I was put on an antibiotic for pneumonia by my doctor. A week later when it didn't seem like the pneumonia was going away even though I felt better he prescribed me another antibiotic and told me to take this in addition to the one I was already on. When I went to the pharmacist to get the new prescription they noticed that I was not finished with the first antibiotic and warned me not to take the second antibiotic until I finished the first one. Thinking that doctors don't know everything I went back to my doctor and told them that the pharmacist told me taking these two drugs together may cause heart conditions. The nurse talked to the doctor and she came out and said "You talked to a Pharmacist - this is a doctor. He says that you need to take these drugs". I later found out that this was a warning from the manufacturer of the drugs and not just the Pharmacist himself.

I took the drugs and around the time that I finished taking them I noticed that at night I was having what was later diagnosed as frequent premature ventricular contractions. Over the next couple months I noticed that now I was having them pretty much 24 hours a day. At the end of the day my doctor pretty much tried to make this go away and after a couple of tests told me there is no need to follow up. I asked him about the possibility of the drugs causing this and he said he didn't know but would be one of the things he would look into. I never heard back from him about this.

Many PVC's from what I understand require no treatment but I am unsure about these since I believe they were caused by these drugs and not from other sources like caffeine. The pure number of them cannot be good for my heart. They are bothersome and I sometimes cannot sleep or concentrate at work. I later found documents that support not taking these drugs together and the effects they have together.

Do I have a case against my negligent Doctor?

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Originally Posted by dsutherl

I was put on an antibiotic for pneumonia by my doctor. A week later when it didn't seem like the pneumonia was going away even though I felt better he prescribed me another antibiotic and told me to take this in addition to the one I was already on. When I went to the pharmacist to get the new prescription they noticed that I was not finished with the first antibiotic and warned me not to take the second antibiotic until I finished the first one. Thinking that doctors don't know everything I went back to my doctor and told them that the pharmacist told me taking these two drugs together may cause heart conditions. The nurse talked to the doctor and she came out and said "You talked to a Pharmacist - this is a doctor. He says that you need to take these drugs". I later found out that this was a warning from the manufacturer of the drugs and not just the Pharmacist himself.

I took the drugs and around the time that I finished taking them I noticed that at night I was having what was later diagnosed as frequent premature ventricular contractions. Over the next couple months I noticed that now I was having them pretty much 24 hours a day. At the end of the day my doctor pretty much tried to make this go away and after a couple of tests told me there is no need to follow up. I asked him about the possibility of the drugs causing this and he said he didn't know but would be one of the things he would look into. I never heard back from him about this.

Many PVC's from what I understand require no treatment but I am unsure about these since I believe they were caused by these drugs and not from other sources like caffeine. The pure number of them cannot be good for my heart. They are bothersome and I sometimes cannot sleep or concentrate at work. I later found documents that support not taking these drugs together and the effects they have together.

Do I have a case against my negligent Doctor?

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If you have monetary damages, sure, or damage to your health. Medical malpractice cases are complex and quite expensive - difficult to find one Doctor to testify against another and the argument is often that the drug company warning does not apply to this particular situation - but contact an Attorney or two and see if your damages rise to the lawsuit level.

I find it unusual that the Pharmacist gave you the info and didn't call the Doctor him/herself. In my area usual practice is to notify the Doctor in the event it's an error or omission (and it happens more frequently than people think) and if it's a combination (or a drug) which the drug company warns about, the Pharmacist will not fill the prescription. That's why Pharmacists pay a lot for professional liability insurance - in your case the Pharmacist did catch it so I see no fault there.

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Originally Posted by dsutherl

Do I have a case against my negligent Doctor?

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Hello d:

IF he was negligent, sure. However, proving it is going to be a challenge. I'm speaking financially. If you have enough money, you can find experts who will testify for you...

Next, is a matter of damages. That's going to be hard to determine, IF you have damages at all. I don't know what those things you have are, and I don't know if they can be treated, or I don't know if they're a sure sign of impending death.

Again, if you have enough money, you can find experts who will testify as to how much this thing has cost you in monetary damages.

However, I'll bet when you add up all things you have spend in order to win, and you compare them to how much you COULD win, I think you'll find out your money is better spent on the stock market.

This, of course, presumes you have money. If you don't, then you're out of gas.

excon

What 2 antibiotics are you talking about?

The two antibiotics were Levaquin and Z-pak.

I do not know if you have a case or not. If you have the time and resources I would suggest you contact a malpractice attorney, just to see what your chances are.

I have had doctors prescribe me medications that could have KILLED me if combined with other medications I was on. No, the pharmacist didn't tell me, and no the doctor didn't tell me. I had to read if for myself. Did I sue them after I found out, no, I just simply didn't take the medication, and then I switched doctors. However in your situation, I understand you did take the medication, so there is a difference in our situations.

There is a possibility that what has happened to you, and the stress that it has caused you over whether to sue, could be causing the PVC's to increase and it could also be causing the lack of concentration and the sleepless nights you are experiencing. Stress wreaks havoc on our bodies.

Yes, doctors do make mistakes, they are human. But rarely do these doctors suffer any repercussions for their actions, mostly because people find lawsuits too expensive or too much trouble.

Have you tried yet filing a complaint with the medical board in your state? Those are the people who can help you. I think all they will do is ask you to write a letter explaining to them what happened. Then they investigate. Whether anything comes of it, you might at the least feel better for being able to get it off your chest. If they find the doctor did something wrong they can and will reprimand him/her, which you could use for a lawsuit at a later date. However if you are looking for a cash settlement, the medical board cannot offer or award compensatory damages.

