posted
I was on cipro 3 months with no issues. After that instead of levaquin my doc put me on Factive but it is the same class and can also have tendon issues but my llmd said same thing very rare. Fortunately while I was on them I didn't have any issues with tendons.
Maybe ask your llmd about Factive compared to levaquin.
Posts: 186 | From colorado | Registered: Jul 2010
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blinkie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14470
posted
I did IV levaquin for three months. I only had one problem. I vaccumed the house once, about 2 months in. I did damage my elbow doing that.
But...It was not too bad and it healed up just fine. I've been off it for more than 6 months now and my elbow if perfectly healed.
I think you might want to use caution when using joints and tendons while taking this med. That being said, I don't think you shoule be afraid of it. Just take it easy.
Posts: 1104 | From N.California | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
That's just it, everyone shares the horror stories online about floroquinolones. I'm not advocating they don't exist, it's just that they far outweigh the good stories where we are looking for experiences.
Everytime I've asked a doctor about Levaquin, they say they've given it to thousands of people, and rarely have complications.
I may be giving Levaquin a shot soon myself.
Posts: 829 | From MD | Registered: Dec 2009
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quote:Originally posted by randibear: i called the doctor and told him about my reaction to cipro. he said it's not that common but ok, he'll change my med to LEVAQUIN!!!
i told him about the tendon thang and he said "that is so rare, i've never had a patient complain about levaquin, and it's only long term."
oh great, how the heck can i get rid of diverticulitis if he keeps giving me stuff i can't tolerate.
i'm scared ___tless of levaquin. what do i do now?
I can't touch this class of drugs either. Sounds like the Cipro and Levaquin reps did their job well.
I'm sure your doc has seen side effects, but probably never attributed any of the side effects to the drug. If there is a worsening of neuropsychiatric symptoms for an example, he'll probably see it as a problem with the patient rather than the drug.
Cipro reps even spam forums with their marketing nonsense. Doctors are fooled. Hospitals are fooled. It is the drug of choice for anything from a bladder infection to anthrax poisoning � there are effective and much safer drugs for most bladder infections.
Sure it's effective for many infections, but in many cases (not rare) in the expense of the patients quality of life. The sad thing is, side effects may start out as subtle, and the patient may never attribute long-term side effects to the drug. And hospitals � they never really see the side effects as they don't follow the patient around after they are discharged.
My mom's old doctor (I've been to her once and didn't like her at all) had a heart attack and neuro side effects because of a short course of Cipro for her bladder infection. She stopped practicing for a few years. She was Mrs. Ego, but I bet her attitude is different now.
Posts: 967 | From A deserted island without internet access | Registered: Sep 2009
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
well i tell ya what. i'm going to try it for only a day or so, and then i'm calling him back and saying i'm having trouble. not a big lie, but i'm not willing to risk it.
i honestly don't see another way to get him to listen, so if i have to "stretch" the truth, then by gosh, i'm going to.
besides the pharmacist already knows i'm having a problem with cipro, so we'll see what happens.
i took levaquin about 5 years ago and couldn't even walk up stairs after several weeks on it.
i'm absolutely terrified of these drugs.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
Randi, Levaquin and Cipro as you probably know are the same drug catagory and Levaquin is stronger then Cipro so 500mg of Lev. is probably equal to 1000mg of Cipro.
If it was me I would do as Dr. B says, load up on magnesium glycinate for 2 weeks at high doseages and start out working with 500mg of Cipro. I mentioned in your earlier post about the doseage lymeboy was taking of mag. I'm not a doc but just sayin what I would do.
I'm really surprised your doc turned around and gave you a drug in the same class as Cipro after the reaction you got.
If you cipro deal was really scary you may just want to stay away from that class of drugs period. Thats up to you.
Posts: 805 | From Utopia | Registered: Feb 2006
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i took levaquin about 5 years ago and couldn't even walk up stairs after several weeks on it.
There's your answer.
There's the answer?! I'm confused.
Levaquin is the most effective drug for Bartonella. Are you saying we should all stay away from it because of the adverse reactions that a small minority of patients have?
Posts: 340 | From san francisco, ca | Registered: Nov 2010
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posted
Levaquin? My husband takes 750mgs of levaquin almost everyday for three years due to infectious lesions on his legs from diabetes.
Are you guys saying it causes tendon problems? Now I am worried. He has to take it to keep the infections under control and never had an issue..so far?
-------------------- Diagnosed with chronic neuro lyme 12/10 after 30 years of vertigo.2 tick bites in 3 yrs from upstate NY. Was on omincef for nine mths..zith and rifampin stopped.Remission~ All the pain and symptoms are back and I am not treating now with biaxin. Posts: 788 | From New york..queens | Registered: Nov 2010
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lymeboy
Unregistered
posted
There have been many lawsuits with Levaquin. Unfortunately it seems to be very effective w/ Bart so this is an issue. I have been advised by my doc, and the good folks here at Lymenet to take as much magnesium as possible while on Cipro (which is in the same class as Levaquin). This is also Dr. B's recommendation.
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posted
Levaquin was very helpful to me for both Bartonella/BLO and for Babesia ( taken with artemisinin, and doxycycline. It is not the usual treatment for Babesia but it was helpful in my case. I had bad shoulder arm pains after 6 weeks on Levaquin so I had to stop. A few weeks later I attended the ILADS conference and an LLMD there thought I had a herx rather than a tendinitis. Even off antibiotics I have steadily been improving since that time so I do feel levaquin was/is worth the risk. I did take lots of Vit C and Magnesium to reduce the risk as much as possible though.
