The Levaquin Antibiotic Online

Since the December, 2001, publication of my article highlight within the Annals of Pharmacotherapy,1 I’ve received hundreds of e-mails from people suffering from devastating, long-lasting side effects associated with Cipro, Levaquin, Floxin, and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Most of these individuals are young and had been healthy and active.These antibiotics have legitimate uses in treating infectious diseases, but they are overused for minor conditions for instance sinusitis, prostatitis, and bladder infections. My stance is that Cipro, Levaquin, and similar antibiotics could be preowned only when other, safer drugs are ineffective, or for organisms that are only sensitive to fluoroquinolones.As I said on National Public Radio in October 2001, I strongly believe that all consumers placed on these antibiotics could be warned about infrequent yet serious reactions that can cause joint, muscle, or tendon pain or rupture, nerve pain (burning, electrical sensations, tingling), muscle weakness, thinking or memory problems, heart palpitations, rapid heart rate, gastric problems, skin rash, or many other unusual physical or psychological symptoms. These reactions can occur swiftly and suddenly, and patients would alert their doctors immediately.Doctors, for their part, must identify that these symptoms can lead to severe, long-term pain or dysfunction, and would stop the antibiotics immediately if at all possible. Because adverse reactions can increase in severity and duration with each exposure, patients with these reactions could not get fluoroquinolones again. I’d hoped that my article could accomplish this, just as it prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to alter their guidelines for treating anthrax. But it hasn’t had the same impact on the splendid medical system.
“These adverse reactions can occur swiftly and severely.Doctors must be better informed.”
Most people do fine with these antibiotics. For those who don’t, the effects can often be minimized with proper warning and prompt response. sadly, few patients were given any warnings. Again, their rights of informed consent are violated.on the splendid hopeful side, I have spoken to the FDA about this issue. They are taking a very serious look at the problem. But although the FDA has already received thousands of reports, action is slow. And even if the FDA requires new warnings in package inserts and the PDR, most doctors will never notice them, and because of the unrelenting influence of the drug market, most doctors will carry on to overprescribe these drugs when other, safer, economical drugs would do.
So you’d better be informed. Preventing fluoroquinolone reactions is much, much better than trying to treat them, because there is no known, specific treatment. Below is the information that I have sent to consumers seeking help. I don’t know if any of these suggestions is highly effective, but having experienced a severe, long-term disability myself countenance within the mid-1990s and now having improved considerably, I encourage people to keep asking questions and trying things. you can easily connect with others enduring similar experiences with fluoroquinolones at the following websites: ***
INFORMATION FOR people WITH FLUOROQUINOLONE-RELATED REACTIONS
I have sent this information to hundreds of people who have contacted me about their reactions following the publication of my paper. I wrote the paper so that individuals having these types of problems might obtain accurately diagnosed, because most physicians have no idea how severe some of these fluoroquinolone-related reactions can be.
first, I would explain I am not an expert on Cipro, Levaquin, or other fluoroquinolone antibiotics. I am a researcher (I do not see patients), and my major area of expertise is medication reactions, which you can easily read about in my medical journal articles and my recent book, Over Dose: The Case Against The Drug Companies (Tarcher/Putnam, info & reviews at amazon.com). I wrote the article about fluoroquinolones because of the reports I received and because no one was paying attention to this serious problem. My knowledge about fluoroquinolones in particular and antibiotics in general is limited to what is contained within the article. I have not conducted any used research on fluoroquinolones since writing my article resource within the Annals of Pharmacotherapy in December, 2001, so you ought to review the medical literature and others sources for updated information.
Regrettably, there are few doctors who are informed about fluoroquinolone-related reactions. You might Uncover information about knowledgeable doctors at some of the fluoroquinolone websites, where individuals have posted a prolific number of useful information.
As far as I know, there are no specific treatments for the nerve or tendon/joint/muscle problems associated with Cipro, Floxin, and Levaquin, and other fluoroquinolones. Most of my information is hypothetical or anecdotal; some of these recommendations can help some consumers, but not others.
Medications case in point amitriptyline or other tricyclics, or Neurontin (gabapentin), can be practical for neuropathic pain (tingling, burning or electrical sensations) or nerve pain. Muscle spasms, twitching, tremors, and seizures can be helped with long-acting benzodiazepines case in point clonazepam (Klonopin) or diazepam (Valium). SSRI antidepressants (Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, Prozac, and all) are occasionally practical for depression. Because patients’ nervous system are indeed very sensitive, these drugs would be started at very low doses and increased, if necessary, very gradually.
Magnesium (chelated) in doses of 400-1000 mg/day can be useful for reducing neuropathic pain or muscle spasms in some individuals. Doses over the U.S. recommended daily amount of 320 for women and 400 for men could always be taken with a doctor’s supervision. Seniors, consumers with kidney disorders, and those taking medications for heart, hypertension, or other vascular or neurological disorders could have medical supervision even for RDA doses of magnesium.
Interestingly, another doctor has also been recommending magnesium, as low doses of milk of magnesia (1 or 2 teaspoons twice-daily), to be taken for several months. The theory is that because of the affinity of minerals for these antibiotics, this might help leech some of the remaining fluoroquinolone molecules from the tissues. Some patients have benefited, but not all. In discussion with this doctor, our sense is that calcium, magnesium, and perhaps other minerals can be beneficial. With magnesium, better absorption is important to get the magnesium into the tissues, so chelated magnesium or a magnesium solution might work preeminent. As with all of these recommendations, there’s little solid science, so it’s trial and error. (For more information on magnesium, please go to the other magnesium sections of this website.)
B-vitamins have been reported to cut down tingling. One person wrote to me that high doses of lecithin have helped with memory problems. GABA, an amino acid, has some similar qualities to Valium and Klonopin and can be constructive for anxiety, nervousness, or insomnia.
Anti-inflammatory drugs are controversial: some people have written to me that they have helped, especially for muscle/joint/tendon pain; others have written that they have worsened their conditions. in most cases, if you or someone that understands and has expert knowledge posses benefited from anti-inflammatory drugs, you might get additional benefit from high doses of omega-3 oils (fish oils; EPA/DHA). There is considerable literature on this. Omega-3 oils take time to work, but the ultimate result can be better than standard anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Many alternative doctors are knowledgeable about magnesium, GABA, omega-3 oils and, perhaps, about other possibilities.
Corticosteroids (cortisone, and so fourth) are very controversial. Doctors in fact prescribe steroids element within the hope of reducing the reactions, but many people have written that steroids actually made their cases worse. Steroids could be used with fantastic caution unless there is a specific indication.
Fluoroquinolone-linked reactions can be nasty, and recovery varies from individual to individual, with some reactions resolving quickly and others lasting years. That’s why I do not advocate using fluoroquinolones as the first antibiotics for treating minor infections. If we are ever to change the medical-pharmaceutical mindset about this, it will be accomplished by patients.