Avelox side effects

I just looked at this stie to see what side effects people are experiencing with this medication. Here is my experience: I went to see my ENT doctor-this is a great practice and I still have full confidence in their abilities despite what happened to me. I have been having trouble with lots of sinus headaches, and my tonsils becoming infected. However, I have severe hay fever type allergies so most of the time I put up with my symptoms and they go away. However, I knew that I probably needed an antibiotic because my symptoms were getting worse and I had caught a flu-cold thing on top of it. When I went to the ENT she said she thinks that my tonsils may need to come out and prescribed 10 days of Avelox along with a sinus rinse (saline only) she was concerned because I am allergic to a lot of antibiotics (mostly I get hives) so she gave me Avelox. I did not read the side effects before taking it. The reason being I get nervous taking antibiotics as it is because of my allergies and tend to freak myself out. So I just read the part about drinking lots of water, no vitamins,etc.. Even though I had a cold-flu thing I did not take my Allegra or even Tylonol to ease my other symptoms and no vitamins (which I usually take) I only took the Avelox. I also chose to take it at night because on the bottle it warned of dizziness or drowsiness. I have small children to take care of so I couldn't be dizzy during the day! The first night I took it around 10:00-I had trouble falling asleep, felt kind of woozy and high. However, I didn't worry about it cause I knew it could happen. I fell asleep and woke in the night feeling totally freaked out. I kept thinking someone was going to break in the house, I felt really scared for no reason. I wanted to wake up my husband so bad but I didn't because he had the flu and needed some rest. After that I kept drifting in and out of sleep and my mouth kept watering and watering. The next morning I told him to go in the bathroom and read the side effects to HIMSELF-I only wanted to know if what I mentioned was in there. He said yes. I continued to take the drug the next night-this time I felt lots beter like my infection was clearing and the woozy feeling was less than the night before which made me happy. But again during the night I felt freaked out and had trouble sleeping all night. The next day I got diarrhea. Again, I figured minor side effects, I need to stick with this and clear up my infection. I took the pill for 5 nights. There were several times during the day that I weird pains (but not super painful-more annoying) a pain in my thumb, my hand, my shoulder, my calf. It was only here or there-not too big of a deal but I thought it was weird. Then I had something happen with my daughter (a family type emergency) which led to lots of crying and drama the entire day. That night I took the drug again (This was actually last night-the 5th time taking it) Again, trouble sleeping but better than the nights before. I woke at 6 this morning to get my daughter ready for school and as soon as I got out of bed I almost fell down. My legs and arms felt SO heavy I can't even describe it. I could barely make it across the room, then the dizziness hit and I started to feel really bad, I started to black out. I laid down on the floor and started sweating, felt like a cold feeling through my body and then my body started going numb. At first I thought "Oh god, I am having an anxiety attack of some kind from all the stress the day before." but it just got worse and worse, I felt like I was having trouble breathing and swallowing. The worst part was if I even tried to LIFT my head off the floor I started to black out (my vision was closing around me and my ears were ringing like crazy) then my mind went crazy-am I having a heart attack (no it couldn't be I am 39!) then the weirdest thing happend my thumbs felt like the muscles were cramping and being drawn into the palms of my hands uncontrollably. That is when I started freaking out. I was yelling-my husband had to leap out of the shower.I kept telling him, something is really wrong get me to the hospital. At one point told him to call 911. I seriously thought "this might be it, the end and I am gonna die here cause my stupid husband keeps rubbing me and trying to calm me down instead of calling 911!" Then I think he got freaked out because it just wouldn't stop and everytime he tried to lift me up slightly I would start to faint. Finally, the blacking out thing eased enough he could sit me up, then I finally worked me into standing. He got me to the car and we decided to go to the urgent care versus the ER. They turned us away and told us to go to my doctor because of the antiobiotic They said they would see me if I wanted but they really thought I should see her because the antibiotic is really strong and could be the problem. I thought they were crazy and I got really pissed off thinking "What the hell? I could be dying here and they want me to see my freaking ENT?!" My husband talked me into leaving because my ENT was in the next door building. Their office was just opening. They took my blood pressure, it was good, my pulse was good, they checked my ear pressure to see if it had to do with the dizziness and I argued my ears are fine! This is different from dizziness I had from past ear infections I was almost blacking out! But, alas one of my ears was off, and had inflammation. Then they gave me a steroid shot. They said that my infection looked gone in my tonsils but they are still concerned about my sinuses and what is going on there. I have to have a CT scan next week. They said they felt what happened to me was a combo of my ear swelling and a reaction to the anitbiotic. They did not give me another antibiotic because they said 5 days was sufficient time to kill the infection. I came home today and tried to rest but it was hard because I had the kids. All day it was an effort to move or walk but thank god the other symptoms were going away. Now it is about 11:30 at night, I can't sleep and I was lying here freaking out about my legs being so screwed up. I have stairs and it is all I can do to walk up or down them. I started thinking the doctor may be nuts and that something really horrible is wrong with me (can you say paranoid?!) so I got on my lap top while my husband is asleep next to me. I found this site. Thank god. Now I can calm down and try to get some sleep! I am not dying of some freaky ailment-it IS the Avelox making me feel this way. While mentally I feel so much better and I am going to stop writing this book-I am still pretty concerned about how long the side effects with my legs are going to last. I am also a little freaked about going to the gym even after I do feel better. I will try to write later to let everyone know when my legs get back to normal. If anyone is experiencing the same symptoms I did. Stop taking this medicine and call your doctor right away. I felt so stupid complaining about all this weird stuff-my husband acted like I might be a little nuts! Now I know its the meds!! :)

As a follow-up to my post earlier today about my daughter's severe reactions to Avelox.... I wanted to add that we weren't given a prescription -- the doctor actually put a weeks worth of samples into a bag, individually wrapped pills. So even IF there was a warning on the box or a pamphlet included with this toxic drug -- we wouldn't have gotten them. Doctors get these samples from the drug companies and hand them out like candy with no regard for their patients and obviously no knowledge of what they are giving them. This is very wrong in my book. If anyone knows of anything that can be done to stop this drug from being given out - please post here.

