Levaquin - FYI

[skiray]

My Dr. prescribed it, I said no thanks after he gave me this warning: "Don't do any extreme physical activities. Levaquin increases the likely hood of tendor rupture in patients over 40." I asked what extreme was and he said like swinging a sledge hammer. I asked about skiing and he said no way. Doesn't sound like anything for a skier.

 

Just curious if any of you have a different perspective. Made me wonder since there seems to be a lot of tendon issues with skiers.

 

Levaquin (levofloxacin) is an antibiotic for treating several types of bacterial infections. A generic formulation is available. Common side effects of Levaquin include nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and constipation. Difficulty sleeping, dizziness, abdominal pain, rash, abdominal gas, and itching also occur. Levaquin has been associated with tendinitis and even rupture of tendons. Levaquin can alter the normal bacteria in the colon and cause pseudomembranous colitis. Patients taking Levaquin can develop photosensitivity.

[skiinxs]

I'm not a doc, but I will never take it again. Bizarre dreams, then I started reading up on it and stopped taking it. Than a few years ago my grandmother was in the hospital. My family called and said she was seeing people that weren't there, they thought it was the end. On a hunch I asked if there were any IV bags going into her, they looked and said yes, Levaquin. I told them to get her off of it. Within a couple hours she had returned to normal.

[A_B]

That was bad news for me. I didn't take a lot of it, but joint aches to the point it felt like someone was pulling my legs off, stomach pain, and had blood in my intestines and you can guess where that showed up. It is on my list of never again drugs. Be very cautious with it.

[6balls]

ciprofloxacin ("cipro") is same class as levofloxacin and carries same risk.

[A_B]

That is also on my list.

[fu_man]

Hold on, hold on. (To qualify this, my first degree was a B.S. in pharmacy.) Before this gets going too far, you have to remember that all drugs have potential side effects. As with all drugs you have to weigh the benefits vs the risks. For example, aspirin is linked to Reye's Syndrome in kids and causes stomach ulcers but it is also used to prevent heart disease and is the first thing recommended to take during a heart attack not to mention being used for pain or headaches.

[bojans]

Typically if you are prescribed Levo or Cipro the infection you are dealing with is significant enough that the potential side effects are worth the risk.

[6balls]

@bojans depends. We have lots of alternatives to use. Prescribing docs dance around patient allergies, the most likely pathologic bacteria, renal function etc in choosing antibiotics. Fluoroquinolones are often overused, however, for minor infections that could have been treated with more narrow spectrum drugs. When you need levo or cipro for the right purpose they are great drugs and do carry with them risk/benefit, as do all medications.

[Skoot1123]

I used to think that all the side effects were for a select few - that is until I took Singular. I noticed immediately very strange dreams and occasions of bursts of rage. Yup, I stopped taking that one.

[gator1]

@6balls is right. I had cipro prescribed for sinus infection. Lucky pharmacist knew about skiing, sent me back to doc. He argued but gave me something else. Older I get and more I see of docs more its clear you gotta manage your own care

[Zman]

Does anyone know how long after being treated (by IV) with Levaquin the potential risk of tendon rupture is increased? Would guess after some period of time you are back to normal.

[TeamWally]

Here's what some folks with MD after their name think regenexx.com/2012/05/treating-quinolone-antibiotic-induced-tendinopathy-with-regenerative-medicine/ BTW after nearly rupturing both achilles while snow skiing after a dose of Cipro followed by Levaqin I have become super cautious of antibiotics. Here's the local news with one of my snow ski buds after getting his knee done. youtube.com/embed/4D7joWQVCic?autoplay=1&rel=0

[skiray]

@Zman - my dr told me to wait 6 - 8 weeks before skiing. Needless to say, I didn't fill the prescription.

[acmx]

I was prescribed Levaquin, it came with a 3 page warning paper, so researched it and decided not to take it. Some people claimed to have their achilles start hurting after one dose. I think I would only take it if I had something life threatening!

[A_B]

To tell what long term antibiotics can do, I suffered a hernia in Sept many years ago. It was not diagnosed until they had me open on the table in January. It was pushing inward instead of outward, so 3 different docs couldn't feel it. Symptoms were swelled testicle after exercising, and Blue Pill effects, painfully so. At the time, Lance Armstrong had just gone through his cancer deal, so you can imagine what was going through my mind. Docs treated me for an infection and inflammation. I was on different antibiotics and 800 mg of ibuprofen up until January. The only effect was I felt like I had been run over by a truck and every joint in my body hurt. I told the doc about these pains and he said, "well that is a side effect of long term antibiotics". I said cut me open and see if I have a hernia or not. To this day, I have great suspicion that the problems I have with my elbows, hand, knees, etc., are exacerbated by that medication. My elbow knocked me out of skiing for 2 seasons, and then the weight piled on. I have arthritic symptoms in my left hand that will someday probably end my skiing. Take antibiotics with great caution!

