HWN Suggests

Levaquin Users Face Risk of Nerve Damage

Antibiotics are often seen as harmless drugs – something taken to quickly “knock” an illness out of you or even used as a precaution to avoid a full-blown illness. There’s no denying antibiotics have saved lives, but there is growing concern the side effects from certain classes of antibiotics are putting users at serious risk. One antibiotic receiving attention for serious side effects is Levaquin, which is a brand of fluoroquinolone. Levaquin is used to treat bronchitis, sinusitis, pneumonia, salmonella, staph, urinary tract infections, and a wide range of other bacterial infections. The most common risks associated with the medication involve muscles, tendons, joints, and the central nervous…

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Articles of Interest

Levaquin Turned Me into ‘Frankenwoman’

The drug that injured me is Levaquin. It’s a powerful antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone family. My doctor prescribed it to me for a suspected sinus infection. Because fluoroquinolones are so powerful, the FDA says they should be restricted to treat life-threatening infections or when there are no other options. They are associated with serious, often permanent adverse reactions.

Local Doctors Explain Risks Of Taking Levaquin

Known risks include nerve problems and tendon rupture. Fluoroquinolones are not recommended for people taking steroids, people with a history of seizures, and people with certain heart rhythm abnormalities.

Ciprofloxacin vs Levofloxacin: Are They The Same Thing?

A systematic review compared the effectiveness of Levofloxacin vs Ciprofloxacin for UTIs. They found that Levofloxacin showed efficacy in treating UTIs, but statistical significance in comparison to Ciprofloxacin was not established.

FDA Nixes Fluoroquinolones like Cipro and Levaquin

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today that unless they lack other treatment options, patients with uncomplicated infections should not receive fluoroquinolones, given the risk for disabling and potentially permanent adverse events. Labels for these antibiotics already warn about the risks for tendonitis, tendon rupture, central nervous system effects, peripheral neuropathy, myasthenia gravis exacerbation, QT prolongation and torsades de pointes, phototoxicity, and hypersensitivity. These adverse events can occur together. The FDA will update the labels to state that the serious risks posed by fluoroquinolones generally outweigh their benefits for patients with sinusitis, bronchitis, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections that are treatable by other means.

Is Levofloxacin as Active as Ciprofloxacin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa?

The activity of levofloxacin was equal to that of ciprofloxacin (75.3%) but was more active than ofloxacin (58.1%). Moreover, the MIC values of levofloxacin did not show any statistical difference using two different inocula. Levofloxacin shows an excellent bactericidal activity being generally within one doubling dilution of the MIC.

Levofloxacin Versus Ciprofloxacin in the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections: Evidence-Based Analysis

Fluoroquinolones, represented by levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, are widely used for treatment of UTIs. However, it remains controversial for the comparison between the 2 drugs, which propelled us to conduct the first evidence-based research on this topic.

What Americans Don’t Know About Their Medications

Martin herself took Levaquin multiple times for sinus infections more than a decade ago, and afterward, she said, she developed insomnia, panic attacks, brain fog, digestive problems, tendon issues, weakness, and pain in her arms.

Resources

Levofloxacin

The primary adverse effects of levofloxacin include photosensitivity, nausea, diarrhea, headache, tendinitis, tendon rupture, hyper-hypoglycemia, seizures, prolonged QT interval, and peripheral neuropathy. Clinicians should carefully prescribe levofloxacin to patients with a history of prolonged QT intervals.

Life After Levaquin

Welcome. In 2007 a course of antibiotics changed my life. My name is David and that’s how my story with Fluoroquinolones began, and it’s a story shared by countless others. This blog isn’t just about me; it’s about a people bound by a common thread: adverse events from Fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotics. Here, you’ll find the oldest surviving FQ blog, still slowly pushing on because the need for support and understanding never fades.