-------------------- Ideas not advice. Posts: 448 | From Downeast Maine | Registered: Jul 2009
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i took levaquin about 5 years ago and couldn't even walk up stairs after several weeks on it.
There's your answer. [/qb]
There's the answer?! I'm confused.
Levaquin is the most effective drug for Bartonella. Are you saying we should all stay away from it because of the adverse reactions that a small minority of patients have? [/QB]
NO. I'm pointing out to randi that she knows what it will do to her... so why would she even try it again?
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I took 2 doses of IV levaquin and started having seizures. I have never been in so much pain either...and I went deaf in one ear w/an awful jackhammer noise. I stopped taking it and won't be taking it again. That drug terrifies me too!
Posts: 618 | From NC | Registered: Oct 2009
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posted
i've taken it for other things, works great never had a problem.
-------------------- 3 months Doxy 8 months of Tetra 7 months of Biaxin/Plaq. 4 months Doxy/Biaxin/Plaq. 5 months Biaxin/Plaq. Back on Doxy/Biax/Plaq On the road to recovery. Trying to make people Lyme Aware....... Posts: 289 | From R.I. | Registered: Jun 2009
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
Randi,
For heaven's sake, DON"T take even a day of the levaquin! You already know how you react to it and to other qinolones. Don't do that to yourself.
If the only way you can get your dr to take it seriously is to pretend that you took it and had a reaction, then do that. But don't expose yourself to more of the same reactions. ANd that's pretty bad that when you've had these reactions, that he would rx it again and not take the reactions seriously.
I, also, cannot take quinolones. Although Factive was miraculous last year for my neuro symptoms within two 5 day pulses, I got horrible tendon/ligament problems in my thumbs, and saw double for 5 months (effected the tendons of the eye).
And recently I was taking a teeny dose of levaquin for Babesia (I can't take macrolides, due to getting bad tinnitus from them). But I got a separated shoulder on Christmas Eve day, due to the levaquin!! A separated shoulder is a kind of dislocation; the pain was unreal, like being shot in the shoulder. I am still recovering from that.
So, don't do that to yourself. You know that for those who have these reactions (and they are hardly rare), we shouldn't go near a quinolone ever again! There are lots of other abx to take to chose from. Why are so many drs so uneducated and unwilling to listen?!
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
I also was told the tendon damage from levaquin is extremely rare. There are a lot of people on this site that have been damaged to believe it is really that rare. More than likely doctors are reluctant to diagnose a problem with the drug so they blame the damage on something else.
I got tendonitis five weeks into Levaquin. I reached out to pick up something and the tendon snapped in my shoulder. Felt like I had been stabbed. The pain continued for 8 months.
It is a good drug for bartonella if you can tolerate it. You should load up on magnesium AND vitamin C before taking it. I believe you can continue taking the supplements after starting the drugs if you space them out.
I would advise taking the amino acid DL Mehtionine as this is what helped heal my shoulder so it would probably also help to prevent damage.
At the first sign of any kind of pain, quit.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
Randi, how are you? No word back for a few days. Please get your dr to rx something else. Let us know how you're doing.
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
i'm such a coward. i never went to the pharmacy and picked it up.
i finished the augmentin and flagyl for the diverticulitis.
i'm just doing probiotics and syntol for the yeast right now plus my vitamins.
there has got to be a better way for people who can't take antibiotics.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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quote:Originally posted by randibear: i'm such a coward. i never went to the pharmacy and picked it up.
i finished the augmentin and flagyl for the diverticulitis.
i'm just doing probiotics and syntol for the yeast right now plus my vitamins.
there has got to be a better way for people who can't take antibiotics.
Randi you aren't a coward, There is a small percentage of the public that cannot tolerate the drug and obviously you are one of them if you couldn't walk up the stairs after taking them last time. Even if you loaded up on Mag and C prior I just think you are one of those that can't tolerate the drug.
Posts: 805 | From Utopia | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
In my case it didn't work to load up on Magnesium before and during Levaquin. Was floxed anyhow. This might be a myth. How can one know, if Mag helps or not? Made me feel like being on the safe side. It wasn't so.
Posts: 269 | From Germany | Registered: Jul 2009
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
Ditto what TuTu said. I don't think you were a coward at all.
Since you had a history of problems with it, it was probably wise of you to leave it alone and go with an alternative.
I got tendonitis in my left heel from levaquin that took me a year to resolve. I was taking it for a really bad kidney infection which I was hospitalized for.
Great for the infection, but not so good for my tendons. I tolerated it long enough to get rid of the infection, luckily. Taking Mg did help, but that was after the damage was already done.
I still get pain in that spot from time to time.
Hope you feel better soon.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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i took levaquin about 5 years ago and couldn't even walk up stairs after several weeks on it.
There's your answer.
There's the answer?! I'm confused.
Levaquin is the most effective drug for Bartonella. Are you saying we should all stay away from it because of the adverse reactions that a small minority of patients have?
If you have an adverse reaction to Levaquin stay away from it.
I was hurt my Cipro, and I think risks of Cipro outweighed the risks of dying. I wouldn't take it again if they told me I would die without it. Honestly.
I am alive somehow. More neurologically damaged than I used to be. But doing better after a year.
randibear had a reaction to levaquin, and if one has a reaction, they should never touch that class of drugs again.
Posts: 967 | From A deserted island without internet access | Registered: Sep 2009
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
Absolutely, you weren't a coward at all, just smart! No way, Jose, on that stuff for you (or me).
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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