Was prescribed Levaquin (I.V.) in the hospital for the first time on February 26, 2010. Six days later, on March 3rd, I tried to walk to the restroom from my bed and was stunned by severe pain and stiffness in both Achilles Tendons and both hands. My tendons felt as though they had absolutely no elasticity whatsoever and the pain was at least an “eight.” It is now thirteen months later and I show no signs of improvement. My primary care Doc brought up the connection with Levaquin and tendon problems to me in November of 2010; after being given Levaquin three more times since the initial dose. I have had Fibromyalgia since May of 2005 which may have made me more prone to problems. Has anyone out there been successful in suing Johnson & Johnson et al.? THANKS!

I took Savella for only one week and at 10 p.m. , after not feeling good all day, my son took me to the emergency room. They put IV’s in my arm heart monitors on my chest. I had a rapid heartbeat of 175 and it took two cardioversions to finally shock my heart into a normal rythem. I know it was the Savella because I never had this problem before and certainly not since. I suffer from neuropathy in both feet and my doctor gave me a sample and told me to try it and see if I had some relief. My heart went into atrial flutter with rapid ventricular response. Please if an attorney wants to contact me regarding this I have all the paperwork from the hospital that night. Savella should be taken off the market NOW and everyone who suffered from the drug should be compesated……thank you

Yes, you ALL need a lawyer! I have one! They have been very professional. And NO…not a coincidence on your shoulder. Levaquin caused tear in my rotator cuff and the labrynth muscle in the shoulder!! Both require surgery. painful!! I have had the very same symptoms most of you had. I started taking it and just woke up with extreme joint pain and could barely walk! Ridiculous that the FDA knew this but STILL no warning was placed on presc bottles. PLEASE CALL AND GET ATTY ASAP!

On December 31,2010, I began taking Levaquin for 10 days. One month later, I was shaking a 3 liter cannister of liquid weighing about 5 pounds when I felt a sudden sharp pain in my left shoulder. An MRI revealed a tear of my rotator cuff and complete tear of my biceps tendon. ( As a result of a fall on my right shoulder 4 1/2 years ago, I had a partial tear of the biceps. SInce this initial injury, I have done many physical activities with my upper extremtities. I question if this injury is a coincidence or a side effect of Levaquin.

Within 2 days of being prescribed Levaquin, I couldn’t move either arm beyond the height of my waist. Even though I looked it up and quit taking it right away, It has become so severe that some days, I can’t pull the covers off myself to get out of bed. Since I experience several disabilities, my physicians aren’t listening. The pain is becoming worse,and considering the Levaquin was prescribed last SUMMER, and no one will even do anything beyond an x-ray which looks “mostly” nornal, I have nowhere to go. My Rhuematologist said that since these symptoms have lasted this long, it is unlikely to be caused by the drug. HE NEEDS TO READ THE PDR!!! I realize my situation pales in comparison to what those before me have said; my thoughts and prayers are with you. WE need a lawyer to take on a pro bono case against this drug company. Maybe they will listen to the incredible damages it has caused and take it OFF the markert, at the very least….

I was prescribed Levaquin for resistant strep in late October, 2010. After taking this medication for 2 days, my right thumb was so swollen and red it wasn’t functioning. At that point I read the “warnings” and saw the black box warning on tendons. I have SLE and have already had repeated problems with joint pain and a long history of tendonitis. I called the ENT that prescribed it, reporting that I was in extreme pain and that my right elbow was now also affected to the point I could no longer pour coffee. I asked him specifically about the tendon problems associated with the drug to which he responded I needn’t worry – it was a 1 in a million chance and I replied I had been that “one in a million many times”. At this point, he told me I watched too many movies. After the second day of taking the drug I stopped due to the increasing tendon problems I was experiencing and at that point I sought out my GP for her advice. I was sitting right there when she looked up “joint pain” and informed me that there was no indication for “joint pain” and that I was probably experiencing a “lupus flare”. She advised me to take the remaining Levoquin prescription. My thumb returned to normal after a few weeks, however my right elbow has been permanently effected. After about a month, I went back to the ENT, still fighting strep in my tonsils. At this point he wrote me a prescription for Avelox and told me the elbow would “clear up in time”. I went home and promptly looked up Avelox and was very angry to find he had prescribed a sister drug to the one I had just complained about. Luckily, I had a standing appointment with my Rhuematologist, who I consulted with about the possibility of my elbow tendonitis being related to Levaquin. It was her opinion the tendonitis was undoubtedly related, as I showed no other markers of a SLE flare such as the usual accompanying rash and blood test elevations and advised me against taking another course of what amounted to the same medication. I told my ENT of the pain involved in my right elbow which was undoubtedly tendonitis CAUSED by Levaquin according to my Rhuematogist and wanted him to report the drug as having produced this effect to the FDA for them to track. Instead, he gave me a lecture on the difficulties of bringing a drug to market and informed me the only step remaining if I refused the medication was tonsillectomy. After discussing the situation with my husband, I called his office and made another appointment to discuss the tonsillectomy and brought my husband with me. During this appointment I informed him of my decision not to take the Avelox because I was afraid it would worsen an already bad situation. He was very put out that another doctor had overridden his choice of prescriptions and told me that I had “too many cooks in the kitchen” and I needed to decide who to trust. This should of been a major “black box” warning to me to run from his office and find another doctor, yet he was highly recommended. He performed a tonsillectomy on December 16, 2010. I am completely healed from the operation which did yield both Strep C and Strep F living in crypts for who knows how long as I’ve been suffering from “tonsillitis” for years with out ever fully getting rid of the strep. Now I feel that both the ENT and my GP are at fault. Both knew that I had tendon issues, I complained to both regarding my elbow pain and my fear of taking the medication that specifically warned against it’s use. I requested both report my reaction to the appropriate FDA agency that tracks “bad reactions” and determines a drug’s safety and to list Levaquin as an allergy on my chart. To my knowledge neither doctor has complied with my request as they both had a hand in failing to realize the potential threat to my health, despite clear indications from me regarding the cause and effect of Levaquin.

That evil drug killed my soul mate. Even after the first course, she had bad tendon problems, and what do the doctors do prescribe it twice more and send her home with water pills for her swollen extemeties. Criminal conduct on somebodies part!!!!!!!

Too little information, too late to help all the injured. What a travasty to the general population, just for profit.