effects patients have suffered. Most of which have been on line for over a decade now. There is not enough space in this comment box to list them all.

I was a healthy 42 year old male who took Levaquin for a sinus infection. The same day as the Black Box Warning was issued; I was having my third tendon reattachment surgery. I have to wait at least 6 weeks before I can undergo yet a fourth tendon rupture reattachment. At least it takes my mind of the Achilles Tendinopathy, joint pains, headaches, uncontrolled muscle twitching etc. I consider myself one of the lucky ones since so far it has not affected my kidneys, liver, heart, eyes and other side effects that many are dealing with from this class of drugs. I would urge a real journalist to take the time and look at the real number of cases. The Fda numbers are misleading. The clinical data coming from other counties are showing much higher rates of tendon ruptures and other life threatening side effects.

My husband is a former Marine. He kept in shape over the years & was in great physical condition in 1998 before taking Cipro. He was in his early 40's at that time and quite strong. Shortly after taking Cipro, his arms & legs started to jerk involuntarily when he would try to rest, tiny sores appeared around his ankles, the bottom left corner of his lip swelled (angioedema), insomnia, vivid nightmares, rectal bleeding, anxiety, panic attacks & other things started to occur. Around a month after taking Cipro, the muscle & joint pain started. It was bad. He thought he was developing rheumatoid arthritis. Not long after that, the severe depression came along with suicidal thoughts & acts. In Jan. 1999, he took a loaded .38 revolver, placed it in his mouth & pulled the trigger. He survived that attempt. The bullet went through his cheek instead of his brain. He started having tendonitis which was extremely rare for him. In 1999, he had his first rupture in the back of his left calf around 11 months after taking Cipro. This was an avulsion because the muscle tore completely loose from where it was attached at the bottom of the calf. In 2000, the quadriceps tendon tore at his right knee. In 2001, a quadriceps muscle tore apart in the center of his right thigh. All these injuries occurred with no warning. None of the doctors knew what caused this. His legs were very damaged at this point and causing him quite a bit of pain. He kept trying to work though, telling me as long as he had two good arms left, he'd make a living for his family. For the next few years the ruptures seemed to have stopped & there were no suicide attempts. He was still suffering from so much pain in his body & all the other things were still going on. In 2004, he took CiproXR. Shortly afterwards most of the previous conditions he was having from the first time he took Cipro got far worse such as the involuntary jerking movements of his arms & legs, rectal bleeding, his lip swelled just like before (this lasted for only a few days each time it occurred), bigger sores with dark centers in patches appeared on his body and all the others things got worse. He started having severe headaches & migraines frequently. The numbness in his legs got worse & started in his hands. Tendonitis cases became more frequent. Around 11 months after taking CiproXR, his triceps ruptured at his right elbow in 2005. Months later his triceps & biceps were damaged in his right arm. Near the end of 2005, another tendon ruptured in his lower left forearm using the amount of pressure a person would use to squeeze a blood pressure bulb. His depression became severe again & suicidal thoughts & acts returned. He became disabled after this. I never thought a medicine could do all this. He had 6 ruptures & no one knew why. This should not have happened to him or anyone else.

I am a 43-year-old woman. In December of 06, I was prescribed Levaquin and then Avelox. I took them for a total of 17 days. Within 24 hours, I felt like I was in a fog. Within two days, I was awakened from a sound sleep with severe muscle cramps in my thighs. My leg pain was excruciating. I was also experiencing electrical and burning sensations all over. I called my doctor. She didn't tell me to stop taking my antibiotic. I continued to take it, never attributing my pain to an antibiotic. Over the next 6 months, I developed tendonitis in every possible tendon in my body. As a professional pianist and piano teacher, I couldn’t practice the piano for 2 months. I couldn’t teach for a whole month as I could barely hobble around. I couldn't drive a car due to the pain in my calves, thighs and knees for 6 months. I couldn't walk 20 yards without my legs giving out. I couldn't even rest my foot on the floor for more than a minute because of the pressure on my tendons. I had to constantly keep changing my position from sitting, to standing, to lying down. I had muscle twitching all over and severe insomnia for about 5 months. I had terrible night sweats, but could never get warm during the day. I lost 13 pounds within 2 weeks. I spent over $3000.00 on medical tests to rule out everything from Celiac's disease to neuromuscular diseases and Sjogren's syndrome. Of course, you can imagine the anxiety over the thought of having a disease like ALS. Gradually, I began to get better. Nearly 2 years later, I have mostly healed. However, I do continue to get tendonitis if I am not careful. I workout daily, as this seems to help ease the arthritis I now have. However, I have to be very careful to not over do it. I have nerve pain in my shoulder and neck that isn't getting better. My husband, an MD, was ashamed that he didn't recognize the symptoms and stop me from taking the drug. He and I both just want doctors to inform patients and recognize these reactions. If I had only known within the first 24 hours to stop taking the drug, I probably wouldn't have had such a severe reaction.

The number of side effects and the seriousness of these side effects caused by this class of antibiotics is grossly underrated and under-reported. Tendon damage is only one of the many injuries these drugs inflict on thousands of people each year. The delay in time between taking these drugs and having the adverse reactions present can be what has concealed the high number of reactions. Most Dr's do not even realize that the tendon, nerve, joint, muscle and CNS injuries that their patients develop after taking Fluoroquinolones is related to this class of antibiotic.

The true number of people affected each year by these antibiotics is astounding and has been well hidden by the manufacturers. There are thousands of people that have been permanently crippled and hundreds of thousands more that have suffered the ADR's of Fluoroquinolones for months to years.
These ADR's are not uncommon at all.

I was a normal healthy 51 Y/O male that was prescribed Cipro for a uncomplicated UTI. I was not given a risk vs. benefit warning first by my Dr. When I told him that Cipro had caused severe ADR's, he refused to file a Medwatch or FDA report as I asked him to. He told me he would no longer treat me and I was asked to leave. I was treated like a criminal because I complained that Cipro had given me bad side effects.

I can only say that this Black Box warning is way overdue and still doesn't cover many of the other severe and disabling side effects these drugs inflict on otherwise healthy people.

I was misdiagnosed with a kidney infection and began taking Levaquin (500mg once per day) in September 2006. On the 5th day I had to stop taking the medication due to severe shin pain and Achilles tendon pain. I began to have difficulty walking. Over the next several months new symptoms appeared including severe muscle twitching in my legs and feet, painful aching in legs, heart palpitations (for three weeks I had arrythmias for 3-5 hours every day), severe brain fog, paresthesia in feet, toes, fingers, and face, rash on arms, severe shoulder and hip tendonitis, severe insomnia, body vibrations and dysthesias, chills, depression, dizziness, itchy torso, anxiety, panic attacks, tinnitus, eye twitches, GERD, severe neck and shoulder pain, head pressure, tachycardia, burning soles of feet, anorexia with loss of 17 pounds over 5 months, mood changes, crying jags, popping joints, arthritic like pain in fingers, hip sciatica (diagnosed by Rheumatologist), vertical nail ridges, tender scalp and migrating pain (moving from one area of the body to another), horrible headaches, internal tremors, blurry vision. I had not had any of these symptoms prior to taking Levaquin. I began taking Ativan to sleep and ease the anxiety and became addicted to it for 8 months. I was lucky to be on a sabbatical when the symptoms were the worst, otherwise I would have had to take a leave of absence. I spent so much time being tested by different specialists (referred by the primary care physician) for cancer, MS and other neurological disorders. After 22 months I still have many of these symptoms. Levaquin has brutally altered my quality of life.

In March I was given a gram of Cipro a day for a week due to a UTI. It is currently 4 months out, and I still cannot walk normally without pain medication because of the tendinitis in both my legs, not to mention also sudden stabbing chest wall pain that comes and goes, and earlier on, many neuropathy issues as well. A warning on a box does not make my problems go away, but hopefully it will make others think before ingesting this compound.

I am posting in memory of my TWO dear great-aunts who passed away on Monday July 14, 2008....
within 2 hrs of each other.
Both in the same nursing home.....
Both w/ LEVAQUIN IV's running through their veins.

Aunt Mary Sealover R.I.P.
Aunt "Teenie" Deacon R.I.P.

I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you.

The sudden loss of my two aunts has opened my eyes to yet another tragedy...the scripting of fluoroquinolones to the aged...the frail elderly,
nursing home and assisted-living residents.
Who is watching over our seniors who can no longer care for themselves??

