Dear Doctor, Cipro and Levaquin Might Make Your Tendons Snap Off
That’s a translation into person speak from a letter I got today from Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals that started out with “Dear Healthcare Professional” and went on to their new “black box warning” for their antibiotic drugs Avelox (moxifloxacin hydrochloride) and Cipro (ciprofloxacin). Here is their warning:
Fluoroquinolones, including Avelox/Cipro, are 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.
Well it’s about time. I wrote about this nasty habit of cipro to snap tendons and mess up joints over a year ago in my book because at the time Cipro was the most poorly rated drug on askthepatient.com. I hate to say I told you so, but, I did tell you so. It’s just too bad that it took the manufacturers a couple of years to get the word out. I wish people in the healthcare industry would read these websites, which patients go to only out of desperation.
Unfortunately, 81% of the time this toxic drug, Cipro is prescribed inappropriately, and 32% of women get this drug inappropriately for new onset urinary tract infections, when the preferred first drug is Septra.
Another drup in the same class as Cipro is Levaquin, which is the third most discussed drug on medications.com, just behind my other two faves, Yasmin (the birth control pill that might make you nuts) and Singulair (asthma drug with similar problems). Levaquin and like drugs also seems to drive people nuts, which reinforces my conclusion that when it comes to drug companies, if they don’t kill you they might drive you crazy.
So let’s all sing “I need a drug that won’t drive me crazy” to the tune of I need a lover that won’t drive me crazy,” by John Cougar Mellencamp.
[originally posted November 8, 2008]
[updated Feb 15, 2009]
See site of a patient suffering from long term effects of Levaquin “Death by Levaquin.”
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By Cheryl, July 25, 2009 @ 4:44 pm
I wish I had read this before I took 5 pills of Cipro! I am only 33 and in good health and I’ve been unable to walk normally for 2 weeks. I’m attempting to eliminate fluoride from my life. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
By blar2799, August 11, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
While I was in the hospital for an acute & serious colitis in January 2009, I was given Levoquin & also a prescription for 2 weeks post discharge.
In May/June of 2009, I began experiencing pain in my low back & shoulders. I saw my PCP & was to have low back X-rays & given a prescription for a NSAID.
Despite that prescription, I continued to have the same symptoms & more! By August 2009, I had the following:
* Severe pain & decreased ROM in the following joints:
- bilateral shoulders
- bilateral wrists
- bilateral fingers
- bilateral knees
- bilateral ankles
The pain is embarrassing (”nothing looks wrong, so what is wrong with you?”…) & very debilitating.
I am 58 & up until now, have been “healthy”. There is no RA in my family history & I certainly have had nothing like this before. And, this is the only time I have taken this type of antibiotic.
Mornings are the worst as I can barely get out of bed. I spend the rest of the day taking ASA & acetaminophen (recommended amounts) & watching TV with a heating pad that I alternate between my joints. Arising from the chair requires much effort & pain. Standing too long causes severe pain in my lower back! When I do any cleaning it is at a very slow pace!
If I had known any of these LIFELONG & apparently UNTREATABLE side effects, I would have refused to take the Levoquin. I have done research & it is not even mentioned as the antibiotic of choice for colitis! So, why was it prescribed for me??
I am a RN & know very well that we as patients have rights for what is done to/with our bodies. I pray that any others afflicted with this terrible situation to be heard! We are CUSTOMERS of medical treatment & because of that, we have the RIGHT & the DUTY to file complaints against anyone responsible for this type of negligence!!
By James, September 24, 2009 @ 10:09 pm
I took Levaquin for 3 weeks when I had a horrible cold. I went to the gym when I was finished and healthy and I ruptured my bicep tendon. No doctor told me it is from the levaquin, but what i have been reading on the web leads me to think it is the drug. I found a few good sites, levaquinblog.com was the most informative. If I am injured from the drug i agree witht he poster above that we have the right to sue the drug company!
By Micky, October 14, 2009 @ 1:29 am
Wow – this is scary stuff. blar2799, I really hope you can recover – I have close friends affected dearly by these drugs. And James, thanks for that link – there’s some real interesting stories on that blog!
By gina, November 23, 2009 @ 7:45 pm
I was given cipro after have a tummy tuck on May 10, 2008. It has now been almost a year and a half, three surgerys later and I am still unable to pick up a 10 lb bag! After just revisiting my doctor, he informed me that it seems that the tendons holding my abdominal muscles together are torn and still tearing!! He then looked back in my chart and informed me that it is most likely related to the drug Cipro that he had given me to avoid infection!!!!! My abdomen is protruding (more than before my surgery!!!) and to make matter worse, it is extremely painful to sit for any length of time, i cannot sleep through the night, cannot walk for very long without excruciating pain and cannot work or exercise! My savings are gone and I will have no way to pay my bills as of next month! His only suggestion was to take Valium for the spasms (which occur contually) and hope that eventually it will get better! I am exhausted and at the end of my sanity. I dont know how much longer I can go on in pain. I just want to pick up my beautiful grandchildren and hold them without ripping! I am only 47 years old and feel like i am 80! This is a horrible drug!!! Please continue to warn people of the dangers of taking Cipro! Any suggestions that you might have for me would be greatly appreciated!
By caroline, December 5, 2009 @ 1:10 am
I am grateful for Levaquin. It is the only thing that cures my. Sinus infections and Bronc.when I am sick. No two bodies react the same to anything. Just know that everyone is not going to be ill from Levaquin. Thanks to the drug and those who discovered it.
By Jason, December 24, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
I was on Levaquin repeatedly for sinus infections and it caused my right lower distal bicep tendon to rupture. I will never take cipro or levaquin again.
By Katie, January 17, 2010 @ 2:19 pm
Here is what I keep searching for: What did it FEEL like, the rupture? I took cipro for 10 days in early June for kidney inf. and before I was done Rx, I could VISIBLY see something in my hip like a straw or finger under my skin from the pubic bone out to the point of my hip and it hurt like HOT tearing hell on earth. It is 7 months later and a few weeks ago I had a ripping hot feeling from my thigh to my ribs in fromt, again VISIBLE, I could see the long muscle stand up. AND hurt. I live with kidney stones, I am not sure if my probs are not urological but doc is thinking the hip ligamnent from the cipro. Mere walking standing bending can be so hard to bear. It feels like someone has pinched and twisted me with a hot poker. These probs are all on my LEFT side. I can sleep 13 hrs a night and this is not getting better. I have also had weird depressions where I feel detached!!!!!and almost suicidal. And how can I walk if I ruptured tendon?! Also twice i have had my right heel swell in the night and be very red and hot and painful and unable to bear my weight all that day but it does pass when i wake up the NEXT day (thank god). My quality of life is shot.
If you can share the exact symtoms, thank you.
Part of it is that I am fairly numb in that left hip area due to kidney surgery nerve damage 35 yrs ago. I cannot imagine how bad the pain would have been had i no nerve damage numbness there.
By cara, March 8, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
Cipro is saving my life right now from a bacterial infection. I’m just not lifting weights until i’m off the meds. My joints and tendons feel a little stiff but I’d prefer that then the severe abdominal pain from the parasite or bacteria I had. I will be finishing the meds as I don’t see an alternative.