Apo-Levofloxacin 500mg — Am I Going to Make My Tinnitus Worse?

Hi everyone,

I’ve had some complications from a surgery, the doctor isn’t sure if I have an infection or something else. He wants me to give these antibiotics a shot. I have no fever but other signs of infection (swelling, pain etc). Am I going to make my tinnitus worse?

I haven’t been here in a while, I’m stuck in high level pain for almost 2 months. Makes me want to get back to being bothered by my tinnitus.

Thanks so much, hope everyone is doing okay.

 

Hey Telis, I wouldn't take those antiniotics, personally. They are of a class of antibiotics known as Fluoroquinolones and can have very serious side effects. If you're determined to take something to help with the infection, I would ask your doctor for another antibiotic, that is outside of the Fluoroquinolone family.

 

Have you done a blood test? no sign of infection there?

Is this the first antibiotic treatment you are offered, or were there other antibiotics you've gone through before?

 

I also agree with Greg, I reckon get a blood test if you can, like obviously you should consider taking them if you start rapidly deteriorating but maybe wait? I would just hate to see you get worse, especially after that damn MRI incident, but also I hope you don't get really sick from an infection, it's a hard one Telis.

 

Hi Telis,

So very sorry to hear of your additional troubles.

I’m not familiar with antiobiotics but I was booked for surgery (which I cancelled) and the specialist said during the sedation they administer 2mg of Cefazolin and Metronidazole to prevent post surgery infections.

I know one of them lists tinnitus as side effect but maybe have a look into it, it may be less ototoxic than the one you’ve been recommended.

Good luck and take care!

 

Hey Greg. Thanks, as always for the response. I asked the doctor about this, he didn’t seem to think that we would be able to spot in a blood test, I can’t remember the exact reason. I’ll just come out and say it, I don’t really care, got a vasectomy, decided against kids Due to the whole tinnitus and hyperacusis ordeal. This has not worked out for me, I guess the body treats the sperm as some kind of virus as it has no where to go after the tubes are cut and blocked, this may be the reason the doc can’t see a infection in a blood test. Body seems to be going into some kind of autoimmune response. My lymph nodes around my legs are so swollen I can barely walk. As well, my testicles are swollen to about 3 times their normal size, it’s been almost two months now, I’m sure permanent damage setting in. I have testosterone level of a 90 year old at best. I guess this happens in about 15 percent of men, so I might just be out of luck and in excruciating pain forever. Who knew the immune system had to work to get rid of sperm, man what a bad idea this shit is.

Anyway, I think it’s kind of give it a shot or not, but maybe my doctor is wrong, wouldn’t be the first time. I originally acquired tinnitus due to ear drop antibiotics, I don’t know what to do at all. I look infected, but don’t have a fever, and like I say this kind of thing is pretty common amongst men with vasectomies.

I didn’t ever think I would say this as I have had my life so messed by tinnitus, but, there are worse things. I’ve never experienced pain like this in my life, had shingles for over a year, still not healed, walk in the park, this is unbearable. My tinnitus still bugs me almost all the time but at times honestly I’m in so much pain that it just seems like nothing. I never thought I would say that. I’m not downplaying tinnitus, it ruined me but you know...

Thanks again Greg. Let me know your thoughts. I understand this a weird one so no worries if you have no ideas.

 

Thanks very much for the suggestion, very much appreciate it.

 

Man, sorry about this new ordeal. Do the doctors think there is corrective action they can take surgically? My daughter had issues with the ear tubes inserted by a doctor and it required corrective action by another doctor to "make things right". It sucks but it may be a long term option if there is some "piping problem" that can be surgically fixed.

I had been in pain for weeks back in May, and doctors couldn't find anything. I did blood test, MRI, urine test... and ended up in the ER where the doc told me "everything checks out, perhaps it's just gas". It wasn't and I insisted that I didn't want to go home without at least something to try, because I'd be back the next day. Thankfully he was diligent enough to say, after half a day in bed in ER, "well, there's a tiny chance that it could be a UTI, so I'm going to give you antibiotics just in case", and so we played the "what's less risky game". He opened up with "I wrote you a prescription for Cipro (the systemic version of course)", to which I countered with a "what's the alternative?" - and well, we ended up with some penicillin variant. He sent a nice lady my way to talk about all possible antibiotics, and which ones were good for my case (it needed to target a specific area of the body) and we negotiated until both parties found a satisfactory option.

