a bad drug !

ritimosa

I went to one of my doctor's last week. Not my onc. I've been coughing so he gave me a weeks worth of an antibiotic. No info. I went home and looked it up and could not beleive all of the BAD side effects. One right after the other people were posting about how horrible this drug was and not to take it. Have any of you ever been given LEVAQUIN ? I'm not sure what to do about this.

jaepinkroses

Hi!
My sister has triple neg breast cancer so I visit here searching for info for her and don't post very often....but I saw your post about Levaquin and thought I'd share my personal experience with it. Earlier this year I had a recurring sinus infection for two months that just would not clear up even after three rounds of different antibiotics, a bunch of allergy medicine, CT Scan, etc. and I was finally prescribed Levequin. My Dr didn't say anything about it either and I once I looked it up I hesitated for two days about even taking it...but took it anyway and had NO bad side effects at all. It cleared up my sinus infection too and I haven't had a problem since. I'm not any sort of expert...but it didn't seem to cause me any problems at all. I wish you all the best. jae

sflow

I was told drug companies must now cover all the bases with explaining even remotely possible SE's in case of litigation. My Arimidex print out seems to have a lot of possible SE's listed too.

Anonymous

I took Levaquin on a couple of occasions during chemo, when I was neutropenic and a simple cough turned into a practically life-threatening situation. It seemed like within hours I was feeling much better. By the next day, I was feeling as good as to be expected (under the circumstances of being on chemo). I was totally grateful for the drug-I was coughing so hard I couldn't breathe, and it stopped the issue immediately!

Good luck, I read your other post, Saige, about the bc spreading to your lungs. I am really sorry, and will keep you in my prayers.

Love and prayers, Deb

stacey2930

Well I am one of those that had a bad experience with Levaquin. The first time I took my first dose right before bed. 2 hours later I woke up and I felt wired! I was so anxious and felt like I was on the edge of a major panic attack. I could not figure out what was causing it. So after a few hours the symptoms passed. I couldnt believe an antibiotic could cause anxiety. Well the next time I took it the same thing happended. So I NEVER take Levaquin. I looked up the side effects and sure enough some of the symptoms were neurolgical symptoms. I am one of the few that cant take the medication. So the drug in my opinion is a Bad drug.

Chelee

Just as Deb said, I too was neutropenic after first round of chemo. Landed in the hospital and put on a wide spectrum of antibiotics. And Levaquin was one of them. In fact when I was released from the hosptial I had to continue on Levaquin for another 10 days or so. Fortunetly for me it worked great and thank goodness I had no problems from it.

So many of these drugs can work wonders but the SE's of many scare me.

Chelee

ritimosa

Thanks for all the input !! I must decide now what I'm going to do. My onc seemed to think it was fine. I should make him try it with me. Ha I wonder how that would go over. " I'll take it if you take it, Doc "

LaurieL

when I was on chemo my onc prescribed Levaquin as a preventive antibiotic and I broke out in such a rash he told me to discontinue. Now it's on my "allergic to" list

~Laurie

JellicleCat

Levaquin is a heavy-duty antibiotic. I've taken it several times for various infections (usually kidney). You really don't know if you will have SE's from this medication until you try it. Usually about 5% of patients have SE issues, and another 5% have allergic reactions.

Like all meds, you only find out you are allergic once you have taken it... Good luck, Don't Panic... Breathe :-)
Take care

Bastropian

I took levaquin for sinus infection/loss of smell. But my doc put me on it for 6 weeks. At about the 4-5 week i started noticing I had ankle pain upron arising. It got worse, as in I stepped stiffly for first 20 feet or so, and everytime I got up from my chair at my desk. It was like I was 90 years old! I stopped taking it and it took about 6 months for this to completely go away. Apparenlty it can injure tendons, like Achiles and shoulder - tendon ruptures have occurred, with higher likely hood in older patients.

saluki

Quote:

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I took levaquin for sinus infection/loss of smell. But my doc put me on it for 6 weeks. At about the 4-5 week i started noticing I had ankle pain upron arising. It got worse, as in I stepped stiffly for first 20 feet or so, and everytime I got up from my chair at my desk. It was like I was 90 years old! I stopped taking it and it took about 6 months for this to completely go away. Apparenlty it can injure tendons, like Achiles and shoulder - tendon ruptures have occurred, with higher likely hood in older patients.

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Quote:

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Well I am one of those that had a bad experience with Levaquin. The first time I took my first dose right before bed. 2 hours later I woke up and I felt wired! I was so anxious and felt like I was on the edge of a major panic attack. I could not figure out what was causing it. So after a few hours the symptoms passed. I couldnt believe an antibiotic could cause anxiety. Well the next time I took it the same thing happended. So I NEVER take Levaquin. I looked up the side effects and sure enough some of the symptoms were neurolgical symptoms. I am one of the few that cant take the medication. So the drug in my opinion is a Bad drug.

---

OMG ---I can't believe what I'm reading here. I had a very difficult tooth extraction which put a hole in my sinus
that they had to graft to close.

I was given Levaquin. Within the first night I had the most paranoic dream of my life not quite awake or asleep but sure
I was being physically attacked in my bed. Most freaky dream I have ever had and I was such a wreck I couldn't go to bed till it was completely daylight.

I completed one course and was supposed to take another but
my liver enzymes were highly elevated---When I asked my PCP he said it wouldn't affect liver enzymes. But then I read it most certainly does! So I did not take the second course.

Bastropian---I am having the same symptoms you described with my Achilles. I blamed my discontinuation of a med I was taking for Femara pain!

I can't make it across a room or out of a chair. I make Frankenstein look like Fred Astaire! I was mortified at the hospital yesterday when a woman at least 25 years older than me went speeding past me into the oncologists office and it took me another ten minutes to get down the hallway and into the office.

My dilemma is this. I now have some kind of sinus infection
draining from the tooth and I would have started on another couse of the Levaquin---Now what to do? ----And if the Doctors don't even believe it can affect the liver---who the heck is going to believe this!!!

Susie

Teresa44

Don't read about the side effects. That is what my nurse told me since I had read them and was scared to take it. It did help me a lot when I was sick.

God Answers Prayers

Teresa44

saluki

Theresa, after three weeks of not being able to walk because I didn't even know it was a side effect (although one of the rarer ones) and did not report it to my surgeon---My surgeon is reporting it as an adverse reaction. I am now on Augmentum and the pharmacy has added it to my list of allergic medications.

Being a Pharmacist's daughter, I'm more aware than most that you would never take a med if you read the insert, so, I've made it a practice not to read it, unless I become symptomatic.

I'm sorry, I did not follow my own advise and read it when
I became incapacitated with incredible pain in my Achilles
tendons. Had I done so, I would not have spent all this time in misery and still recovering.

To think that an antibiotic could be tied to tendonitis and even rupturing of tendons is unthinkable to me, so I did not make that connection. I won't be so foolish next time.

Yes, Levaquin can be a lifesaving medication but to ignore side effects that are occurring is a risky proposition too.

As with all medicines risk versus reward is the key. I'm glad the medicine was beneficial for you as I 'm sure it is for tens of thousands.

With me not knowing the risk proved costly.

Susie