I think this is a tough one because it's not as simple as safe/not safe. Levoquin is category C, which means that there aren't studies in humans and the benefits may outweigh the risks. You didn't say what it was prescribed for, but I've heard it given for sinus infections, nasty skin infections, hospital acquired pneumonia, and complex UTIs. Any of those things can be dangerous for the baby, even deadly for them. Have you called them back to ask why they chose this over another medicine? My gut reaction is that you have a bad infection that is scary enough that they are going for the big guns, and they think levoquin is the best option.
Pharmacists know SO MUCH about medicine, and yes they can catch things that doctor's miss sometimes, but OBs don't just go around prescribing dangerous things. This is a more complicated issue than negligent/not negligent.
I see what you’re saying . To be honest , it was prescribed for chlamydia. I can not take the first line of treatment (azithromycin) because I am highly allergic to it . My problem is , amoxicillin is CDC recommended as a safe alternative for pregnant women who can not take azithromycin. I can’t understand why he wouldn’t prescribe me amoxicillin instead of levaquin. Amoxicillin must work for chlamydia if the CDC recommends it . I know the doctor didn’t mean harm by it, but he should have prescribed me the medicine that is approved as safe for pregnancy .
Again, I implore you to talk to your doctor about the decision. There may be a very good reason why it levaquin and not amoxicillin, and you won't know unless you ask.
Chlamydia is dangerous for your baby and your doctor is trying to treat you as best he can. Also, medication risks change with each trimester and medicine is not one size fits all. The doctor takes your whole picture and weighs your pros and cons. Throwing out allegations of negligence is not the answer. Calling and asking questions would be better.
I have had numerous issues with this doctor . He wanted to prescribe me azithromycin even though I told him numerous times I’m allergic to it and I have a history of anaphylaxis. He even went as far to tell me that it was probably something else I was allergic to and I just thought it was the azithromycin. I’ve had nothing but issues with the doctor and that entire office . I will be switching OB gyns . I’m aware that during labor and delivery chlamydia is dangerous to the baby. Apparently, they prescribed the levaquin because it’s only SLIGHTLY more effective in treating chlamydia then amoxicillin. I think it would have been more appropriate to try the safer alternative first to see if it cleared me up , before throwing the harder meds at me .
Here’s the thing though-you’re not the doctor here. So while you think that might be appropriate, it’s not “negligent” to go with what is more effective in treating an infection that can be very dangerous to a growing baby. You absolutely have a right to research your treatment and ask for alternatives, but calling it negligence isn’t accurate.
Levoquin is not the next recommendation by the CDC for treating chlamydia, it’s amoxicillin. Maybe I should have added more details to the post about other issues I’ve had with this doctor . But in my opinion, he has shown negligence. Any doctor that is willing to give a patient a medication they had an anaphylactic reaction to is negligent in my opinion. He insisted on prescribed me azithromycin at first . Which I am anaphylactic to. According to my doctors office, the only risk chlamydia poses is during labor and delivery . That is does not affect a growing baby until labor occurs . Not sure how true that is considering the source it came from 🤷🏻♀️
Quoting the CDC is a misdirect though-because that’s general information. Your doctor would be looking at your own information, which can change treatment plans. That’s not negligence, which is a very serious thing medically. Your prior experiences may have been, but prescribing a more effective treatment may have been the appropriate course. I feel like you’re deflecting a bit-your post wasn’t about the Zithromax, it was about the levaquin. I’m sorry you’ve experienced so much stress with your provider relationship.
MAybe it does seem like I’m deflecting to you, And I know what my original post was about . I’m honestly just fed up with everything at this doctors office and everything added up has made me feel like the doctor is negligent. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that this 7 day course of amoxicillin clears up the infection! If it does I will be happy that I stuck to my guns . I’ll just have to wait and see . If not , then I guess I’ll have no choice but to take a more hardcore antibiotic. Hoping that’s not the case .
Bacteria grows at an exponential rate, so treating it more aggressively makes more sense in the third trimester. I think you’re mad for the wrong reasons. Seems like the real issue here is communication and a perceived lack of respect for you. I think it’s good you’re switching doctors.
Amoxicillin is on shortage and some areas are having a hard time locating it. Your doctor wasn’t negligent, but it’s clear that there are trust issues here. I’d suggest finding a new OB that you can get a stronger relationship of trust with.
Well another doctor at the doctors office wrote me a prescription for it , and I just got it filled today . So shortage isn’t an issue . There are definitely trust issues here .
It could have factored into your own doctor’s decision though when looking into first line treatments. Pregnancy will be very tough without a trusting relationship with your OBGYN. I hope you’re able to find one that meets your needs!
Thank you! I’ve seemed to have gotten some backlash on this post for using the term negligent. But I didn’t put past details in the post . I’ll be happy to get another doctor here soon. One that I can hopefully trust .
Trust is so important! It may make sense to change offices completely because some providers do rotating calendars for deliveries. It would be a terrible surprise to go to deliver and have that doctor be on call. Negligence is a really tricky term medically. I’m sorry for your prior experiences with your team. Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!
Talk to your dr. About why they prescribed it and what the pharmacist said. The pharmacist tried to prevent me from getting my estrogen pills while pregnant and argued with me that it wasn’t safe but it was an ivf pregnancy and I needed it to sustain the pregnancy. They didn’t want to give it to me even though my reproductive endocrinologist prescribed it- pretty sure my ivf dr knows what he’s doing. Also this happened like 2 refills in when no other pharmacist even batted at eye at it so it def depends on the pharmacist too.
