Avelox and nausea

On 7-1-08, I went to the doctor for ETD(tubes blocked) and a Sinus infection. The doctor prescribed Avelox for my symptoms. I began taking this in the evening and by the following morning I developed mild stomach pains. I went through the day in discomfort but did not think that I needed to go back to the doctor. By the evening (2nd pill) the pain in my stomach increased 10 fold. The pain would come in waves about every minute. It felt as if someone was sticking a knife in my stomach.

This continued through the night and into the morning. At 8am, on th 3rd, I was back in my doctors office to see what was going on. They told me to stop taking the Avelox and put me on a different medication. I then went and spoke with the pharmacist who suggested that I try some over the counter gas relief medicine. I took the gas relief medication and it decreased the pain to a mild stomach ache.

It is now the 7-5-08 and the mild stomach pains are still here. I thought about going to the E.R. to have blood work done to see if there is some sort of medication that can counter-act the Avelox. I will wait one more day. I will never take this medication again.

My husband is in Nepal right now with a sinus infection. His doc gave him Avelox to take with him 'just in case'. So, with the blessing of the nurse practioner via phone, he took the Avelox. He called me in tears. I've been married for 7 years and believe me, my husband is never 'in tears'...he experienced an initial, intense flush on nausea and then became panicked, hyperventilating, paranoid, dizzy, and weak. I thought he was having a complete nervous breakdown. Then, the more I thought about it...it somewhat echoed a reaction that I had in the past to epinephrine...at the dentists office I was given a beta blocker with epinephrine in it, and immediately began to feel extreme panic, tears, shakiness, shortness of breath yada yada...and I'm someone who really could care less about the dentist. So. it turns out I'm "epi-sensitive" - anyway, upon recalling this...I mentioned to husband that perhaps he is not going insane, and instead is a having a reaction to the Avelox. So I checked online and am blown away by all of the horror stories. WTF? Why is this even being prescribed to people???? Why aren't we getting together a major class action lawsuit? I am just enraged. I called the emergency line to the doc's office...got a different doc, who said he never would have prescribed this antibiotic for sinus/ear infection.
WTF?!
That is specifically what is was prescribed for!!!
He said to take a benadryl and monitor symptoms - and that if there was ANY swelling to get to a hospital, pronto.
Spread the word! We are being experimented on with this drug.
What a nightmare.

I had a really bad case of strep throat because I thought it was a cold or flu and didn't go to the doctor for 12 days...but then I finally went because my throat hurt so bad and my glands were so swollen. I don't have insurance and maybe that's why the doctor gave me ten free samples of avelox right off the bat instead of just prescribing penicillin. I took the first dose and I would say my sore throat and swelling were 80% gone within the FIRST THIRTY MINUTES. So, definitely this is a very strong antibiotic compared to the Z-pak (zithromax) I've taken for bronchitis before. It's now day 4 and I have to say I am reluctant to take it for 10 days!! I haven't had any severe reactions, just bloating, diarrhea, dizziness, and some tiredness. And pretty strong nausea for the first hour, so I have been pushing the dose time from 9am to gradually later at night where I am not so sensitive. I am 33yrs old, healthy and eat well usually so I think my strong constitution has kept me from some of the more severe reactions I see above. HOWEVER, I do feel that it's a bit too strong! Surely there must be some way to lower the dosage of this antibiotic? I feel that it's worked well, but it just is too much like a SLEDGEHAMMER!

I took this after landing in the hospital with mono, strep and pneumonia. It seemed to work well to treat all of those (combined with another antibiotic) but it has bad side effects--dizziness, nausea, rash all over (arms and legs especially...and it gets worse in the sun), and i've also noticed little bumps all over my lips. I'm not sure if this was caused by the avelox or the famciclovir they gave me...has anyone experienced any of these side effects with avelox? I'm especially interested in anyone who has experienced bumps on their lips...

I was put on Avelox 6 days ago along with methylprednisolone for a severe sore throat, chest congestion, and cough. Since taking the medication, I have had episodes of anxiety, panic (hard to catch my breath which leads to the feeling of panic), restlessness, trouble sleeping at night, nausea, and problems with my memory (I have had numerous episodes where my mind blanks and I forget what I was going to do or what I was in the middle of doing). My emotions have been all over the place since taking this. I have had episodes where my body just feels very strange. I also have had bursts of pain in my left hip. I am only 41 and have never had this happen before. I was attributing it to my illness because I was very sick at first but now the illness is gone (except for a little congestion that is left) and I am stilling having side effects. It didn't occur to me until today that it could be the medication because I've never had any bad side effects from medication except getting sick to my stomach with codeine. I decided to research Avelox and now am convinced about its side effects. I won't be taking my last pill and will call the doctor tomorrow.