~Shells~

I took 28 pills of 500 mg levaquin in July 2001. My life has not been the same since. The drug (as confirmed by several doctors including mayo clinic) caused tendon damage all over my body, extensive peripheral neuropathy, vision damage, hearing damage, insomnia, severe fatigue, night sweats, non stop 24/7 muscle twitching in several areas, muscle weakness and numerous other issues. I was a very athletic individual and active participant in the lives of my two young children. That all changed in July 2001. Seven years later, I have improved greatly, but it took 4.5 years to really see the healing begin. Even now, the tendons in my feet, knees and shoulders are still too damaged to allow me to play most of the sports I once loved including tennis, racquetball, running, baseball, etc.

Stay away from this drug unless it is the ONLY option to keep you from dying.

In December 2004 I was prescribed Avelox, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic for a sinus infection and bronchitis.
I immediately became very ill. I couldn't get off the couch. As days went on, I began to get pains throughout my body. Then the fasciliations began and the tremors throughout my abdomen. In the insuing weeks, the tremors moved into my extremities. Then the excruciating, burning pain began.
I ended up in the ER twice, had extensive blood tests, Brain MRI's, Cat Scans, and the list goes on to rule out MS, Lupus, Lyme and a host of other diseases. All came back negative. All this began after ingesting the avelox. There is not a doubt in my mind that Avelox poisoned me; that I suffered Central nervous system damage and peripheral neuropathy. It has been 3 1/2 years since this event and I still suffer peripheral pain and short term memory loss.
The first year was wrought with insomnia, anxiety and pain. I thought my life was over. Thankfully my reaction was not as severe as others who have been poisoned by these antibiotics. Nonetheless, my reaction has changed my life. My memory is forever damaged. My hands are in constant pain. My work is hindered. And I feel like it's taken years off of my life.
In my experience, I found very little support from doctors. One neurologist at a major Ivy League medical school believed me and had seen the damage from fluoroquinolones before. But he confessed that he was at a loss how to treat my conditions other than to just treat the pain with pain killers and the anxiety with ativan.
I want more than anything to prevent anyone else from suffering these horrendous adverse effects. These drugs need more than tendon ruptures mentioned in the Black Box. The Black Box needs to mention the CNS damage and the peripheral nerve pain, the excruciating anxiety, as well as a laundry list of other effects suffered by a multitude of victims like myself.
We need a voice! We need support! And we need to be believed!
Sally

I have been disabled for 10 years after receiving fluoroquinolones for a cough and Medrol intervention to treat the reaction causing exacerbation. I sustained multi systemic reaction including rash, peripheral neuropathy, tendonitis, myalgias, arthrlagias, gastro, ocular, cns symptoms. Prior to this I was a healthy happy middle aged person with no prior health history of any consequence. Another family member sustained meniscus and ulnar injury when receiving a Fluoroquinolone with steroids. The saddest thing is the failure of the medical community to recognize the reactions when they occur and be aware that such risks are under recognized an under reported.
Such risks should be weighed against benefit and the patient informed.

While concomitant steroid warnings are on the drug labeling now, Physicians are not told that receiving steroids to treat such reactions can exacerbate cases due to the nature of the mechanisms triggered, as ruptures are documented to occur many months after exposure. These drugs have the unique ability to impact both the musculoskeletal and peripheral nervous system simultaneously in a progressing manner and in a delayed fashion.

They are frequently inappropriately prescribed without regard to their unique risks that impact all ages not just the elderly with associated risk factors.

Some patients may only think they have migrating tendonitis, but in some cases when small fiber skin punch biopsy is done they learn they also have peripheral nerve damage. Unfortunately many Neurologists do not offer such testing. Many of these cases can be prevented through proper education and recognition of the long lasting pain syndromes they can induce in patients that so many in the medical community are not familiar with..

Many physicians are also not familiar with the new Peripheral Neuropathy warnings added in 2004 or the fact that a multitude of non elderly patients develop simultaneously devastating symptoms to both their peripheral nervous system and musculoskeletal system at once as documented throughout FDA’s Medwatch reports.

These multi systemic reactions rendering patients disabled and in chronic pain that can have a progressing course are impacting young healthy people, with no prior medical history of consequence who receive this class for minor ailments.. These are serious, life altering and devastating reactions.
In 2001 and 2002 Ministry of Health in France and Italy which is the equivalent to our FDA issued Dear doctor letters there for Levaquin. None were issued in the USA.
Irish Medicines Board Drug Safety Newsletter - Drug Safety – January 2002 - Issue No.14 The Pharmacovigilance Unit, Irish Medicines Board,Earlsford Centre, Earlsford Terrace, Dublin2. states:
" Levofloxacin (Tavanic) " The Company responsible for marketing the above product in Ireland have agreed to undertake an epidemiological study to further investigate the risks associated with development of tendon disorders."
Safety Newsletter issued by WHO World health Organization- Belgium
LEVOFLOXACIN
Reports of tendinopathy
Belgium. The Belgian Pharmacovigilance Centre has received 161 reports of levofloxacin (Tavanic) associated tendinopathy, including 68 reports of tendon rupture, since the drug was marketed in 2000 through to 16 April 2002. . The centre notes that, although data from spontaneous reports are insufficient for risk comparisons, the number of cases of tendon disorders reported in association with levofloxacin to date is much higher than that for ciprofloxacin (22 cases), norfloxacin (8), ofloxacin (63) and pefloxacin (16), all of which have been on the market for > 10 years.
How many more lives have to be devastated by these reactions before something is done to prevent them.

I took exactly 2500 mg (10 pills of 250 mg) of ciprofloxacin over a period of 5 days in the summer of 2007 .

Because of Cipro I need a wheelchair now.

I've always been a healthy person. I took part in squash, tennis, football and jogging. T

After taking the third pill the first signs started. I had joint and muscles pain in my calves and arms. Because it was on saturday I did not call my doctor. I did read the paper in the box of Cipro and it did not say to stop immediately. If I did stop I would have less problems. Damned why don’t they warn us better.

On monday I went to my doctor and he said it was from Cipro but he thought it would not harm to go further. He did not know what to do.

MY SYMPTOMS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Intensity ( Mild 1 - 5 Strong, M = month)

Joint pains
Calves/Achilles Arms Hamstrings Shoulders
Muscle pains
Increased joint stiffness
Dry ears
Dry eyes
Dry mouth and nose
Insomnia
Numbness feeling right foot
Joint popping all over my body
Dry sinus
Ear pain
Red skin after touching it / pressure on it

It is almost a year after taking Cipro.

I cannot walk because of pain in calves and Achilles.
I need a wheelchair out of my home.

I hope time will heal the joints in my calves and Achilles. My lower legs are my main problem. I really hurts when I try to walk.

I think it's great to see more publicity about fluoroquinolone side effects. Many doctors forget that patients have a right to be informed about side effects, or perhaps doctors are not informed of side effects well enough to have intelligent conversations about them with their patients. I had a conversation with my doctor about possible side effects of Levaquin before I took it, and my doctor never mentioned tendon disorders, and convinced me to take the Levaquin since it'd be no problem for me to switch to a different antibiotic if I did have side effects. Or so we both thought.
Luckily my mom came across a publication by Public Citizen that talked about tendon damage by fluoroquinolones when I was 7 days into my 14+day course of Levaquin. I'd been wondering why my achilles were so sore and my calves so rock hard. Four years later with continued tendon and nerve pain, I'm still regretting that initial assumption that side effects go away when I quit ingesting the pills. But if this is what the result of 7 days of Levaquin is like, thank goodness for that article by Public Citizen that kept me from taking 14 days worth of pills. I am a formerly healthy, active 35 year old (31 when I took Levaquin).

At age 46 I was given 750 mg of Levaquin for 21 days to combat epidytimitis in 2007. I had some
mild side effects during the course of treatment, ie... mild insomnia,mild joint aches, and some skin itching. After finishing my course of treatment I have developed more severe muscle and joint aches and pains
along with muscle weakness. Alot of my joints, especially my knees and wrists became very frail and prone to easy damage.
At a year out I have experienced Severe joint pain (especially of the knees and leg muscles), weakness in the
arms and neck, never-ending neck pain (constant muscle strains and pains), insomnia, anxiety, depression, dryness and vision issues with left eye, and various peripheral neuropathies. I have had periods of
no symptoms followed by strong relapses (cycles).Prior to this adverse drug reaction I was very healthy and bicycle 7-10 miles a day. I have never regained the ability to aerobic exercise and have to constantly guard against join damage.

