"Get Avelox Off the Market," says Patient with Ruptured Tendon

Salt Lake City, UT" There is one good thing about Avelox," says Carl with a chuckle. "It got rid of my bronchitis but it almost got rid of me. Now I have one foot on a banana peel and the other on Avelox." Joking aside, Carl also says his ruptured tendon problems keep recurring and even his doctor blames it on Avelox.

Carl has the entire incident documented, which is very helpful for his Avelox attorney. "I started taking Avelox in April, 2009 and by May 4th my right foot was painful but I thought it was a cramp," Carl says. "I got up in the middle of the night and took aspirin. I was limping around the next day and by bedtime my right foot was swollen almost to twice its size. Again, I just took a pain pill and went to bed.

On May 5th I was limping all day with a swollen foot. The next day I could barely walk. This time I thought it was gout so I called my doctor; he ordered an x-ray which showed no broken bones and that came as no surprise because I hadn't fallen or injured myself. Next I had an angiogram to see if I had a blood clot—negative. Then I had a CAT Scan which showed a ruptured tendon.

Two weeks later I was in a wheelchair.

My lung doctor asked me what I was doing in a wheelchair. I told him that I didn't know how I got a ruptured tendon. He asked what kind of meds I was taking, especially any antibiotics. When I said Avelox, he said, 'Bingo, that's the cause! You aren't the only person this has happened to.' He advised me to stop taking Avelox immediately. I only had one pill left so I threw it out.

I was surprised and really upset. I didn't know if I would ever walk again!

I was in a wheelchair for another three weeks. Eventually the swelling went down but on July 21st my right foot was swollen again. It took 7 days for the swelling and pain to subside: I have no idea why it came back again.

Then I had a little scab on my right leg above the ankle, back in July. When I had this last problem, my shin broke into one massive skin erosion, like something was eating my skin. I started putting antibiotics on it—not any fluoroquinolones--but it took about a month to heal. I'm looking at it right now and it looks OK but I always have pain in my right ankle, all because of Avelox.

I checked online and it said the only cure is an operation. The FDA put out a warning but nobody told me about it. On July 8, 2008 FDA advised the maker of Avelox to put a black box warning on its drug, warning of tendon ruptures and tears. If I knew of these side effects, I wouldn't have taken this antibiotic. And adding insult to injury, it wound up costing $265 (I had to co-pay $65 which is a lot on a fixed income).

My doctor was going to give me antibiotics after I had a pacemaker implanted. I asked him not to give me any fluoroquinolones because they are bad. He already knew about the side effects.

Your lawyer called me about a month ago and I signed a contract to go forward with a lawsuit. Avelox kept me from doing a lot of things so they should compensate me for that and medical costs at the very least. Bottom line: These drugs should be taken off the market."

And at what cost to Medicare has Avelox incurred? Carl is just one sufferer who had very expensive tests to determine a ruptured tendon and now he faces surgery.