yes, I took Avelox in March. I thought it was an antibiotic. It isn't. It is a form of chemotherapy called a floroquinolone. By the time side-effects appeared, it was too late. Here is a list of what it did to me...

1. Chronic bilateral ulnar neuritis: nerve inflammation in the elbows, causing pain in the wrists, intense hand numbness at night. Difficulty writing and typing. Paresthsia (pins and needles). This has gotten better, but at 6 months, I'm still not 100%.

2. Allergic vasculitis in the hands: my hands turned fire-engine red, and I developed welts all over them. I couldn't grip a soda can.

3. Nerve damage in both feet: I still can't run. Basically intense pins and needles.

4. Bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome -appeared overnight

5. Extreme insomnia -I was getting 3 hours of sleep a night for 2 months. I almost had to go on disability.

6. Extreme anxiety

7. Skin manifestations -rashes, etc.

8. Chronic joint pain, especially in the wrists and shoulders.

9. Chronic Achilles tendonitis

It has been 6 months since I took the drug, and I'm at about 85% or so. For 3 months I was basically disabled, and if I didn't have medical insurance, I would have racked up $50,000 in medical bills.

I should point out that I'm lucky. Lots of people have had tendon ruptures, and ended up in wheelchairs -for life.

Avelox, Levaquin and Cipro are some of the most dangerous drugs in existance. The side-effects are a SYNDROME, meaning that once one appears, there is nothing you can do. Stopping the drug will not stop the damage. It is a form of idiopathic serum sickness. I have a CD with 4000 cases of this sitting on my desk at home.

People have taken one pill and ended up insane or dead. See the book "Bitter Pills" -it talks all about floroquinolones.

Bayer and other companies have consistently lied to doctors about the dangers of these drugs.

If I were you, I would stop taking Avelox immediately, unless you can afford to go on disability for the next 6 months. There are far safer drugs out there, such as Augmentin and Zithromax.

For more information, go to www.fqvictims.org

Fluoroquinolones are listed as antibiotics in every medical reference I've read...not as chemotherapy.

At any rate, I have taken Avelox and several of its relatives. The quinolones are the only antibiotics left that work for me. They are very effective in reaching the sinus cavity. I have never had any trouble with them. Some people do have a great deal of trouble with them. Most doctors do not prescribe this type of antibiotic except for people whose systems are very resistant to more common antibiotics. I fall in that category.

Floroquinolones are not traditional antibiotics. They are very different than Penicillan or Augmentin. They are basically designer drugs that attack the DNA structure of bacteria.

In any case, you could take Avelox 3 times and nothing would happen. Take it the 4th time, and idiopathic serum sickness develops -landing you in the hospital with permanent nerve and tendon damage. Every time you take this drug, you are putting yourself at extreme risk. Don't tell me I didn't warn you.

No one understands the side-effects these drugs cause. There is no treament or uniform diagnostic criteria in even figuring out what adverse reactions can or will occur. These durgs were rushed through the FDA approval process after the Anthrax scare. Since it's approval, Avelox has demonstrated a far higher incidence of adverse reactions -something like 15%, as oppossed to less than 1%.

If the medical community doesn't understand a medication, it shouldn't be prescribed. I've had doctors come right out and tell me they don't know how it works, and they don't know what side-effects to expect.

There is only one way to tell if it is a sinus infection, and that is to culture the bacteria/gunk in the sinus cavities. Otherwise, the best way to tell is through an endoscopy or CT Scan. You CANNOT tell just by looking up someone's nose.

In my case, the Bayer Pharmacutical representative was lying to my doctor about the side-effects of Avelox. Bayer has gotten into a lot of trouble for this before. I can't remember the name of the drug, but they covered up research and adverse reaction reports and suffered something like a billion dollar settlement about 10 years ago.

Amoxicillan is perfectly safe, but not very effective.

I too had problems with Avelox. Not all that Chiggins reported, but indeed several of the same. Then, speaking with an ENT about a separate matter, I happened to mention my experience with Avelox and he had his own story to tell. He said that Avelox almost killed him! He told me he was taking it, didn't feel well, decided to go to the emergency room but didn't think he'd make it, so he went to a pharmacy instead. He said he collapsed in the pharmacy and they saved his life! Of course this is an extreme story. And the drug may work wonderfully for many people. As they say, results vary.

After a couple of months off of Avelox the problems persisted so the ent said I needed to take an antihistamine for a full 30 days to help rid it from my system. He prescribed Allegra twice daily.

All things considered, I'm not sure I'd take Avelox again. Though I admit at the time, I'd have taken arsenic if it would've helped.