1 votes
Posted 14 March 2008 - 06:38 PM
Posted 14 March 2008 - 10:56 PM
This is my 6-month progress report from another Fluoroquinolone site. It was written Sept. 22, 2006.
Tomorrow will be a day that I am glad to see finally arrive. For those of you that don't know by now or are reading posts for the first time:
For those of you who don't know me at all, I turned 30 in January 2006 and I felt like I was 18. I considered myself to be beginning my career as a software engineer (something I have done since childhood as a hobby) and leaving the field of IT as a veteran. I am/was to be married October 7th of this year to my fiance, whom I have known since high-school. I did have sinus issues from a badly-deviated septum due to a rough youth and past girlfriends that are good at breaking noses unintentionally (once broken, you need only breathe on it to re-fracture even years later). :-) I also have mild sciatica that only acts up when the weather changes or when I actually 'believe' that I am 18 and do something stupid in my right leg. I compressed two disks lifting a heavy object several years ago and it is more of a nag than a life-changing thing for me now that I work at a desk. It did not interfere with my level of physical activity.
Starting March 21st 2006 I took 750mg Levaquin for 3 days (out of 5). On the first morning, I had symptoms of tendinitis, insomnia, and developing anxiety. By the third dose (2:00PM on the Friday, the 23rd) I had full-blown acute symptoms including:
1. ) Tinnitus in both ears, louder in the right.
2. ) Tendinitis (now diagnosed as FQ-induced by rheumy)
3. ) Muscle tension in calves
4. ) Plantar fascitis
5. ) Symptoms of carpal and tarsal tunnel syndrome (very, very bad)
6. ) Unilateral headaches
7. ) Eye pain (never really bad)
8. ) Numbness and tingling in the extremities
9. ) Partial erectile dysfunction (numbness and tingling)
10.) Feeling of urgency of urination on partially-full bladder
11.) Diarrhea since the first pill
12.) Full-on brain fog and confusion
13.) Long-lasting bouts of depersonalization (hours)
14.) Feelings of extreme pressure in the head and back of neck
15.) Pain in the general area of my liver
16.) Fever (low-grade 99-100)
17.) Inability to perform plantar flexion (stand on toes)
18.) Complete insomnia (no sleep, for weeks)
19.) Non-abating anxiety, it was like I was always "ON"
20.) Vivid, psychotic dreams and spastic jerking of head, extremities, and even trunk of body during decreasing amounts of sleep until insomnia was completely in charge.
21.) Racing heart rates for no reason whatsoever.
22.) The beginnings of what would weeks later become horrible, but temporary, palpitations.
23.) A feeling of not being mentally right; I cannot explain it except to say that I thought I was going to fall apart.
24.) Visual distortions (crawling walls, seeing stars, etc)
25.) Sensitivity of eyes to light (couldn't drive during day or night because of sun and bright headlights)
26.) Decreased transit time of foods in stomach; probably causing diarrhea. If you are having this, don't eat salad!
27.) Rapid weight loss (30 lbs in 7 days, documented by GP)
28.) Weakness and feeling of detachment of nearly all extremities
29.) Feeling of detachment mentally, like you are a passenger in your own brain.
30.) Inability to focus on anything, even your current state.
31.) Clumsiness, lack of coordination, dropping things.
32.) Constantly cold hands and feet.
33.) Immediate feeling of muscle cramping along with soreness and stiffness.
34.) Actual cramps in fingers, hands, jaw, tongue, toes, etc.
35.) Sciatica-like myalgias in all extremities
36.) Inflammation-like lumbar back pain
37.) Dizziness and light-headedness
After several weeks, I began to develop the following
37.) Pins and needles and numbness turned into strong feelings of vibrating in hands and feet.
38.) Anxiety and insomnia levels that hight doses of benzodiazepines couldn't control.
39.) Fatigue and decreased energy levels
40.) Extremely dry eyes
41.) Extremely dry sinus (started from first pill)
42.) Extremely dry ears
43.) Dry, noisy (grinding) leg/neck/wrist joints that I can hear in my ears
44.) Floaters, they are huge and eventually became nearly opaque
45.) Shaky eyes
46.) Feelings of electric shock nearly anywhere
47.) Fasciculations and crawling skin nearly anywhere
48.) Horrendous night sweats even though hands/feet freezing.
49.) Explosion of huge varicose veins and rashes on ankles and feet.
