"Levaquin has ruined my life in so many ways"

Queens, NYTherese was prescribed the antibioitic Levaquin in 2001 when she experienced shortness of breath, but just 3 days after taking Levaquin, she couldn't bend her wrists, knees or ankles. Luckily, Therese had the wherewithal to stop taking the drug; others have not been so fortunate.

"Initially I was prescribed Cipro but I happened to read the informational paper that my pharmacist gave me: it said if you experience joint pains, discontinue use. I went back to my pulmonologist—she prescribed the drug—and told her I wasn't getting any better (it turns out that I had pneumonia) and she put me on 500 mgs of Levaquin per day for 4 days.

After 4 days she decided to admit me to hospital and I was put on IV Levaquin. The infection didn't budge so I had surgery—the pneumonia turned into empyema and I needed my lung to be drained: I was in hospital for 11 days.

When I got home I kept having back and hip pains, and overall pains in my joints. The only relief I got was from acupuncture. I also saw a rheumatologist at Rusk Institute in Manhattan and he sent me for therapy but after 8 months they told me to save my money because therapy wasn't helping. So between going here, there and everywhere, nobody could zero in on my problems until my acupuncturist suggested that I get an MRI on my hip. That was in December 2007 but due to economic reasons I had to wait until this June. I finally got the MRI of my lower back and left hip which shows ripped tendons.

How did this happen? I didn't injure myself, I did nothing to cause this injury--no fancy maneuvers, I didn't fall. Now my left elbow is causing grief, almost like rubber bands popping. What will go next? I am definitely not taking any more meds in this [fluoroquinolones] group.

About one month later I heard about a lawsuit against Levaquin. I set up a google alert on Levaquin and received a lot of information. I was pissed—I can't think of saying it any more politely. I was a lab technician for years and being trained in the med profession, I feel let down. I know it has made great strides, but to have something like Levaquin get approved, that it can be on the market and years later have so many people suffer, is a real kick in the butt.

Had I been given the choice in 2001 of dying of pneumonia or taking Levaquin, of course I would have chosen the latter but further down the line, not knowing the ramifications of this drug, there must have been an alternative medication.

I know that drug companies have to make their money, I know what goes on at drug labs and I know how much they pay out. There is an expression we used to say: 'Don't spit in the air because it can come down and hit you'.

Yes, I am pissed off. I haven't slept in my own bed for almost 20 years because of back problems; I sleep sitting up and now I have to keep my leg elevated. Driving isn't easy—fortunately I don't need my left leg for the gas pedal. It also exacerbates any other medical condition and makes for an unhealthy life style. (If you want to talk to my husband, he can tell you—it doesn't make for a happy home life sometimes, so it affects the whole family). Now they want to give me a morphine patch but I saw my uncle go through Oxycontin and I don't want to go there. Levaquin has ruined my life in so many ways; it has complicated everything."