Well, the black box warning about tendon ruptures is a start, BUT there is so much more to warn people about. I was misdiagnosed with a kidney infection and began taking Levaquin (500mg once per day) in September 2006. On the 5th day I had to stop taking the medication due to severe shin pain and Achilles tendon pain. I began to have difficulty walking. Over the next several months new symptoms appeared including severe muscle twitching in my legs and feet, painful aching in legs, heart palpitations (for three weeks I had arrythmias for 3-5 hours every day), severe brain fog, paresthesia in feet, toes, fingers, and face, rash on arms, severe shoulder and hip tendonitis, severe insomnia, body vibrations and dysthesias, chills, depression, dizziness, itchy torso, anxiety, panic attacks, tinnitus, eye twitches, GERD, severe neck and shoulder pain, head pressure, tachycardia, burning soles of feet, anorexia with loss of 17 pounds over 5 months, mood changes, crying jags, popping joints, arthritic like pain in fingers, hip sciatica (diagnosed by Rheumatologist), vertical nail ridges, tender scalp and migrating pain (moving from one area of the body to another), horrible headaches, internal tremors, blurry vision. I had not had any of these symptoms prior to taking Levaquin. I began taking Ativan to sleep and ease the anxiety and became addicted to it for 8 months. I was lucky to be on a sabbatical when the symptoms were the worst, otherwise I would have had to take a leave of absence. I spent so much time being tested by different specialists (referred by the primary care physician) for cancer, MS and other neurological disorders. After 22 months I still have many of these symptoms. Levaquin has brutally altered my quality of life.

The drug companies do not tell doctors that the adverse reactions from quinolone antibiotics (cipro, levaqwuin, etc.) can be severe and and can last for months or years after you stop taking the drug. So they often don't believe the patient when they complain. Further, there doesn't appear to be any test that will reveal the damage. The victim must usually discover what happened to him by doing his own research on the internet. Fortunately a lot of information is available there. It's a tragedy that doctors are so ignorant and helpless that they do not even know to tell the patient to stop taking the medication. Their response is usually "it can't be the drug, keep on taking it".

I am a 58 Y/O physician who is now going through my 5th year of ongoing unrelenting tendon pain, tinnitus,peripheral neuropathy, severe episodes of anxiety, and tendon tear in right shoulder after taking Avelox. After taking this med. I was awakened by severe pain and redness over my lower left leg and I could not walk properly for at least 6 months with persistent episodic recurrence of symptoms which those of us who suffer from this ADR call "cycling". Previously, I was extremely acitve with a resting heart rate of 48, but now I can occasionally use the elliptical machine but have severe symptoms with even moderate exercise. Any food that is not labeled "no antibiotics" is contraindicated for me as these antibiotics have also been given to animals and I will get recurrence of symptoms if I eat "regular food" especially soy, chocolate,caffeine or sugar, which I was able to easily tolerate before the drug reaction. I have no illusions or expectations that the current configuration of the FDA or the drug cos. will ever properly address these issues and this situation is worsened by the routine over-prescribing of antibiotics by U.S. MD's. Also, years after my ADR I continued to receive mailings and ads from the drug cos. extolling "Saftey of Flourouinolones".I also feel that the drug cos. are well aware of these side effects and could provide more clarity on the biochemical reactions occurring with this ADR and even find a fertile area for further research while at least trying to provide some input on treating and hopefully lessening these side effects as well as providing ways of screening pts. who may be more at risk for side effects.

I am a 58 Y/O physician who is now going through my 5th year of ongoing unrelenting tendon pain, tinnitus,peripheral neuropathy, severe episodes of anxiety, and tendon tear in right shoulder after taking Avelox. After taking this med. I was awakened by severe pain and redness over my lower left leg and I could not walk properly for at least 6 months with persistent episodic recurrence of symptoms which those of us who suffer from this ADR call "cycling". Previously, I was extremely acitve with a resting heart rate of 48, but now I can occasionally use the elliptical machine but have severe symptoms with even moderate exercise. Any food that is not labeled "no antibiotics" is contraindicated for me as these antibiotics have also been given to animals and I will get recurrence of symptoms if I eat "regular food" especially soy, chocolate,caffeine or sugar, which I was able to easily tolerate before the drug reaction. I have no illusions or expectations that the current configuration of the FDA or the drug cos. will ever properly address these issues and this situation is worsened by the routine over-prescribing of antibiotics by U.S. MD's. Also, years after my ADR I continued to receive mailings and ads from the drug cos. extolling "Saftey of Flourouinolones".I also feel that the drug cos. are well aware of these side effects and could provide more clarity on the biochemical reactions occurring with this ADR and even find a fertile area for further research while at least trying to provide some input on treating and hopefully lessening these side effects as well as providing ways of screening pts. who may be more at risk for side effects.

I too was surprised that this antibiotic could do some much harm. I have been given many doses over the last 8 years, resulting in severe tendonitis in several areas. In my mid-30s I was forced to use a cane for nearly a year, and recently resigned from my job due to almost two years of severe arm and shoulder tendon pain and neuropathy. I've also had several cases of burning flank pain due to these drugs, and been given more thinking it was related to an infection. And I am convinced the herniated discs in my lower back were a result of the weakening of muscles due to one of the related drugs already pulled from the market. My last two cases of Bronchitis I was given Levaquin along with a steroid, which is contraindicated and can increase the side effects. And my most recent dose of Cipro caused a severe arm spasm/cramp that distorted my hand and made me stop the drug and hit the web. I now know that I have had mild reactions compared to those with tendon tears and debilitating neurological effects. And I know I will have months and possibly years of recovery ahead. But I also know I will not poison myself any longer with this class of antibiotics. I have several family members who have also had severe reactions, and hope my sister will one day regain full use of her hand. In extreme cases this drug can save a life, but EVERYONE should be aware of the myriad of side effects they may have to live with for the rest of their lives.

In January 2008, I was 37 years old, married with 3 kids under six and in reasonable good shape considering I had had a partial elbow replacement in September 2006 from a fall. That took a real downward turn once I went to my doctor for what I thought was a sinus infection. At the visit the doctor without doing any test wrote me a prescription for ciprofloxin, which I had never heard of and definitely never used before. Of course I filled said prescription only to be somewhat surprised when I read in the warning that this was a drug used for anthrax infections. Like a good patient, I started the medication even though its strength concerned me only to have burning pain in my surgically repaired elbow and my achilles tendons at which time I called my doctor per the instructions on the medication warnings. The doctor totally ignored my complaints, saying they had nothing to do with the meds and told me to keep taking the cipro. Once again, I did what my doc suggested only to have increased tendon/muscle pain over the next two days and finally found myself having an anxiety attack after 8 cipro tablets. I stopped the medicine and made an appointment with my doctor. For the two days I had to wait to see my doctor, I was in bed with terrible anxiety, severe muscle/tendon pain/weakness and all sorts of neurological issues like brain fog, neuropathy,and spatial proximity distortion that I had no knowledge of before taking this drug. When I did go to the doctor he acknowledged that cipro could have rare side effects but didnt think my issues were caused by the medication and told me to give it a month to see if everything went away and if not come back and we would start running tests to discover my real problem. I left feeling both betrayed and scared , because my doctor of the last fifteen years had basically disregarded all my issues. So I have struggled for six months by myself trying to fix these side effects. At present I still cannot say I am 100% back to normal again. Each day has been a day to doscover what side effect I will have today. One day I will have severe tendon pain/tightness then that will resolve and brain fog will creep up then that resolves only to have burning neuropathy plague me for a few hours or days. The side effects from these drugs are exactly that nothing short of a modern day plague. No one acknowledges they exsist and no doctor that I have seen has any idea what to do for them except to ignore them or to blame them on another disease, yet every day I have to deal with them as best I can.

I was a healthy 27 year-old wife and mother when I was prescribed Cipro on September 25, 2007. I stooped at the third 500 MG pill after connecting the insomnia and severe headache to the Cipro....within 24 hours of discontinuing the Cipro symptoms intensified and multiplied. I experienced severe neuropathy all over my body, tachycardia, insomnia (not one minute of sleep for over two weeks), profuse sweating, inability to stop pacing, psychosis, loss of appetite, metallic taste in my mouth, mouth sores, dizziness, tendon pain, joint pain, extreme weakness in every muscle of my body especially my jaw, high blood sugar readings, inability to focus my vision on objects, eye floaters, and many more. After this acute stage subsided I have since gone on to develop vertigo (bad enough at times that turning over in bed induced vomiting), severe jaw pain, treatment-resistant hypothyroidism, inability to digest food and extreme stomach pain, atonic colon, skin that will not heal, multiple food and chemical sensitivities broken capillaries all over my body/face, weight loss, extreme fatigue, and a disabling skin reaction to any amount of UV light...there are more but my memory has been affected as well.

