Allergic RX to Levaquin

pilotwifeHOU · 02-17-2007, 07:12 PM

Hi there!
I was just browsing through and read about the person with strep and that she took Levaquin. Have you know any patients to have an allergic rx to that med? I took it last fall for the same thing, strep throat and had horrible rx. I couldn't sleep and by 2 or 3 am I was having a hard time breathing my hands and feet were feeling numb and tingling and my heart was pounding. DH called the EMS and they came out and said I was just having a panic attack. I had never had a panic attack in my life! They took me on in to the ER and the nurse said it was a side effect of the Levaquin. I had also taken a Guafin that evening as well. Anyway, the MD gave me a benedryl and that helped relax me a little . I didn't sleep at all that day and slept pretty good the following night. I still had a few episodes of the panicky feeling and ended up back at the ER after a couple of weeks......longer story. But they ran all kinds of tests for my heart (my HR wouldn't go down) and everything was normal, just tachycardia - - which I knew that! Just no rhyme or reason other than anxiety at that point.
Anyway, just wandering if you had had any pts with the same rx to the Levaquin.
Tricia

Dana · 02-18-2007, 12:18 PM

Hi Tricia,
I have not seen that type of reaction to Levaquin (Levofloxacin) but anything is possible.
Typically, it is a rash, nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, difficulity breathing, lip, tongue swelling, etc...
Usually if you are allergic to a medicine, you may get an elevated heart rate short term but that is usually with a severe reaction and is corrected with IV fluids.

That is why I hate it when providers throw these cannon drugs at things that can typically be treated with tried and true drugs like Penicillin (first drug of choice for strep) unless your are allergic then Z-pac or errythromycin... Levoquin should be reserved for severe cases of sinusitis, pneumonia, severe UTI's, etc. Just my opinion...

Have you ever taken Ciprofloxacin, gatafloxacin, norafloxacin, ofloxacin? They are all the same family of drugs...
Dana

pilotwifeHOU · 02-18-2007, 03:33 PM

Actually, I took the Cipro and had a rx to it before the levaquin. It gave me nausea, diarrhea and just all over felt worse than I felt before (it was for Strep) I should explain - my son had strep 6 times last year before they finally took his tonsils/adenoids out in Jan. In that time frame, I kept catching the strep from him. Guess the doc was trying different things. However, when I had strep last time, I went to the urgent care clinic, not my reg. md, because it was the weekend of Christmas. He gave me a Zpack that did just fine.
So the cipro is in the same family as Levaquin? Wonder why my md gave me levaquin knowing I had the rx to the cipro.

Dana · 02-18-2007, 06:03 PM

Well that would be a good question...
Actually nause, diarrhea and general poor feeling are side effects. Many people DO NOT tolerate either med, Cipro or Levo (that whole class of drugs), like I have said, they are CONNON's! I use them last ditch when someone is really sick and I tell my patients that the med may make them ill also. Depends on how ill the med makes them and how sick they are that requires the med. I always start with Penicillin, move to Azithromycin (Z-Pac) and then on to Erythromycin (EES) for streps.

I would just tell the next provider that you don't tolerate Floroquinolone drugs well and mention the side effects they cause you. It will be up to you and your provider to weight the side effects and the benifits and what your other options are.

Don't feel bad by telling a provider what has worked well for you in the past. I try to ask my patients "what have you taken in the past for this?" Sometimes they look at me like "do you know what you are doing?" Actually I do, I just want to know what has worked for you in the past so you don't have to go down the road you described.

d

pilotwifeHOU · 02-18-2007, 06:24 PM

Thanks for the advice. I sure appreciate it. It's nice to talk to someone who is not on a 10 minute time limit. I feel for the md's in the day and age. So much pressure. Unfortunately that can have negative impact on the patient. Thanks again

