The FDA required the Levaquin maker to add a black box warning about the increased risk of developing tendinitis or tendon rupture in 2008. And in 2011, another black box warning was added, stating that levofloxacin may cause worsening of myasthenia gravis symptoms, including muscle weakness and breathing problems??"a potential life-threatening event. Before these warnings, on June 25, 2007, the FDA required the Levaquin maker to add an additional warning to the package inserts, stating that "Other serious and sometimes fatal events have been reported in patients receiving therapy with quinolones, including levofloxacin." One of those events (and there are several) includes irreversible peripheral neuropathy, a condition that Lucille knows too well.Although Levaquin lawsuits are mainly involved with tendonitis and tendon ruptures, Lucille is certain that Levaquin caused her condition, and she is filing a claim stating as much.
"I had a nasty 'flu bug' in 2006; it was pretty bad so I went to ER," says Lucille. "The hospital doctor prescribed Levaquin and I took the 10-day treatment. It cured the flu but on January 27 (I remember the exact date) I was at work??"I am a correctional officer??"and my legs had swollen so much I thought they would burst out of my uniform. And I had a stabbing pain, like a knife. The warden told me to go back to ER."
Doctors at the ER couldn't figure out what was wrong with Lucille; they advised her to see her primary care doctor or a rheumatologist. The following week, her doctor did some blood work and determined that she didn't have arthritis; all he could do was prescribe pain meds. "The pain was so bad that the painkillers didn't even work," says Lucille. "He kept changing the prescription, and I even took those recalled pain patches. My doctor even thought I might have had a Vitamin D deficiency. 'You really have me stumped,' she said.
"My legs are so swollen and the pain has been so bad that I have even thought of suicide. They get so hot sometimes, like I am on fire. I asked my doctor to cut them off. I was so miserable, to the point that I had to quit work and my life has been a wreck since this happened.
"I totally forgot that I even took this drug! This is how I found out about taking Levaquin. This year, my insurance company didn't want to pay for one of my pain meds so I had to request from my pharmacy a list of all the meds I have taken since 2006. They had to be sure I had taken morphine, patches, the works, before I was prescribed Oxycontin, which doesn't help the pain either.
READ MORE LEVAQUIN LEGAL NEWS
"I decided that I was going to kill myself one way or the other. I was in so much stress that I saw a psychiatrist. 'I am not crazy,' I said. 'Pain can make you do things,' he replied. I started smoking again because of the pain and sometimes I stay up days at a time because the pain won't let me sleep."
There have been thousands of Levaquin lawsuits in federal court that have recently been consolidated into multi-district litigation (MDL) in Minnesota. The first bellwether trial resulted in a $1.8 million award to the injured plaintiff.
READER COMMENTS
Jerry Atson
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Linda Seybert
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I have been given Levaquin twice and those 2 other Fluoroquinolone antibiotics numerous times. Following my last Levaquin ingestion, 2010, my body, already injured from previous usage, went off with a bang. Horrific and would set the stage for a near catastrophic ending. Levaquin destroyed my perfectly fine gallbladder. Never had I had any gallbladder issues and I am a none drinker. I was admitted into the hospital where I would remain for several months.
Physicians immediately attempted to cure me with steroids, thankfully I became worse and refused any more. Little did I know my liver was about to go...had my work not insisted I be transferred to a better hospital, I wouldn’t be writing this.
Thank goodness the team of drs only gave me a pain meds to keep my escalating temps down. I had blisters all over my scalp, face, neck, upper body, I was burning alive. When my temp reached 106, I was whisked away into surgery where my gangrene gallbladder was removed, no stones. Diagnosis: Top surgeon documented a very rare gallbladder condition possibly associated with toxicity from LEVAQUIN. He also wrote my liver had sustained severe damage and my condition serious, Again, drug toxicity the culprit.
I experienced so many adverse side effects from this drug, the pain was so awful, burning, migrating, u able to bear weight on legs, and every day a new and delightful symptom would be felt. I would wake up wondering what new pain would I get today.
I should mention that when released from the hospital following my rare gallbladder. LEVAQUIN GALLBLADDER, they gave me a bottle of Cipro to take. Connection still not made. After completing my Cipro meds, that was it, my body had been poisoned too much.
