The drug was Levaquin, an antibiotic. It was in pill form taken daily (500 mg). I had pain in my arms and feet within one to two days. I did not call my doctor and continued to take the 3 week course as prescibed. I was not concerned... until it was one week after the final dose and the pain continued.
The doctor has done lots of blood work to rule out mineral deficiencies, diabetes, etc. I was having heart palpitations, also a side effect,and then went through stess test, echocardiagram, and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. I also had an EMG which resulted in the diagnosis of demylinating neuropathy. They hope it will heal with time, but will not say for sure. All of the test were normal except for the EMG. My doctor now wants me to see an othopedic doctor to see if cortizone therapy will help - I think she's just grasping for anything now. My doctor agreed to file a med-watch report with the FDA on me.
I have researched Levaquin on the internet and have found MANY other people that have experienced similar and also much worse side effects. Geocities.com/quinolones is a site that has posts by others in the same boat as me. The thing that scares me is that some of them have been suffering with the pain for over a year. There are veiled comments about suing the drug company - but most say there are gag orders once they are settled out of court.
I appreciate any advice you can provide. I plan to seek professional help if I decide to move forward. I just wondered if that fine print was in their favor. One thing, the fine print describes muscle pain and tendon ruptures, but does not specifically address the demylinating neuropathy. Thanks for your help.