See if there are alternatives that you can be more comfortable with. Sometimes they don't think of it because they don't know what your problem is (tinnitus is invisible and many doctors think it's just "a simple annoyance") and they start with a "nuclear option" to get rid of the problem fast (never mind collateral damage).

Good luck!

 

Only two days ago I was watching Montreal Comedy Festival and one of comedians was saying he had vasectomy and doctor said the side effect may be just what you mentioned.
Of course he was making jokes out of it but it seems far from funny.

 

Yeah, it’s not funny, there are guys offing themselves. If you want to ever feel okay about your tinnitus, go to https://www.postvasectomypain.org/. This is an absolute horror in my life, I’m in more pain than I realized possible. I can’t walk. I can’t sit, my testosterone crashed, I’m sick. There are guys getting their testicles removed for god sake's without relief, they’ve been put on endless antibiotics, pain pills, antidepressants, the amount of people there with drug induced raging tinnitus is incredible. Anyone thinking about this, it is a roll of the dice procedure. Here I’m pouting all these years about my shitty tinnitus, now I’m getting nerve pain that is indescribable and terrifying. I wake up screaming at night, I’ve never screamed about anything in my life up until now, we’ll maybe as a little kid. I feel as though I’m having my stomach ripped through my scrotum at times. Pain is non stop and gets to horrific levels for at least 12 hours out of 24.

The procedure is barbaric, lots can go wrong. The area is surrounded in nerves and it’s done in 10 min, basically they just dig around in you, pull out a tube, chop it, burn the ends like a shoelace and hope for the best. Well, another issue, where does this sperm go, according to these guys the body magically absorbs it, right. Even if you get lucky, and have no pain, things went right, you just screwed up your body. Now your immune system has to work fighting sperm like some kind of virus 24 7 forever! There are guys that don’t have issues for years and bam, ticking time bomb.

There are pain clinics that are dedicated to dealing with this ailment called PVPS (post vasectomy pain syndrome). My doctor said he sees people in pain all of the time and would not recommend the procedure.

It’s considered safe, but this means you won’t die and won’t get someone pregnant, pain, well it depends. Stats are tough, lots say up to 15 percent chronic pain post vasectomy, but pain aside, you’re messing with your body’s system. My balls are backed up with sperm swollen and feel like they are going to explode on top of the nerve pain, great stuff.

Like I say, if you want to check out that pain forum, get ready to feel lucky that tinnitus is your main concern in life. Tinnitus is a big deal, don’t get me wrong, it ruined me in so many ways, this is what led me down the path of getting the vasectomy. I was terrified to father a child when I’m not myself.

I’m logging off here for a long while, maybe forever, nice knowing all of you, I’ve made many friends here, I appreciate everything and everyone that I’ve ever had a conversation with, even those of you that I’ve had it out with, I value you just as much.

Thanks to the creators of this fantastic forum, and all the staff. Stay calm and healthy, bye.

 

@Telis did you take Levofloxacin?

 

I, personally, won't take another fluroquinolone drug without

a) demonstrable, cultured proof I'm infected with something that both needs to be killed chemically and which won't respond to safer drugs
b) I get slammed with some infection so horrible I crumble over and end up in the ER with no agency and have no input into what they give me

I literally fired a primary care doctor over their insistance on prescribing either cipro or levaquin for something I was 95% convinced was not bacterial. She had a medical degree, but I was right in the end, and a subsequent specialist told me I probably dodged a bullet.

Screw flurodated quinolones. They have their place in management of specific, virulant pathogens. The fact that they have become a commonplace first-line option for routine infections just seems insane to me when you go read the black box warnings and look at all the longitudinal data. Severe side effects happen more often than you'd think, and are in some cases permanently disabling.

 

@Telis I read one can reverse a vasectomy.

You have to reverse the procedure asap.