My 20 yr old daughter was given Avelox 400mg to take one per day for 7 days for a sinus infection. Two hours after taking the first pill last night she became very drowsy and extremely nauseous and vomited several times. Her heart was racing and she felt unexplained anxiety as if she was having a panic attack, and couldn't sleep most of the night. Why don't doctors think before giving out medications!? Or at least warn the patient of these side effects which appear to be VERY common!

I was hospitalized on Christmas with a severe infection of my colon, so when I got discharged 5 days later the doctor prescribed Avelox 400 mg. for the last 7 days it has been hell. I cannot catch my breath even if I'm just sitting there, my chest is very tight, and it feels like my heart just wants to give up from trying so hard to breathe. I keep asking myself should I call an ambulance because it gets so bad with the anxiety that I cannot catch my breath. I'm 34 and in good health. but tonight after taking Avelox for 7 days I finally decided to research the side effects just to see if this was causing all my problems. This drug should be outlawed or the doctors prescribing it should sit down for 5 minutes and tell the patient all the possible side effects. where is the compassion in these doctors these days.

I am so happy I found this site and read some of the entries. On Monday I had gone to the doctor because a sinus infection I had last week had come back. So he suggested something stronger this time, Avelox 400mg. The first night I took it I had the usual nausea and dizziness. But the 2nd night I took it I had on top of the nausea.... anxiety, couldn't focus, jittery, trouble falling asleep, slight tremors. I was freaked out because I never have this from any other antibiotic before. After I found this site, I called my doctor immediately and he switch me to the Z-pak, which I'm used to taking with little side effects. I still feel weird and can't wait until this drug is out of my system. I'm soo glad I stopped before my side effects got worse. What a horrible drug. It should be taken off the market! Yes i took away my infection fast but soooo not worth the horrible side effects!

My eighty year old wife wa given ten Avelox tabs and told to take them one each day for her lung infection.
She has taken them five days along with a cough syrup which contains codeine.
The result is that she has been sleeping about eighteen out of every twenty=four hours.
After finding this site, I stopped her from taking ant more of them.

My father was prescribed Avelox last week. This is the second time he has had this medication. The first time was when is was coming home from the hospital in May 08 with pneumonia. This time..a week ago same illness. The first time it was given to him he suffered inner ear swelling. That was not so bad. However, this time, he moved his foot to the side and when doing so felt a "pop" on the top of his foot. He could not stand on his foot....swollen and sore. Could not walk without assistance. Next, his ring finger on his right hand woke him up hurting. The finger was red, swollen and could not stand being touched. It ached and the other fingers swelled also. Took him back to doctor and he said very bad reaction to Avelox. Not sure yet if tendon is ruptured, however he was given a cortisone shot and seems to be helping with reaction. Pneumonia is gone. So is this medicine. He will not be given this medicine ever again. Very bad drug with very bad side effects.

My doctor prescribed Avelox for a nasty sinus infection with bronchitis. The moment I took the first pill I started feeling this ache in my mouth- like my upper teeth were going to fall. The ache will not go away and after the third pill hell broke loose. I was at work and I started getting severly disoriented, I could not put together coherent sentences, I went into a meeting with my boss and a coworker and I could not understand what they were telling me, I started writting in the board what I wanted to say so I could keep my toughts together and then I started yelling at my coworker without a reason. I went back to my desk to call the doctor and I just could not focus on placing the call - it took me probably like 15mins just to find and dial the number. I just could not tell coherently to the nurse what was going on. I could not remmember my pharmacy, my number or anything. Another couple of coworkers started to send me IMs due to urgent work and I tried to type them back and I could not figure out the position of the letters in the key board- everything was jumbled up and I had to read things like 100 times to understand what I was painfully trying to text back. My coworker and my boss seemed to be moving in slow motion. I freaked out!I just started crying and my boss had to call my husband to go and pick me up. I apologized to the coworker I yelled to and I just could not contain myself from sobbing. I had tremors all the drive back home. The nightmare lasted about 4hrs. My upper teeth are now hurting like crazy and I just started eating and at least now I am more coherent. This drug is insane!!!! How the FDA approved something like this? This was a torture and everything happened in front of all my coworkers as we have an open office environment. Everyone was just staring at me since I just looked like I was crazy. I do not know if this will affect my career and I can not stop thanking God that today I did not meet with any suppliers. I am afraid of taking Tylenol for the pain in my teeth and I do not want to take anything else. I rather deal with the bronchitis instead of having another episode like this again.

I just took Avelox for sinitus and after the second dose- I WAS HORRIFIED!!! I starting to experience dizzy spells, a loss of self control and a loss of energy. My body was limp and I had a severe headache at the beginning. I thought I was truly dying. It was scary. I was also dry heaving and taken to the ER. This medication should be OFF THE MARKET!

I love Avelox! I had a chronic sinus infection along with bronchitis and what was the beginning of walking pneumonia. I could not breathe out of my nose and my chest rattled, and I was coughing up yellow mucus that had a foul taste. My doctor gave me samples of 3 Avelox to start with, and a prescription for Doxycycline to take for 7 days after. I just finished my 3rd pill of the Avelox, and it is amazing how much better I feel! I will of course finish out the prescription of antibiotics that he gave me as well, but maybe he only gave me 3 Avelox because they aren't good to take for a full cycle, I don't know. All I know is that I have had none of the problems as described here and I can breathe again.

My 84 year old mother took the prescribed dosage for the prescribed amount of time and on the last day of her 7 day course she developed severe muscle control problems. She has been off the med for 4 days now, and just regained enough strength to walk in her home without assistance. Her pharmacist told me that Avelox had a RARE side effect of attacking ligaments, doesn't look so rare on this site. Anyway, does anyone know if the damage done to the ligaments will be repaired with time? Will she regain what was damaged?

