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Antibiotic Aortic Aneurysm Lawsuits

Users of the popular class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones may face an increased risk of aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection, which could cause a rupture and life-threatening internal bleeding. They also face permanent and irreversible nerve damage, known as peripheral neuropathy. Lawsuits for users of Levaquin, Cipro, Avelox and other similar antibiotics are being reviewed by lawyers nationwide.

ANTIBIOTIC LAWSUIT STATUS: A growing number of Levaquin lawsuits, Cipro lawsuits, Avelox lawsuits and other claims involving other fluoroquinolone antibiotics are being filed nationwide on behalf former users diagnosed with aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, and peripheral neuropathy.

>>SUBMIT INFORMATION ABOUT ANTIBIOTIC AORTIC ANEURYSMS<<

OVERVIEW: Fluorquinolones are the most widely used class of antibiotics in the United States, with more than 23 million patients per year receiving prescriptions for the medications in pill form and another three million receiving injections.

Although the antibiotics are promoted as safe and effective, a number side effects have been linked to these drugs, which has led the FDA to recommend they not be used for uncomplicated infections.

In May 2013, the FDA issued a drug safety communication saying that these antibiotics’ risks outweigh their benefits in many cases.

The agency indicated that Levaquin, Avelox, Cipro and similar drugs will now carry warnings on the label and Medication guides indicating that they should not be prescribed to treat sinusitis, bronchitis or uncomplicated urinary tract infections, unless there are no alternative treatments available.

Antibiotic Aortic Aneurysms and Aortic Dissections: A recent scientific study found that users of antibiotics like Levaquin, Avelox and Cipro face double the risk of conditions known as aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection. In both cases, the tissues inside the aorta, a major artery, is weakened and could result in a potentially deadly rupture.

In December 2018, the FDA issued a drug safety alert, acknowledging the risk of aortic dissections linked to the use of the antibiotics.

An aortic aneurysm occurs when the outer wall of the aorta bulges due to weakness and the pressure inside. In many cases they are small and do not require treatment. However, in some cases the bulge becomes large enough to rupture, resulting in massive internal bleeding.

Aortic dissections are similar, but occur within the layers of tissue inside the aorta. These have a much higher risk of rupturing, and can also become aortic aneurysms.

Symptoms of aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection include:

  • Severe chest pain
  • Severe upper back pain
  • Coughing and trouble talking
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Irregular pulse in one arm

Emergency medical treatment is required immediately if an aortic rupture occurs, and those who undergo treatment for these problems must often take medications and live on a restrictive diet for the rest of their lives.

ANTIBIOTIC NERVE DAMAGE SIDE EFFECTS: Scientific evidence has established a link between fluoroquinolone antibiotics and peripheral neuropathy for decades, with the first published case reports coming as early as 1992.

 

Although peripheral neuropathy warnings were added to many of the medications in September 2004, it appears that this information was false and misleading. The warnings suggested that the peripheral neuropathy problems were “rare” and failed to disclose that users may be left with permanent nerve damage.

These problems may have been avoided if stronger warnings were provided, informing consumers to seek medical attention and switch to a different antibiotic upon the onset of symptoms.

Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy from antibiotics like Levaquin, Cipro, Avelox and others may include:

  • Pain or Weakness
  • Burning, Tingling or Numbness
  • Sensitivity to Light Touches, Temperature or Motion in the Arms and Legs

In August 2013, the FDA announced that new and stronger warnings would be added to Levaquin, Cipro, Avelox and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics.


63 Comments


Todd
Cipro sufferer

Carolyn
I have two aneurysm’s a month ago I was given cipro and flagyl for intestine infection my medical papers have the one aneurysm in my stomach in them but I was given cipro I was in the hospital on Ivs for three days when I left they gave me cipro I took for two days and began to feel bad pains in my chest. My chest felt like someone had hit me in the chest took me four days to get in to dr because of the Covid. When I got there she sent me to the emergency room I had ct scan and had a bleeding aneurysm by my heart I have two aneurysm’s. Got up to an 8cm they dropped blood pressure really low now I have no energy and have to see a surgeon may have to have surgery I’m 73 years old.

Hadassah
Hi I was prescribed cipro 500mg on august 28, 2021 and only took it for three days for a uti and I’ve been to the emergency hospital five times and haven’t been able to recover. I now have arthritis on my neck, severe headaches, knee pain, muscle weakness on both arms and wrist, plus shoulder pain. Four doctors so far have told me that it’s “anxiety.” Right now I barely am going to physical therapy. I just went to my first physical therapy visit yesterday and now I am in so much pain because of how sore I am. Please let me know if I can still get an attorney! I am in so much pain, I just want my body back! Before this I was a gym freak, and now I have trouble opening bottles because of muscle weakness on my arms and shoulders. I just want to be able to do normal daily stuff.

Cynthia
I have severe neuropathy in left hand and arm from years of being prescribed Levaquin. I developed serum sickness while taking it and discontinued it and never took it again. In years following , I developed periphera! neuropathy left side of body, with lasting discomfort in left hand and arm which has hindered my work as a legal transcriptionist. I am also now experiencing pain in my right wrist. Can I still pursue a lawsuit in 2021?

Colleen
I’ve taken cipro and Leviquinn thru out the years for uti, and asthma, since 2008, I’ve had tendon surgery on right hand/ arm, 2015 Steven Johnson’s syndrome and hospitalized, 2018, right foot surgery tendon issue, and 7/20/21, tore my ACL and they had to repair my tendon..I want a lawsuit filed

Ruth
Hello, is it to late for this lawsuit on levaquin? I have severe neuropathy from this drug.

