"Death by Levaquin" Brain/Body Toxic Drug

Down the Rabbit Hole: Chronic illness from Levaquin toxicity.

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:57:30 +0000

Down the Rabbit Hole Blog – A world of chronic illness from Levaquin.

Another Fluoroquinolone victim. Thank you for your advocacy.

http://lmccand.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

Young girl poisoned by Cipro.

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:23:50 +0000

Comment left on blog. Another Cipro victim. This time it is a young girl who is now falling behind in her school assignments. Her mother is looking for a doctor in the Huntsville Alabama area. A doctor that is open minded and willing to acknowledge this possibility. If anyone knows a doctor in this area that can provide some assistance it would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Comment:
Please Help!!! My 16-year-old daughter was given Cipro twice in a local ER. Once in late Jan., 2 X 500 for 10 days; and once in early May, 2 X 250 for 3 days. We knew nothing about these drugs, but after the first pill of the second round, she developed sudden onset anxiety, insomnia, and other CNS symptoms. She has also had two infections which were either caused by the Cipro, or complicated her recovery. Other symptoms which may be connected or may not be, but all tests are coming up negative. She was homebound all summer, and now that school has started, we are in desperate need of a doctor that actually knows something about these side effects, or at the least does not think we are faking it. The school is clearly already getting tired of her being out. Our current GP has tried to be open-minded, but clearly does not know much, because they keep prescribing her things she probably shouldn’t be taking. We live near Huntsville, Alabama. Originally felt her reaction was in the “mild” class, and thought we might have reached the halfway point, but with this latest virus causing a return of some symptoms plus some new ones, not sure!!mrussell01@msn.com

Profits before Patient Safety Video.

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:33:06 +0000

Video from Pharmagossip. Profits before Patient Safety.

http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2010/08/people-power-drug-money-this-is-must.html

Comment left by School Psychologist damaged from Levaquin.

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:24:27 +0000

I was given levaquin by IV to treat a tooth infection on June 16, 2010,two days before my sons wedding, then followed up with 7 days of 500mg. I had pain in my toe joints that kept me awake the first night of the oral dosage. That was only the beginning of the nightmare I am living. During the treatment and for weeks after I had severe pain in my thighs and upper arms radiating across my chest on the left side, I could barely make it from my bed to the couch daily. The second weak I noticed muscle atrophy on my left thigh and calf, clearly different from my right leg. Then the pain became particularly intense on my right leg followed by at atrophy in that leg as well as my arms. The fourth week I had trouble breathing and severe rib pain. After numerous trips to a primary care, blood tests that were normal, x-rays that were normal, I found a rheumatologist who had treated the painful rheumatoid responses to Levaquin. He prescribed Indomethacin, 75 mg, twice a day. It seemed to help with the rheumatoid symptoms, but my stomach can’t tolerate it. Then more symptoms started, head and neck pressure, agitation, increased anxiety, vertigo, nausea. I place ice packs on my neck and head to reduce the swelling feeling. A burning sensation down my spinal column and painful areas there is also occuring. I am particulary upset and worried about the Central Nervous System effects, focus, cognition, vertigo, emotional regulation, etc. This drug has access to vital brain tissue and transmission. The pain and effects seem to move from place to place. I am completely debilitated, can’t drive places, and live alone now. My life is like a living hell at this point and I am doubting my ability to return to work as a School Psychologist in the fall. I was a slender, healthy 62 year old woman, an avid skiier and kayaker. I am so angry! Information about the debilitating and often permanently damaging drug has been known for years and it was given to me 2 months ago. I would welcome sharing information with other Levaquin sufferers, about symptoms, law suits, and any possible treatments.

Jane

Avelox

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:46:06 +0000

The Two Faces of Avelox

August 26, 2009. By Gordon Gibb

Washington, DC: The Avelox antibiotic and related Avelox side effects—tendon rupture among them—is yet another example of the prescription drug culture we find ourselves in today. Drugs are designed to do incredible things, such as eradicate serious bacterial infections. However in so doing, they can also create irreparable harm and the manufacturers know well the risks involved.

It says so right on the medication information.

On the official Avelox website, the viewer is welcomed with reassuring words as to the effectiveness of Avelox (moxifloxacin hydrochloride) as a highly-active antibiotic effective against many different strains of bacteria. The web site home page goes on to describe how Avelox has a “well-characterized safety profile, which has been studied in over 14,000 patients in clinical trials and 92,000 patients in post marketing surveillance studies. Furthermore Avelox has been used to treat over 117 million patients worldwide.”

Important safety information for patients as well as health care professionals can be found inside a red box. Among the three choices is a link to the ‘Dear Health Care Professional’ letter relating to the request in October of last year by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that Avelox be outfitted with a black box warning for tendonitis and tendon rupture.

“Fluoroquinolones, including Avelox (is) associated with an increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture in all ages. This risk is further increased in older patients usually over 60 years of age, in patients taking corticosteroid drugs, and in patients with kidney, heart or lung transplants.”

The reference to tendonitis and tendon rupture is also found in the Avelox Medication Guide for patients, to which web surfers viewing the official Avelox home page can link.

Below the introductory paragraph in the pdf version of the medication guide is the header: ‘What is the most important information I should know about Avelox?’

And here it is:

“Avelox belongs to a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. Avelox can cause side effects that may be serious or even cause death. If you get any of the following serious side effects, get medical help right away. Talk with your healthcare provider about whether you should continue to take Avelox.”

