Levaquin and muscle spasms

I am 61. I was recently prescribed levaquin for an intestinal infection. Began having rapid heart beat, trembling, shortness of breath, floaters in my eyes, itching, thick tongue, lips tingling, irritability, sweating, feeling of brain fog. Felt like I was having a panic attack. Stopped taking medicine after 6th day. Now I can hardly move my head. My left shoulder and neck are hurting very badly -- feels like muscle spasms. After reading these posts about levaquin, I'm sure that is the levaquin has caused these problems.

I am a 27 y/o male in good physical condition (i did a triathlon 2 months ago) I was prescribed levaquin 750mg a week ago for an throat infection and fever. After the first dose I had sever abdominal pain (like someone was stabbing me). After the 3rd dose my back started to hurting and my calf's cramped up. I stopped the medication immediately. It has been 5 days since I stopped the medication and I have a burning sensation on my back. It is on both sides and stretches around toward my stomach. It feels like I have bad sunburn but there is no redness, swelling or discoloration. I also still have fever and muscle spasms all over my body (mostly in my legs). I went to my doctor yesterday and he is running a bunch of blood testes and I hope he can find a way to treat the symptoms. Does anyone know how long this should last? I just want it to go away so I can get on with my life. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

This may not be a very clear post. I am having difficulty remembering words and events. I had surgery on July 21st for a damaged nerve in my foot. The doctor put me on 500mg of Levaquin. I stayed on that dose for about 2 weeks. My foot and leg began to swell. I was also having trouble thinking. I was having muscle spasms in my legs and my right arm began to hurt. The doctors thought it was because my foot was infected and it had gone to my leg. To combat the infection they increased my dose to 1000mg of Levaquin a day which I have been taking for the last 4 weeks. I continued to get worse. They checked my leg for a blood clot last week and told me there was no way my arm pain was related. Of course there was not a blood clot. My last dose was yesterday, but when I woke up this morning I couldnt get out of bed because my leg and arm hurt so bad it felt like I had broken them. I have not even mentioned all of the crazy things I had started doing. I keep getting the year wrong and I say things that make no sense. Sometimes I would know a word but I could not say it out loud. The side of my head began pulsating today and my doctor was out of the office. I went to another doctor thinking I was having a stroke. He immediatly asked me if I was on Levaquin. He was shocked at how much I have been taking and told me to not renew the prescription. Now that I have gotten home I have a new symptom, bloody diarrhea. I have have diarrhea for the past 6 weeks also, but now there is blood. I am about to lay down and I hope now that I am off the Levaquin I will begin to feel better. After reading this site I am very worried. I own a mortgage company and I think everyone who works for me has begun to think I have lost my mind.

I took Levaquin for a sinus infection about 8 months ago. While taking the course I began having heart palpatations, tremors, restlessness, muscle spasms, pain in my neck/throat and seriously strange hallucinations. I called my doctor and asked if this was a common reaction to the antibiotic and he said no but thought it may be a thyroid condition. I spent time exploring metabolic possibilities etc. and the blood work came up normal. Most of the side effects disappeared but my eye sight never recovered (I became super sensitive to light) and I occasionally suffer from heart palpatations, tremors, migraines... all of which I never had prior to treatment. Recently I had a sinusitus flare up and was prescribed Levaquin again... after the FIRST dose my tongue swelled, tremors, heart palpatations, hallucinations PLUS the entire left side of my body went numb. I knew immediately to discontinue when I researched it myself and found most of the CNS complaints/side effects were mine as well. It has been over 6 weeks since the last exposure and I still am suffering from heart arhythmia, head aches and my sight is a major concern. I would love to know if there was some way to treat these symptoms/effects efficiently since it seems most last for quite some time?

Male, 24 Years Old, Healthy, Active. Have never had any adverse reactions from any medication. No known allergies. Was prescribed Levaquin on Friday, March 18th, 2005 for a minor throat infection. 500mg tablet once daily. Took first dose on Saturday, March 19th, 2005. Over the course of the next 6 days I have been getting progressively worse. Have been experiencing flu-like symptoms including; Fever, chills, muscle aches/pains, joint pain, headaches, muscle spasms, sleeplessness, mood swings, severe coughing(feeling like I have bronchitis), pain in eyesockets when moving eyes, general feeling of being tired/washed out, depression, anxiety, cotton mouth, loss of concentration, vivid dreams(whatever, I can deal with that, no biggie), and just a general feeling of being disconnected from my surroundings like there is this cloud around my head. I have taken the medication for 6 days thus far. I am now on the seventh day and have decided to discontinue use. The Levaquin failed to clear up my throat infection and it has only gotten worse. I have scheduled an appointment with my doctor for Monday, March 28th, 2005. I am also going to start taking two tablespoons of Milk of Magnesium daily starting tomorrow, Saturday, March 26th, 2005. I will post again in a few days to update you all on my condition and wether or not the Milk of Magnesium is working. I sincerely hope that the effects of this drug can be reversed. This site is a godsend. Had I never found it I would have continued to take this "poison". - John