Denise
Law suit from taking cipro for many years

Ellen
I was given Levofloxacin when I was released from the hospital in August 2020. I started having a problem the very first day I took it. By day three I not only had it in my left leg but my balance has been so effected that for months I needed to be able to touch something, like a wall, or with assistance. I started home physical therapy for tendonitis in both of my Achilles. Additionally I had to wear a boot switching back and forth. About two months into therapy my left Achilles ruptured. Although I still do PT to try and regain any part of walking my balance is still a sad part of this story.

Marie
I was treated with Ciprofloxacin for mild UTI in March 2011. A few days after taking ciprofloxacin for 5 days I started having pins and needles and burning in both legs and feet. After a battery of tests , mris, spinal tap, Emg, ncs, blood tests to rule out diabetes and autoimmune disease I was finally dx with idiopathic small fiber neuropathy by punch skin biopsy in September of 2012… Fast forward I now have full blown widespread chronic classic painful neuropathic symptoms. To date all specialist from Suffolk county to NYC can not find a cause. (Idiopathic- unknown cause) I believe this debilitating pain disorder was caused from the medication Ciprofloxacin. My quality of life is poor.. I suffer every day and night. I have since had to go on disability. . I was not warned about these side effects nor did I see a warning that taking this antibiotic would damage my nerves… my life is ruined,, i cry every day with debilitating pain. I feel like justice needs to be done. Please call me for I have no other recourse. I wish I knew back that what I know now.

Keith
I was treated for a UTI in January, it didn’t go away so was put on Ciipro 750g for several weeks, eventually the UTI went away. I went to A&E several times (during Covid) due to swollen testicle and in agony. I was not taken in as an inpatient. The UTI came back after about a month and I was put back on Cipro 500mg for another prolonged period. Shortly after my last treatment I developed slurred speech which has got worse, numbness in my face and head, phlegm, some breathing issues and fasciculations in my upper body. I saw a neurologist and in November 2020 was diagnosed with MND but so far show no signs of muscle weakness in my limbs, or indeed any other common symptoms of MND. These symptoms seem synonymous with Cipro nerve damage. Can anyone advise. I am sure if it hadn’t have been for Covid I would have been taken in as an inpatient not fobbed off with more of these hugely dangerous drugs.

Donald
I have taken Cipro more than once prior to June 2020 for Diverticulitis. The Dose in June 2020 gave me anxiety and panic attacks, a weird overall feeling that something was wrong. Pins and needles in my feet and hands and this didn’t get better at all til 6 months later but I was not 100%. Then I had another Diverticulitis infection Dec 20, 2020 and when I was released from the hospital on Ciproflaxin within 24 hours all them symptoms came back and I was re-admitted. For some dumb reason a group of doctors put the infectious disease doctor in charge of what antibiotic I should use and she chose Levaquin. 5 day dose observed in the hospital. Told them every day I felt funny in my brain like anxiety brain fog and tingling pins in needles in my feet and calves. Finished the Levaquin and went home for 3 days and have had to stay at my parents for over a month now. I didn’t find out Levaquin was the same as Cipro til a week after the Hospital Release and started reading about Fluoroquinolone Toxicity recently too. This medication has taken me off work for about 7 months total now and counting and I’ve had to stay at my parents house for the same amount of time. I have some improvement but I’m only about 40 to 50% better if that. It’s a shame this is allowed to be used and ruin people’s lives!

Alexandru
My name is Alexandru and i have following a treatment with ciprofloxacin Aristo 500mg because of a epididymitis , after 3 days of Ciprofloxacin 1tablet /12 hours , i start to have very big pain in muscle and joints , since that time i have already 4 months and i am still suffering of this now become more worst , chest and in the back up is so painfull , the doctors here in germany they can’t help me with nothing only with new painkillers more strong and more strong , the pains become more strong and my life become horrible, i have a lot of nights of not sleeping because of pain and in the doctora they do to me blood test for arthritis but all are negative, i am disperated since 4 months when i get this Ciprofloxacin ( Aristo) 500 mg , my life is totally destroyed!

alvin
Are victims of a severe GENERIC Ciprofloxacin reaction still legally unable to successfully pursue a claim against the manufacturer of the generic product?

Martha
I have been given Cipro and Levaquin + prednisone numerous times since 2014 for lung issues and have had almost virtually every single symptom everyone else has mentioned here in their comments. I complained repeatedly to my doctors, and to hospitals who had administered IV form of Levaquin whenever I was admitted for exacerbations but all of them act as if it’s in your head, and even after I pointed out the warnings about these drugs, they said they were prescribed all the time regardless. When I had one particular bad bout of reactions following yet another RX round of Levaquin, I finally called my pharmacist instead of my doctor and the pharmacist claimed it was an allergic reaction (similar to what someone else posted here) and made a note in my files to not be prescribed this class of drugs again. One, it’s not an allergic reaction but now, as we know, bad side effects, and secondly, whenever I am taken to hosp for exacerbations, they still put me on IV Levaquin + steroids even when I tell them of the reactions I have bcuz they say the benefits outweigh the risks! The peripheral neuropathy in hands, arms, face, legs and feet + the heart racing & chest and abdominal pains, and the vision and memory issues are the worst, and have lingered ever since even when I haven’t taken this class of drugs for at least a year now. FDA approval for drugs doesn’t seem to mean squat when they cause such harm with no recourse for the victims, and when pharmaceutical companies are rarely held accountable. I’m widowed, incapacitated and now living on disabled widow benefits.

David
4 years ago I was prescribed Cipro for what they thought was a bladder infection or prostitits. I was allergic, it left me with chronic pain from the waste down. I lost mobility in my legs & hips. I have chronic spasms in my legs & groin. I struggle to urinate. I battle pain during sex. I struggle to live my life. I am only 39 years old. This antibiotic stole my life. I can’t even stand to urinate. The nerves from my waste down don’t work any more due to this drug. Do I have a case?

