Low blood sugar and weakness since heavy dose of levaqu in two years ago

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Feeling of constant low blood sugar, muscle weakness and malaise since heavy course of levaquin two years ago...anyone else experience this? I'm 58, fairly athletic, lifelong teacher who had an appendectomy complete with intravenous levaquin and follow up of 3 week course of levaquin. Just seems like I should be getting better?

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6 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Kathy,

    You are certainly not alone!  Are you in the US?  There are many active groups to support the thousands of people who have been affected by this antibiotic and the others in this class (Ciprofloxacin, Avelox/Moxifloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin and Ofloxacin). If you search for support under these names or under Fluoroquinolones you will find some help.

    The feelings you describe are very common especially malaise (general) and muscle weakness.  These drugs can affect your blood sugar so you may actually have developed a problem (one of the variants of these drugs had to be withdrawn because of the bad effect it had on the pancreas). Of it's possible that you have chronic fatigue from taking the Levaquin which feels like low blood sugar.

    You could go to the doctor to have various tests but my guess is that everything will come back as normal - although it's possible your blood sugar test may show something.  Doctors don't often recognise Fluoroquinolone Toxicity despite the FDA saying in 2016 that it is a recognisable syndrome (which they called FQAD).

    You should indeed be getting better and so should all the other people who are suffering after taking this class of antibiotics.  Please do join one of the support groups for help, advice and to generally chat to people suffering from the same thing as you. They are mostly on face book but I'm sure you will find others if you don't use FB.

    Also, read through the other discussions in this topic - there are several threads.  This will give you some ideas of what to do and not do regarding improving your symptoms.

    • Posted

      Hi Miriam,

      You say:

      "You should indeed be getting better and so should all the other people who are suffering after taking this class of antibiotics"

      What percentage do you think improve to a state where they say that they are better ?

      I gave my GP a CD with the chair persons summing up and your contribution. He had not heard of the EMA discussions but has been reading reports of the drug connections. I softened him up by saying on arrival that it has come to a pretty pass where I now have to take a taxi here for what used to be a ten minute walk.

    • Posted

      Thank you Miriam...I have resisted joining the forums as I keep thinking I will just get better. Your reply validated the strange illness I have had since my surgery. I am now going to start seeing an endocrinologist as the low blood sugar feeling is so persistent despite tests showing it is normal! I will post any new news...again thank you!
    • Posted

      My neurologist and GP won't even consider levaquin as the cause of my "illness" though my symptoms began immediately following a week of intravenous levaquin in the hospital followed by 3 weeks of levaquin twice a day....pretty toxic for a 58 year old...I consider myself lucky to still be able to work and stay somewhat active..despite truly hard days..hang in there...

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