I was a healthy, vibrant and active 27 year-old wife and mother when I was prescribed Cipro on September 25, 2007. I stopped after the third 500 MG pill after a "guardian angel" friend helped me connect the insomnia and severe headache I was experiencing to the Cipro....within 24 hours of discontinuing the Cipro symptoms intensified and multiplied. I experienced severe neuropathy all over my body, tachycardia, insomnia (not one minute of sleep for over two weeks), profuse sweating, inability to stop pacing, psychosis, loss of appetite, metallic taste in my mouth, mouth sores, dizziness, tendon pain, joint pain, extreme weakness in every muscle of my body especially my jaw, high blood sugar readings, inability to focus my vision on objects, eye floaters, and many more. After this acute stage subsided I have since gone on to develop vertigo (bad enough at times that turning over in bed induced vomiting), severe jaw pain, treatment-resistant hypothyroidism, inability to digest food and extreme stomach pain, atonic colon, skin that will not heal, multiple food and chemical sensitivities broken capillaries all over my body/face, weight loss, extreme fatigue, and a disabling skin reaction to any amount of UV light, and I look like a deflated balloon...there are more but my memory has been affected as well. If I had been given adequate risk/benefit warnings regarding taking this drug I would have absolutely opted to take another antibiotic instead. This drug has ruined my life, and robbed my children of their mother and my husband of his wife. There is not one aspect of my life that hasn't been affected by those three Cipro pills taken almost 10 months ago. My brief experience with conventional medicine is officially done....if there is one thing that I am grateful for from going through this experience it has taught me that without exception no pharmaceuticals can be trusted, and I will never put my life and health in the hands of conventional medicine again

The dangers of fluoroquinolone drugs go far, far beyond tendon ruptures and have been known for a long time. Their toxic reactions include irreversible neuropathy and other neurological and soft tissue damage, endocrine complications, and psychosis. The list is a long one. And their occurrence is greater than we, and perhaps even doctors, are led to believe. And we risk these serious and often permanent reactions for what? A sinus infection? A simple UTI? A “boo-boo”? In my own personal experience even doctors, themselves seem to be too busy, lazy, or careless to even know much about the drugs they prescribe or even read the patient insert. The Black Box for tendon ruptures is “nice” but is late and hardly scratches the surface of recognition and education required for these drugs.

The black box warning about tendon ruptures is a good start, but many more symptoms have to be included like damage to the liver, CNS system, heart… and it must be underlined that the symptoms do not only last during the treatment but that they can stay for a long time or even forever – in my case since 20 years and there is no end in sight. I only took 1 pill Floxin.

What shocks me is that the doctors, who describe these drugs, are not properly informed by the manufactures about the real toxicity and ADRs of the fluoroquinolones. In addition to this the medical class ignores, if a patient shows up with ADRs and is able to connect it directly with the treatment with this drug.

For me it was a battle every day, because it damaged the blood-brain-barrier, which protects the brain. Now substances can enter and cause big damage similar to stroke or brain tumor. I have the feeling that a mouse is eating up my brain bite by bite and it takes away slowly but steadily many of the normal skills and my personality. In order to protect my brain I have to isolate myself and I have to avoid all exposures.
Namid

Flouroquinolones antibiotics (Levaquin, Cipro, Avelox) can be very dangerous. It’s imperative to understand the potentially insidious side effects and that research be spent on finding a cure.

I was a healthy 43 year old male. 12 days of Levaquin has changed my life. I had never had a side effect from a medication. This dangerous drug is in a different league.

My side effects from Levaquin include a deep ache in thigh, disabling tendon issues across achilees, groin, elbow, etc. I have tingling, numbness sensations, and muscle twitching. I need crutches now to walk, and some days cannot walk at all. This is my life now because of Levaquin.

While the black box warning issued by the FDA is a start, it doesn’t go nearly far enough in describing the seriousness nor the scope of the side effects.

It’s time to recognize the facts and not rationalize them away. Let’s not have more tragedies.

I was a healthy 38 year old before taking 10 days of Levaquin. Now I have joint pain, muscle twitching and pain, tingling and burning sensation of fingers and toes, multiple skin problems etc. etc..list goes on. Seeing different doctors to treat these side effects including a Nuerologist, Rhuematologist, Dermatologist etc. Unable to exercise due to horrible muscle, leg pains, I used to regularly exercise before Levaquin. Economic burden for last 6 months from the treatments too. FDA needs to take a look at this medicine again, just the black box warning isn't enough.

Sufferings brought on by these fluorquinolones can be life debilitating. There are also evidence of mitochondrial damage which is difficult to treat. An excellent forum providing support and information and fairly new: More ... " rel="nofollow">More ... has a chatroom where we all meet on Thursdays for exchanging tips and advice, and offering support as well as chilling out. More ... " rel="nofollow">More ...

I was given Levaquin in 2002 for pneumonia and after the 3rd dose, I started developing stinging pains in the tendons of my hands as well as the tendons and muscles in my legs and feet. Within two more days after that, I developed unrelenting left-side abdominal pains and GERD so bad that the acid even backed up into my mouth leaving it burning like fire as well as the esophagus. Gradually, over time, my symptoms began to lessen with the abdominal pains and GERD (along with the awful metallic taste in my mouth) going first and finally the tendon/muscle problems. However, even today, 6 years later, I still have residual weakness in the left leg that I never had before Levaquin. It took 2 1/2 years of suffering before I could walk up and down steps or even walk up gentle slopes due to the weakness and pain in my legs. I was a perfectly healthy woman with no more wrong with me than high blood pressure (which was and is well under control with meds) until the week I started the Levaquin and I haven't been "normal" since that week! I am grateful for the healing I did experience from the hellish effects of Levaquin even if it wasn't 100%. I'm also grateful that I have now found a doctor who does believe that quinolones CAN cause severe side effects (unlike the fool who prescribed the Levaquin to me) and who has made sure that I will not be given any quins again!

I had surgery in 2000 to remove a urinary bladder stone caused by a previous unnecessary and unsuccessful surgery for minor stress incontinence. I was given Cipro for weeks prior to the surgery and after. I was told that the inside of my bladder looked like raw hamburger meat. I continued to get UTIs while the bladder surface was healing. I was given Cipro many times over the next 5 years by 3 different physicians. I was 60 or over at the time. I was told by 2 physicians that I needed to be on Cipro for a year. After 5 months in 2005, I stopped taking the drug since I developed severe ear pain. I experienced about 20 side effects, tendon rupture, neuropathy, sensitivity to noises, balance problems, rashes and itching, sun sensitivity, fatigue, vision problems, to name just a few. I'm still disabled and suffering. What in the world will a black box do? This drug needs to be withdrawn from the market.

My name is Leslea and I am a Clinical Laboratory Manager, have been a Medical Technologist for almost 30 years. I am very well respected by the medical staff at my facility because if I bring up a subject, perhaps a laboratory protocol that I want to put into place or changed, I have done my homework on the subject.
With that in mind, I want to urge physicians to take heed to the fact that fluoroquinolones are not safe for a very large segment of the population. There are literally thousands and thousands of people whose lives are forever changed because of the quinolones.
I know that most, if not all, facilities with microbiology departments put out an antibiogram, at least annually, for the medical staff to reference. Please use your antibiograms to pick the least toxic and most effective antibiotic for your patient.
Use the quinolone class only as a last resort, after other antibiotics have failed or the patient will expire if they aren’t used. Using the quinolones routinely just doesn’t make sense when other antibiotics will work. Keep in mind if this class of antibiotics continues to be used so nonchalantly they will become ineffective due to bacteria developing resistance to them.
I have personally experienced multiple system adr’s to the quinolones, and know a multitude of people like me. That is why I am writing this, I want to prevent the number of people that are damaged by quinolones from growing exponentially.
The adr’s to the quinolones are grossly under reported due to the fact that a lot of reactions aren’t recognized, but are diagnosed as an unrelated problem. If the number of adr’s to quinolones were accurately reported to the medical community, no physician would ever routinely prescribe quinolones again, unless he was some sort of sadist.
My motivation for writing this is honorable, our term would be risk management in the medical community, for the layperson it would be a passionate desire to prevent others from suffering like I am.
Just in case you are wondering, my first reaction to a quinolone caused damage to my tendons particularly my left knee. The tendons were so weak that my knee dislocated 6 times over a 7 month period, I probably should have been in a wheel chair, but I needed to work. I have a permanent baker’s cyst in that knee. The tendonitis was so painful that walking was more like hobbling.
My second reaction made my first reaction seem like a walk in the park. When I mentioned multiple systems earlier, I meant CNS, muscular, skeletal, soft tissues and connective tissue damage. Four and a half years post two doses of Avelox, I still have a multitude of symptoms, some that are not going to resolve. Although I am in severe unrelenting pain, I consider the worst part of my reaction to be the CNS or brain damage.
I have debilitating depression, which I never had prior to this. But the thing that takes the cake is the following: I am sure you can imagine that I am or actually was above average in intelligence, Avelox has destroyed my short term memory and has made me struggle to find simple everyday words when carrying on a conversation. My nickname used to be “The Steel Trap” because I never forgot anything and could recall verbatim conversations no matter how long or short the amount of time that had elapsed. My memory was what is called photographic in nature. You might be tempted to say, well you are getting older, well I don’t believe that CNS changes due to aging happen overnight unless there is a stroke involved. That, and the fact that I am not alone with this reaction, speaks very loudly to the truth of the matter.
I will quickly list the other damage I am dealing with; peripheral neuropathy, myofascial damage in my right hip that has lead to permanent gluteus median adhesions after tearing. I have chronic muscle spasms and knots in my right hip and shoulder, this is the cause of the severe unrelenting pain, the shoulder knots and spasms lead to horrible tension headaches. I also have to take Valtrex to keep shingles at bay, another wonderful symptom of the nerve damage. My tendons and ligaments in my right knee are tender to the touch and painful, my vision is altered due to floaters and blurring, luckily laboratories are notoriously noisy so I don’t notice the tinnitus too much. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. By the way, I was a healthy active person prior to this reaction, I was 47 at the time and most people would guess my age at 35 because of my personality, strength and agility, they were always shocked to find out how old I was.
Please help me in preventing any other healthy individuals from experiencing this nightmare.
I also challenge you to do your own research into the real picture of this class of antibiotics, quit taking the word of the FDA or pharmaceutical companies, they have an agenda, but it is less than honorable. You can start by going to More ... .
Thank you for your time.