Anna
So in mid October I came down with a sinus infection and my doctor prescribed me amoxicillin. 4days later I was worse, I had to be put on levofloxin because I ended up with pneumonia also. Was out for 10 days from work so sick, all I could do was sleep on and off. Then I got better, but in December I started having tingling, numbness,pain in hands. So I thought maybe I was overly exhausted. Then come January I have a major sharp pain in my hands , I could barely move them called into work and went to doctor. Doctor said I had carpal tunnel and De Quervains Tenosynovitis she also applied pressure on my shoulder and had pain. Sent me for EMG, EMG specialist suspected cervical radicupathy Then I thought , I must have injured myself at work. Then I see one of workers comp doctors, she puts me on Medrol and I start noticing major neck shoulder/ shoulder blade pain go to see their surgeon and said I have severe carpal tunnel. But would never check my shoulder ,neck. Then I see another surgeon and find out I have severe degenerative disc disease get leg pain and toe pain. All my blood work has come back fine. I never had any symptoms before this.

Elizabeth
I’ve been taking Cipro off and on since 2011 for uti’s which seems to help but come back. I never knew the side effects of this drug and believed it was safe. I was probably taking it 3 times a year for 7 – 10 days at 500mg per dose twice a day. This March and April I got a bad UTI and the Dr gave me Cipro again. I never thought that my symptoms were because of the medication but now doing research I am finding that all my symptoms are associated with this drug. I have tendon rupture, upper shoulder back pain, pain in my feet, excrutuating pain in my chest that doesn’t allow me to move (comes & goes), tingling in my hands, tingling in my head (right side for years, now my left side is starting), pulsating headaches on my right side, sensitivity to light, stomach issues, and lately pain down my legs and feet. My doctor never informed me of these side effects. I would have never taken this medicine if I’d known this. All this time I thought these symptoms were from bad health. This last treatment of Cipro has made me feel so sick that it pushed me to look up the side effects and I am shocked. Now I’m worried that I may have an aneurysm. I am going to my dr today to get checked and see what he says. I wish I would have known this sooner. I want to have tests done to find out if I do have any tearing in my aortic valves. I don’t have insurance so I know it’s going to be expensive. I just need to know to be prepared and find out what I can do to alleviate these problems. I can’t live like this anymore. This has affected my life for so long and my family’s too. I didn’t even know what was causing all these problems. This medicine should be taken with caution as a last resort. I will let my family know to be aware of this.

Majella
I was prescribed Flaghl for sinus infection and developed neuropathy in my feet and hands from it. Have had it for about 4 months now and NO sign of it improving. Terrible to live with. Can’t feel anything so can’t do a lot.

Jason
Cepro and other drugs in the Fluoroquinolone Family destroy Collagen in the body. It is sometimes described as shredding collagen. When you have no collagen, damage occurs. Doctors are little more than licensed drug pushers who’s practice has become corrupted through Pharmaceutical houses. The cure for much of the damage is Collagen. Chicken or Beef Bone broth and chicken skin have collagen. I like Ancient Nutrition Multi Collagen as well. It takes about 6 to 8 weeks of consumption for the pain to dissipate in my experience. This is my opinion and as with anything else always ask your DR who will undoubtedly discourage you unless he/she is Armenian…they know about collagen it is part of their culture.

Frank
I went into the hospital with a bladder infection in late September of 2018. The doctor who was assigned to me ordered a culture to determine the bacteria responsible and learned it was e coli. The culture also indicated quite a number of antibiotics would kill the bacteria, including Septra (an antibiotic that has worked great for me with sinus infections). Instead of Septra — or some other antibiotic considered relatively safe — my doctor prescribed Cipro, which we’ve all discovered in our own way is basically a known poison. I have contacted over a dozen law firms and so far have gotten nowhere. It seems they see opportunity in suing drug makers but not doctors who ignorantly prescribe this poison. The last of three neurologists I consulted diagnosed my condition as “Cipro-induced peripheral neuropathy”. I’m glad for the definitive diagnosis but surprised that I may have no legal recourse. My symptoms have been horrible to the point where I have welcomed death rather than go on in terrible pain, fear and despair 24/7. I will fight and pray for justice that includes holding the makers of these absurdly destructive drugs accountable, as well as the doctors who have surely received numerous communications from the FDA warning all doctors that Cipro is not to be used as a first-line drug, but only as a last resort — and never to be used on seniors or children. Lastly, I want to say that oftentimes when I’m suffering and thinking of who did this to me I wish they could observe the horrific days and nights I endure due to their carelessness, indifference and greed. I left out ignorance because there’s no excuse for a doctor being ignorant when the information they need is often right at their fingertips and would require literally less than a minute to avoid wrecking an innocent patient’s life. I want to add that I’ve researched the background of the doctor automatically assigned to me by the hospital and learned from patient reviews that he’s been generally awful (arrogant, abrupt and uncaring). Also, he went to a medical school in a third-world country that barely regulates the medical profession — yet here he is practicing in the US. There’s more than enough blame to go around, but any physician — who inherently is given the power of life and death — should be barred from practice when they behave in a manner that is 100% indefensible, as mine did.

neil
Cipro levoiquan damaged my legs .two years in wheelchair. started take fish oils two weeks able to walk with medical cane. Fish oil works. Larry king agreed.

Lorrie
In April 2019 i began levofloxacin, for a broncal infection..days later I was in sever pain in my legs. Dr pit me in a walking boot and sent me to Pt and said it was cause by the med which i was never warned of the possibility of this outcome. It is now nearing the end of July 2019 . Im on my second aircast boot still in pt twice a week with lottle progress. The pain I still experience in my arms and leg and the weakness is unbearable at times. All im told is stick to pt..no pain aide nothing, im left to deal with this on my own. What do I do?

