My turn…
Well here goes.
I’m a 30M. Fairly active and otherwise healthy. I was being treated for what was thought to be an STI so I was on doxy for a week. Tests showed I had nothing but about a week after I had some continued issues. I was feeling a bit desperate and wanted to feel better so when the doctor offered me another anti biotic I was eager to beat whatever this ailment was.
He prescribed me Levo and very casually told me no heavy lifting or sprinting because in “older people” or people who take it a long time may experience tendinitis or tendon rupture. No other explanation, no warning, no “hey stop taking it if this happens”. Being an active person I tried to get clarification from the pharmacist on what exercise would be ok. She immediately avoided the conversation and just said “drink plenty of water. Talk to your doctor”.
I get bag and there is ZERO WARNING on the bag or the bottle. Nothing. No pamphlet. No anything. I did a quick google but didn’t dive in as I was more worried about lifting weights and clearing whatever infection I had. I take one 500 mg pill and quickly felt tingling in my foot and almost immediately had anxiety. I have anxiety otherwise so I brushed it off. I started with ever so slight tingles in the hand and feet and took another dose the following day. The tingling continued and I went ahead and scanned the non-obvious QR code on the prescription bag that said this was a sign of possible nerve damage.
So here I am three days after my last dose. The tingling has moved to different parts of my body, my ankles are feeling tight, and there’s faint bruising in my lower legs. My other joints don’t feel terrible at least as of yet but there’s definitely popping where there didn’t use to be. I’m scared shitless and when I walk I’m afraid of each step like I’m walking through a mine field. The worst part is just not knowing what will happen or when it’ll happen. My significant other has been quite dismissive and I don’t really have anyone to talk to about this.
And as it turns out after more testing I have NO BACTERIAL INFECTION. At all…
I’m trying to not be angry and be positive. I’m trying to pull a lesson from all of this and not just only hope for the best. I’ve already started with magnesium and vitamin C.
I guess I just wanted to vent. Thanks for reading.