The benefits outweigh the risks, yeah right. If I hear this statement one more time I will puke. Fluoroquinolones should be off the market period! There are other antibiotics out there that can do the job. I was blythely given Floxin for a 'supposed' prostate infection in May of 2007 and after only taking a week of a six week prescription, my life has changed forever. I have many of the ADR's that folks here and all over the quinolone forums discuss but fortunately mine seem to be resolving after over 12months being off this stuff. I guess the worst part of this whole fiasco for me from this medication is the belittling that I receive from the medical community. The humilation I and all the other folks here have and all the folks yet to come will experience from doctors. We are made to feel like stupid hypochondriacs who spend too much time on the internet researching a problem nobody will acknowledge. I have given up trying to convince my doctor in Cary, North Carolina that the Floxin she gave me caused the continuous problems I still have today. Like most on here, we are left in isolation dealing with a problem that was given to us. We trust our doctors to do the right thing for us. Well I know better now. I am my own advocate. I wish all the folks suffering now and the unfortunate souls who will be suffering in the coming months and years the best of health and a speedy recovery. This drug needs to be pulled off the market. Why won't anyone listen to us?

Here I sit over 25 months later from taking 4 750mg pills of Levaquin for a simple sinus infection. Here I sit in much pain with blurry vision. I've been in pain every day since day 3 of Levaquin. I wasn't given any warnings, just samples in my doctor's office, who, had been lied to by the drug reps about these fluoroquinolone drugs. I asked, "anything I need to know, any side effects"? "No" I was told, "these are great big-gun antibiotics". No, I have not had a tendon rupture but still have tendonitis in many parts of my body, my shoulder being so bad that my therapist is scared to work on it. My neck froze up 2 weeks ago leaving me screaming in pain and unable to drive. I suffered from severe insomnia, depression and thoughts of suicide, all drug related. I still suffer from many other ADRs including muscle twitching, nerve pain, osteoarthritis (never had this before Levaquin), floaters, gastro problems, liver problems, fuzzy vision, etc., etc., etc. My doctor has written "Levaquin toxicity" as my diagnosis. My neurologist agrees. This Black Box Warning is not strong enough! Tendon ruptures in people over 60 is just the tip of the iceburg! This drug has ruined my life! It has taken 2 years from me and God knows how many more it will take. These drugs should only be used as a last resort! Please stop hurting people!

I was 23 years old. My life was ahead of me and I was looking forward to it. I came down with simple, acute cases of bronchitis and sinusitis and was given 20 days of Levaquin as treatment. My life has never been the same.

I’m almost 27 now and have spent the last 3 1/2 years completely disabled and housebound. The list of adverse reactions I’ve experienced is too long to really post here, but includes severe non-abating tendon problems in every part of my body; muscle contractures; severe fatigue, depersonalization and short-term memory loss; peripheral neuropathy; circulation problems; gastrointestinal problems; anxiety with random, uncontrollable panic attacks; and some neurological symptoms that no one has been able to even diagnose. I was mostly unable to stand up for over a year and can still only walk very short distances; I also require speech-recognition software to type and any sort of even mildly strenuous activity results in further injury.

Every doctor I’ve seen has concurred that Levaquin caused this, but none have been able to help me at all, despite the warning label on the drug saying to contact your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms. No one in the medical community can give me any idea of what my prospects for recovery are, nor can they can tell me what effect this ordeal will have on my health as I age.

While the full prescribing information lists nearly all of my symptoms as possibilities, it does not warn that they can last for years or even be permanent, that adverse reactions tend to appear in groups (many people report dozens of symptoms), and that such severe side-effects can appear weeks or months after the drug has been discontinued. The brunt of my reaction started approximately two weeks after I completed my course of Levaquin, worsened in many respects for well over a year and continues to this day. The vast majority of people who are prescribed these drugs assume that any side-effects experienced will resolve when the drug is discontinued and warnings that this is not the case are required immediately in order to provide some semblance of informed consent. The current situation is resulting in large numbers of people who are injured by this class of drugs, but have yet to uncover the cause of their ailments due to the delayed nature of these reactions.

Over the years, I’ve corresponded with hundreds of victims of these drugs, all with stories eerily similar to my own, and read thousands of such testimonials on the various websites devoted to these reactions. While these may be anecdotal reports, the correlations between them, the sheer number available and the severity of what is being reported more than warrant a thorough investigation into this matter.

This black box warning, while a step in the right direction, does little to prevent others from ending up like me and nothing at all to help those who are already here. The FDA has dropped the ball on this one (to put it nicely) and I can only hope that someone in either the medical or journalistic communities decides to pick it up again. No one deserves to have to go through what I have and especially not for infections that most likely would have cleared up on their own with some time, rest and increased fluid intake.

My reaction to avelox started almost three months after I took the drug for a sinus infection, in March, 2005. I did not have the muscloskeletal problems that many have, but I had the vision problems, extreme fatigue, dehydration, brain fog and short term memory loss, neuropathy, and tinnitis. Some of these ADRs stay with me today.

The medical community simply does not acknowledge the danger of fluoroquinolones. In 6 months of going from specialist to specialist, no one could tell me what was wrong with me because nobody is looking for ADRs to drugs in their diagnostic paradigm. And because they’re not, people are being mis-diagnosed.

I feel this is nothing short of a health crisis in this country. These drugs are causing major damage to people and incur great cost to our health care system. In my case, I had probably 30K worth of useless tests. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromylgia are possible results of fluoroquinolone ADRs. I know that FQ ADRs mimic arthritis in older people. FQs have been known to cause diabetes. And the list goes on.

Black box warnings should include the FULL SPECTRUM of the ADRs assocoated with these drugs. The FDA is only cutting their losses with this warning in response to a lawsuit by Public Citizen. The FDA should insist on Dear Doctor letters in the USA like there are in Europe. But the FDA is not protecting the citizens of this country; that much is evident

I hope very much that many doctors stop prescribing Cipro as first choice after of the new black box warning. In my opinion this new warning is a step in the right direction as many people have a big bundle of adverse reactions that could be long lasting and life changing.

I took Cipro in July 2005 for treatment of a minor UTI. It was just before my 36th birthday when my life changed completely. I took 2 x 250 mg Cipro a day in total 5 x 250 mg Cipro. I actually should take it 5 days but after 5 pills I realized that I had a strong adverse reaction. I had burning pain over my total body. I never was outside the house / in the sun while taking Cipro. Nevertheless my skin was red. My muscles were hurting, felt needles and pins, my bones were hurting, I had a swollen face, dry mouth, a strange taste in my mouth and felt totally sick. I went back to my doctor and she admitted she had also these bone pain during taking Cipro, but this would be a very rare reaction and I should stop taking it. She was convinced that every reaction will disappear within a few weeks after stopping the medication.

To make it short. Bone pain was gone within a few days. Nausea and dry mouth was lasting half a year. The feeling of needles and pins stopped after 1,5 years. I stopped making sports as my body wasn't able to recover properly. I have nevertheless still problems with my ankles. I’m still not able to detox as before due to changed liver enzymes. The sensitivity to sun is lasting now 3 years! It is better than in the beginning but still far away from a total recovery. I still use sun cream every day and have problems to any UV-A light. It leads to erythema, there is nearly no tolerance level, also not to artificial light in houses/offices. I stopped working and adapted my life and the life of the complete family. On the windows at home we have a tinted film filtering the UV-A. I tried many things to recover but the medical community doesn’t know how to treat these effects. I found the most support by talking to others that experienced also life changing long lasting effects.