50.) Shakiness, muscle tremors, intention tremors
51.) Lasting muscle spasms
52.) Difficulty having blood draws due to constricted, collapsed, and slow/low volume blood vessels that stop bleeding (starting in second week). I tried for 3 weeks to get a lipid panel drawn 2x per day, twice per week, 5-8 various sticks per visit. Eventually, a month later the blood was successfully drawn and things started to improve slowly.
These symptoms are not in order of rank or appearance, more here to give somebody an idea of what they can expect with the initial symptoms. Nothing, by itself, was so bad that I wanted to die (with the exception of mental issues and the tinnitus), but everything together was more than any individual is designed to be able to endure.
http://noquinolones....read=1163456589
Hello,
It has been 6 months from taking 4 750 mg. of Levaquin. There were times in the past 6 months that I never thought I would live to see this day (just like some of you). If I had posted this a week ago, I would have had a better outlook. However, this past week, I have had numerous new ADR's and the insomnia which had only been gone for only about 3 weeks is now back again.
I would like to say that I am still terribly afraid and freaked out
most of the time. I can't seem to get past that.
These first set of symptoms started on day 3 or 4 and/or manifested themselves in the first 2 months:
Severe pain in bottoms of feet (tendons) - started out as a 9 out of 10
Severe pain in my thighs - started out as a 9 out of 10
Severe jerking when falling asleep (felt like I stopped breathing)
Stiffness in front of calves - horrible
Pain in my neck - couldn't turn my head to drive
Severe pain in my shoulders
Twitches ALL OVER my body
Muscle weakness in arms and hands and fingers - couldn't hold up a book or the telephone or a fishing pole (did me in for months) - couldn't hold the steering wheel for long
Tremors in hands and arms
Tingling and numbness in hands and feet
Burning skin
Burning, tired eyes, blurry eyes
Ringing in ears
Joints popping and clicking whenever I move
Severe Noise Sensitivity
Floaters
Pain in the base of my spine
Losing weight
Severe stomach/gastro problems - gurgling, diarrhea, gas
Pain in achilles tendons
Pain in shins (shin splints - tendons)
Hives/Rash started on arm after about 3 weeks and lasted a month.
Worse rash on neck for 2 weeks - extremely itchy
Temperature all over the place - from about 95.5 to 100.5
Severe anxiety - I had panic attack all my life but now there is a
constant anxiety that wasn't there before
Then, after 2 months new symptoms developed:
Pain in ribs and breastbone - few nights thought I was having
chest/heart pain but turned out to be my breastbone
Cold feet
Severe insomnia with racing thoughs - started middle of August (I
took the Levaquin at the end of May beginning of June) (Restoril 30 mg. and Lunesta 3 mg. did nothing to help) - the first bout lasted 2 weeks and then I slept pretty good for 10 days; the second bout lasted 6 weeks and then I slept pretty good for 3 weeks; now I am having insomnia and racing thoughts again)
Crawling feeling in feet
Bad pain in fingers
Black floating "cobwebs" in left eye
Sharp drop in blood pressure resulting in dizziness
Urinary frequency and cloudy urine
Severe fatigue with the feeling of being wired
Severe pain/weakness after using muscles which previously never gave me any problems. For example, my husband and I work for ourselves and have a part-time business taking care of a shopping center. I haven't been able to do any of the heavy work that I used to but I have been able to do some of the lighter work. One of these things I have been doing is cleaning the parking lot 2 to 3 times a week which involves walking around with a picker-upper and a bucket picking up trash, etc. Never before had carrying that bucket around ever bothered me in
any way. Now, after only carrying that full bucket for a few minutes, my arm is so sore that it almost brings tears to my eyes and takes hours or days to recover.