It was not until after this last round of Cipro I figured it out. It was too late by now, and I will never be the same. I can’t count my adverse reactions, too many. Time is the only hope. I have become my own dr though....I just want “me” back. The side effects from Levaquin are forever and this is my life. Thanks to an antibiotic that never should have been marketed. The world is being poisoned by these Fluoroquinolones.
Janet Murray
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feeling of electricity surging through you like you are holding a live wire-
vibrations severe in feet mostly.
cold ice through veins like a dye is being induced.
Sensations of terror, surging through you, not anxiety but terror
severe cognitive decline
pain size of a dime at nerves in spine above anus but nothing there
Cannot sleep or have horrific dreams
Never being able to lie down or nap only two hours a night but feel like you are on speed.
Hearing voices but not mentally ill.
Pouring sweat to the head every 2-3 min or sensation of blunt object on left side of head.
There are more but these are a few. ty
Rodger Worthen
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Ron Shelley
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I live 5 minutes from the courthouse in NJ where the Levaquin mass tort is located. The judge supplies most of the paperwork required to file Pro Se....but it is a lot of detailed work filling out Plaintiff's Fact Sheet etc. Cost of filing and various mailings copies etc is about $300. I filed against J&J et al Pro Se because I could not find a law firm - most of them only take cases of the Steven etc syndrome.
I am putting a blog together on the forms and procedures - you have to watch for J&J filing to dismiss for statue of limitations, and failure to prosecute your case. You can email me for any info I can help with ronshelleyis@gmail.com I am not a lawyer or expert in this - just can give you my experience in filing against J&J et al. It sure does help if you have a good computer and printer - most can be done online.
Beverly Brown
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Marilyn Cox
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Driving is difficult because my feet and legs become numb after a short period of time. I had to retire from my job early because of rude co-workers complaining that I could not walk fast enough. It has taken me some time to
realize why this happened. I was examined by a neurologist but she was from Ukraine and evidently does not know about the side effects of Levaquin. Maybe she needs to go back to Ukraine. I had big plans for my life but now all of those plans are gone. Levaquin has taken my life away and there is nothing I can do. I am so sad about this but I am a fighter and I will keep going as long as I can.
Dawn Seaman
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Now after reading all of this I am concerned that Levaquin may be the cause of the tumor in my nerve I had surgery on last year in my foot. Doctor couldn't tell me what caused it and I still have severe pain in my right foot.
Also suffer with pain in my right hip, shoulders and neck never thought it could be from this........
Definitely think this medication should be removed from the market.
David Abel
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Old.looking for help
from anyone who thinks they can.
Thanks david
elaine hiers
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Gaynelle White
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Barbara Ireland
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LJ Webber
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to worse off because of the levaquin. It has been almost a year with no improvement do I have a case against the ER and makers of levaquin. This is just wrong for people to suffer like this.
Verna Ann Avila
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Of numbness & pain I fall a lot. No one there to help me. With walker I have to try to get up or crawl to couch or chair sometimes falling again.
Mildred Cooney
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My feet burned like crazy, I was in nursing and I could hardly perform my duties as a nurse.I am not a diabetic, I kept saying I don!t know what is the matter with me! I,m sure I took Levaquin ,I also took Cipro for UTI.sWho can I contact to find out if this is so? I know I,d have to contact my MD office first but where do I go from there.93
Priscilla WOOTEN
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Theresa Grieves
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Jim Toth
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Brend
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Kat
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A few hours after taking the first dose, I had bloody diarrhea and sharp pains in my upper abdomen. The same night I decided to Google the drug I was given. I was shocked that the doctor would prescribe me this antibiotic without telling me a thing about the high risk of tendon tears and other issues like neuropathy.
Again, because I had trouble breathing, I took a second dose the next day. I had bloody diarrhea again, but I did start to feel better (with my breathing) a few hours after the second dose but then I had sharp pains shooting down my left leg. My ankles felt funny when I got up to walk to the kitchen to get water and I noticed moderate swelling in both my ankles. I came back on the Internet and searched again.
At this point since I could at least breathe better, I decided that the risk of side effects was not worth the benefit of the antibiotic since I could use another less dangerous one (Zithromax). On day 3, I wasn't going to take anymore Levofloxacin, and my breathing was a little worse, so I had to go to the ER. When I was released, I asked for the doctor to change my antibiotic to Zithromax and she did, thankfully.