I would be very happy if we could make the medical community aware of these multiple effects many people suffer after taking just some pills of these class and if a treatment plan for a better recovery could be developed.

Regards from Germany,
Anja

In addition to the recent "Black Box Warnings" as well as the European "Dear Doctor" issued by Bayer overseas back in February 2008 concerning Avelox, the European Medicines Agency has moved to severely restrict the use of Avelox (moxifloxacin), to wit:

FRANKFURT, July 24 (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency has recommended limiting the use of oral moxifloxacin-containing medicines after finalizing a review of the safety of the antibiotics, the agency said on Thursday.

The European body (EMEA) said it had concluded that these drugs should only be prescribed for acute bacterial sinusitis, acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and community-acquired pneumonia when other antibiotics cannot be used or have failed.

"The agency also recommended strengthening the warnings for oral moxifloxacin medicines," it said in a statement.

Moxifloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, is marketed by Bayer (BAYG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) under its brand Avelox.

At its July 2008 meeting, the agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) concluded that the benefits of oral moxifloxacin medicines continued to outweigh its risks.

However, due to safety concerns, mainly related to an increased risk of adverse hepatic reactions, it recommended restricting their use in these indications.

The CHMP opinion will now be forwarded to the European Commission to apply to all oral moxifloxacin-containing medicines authorized in the European Union.

Responding to the recommendation, Bayer said the review confirmed the positive benefit-risk profile of the drug.

"We would welcome an EMEA assessment of other antibiotics used for treatment of these infections in a similar fashion in the interest of patient care," said Kemal Malik, a member of Bayer HealthCare executive committee and chief medical officer.

More ...

Black Box Warnings, Dear Doctor Letters, restrictions place on the use of Avelox, thousands of patients responding to these articles claiming severe injuries from this class, hundreds if not thousands of adverse drug reaction forums with tens of thousands of members world wide, as well as more than fifty percent of these drugs removed from clinical practice, and last but not least the fact that Nalidixic Acid, upon which all these drugs are based is a listed cancer causing agent, I dare to ask: are we still to believe the following comment which can be found at the end of just about any article written about this class?

'The fluoroquinolones as a class are generally well tolerated; most adverse effects are mild in severity, self-limited, and rarely result in treatment discontinuation...'

Or are we to continue wonder if we are the only ones who have bothered to do any research on this class in the past twenty six years. For surely who ever would make such a claim has not.

“Repeat a lie a thousand times and it becomes the truth ...” - usually credited to Dr Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister of the Third Reich. I now credit it to those medical researchers who continue to state how safe and effective this class of chemotherapuetic agents are. For they have repeated this lie a thousand times a thousand times. Rather odd coincident that they are both (Goebbels, and these medical researchers who state such blatant lies) members of the medical community.

In June, 2008, a doctor said that I “probably had an infection” and to take Levaquin . He would know more when the tests came back. I took the mediation for 12 days. I started with muscle pain in my legs and thought it was because I was slacking on my exercise. Then, I got very weak and tired. I thought I was getting bad arthritis or fibromyalgia or something. Muscles and joints started to hurt. It never occurred to me than an antibiotic could cause any problems.

On day 8 of the medication, I read the Levaquin leaflet that came with the medication. It says, “.. may cause tendon damage (e.g., tendonitis, tendon rupture) during or after treatment. Stop exercising, rest, and seek immediate medical attention if you develop pain or swelling in your joints, muscles or tendons.” It also said, “Remember, your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.” I decided I would not exercise anymore. I was starting to lose my brain. Getting foggy. Irritable, weak, and confused. Very stiff.

Mass confusion set in. On day 10, the suicidal thoughts began. The pain worsened. I couldn’t think clearly.

On day 12, I took my last Levaquin. Very depressed. Suicidal. Great pain in all muscles and joints. I could not bend my knees to sit at the toilet.

I returned to the Dr. that put me on this drug. I was still not thinking clearly. I was in a great deal of pain and could hardly walk. He reported that all of my test results were fine. No abnormalities. No signs of infection. Confused. Depressed. Foggy.

A Rheumatologist calls my reaction arthralgias, which is like tendinopathy.

Now, I’m using a cane to walk short distances and a wheelchair for long distances. Pain continues in all joints and muscles especially in the hands, wrists, shoulder, knees, ankles and legs. Depressed. Muscles are twitching and there is some sharp pain. My right knee isn’t strong enough to hold me up. I have such severe pain in my tendon that I’m going to another specialist. I almost went to the ER last night the pain was so great.

Until I took this medication, I was healthy and liked to run. I ran my first half marathon last May. I guess my days of running are over. I know I’m not “out of the woods” for a tendon rupture yet. It is going to take a long time to recover.

I have posted this same story on various FQ websites in an attempt to spread the word about these dangerous drugs.

Our 41 yr. old daughter was floxed in March, 2007. Had taken a fluoroquinolone on two occasions in the previous 5 years with no apparent ill effects. This time she was given Levaquin along with a steroid nasal spray. Developed tendon symptoms in heels and ankles. Stopped med. The symptoms just kept on rolling--neuropathy, knees felt "heavy", brain fog and on over 6 months, eventually including floaters, GI, GU, twitching and fasciculations from head to toe. Some came and left, intensity varied. The knee and tendon problems are lasting the longest, for a time she could barely walk and at 15 months still could not push the grocery cart. The twitching did not start until 5 months out and lasted about 9 months. It stills occurs, it seems to be during times of stress. She has heart palpitations which she never had pre-floxing. It is a long story, yet we are "fortunate" the symptoms started while on the med. It is sad for those for whom no connection is made and receive more of the same med or are mis-diagnosed.

When she started having problems the pharmacy suggested that she call the pharmaceutical company. She was told by the customer service person to seek immediate medical attention.
That leads to another long story but to be brief it appears that the drug companies have not seen fit to have their sales reps inform physicians of any type about the very toxic, long-lasting and debilitating effects of this class of medication. Responses included outright denial that such a thing could happen, many comments that she was just "anxious" even when she presented with red toes as big as sausages and a rash on her stomach. A neurologist said it was a wonderful drug and he used it for months in his patients (no wonder he is so busy!). An infectious disease MD stated that she didn't know anything about the drugs, she just designed the treatment plan and sent the patients back to their primary care MD!!!

Now, these meds may soon be promoted for pediatric use. I so hope this is stopped. Not for kids by ANY ROUTE. Of course I don't think adults should use by any route either unless death is the alternative.

I do not wish an ordeal like this on anyone. While our daughter seems to be doing much better there is always that watchful wondering if there is more to come or what very long-term effects might arise.

With the Neuropathies marijuana tends to help with getting rest and muscle pain the only problem its illegal

At the age of 23, in 2003, I was prescribed 2x 500 mg of ciprofloxacin for 2 weeks to treat chronic epdidymitis. 3 weeks after finishing the prescription I developed chronic joint pains in my hips and knees. Today, 5 years later, I'm still suffering and have not been able to resume sports I used to enjoy prior to being crippled by this drug. In the meantime, I have completed my science degree and done extensive research into the class of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. In a nutshell: the prospects are gloomy. FQ cause irreversible damage to almost every organ system. These drugs are not only capable of destroying tendons, but they also cause an accelerated physiological degeneration of human adult hyaline cartilage in weightbearing joints leading to an early onset of osteoarthritis. During my research I came across a widely prescribed French FQ, the molecule pefloxacin (Peflacine)which was rescricted to hospital use way back in 1994 (!) due to an increased risk of tendon rupture and joint destruction. Thus, the toxicities of these drugs have been known for at least 2 decades now, and in my opinion all pharmaceutical companies that developed these drugs have committed an inconceivable atrocity against mankind. People like Stass, Stahlmann, Hayem and Tillotson need to brought before a warcrime tribunal for misleading authorities and causing such a carnage within an otherwise healthy patient population. Except for a few critically ill patients, these drugs have done more harm than good. As it has been stated by other fellow sufferers, the unabating nature of these toxic injuries also points to best kept secret of these chemotherapeutic agents within FDA and other drug agencies: the Fluoroquinolones are moderately genotoxic under therapeutical conditions. For this precise reason, the German drug agency has been reluctant to approve gemifloxacin (marketed as Factive in the USA).Personally, I suffer from a combination of toxic axonal neuropathy, tendon and cartilage damage in my weightbearing joints and surrounding tissues. I strongly believe that the rate of adverse reaction is 100% in every patient taking these drugs. Fortunately, >95% of them remain asymptomatic although the DNA- damage induced by these drugs will surface.