A few weeks ago: Arms falling asleep all night long - legs falling
asleep during the day
Just this week: severe burning in feet and hands (while almost
feeling cool at the same time)
Just a few days ago: stood up from sitting after a while and couldn't straighten my knees - pain in the front and back of knees
and pains in my hands and arms that feel like arthritis
As of today, I have not yet had a pain free or symptom free day. I
have had a couple of 1/2 days where I have been symptom free. Most of my symptoms are still with me but some have improved as follows:
Severe pain in bottoms of feet (tendons) - almost unnoticeable
sometimes and sometimes, for very shot periods, about a 4
Severe pain in my thighs - almost unnoticeable sometimes and
sometimes up to a 6
Severe jerking when falling asleep (felt like I stopped breathing) -
some nights no jerks; some nights small jerks
Stiffness in front of calves - unnoticeable sometimes and sometimes some stiffening
Pain in my neck - couldn't turn my head to drive - gone
Severe pain in my shoulders - still with me constantly although not
as severe most of the time
Twitches ALL OVER my body - these got better for a few weeks and then came back again although not as severe but pretty close sometimes
Muscle weakness in arms and hands and fingers - the muscle weakness in my arms seems to cycle; when I have it, it is bad
Tremors in hand and arms - seems to cycle but when it does it doesn't last long
Tingling and numbness in hands and feet - much better, still some
tingling in my fingertips sometimes
Burning skin - seems to cycle
Burning, tired eyes, blurry eyes - this one is WORSE - I have to wear my reading glasses to do so many more things than I did 6 months ago but I do blames some of this on my constant sinusitis
Ringing in ears - better most days
Joints popping and clicking whenever I move - this is another one
(like the twitches) that got better for a few weeks but then came
back again almost as severe as at the beginning
Severe Noise Sensitivity - some days gone; some days present but not as severe
Floaters - about the same
Pain in the base of my spine - this seems to be gone
Losing weight - this seems to have stopped and I have gained back all the weight I lost
Severe stomach/gastro problems - gurgling, diarrhea, gas - the
gurgling and gas is still severe but the diarrhea is much better
Pain in achilles tendons - some days pretty good; some days still
with me
Pain in shins (shin splints - tendons) - this seems to be gone most
of the time
Hives/Rash started on arm after about 3 weeks and lasted a month.
Worse rash on neck for 2 weeks - extremely itchy - haven't had any rashes in a while now
Temperature all over the place - from about 95.5 to 100.5 - this
seems to have righted itself for now except when I seem to be cycling and then I run a low grade fever
Severe anxiety - I had panic attack all my life but now there is a
constant anxiety that wasn't there before - This is still BAD
Pain in ribs and breastbone - breastbone pain is gone for now but
pain in ribs is just as severe as when it started - the bottom ribs
on both sides are very painful - I have a lot of pain in my back
Cold feet - has improved somewhat
Severe insomnia - back again
Crawling feeling in feet - seems to be gone
Bad pain in fingers - this is still with me; my thumbs and pinkies
are very painful
Black floating "cobwebs" in left eye - this is still with me
Sharp drop in blood pressure resulting in dizziness - this seems to
http://noquinolones....read=1163435413
QUINOLONE CASES.
CASE1
http://health.groups...s/message/24293
... Was floxed twice in 2002 for a 'suspected' prostate infection
and took a total of 60 pills or one month supply of these nasty drugs....
...Was a 29 year old healthy athletic male in peak physical condition before
becoming floxed....
...I began to experience dizziness, photophobia, many left eye floaters,
blurring vision in/out all day long, doubling of vision/convergence problem in/out all day long,many many ziggies or bright lights when looking up at sky (natural light
field), tinnitus, gauze-like clouds or wisps in my vision, extreme sound sensitivity
( for example, a person's voice talking next to me one on one would literally
hurt my ears and cause extreme irritability, hearing an ambulance on the street
go by was so incredibly painful), insomnia, depersonalization, intense brain fog,
and depression (of course, the depression manifested because of the realization
of what happened to me). Also experienced pain in all my joints, mostly in
knees, hips, ankles, bilateral Achilles (rt. one more affected)--the worst freakish pains in all my life, burning, tingling, throbbing, aching, weight-bearing (?) pain and pulsating of the lower legs that has continued to this day....
CASE2
http://health.groups...s/message/24770
... I am one of the longer term FQ victims--its been over 4 years for me.
Prior to getting floxed, I as a very healthy and very athletic 38 year
old father of two young kids. I also have a large number of friends
that were victimized 4 to 8 years ago....
...Ihad the whole list of symptoms when I first got slammed by 28 days of
levaquin. Tingling, burning, numbness, buzzing sensations, severe
tendon pain, severe fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, joint
pain, vision problems, tinnitus, hair loss, dry eyes, dry skin, muscle
weakness, brain fog, night sweats, etc. Things were horrendous for
about 8 to 10 months. Since that time, many of my original symptoms
have disappeared or gotten mostly better. I have very few nerve
related and mental issues any longer. However, I continue to battle
cycling joint and tendon problems. My feet, knees and shoulders were
the worst areas and continue to be the worst when I cycle....