I was prescribed Avelox yesterday for a nasty sinus infection. I took one at about 9:00 at night. I started to feel nauseous and my mouth would fill with saliva. My muscles started to cramp up. I could not function so I went to bed. My heart rate sped up. I felt like I was going to die. Then I started hallucinating. When I got up, I felt a bit better and realized I was experiencing side effects. Still feeling achy and with a terrible headache, I went back to bed. It seemed like I went through my whole life in my head. I felt like I was a fraud in everything I've done. Finally all that was left of me was a black void. I just did not want to exist. I thought I was having a total psychotic collapse. I fell asleep around 3:00 am and woke at 6:00 am to research this drug. It is 1:00 am the next day now and I still ache and have a headache. I realize that I just suffered a major reaction....and this drug is legal! It sucks.

I was prescribed 400 mg Avelox 1x a day for pneumonia. Had 1 in the hospital and an additional 4 doses at home. That 4th evening my vision in my right eye became totally blurred, like a heat mirage type of blurred is the only way to describe it. I called the on call doctor and while I don't think he believed me, he did change me to Ceftin. I have arthritis in my knee and after 5 days of bed rest from the pneumonia I had to go and get 35cc's of fluid drained off my knee. It is now almost one week after I stopped the Avelox and I'm having extreme calf cramps in my left leg. I have no history of this. Very strange drug that I will not be taking again. It did get rid of the pneumonia.

Have taken Avelox for bronchitis and pneumonia in the past. I was well-informed as to possible side effects, and it was suggested that I drink a glass of tonic water daily, that the quinine in it can help offset problems of this class of drugs, the quinolones.
Started myself on it last night for a five-day course, again for bronchial infection (very bad cold turned into bad cough, bringing up discolored mucus, bad taste in mouth). I have asthma and have had bronchial infections many times following a cold.
Had the slightly jumpy reaction, trouble sleeping, and snatches of a song fragment replaying in my head. Finally fell asleep and feel ok this morning--better, actually, as i think i caught the infection at an early stage and it will be gone with a five-day course of this drug.
The reason I have been prescribed this med is that I am allergic to virtually every kind and class of antibiotic. I can successfully take quinolones and sulfa (like Bactrim)--that's it.
However, I've found it to be very effective and the side effects quite minimal. I am drinking that glass of (diet!) tonic water, taking the medication on a full stomach (something carb, like pasta or lots of bread), and being careful not to do any heavy lifting for next couple of weeks to avoid any tendon issues.
This is a very effective drug for those of us who cannot take Zithromax, Penicillin, Erythromycin, etc. My doctor, who runs the pulmonary dept at a hospital, is well-versed in what to use and when.
Will let you all know if there are any problems during or after the 5-day course.

I went to a walk-in clinic with ear pain...was told I had an ear infection and prescribed Avelox. Took the first pill about 6pm with dinner and an hour later felt very cold..could not get warm, dry mouth, tremors in my lips, then the left side of my face started to lose feeling...not all the way numb but not as sensitive to touch as the right side of my face. Worse than all of that was the "detached, out of bodish" feeling and the mounting anxiety. I went to bed hoping to sleep it off and no better this morning. I woke up with muscle soreness and weakness in my left arm. My heartrate is sitting about 90-100 bpm and I feel so jittery. I went to my regular doc who said I didn't even have an ear infection. When does this go away?! I hate this feeling of not being normal, being so anxious. And I am so mad because I didn't even need this antibiotic!!

I have had chronic hives for a little over 5 months 24/7. I had taken Avelox for 10 days which was prescribed by my doctor for a upper respiratory infection. Although my infection had gone away, on my 10th day I woke up covered in hives head to toe. I went back to my family doctor that had prescribed Avelox to me and they injected a steroid shot in my hip. They were gone for 2 weeks, and then returned. For the past 5 months I have tried every treatment that my allergist has given me and nothing seems to work. I met another lady who had the same reaction from Avelox and she said her hives lasted for one year. I would not recommend taking this drug, because the side effect are not worth it.

Back in April I came down with a Sinus infection (I basically can diagnose myself because this is all I get these days). Well, the doc told me that since I hadn't had the wretched sickness 7 days (I was on day 5), that i would have to wait til Monday. I wish I had picked a fight, because by Monday, my throat was so swollen I couldn't swallow my own saliva! I had to refreeze EVERYTHING to numb my throat before even trying to drink any thing. So, I went to my physician and he prescribed me omniceff. Usually that does the trick, but by that Wednesday (day 9), I had trouble breathing, my sinus got backed up and caused pink eye, and apparently I also had Laryngitis. I went back to my physician, bent over and begged for a shot of something (my family knew I was bad if I was begging to come face-to-face with my phobia). So they gave me a shot, pink-eye eye drops, and other items. All samples so I wouldn't have to pay for the very expensive prescriptions.
By that Friday, I still hadn't gotten better and found myself living over the trash can because the mucus was so bad I vomited anything warm. He sent me to the Ear-Nose-Throat doc for the following Monday.
Phew, this doc helped me. He was the one to find that my sinus caused a respiratory infection and Laryngitis. He prescribed me Avelox and gave me a stern warning to read all the side effects and eat a good amount of food and to keep track of any issues I have with it.
So I went home with my Avelox samples and took one after eating a large bowl of grits with eggs...I hadn't eaten like that in 2 weeks, so I was praying to keep it down. Once I finished eating, I did my online research and found that Avelox is almost the last prescription they give you before sending you to the hospital and that it was the same prescription as the pink-eye eye drops only in pill form!!! I noticed that if I didn't eat a high-caloric diet while on Avelox, I paid severely with stomach aches, nausea, dizziness, and sometimes cramping and vomiting!!! The doc was serious.
I was on this med for almost a month before I kicked the crap out of my infections!

My Mom (87) who was in great health given her age, was given Avelox for a urinary tract infection. She has developed severe side effects that include shortness of breath,chest pressure, (not chest pain)swelling of her esophagus & eye lids, confusion/agitation, dry mouth,complaints of twitching in her mouth.
The worse case of all the symptoms has been the swelling of the esophagus and eyelids. Her eyes are swollen shut and she labors to swallow & talk. Eating is a monumental task.
She is currently hospitalized and the medical team seems to be having a hard time accepting this as an allergic reaction to the Avelox. They have run series of tests to look for other things such as pnuenomina, heart issues and stroke issues. So far the tests have revealed nothing out of the ordinary. One would think that they would start treatment with steroids or another anti-allergic treatment but they seemed convinced that the Avelox is a non issue because she only took 2 doses @ 400 mg each starting Saturday & Sunday (11/29-30). This ordeal started Sunday early evening.
If anyone else has experienced specifically swelling of the throat & eyes please post!

