I wonder if anyone can answer this, I was in hospital a couple of years ago and was given Levofloxacin and within no time I couldn't walk, I was very scared! it appears the drug had affected my achilles tendon. Of course I was told it couldn't be the drug!! I have reactions to a lot of drugs and am always told it cannot possibly be down to the drugs. I saw my consultant the other day and quite honestly his attitude was really dreadful, I think he's given up on me. I had a hearing test to establish whether or not I could start Azithromycin and he says not as my hearing is not good and I may lose what hearing I already have. I pointed out that earlier in my records I was on Ciprofoxacin, there was no note of a reaction to it! he has now given me a prescription to try it and if I have a reaction to go to A&E immediately and I will have to have IV. Has anyone taken these AB's and were good on one and not the other? I have colonised psdeumonos, bronchiectsasis, COPD, I had TB a few years ago too.
ciprofloxacin V levofloxacin - Lung Conditions C...
ciprofloxacin V levofloxacin
Pete takes both of the antibiotics you mention and does well although he has hearing problems.
If you do have reactions to the antibiotics, which some do, then an alternative is preferable.
Hope things improve for you. Xxxx
I have been taking cipro 750mg twice per day for 14 days about 2-3 times per yr since 1986. It has never affected my tendons but I know that it does in some people. Maybe you wd be better to have a clear out on IV , something like meropenem then go on to a nebulised antibiotic such as colomycin as a long term prophylactic. If uour con is truly a bronch expert they should know this.
I have used the ciprofloxacin only once. My dr told me both drugs will only be used on very bad infections as they cause tendonitis, which could end up making me very I'll. Sorry cant help anymore. Must admit 1 2 week course killed off the bugs. Seemingly very lucky. Hope your ok x Maz
Thank you that's reassuring !
I can't have Cipro as I get Tendonitis in my Achilles Tendon but I've never tried levofloxacin. But I looked on this page bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/levofl... and it says
"Tendon damage (including rupture) has been reported rarely in patients receiving quinolones. Tendon rupture may occur within 48 hours of starting treatment; cases have also been reported several months after stopping a quinolone. Healthcare professionals are reminded that:
quinolones are contra-indicated in patients with a history of tendon disorders related to quinolone use;
patients over 60 years of age are more prone to tendon damage;
the risk of tendon damage is increased by the concomitant use of corticosteroids;
if tendinitis is suspected, the quinolone should be discontinued immediately."
I had tendinitis from cipro some years ago. Couldn’t walk properly for months but healed eventually. It’s NOT an uncommon side effect. I’m treated at the Brompton which is a specialist hospital & their policy is, once you’ve had tendinitis ALL quinolones are out. You run the risk of not just inflaming your Achilles but actually popping them, which would be disastrous. I think you need to find yourself a new consultant! One who a) knows what they’re talking about and b) doesn’t have an attitude problem
Thank you I'm afraid I'm stuck in a small hospital, don't think my doctor would refer me to somewhere like the Brompton! it would be like cutting my own throat , although my con is know for his not so helpful
attitude!!
The Brompton takes referrals from consultants and GPs. I don’t see how your GP can refuse, if you’re not happy with your current treatment. Here’s a direction from the MHRA I just found online, dated March 2019
cas.mhra.gov.uk/ViewAndAckn...
Is your consultant not aware of this?
This is your life & your health Angie, don’t be bullied into accepting poor quality care. Stand up for yourself.
Ps if you do a search in BLF, you’ll see lots of us have had cipro-related tendinitis! I think it’s massively under-reported so drs think it’s rare
You are entitled to be referred to any hospital. Your condition is not being managed properly. Look at your nearest teaching hospital for the bronchiectasis specialist. Take the name to your GP and insist on a referral. We have to be very pro active in our interests and vociferous in sourcing the right treatment. It is your health at stake not theirs!
Hi I'm currently taking ciprofloxacin, doxy and clairithromycin didn't work, so my doc gave me this for 10 days. I have found it to be very good and I'm much better now
All fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause Tendonitis, even years after use, so it may not be the levofloxacin in this case, but the earlier use of cipro. It might be possible to test your infective tissue against a number of alternative ABs to see if others will work.
Just for the record I had TB a few years ago and had to take so many pills at the same time, I cannot tell you how bad I was on them, I had to stop and take each one individually until my body got used to them and then take them all again at the same time for 6 weeks, horrendouse time in my life!