Mark
Seven months ago, I was prescribed a ten-day course of 500 mg levofloxacin for a sinus issue. After taking two, I started feeling tingling in the fingers of my left hand, so I stopped taking it. The next day, I started feeling some sharpness in my left achilles tendon, and then also in my right tendon. Over the next few weeks, the sharpness got progressively worse — painful to walk, use stairs, even just lying down — plus fear of tendon rupture. Walked like an old man. Orthopedic specialist put me in a knee-high boot for a month. Pain and significant risk of the tendon snapping continued. Long story short, seven months after taking two — TWO — right now my left hand is tingling, I’m still wearing heal lifts and not a day has gone by without tendon pain or burning, anywhere from the heal to the calf, my feet often feel like I’ve walked 30 miles, I have neuropathy often in my left fingers/hand/arm and sometimes in right hand, and while I can walk, evenings are mostly spent with my feet up to avoid any stress. Plus, after seven months, it is quite discouraging. Overall, things are not as bad as some, but I don’t doubt that if I had taken the full course of levofloxacin, I would have ruptured the tendon(s) and be in debilitating pain. Will things ever go back to normal? I don’t know. Dare I ever risk running again? Not really. It is CRIMINAL that the government has not banned these toxic poisons from the market.

Donald
Have been prescribed Cipro in the past. Current diagnosis Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm

Becky
i was given oral topical antibiotics repeadly from 2005-2008. During their use i developed a pain in my colon and Kaiser dignosed IBS just by listening. I was burning rashes, slurrying words, memory loss, dizzy, tintinitis, ithy red mumps, malabsorption requiring oral orthodontics and iv iron, smelly ear drainage, food intolerances, vision loss and more. I now have developed blue vein and neuropathy in my legs. All my skin burns and is getting rashes that gets thick I have no daught this is all case by those antibiotics because it was the onset of my symptoms and they continued to grow and still are. I pleaded with doctors and told them what happened. They kept quiet and ran tests. Then tried to diagnose me with mixed connective tissue disease. When i saw two auto immune specialist i told them i didnt have mctd that my symptoms started with antibiotics. They shook their heads in agreement but had nothing to offer. Another doctor admitted i probably had a systemic Candida/fungal infection but didnt put it in my record and offered nothing. I now believe this is happened to many and conventional medicine will label you with labels and avoid that thier drugs were the cause of at least what happened to me. Please let me know if you could be of help.

Eulah
Has anyone been able to sue after 2013

Shawna
I took Cipro and Levaquin at least in the year 2012 (and other, but my memory is not too good at times). I had a very bad sinus infection in April-May 2012 and I wasn’t getting well. My dr. put me on this fluoroquinolone. She did warn me about possible ‘tendon’ issues, but that was all. Nothing was said about central nervous system issues, tinnitis, problems with sensitivity to light, nervous problems…all of which I have experienced. Also, my hands get and stay very cold, even in 90′ heat. I have problems concentrating, remembering, digestive issues/worsened, muscle weakness/wasting, heart palpitations which come and go, breathing problems. Sound familiar? And what’s crazy is my blood work appears “normal”. Yet, I am far from normal. I was a teacher and had to quit my job, my career, my Life! I was convinced by many doctors that all of THIS was due to the infection I had, not the Cipro (and generic cipro). But I now know this came directly from the prescribed drugs I took. I feel for everyone who has posted here on on social media. So sorry for all of your losses! Big pharmaceutical companies have ruined lives. This is Not ok! For me, I never know how I will feel on a given day. I’m almost 60 years old and I now see that my ‘golden years’ ahead will be tainted thanks to bad medicine and lack of insight on my part.

Judi
I took Levaquin for a bad spider bite. After a week, the bite area was getting necrotic, so the doctor also gave me Cipro. After that, I noticed, that it always felt like my socks were wadded up in my shoes. I’d check, and they were fine. Also my shoulders became very sensitive to cold. I realized I had developed peripheral neuropathy, but never connected the drugs, until years later, when I read a report about the side effects of those two drugs, and realized they started when I took them.

Lahna
I was prescribed Cipro for an uncomplicated UTI (which it didn’t fix) and now have tendon pain all over my body. I’m going for a sonogram and whatever this week to tell me the extent of the damages. It’s still getting worse day by day. Each morning I wake to another sore spot. I am nearly 66, very healthy and strong woman. My doctor never mentioned anything about my age and Cipro warnings.

Cindy
During my pre op lab testing for a spinal fusion I was found to have a symptomless UTI. I was prescribed generic Cipro. Post op I was administered IV Levaquin. Ten days post op I started with severe right thigh pain, numbness in my right leg and my legs would completely give out on me. My neurosurgeon didn’t seem too concerned until 3 weeks post op he gave me a MRI and it showed my heardware had broken. I had fallen down the stairs a dozen times. I was AGAIN given generic Cipro for another UTI and IV post op. The conditions got worse, I was falling all the time. My neurosurgeon dismissed my complaints but I had to apply for Social Security Disability at 52 and was granted it. A year later I was hospitalized with a Blood Sugar of 1269 (Had never been Diabetic). I was given another IV antibiotic in ICU and was unable to move in the bed, walk, hold eating utensils, bath myself, nearly went blind and the list goes on. Nobody could explain these new conditions. I’m just reading about the FDA warnings for Cipro and Levaquin. Guess I have finally solved the mystery. AND it’s PERMANENT. I am a 57 yo widow who lives alone. I can no longer drive because of a partially paralyzed right leg. I am in severe pain, especially at night. What a wonderful life.

ada
I can’t understand why those of us who took ciprofloxacin (Generic) can not sue. My ex doc gave me 500mg a day for 6 days, 4 months in a row and another dose 4 months later for uti. My body is literally slowly dying from this. Nerve, bladder, memory, bone degeneration, mental, weakness, etc, etc. I will never be the same nor can I work or live a full life. It’s not right that these generic companies can get away with this. Sad if I had know how dangerous and that this is suppose to be a last result antibiotic I would have never taken it.