I was put on Cipro for 10 days for a sinus infection and it did nothing so I went back to the doctor and was prescribed Avelox. I took my prescribed dose of 1 400 mg tablet once daily and after the third dose began to feel some very strange sensations. I started cramping and hurting from my elbows to my finger tips as well as I started having night sweats, tremors/jerking when trying to go to sleep which is another story in itself. I may have gotten 9 hours sleep in 4 days. All of this over a sinus infection. I guess we are simply being lab rats for the Rx companies.

Thank you for this site...although it is too late being I already poisoned myself with my 1st dosage - I know better now to STOP TAKING THIS DRUG IMMEDIATELY.
31 y/o male - non smoker - In good overall health.

What happened...(brief history of what got me to the point of being prescribed this horrid drug)
I caught a cold a few days after drinking quite heavily at a wedding (Aprox 1 month ago). It was severe enough for me to take a trip to this new doctor that is in my network and nearby (how I wish I could use my old family doctor that is out of network).
Symptoms then were congestion in my head and upper chest, cold sweats, runny nose. The doctor told me to take some over the counter stuff and try to fight it off w/ Mucinex, and Zyrtec - and lots of liquids. If that didn't work, he asked me to return.
It took about 5 days, and I seemed to kick the cold.
Approximately 2 weeks went by where I was feeling fine, then it seemed as if I was coming down with something again. (Last Thursday was when I started feeling ill)
I think what brought it on this time was breathing in excess dust at work opening some skids of paper in our warehouse.
Anyhow, this time around I had a pretty serious cough, felt feverish, and fatigued.
Sunday morning I woke up and took two Mucinex to break up the cough (which work great by the way)...and I hacked up something awful enough to call my doctors emergency line and have him paged. I was ready to go to the ER. It wasn't just phlegm or mucas - it was a soild mass of lord knows what containing blood. It look like an organ from a small critter.
Doctor said to keep taking the Mucinex and if I didn't feel better to come see him.
The coughing got worse on Monday, and the mucus I was spitting up wasn't pretty.
I went to see him yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) and he said its time to start you on an antibiotic and diagonsed me with an Upper Respiratory Infection.
He gave me Avelox, and Advair, and I asked for some of the good cough syrup w/ the codeine. He also sent me for a chest X-ray.
I got home around 4pm, made some food, then took some syrup and tried the advair.
I waited to take the Avelox til later on in the evening so I could set up a routine as I work nights and 9pm would be good.
I took the Avelox, around then, along with another dose of the cough syrup.
Around 1 hour later I felt extremely nauseous. I would burp, and feel almost ready to vomit...it was my body rejecting this horrible drug. The nausea came and went, came and went - then I got tired.

I laid down around 11pm and then the REAL trouble started. I must have fell asleep for about 30 mins, then woke up suddenly gasping for air...It felt like my heart was about to stop. I sat up in the bed panicked. I then got a little nervous, but calmed myself down, drank another glass of water and tried to fall back asleep. Sure enough just as I was about to drift off, the same sudden feeling of my breathing or heartbeat was interrupted and I sat up again. I had tingling in my chin area and in my arms. Walking to the bathroom I felt slightly disoriented and dizzy, and my legs and whole body felt weak. I also started getting itchy in my legs and groin area. Now I'm scared to go to sleep so I come to the computer and started researching this Avelox. It's 3:30 am now as I'm writing this. I looked at this site and http://www.fluoroquinolones.org/ before decided to post my experience.
I am still very itchy, slight nauseous, and feel disoriented. I'm scared to lay down to sleep now, but hopefully that will wear off soon - but I feel very nervous, uncontrollably. I almost want to induce vomiting to maybe get out any of the drug that is left in my stomach, but hate vomiting.
I will not take another dosage of this Avelox, no matter what this doctor tells me...and will give him a piece of my mind for prescribing this instead of something like ammoxocillin or just penicillin.

Second time I have been prescribed Avelox for respiratory infection, the first after returning from Afghanistan in 04 with no side reaction. Saw my GP two weeks ago re persistent cough and lung pain and in fact suggested we might consider this again as it worked so very well the first time. I believe this time round this drug has killed every beneficial bug in my gut. I did take all seen days, but one week later I am still nauseous and experiencing diarrhea this literally is green. Food does not digest-needless to say I am kind of listless and just spent most of the weekend ill. My cough is gone however....

I AM ON MY SECOND DOSE OF AVELOX. I AM GETTING SEVERE PAIN IN MY HEAD. WHAT DOCTOR IN HIS RIGHT MIND WOULD PRESCRIBE THIS MEDICINE. I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE ANY MORE. STAY AWAY FROM AVELOX. K. INCE

I messed up my own Amoxicilin prescription (I kept missing the third dose since my brain is wired to take meds 2x only). So I took all of the pills but they weren't as effective and of course i relapsed and got put on Avelox.

Now, during the Amoxicilin mess, I was told to increase my prednisone from 2.5 mg to 20 a few days later is when I get the Avelox. The first two doses went on without a hitch but I just took the third one about 3 hours ago and I can all ready feel the tremors throughout my body. My mom says its medication induced low blood sugar and I should be fine if I get a glass of juice and go straight to bed.

But I have an auto-immune condition and am now worried about whether or not all of my meds do in fact go together - and yes there are a lot of them. I've decided to go to bed and see if the symptoms are still there in the morning. So now I'm even more anxious about taking dose number four, especially since I'm supposed to go back to work on the day of the last dose.

And, yes, I asked the pharmacist about why prednisone was on the precaution list and he assured me that the side-effects would be minor if anything at all.