Unfortunately I have several medical problems which puts me in constant contact with the medical community. Let us just say that I have had some pretty awful doctors. However, if I sued every doctor who ever did something wrong to me, I would be involved in lawsuits for the rest of my life!! Now I personally research every medication prescribed to me, to find out what if anything it is contraindicated with. This is very important if you are on several medications at once, as I am. I have learned that just because the doctor prescribed it does not mean that I have to stick it in my mouth without first finding out what it is.

I know that lawsuits in themselves are extremely stressful, mentally and financially. Have you ever been involved in a lawsuit before? Did you consider the possibility that you could lose. Did you think about that and how you would feel if you lost? Carrying something like this around is not healthy for you, which is not something you brought onto yourself either. Maybe you could think about talking to another doctor about what happened and your concerns regarding such.

Please do not let me discourage you from filing a lawsuit if you feel that is what you must do. Believe me if the doctor did something wrong, no one would be happier than me to see them pay for it. If you think filing a lawsuit will make you feel better, go for it!

All I can say is that I am so sorry you are going through this, and I hope you are able to get through it unscathed.

Good luck!

My main concern is that I have this almost constant heart thumping feeling in my chest and sometimes takes my breath away - sometimes 6-10 times a minutes. That is why I cannot sleep and why I sometimes cannot concentrate. There is no pattern to it. Am I going to have to live like this the rest of my life because one doctor said I don't care what the pharmacist said?

Thanks for your replies! It helps talking about this and hearing others opinions. I was hoping they would just fade away but it's been 3 months now and if anything they are increasing.

Anyway I will weight my options and continue to investigate this.

zithromax and Levaquin Drug Interactions


"Coadministration with other agents that can prolong the QT interval may result in elevated risk of ventricular arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia and torsade de pointes."

These are considerably different than PVCs.

Levaquin side effects (Levofloxacin) and drug interactions - prescription drugs and medications at RxList


Generating signals of drug-adverse effects from pr...[Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2005] - PubMed Result

They used cipro and erythromycin ? Levaquin and clarithromycin

Same class combinations but not the exact ones you were on.


#1] The majority of arrythmias are due to coronary artery disease.
CAD is not caused by short term use of the antibiotics you mentioned.
A stress test and if needed a cardiac catherization can rule in or rule out this
Condition.

#2] PVCs can be a normal occurrence.

#3] Arrythmias can be a sign of underlying valvular heart disease. See Reggie Lewis and IHSS. A echocardiogram can check on your valves.

#4] Other things - low potassium, low magnesium, overactive thyroid can cause arrythmias. All these conditions must be ruled out as a source of your PVCs.

#5] A holter monitor or event monitor can be used to record your heart rhythm and document if your symptoms correlate with these PVCs. If this is the case, and all of the above conditions are met you should see a cardiologist specializing in electrophysiologic studies.

#6] CAUSE from levaquin and zithromax has to be established. Even if there was cause is there a documented cardiac event - cardiac arrest, VT, torsades, long Qt?


Frankly - from what you have written, you don't have much of a case.

I have had the stress test and that checked out OK. Halter showed PVC's not QT longation so that was OK. Blood test checked out OK.

I cannot ignore the timing of this. PVS's can be normal but 1000 a day feeling the pounding that is not normal. Never had these before until after taking these medicines and boom. This maybe hard to prove but from all the articles I have read there were reported conditions of frequent PVS's from taking these drugs. Just with all the warnings that are out there for this heart side effect and that side effect taking with this drug and with that drug there is no doubt in my mind that this is what did it. If I cannot piece more of this together yes I may not have a case.

Good stuff though inthebox.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dsutherl

I have had the stress test and that checked out OK. Halter showed PVC's not QT longation so that was OK. Blood test checked out OK.

I cannot ignore the timing of this. PVS's can be normal but 1000 a day feeling the pounding that is not normal. Never had these before until after taking these medicines and boom. This maybe hard to prove but from all the articles I have read there were reported conditions of frequent PVS's from taking these drugs. Just with all the warnings that are out there for this heart side effect and that side effect taking with this drug and with that drug there is no doubt in my mind that this is what did it. If I cannot piece more of this together yes I may not have a case.

Good stuff though inthebox.

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And when you are evaluating the matter you have to also consider whether the risk of the medications was worth the benefit -

What does your Pharmacist say about this? If he/she warned you and then the Doctor said to go ahead I would question the Doctor again. Don't want to pit the Pharmacist and Doctor against each other but I would question which would had superior knowledge of the medications, not superior knowledge of your condition.

You probably do. Consult with another physician completely independently of your first doctor. Present him/her with all of the evidence you've found, a full description of all your symptoms and insist that (s)he run a complete battery of tests (which your initial doctor refused to do) to diagnose exactly what condition you may be now suffering from.

One simple question I need to ask prior to answering this question...

What did your EKG show prior to taking these meds?

PVCs can be quite normal with many people.

If you don't have an EKG to show prior to taking the meds, you may find yourself fighting an uphill battle.

Do you have a cardiologist?

At times drugs given are at risk and there can be risks with many drugs, some of the ones I take have warnings they can cuase this or that.

But with that said, after saying the risk, he still did it, I would say you have a fair case, if you can get a couple more doctors to testify in court that this was wrong and that normally this would never be prescribed.

Let us not forget that with medication, sometimes the benefits outweigh the risks. There are times when it is more beneficial to the patient to give two meds that are contraindicated, however, if the chance is higher that it will heal the patient, it is more beneficial to use the combination. It's called a "synergistic" effect.

I don't know the age of the OP, nor do I know the medical history, but in cases with pneumonias that are particularly nasty and becoming resistant to antibiotics, sometimes we have to combine meds like this so as to avoid placing the patient on a ventilator, or the patient becoming septic and dying.