Levaquin—"The Big Gun"—Shoots the User

Fairview, KSFor the past five years Alice has suffered from bronchitis and breathing problems; she was prescribed numerous antibiotics but nothing worked until her doctor gave her Levaquin, that he referred to as "the big gun."

Alice took Levaquin when it was new to the market, when the side effects weren't known, when she wasn't warned of overuse. "My doctor told me it was a very powerful drug and it worked," says Alice, "but my problems would flare up after a few months and I would take it again." And she took it again, and again, each treatment for 10 days.

"I never had anyone tell me what Levaquin could do and I just assumed it was safe," says Alice. "Why would my doctor give me something that wasn't?" But Alice started having problems with her feet, then her legs and back ached. "I had horrific pains in my neck and shoulders and was told I had arthritis; then my knees were giving me problems," she adds.

"When I first saw my doctor about these problems in 2000 my feet were so purple they were almost black," says Alice. "He thought I was diabetic and ran tests but that wasn't the case. My ankles were getting darker and he couldn't figure out why. I ended up losing two toes on my right foot due to the fact that I had no circulation and my joints were bad where my toes were buckling. Losing my toes really upset me but there is nothing worse than what I am going through right now…" (Alice starts to cry.)

Alice says she had a terrific job but it required a lot of standing—her doctor advised her to quit because of her condition. Now Alice is confined to a wheelchair and she has been told that she may never walk again. And she needs total knee replacements--again.

"I had the first knee operation in 2006," says Alice. "After surgery I had follow-up appointments and I kept telling the doctor that something was wrong.
'You are fresh out of surgery and your bones need time to heal,' he said. I went to rehab for several weeks but it still wasn't right. Then my GP told me the same thing—it would get better; I got the same story for six weeks. I finally got an appointment with an orthopedic doctor and this time I insisted they take an x-ray of my leg, right then and there.

The specialist looked at the x-ray and said it was an emergency: the replacement didn't take and it was just hanging there. He couldn't believe it had happened—he said it never happens. I had to go back to Kansas City's orthopedic hospital. They put a pack in my knee with antibiotics and also put a site on my arm where the meds would be administered.

A nurse came to my home every day to give me the antibiotics but I started getting very sick and the nurse told me I had to go back to the hospital. I went back to Kansas City—120 miles—by ambulance. It turned out that I only had 10 percent use of my kidneys! They told me I would have to go on dialysis right away. I started crying and said I didn't want it --all this time I am still on Levaquin.

The doctor saw the site on my arm and asked what it was. I told him about my knee surgery and the antibiotics and Levaquin. He said that was my problem and the patch had to come out because my kidneys were failing. He gave me an alternative medicine and the next day I had surgery—they took out the pack and put in a second knee replacement.

After the surgery they told me I had to walk but I couldn't take a step. 'You have to walk,' they kept saying. 'Call the doctor and tell him something is wrong,' I said. He ordered another x-ray. The second knee replacement was dislocated!

The doctor came by around midnight and apologized and the next day I would get the third replacement. I had another six-hour surgery and this one finally worked; I was able to walk, although it was painful. Now my right knee is bad and I think all the tendons are damaged. It pops and cracks; it is so painful that I am taking Duragesic patches—175 mg of patches all the time and I change them every 72 hours.

I believe Levaquin was to blame for these extra knee replacements because my tendons wouldn't heal.

The last dose of Levaquin I had was in February of this year. I didn't quit because of the side effects—I still didn't know the damage that this drug was causing. I quit taking it because I am basically house-bound so I'm not around people to pick up any colds. I haven't had any breathing problems but I can't straighten out either leg and the replacement is getting calcium build-ups.

I didn't know anything about Levaquin until I went online and read some articles on LawyersandSettlements. It really shocked me and I just cried again. I am only 59 years old; I would love to travel but I can't even leave home.

I just received a letter from Medicaid/Medicare; it is an outpatient facility claim. It says they gave me Levofloxacin by injection (which is the same as Levaquin) and I was also given this drug every time I had the knee and toe surgeries.

I have been to so many doctors and nobody knows why my joints are totally shot but my symptoms are just like other people who have taken too much Levaquin. I am going to get all my records and find out exactly how much of this 'big gun' I have taken."