November 14 I was given Avelox for a sinius and ear infection. My husband had taken the sam medication 4 weeks earlier and had absolutely no side effects what-so-ever. When my infection reaccured my doctor decided to give me Avelox since it was a stronger antibiotic. I took my first pill prior to going to bed. I woke up Saturday with a headache and a general feeling of being agitated and moody. I took the second pill and as the day went on I began to feel some tingling in my arms but contributed to a neuro test that I had had 2 weeks prior where they shock your nerves. The tingling got worse by that evening (Saturday). Sunday I took my third pill still relating the the tingling to possible nerve damage from the EEG. I had to keep shaking both arms from time to time because I was also experiencing some numbness. I took my 4 pill on Monday early am. By 9:00 the tingling was extensive and the numbness was also becoming more regular. During all this time I was having intermittent severe headaches as well. By Monday night I was going crazy with both my arms tingling constantly and then my left hand got really heavy, I reach up to rub my arm and realized I could not feel my shoulder. I got a needle and pricked it and could feel nothing. This brought back a severe allergic reaction I had back in the 80's to Vistaril. It clicked in my brain at that point that it was not nerve damage from the EEG but possibly an allergic reaction. I immediately went to the web and keyed in allergic reaction to Avelox and found this site. I was stunned. Needles to say I did not take the pill Tuesday and went straight to my physician. He was hard pressed to believe that my symptoms were being caused by the Avelox. I even brough copies of some of the entries on this site. He did not want to accept that but changed my antibiotic and said that if it was the medication then the symptoms would start to subside by Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon both arms were considerably better and by Thursday mid-day I was back to normal. I did tell my physician that although he might not be convinced I was 100% positive that it was an allergic reaction. I will be calling him today to let him know that I was right.

My mother has been on Avelox for 1.5 days and now we're in the ER. Very similar symptoms as I've read - tremors/anxiety/headache/short of breath/pressure in the chest. Doctors just gave her Benadryl and Prednisone. She also has extreme swelling of the legs. has anyone experienced this particular symptom?

I have been taking Avelox for 6 days after being diagnosed with pneumonia. I have been feeling weak, fatigue and out of breath, also having occasional stomach pains and feeling drowsiness. Then on the 5th day of the medication, I've noticed red bumps were breaking out on my fingers, starting from my right thumbs, they are painful to touch. I have one more pill left and decide not to take it anymore. I should have researched more on this before taking.

I'm so glad I found this page. I was prescribed Avelox and Prednisone to treat my sinusitis. I felt nervous the first 3 days but figured it was just the prednisone. After reading this it must have been the Avelox. On day four it was different. It felt like a bad panic attack. Out of body feeling, tingling in the arms with pain in the feet and a general confusion. The feeling of having to run or keep moving around. I was keeping my arms folded because it felt like if I let my hands out they would just start shaking. I'm feeling better now having read this. I feel like calling my doctor and cursing him out. He gave me a coupon with the script which just clarifies how they are being pushed by the drug companies to get this stuff out there. What scares me is the last time I was prescribed antibiotics (6 years ago) for the same thing
at the end of taking them i had developed similar feelings of tingling and confused thought. That led to months of tests for neuro diseases which eventually they told me was from anxiety. The feelings have lingered for the years since but never as bad. Those bad feelings came back again with Avelox which makes me believe it wasn't caused by just anxiety back then and perhaps permanent damage was done. Thanks for reading.

Took my first dose on Wednesday 11/12/08, and felt amazing. I could not believe how much better I felt when I got up Thursday morning. Took my second dose around lunch time, and noticed that by Thursday night I wasn't feeling too well. Had a hard time sleeping Thursday night as my legs were bothering me. Called the Dr. this morning, as I felt like I might be having some side effects. Wants to see me tomorrow to make sure I'm not having tendon problems. Legs feel weird...just a rubbery feeling, and some mild pain. Makes me feel like I have to move them. Also, felt jittery upon waking this morning. Can't sleep...wake up at 4:30am - 5:30am and can not get back to sleep. I just want to get well, and they give me a medicine that should not be prescribed unless other antibiotics have not worked, and then be supervised the entire time on the medicine. I am so mad, I can't see straight! Now I have to waste more time, going back to the Dr. (not my usual Dr. BTW...I had to go to a "walk in" clinic because I couldn't get into see my normal Dr. soon enough), so that he can tell me my legs are fine, and write me another stupid presciption! I've been dealing with trying to get some meds for almost a week now! CRAZY! Not to mention this crap is really expensive! $60 for 10 stinkin' pills. Would of been $160 if I didn't have insurance. That's a lot of money down the drain! Guess I'm glad I never took my 3rd dose of this stuff, or I might of done some serious damage! DO NOT TAKE THIS...IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK!!!!!!!!

33yr Male, fairly fit. South Africa.
(very cautious on any drugs or illness - thanks for the internet for research)
About 5 weeks ago I developed severe sinusitus (headaches, dry nasal paths burning like hell, irritating eyes, sore throat...) Doctor prescribed the usual Augmentin SD. this cleared the nose, pain, throat. On the last day of the course, my chest started burning, together with coughing. Diagnosis was bronchitis (not pneumonia). so the doc prescribed Avelox for 5 days.
The pharmacist took great care in explaining all the side effects to me, and warned me to rest enough, drink lost of water (as with many medicine), don't take multi-vitamins or supplements with iron, zinc, magnesium, and most important that for 6 weeks not to do any exercise, not even walking too much, as your muscle tendons can be damaged. (I even stopped working in the garden, or lifting heavy boxes)

Taking the advice, I got better, and up to today (2 weeks since last pill), I haven't had any side effects as mentioned here. I will continue to check for any in the next few weeks.

