Paranoid about taking medicine

My dr. just prescribed me an antibiotic for a sinus infection.  The brand name is Avelox.  It is a quinlone drug.  According to the information that came with the medicine, it can cause fatal heart arrhythmia in people who have QT prolongation.

I have PVCs all the time.  I am scared to death to take this medication.  I had a normal EKG about two weeks ago (or so I am told).  Do you think it would have picked up if I had prolongation of the QT?

I know someone who died from congenital prolonged QT (not a family member) so that's what worries me.

[tanns]

I took Avelox for an ear infection.  It did not cause me any problems.  I also took Levaquin about 9 months ago for an ear infection, it caused me a GREAT deal of anxiety and panic with just the first pill.  Levaquin/Avelox/Cipro are all in the same class of drugs, all quinlones.  Because of this I was PARANOID to take the Avelox for this ear infection.  I talked with one of the pharmacists at the Mayo Clinic when I was there and he told me that even though I had a reaction to Levaquin it doesn't mean I'd have one to Avelox.  He printed me out a wealth of info on the two and also broke down the reactions to each one.  I was surprised they were different.

Anyway, I never read the side effects of meds until my reaction to Levaquin and now I think it is certainly a bad thing to do.  If you are anxious before taking it, it isn't going to help any because any slight difference in heart rhythm could send you into panic.  (Ok, well me!!)

I don't know about the QT prolongation syndrome, I also had numerous EKG's, I'm sure one of them would have picked it up.  But I will leave that to the other very knowledgable people who respond in this forum!!!

Good luck!!

[anacyde]

This is where the internet gets scary when people don't need to be scared.  The key is that that drug class can *potentially* cause a fatal arrhythmia in people *with* congenital long QT.  In you, a healthy person with PVCs, your antibiotic should not pose any risk of serious arrhythmia.

I'm guilty of the same thing, looking stuff up.  I've taken Levaquin with no issue...except that I'm apparently allergic to it.  It didn't affect my heart at all.

Hang in there, get well soon, and try not to worry overly about long QT.

[Al Dente]

I was on Avelox for a bad respiratory bug and survived.  My pulse is normally in the low to mid 50s, and the Avelox did not make a difference.

Your mileage may vary.  Good luck.

[LukeL]

This drug is a level 2 drug which means it caries a possible risk of cause VT in a patient with LQTS. But not in patients with a normal QT interval. Remember that LQTS has an incidnece rate of about 1 in 5,000. With many ekgs and a negative family history your odds of having the disorder are even smaller.

Remember we are not doctors and can't give medical advice or interpt medical data.

Another way to look at your fear is this. If you are allergic to penicillin you shouldn't take it because it could harm you or worse, but if you are not allergic to penicillin the drug could save your life.

[tickertock]

I took avelox in 2001, as far as I remember its was one tablet/caplet daily for 5 days, it was during one of my worse episodes with PVCs yet and caused no problems whatsoever , unless you have a prolonged QT on ECG or diagnosed with LQTS I would not worry about it.