[gator1]

@ab, I had the same type of deal. Got a bad ear infection on the way back from a biz trip to Juarez. Pain, dizzy, congested. 6 months of increasingly strong antibiotics, no improvement, but to the point of hallucinations. Took at least 2 loops off PB and bad falls with ribs broke and all the rest. Joint pain, back pain, neck pain.

 

Finally forced my way into a specialist, looked in my ear, guy said hmm, that's weird. Got a long needle nose pliers looking thingy, pulled a cockroach leg out of my ear.

 

Found out later fairly common in Texas and Mexico to have a cockroach crawl in your ear and leave a leg. Guys up here in PNW didn't know to look for it. Don't know how the hell they missed it, but the conversation between me and my former ENT doc was overheard by the rest of his patients in the waiting room.

 

I also believe my elbow and neck problems are left over from that long term antibiotic exposure.

[ForrestGump]

Because of my sometimes debilitating tendonitis in my wrists, I've been involved in some clinical tests and trials the last few years. One of the contributing factors that my doctors have layed out for me was a long term intake of ampycillin as a young child. In my case I was hospitalized for pnuemonia and was on ampycillin for months. One of the things researchers have found is that certain antibiotics(cipro, levaquin, ampycillin, etc) cause bacteria death by creating oxidative stress in the bacteria. It's been proven in the laboratory that these same antibiotics also cause oxidative stress in the mitochondria of our human cells and reduce glutathione. Further testing is showing the success of using a compound such as N-acetylcysteine to counteract the oxidative stress created by the antibiotic. NAC is an aminio acid derivative that replenishes intracellular levels of glutathione and helps to restore cells’ ability to fight damage from reactive oxygen/oxidative stress.

[gator1]

@shaneH: Took me two tries to get through Chem 101. Can't figure out WTF are you saying, can I take NAC and restore my damaged cells, or do you have to do that as you are taking the anti-biotic and NAC won't work after the fact?

 

And where do I get NAC? Is it maybe a key component in oh, say.......a good IPA? Kind of joking, but kind of serious. It seems if I have a beer every night my knees and elbows do better. I know, biased research, but still......

[crashman]

We use this class of antibiotics extremely rarely in children because of the side effects mentioned above, but I see it more commonly prescribed by urgent care centers. This is where it really benefits you to have a physician who knows you well and the type of activities in which you participate.

[gator1]

@crashman: you called it. The cipro I got came from an urgent care doc.

[Zman]

Ditto. Not long before my ATR, I was treated in a hospital emergency room with antibiotic via an IV for a serious leg infection, and prescribed more in the form of pills. Before receiving any of this from the doctor I challenged if the infection could have been caused by all the time I spend in the water with my water ski passion. The answer was no, my infection was from something else. But, the point was the Doctor was keenly aware of my frequent waterskiing and still administered the antiboitics without any side effect warnings and certainly no discussion about increased risk for achilles tendon ruptures.

@gator1 Can you add "use of Levaquin type antibiotics" as another data point to the info you gathered on the many achilles tendon ruptures that have been discussed on here? Would be interesting to know how many had recently used this drug.

[gregy]

FYI - I'd heard some bad stories of Levaquin. My girlfriend had a sinus infection that was being treated with progressive stronger antibiotics over about a 2 month period. I had a conversation years ago with a doctor who told me that he didn't thing antibiotics was a good treatment for sinus infections and recommended neti pot or nasal wash. When the doctor prescribed Levaquin I insisted she try the nasal wash first. Her symptoms were pretty much gone in 2 days and in less than a week she quite using the nasal wash with no re-occurrence since. Told another friend of mind that had re-occurring sinus infections for years and he swears by it now.

[6balls]

@gregy majority of sinus infections are viral and resolve either on their own or with sinus rinses. Most patients, however, don't like that answer. The public only thinks about the up-side of antibiotics, and not the potential risks b/c they have become so common place. There are other side effect issues, and also the issue of antibiotic overuse creating multi-drug resistant bacteria. Should this continue long enough our antibiotics won't work when we need them.

 

The creation of penicillin was huge in history and resulted in a significant spike in life expectancy. When used properly, antibiotics are critical but even in that case carry their own set of risks. It's all about risk/benefit...and in each scenario benefit should outweigh risk when choosing to treat with antibiotics, or any other medication for that matter.

[jipster43]

One of my snow ski partners was prescribed Levaquin after oral surgery this fall. Subsequently I'm out a ski partner for the entire season. I believe because the surgeon wanted to cover his backside in terms of possible infections and opted for a nuclear option.

 

I battled a chronic ear infection for about eight years until I finally hooked up with a naturopath that prescribed a gluten free diet. The infection disappeared and hasn't returned for nearly a year now. My nutrition is better, I feel stronger, and ultimately I am spending less money on healthcare.

 

I still have faith in "Western Medicine", but my family doc has respect for my naturopath and vice versa. My theory is the two of them keep each other honest.