I was prescribed Avelox for bronchitis on Thursday the 6th....not feeling better in 2-3 days fill the Rx. Talked to on call doc Sunday morning, was advised to begin to medicine, plenty of water and rest. As I have a known allergy to sulfa, I confirmed with the pharmacy the RX was okay then took my first dose Sunday evening. Within 30 minutes I had severe stomach cramps followed by sudden and explosive diarrhea. As I was trying to rationalize these symptoms I was hit (and I mean HIT) just as suddenly with racing heart, tingling lips, shortness of breath, tightness in my chest, light-headedness....at this point I yelled for my husband to call 911 before I passed out. As he came in the room, I was on the floor gasping for air...don't remember much in the following events. I know that he administered my epi-pen (I was to disoriented to even think of this**and I have had to carry it at all times for about 6 years due to other allergies) saved my life as my son says EMS/fire /police did not arrive for another 4-5 minutes. This experience scared us all! I have had meds case panic attacks in the past THAT IS NOT what I experienced at all!! This was a life threatening reaction...I agree with the CLASS ACTION SUIT as until reading your postings I could not figure out why 3 days later my stomach still hurts and although the coughing is better my chest still feels like someone is compressing it (I had a chest film to confirm the bronchitis had not progressed * confirmed clear yesterday) and my sleep is totally messed up. I would not wish this on anyone. Thanks for sharing as now I know what is going on.....ALL THIS FROM ONE DOSE......JUST ONE PILL......

OMG! I can't believe what I'm reading! I had an infection that aggravated my asthma and was prescribed 40 mg of prednisone for 5 days and a 10 day supply of Avelox. It wasn't until the 6th day of taking the drug that I started to feel "weird". It felt as if I couldn't lift my arms, I couldn't get off of the couch, i couldn't think, my chest hurt like someone was sitting on it. I thought it was because of the prednisone even though I had never reacted to prednisone that way. Then I began to think I was having a heart attack. I took my girls to school on Monday and came home and went to bed. Then I went to bed extra early that night. I felt better the next day, but when I get to moving around, I start to feel weak all over. I wish I had looked this up first! I looked up prednisone side effects but never dreamed an antibiotic could do this to me. Never again.

I had been suffering from bronchitis for over a week; my doctor believed that it may have been developing into pneumonia so he prescribed a seven day supply of Avelox along with an inhaler (for my congested airways). About an hour after taking the second pill (day two) and a couple puffs from the inhaler, it felt as if my throat was spasming (possibly closing), my chest hurt, and I felt incredibly anxious. I actually called 911 (which I have never done before) and the EMS suggested I stop using the inhaler. So I did. I stupidly finished off the week's worth of Avelox (yesterday 11/9) and am still struggling with moderate to severe anxiety. My stomach has hurt almost all day today, and it still feels at times as if my throat is spasming. Has anyone else experienced this?? I thought it may be anxiety-related, but now I'm not so sure.

I'm seeing my doc again tomorrow and plan on telling him that I never want to use Avelox (or any fluoroquinolone) again!!

I've been taking Avelox for 4 weeks for chronic sinus infection. Just wanted to say I've had no problems, except feeling a little loopy and sleepy. Not everybody has problems, Avelox has worked very well for me.

I was prescribed Avelox for a Sinus/ear infection. I was given 1 pill a day for 5 days. I took the first pill and within 30 minutes I was starting to feel very "out of it". I started to get very anxious and began pacing in my house. I couldn't sit still without becoming agitated and disorientated but I was feeling so spacey that I didn't really know what I was doing.

My arms and legs started to itch, then tense up and began to tremor. I even started arguing with myself OUT LOUD about whether or no I should go to the ER. Finally I just made myself lay down in bed and slept for about 14 hours.

The next morning I work up and felt like I had been in a fight. My muscles were sore and weak and I had flu like symptoms that kept me bed bound for 3 full days after taking only 1 pill.

I had asthmatic bronchitis and was prescribed Prednisone and the Z-pack. A week after those were done, I was still coughing like crazy with wheezing so my doctor put me on Avelox. About 2 hours after my first dose, I was feeling extremely loopy - kind of "out of body"ish - like just before you're going to faint - light headed, muffled hearing, needing to get outside to get air. Just generally weird. I was nauseous, had (actually still have...tmi?) a pretty serious case of diarrhea...but didn't associate it with the medication. It wasn't until I looked online at side effects that I realized that it was the Avelox doing this. I'm sooooo glad I found this site - sounds like things would only get worse if I kept taking it. I only took 3 out of 7 pills, so I'm hoping I dodged a bullet here

i am not sure if this is a side effect of avelox. i started taking avelox last week and within a day or two started feeling itchy and have become concerned that it was a sign of another infection or autoimmune disease.

I,m self employed, was on a deadline job, and couldn't miss work, when i came down with an upper respiratory infection. When I couldn't sleep (It hurt to swallow and breathing deeply hurt my upper chest), I decided to self medicate with an old amoxicillin script I found in the medicine cabinet. After two days the symptoms were gone and I continued to finish the script (two 875 mg a day for 6 days). On Oct 29, I seemed to have symptoms returning so I went to my PCP. He told me not to self medicate again and said he would have to put me on a stronger antibiotic - Avelox. I took my first of 10 doses that same day at 2pm. I had no noticeable reaction until I took the second dose the next day. It was about 4 hours later, and I was standing at the counter at Lowes when I started to feel sick. I was feeling dizzy and anxious and like I was going to faint. someone got me a stool to sit on and a bottle of water. Within a few minutes I had the urge to go outside for fresh air. That helped but as I returned inside the experience repeated. I finally told the man waiting on me that I'd better continue the transaction at a later time. The next thing I remember is being picked up off the floor and asking me if I was all right. At my insistence he helped me back out the door into the cold air. I refused an ambulance and after 10 minutes of rejuvenation in that fresh air I managed to drive the half mile home. A few hours after calling the doctors office they got back to me and said it was doubtful avelox caused it. I've been taking dose 3,4,and5 in the morning and every time I experience the same symptoms. Within a half hour of taking the drug I start to feel nauseated, start burping, am shakey and I start trembling. If I try to walk my legs are very weak and shaky. I experience feelings of anxiety, am somewhat disoriented and confused. I get tingling down my arms, I tremble and feel either hot or cold. I haven't fainted any more, but I often feel like I might. I'm halfway through my 10 day regimen and will have to consider quitting, after seeing all the similar reports on this website. I'll be discussing it with my doctor on Monday.