I wonder if mixing Avelox and methylprednisolone caused any effects? Haven't researched that yet.

had a sinus infection after a cold- z pack did not work - was given prednisone and 21 days of avelox - after 7 days had a lot of dizziness and lightheadedness - feeling hot and warm - tongue feels hot and inflamed and worst headaches - no more sinus infection - stopped the drug - anyone know how long it might take for headache to abate after stopping this drug.?? please email me at marlenie1955@yahoo.com. thanks.

I'm on day 12 of a 14 day course of Avelox.

I usually have problems with antibiotics that are of the Quinilone or Floxin family so I was worried about taking this medication.

I've hung in there so far. I seem to have had a middle ear infection caused by my sinusitis problems.

I have noticed some nausea, increased urination and tiredness. I haven't had any joint pain; maybe a bit of stiffness.

I never had antibiotic problems till the newer forms of the old antibiotics became popular. I know I'm allergic to sulfa drugs but never had problems with any other medications till recently.

Now I can't decide if it's worth the pain and misery to take the antibiotics that are now available.

I have had the same reactions you all describe but here is how you can sort of combat them.

Take a drug called Dicetel with your food, it prevents bowel spasms and eases the nausea and vomiting. A lot of the overall sick feeling you get from Avelox is because of the stomach upset, nausea and vomiting

Take an anti anxiety drug called Ativan each morning or as required.This prevents the sudden tightening of the chest that Avelox causes which prevents you from being able to take a breath in, which then leads to symptoms that resemble an anxiety attack because your body releases chemicals to prevent the spasm and they cause symptoms like an anxiety attack. Ativan is technically is an anti anxiety drug but it relaxes the chest muscles allows you to take in air and thus stops the rapid heartbeat which then leads to these bizarre effects. Let your doctor think its anxiety if you have to, the key is to get the drug down and kill the infection, do what you have to do.

Now keep in mind you will still be bedridden due to exhaustion and weakness, because Ativan makes you drowsy, and Avelox makes you toxic but at least you wont be freaking out, breathing wildly, or throwing up and you have some hope of beating the bug

I was given Avelox after sinus surgery in August. I called the doctor told them I felt awful sick and nauseated. He switched me to another antibiotic. Here I am in December still not better been on at least two other antibiotics since the bought in August. I started Augmentin 3 weeks ago and had horrible itching after about a week being on it. Went back to my Doctor who out put me back on Avelox. Took the first dose at about 9 am within 30 minutes my throat was itchy and I was breaking out in hives and went into a panic attack. Took Benadryl as well as was prescribed Xanax for anxiety attacks still going on. I don't know if it is the fear of my throat closing but my pharmacy now has warnings for me for Penicillins as well as Avelox related drugs. Never had drug reactions before ever now . Went back to ENT put me on Medro pak which after seeing an allergist recommended. He also wanted me on Biaxin but I am not taking it at this point. There are allergy tests for drugs I would recommend and anyone experiencing any side effects to be checked after reactions to Avelox after reading this board I realize I was having an allergic reaction the first time in August and never should have been on it again.

After exactly 2 hours of ingesting the Avelox 400mg. pill, I suddenly felt a sensation of vertigo as I was standing in my kitchen talking with my young daughter. This was followed by extreme dizziness. I had to lie down for the next hour and a half as I had no balance. I felt slight nausea as well. I spoke to the pharmacist on the phone and she said these symptoms were fairly common (2-5%) and I should try to continue taking the drug the next day, "if I could stomach it." It was very hard speaking to her as I was also experiencing severe confusion; it was hard to form my thoughts and to string them together into a sentence. I went to bed feeling groggy but slept okay for most of the night; only slight insomnia in the early morning hours. The next day, I felt physically and mentally disoriented; I was incapable of driving my daughter to school and my mind felt completely "zonked out of it" -- "stupid" -- like my mind was almost a blank. It's a shame because my sinuses and bronchitis felt a bit clearer already -- but I simply could not go through that experience again -- I have a life to lead and can not spend 9 more days incapacitated, lying on a couch and incapable of looking after my 4 year old daughter. I usually take medicines just fine and am not prone to side effects, so this experience took me totally by surprise.