CASE3
http://health.groups...s/message/25106
... Prior to the floxing, I was a very atheltic guy. Not bragging, but my
boss used to call me the best athlete in our company which is very
large. Tennis, golf, running, baseball, skiing, you name it I loved
it. I was also very, very active in my kids lives...
.... Briefly, I took 28 days of 500 mg Levaquin in June/July 2001. I had
the whole list of symptoms--tingling, numbness, sunburn feeling on
skin, vision issues, tinnitus, insomnia, anxiety, depression, severe
fatigue, muscle weakness, full body tendon pain, joint pain, etc. For
me, the tendon and joint pain was the worst....
CASE4 (A DOCTOR THAT WAS FLOXED)
http://health.groups...s/message/38429
... 2. CNS and cranial nerve adrs which include: insomnia (still
ongoing although to a lesser degree than before. I am able to sleep
a full 6 hours if I take a sleep aid, and about 4 hours of
interrupted sleep if I don't. I have strange dreams and nightmares
with no deep sleep.) anxiety and depression, ( these have improved
greatly,and I have been able to work at a high stress job. It seems
that I have more anxiety and depression at night when the activities
of the day are accomplished and I have the night to look forward to)
tinnitus,( which is bearable),tongue fatigue and eye floaters....
... 3. Musculoskeletal pain with tendinitis in my hamstrings, achilles,
triceps, shoulders hip flexors, and with joint pain in my fingers
and feet. All of this is very mild. I am not to stiff in the
mornings unless I overdid it the day before.
4. Some mild skin changes with mainly the appearance of small
pinpoint angiomas in many places. Some vertical ridging of the
nails.
5. I have developed Hashimoto's thyroiditis as manifested by
elevated anti thyroid antibodies. I am not sure if this is a result
of floxing or not. I am continueing to monitor this and am about to
start on thyroid replacement therapy....
CASE5
http://health.groups...vors/message/52
I originally had many, many ADR's.
...Dizziness, high blood pressure, high pulse rate, fever, shakiness,
weakness, tremors, muscle twitches, tinnitus, extreme anxiety,
depression, shortness of breath, nausea, flushing, headache,
diarrhea, dry mouth, dry eyes, insomnia, joint aches, painful tendons
in groin and outer hips and many many other aches and pains including
burning thighs and neuropathy in my calves and/or shins. Everything
was to the extreme and I had an overall feeling of being so extremely
ill that I didn't not know if I could make it through the day....
CASE6
http://health.groups...vors/message/52
...I have listed ALL my symptoms below, if you find yourself identified
in them, BELIEVE that your body (with your mind at it), can heal it
too. I hope this message anchors in you the DETERMINATION that you
WILL never give up, and that when the times comes YOU will share with
others your experience so that they too can have something to hang on.
Thightness in throat (choking), Reflux from stomach got all the way to my throat and burned it!, SEVERE INSOMNIA, Disorientation Severe nervousness, Noise Sensitivity depersonalization, Foggy brain, Severe Anxiety Attacks, Panic Attacks, Shoulder pain
Hip pain, Back pain, Neck pain (felt like something ruptured in right side of neck)
Vivid Nightmares, Allergies (Never Had allergies in MY LIFE), DEPRESSION, Cold Sweats
Sunburn Sensations on skin (felt like I was sun bathing all the time), Confusion
Delusional, Unable to concentrate (had to get out of school during the term), Tremors (started after 3 1/2 months), Tingling sensations (started after 3 1/2 months on legs, arms, back), Shaking (started after 3 1/2 months), TERRIBLE MUSCLE TWITCHING (all over my body), Eye Floaters (dots, lines, coweb,) (Ignore them most of the time)
Pinching Needles sensations(feels like someone stabbs me with a needle in different parts of my body, Pain in Joints (right knee, right shoulder, both wrists)
Heart arrhytmias, Blury vision, Ear pain, Taste perversion, Loss of libido for about 4 months. Clicking and snaping of bones (Better 95%)
CASE 7
http://health.groups...vors/message/95
Timelime: 2 Avelox pills taken 2/13 & 2/14/06 for sinusitis..The
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre...
