For the past three weeks or so, I’ve had this coughing thing. It has made me sweat, it has made me vomit (Cranberry salad! I thought I was puking blood! But it wasn’t blood, it was cranberries (and grapes)! Enjoy your lunch.), it has kept me up at night, it has made my family hate me, blah, blah, blah. Ten days ago, my doctor gave me another round of antibiotics, as the Zithromax she had originally prescribed didn’t do the trick. When she wrote the prescription for Levaquin, she told me that the only side effect she’s heard of is weird dreams. And the skies opened up, and the angels began to sing, “Pay-YO-teeeeeeeeee!!!”
The past ten nights have been amazing. (And please know that both Dreamed and Dreamt are acceptable as the past tense for Dream. I just looked it up!) Anyway, I dreamed that I belted out Seals and Crofts’ “Diamond Girl” as I chased after a bird with diamond wings in Africa. I dreamt (seriously—both are correct!) that Meredith was on probation at school because she couldn’t eat cake without stabbing it maniacally with a fork and screaming “I am the bride of Jesus!!!” I dreamed of eating toasted ravioli filled with sweet potatoes (and sprinkled with shimmering powdered sugar) while standing in line to ride a purple roller coaster.
I was sort of sad last night as I went to bed. I had taken my final Levaquin, and was getting ready to settle in for the final party in the Land of Nod. AND, that final pill did not disappoint. As Harper sat in a cabin and played with baby alligators (they were totally tame and toothless!), I made out with Heath Ledger (the Very Much Alive version). And holy smokes. That Heath Ledger certainly knows what he’s doing. Especially when it comes to Going Straight for the Neck.
Tonight, medication free, I’ll surely return to my old school dreams—me trying to attend a class that I never signed up for, me taking a shower (I dream it fairly often, and then I wake up sort of disappointed that I still need to take a shower), me accidentally driving a car off the edge of a bridge… Oh. I’m sorry. I believe I just put you to sleep with my simpleton dreams. Here. Let me cover you with a soft blanket and kiss your forehead.
I’ll miss you, sweet Levaquin. And, I heartily recommend you to anyone with a bacterial infection! (And wouldn’t it be great if I now yelled out something like, “And let’s have a giveaway! The fine folks at Levaquin would like to give out some free samples to any of you who are suffering from lung, sinus, skin, or urinary tract infections! Leave a comment below, and three lucky winners will score some dreamy pills!” Sadly, I am not allowed to offer drugs at Fluid Pudding Dot Com. But I AM allowed to offer Little Debbie snacks! And I’ll do that early next week.)
Heath Ledger! Whoosh! ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>
Whenever I have to (really, get to) take Nyquil I have crazy, fun dreams…not quite as fun as yours though.
SO, crazy dreams aside, are you well?
Oh, yeah! I guess I left that part out. I’m totally cured. (If Not Coughing Anymore = Cured.) Thanks for asking!
Holy Smokes! I was on 2 rounds of Levaquin in a two week period, and I didn’t get the dream side-effect speech! Hmph… Too bad I can’t remember back far enough to recall what I dreamed about…
Little Debbie?!? I’ll be waiting right here. Straight into next week.
i have the shower dream too! all the damn time…and it totally upsets me too that i still need to shower! funny!
Those are some wild dreams. I’m particularly fond of “I am the bride of Jesus!” :)
I’m totally jealous. I want a throat infection.
Those are some awesome crazy dreams. I have wild dreams regularly so I bet it would be extra awesome on Levaquin.
I took Levaquin last year for pneumonia, but don’t remember any weird dreams. Maybe it was just the power of suggestion? I wish my doctor had said something about that.
so much for amoxicillin…
i have crazy dreams normally though, but no heath ledger so far, lead singer of the stroke – yes.
Those sound like my regular dreams every night! I’d be afraid what would be in store for me if I took Levaquin!
I have to agree with June, I have crazy dreams all the time, and it’s totally the reason I stopped watching scary movies.
The dreams I dreamt (using this version) while pregnant were even crazier… and had to do with making out with lots of people. Whew.
Hummina Hummina on the Heath Ledger dreams. I’ve had a few of those myself, although sadly not because I was on Levaquin. I think they started after I saw him kiss Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You. The way he grasps her face with both hands when leaning in – SWWOOOONNN.
So, ahem, all that is to say I’m picking up what you’re laying down.
I took a course of Levaquin once, and I’m thinking: she’s only heard of one side effect? What about the crushing fatique, and deadened limbs?? Seriously, I could hardly lift my arms and practically shuffled everywhere for 2 weeks (not related to the ailment I needed the Levaquin for). I DID have weird dreams, but I had no idea it was related. I just thought the dreams were a result of the coma-like sleep I fell into every evening.
I was on Levaquin after my surgery, and NO WEIRD DREAMS!
I want my money back!!
Maybe you have to have had a peyote experience to get the peyote dreams from Levaquin? Just wondering. I could use some wild and crazy dreams.
I have two recurring dreams (non-drug related):
1. I’ve lost my wedding ring! Oh no! And I wake up in a cold sweat and I’m all freaked out until I look and my hand and… wait! There it is! What was that all about? I am crazy happily married and am told this has something to do with fear of losing my husband. (But he’s right next to me snoring!)