Absolutely cannot recommend this "medication." Took 500mg dose for 7 days and suffered: inflamation of the Achilles; muscle spasms in legs; cramps in in the thighs and the glutes; stiffness in leg joints; shoulder and neck pain; and then acne-like breakouts on the forehead and body-wide itching. Of course these were all noted side effects. I stopped taking the meds, looked into homeopathy remedies and cleared up the problem myself. Continued to have stiffness in the legs for several weeks but found glucosamine and chondroitin helped quite a bit. I'm sure this works for some people...but not me.

I just thank God I found this website...I literally thought I was losing my mind until I started to read all the horror stories associated with Levaquin. After only 3 doses of 500mg levaquin over a 3 day period, I literally thought I was dying. I was given this drug for a sinus and ear infection. Almost immediatly I experienced chest pain, headache, severe nausea diarrhea, and visual disturbances. I continued to take the medication in hopes that these symptoms would subside after my body got use to it, but unfortunatly that was only the beginning. What followed was extreme fatigue, muscle spasms, numbness in my hands and toes and probably the worse feeling I have ever experienced in my life. I called my doc and told him I stopped the medication and thankfully he prescribed another antibiotic for me. After 5 days of not being able to get out of bed, I finally am able to function somewhat although I still am experiencing some muscle weakness. I am sure this drug has worked for some people, but if I had my way, it would be banned. It was the scariest expereince of my life..and what is most troubling is that we are at the mercy of these drug companies. Someone should have told me that these side effects were possible....the cure shouldnt be worse then the illness. Good luck and good health to all of you...I hope you all will be well again soon.

I went to the emergency room for a dull pain in my lower back left side and was given an IV, a blood test, and a CT scan. After no signs of kidney stones were found the ER doctor sent me home and prescribed LEVAQUIN, IBUPROFEN, and METRONIDAZOLE antibiotics thinking that I might have gotten diverticulitis.
After 1 week of taking LEVAQUIN the side effects were right on! I could not sleep for more than 3 hours, I have anxiety attacks and my skin became dry no matter what lotion I put on it. I also had the runs and blackened stool ( and I thought I had a serious case of internal bleeding ). I have prolonged dizziness and nausea that even when lying down I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I have a lower center backpain that makes me feel strained ( like dead weight on my shoulders )and although my backpains have dulled a little bit but now, I'm still feeling muscle cramps in my lower and upper back, and have muscle spasms on my left inner thigh.
I always feel like I'm going to have a headache but I become lightheaded like I can't think straight and I am very anxious.
I have not have had any serious diseases and my checkups are always clean.
By reading these articles I have found relief knowing it could not be a serious problem I have, but could be major side effects caused by this drug.
I don't know what this drug cures but one thing i know is that it is very potent and dangerous for people with other health disorders relating to asthma, anxiety, insomnia, and others.

I cannot recommend this drug at all from what I see posted here today. And knowing the side effects are so extreme I begin to wonder why it is being recommended by physicians.

Should'nt they know any better?!
This experience has really awaken me to the new culture of drugs we have in the market today. Before I take another drug, I will find out more about the side effects.

My mother was prescribed Levaquin for a bladder infection on January 19, 2004. She took it for 8 days and our life has been a living hell ever since. She is a little better now but after she took the medication we thought she was going crazy. She did not sleep at night, had muscle spasms in her legs (her legs would pop up for no reason at all), had heat flashes, serious anxiety, she could not taste food at all (she lost 30 lbs), body aches, very sore muscles, nightmares, crying, feeling like she wanted to jump out of her own skin, an overall feeling of doom. After several doctors visits and emergency room visits she is almost herself again. My mom is 64 years old and a very outgoing woman. Someone needs to see that this drug gets taken off of the market!! If she had been told of the possible side effects she would have never taken Levaquin!!