Today the ankle swelling is down, but I was having pain in my right wrist. I am not sure if it's related. Anyway, in my research I found others who had damage done to their body after only 1-2 days being on Levofloxacin. That is scary! This drug should only be prescribed if you're dying and nothing else is working. I will come back on here and update if I end up with any more effects from the 2 days of Levofloxacin. I hope I don't! I hope more and more people do research on these kinds of drugs and ask for alternatives.
Pamela
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The way I understand it is when there is a mandated label change, it resets the statute of limitations so that people harmed BEFORE the new label are able to sue for damages. For patients harmed going forward, well, the new label considers them "adequately warned." As patients, we have found that our hands, feet, ankles, fingers, wrists, palms, soles, tongue, lips, facial area, pubic region, cranial nerves, and others were hit with various forms of neuropathy within days or weeks of completing the drug. In a nutshell, it caused burning (equavilent to gasoline on the skin); deadness and tingling; vibrations (like a cell phone up against your leg); odd pulsing sensations (like your heartbeat in your hands); hair loss on the affected areas; weaknesses; a feeling of being immensely swollen but you aren't; discoloration in your extremeties; a deep itch; vast temperature differentials; inability to make a fist; and pain when walking in shoes; however, if you go barefoot and step on, say, an extension cord, it feels like a razor blade went through you. In all, the burn is the worst and it can be brought about from virtually anything: touching the carpet, your favorite tennies, or touching the bedsheets. Paradoxically, neuropathy also causes your extremeties to become so cold that a blowdryer on HOT for ten minutes is all that allows you to walk again. The neurologists have proven this disease with biopsies and nerve conduction studies. It's real, and now we know without a doubt that it's a direct and traumatic result of fluoroquinolones.
These drugs have their place as a lifesaver of last resort. But too many people have NOT needed such a big gun and were given it anyway. How many drugs have the esteemed honor of receiving TWO Blackbox Warnings? All quinolones do. These drugs got a lot of attention when there were class action suits alleging they caused tendon ruptures and disorders. Turns out they did. They got more attention when they were found to cause retinal detachment. They were all over the news when it was found that they worsened myasthenia gravis patients, and indeed killed some. Their patient insert reads like a horror story, and I would have never touched the drug if I'd had a chance to read the insert. But it didn't accompany my prescription, so I was unaware. My doctor loved these drugs (parcularly Levaquin) and often prescribed them alongside a steroid called Medrol Dosepak. I didn't know they weren't supposed to be mixed, but surely my doctor was supposed to! I had no idea they caused central nervous system effects (how many regular folks understand the blood-brain barrier?). I didn't know my headaches could be related to the drugs' post-marketing reports of increased intracranial pressure and pseudotumor. The companies that produce these drugs have had mountains of evidence that they could be responsible for other problems I, too, am familiar with: connective tissue damage and musculoskeletal erosion.
Do I feel better now that there's an update to the label? Of course, but my warnings came too late and cover just one piece of the attack the drug made to my system. It's frustrating to see that the warnings come years after the studies were done and the reporting was received. For example, the March 1998 issue of Neurology cited Fluoroquinolone antibiotics block neuromuscular transmission, an article damning the use of quins on myasthenia gravis patients.
I don't know what this site's rules are regarding the citation of other Web addresses, but for those who want to know more about last week's FDA announcement, here is the communication:
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm365050.htm.
Pamela
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mary kinnavane,
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Please help me .
mary kinnavane
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mary kinnavane,
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Sean
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erin wilson
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Sean
on
It's not pleasant to take so many meds, but anything is better than the pain! If I didn't have kids, I wouldn't have stayed alive past year 2!
Lyrica
Baclofen
Cymbalta
Elavil
Suboxone (very low dose of 2mg/day)
Nuvigil (to counteract fatigue from all of the above)
For what it's worth, I've been pain free for 4 years. Good luck everyone!
pamela white
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Sharon Jones
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Janet Murray
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Nothing seems to help, I am eating organic, jucing, supplements and NOTHING even touches this pain. It is worse by far than broken bones.
If anyone would like to write me I would so wish to talk to someone esp if they have improved. I am in such terror.
rykerjem860@hotmail.com
Rose Terry
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Nathan Kleczewski
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Paul Craven
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