Patti
Hi everyone, My husband was given generic levaquin twice in 2016, the second time with a steroid. He had sinusitis. The combination of the levaquin and steroid, coupled with his ibuprophen use has created horrible side effects that he has been suffering with for months. Our doctors refuse to acknowledge the possibility of the fluoroquinolone toxicity. The sinusitis never cleared up from the antibiotic. I gave him oil of oregano capsules from Gaia Herbs, magnesium lotion from Life Flo (through Amazon), which helps joint pain and panic attacks when it is rubbed on the chest. I also give him Super C vitamin drink mix that i mix in orange juice. Tons of vegetables, fruits, water. One of the most helpful things that he does is epsom salt soak everyday. It helps with brain fog too. Next, we will be trying a holistic doctor to detox the fluoride out of his body. Gook luck to everyone. Check out myquinstory.com or floxiehope on facebook

SCOTT
My story is quite similar… I’ve taken Cipro and Levaquin several times over the past 10 years or so, and had no idea whatsoever that they could be the cause of my afflictions until this January. In December I had all (as I have been led to believe) possible tests to determine why I suffer from Severe Sensory Motor Polyneuropathy. The Nerve Conduction study showed that the nerves tested weren’t conducting signals. The EMG results were similar. All the blood test results were in the normal range. The lumbar puncture was not completed; the doctor couldn’t get the needle in between L4 and L5 because of scarring; we were to attempt taking a cerebrospinal fluid sample the next day (December 28) but the radiology department head nixed that plan, stating that I needed to wait a week or so for any inflammation to subside. My insurance ended the 31st sooo… I’m now in a wheelchair; my right foot is turned sideways. My left foot is slowly doing the same. My fingers are permanently bent, and the muscles in my hands have deteriorated to the point that I can barely hold a pen. I can’t pick up a coin with my thumb and forefinger. My fingers and feet are persistently numb, as well as painful. I also have Degenerative Disc Disease, Cervical Stenosis, and Osteoarthritis. I had a detached retina. I’ve had psychological issues as well. Medical expenses drained my resources. I had to file Chapter 7, and sell my modest townhouse because of an abusive HOA and the management company, Team Management. All my things are in storage and I’m in an extended stay motel. I’m socially isolated because of my disability and almost certainly completely unemployable. The UTIs were excruciating. The July 2014 extreme back pain (could not get up off the floor; involuntary evacuation; passing out; in hospital for 11 days… that is my new “Ten”) was endurable only because 1) no choice; and 2) dilaudid. This “death by a thousand cuts” is far worse. I go on only because there’s some aspect of my psychological makeup which rejects suicide.

Jennifer
I was prescribed Cipro for what I already told my doctor I thought was viral bronchitis. He wanted to cover all bases and treat me with the antibiotic anyway. He never told me of any possible side effects, and neither did my pharmacist when I picked it up. I was on a 10 day course of it. After about a week I started feeling extremely ill with nausea, no appetite, severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and tachycardia, chest pain, dizziness, fatigued, anxious, burning sensation over my body/skin, severe headaches, and all over aches. Around the same time I also developed a bad Candida infection due to the Cipro which spread rapidly into my esophagus, larynx, lymph nodes, etc. My doctor then put me on Diflucan to treat that. I was thinking maybe my symptoms were from the Diflucan. I ended up being told to go to the er by my dr because I was having such severe abdominal pain. I don’t currently have health insurance, so this has all been out of pocket for me. Test results and scans were normal, so I was sent home with nausea meds. Pain in my abdomen got better but the other symptoms persisted. 4 days later, I stood up to walk to my bathroom and suddenly could not bear weight on my left foot. It hurts so badly. I noticed it was swollen right along where the posterior tibial tendon lies. The next day I started getting such horrible pain in the left side of my neck and shoulder to the point that I can not turn my head right or left. My muscles and eyelids started twitching all over as well. I started looking up reasons why would get this constellation of symptoms and tendon injury out of nowhere. That is when I came across the information about Cipro side effects, and it all made sense! I called my dr, and his nurse told me to just wrap it and stay off of it and I will be fine, and that they will add Cipro to my list of allergies. Allergies?! I am not allergic to this drug! This drug is poison! I had to go back to the ER for the horrible pain and immobility. The ER dr was almost defensive saying that the Cipro probably didn’t cause this and that Cipro is perfectly fine to give for simple infections like sinusitis or bronchitis. I tried showing her documents and studies that I found online which contradict that opinion, but I was in so much pain and so exhausted from not sleeping that I just let it go. I have been referred to an orthopedic specialist and will be going tomorrow to find out if I have a partial tendon tear or what. The kicker is, while investigating this further, I found the warning from the FDA stating that this antibiotic should only be used in extreme infections after other treatments fail, and not to prescribe it to patients taking anti-inflammatory meds daily or those who have a connective tissue disease like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus….that these patients are much more susceptible to these severe side effects of the medication. My internal medicine dr who knows me and my history very well prescribed the Cipro to me knowing that I take Voltaren (a strong anti-inflammatory) and that I have an established diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis with overlapping Lupus. Also, if there is supposed to be such a stern black box warning on this medication, and these things are contraindications for being prescribed Cipro, why did the pharmacy system not flag this as a contraindication when I got it filled? I get all of my scripts filled at the same place, so they definitely have in their system that I am on Voltaren as well as Plaquenil (a drug that treats lupus and rheumatoid arthritis). Yet no one said a word to me about it! I did a lot of research and found out that weekly infusions of glutathione can sometimes help Cipro toxicity, so I just started getting those a few days ago at $150 per infusion. I have had to buy several holistic/natural supplements and remedies to battle these awful symptoms. I have lost half of the hair on my head. I fear that I am going to be permanently disabled in some way from this though. I am a widowed single mother of two kids, and I run my own business from home. I have not been able to do anything but lay in bed in agony. I was already dealing with so many health issues and was working hard to get my health back. This has been a HUGE setback! So since I have no insurance, I am out thousands of dollars from 2 ER visits with CT scans, glutathione infusions, tons of vitamins and supplements, the $200 I paid for the visit to my internal med dr (I basically paid him to poison me with this stuff), an office visit at the orthopedist, no doubt imaging they will have to do on my tendons, possible surgery, and definite physical therapy. All because my dr prescribed an antiobiotic to me that I didn’t need and is not safe for me to take! I want justice here!

