Reported Levaquin Side Effects "Life-Changing"

Southern Pines, NCWhen Melissa was first given the Levaquin antibiotic she very likely did not know about Levaquin side effects and how serious they could be. Since Melissa was given Levaquin, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a black box warning for the antibiotic, alerting patients to the risk of tendonitis (or tendinitis), tendon rupture and contracted tendons.

"I had a brain tumor and they gave me Levaquin as a preventative measure because my immune system was way down," Melissa says. "It was only 750 mgs and I think I was on it for 14 days. That was in July, 2007, and that was the first time I had taken it. Since then, I've taken it at least four more times.

Then, in November, 2007, I started having trouble with my feet. I couldn't walk and I didn't know what was going on. I went to a foot doctor and I was diagnosed with contracted tendons. I was in terrible pain.

I was very active in my younger years; I was in track, volleyball and soccer. Of course, that was 20 years ago, but I had never had any previous problems with my tendons or feet. Now the tendons in my elbows are really starting to bother me, too.

The problems with my feet were sudden. One morning I got up and I said, 'I don't think I can stand up.' I would try to stand but it was like everything in my feet was ripping. The left foot went first, followed by the right in a few weeks.

I have horses and I love to landscape. I could not do anything, that's how bad the pain was. I had to hire someone take care of horses—feed them and ride them—and I gained weight, which didn't help. I can't squat. If I go up and down steps, I have to go sideways. I use a cane half the time and I'm only 46. In the house, the pain can be really bad, so I'll use a walker.

In March of this year I had surgery on my left foot. I was scheduled for surgery on my right foot, but I did not like results from the left foot. On a pain scale of one to 10, I was at a 10 before the surgery. I'm at a nine now, and I'm out $10,000 and I have a scar on my foot and leg.

I am finishing a series of physical therapies and the therapist is fantastic. On the pain scale, my right foot was a 10 before I saw her and now it is about a seven. I can deal with it better than before, so I have time to research different doctors and alternatives.

This has been a life-changing experience, both mentally and physically."