I feel like sh*t

and I have found out why.It seems that the antibiotic (levaquin) that the doctor prescribed for me is very well known for its adverse effects.I didn't feel great yesterday after I had taken the medication so I went to use the drug interaction page on our mail order provider. Seemed I had taken it the wrong time, should be 2 hour or 2 hours after food. So basically, I felt like crap yesterday and really didn't take any notice of the fact my food tasted funny at meal time (ie it had no taste!) Although I did notice my face looked a little yellow in colour. Like my kids I laughed it off as I am well known hypochondriac, its probably the lighting in the house (still is actually).

So this morning I duly took my pill at 6am to allow for breakfast at 8. At 7.50 I was throwing up. Driving Emily to School I felt like I was in another world and then at 8.30 I decided I might feel better if I had something to eat. It was the worst tasting banana sandwich I have ever had and no, I didn't really feel any better.

So obviously, I phone the Blanton to say unfortunately I wouldn't be helping out today and then called my Doctor's nurse for advice. After that I decided to do a little research.

This is what I found.....pages and pages of peoples adverse reaction to this drug, most of them not very good at all - in fact very seriously ill.

this is from Drugs.com

What are the possible side effects of Levaquin?
If you experience any of the following serious side effects, stop taking Levaquin and seek emergency medical attention or contact your doctor immediately:

an allergic reaction
(difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; or hives)

seizures;

confusion or hallucinations;
irregular heartbeats, chest pain, or fainting;


liver damage (yellowing of the skin or eyes, nausea, abdominal pain or discomfort, unusual bleeding or bruising, severe fatigue); or


muscle or joint pain.

If you experience any of the following less serious side effects, continue taking Levaquin and talk to your doctor:

nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation;
headache or lightheadedness;

drowsiness;
insomnia;
ringing in the ears; or


increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight
Before taking Levaquin, tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following drugs:


theophylline (Theo-Dur, Theolair, Slo-Phyllin, Slo-Bid, Elixophyllin);

warfarin (Coumadin);
insulin or an oral diabetes medication such as glipizide (Glucotrol), glyburide (Micronase, Diabeta, Glynase), and others; or

a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin, others), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Anaprox), ketoprofen (Orudis KT, Orudis, Oruvail), and others.You may not be able to take Levaquin, or you may require a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment if you are taking any of the medicines listed above.

Guess what I take an oral diabetes medication and the Doctor gave me Celebrex, an NSAID at the same time as the levaquin. I suppose I should be thankful I had a quick reaction and no real damage has been done but I still feel like crap, still feel like I'm looking though a fogAt least I haven't taken any other medications today other than my thyroxine (which ended up in the toilet). Will stop the Celebrex and Skelaxin (although skelaxin didn't seem to have any interactions other than alcohol anyway). Having read a little more on the web seems the UK medical boards has serious doubts about this class of drugs (the levaquin called cipro in UK) and tell GP only to prescribe this drug a last resort. Here they give you free samples

Have just read my last entry and maybe I should be wary of free samples instead of being grateful. Its common practice over here, just in case your medical insurance doesn't cover it I think.