I was prescribed this medication on Thursday, 10/23. Ater taking my first dose, I immediately threw up. I read that this was a common side effect and thought nothing of it. I was fine after the 2,3, and 4th dose. Then I took the 5th dose on Monday night and woke up around 1:30 A.M. with severe burning and tingling in my feet. I put some muscle rub on it, and figured it was unrelated. I stand on my feet all day as a teacher and just thought my feet were tired. After taking the 6th dose, I once again woke up around 1:30 AM with very severe pain in my knees. I was in tears over the severity of this pain. Even now, my knees and feet are still hurting and tingling. I called the doctor today to see about getting my prescription changed, even though I only had 4 pills left to take, and she asked me to come in and be evaluated. Another co-pay, when they shouldn't have given me this poison to begin with! I am 24 years old, and have to take care of an 8 month old baby. My husband is scared out of his mind and so am I. I am way to young to have to deal with joint pain, and am praying that this isn't permanent damage!

Felt great going to doctor Fri. but had had a cold. He did culture and found staph. Took Avelox for sinus infection. The next day felt so out of body, depressed, weak had to cancel vacation (husband, daughter, everyone went :-(... All night had psycho fragmented lines from songs etc going through my head. Woke up dopey and weak, had to stay in bed 3 days. Went off the Avelox after 3 days and switched to Augmentin. I am getting my brain back today. This stuff seems very strong & toxic!!
Ruined vacation and made me feel 10x worse than the sinus infection itself.

After taking my first pill, I experienced severe jaw pain. I've never had any reaction to any medication in the past, so I wasn't sure what the pain was all about. After taking the second pill my legs felt so weak I could barely walk. I actually woke up and thought I had MS. I called the doctor's office and they said to stop the pills immediately and that those were side effects from the antibiotic. I also, like others reported, received a coupon for a discount on this medicine.

Today I went to the minor emergency clinic locally and I was given 10 day samples of Avalox. My throat is very raw and I was sick, but didn't have a fever and I was welcoming the medications given to me, because I felt so sick. BUT... after leaving the doctor's office we went through a drive through to get lunch and continued across the street to go shopping for winter coats when I decided to take my new medicine with my food and water. Immediately, in less than five minutes I felt like throwing up, and I felt very very dizzy and weak. I almost couldn't get out of the car my head felt so thick and foggy. When we walked in the store, my husband had to hold onto me because I felt as if my equilibrium was off. I just felt so dizzy, we didn't even get to do the shopping. When we got back in the car I fell asleep right away and I remember thinking to myself in my sleep that I felt a huge tremendous pressure around my skull as if someone was squeezing it. But I was so tired I thought, well if my head explodes, that's ok I'm too tired to tell my husband. Now that sounds downright nuts, who thinks like that in their sleep? I was basically too drained to cry for help. I called the doctor's office to tell them about my reaction and they said that was definitely the antibiotic, not the allergy medicine and that if it continues when I take the pill tomorrow to call them.I'm asking for a Z Pack. I am glad I found this website, I feel it could have saved my life! I would have probably followed their advise. I am going to give them this link so they can read for themselves!

I'm a 47 yr old male who has constant sinus problems and recently( 2 weeks ago)had a bad sinus infection. I exercise regularly and am in pretty good shape(or so I would like to think). I have never had a bad allergic reaction that I can remember to anything. I was given a 10 day supply of Avelox to clear it up as I was supposed to go in for a sinus operation tomorrow. While I was on the Avelox last time, I don't remember experiencing any significant problems and I wasn't the best patient. I doubled up on doses in the beginning figuring it would work faster, took it on a empty stomach, drank a few beers over the weekend, etc. I went off of it a week ago and then this week I started to feel some cold symptoms coming on. Then yesterday at my pre-op visit my ENT gave me 2 pills (1 per day) to take prior to the surgery to "be on the safe side". I took one at 5 PM last night on an empty stomach and headed off to martial arts class. By the time I got there 20 minutes later I was feeling funny. I tried to work out but I felt lightheaded and had severe stomach pains. Then I had a hard time catching my breath under the slightest exertion. I normally jog 2-3 miles a couple of times a week with no problems so I was concerned. I left class and barely made it home. The only reason I didn't have a full blown anxiety attack was because I have suffered with them for years and recently feel I have been able to control them better. When I got home I was beet red from head to toe and my wife wanted me to go to the ER. I realized that it was a reaction to the Avelox and basically rode it out but it took about 3-4 hrs before I felt better again. I'm still not right today and I canceled my surgery for tomorrow. Now the ENT doctor wants to put me on something else before the surgery and I'm wondering if that's going to cause any problems.

I'm a 46-year old male and went to my family physician 10/20/08 and was prescribed Avelox for an ear/sinus infection. Like others I've read about I also was given a (free) coupon/voucher for 10 pills redeemable at my local pharmacy. I ingested one 400mg tablet and went to work, within 1-hour I began feeling oddly all over having numbness passing across my arms and shoulders and had to leave work remainder of day. 10/21/08 I ingested pill #2 and that was the back breaker...within hours of taking the pill I began having numerous complications consisting of numbness in chest and arms, numbness in legs, I lost control of my muscles having wobbly legs and weakness in arms, I experienced neck fatigue, had weird receptor flashes, pain in my knee joints, continually thirsty...all these symptom generated panic attacks and paranoia and I was frightened thinking that something more medically severe was wrong with me. I began to think the only thing different is my ingesting Avelox, that's when I began researching the side affects and bingo the testimonials from others whom have taken this antibiotic have experienced same or similar complications indicating Avelox is at fault. Avelox is bad news period and I am so bummed that I was prescribed this devil antibiotic....this drug(antibiotic) must be taken off the market and I will support any cause that supports removal of this evil drug and I strongly urge that no person accept Avelox. My only regret is that I did not research this drugs potential side affects prior to ingesting. I have always felt reasonably safe taking medication prescribed my my family doctor but I now doubt my doctors competence in terms of awareness as it related to the consequences and/or endangerments the medications prescribed may have on any patients health.

