Levaquin Blog

LevaquinBlog would like to draw attention to some excellent analysis by the blog www.myquinstory.info .  We encourage you to read the entire post, but here’s some of the most compelling data:

According to Medwatch, the adverse drug reporting arm of the FDA, the following statistics are available on fluoroquinolone antibiotics, from a period from 1997 to 2007: Levaquin 39,128 adverse drug reactions (ADR’S) and 808 deaths, Floxin 13,495 ADR’s and 311 deaths, Cipro 40,395 ADR’s and 837 deaths, Avelox 30,160 ADR’s and 337 deaths, and Proquin 40,151 ADR’s and 831 deaths.  For this list of FQs, and it is not a total inclusive list, the total adverse drugs reactions are 163,329 with deaths totaling 3,124. According to the FDA, reports to Medwatch only represent between 1% and 10% of the actual numbers of occurrence.  Why?

The FDA states that most people have never heard of the Medwatch program and a lot of doctors are not inclined to waste their valuable time in reporting adverse drug reactions or telling patients about it.  Looking at the facts from the FDA’s own admission, deaths from FQ’s could easily total over 30,000, based on if only 10% of the actual occurrences have been reported.

Now humor me for a minute as my logical mind kicks in.  Toyota recalls millions of cars and has to appear before congressional hearings because of the possibility that a defect cause 275 crashes and 18 deaths over 11 years, and the fluoroquinolones antibiotics have caused, at the very least, 163,329 ADR’s and 3,124 deaths, and no hearings, no outcry, no acknowledgement from the medical community? Why?

What do you think?  Should Congress, the media and the public spend more time analysing and worrying about Toyota’s car defects or the ongoing danger that is flouroquinolone toxicity (together with the FDA’s malaise when it comes to protecting the public)?  Which is really more a danger to the public?

See full post here: http://www.myquinstory.info/?p=202

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Here’s a nice summary of the risks of Levaquin and why it is still on the market;

Dear Dr. Donohue: Just how dangerous is the drug Levaquin? I read that it should not be given to a person over 60…
- A.S.
Dr. Dohohue: Levaquin (levofloxacin) is a newer antibiotic that has rescued many from dangerous infections and has been lifesaving for quite a few. Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, insomnia, headache and constipation. Those are potential side effects of almost all drugs.

More-serious side effects are tendon inflammation and even tendon rupture. The Achilles tendon, the heel cord, is the one most often affected. The medicine makes some people quite sensitive to sunlight and sunburn. It has caused liver and kidney damage. It might affect the way the heart beats and could cause dangerous heart rhythms. These things are more likely to happen to people over 60. With all this, how could such a medicine be allowed on the market? These outcomes are exceedingly rare, and the drug’s benefits greatly tip the scales in its favor.

Source: http://www.herald-review.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_2906a269-7b4b-543d-ace6-7ab9abc4909b.html

As Dr. Paul Donohoe, a nationally-syndicated columnist whose health article is carried in over 175 newspapers, states (although if you’re reading this you’ll know we strongly believe that these results are anything but “exceedingly rare”, as most people would not have even thought, let alone reported, that a tendon injury could possibly be caused by a pill that they’ve only taken a few times days, weeks or months earlier), there are significant benefits unique to Levaquin.  This doesn’t change the fact that there are dangerous risks associated with the drug, and the “unique benefits” in many cases do not benefit the consumer, whose ailments oftentimes may be fixed with a less drastic measure.

As for the complaints consumers (and we at LevaquinBlog) have, it is not enough that the “benefits outweigh the risks” for the drug to be on the market.  What is necessary, both morally as well as legally, is that these risks are known by the same people who learn about their benefits.   That is, if we are going to hear how great it is (Levaquin is so wonderful! You only need to take 5 pills instead of 21!), then the risks should be equally available and accessible.  And this didn’t happen.  While the studies were available to Orth-McNeil, they did not properly warn the public (including consumers and doctors) until the FDA forced its hand.

That is the cause of all the lawsuits out there – not that Levaquin causes these terrible symptoms, but that Orth0-McNeil knew about these risks and didn’t warn us until it was too late.

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Here’s a post from Ivanhoe Broadcast News. Some scary statistics: Americans are 10x more likely to be hospitalized from an adverse drug reaction than a car crash. These reactions are the 4th leading cause of death in the US. Doctors and patients need to read and understand the potential risks with these drugs, but the information given them needs to be accurate and fair. When the drug companies themselves are “paying for more than 1/2 of all reviews” (more than $600 million of the FDA’s budget, which the FDA needs to survive), can this information truly be impartial? Especially when the drug companies’ main incentive is to get it to market as soon as possible? You tell me – is “trust us” a good method of review for the FDA to base its reviews on?

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This was pointed out by Josh from Facebook. Mike Myers went on David Letterman last month and talked about going on Cipro for a toe infection. (See around the 4:00 minute mark.) I’m not a doctor, so I’m not going to criticize his medical decisions, but when someone uses a drug as strong as Levaquin or Cipro as a first-defense for an infection, they might be subjecting themselves to disproportionate pain and suffering. Unfortunately, a lot of people hear that they can take one pill for 5 days and choose to do that over the traditional antibiotic treatments. Hopefully, we can help bring awareness to these risks to avoid unnecessary and excessive fluoroquinolone treatments (and subsequent floxings). What do you think?

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