2. I am trapped in a donut store, and I eat every donut there. I can smell them. I can taste them. And when I wake up, I am full. I have been having this one since high school, and it makes me happy although I was once told it is about a feeling that I am depriving myself of something. Who cares? Donuts!
Little Debbie snack cakes! Yay!
Was Heath dressed as The Joker? Cause that might be freaky. I hang IV Levaquin on at least 4 of my patients every tiem I work and have never heard of that side effect – maybe it’s only in the pill form? I’ve heard Fudge Rounds have that same effect.
Oh, that’s time…oops
CRAP! I could use some good dreams, but hey, I’m a little Debbie whore, so that’s just as good.
I’d eat Little Debbie snacks if they had peyote in ’em.
Actually, let’s face it – I’d eat Little Debbie snacks if I found ’em on the sidewalk. A little gravel never hurt nobody!
How awesome to have a makeout session with Heath Ledger as your final farewell!
I never get the fun drugs….
We had an extended family visit with Levaquin during The Pneumonia Incident. It was like living in a family of hippies. I had to lay down immediately after taking it because I would feel like I was going to pass out otherwise!
I can hook you up.
But I need a toasted ravioli hook-up. Haven’t had that since leaving St. Louis. Also, Talayna’s salad dressing. Also, Ted Drewes.
Holy cats, we have the same dreams. Class I never signed up for, check. Driving off a bridge, check.
Do you ever dream of GIANT waves crashing down on you? Oh, yeah, I do.
I’m afraid I rode the Levaquin express in early December – I quit after four days, but it was wild while it lasted!
OMG! I just started taking Levaquin two nights ago… (same as you, three week cough, first round of Omnicef did nothing, etc) and my doctor did NOT tell me about the dreaming thing. I have had the most vivid dreams (nightmares, the first night!) and I had no idea this was a side effect. Thankfully, I read your blog, and Angela… you reached out and touched someone today.
Hoping for some Heath Ledger dreams tonight.
That ravioli sounds pretty stinkin’ good. I may try to make it now. A new recipe thanks to your freaky dreams!
Also, imagine how great it would be to have Jesus as your son-in-law. I imagine the perks would never end.
Hubby is finishing up HIS round of Levaquin as we speak (same song and dance – bronchitis that was “nonresponsive” to a Z-Pack) but instead of crazy-ass dreams, he is doing the bathroom rhumba. Nothing stays in his system for very long, which sucks for ME (never mind him!) because we’re in a weight-loss challenge and he is going to kick my ass this week, even though he is totally eating the Little Debbies and I’m not. Grrr.
(Hope it’s working on your grunge; the jury’s still out on whether Hubs will be cured by Day Ten.)
Awesome. Yes.
Dammit.
I was here for the free drugs.
Maybe I need to go get the Levaquin hook-up. I have been sick (though not nearly as sick) since my pneumona diagnosis back around THANKSGIVING, even after taking a round of Z-Pak.
Of course, my Dad is on Levaquin (his doc’s drug of choice for whenever he gets ANYTHING even remotely close to a bronchial infection), and by golly, the weird dreams abound in him, even though I had honestly never even heard of this side effect until now.
Good thing you didn’t wind up with the OTHER wonderful side effect possiblilty… ruptured tendons. Yeah. Doesn’t THAT sound like fun?!?
Just delurking to say I’m glad I found your site. Can’t wait for the next post!
So glad to read this as I am on Levaquin now and for the past three nights I’ve been chasing the wild rabbits that keep biting my feet. Begone bunnies, now it all makes sense!
Huh. I have a cough! A nasty, lingering, painful cough that makes me curl up all fetal in the middle of making lattes or stocking books. Haven’t started coughing blood or vomiting yet, but maybe if I finally go in to the doctor I too can get a taste of this magical levaquin. Hell, I’d settle for a less hallucinatory drug if only it’d give me a night of unbroken sleep. But Heath Ledger?! An irresistible endorsement!
haha, i searched levaquin alcohol, levaquin partying, on google and i found you! i took a nap and there was my high school sweetheart but her big boyfriend pulled a knife on me..
It’s refreshing to hear that at least someone enjoyed these dreams. I can’t believe you guys/gals are actually joking around about this poison.
After pill #1 I was fine….only on pill #2, tonight I am suffering from feeling as if I’m constantly being tortured as soon as I fall asleep. I struggle to awaken. Once I do and finally fall back asleep it begins again.
Tomorrow I am demanding my money back from the pharmacy. I will refuse to leave the building unless they give me my money back. Cost me 5 bucks per pill. I won’t charge them for the 2 I’ve taken. I’ve been told before that we can never get our money back on prescriptions. Guess I’ll have to get dragged out of there by security then. Then I’ll take my story to the media if that happens. I really don’t want to cause a scene, but if they force me to, I will…….health care and the pharmaceutical companies…..THAT is the crap you get with our “free enterprise” society. You make millions at the painful expense of other people. I want the government to put a lid on it. Hooray socialism! Bring it on….I’m dead serious.