I had talked to Tillotson years ago, back in 2001, but it seems he took offense to me calling him a horse’s ass and has not spoken to me since. But if you wish to bring someone before a tribunal may I suggest Dr. Peter Ball. Ball and Tillotson are the two leading cheerleaders for the fluoroquinolones. Dr. Ball never responded to any inquiries from the Foundation regarding his actions, however, so I was never afforded an oppurtunity to offend him like I must have Tillotson.

But you would find the statements attributed to these two frauds in white to be of interest (check the dates of these citations as well):

Quotes from Dr. Peter Ball and Glen Tillotson:

Comparative tolerability of the newer fluoroquinolone antibacterials
Ball P, Mandell L, Niki Y, Tillotson G
Drug Saf 1999 Nov;21(5):407-21

“…However, postmarketing surveillance has revealed significant hepatotoxicity with trovafloxacin…. In perspective, rare but serious hepatotoxicity has been reported with other fluoroquinolones and the overall incidence of trovafloxacin hepatotoxicity is not dissimilar to that reported with flucloxacillin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid… rare but serious hepatotoxicity has been reported with other fluoroquinolones…. Prolongation of the QTc interval is also a class effect,… Tendinitis and rupture, usually of the Achilles tendon, are rare, class-effects of fluoroquinolones,…

3: Semin Respir Infect 2001 Sep;16(3):215-24
Future of the quinolones.
Ball P.
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland.

” New fluoroquinolones and fluoronaphthyridones continue to provide the mainstay of antibiotic development, despite recent events associated with unexpected or uncharacteristically severe adverse drug reactions. These have included hepatotoxicity caused by trovafloxacin (suspended), cardiotoxicity associated with grepafloxacin, and phototoxicity caused by clinafloxacin (both withdrawn). Prolongation of the QT interval appears to be an emergent class effect, the implications of which are not yet fully understood. However, the second-generation agents ciprofloxacin and, latterly, levofloxacin have excellent safety profiles… and to be remarkably free of clinically significant adverse effects.


9th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Berlin, Germany / March 21-24, 1999

"Ten years ago I would have been howled down for including fluoroquinolones in a list of agents for the management of community-acquired pneumonia," remarked Dr. Peter Ball, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Bio-Medical Sciences, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland. "Nowadays," he said, "the IDSA guidelines have endorsed their use in almost every classification (P. Ball)

"Why should we use these new fluoroquinolones?" Dr. Ball asked. The advantages, he answered, include excellent activity against both typical and atypical respiratory pathogens, very high penetration into tissues and fluids where the infections are centered, activity with once-daily intravenous or oral administration and excellent tolerability”

“Dr. Ball believes, too, that the incidence of dizziness and lightheadedness sometimes attributed to trovafloxacin is not entirely justified”

“"The more than 400,000 patients from post- marketing surveillance studies I have reviewed reveal this to be a very, very small problem," he said. On the other hand, Dr. Ball noted that 97% of patients taking grepafloxacin think that the drug affected their sense of taste and many of them have refused to continue taking the compound for that reason”


Trovafloxacin (Trovan) withdrawn due to severe liver damage
Dr. Ball “excellent tolerability”

Grepafloxacin Voluntarily withdrawn because of the possibility of torsades de pointes occurring with its use.

Safety of the Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics: Focus on Molecular Structure CME
Stacy J. Childs, MD, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver
[Infect Urol 13(1):3-10, 2000. © 2000 Cliggott Publishing Co., Division of SCP/Cliggott Communications, Inc.]
“…] The pathophysiology of adverse hepatic events (trovafloxacin) and hypoglycemia (trovafloxacin and temafloxacin) remains unknown. It has been suggested that the addition of 2,4-difluorophenyl moieties at C1 may be the culprit for the toxic effects associated with both these agents, although there is no definitive evidence. A proposed mechanism is that this component may be metabolically cleaved off and act as a hapten, triggering an array of unusual immunologic sequelae, including hepatic eosinophilia (Peter Ball, MD, University of St Andrews, Scotland, personal communication, 1999). “

Safety Profile of Moxifloxacin
Professor Lionel Mandell (Departments of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, McMaster University, Canada) reviewed safety issues with the fluoroquinolones as a class.

Dr Peter Ball (Department of Medical Science, University of St Andrews, Scotland) provided an update on the safety of moxifloxacin.

“Although their use in hundreds of millions of patients worldwide has demonstrated that the fluoroquinolones are generally well tolerated,”

“Most adverse effects with the fluoroquinolones are mild, transient and rarely result in discontinuation of therapy.”

“. The overall incidence of quinolone-related adverse events is similar for moxifloxacin and comparator drugs, discontinuation rates are also similar and serious adverse events are extremely rare”

Other quotes of interest from various articles:

“. A small number of patients receiving fluoroquinolones developed visual disturbances including color distortion and diplopia (Ball, 1989).”

“…the development of severe neuropsychiatric problems including hallucinations and psychosis were reported. The reactions occurred predominantly in the elderly and may have involved predisposing factors (Ball, 1989; Jungst & Mohr, 1988). “

“. Abdominal pain, dyspepsia, anorexia, vomiting, and nausea have been reported with therapeutic use of these agents (Boerema et al, 1985; Holmes et al, 1985; Ball, 1989; Rahm & Schacht, 1989; Prod Info Trovan(R), 1997; Prod Info Raxar(R), 1997). “

“PSEUDOMEMBRANOUS COLITIS has been reported on rare occasions with both OFLOXACIN and CIPROFLOXACIN (Ball, 1989; Rahm & Schacht, 1989; Jungst & Mohr, 1988).”

“- At therapeutic doses hematuria, crystalluria, and interstitial nephritis have been associated with CIPROFLOXACIN therapy in humans. No permanent renal impairment has resulted from ciprofloxacin therapy (Ball, 1989; Hootkins et al, 1989; Garlando et al, 1985). “

“A small number of patients receiving fluoroquinolones developed visual disturbances including color distortion and diplopia (Ball, 1989).”

“Headache, nervousness, anxiety, lightheadedness, and dizziness have been observed during therapeutic use of these agents (Boerema et al, 1985; Holmes et al, 1985; Ball, 1989; Rahm & Schacht, 1989; Prod Info Raxar(R), 1997; Prod Info Trovan(R), 1997; Gajjar et al, 2000)”

“PSEUDOMEMBRANOUS COLITIS has been reported on rare occasions with both OFLOXACIN and CIPROFLOXACIN (Ball, 1989; Rahm & Schacht, 1989; Jungst & Mohr, 1988). “

“At therapeutic doses hematuria, crystalluria, and interstitial nephritis have been associated with CIPROFLOXACIN therapy in humans. No permanent renal impairment has resulted from ciprofloxacin therapy (Ball, 1989; Hootkins et al, 1989; Garlando et al, 1985). “


Safety of the new fluoroquinolones compared with ciprofloxacin.
Ball P.
“Ciprofloxacin is well tolerated; the incidence of adverse events is low and serious adverse events are rare.”

Tolerability of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Past, present and future.
Ball P, Tillotson G.
Infectious Diseases Unit, Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.
“The new fluoroquinolones are essentially a well tolerated group of antibacterials”

The following have been removed from clinical practice, approval denied or their use severely restricted by the FDA.

Trovafloxacin (Trovan) withdrawn due to severe liver damage

Grepafloxacin Voluntarily withdrawn because of the possibility of torsades de pointes occurring with its use.

Clinafloxacin Removed from clinical use due to severe toxicity (i.e.: severe phototoxicity and hypoglycemia)

Enoxacin (Penetrex) Removed from clinical use by the manufacturer due to severe toxicity concerns

Gemifloxacin (Factive) Glaxo SmithKline received a non-approval letter from the FDA for the treatment of respiratory tract infections.

Sparfloxacin ( Zagam) Removed from clinical use due to severe toxicity (i.e.: qt time)

Temafloxacin (Omniflox) Removed from clinical use due to severe toxicity (i.e.: haemolytic hepatic reactions)

And most recently we can add Tequin to this list. Withdrawn by the manufacturer here in the States due to fatal hypo/hyperglycemic reactions.
Almost fifty percent of the fluoroquinolones introduced since 1973 have been sidelined due to severe toxicity issues.

I would suggest we remove Stahlmann from your list for at least he tried to raise the alarm. Instead we can replace him with Dr. Auwaerter from John Hopkins who posted an outrageous piece of propaganda (a video) on MedScape a couple of weeks ago in a desperate attempt at ‘damage control’ parroting the same line of b.s. presented by Ball and Tillotson for the past two decades.