Karen
I just happened to come across information on Levaquin causing peripheral neuropathy last night. I’m allergic to quite a few antibiotics so treating infections can be challenging. I was frequently prescribed Levaquin between April 2003 and mid 2011 for what was finally diagnosed as late-stage Neuro-Lyme disease. Because I’m hard to treat, I was prescribed Levaquin for 14 to 28 days several times a year. In 2005 I began experiencing horrible skin pain. It was excruciating to have anything touching me. Going to work took everything I had because all I wanted to do was rip off all my clothes and run home screaming. I kept complaining about the pain to my primary and, although he was sympathetic, he never offered a diagnosis or treatment. While preparing an appeal for the denial of my long and short term disability insurance in 2013, I got copies of all my medical records from the initial tick bite in 2003 through 2012. My primary had diagnosed peripheral neuropathy when I first began complaining about the pain in 2005 but he never once told me and the whole time I was going out of my mind with pain. I prevailed in my appeal with a determination of permanent disability with Lyme disease, peripheral neuropathy and a dozen other diagnoses specified. The insurance company paid a company to apply for SSDI on my behalf. In the meantime, I became concerned that a neurologist had never tested me for peripheral neuropathy and I thought having a confirmed diagnosis would help my SSDI application so I asked my headache specialist, a neurologist, for a referral to a neurologist who specialized peripheral neuropathy. That neurologist did multiple tests, including two skin punches, and they all came back normal. He did not do a nerve biopsy. He gently suggested that my symptoms could be psychosomatic and that’s what he told the referring neurologist. My headache specialist had been very sympathetic about my other neurological disorders but when the neuropathy specialist reported the normal test results, he suddenly became downright hostile. He even went so far as to write a disdainful summary of my last office saying I was very ill and should be under the care of a psychiatrist. He then went into MyChart and replaced all of his very carefully written chart notes for the previous nine monthly office visits that included multiple very specific neurological disorder diagnoses for symptoms well documented in my medical records since the 1970s with the exact same disdainful summary of the last office visit. I had already printed the chart notes from the previous visits and as soon as I realized what he’d done I complained to the hospital administration about what he’d done. Suddenly all the original notes were back in MyChart and I got a letter saying he was no longer with that hospital. Unfortunately, he was immediately hired by the hospital where I’m a patient at the pain management clinic. I did see another neurologist in a movement disorder clinic who explained that I could still have peripheral neuropathy even with the previous normal test results. He ordered a series of tests that included a tilt table test. The tilt table test was abnormal but the neurologist who ordered the test left the hospital and there was no follow up. On appeal I was awarded SSDI. Peripheral neuropathy is cited along with Lyme disease and a list of other disorders. I spend the majority of my time actively managing my pain. I’m always between a 7 and 10 on the pain scale. I take the maximum dose of Lyrica for the facial nerve damage caused by Bell’s palsy (a 2005 symptom of Lyme disease) and I think it helps reduce the burning skin pain a little. The pain clinic does not include peripheral neuropathy in the list of over two dozen current diagnoses but I’m in constant pain. I have to slather lidocaine/prilocaine cream all over me before I can get dressed and leave the house. Nights are a nightmare because it hurts to have the sheets touching me. My feet always burn. The texture of socks and other clothing makes the pain worse. Even the seams cause pain. I’m on a low dose rotation between morphine and oxycodone but my new insurance wants prior authorization before they’ll fill my next monthly prescription. The pain clinic’s new position is opioid are only for cancer patients and my primary has to follow their recommendations. 30mg of oxycodone a day for three months then 45mg of morphine for three months is low dose and in the last four years I’ve never asked to have it increased. My primary began prescribing oxycodone in 2007 because I’m allergic to almost all over-the-counter pain meds. Acetaminophen is my only option and that stuff kills liver tissue. He began prescribing 45mg of oxycodone a day but I lowered it to 30mg in 2013. I did go off all pain meds for forty-five days in 2013 but I was in so much pain that I could only curl up in a ball in bed and cry. The pain specialist took pity on me and recommended the opioid rotation. Lidocaine infusions really helped the neuropathic pain but the pain clinic stopped performing them for anyone other than cancer patients. I’m so worried about not being able to fill my opioid prescription next month that I’m losing sleep. I only average four hours a night anyway because it takes forever to reduce the burning skin pain and fall asleep. Six hours is cause for celebration. I feel vindicated now that I know what has caused the neuropathic pain but I don’t understand why only one of the tests was abnormal. Knowing Levaquin caused the nerve damage doesn’t reduce the pain or get my prescription filled.

