Had an appt. with my allergist yesterday. I’m back to having a sinus infection along with my hayfever, and he’s also convinced that I have nasal polyps (you just cut ‘em out apparently). So our plan was to put me on prednisone and an antiobiotic and then have the CAT scan that would show the fabulous terrain of my nasal passages, prior to any actual knife work.
I had used amoxycillin for a sinus infection, and it worked, but then the infection came back, so he decided to prescribe Levaquin. “The only thing is, it can sometimes cause your tendons to burst, but I’ve never known it to happen. It is in the literature, though.”
“I do have allergy related arthritis and tendonitis occasionally,” I pointed out.
But he was pretty excited about the drug and said that was really rare. “If your tendons start to feel sore, stop taking it and call me.” This is when I should have mentioned that minor soreness comes and goes in my joints with fair frequency.
Today I picked up my prescription and started reading the many pages that came with it.
“Tell your doctor if you have tendinitis or bursitis.” I’ve had both.
“Problems with tendons may increase if you’re using corticosteroids.” Remember that he also put me on prednisone?
“Tell your doctor if you or your family have irregular heartbeat issues.” My mom does, and I’ve felt the occasional flutter.
“Causes extreme sun sensitivity.” Do we need to go into my tendency toward skin cancer?
I decided to Google Levaquin. Whoa. The right side of the screen showed ads for lawyers who handle Levaquin lawsuits. (That might explain the $50 price tag — and we have outstanding health insurance). Wikipedia said the drug is usually reserved for severe or life-threatening infections. It has been banned from pediatrics because of the muscular-skeletal problems it can cause, along with fatalities. Serious health issues can appear years after taking it.
In addition to the lawyer ads, Google brought up many horror stories. “I had seizures after three days on this drug.” “My joints have never been the same.” And I have a three-week prescription.
So I ate the $50 cost, called the doctor’s office back, and told them I wasn’t taking it. I should mention that I really like this doctor. I trust him. But doctors are not infallible, prescription drugs are drugs that are being tested, and I would rather have no sense of smell for the rest of my days than risk the side effects of this drug. Took my first amoxycillin pill a couple of hours ago. In three weeks I’ll have a CAT scan and we’ll see what that tells us. Irradiating my head I can live with. Levaquin scares the bejeesus out of me.
Moral of the story: Research any unfamiliar drug online before you shell out the money for a prescription. They can’t be returned.