I have been on this drug for two weeks now. It was given to me for pneumonia which had started out as bronchitus but was not caught in time. Since beeing on this medicine, I feel worse. My joints hurt (

Went on June 6 for a medical test and was given an IV dose of Levaquin as a precaution. I did not know I was being given this antibiotic. Within a few minutes I was in anaphylaxis. Also had very high blood pressure and heart rate. Muscle spasms throughout my body including my diaphram. I had two major "attacks" and one minor. I was given losts of drugs to counteract the symptoms. Had my procedure done and went home. Did not sleep that night and heart problems started up again. Ended up in the ER and in hospital for four days. Sleeplessness continues to be a problem 9 days later. No sleep again tonight. Lots of aching joints and muscles. Can't do much yet and can not concentrate enough to read a book. I had no problems like these prior to being given this ONE dose of Levaquin. I previously fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.
I looked up this drug on the Web when I got home and found this site. I am very angry to have been given this drug without my knowledge and approval.

Ok, here goes! I've waited to enter this until I left the levaquin nightmare. This drug made my life miserable for three months. Iam a very healthy active person even ran a marathon in Novemember. I was prescribed levaquin for a lung infection in February. Was prescribed 500 mg for a week. When I started taking the drug I had very bad neck spasms but just assummed the drug was ridding me of infection. The full effects of the drug became more evident towards the end of treatment.
I was extremely tired, sleepy, very weak muscles hardly able to push the gas peddle without feeling weak. The thought of walking to the mail box was overwhelming. I had internal chills and shivering, muscle aches, muscle spasms and muscle twitching and just felt dreadful. This went on for about three months. I am still not myself but I think I am on the road to recovery. I was told by my doctor that I had neurotoxicity to levaquin. I cannot tell you how much money and agony this has caused me. I was also referred to a rheumatologist, and a neurologist to rule out other diseases.I went to a naturopath, my obgyn, my dermatologist (
weird skin things) I worried like crazy that I would never be the same all because of an antibiotic. This drug should be taken off the market immediately. Good luck to all of you who are suffering. I have things that seemed to help me but I think time is the only cure.

I have been seriously ill for 8 months now after taking 3 500 mg. doses of Levaquin for a simple uncomplicated UTI. My doctor assured me that the antibiotic was perfectly safe. I trusted him, to my regret. I have been plagued with Severe Central Nervous System neurotoxicity. I also have severe tenonitis in both wrists and both ankles. My veins bulge. I have blurred vision, visual distortions, headache, muscle spasms through my whole body, abdominal pain with indigestion,,nausea, acid reflux, memory loss, confusion, agitation, abnormal dreams, tingling in my feet, toes, legs, arms, head and back. Severe back pain. Lumpy large muscule tissue in lower back. Pain upon walking. Difficulty concentrating, sensitivity to light and sound. Ringing in ears. Neuromuscular pain in chest, underarms,legs, arms, shoulders, all over body. This nightmare is ongoing and getting worse. I hope that I can help others with these problems. I flew to Indianapolis, Indiana to see Dr. David A. Flockhart, Chief of Clinical Pharmacology at IU School of Medicine. He was the only person that I read about that had background and experience in fluoroquinolone antibiotic adverse drug reations. He told me that this class of drugs, when not eliminated from the body, binds to the nerve endings/gaba receeptors in the brain. He stated that the drug does not metabolize much and sits in the brain and causes events to happen. He also stated that the drug binds to the nerve endings throughout the body including the stomach and also binds to the ends of the bone. He stated that it would take time for me to get better. He stated it would take three years if everything went ok. He prescribed Valium in as low a dose as possible to control tremors,seizures, and muscle spasms. If that did not work he recommended the gabapentin/Neurontin that my current neurologist had me on. The valium does help with the muscle spasms and nausea. The Neurontin helps me to sleep better and helps with the nerve pain. I still need further testing to determine the possibility of front temporal lobe partial epilepsy. I have already experienced two episodes of full body convulsions. Don't let your doctors tell you that its all in your head or dismiss your syptoms. If you have tendon problems, refrain from strenous exercise and lifting heavy objects as you are at risk for tendon rupture. I take low dose valium and 1 Neurontin at bedtime to help with nerve pain. The set back to these types of drugs are that your body builds up a tolerance and you eventually need to increase dosage. They are hard to come off of and can cause increased seizures if withdrawn too quickly. Dr. Flockhart told me that I would need to check in to a drug rehab center to come off of valium after prolonged use. I think that all victims of fluoroquinolone antibiotics should come together and work to get these drugs removed from the market. That's what it will take. The FDA cannot ignore publicity in numbers. Thanks to all for listening. Jessica/adrvictim