Taiyla
In response to JKD November 2015 they do make a generic tp cipro called ciproflaxin. I had to take both cipro and levaquin for lyme disease do have to admit the lyme almost killed me but the side affects of these drugs has left my shoulder tendons in shreds. I have had to have 9 surgeries since 2008 as my tendons keep rupturing. The lyme caused neuropathy and is now permanet. I could go on with the problems I am suffering but there is no point. I went from a very athletic outdoor person to one who is on permanent disability and no recourse for my broken life. I try to stay up but it gets old an d sometimes I fail at that. Mu sympathy goes out to each and everyone who is suffering.

Mark
The short list of damage that fluoroquinolones (FQs) did to me includes blood clots, broken blood vessels, bloated failing veins carved from 13 entry points, erratic blood pressure, hemochromatosis, liver damage, kidney damage, pulmonary edema, collapsed lung, hernia, torn lumbar muscle, half dozen bulging discs when I had none a few years before, peripheral neuropathy, shrinking eyeballs, tinnitus, multi-chemical sensitivity, gastrointestinal distress, hair loss, crumbling teeth, nosebleeds, nails fall off, spontaneous tendon ruptures, a cartilage transplant, ligament damage, cognitive impairment and horrific mental anguish, psychosis, anxiety attacks that had me cowering in a corner, from nothing, and one of the worst, was wicked altitude sickness which forced me to bail abruptly from the town I loved so much, Leadville, Colorado, and now I can’t even go to the lower parts of the state without becoming terribly sick. There were/are about a hundred or so other “symptoms” of my fluoroquinolone toxicity, but that gives a quick snapshot of what the last 9 yrs have been all about. I cannot tell you how important it is for everyone to learn what the names of these drugs are and to make sure you do not take them, unless you are exposed to anthrax or the plague, and I would actually try my luck with the plague, seriously. I really wish they would have done something less drastic than giving me Levaquin, like cutting off my leg. That is how awful being “floxed” really is.

Lynn
I took flagyl (metronidazole) for a couple for infection and started with eye troubles. Five months later a eye doctor found that I developed a myasthenia gravis which he said caused this. I’m suffering badly with this. It effects your immune and your organs. Can’t find a attorney to help me to sue them. Please any help OUT there?

Jamie
I took ciprofloxacin for blood in urine. I explained to my Dr. I have always been told I have blood in my urine. 2 weeks later I get severe headaches, numbness and tingling in right arm and leg and not to mention what it did to my vision. Now another Dr. Prescribes me Elevation for sinus and this is the site I found while looking up the side effects. I am so tired of these Dr.s just prescribing anything and not at all concerned of side effects it has on you.

Rae
I was prescribed Cipro in the Army…they give that & 800mg, liver & kidney destroying, Ibuprofen to everyone like Pez candy…..I was on this medication for flu with respiratory/sinus infection and pneumonia that was misdiagnosed as bronchitis………it took only a few days for the neuropathy to kick in full force….the numbness & tingling even while actively moving about all day, the excruciating nerve pain in my feet, hips, shoulders & sciatic nerve root with the weakened immune system directly resulted in my medical discharge several months later after enduring numerous incorrect, un necessary diagnostic & treatment procedures while being told it was all in my head even though my superior ranks could visibly witness my efforts & struggles….it effectively ended my military career at the outset. It took years to find a neurologist to properly diagnose, pinpoint & treat and now monitor my peripheral neuropathy, also labeled idiopathic, and on top of it all I receive absolutely NO military/VA care or benefits at all, as the military is claiming the condition is EPTS (exist Prior To Service) which is a complete load of crap & the records compiled at MEPS compared to the records at MACH will easily prove that by the military’s own hand. I am permanently disabled (yes on disability with 100% rating, again with no military recognition)….I have never experienced any symptoms before the military in which I was repeatedly prescribed Cipro, and other non-reparative symptom-masking drugs along with 23, yes 23, consecutive bone scans with radionuclide contrast, a host of X-rays, and MRIs..amongst other treatment modalities. This occurred between July 2005 and December 2005. Any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated & very helpful as this has literally destroyed my ability to be a self-sufficient productive working citizen.

diane
I have had several bladder infections a year for many years. To obtain relief I have always been prescribed Cipro or Levaquin or a generic. Around 2004 I was diagnosed by a neurologist as having foot and ankle neuropathy. Over the years I have become slowly more unstable on my feet. I feel off balance when I walk and my feet feel like unwieldy clunks. I used to swim daily but had to give up the kicking part because I would get spasms in my legs. I can use stairs with a railing going up but am afraid to go down since a bad fall in 2013. I caught my toe in the brick steps and even though holding the railing was catapulted forward the length of the stairs. Since then I am afraid to go down stairs. Just this month I have been on three courses of Cipro for another bladder infection and just this week I started having trouble with my left knee. When I am walking it suddenly catches and I can’t walk forward.

Glenn
Kevin, I too was prescribed a regiment of ciprofloxacin for prostatitis which began on Wednesday 4-27-2016 to Friday 5-6-2016. All was well for the first 4 or 5 days and then exhaustion began to set in. I just wanted to sleep. My symptoms were that of the flu minus nausea. Over the next few days my body began to feel like It had been hit everywhere with a baseball bat. The aches included the bottoms of both feet, ankles, mild cramping in the calfs, knees, thighs, groin area, torso including lower bak upper back, shoulders, head. All I could think was the flu was just what I needed to go with my recent diagnosis of prostatitis. On 4-27-16 I met with my urologist. He ordered a blood work up, urine. Based on my symptoms. On 5-2-16 I kept my scheduled ultrasound appt for my kidneys and bladder. I felt so so that day. The urologist in turn sent a prescription for ciprofloxacin to my local pharmacy and I picked it up that afternoon and started taking it. I actually began to feel better that night, and like wise for the next few days. By the 30th of April I was beginning to feel irritable and achy for a while, and then i was fine. On 5-4-16 I had a follow up visit with my primary physician and got all of my test results. All was good. Except the diagnosis of prostatits. By 5-6-16 I felt horrible. Night sweats , uncontrolable chills, fever, etc. I reread the side effects page that came with the prescription for a second time with a magnifying glass. Mind you, I wear glasses with bifocals. I had lay down and make heads or tails of what I read again. I dosed off for a while and when I woke I was covered with hives all over my body and limbs. I got dressed and went to my local ER. They took me in immediately. They gave me benedryl, prednisone, pepsid and sent me home. When I woke up on 5-6-16 I felt incredible. Other than what was left of the hives. No flu symptoms. I currently am on prednisone for 5 days until I can get back to my doctors office. From what I have read on this site the side effects come later, as stated in the leaflet that came with the prescription. I’m glad I saw your post. Glenn in cleveland