Provided you can get a bacterial sample, eg from lung mucous or blood, then a hospital lab can test against a standard package of ABs. Unfortunately, they tend to test against the SAME package for almost anything so, if you've been on some of those ABs before, your doctor would have to direct them to try something else. Given that you've had so many in the past, I wouldn't have thought it sensible to try different ones "blind" without testing their efficacy first in the lab. I think your GP would be sympathetic to that approach.
Hi Angie just want to say I have adverse reactions to so many medications that non of the doctors can not understand. They try to tell me “it’s not the medication” but I go by what my body tells me. Good luck Barbs x
Hi Barbs, sorry to hear you have reactions too but cannot understand why the doctors poo hoo it when you tell them, it's left me feeling that I am somehow getting it all wrong. Let me explain what's happened recently- I have had 6 months or so with vision disturbance, quite bad twice a day sometimes! I was getting quite worried, had my eyes tested and got ful bill of health there! thought I ought to see my doctor as I have tinnitus too, doctor sent me for brain scan and further eye tests that was 6 weeks ago, no results yet!! however, the vision disburbance has cleared in the last couple of weeks and it just ocurred to me that I have recently finished a long term of several of months of Clarithromycin, so do I suggest to my doctor that he has wasted time and money on scans when actually the vision disturbance was down to the antibiotic? I think he'll get me a straight jacket!!!
Hi I was prescribed furosemide for swollen feet. I became extremely anxious and had the shakes I felt absolutely terrible. I knew it was the pills and went to see the doctor. Unfortunately it wasn’t my own doctor who knew how I could react to so many different medications. Anyway this doctor categorically said it wasn’t the pills. He pulled up the patient leaflet out of the medication to show me it wasn’t a side affect. He then proceeded to explain the process of mental illness. He started with a visit to a doctor and went right through to when a person was sectioned. He scared me so much I was so glad I had my daughter with me, she couldn’t believe what the doctor was saying.
When I got home I went on my iPad and put a search “can furosemide cause anxiety” and low and behold there was pages of information on it. I printed it off, made an appointment with my own doctor took the printed paper. I explained to her what had gone on and asked her to pass the papers on to the doctor I had previously seen. She didn’t say much but I could tell my the look on her face that she wasn’t best pleased with him.
I always believe it’s worth putting a search on google asking the question in a different way. I also believe that we should listen to our bodies doctors don’t have all the answers. Stick to your guns Angie, take care Barbs x.
Been given 500mg Ciprofloxacin 2x a day for 7 days for a suspected persistent
UTI. I started getting flushed cheeks, numb lips and cheeks and noticed that I
salivated more than usual. Phoned the GP 6 of 14 tablets in to say I'm having
the facial numbness and such. The GPs just said it won't be permanent and to
continue the course. Then 3 weeks after my abdomen was so sore I had to go to
the emergency room. They thought it was appendicitis and did a CT scan that
came up negative. In the meantime I’m still having debilitating abdominal pain,
but the GPs just fob me off to take paracetamol. (which is in itself not a good
thing to take over long periods due to the liver toxicity) Now I read online
that some of these side effects have been reported to persist longer than a
year, which could be considered permanent as they don’t follow up after one
year.
I’ve also started getting horrible pain in my groin where my thigh meets my
trunk where the big tendon is. I suspect the pain might be from the Ciprofloxacin. I’ve been
very anxious as well because there was a possibility that this was cancer and
the GPs just snidely told me to calm down. Now I read that anxiety is one of the side
effects of the medication.
Due to covid it’s near impossible to see anybody in person, so they try to just
fix everything with phone consultations and medication without examining the
patients. Now that I’ve read up on the horrible side effects I can’t fathom why
the GP told me to continue taking it.
The abdominal and groin pain started after I completed the course. I sincerely
hope this is not a permanent feature now, because I’ve been let go because of
Covid and now I’m unemployed, but can’t commit to starting a new job if I’m
going to keel over during the day. I’m furious now.
I could not take levofloxin. I also started to have Achilles heel problems. But I Googled and there it was in black and white exactly what you and I were experienced. Ciprofloxin as it made me deaf too
Omg…I just read your post about Levofoxacin!! I started taking it 6 days ago for sinus infection. On day 4 I had severe joint pain in elbows, knees and heels (Achilles area). I quit taking it after research came up with this possible side effect. My Achilles on both sides are still very inflamed. I thought I was crazy…so relieved that it’s not just me!
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