Levaquin 500mg|Bad Effects of Drugs

Levaquin 500mg|Bad Effects of Drugs

Patient complaints about Levaquin 500mg (Levoflaxin) read like horror stories. The bad effects of drugs meant to cure patients jump out in the words of those who say they suffered severe side effects after taking Levaquin and other quinolone antibiotics. Many reported damage to Achilles tendons that required surgery. The complaints, aimed mainly at Levaquin and that drug’s side effects, include other quinolone antibiotics - Cipro, Tequin, Maxaquin, Inimed, Noroxin and Floxin, among others.

Patients Stories Detail Suffering

Patient posts on a web site about the drug’s effects include stories of tendon ruptures, double vision, severe rashes, insomnia, nausea, anxiety, ringing in the ears, and psychotic episodes. The comments warn others not to take the drug under any circumstances. A few, however, praise it. Levaquin is an antibacterial drug used to treat bronchitis, urinary tract infections, prostatitis and sinus infections, among others.

Official Complaints about Levaquin

Complaints about the drug and tendon ruptures received national attention in 2005 when the Attorney General of the State of Illinois formally petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to put a black box warning on Levaquin. The petition also asked that the FDA submit the entire class of quinolone drugs, including Levaquin, to its Drug Safety Oversight Board for review. In August 2006, decrying the FDA’s lack of response to that request, Public Citizen added its voice to the chorus of those urging the FDA to review Levaquin and like drugs, citing their history of tendonitis and tendon rupture. In January 2008, Public Citizen filed a federal law suit against the FDA for failing to heed its request and the Illinois request for a formal review of Levaquin. “While the FDA sits idly by and ignores the problem, more people will suffer serious tendon ruptures that could have been avoided,” said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group.

FDA New Safety Warning

The FDA recently added a new warning about Levaquin. It alerts patients to the potential of photosensitivity and phototoxicity from exposure to the sun when taking the drug. The warning joins existing warnings about tendonitis and other side effects of Levaquin. So far, the FDA has not elevated the tendonitis warning to “black box” status (the highest alert the FDA can put on a drug) as requested by the State of Illinois and Public Citizen.

Filed under Defective Drugs |