Starkville, MSPatients who were given the Levaquin antibiotic are now wondering if the Levaquin medicine has caused more health problems than they bargained for. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a black box warning alerting patients to Levaquin side effects, specifically the risk of tendonitis or tendon rupture. Barbara H. says she believes she has experienced side effects related to the use of Levaquin.
"When I took Levaquin, I really didn't know much about it," Barbara says. "I started taking it after an infection, that was caused when my appendix ruptured. I started having pain in my shoulders and at the back of my heel [after taking the Levaquin]. My elbow was swollen and sore and my joints were swollen. I was also swollen around my knee. I didn't know what caused it until I saw it [information about Levaquin] on television."
Barbara took Levaquin for about a month in June 2008. However, she says this is the second time she was given the medication. She was initially given Levaquin a few years ago and says she suffered side effects back then, although at the time she had no idea what she was experiencing could have been related to the use of Levaquin.
"I started having problems with my arm a few years ago, after taking Levaquin" Barbara says. "I saw a doctor and he said I had tendonitis in my arm but we didn't know why. [This most recent time] I was given 500 mgs of Levaquin because I had an infection. But, I developed really severe pain after taking the medication. My elbow was so sore that I had to have injections for the pain.
I started to notice the problems about 3 days after I started taking the Levaquin. I knew I was sore from the surgery [to remove the burst appendix] but I thought that was the problem. I started to wonder, though, when the pain continued for a long time.
I still have joint problems. Some days, I can't even get out of bed because my joints and my shoulders hurt so much. I go to the doctor and he puts me on pain medicine. Before my appendix burst, I didn't have these problems. I had some minor back pain because of a degenerated disc, but this pain is in my shoulders and it hurts a lot more. Sometimes, it [her shoulder] pops and it didn't do that before.
It has affected my day-to-day life. It is difficult to do daily activities. I can't use my hands well, so I do less driving. I'm looking to have another surgery because the tendons in my hands look really bad—I have to have surgery for that. I have trouble holding railings because of my hands, so stairs are difficult for me, too.
People get these medications and they are not being told the side effects and people like me have to suffer and deal with this pain every day. I had a good life—there were things that I could do. I could go out and socialize and be out with people. I don't do that anymore because it's difficult for me to stand or walk because I hurt all the time. My knees, my ankles, my shoulders and my elbows all hurt.
If people don't absolutely have to take a medication, they shouldn't take it. It's just not good for you."