Carolyn
I had a total knee replacement (left) in May 2012, and was given massive amounts of IV antibiotic while in the hospital. After I went home, I continued on antibiotics for a long time. In fact, I also had continuous diarrhea for about a month after I went home and was told it was from the antibiotics. I have also been prescribed Cipro on and off for upper respiratory conditions over the past several years until I developed an intolerance for Cipro. Not long after I had the knee replacement, I developed peripheral neuropathy (diagnosed by a neurologist) – and of course, it doesn’t ‘go away’ – it’s continuing to get worse. My knee surgeon told me he didn’t know how I got it, but to see a neurologist. After hearing the ad on TV about the class action lawsuit, I decided to look into this problem.

Barbara
I started cipro on 2-1-2016. I called Dr. 24 hours later with index finger swelling so much I couldn’t bend it the Dr. Had no answers. 7 days later my feet felt like dead wiehgts pain like knifes stabbing the bottoms of my feet. Its been two months and the pain is now a six to 7 before it was an 9 on the onset.I walk like a toddler since falling is my biggest fear. My feet shoot pain and wake me up many times there have been a few nights it hasn’t. What makes me mad is I contact the Dr. During the first 24 hours about swollen finger why didn’t she stop then meds then? I called and spoke to her twice the call was about how sick I got. On cipro lost ten pounds in 7 days and my feet were hurting. I don’t think Dr. knew about this drug/poison.

JaneDoe
I have taken Levaquin probably 25 different times since 1998, and Cipro maybe 5 times. I am pretty much disabled. I had no idea and neither did my Dr’s that continued to prescribe Levaquin, twice yearly for Pneumonia and Sinusitus. For the last 12 years while seeing my Dr.s for nerve pain all over, they continued to prescribe these medications while trying to figure out what was happening. Blue Shield wouldn’t authorize anymore tests and backed out of MRI’s and so on that the Dr.s were ordering, siting Pre-existing conditions. How can they be pre-existing conditions when no one said they knew what was going on and continued to prescribe. I have pain in all limbs which includes 20 different varieties of nerve pain including feelings of shocks, burning, stabbing, shark biting me, hot, cold numbness, tingling, acid running down my skin, half my face and chin feeling like I just got out of the dentist and novacaine is wearing off, sweating at regular intervals, freezing, having to turn the heat on and off, ac on and off, depending whats happening every half hour in my house, heart racing, foggy eyesight, twitches, sensitive to being touched even by my bed sheets, tops of feet feel like tendons are tearing, cant sleep, joints hurt off and on, hard to take a shower and wash my hair with my arms going up, and many many other problems. I took the “Brand” Levaquin for years and Cipro, and generic Levaquin in the past few years. My symptons started around 98, but really bad by 04, and now, well I am planning to be crippled I guess. Actually went to the Dr’s again for a Diabetic test a couple months ago thinking maybe that was it. No Dr’s are mentioning this at all. I really don’t think they are informed.

Sandi
I was on and off the generic of levaquin for over a year and a have and one generic of cipro. Total 5 and the last was 500 mg of levaquin generic from a sinus spealist – called cuz I had so much weight bearing on my legs was sore couldn’t move—-it was cripling to feel this way. I also thought I tore my planter fesicitis? Sp but obviously it was a torn do to this medicine. I had lunged forward and it snapped. I had to wear a boot forever. After I was pulled off I had to take meds for nerve damage. It’s been over a year and I’m still taking it. I still have trouble with my foot. I ended up having to take expensive compound meds that didn’t work and had sinus surgery last April. I filled out a claim but like all of u I was screwed cuz my insurance prefers generics. It’s bad enough living w a teachers salary but the cost of this to my interaction with my student, my decline in running , healing etc is horrible.

JKD
Brian sorry but they don’t make a generic brand for Cipro ???? check to make sure what antibiotic you were taking …

Chris
This generic drug devastated my life, and there is nothing I can do about it

Brian
People you arent alone….I took the “generic” for CIPRO on 3 different occasions after some research i realized it was the drug that caused my Peripherial Neuropathy. I went from taking 1 pill a day for blood pressure to taking 16 pills a day for pain!!! took 1 round in 2012 1 again in 2013 and last dose in 2014. After last round i was FLOORED..Literally…I lost my job was having crazy dreams, seeing a neourologist and a neuro-sergeon..At 42 yrs old i had to file for disability. Symptoms: Burning stabbing pains in arms and legs No feeling to heat,cold or touch mid thigh to tips of toes in BOTH legs Entire body BURNS like its on fire. Hands and feet swell badly I could go on and on! Since i took a “generic” and have given many lawyers the manufacturer on the last bottle that i took. Im SOL..What a joke!!! Literally i feel each and everyone of your pains and im sorry that you have to live through this over taking something that you were told was going to make you “Better”!

Vee
Took Levaquin in 2009. Pain in legs accelerate over time, I am unable to walk far distances and have a tear in my leg tendon. I did not make the connection until I checked on the drug and realized it started after I took the ,Levaquin

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