1st 3 months - absolute hell - over 30 ADRs...went from strength
training every 3 days / running 3 miles up and down hills every
other day to collapsing from the effort of walking across a parking
lot. Near complete insomnia, leg weakness, tremors, all over pain,
significant weight loss, diahrrea, shooting feelings in legs,
chills, early satiety, anxiety, strange internal head feelings,
etc...progressivley worse over time...some stuff got better (pain),
other symptoms popped up (anxiety). lots and lots of doctors visits
to rule the bad stuff out - nothing found...
CASE 8
Since and because of being floxed, I have had tendon/muscle/joint
issues, chronic insomnia, fevers, ear/nose/throat ulcers/parotoditis,
rashes, intracranial hypertension/tinnitus (headaches/dizziness/neck
pain/hearing loss/vision loss/floaters,ringing/pulsatile humming), dry
eyes/mouth, vasculitis/peripheral neuropathies, hormonal disruptions
(pancreas/ovaries/thyroid/pituitary/adrenals),heart murmur/pulmonary
hypertension, continued inhibition of cyp450 pathways = unable to
tolerate drugs, eg dental work/surgery/pain killers.
As a result, my quality of life has been severely compromised:-
unable to work/loss of income, unable to continue academic career,
unable to travel lots as previous, unable to travel to visit family
members as they all live many hours away, unable to keep house clean
to usual standards, reduced care of self personally, unable to
continue with my yoga/tai-chi/bushwalk/walking/general exersise,
unable to do gardening, unable to continue artistic pursuits,
restricted socialising/making new friends, stress on family
relationships, and reduced finances due to medical costs = stress.
CASE9
I took a single 850 mg dose of Levaquin March 1 of 2005 and suffered
a reaction 4 hours after taking my first (& only) pill. I was rushed
to a hospital ER suffering from a rapid heart rate, elevated blood
pressure, dizzyness, tremors, cold sweats, etc. The ER docs believed
I was suffering a reaction to the Levaquin and believed the reaction
would subside over the next few days as the medication left my
system.
My condition continued to worsen over the next 10 months with the
full array of floxing symptoms (i.e., panic attacks, vertigo,
burning & numbness in the limbs, extreme fatigue in the major muscle
groups, ringing in the ears, head pressure, eye pressure & pain,
episodes of blurred vision, difficulty swallowing & speaking,
insomnia, difficulty breathing, sensitivity to
foods/medicine/vitamins and smells, depersonalization, cycling of
symptoms, depression, severe anxiety, etc.) I was lucky in that even
though I suffered a wide array of symptoms they never incapacitated
me, although the fatigue, fear, & depression came close during the
first 9 months. I was able to keep working because my job was
sedentary and I had a very understanding boss
Anonymous said...
Hi,
I hope you are feeling better too. My floaters appeared after I was given Cipro. This all started April 2006. I was given Cipro for a simple UTI, I was 36 years old. I was dizzy for three and half weeks, vertigo, nausea, then the ear pressure, spots in left eye, flashes in left eye, short term memory loss, horrible dreams, weak wrists and knees, massive floaters headaches, ears ringing, dry eyes, itching all over, rashes, insomnia, dark spots in left eye, eye pain, blurred vision, sensitive to sound, vitreous detachment happened in left eye and now happening with the right eye. I have filed a complaint with Med Watch, those of you that have taken Cipro and have the eye problems should file a complaint. The Doctor said I would get used to them, they would fall out of view. I’m not used to them and they have not fallen out of view. It’s been 2 years almost. It’s hard to wake up each day, my eyes are full of spots, floaters, sensitive to light, reading, night vision. My life was instantly and drastically changed.
Posted 01 April 2008 - 04:24 AM
Posted 01 April 2008 - 12:18 PM
Edited by Matt, 01 April 2008 - 12:20 PM.
Posted 08 July 2008 - 06:44 AM
Yes it's mostly resolved I think, I drink about 3 cups of caffeinated green tea and eat dark chocolate with no problems. I do however restrict it to the morning and mid day... better for sleep anyway. 1 cups of green tea felt like 10 cups for a few months!
All symptom but the tendons are pretty much gone. My tendons may never return to completely normal... but they are healing anyway and I can walk further now. I wont be fully exercising until at least 1 year. Can't believe I'm actually sleeping normally again!
Posted 08 July 2008 - 02:06 PM
Edited by Matt, 08 July 2008 - 02:30 PM.
Posted 08 July 2008 - 07:51 PM
Posted 16 July 2008 - 05:31 PM
Edited by Matt, 16 July 2008 - 05:32 PM.
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