Tricia

Dana · 02-18-2007, 07:05 PM

You are very welcome

Dana

02-17-2007, 07:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
pilotwifeHOU Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pearland,Texas, USA Posts: 14 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Allergic RX to Levaquin Hi there! I was just browsing through and read about the person with strep and that she took Levaquin. Have you know any patients to have an allergic rx to that med? I took it last fall for the same thing, strep throat and had horrible rx. I couldn't sleep and by 2 or 3 am I was having a hard time breathing my hands and feet were feeling numb and tingling and my heart was pounding. DH called the EMS and they came out and said I was just having a panic attack. I had never had a panic attack in my life! They took me on in to the ER and the nurse said it was a side effect of the Levaquin. I had also taken a Guafin that evening as well. Anyway, the MD gave me a benedryl and that helped relax me a little . I didn't sleep at all that day and slept pretty good the following night. I still had a few episodes of the panicky feeling and ended up back at the ER after a couple of weeks......longer story. But they ran all kinds of tests for my heart (my HR wouldn't go down) and everything was normal, just tachycardia - - which I knew that! Just no rhyme or reason other than anxiety at that point. Anyway, just wandering if you had had any pts with the same rx to the Levaquin. Tricia

02-18-2007, 12:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Dana Jetgirls Plus Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Phoenix Posts: 569 Recipes: Thanks: 1 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Allergic RX to Levaquin Hi Tricia, I have not seen that type of reaction to Levaquin (Levofloxacin) but anything is possible. Typically, it is a rash, nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, difficulity breathing, lip, tongue swelling, etc... Usually if you are allergic to a medicine, you may get an elevated heart rate short term but that is usually with a severe reaction and is corrected with IV fluids. That is why I hate it when providers throw these cannon drugs at things that can typically be treated with tried and true drugs like Penicillin (first drug of choice for strep) unless your are allergic then Z-pac or errythromycin... Levoquin should be reserved for severe cases of sinusitis, pneumonia, severe UTI's, etc. Just my opinion... Have you ever taken Ciprofloxacin, gatafloxacin, norafloxacin, ofloxacin? They are all the same family of drugs... Dana

02-18-2007, 03:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
pilotwifeHOU Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pearland,Texas, USA Posts: 14 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Allergic RX to Levaquin Actually, I took the Cipro and had a rx to it before the levaquin. It gave me nausea, diarrhea and just all over felt worse than I felt before (it was for Strep) I should explain - my son had strep 6 times last year before they finally took his tonsils/adenoids out in Jan. In that time frame, I kept catching the strep from him. Guess the doc was trying different things. However, when I had strep last time, I went to the urgent care clinic, not my reg. md, because it was the weekend of Christmas. He gave me a Zpack that did just fine. So the cipro is in the same family as Levaquin? Wonder why my md gave me levaquin knowing I had the rx to the cipro.

02-18-2007, 06:03 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dana Jetgirls Plus Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Phoenix Posts: 569 Recipes: Thanks: 1 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Allergic RX to Levaquin Well that would be a good question... Actually nause, diarrhea and general poor feeling are side effects. Many people DO NOT tolerate either med, Cipro or Levo (that whole class of drugs), like I have said, they are CONNON's! I use them last ditch when someone is really sick and I tell my patients that the med may make them ill also. Depends on how ill the med makes them and how sick they are that requires the med. I always start with Penicillin, move to Azithromycin (Z-Pac) and then on to Erythromycin (EES) for streps. I would just tell the next provider that you don't tolerate Floroquinolone drugs well and mention the side effects they cause you. It will be up to you and your provider to weight the side effects and the benifits and what your other options are. Don't feel bad by telling a provider what has worked well for you in the past. I try to ask my patients "what have you taken in the past for this?" Sometimes they look at me like "do you know what you are doing?" Actually I do, I just want to know what has worked for you in the past so you don't have to go down the road you described. d

02-18-2007, 06:24 PM	#5 (permalink)
pilotwifeHOU Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pearland,Texas, USA Posts: 14 Recipes: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Allergic RX to Levaquin Thanks for the advice. I sure appreciate it. It's nice to talk to someone who is not on a 10 minute time limit. I feel for the md's in the day and age. So much pressure. Unfortunately that can have negative impact on the patient. Thanks again Tricia

02-18-2007, 07:05 PM	#6 (permalink)
Dana Jetgirls Plus Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Phoenix Posts: 569 Recipes: Thanks: 1 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Allergic RX to Levaquin You are very welcome Dana

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