My question is; can you and I count on the FDA to protect us? No we can't and that's disturbing because this is another case where another of our Federally controlled agencies has failed miserably, don't be mislead thinking that because it's federally controlled that We or all drugs prescribed are safe. What's the problem? The problem is there are to many powerful drug companies pushing new drugs daily/yearly and the FDA has no possible manpower means to keep up and thoroughly test and time evaluate each drug, large caliber drug companies are aware of this having millions invested in development of drugs therefore pressure for FDA releasement and the FDA crumbles allowing unproven and/or toxic drugs such as Avelox and others to pass into our pharmacy markets. Fact is not only does the FDA miss the boat but so do physicians, arguably many physicians spend little to zero effort actually researching the drugs the powerful drug company reps are pushing on them, as a result we have far to many doctors over medicating and/or prescribing dangerous and sometimes deadly drugs to their patients.

In closing many people have stated they have taken Avelox having no side effects, later these same people claimed they now are experiencing side affects. This invites curiosity; curiosity such as; what has changed? Why no previous side affects and suddenly the drug causes side affects leaved one wondering did the drug manufacture change the drugs chemistry components thus the once affective drug has now become a health risk. Lastly one must question who is chemically auditing/testing and how often are drug manufacturers audited to insure that a drug that passed FDA approval standards still meets health and safety requirements months and years later.

I was prescribed Avelox for a sinus infection and bronchitis after relapsing twice following treatment with amoxicillin and Levaquin. The doctor had provided me with 12 sample packets and advised me to take (1) 400 mg tablet each day for 12 days. He then wrote me a prescription for another 14 day supply and advised me to wait to fill the prescription until I determined if I could tolerate the drug. That statement should have been a red flag for me, but, I didn't think twice about it.

I proceeded to take the Avelox for 9 days before the side effects kicked in. The first thing that I noticed was itchy skin. I didn't associate the itching with an reaction to Avelox right away because it was mild itching. By the 10th day, the itching was very severe all over my body. I took Benadryl and went to bed. When I woke up, my face had swelled up, my eyes were practically swollen shut, I had a rash on my entire body from head to toe but most noticeable on the upper half of my body. The itching was unbearable and my body kept going between chills with extreme shaking and teeth chattering to profusely sweating. At this point, I finally associated my symptoms with a reaction.

I stopped taking Avelox 5 days ago. It took two days and a bottle of Benadryl before the rash and swelling subsided. The severe itching also subsided after two days. However, I still have mild itching and some swelling. I've also had two severe migraines in this 5 day period along with fatigue and an upset stomach. I've also continued to experience chills and profuse sweating.

This is a wicked antibiotic. I would strongly advise against it. I've never experienced anything like this before. It's scary.

I was prescribed Avelox 400 mg for a sinus infection. I had taken one pill on Saturday, by yesterday (Monday), I have a rash on my chest, back and legs. I have only taken one pill, it looks like I have poison ivy. Please do not take this medication. I am glad that I found this website, because I did not know what was wrong me.

I was prescribed Avelox for a sinus infection. I picked it up and promptly took one 400 mg. tablet. Within thirty minutes, I started feeling "strange". My wife drove me home from a restaurant as I began to feel things crawling on my skin. Occasionally my vision would rotate 10 degrees left and then flip back to normal. I could feel my heartbeat in my lips. Extreme anxiety and confusion. It reminded me of dropping acid many years ago! We are on vacation and will not spoil it by taking the remaining nine pills in this $120 prescription! Yuck!

I was recently prescribed Avelox for Lyme disease. I took on dose, 2- 400 mg tablets. Within an hour, i could not walk, could barely talk, i was severely dizzy, my body went limp, numbness from my head to my toes, muscle twitches and lost my eye sight for several minutes . My husband had to call 911 and have the squad pick me up and take me to the hospital. Before they got there the only thing we could think of doing was for me to take a Benadryl.....which is probably what saved me. It look over 3 hours for this to wear off and along with every thing else i had a terrible seizure.
Please be aware of this medication. If so many people have had terrible side effects from the med, why is it still on the market????
This is just CRAZY!!!!

What exactly do we need for a class action suit, guys?

Side effects: Severe disorientation as if very drunk (vertigo, dizziness, feeling "out-of-body" or high), hallucinations (including feeling things crawling on me), overwhelming fatigue (as if I hadn't slept for days), muscle soreness (as if I'd exercised for hours), joint and tendon pain (especially in hands, wrists and ankles), insomnia, nausea (lost 8lbs in a few days), racing heartbeat, dehydration, ringing in ears, stomach cramps, yeast infection and spotting.

The drug immediately made me sick but I thought it was just the sinus infection, and unfortunately kept on taking it. The side effects were actually worse AFTER I stopped taking it (I got much worse before I got better).

If you're on this stuff, STOP IMMEDIATELY. If you're scared and experiencing side effects as I did, PLEASE KNOW that they are real (you're not imagining things) but they WILL go away. Listen to your body, rest as much as you can, and drink plenty (and I mean PLENTY) of fluids. Despite the nausea, eat SOMETHING (toast, bananas, applesauce).

This is a 24-hour drug, so (verified by my pharmacist) due to its half life, it takes a MINIMUM of four days to leave your system. I only started feeling non-drugged a full 7 days after I stopped taking it. The fatigue lingered (kind of like getting over the worst bout of flu EVER) but now it's slowly going away, too. This stuff was an overwhelming blow to my physical health (I've NEVER been this sick), but I'm getting better. YOU WILL, TOO!

I have taken Avelox on and off for about a year now. Haven't had any side effects until yesterday. My elbow and the back of my arm started to hurt. So I chalked it up as my fibromyalgia acting up. Then after I took my next dose my husband read the pamphlet and was like I think its the meds. Well this morning I woke up and my face, hands and feet were swollen and I hurt all over. Went to the ER and they gave me benadryl and Tylenol. They had to go look up the meds in order to see whats going on cause they were "familiar" with it. Go figure I could of just stayed at home. I ask what about my tendons and he's like oh its just a reaction to the meds. So Im going to my regular doctor tomorrow. Dont take this medicine.

I am a 49 yr. old male in pretty good health.I have taken 3 of 5 400mg doses of avelox for a sinus infection, with only mild nausea as a side affect.It has cleared up most of it already. I will finish and hope for problems.

M.G. in Ma.