Such is the reality of the modern pharmaceutical drug culture. Powerful drugs that are developed to fight serious disease and help Americans live longer, can also be harmful. They can even kill. And yet such drugs continue to be legitimately available so long as sufficient warnings are provided and the FDA can retain the view that benefits outweigh the risks.

Avandia and Ghostwriting.

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:56:11 +0000

Pharma Blog » 2010 » July » 16

Baylor College Probes Avandia And Ghostwriting

Make a commentBy Ed Silverman // July 16th, 2010 // 10:18 am

Three years ago, Steve Haffner briefly gained notoriety when he leeked a meta-analysis of GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia diabetes that was to be published in The New England Journal of Medicine. At the time, Haffner served as a peer reviewer and the breach allowed the drugmaker to respond very quickly to publication. But a recent US Senate Finance Committee investigation shows his ties to Glaxo were complicated – he was the lead author on an Avandia paper that was apparently ghostwritten before appearing in Circulation (back story here and here).

A Glaxo spokeswoman has denied any ghostwriting took place and maintains Haffner authored the paper, providing “substantial input.” Moreover, she says the drugmaker follows accepted “authorship practices.” But Baylor College of Medicine isn’t so sure. The school, where Haffner is employed part time after retiring from the University of Texas Health Science Center, is investigating the episode and considering whether to penalize the assistant professor, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required). “We will conduct our own review of this issue and subsequently make a well-informed determination of whether this affects his continued part-time employment,” a university spokeswoman tells the paper.

And Circulation, which is published by the American Heart Association and has policies against ghostwriting, may conduct its own probe. “If we find out that an author has deliberately misrepresented themselves, we will take appropriate steps in response, including possibly notifying the lead author’s institution so the institution can investigate,” an AHA spokeswoman tells the paper.

Ironically, Haffner was quick to express outrage at alleged transgressions commited by others. Three years ago, he accused Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steve Nissen, who authored the 2007 meta-analysis and co-authored a recent update, of throwing “Molotov cocktails” at the Glaxo and Avandia, and accused the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet of behaving like British tabloid – absent photos of topless women – for running editorials lambasting Avandia data (back story). Haffner, meanwhile, was a member of the Glaxo speakers bureau (look here).

No Cipro Please.

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:23:13 +0000

NO CIPRO Blog: Another victim speaks out.

http://nociproplease.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/another-rather-grim-day-in-ciproland/

Ban on pharmaceutical gifts from the Boston Globe.

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:15:01 +0000

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Ban on gifts from industry must stay – The Boston Globe

RE “BAN on drug industry gifts could be lifted’’ (Metro, June 25): As a community physician, I feel obliged to speak out against the proposed repeal of our state’s pharmaceutical industry gift ban.

My colleagues and I are all very aware of how pervasive and corrupting this industry’s aggressive marketing tactics have been. The existing law, instituted less than two years ago, is just part of what needs to be a larger ongoing attempt to reduce and eliminate the massive overspending and unsound medical decisions that result from unrestrained pharmaceutical marketing.

For the health of our patients and the integrity of the medical profession, this law needs to be strengthened, not repealed.

James Recht, MD
Cambridge

Levaquin victim shares her story of abandonment.

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:48:55 +0000

I was given Levaquin in July 2009. I have a very complicated medical history and it is very important for my doctors to be very careful when prescribing. My pulmonary had me in for a followup. I tend to have pulmonary issues. He gave me 750 mg of Levaquin for a 5 day period. I have never been so sick. I have MS and I have Hep.C. I have never had pain in my joints before, the pain is horrific, I have eye floaters, the drug attacked my liver, spleen and gallbladder. I had to have my gallbladder removed. My skin itched in the beginning, but 2 days into the drug my skin was so sore no one could touch me. My skin is still very sore and this is June 17th, 2010. I hear constant background noise, have severe headaches, but they are not migraines, the headache is in the base of my skull, I just saw my neuro and she knows I was poisoned by the drug but is in such fear of a medmal lawsuit basically has told me to find another MS doctor. Now why she is so afraid is beyond me.

She is now in with a group of doctors and they tend to treat more elderly people. I have noticed that when I am there I am the youngest. I retrieved my mri reports from 2008, 2009 and now 2010. In 2008 and 2009 my MS was stable. No more lesions or white matter. The doctor who gave me the drug states that my MRI’s have stablized. Now the 2010 MRI shows diffused atrophy, and other items that were not there before I took the drug. I had my MRI in June 2009 and I was given the drug in July 2009.

Where I live no one wants to talk about Levaquin. Probably because most of the doctors here are actively using it. with the exception of one, my new family doc told me he would never prescribe it again and did not have samples. The drug reps are trying to make a case that the drug is safe but that is false.

Levaquin also will not cure a viral infection. So for anyone with acute bronchitis or upper respiratory problems this drug will not work. In the notes from the last appt I had with the doctor who gave me this drug he noted that the antibiotic therapy did not work. I was on a walker that day, I was so sick from the medicine, and this genius ordered a CT Scan of my lung. Wow…..why didn’t he think of that in the beginning.

The CT Scan showed the enlarged spleen, gallbladder which explained the horrific pain I was in.

This doctor totally abandoned me. He would never take my calls and when I did see him in the hospital he ran from me.

Tell everyone you know about the dangers of this drug. I am very weak, very sick and very depressed and it has been a year. Good luck to everyone who has been poisoned by this terrible drug.

Lariam toxicity stories.

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:12:00 +0000

Stories of mental effects from Lariam.

http://www.lariaminfo.org/pages/wp-content/uploads/sunday-telegraph-colour-less-than-7-mb1.pdf