Avelox and pharmacist

This is day 3 of taking Avelox. OMG, I think I'm going to die! I feel terrible. Exhausted, nausea, panicky, like I can't breathe. After reading all these posts, I"m 100% convinced this is from Avelox. I was driving in the car with my daughter yesterday and had to literally pull over because I thought I was going to pass out. I thought it might be a panic attack so (thank god) I took an Xanax and 15 minutes later felt fine. Felt fine all last night and felt great when I woke up this morning. Took the Avelox and wouldn't you know it, 1/2 hour later starting feeling terrible again. I thought I felt bad from the sinus infection...ha...I'll take that over these side effects any day. Please people, don't take this drug. As soon as I can get a hold of my doctor tomorrow I'm done taking this. I have taken many other antibiotics in my life and never had a reaction to them. This stuff is terrible!

OMG. Started taking Avelox and a cough pill at the same time. Thought the shakes were from being tired from not sleeping since I've had a sinus infection and coughing all night. Wondered if it was just in my mind. Went to the doctor. Told me to stop taking the cough pill. Sent me to the hospital for EKG. Called back and wants me to go to a heart specialist a.s.a.p for changes noticed since last EKG. Scared me badly. I'm only 42. Looked this up on the internet. Told pharmacist about problems. He said he never had anyone have any of my symptoms. Said to stop taking Avelox and drink a lot of water to help flush it out. Won't get out of my body for over 24 hours. Don't think our emergency room would have any clue how to help me since it isn't an allergic reaction just a side effect. Evidently most people who had trouble with this horrible drug have survived to write about it which gives me hope that I will too.

Let me just start off by saying that I have not had any allergic reactions to medications before. I don't have allergies to any foods or external stimuli like dust or pollen. But literally two minutes after taking Avelox, I started sneezing uncontrollably. Then my nose filled with mucus and I started itching all over my body, most notably on my arms, legs, and scalp. Then I felt that my skin was burning. I looked in the mirror and my face and body were bright pink. I called the pharmacist and she told me to take Benadryl and if my throat started to close up I should go to the hospital. Well, I didn't have any Benadryl, because I don't have any allergies, so I had to drive three blocks to the CVS. At this point, my face is starting to swell up: my eyelids, my nose, my lips and my ears are twice their normal size. I have hives all over my arms and legs. I'm shaking because I feel so cold--my body temperature was only 94 degrees. I took two Benadryl but it didn't really work until I took the 2nd dose four hours later. I ended up at the hospital because I felt like there was something stuck in my throat and was unsure whether that meant that my throat was closing up, but they were so busy that I never made it past triage, where my blood pressure was only 80/40 and my heart rate was 120. We waited in the waiting room until I was able to take the second dose of Benadryl and left. All this after only one dose. I would advise extreme caution with Avelox.

I was prescribed Avelox 400mg for a bacteria infection for 10 days. When my pharmacist filled the prescription and gave it to me, he indicated if I have any type of joint pain to discontinue taking the medication and call my physician. After taking Avelox for 5 days I started to experience extreme pain in my right arm. I could not even brush my hair due to the excruciating pain. I stopped taking the medication right away and called my physician. Two days after stopping the medication, I still have severe pains in my arm. Unfortunately, my physician has not called me back and I am hoping that the pain will subside and not cause any other problems.

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.

Severe pain in my right ankle area. I had taken avelox with prednisone for 7 days. My pharmacist had read where it could attack your tendons in rare cases.

I took Avelox as I left the doctor's office. ( she had given me a sample) I was driving my 2 year old daughter home when I began to feel panic, fear, Tremors, tingling in my head, dizziness and an overall sense of illness. We live in the country, and I was afraid if I pulled over, no one would stop for a long time, and my daughter would be caught in the car. It took all my focus to get us home, and I felt if I could just get her in the house, I would call the ambulance, and she'd be safe.

I was weak and dizzy, so first I called my husband to tell him to come home and to call a squad. He called the neighbor, and she came right over. We both called the doctor I had just left, and a pharmacist. They told me I had an adverse effect to the medicine, and to drink lots of water. I was also experiencing severe dry mouth, and a headache, muscle fatique, and tingling.

With 4 glasses of water the symptoms began to subside. Later that night, I had occasional chest pains. I was told by the physician to stop using the drug.

I have since found out the label says "Do not Drive". I am so thankful nothing happened to my baby daughter, and we were able to make it home safely.