Speaking of physicians from John Hopkins you may this to be interesting as well, posted on the John Hopkins Arthritis Forum six years ago:

... Knee pain and levaquin (Jun 30, 2004) link between mmr vaccine and ra (Jun 22
... (Nov 22, 2002) Re: Arthritis induced by taking Levaquin (Oct 30, 2002) ...

Levaquin and tendinitis
By Alan K. Matsumoto, M.D. (31-May-2002)
CAN THIS ANTIBIOTIC CAUSE RIPPED ACHILLES HEELS, TENDONS AND CALVES?
The quinolone antibiotics including Cipro and Levaquin have been known to cause inflammation of ligaments and tendons, usually when these antibiotics are taken for long periods of time. It is a fairly uncommon side effect. In very rare cases, actual tendon and ligament tears have been reported. To my knowledge, the mechanism by which these antibiotics cause these problems is unknown.
In Response To: Arthritis induced by taking Levaquin

Re: Arthritis induced by taking Levaquin
By Alan K. Matsumoto, M.D. (30-Oct-2002)
After taking Levaquin for a week, I awoke one morning with both knees hurting. By that evening, both knees were swollen, terribly painful, & warm to the touch. That occurred on Sept. l and I have been in constant pain since. Within a few days, both wrists and hands, both ankles and feet were also swollen & in pain. My family doctor did not believe the Levaquin was involved. He suspects rheumatoid arthritis
& is referring me to a rheumatologist. My sed rate is elevated. I have been on Celebrex for about a week & it has helped some. The swelling is better, but the pain is still there, but not as severe as before Celebrex. Do you think the Levaquin could be the cause of my symptoms and not rheumatoid arthritis? I was on the drug for about 10 day altogether. If Levaquin is the cause of this problem, do you think the symptoms will
go away eventually ? Please help.

A small percentage of patients taking levaquin, cipro or other quinolone antibiotics, particularly for prolonged periods have experienced inflammation of the ligaments and tendons. In rare cases the inflammation caused tendon rupture. When the antibiotics are stopped the tendinitis resolves. These antibiotics have not caused a true arthritis (joint swelling and inflammation). I agree with the referral to a rheumatologist for evaluation.

Knee pain and levaquin
By Alan K. Matsumoto, M.D. (30-Jun-2004)
I was on levaquin for 8 days and awoke the same way with knee pain. By the next day I also had arm pain. It is a week later and the pain has not eased. My knees are both swollen. Anti inflammatory drugs seem to do nothing. Cold makes the pain worse. Having difficulty weight bearing. Will this go away any time soon. Any recommendations for treatment

Levaquin and the other quinolone antibiotics such as Cipro can cause a tendinitis and other soft tissue problems but do not cause a true arthritis. Thus your complaints of knee swelling is unusual for a reaction to levaquin. In addition, most cases of tendinitis occur after taking levaquin for prolonged periods of time and generally resolves a few weeks after stopping the medications. You may wish to see a rheumatologist if your symptoms continue.

Once again we demonstrate the appalling ignorance within the medical community regarding the adverse drug reactions of fluoroquinolones. In this instance a physician associated with John Hopkins disseminates false and misleading information regarding these adverse reactions when addressing the above patient's concerns. Of particular interest is the fact that TWO YEARS LATER this same physician's response to yet another patient, with the same concerns, is almost identical to his previous response back in 2002.

Direct toxicity to tendon tissues has been clearly established as the mechanism of action with over 400 research articles found on MedLine. Bailey et al first brought this to the attention of the medical community in 1972, and this association has been published every year thereafter to date by various other researchers.

Such tendon destruction may manifest with as little as one dose. One study showed direct toxicity with 10mg/160lb of body weight. It has also been clearly documented that in some patients the tendinitis DOES NOT resolve and becomes a life long disability with NO known treatment. Knee swelling is NOT an unusual reaction to fluoroquinolone toxicity but a manifestation of severe tendon and ligament injury. The World Health Organization has accumulated over 3500 individual case reports of spontaneous tendon rupture to date.

This physician at John Hopkins is grossly misinformed regarding the adverse drug reactions of the fluoroquinolones. Yet here six years later we find Dr. Auwaerter presenting the same information in error. The more things change the more they remain the same. But I do give Dr. Auwaerter credit for his attempts at keeping a straight face during the video he made. But if you were to watch his eyes, as they always do, you can tell when he is being truthful and when he is not.

After Visiting the GU clinic in Lincoln UK, I took 1000mg for seven
days of a twenty eight day course of offloxacin for bacterial
prostatitis (now diagnosed Non Bacterial prostatitis) . I had to stop
the meds due to the intense pain in my knees and shoulders. I was
diagnosed with Rieters Syndrome and given a thirteen week appointment
with Urology. After finally waiting the thirteen weeks suffering
terribly, the urologist at Lincoln totally refuted that the GU clinic
had ever diagnosed Reiters Syndrome and duly diagnosed me with Non
Bacterial prostatitis. As for the pain in all my joints i would have
to speak to my GP. He diagnosed arthragia but at this point I had the
following symptoms.
Severe night time sweats
Clunking tendons in all joints
Severe back hip and ankle pain.
Buzzing in my back and legs
Bee like stings all over the place.
Paid to see a Rhuematologist who diagnosed Osteoarthritis due to the
lack of inflammation and tendontis due to over exercise.
I have had a real shitty 9 months but the floaters in my eyes was the
last straw.

I took Levaquin for 7 days in March 07 for Pneumonia. Within a short period of time I had sore joints, knees, shoulders, etc AND very sore feet. Feet got worse with time until finally Oct 07 with extreme feet pain, burning, stabbing, I went to the hospital. Prognosis: Peripheral Neuropathy! It progressed these past months up legs, into hands/ arms, and have to be on drugs for the extreme pain and of course I lost my job. I can't tell ya how bad it is! My whole life has turned upside down! I'm 53, and was healthy before other than the pneumonia. I still have muscle & joint pain all over, but the Peripheral Neuropathy is by far the worse. I now walk with a cane, and have to ride electric scooters in the stores when I'm able to venture out from my home which is not often. Medical bills have taken our savings. Depression set in for the first time in my life. It's been a very hard road for me and my family.

I first took Cipro in 2006 - I was 61 years old. I attributed occasional re-occurring tendonitis, shortness of breath and dizziness to my age. I took the drug again this past November. The pharmacist's print-out included warnings about tendonitits. The warnings about diarrhea included "during treatment or within several months".

In March ("several months" after my November use of Cipro) I began helping our son and his wife with their newborn preemie twins. This included carrying oxygen tanks and making multiple trips up and down stairs, loss of sleep, change in diet, extreme stress and other things. After a couple of months, I began to have serious pain in my tendons, beginning in the calves and eventually moving head to toe (at one point I could barely open my mouth to eat). Other symptoms included unusual headaches, a new cough and sudden severe depression.

When I returned home in July, I scheduled an emergency appointment with my doctor. She interpreted my symptoms (which also included blood in my urine) as "sinus and bladder" infections and prescribed Cipro. I said I had had trouble swallowing the large Cipro pill in November, so she gave me samples of Avelox, another quinolone. Needlesstosay, my symptoms escalated. (This was 5 weeks ago.) I've lost 20 lbs., and as my husband says, "aged 10 years" overall. The pain never leaves me.

I didn't make the connection right away. But I thought I remembered the tendon pain and dizziness warnings, and the "within several months" part, so I rummaged throuh my personal medical file and found the print-outs. (I actually thought I had remembered a warning about avoiding unusual exercises for up to 6 months - but in the end I didn't find such a warning in my files.)

Presently I am undergoing a battery of tests to "rule out" this, that and the other. My doctor (a PA, actually) does not think that there is a connection with the quinolone antibiotics. I have NUMEROUS other symptoms as well, all of which appear in the pharmacist's printed warnings as well as the websites I consulted in my research. Too much coincidence to be coincidence?

My greatest concern is that the symptoms can appear months after using the drug, and that this is not recognized. Thus when a patient such as I returns to his doctor, the symptoms are diagnosed as further infection, and more of the same drug is prescribed. This is a DANGEROUS "catch-22"! It is especially dangerous for patients over 60, as posted warnings have finally made note.

I am not one who believes in lawsuits to resolve these issues. I believe in patient/doctor responsibility rooted primarily in education. I read all of the warnings and chose to take this medication. I am also choosing to tell my story so that others have the opportunity to make informed choices.

I am a 15 year old teenager. I was recently taken to the emergency room for chest pain. The doctors diagnosed me with chronic bronchitis and gave me levaquin. The first night i took the med i slept very little, but didnt take any heed to it being a side effect. I began having knee pain the following day. Luckily I've been informed and have stopped taking the medicine. Is there not anything that can be done to raise awareness of the side effects?