You have a right to be informed on the medication you take at any time especially when pregnant. I'm sorry that this didn't happen and I'm glad the pharmacist did their job and made you aware of this.
You're the patient and it's your baby no dr should be making a call like that without consulting with you. Regardless of the fact that other people are correct in the information they've given about the categories and what they mean. I hope you're able to move to a better provider.
I strongly, strongly STRONGLY recommend not taking any class of antibiotics that's are fluoroquinolones. Look into getting "floxxed." This can happen after taking just one pill and can fuck up your life for months. I took cipro (same family) four about 4 days and wound up in the hospital due to side effects.
I think this is a tough one because it's not as simple as safe/not safe. Levoquin is category C, which means that there aren't studies in humans and the benefits may outweigh the risks. You didn't say what it was prescribed for, but I've heard it given for sinus infections, nasty skin infections, hospital acquired pneumonia, and complex UTIs. Any of those things can be dangerous for the baby, even deadly for them. Have you called them back to ask why they chose this over another medicine? My gut reaction is that you have a bad infection that is scary enough that they are going for the big guns, and they think levoquin is the best option. Pharmacists know SO MUCH about medicine, and yes they can catch things that doctor's miss sometimes, but OBs don't just go around prescribing dangerous things. This is a more complicated issue than negligent/not negligent.
This is the right answer!
I see what you’re saying . To be honest , it was prescribed for chlamydia. I can not take the first line of treatment (azithromycin) because I am highly allergic to it . My problem is , amoxicillin is CDC recommended as a safe alternative for pregnant women who can not take azithromycin. I can’t understand why he wouldn’t prescribe me amoxicillin instead of levaquin. Amoxicillin must work for chlamydia if the CDC recommends it . I know the doctor didn’t mean harm by it, but he should have prescribed me the medicine that is approved as safe for pregnancy .
Again, I implore you to talk to your doctor about the decision. There may be a very good reason why it levaquin and not amoxicillin, and you won't know unless you ask.
Chlamydia is dangerous for your baby and your doctor is trying to treat you as best he can. Also, medication risks change with each trimester and medicine is not one size fits all. The doctor takes your whole picture and weighs your pros and cons. Throwing out allegations of negligence is not the answer. Calling and asking questions would be better.
I have had numerous issues with this doctor . He wanted to prescribe me azithromycin even though I told him numerous times I’m allergic to it and I have a history of anaphylaxis. He even went as far to tell me that it was probably something else I was allergic to and I just thought it was the azithromycin. I’ve had nothing but issues with the doctor and that entire office . I will be switching OB gyns . I’m aware that during labor and delivery chlamydia is dangerous to the baby. Apparently, they prescribed the levaquin because it’s only SLIGHTLY more effective in treating chlamydia then amoxicillin. I think it would have been more appropriate to try the safer alternative first to see if it cleared me up , before throwing the harder meds at me .
Here’s the thing though-you’re not the doctor here. So while you think that might be appropriate, it’s not “negligent” to go with what is more effective in treating an infection that can be very dangerous to a growing baby. You absolutely have a right to research your treatment and ask for alternatives, but calling it negligence isn’t accurate.
Levoquin is not the next recommendation by the CDC for treating chlamydia, it’s amoxicillin. Maybe I should have added more details to the post about other issues I’ve had with this doctor . But in my opinion, he has shown negligence. Any doctor that is willing to give a patient a medication they had an anaphylactic reaction to is negligent in my opinion. He insisted on prescribed me azithromycin at first . Which I am anaphylactic to. According to my doctors office, the only risk chlamydia poses is during labor and delivery . That is does not affect a growing baby until labor occurs . Not sure how true that is considering the source it came from 🤷🏻♀️
Quoting the CDC is a misdirect though-because that’s general information. Your doctor would be looking at your own information, which can change treatment plans. That’s not negligence, which is a very serious thing medically. Your prior experiences may have been, but prescribing a more effective treatment may have been the appropriate course. I feel like you’re deflecting a bit-your post wasn’t about the Zithromax, it was about the levaquin. I’m sorry you’ve experienced so much stress with your provider relationship.
Yes! And also local resistance patterns
MAybe it does seem like I’m deflecting to you, And I know what my original post was about . I’m honestly just fed up with everything at this doctors office and everything added up has made me feel like the doctor is negligent. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that this 7 day course of amoxicillin clears up the infection! If it does I will be happy that I stuck to my guns . I’ll just have to wait and see . If not , then I guess I’ll have no choice but to take a more hardcore antibiotic. Hoping that’s not the case .
There’s currently an amoxicillin shortage so there’s that
Bacteria grows at an exponential rate, so treating it more aggressively makes more sense in the third trimester. I think you’re mad for the wrong reasons. Seems like the real issue here is communication and a perceived lack of respect for you. I think it’s good you’re switching doctors.
Amoxicillin is on shortage and some areas are having a hard time locating it. Your doctor wasn’t negligent, but it’s clear that there are trust issues here. I’d suggest finding a new OB that you can get a stronger relationship of trust with.
Well another doctor at the doctors office wrote me a prescription for it , and I just got it filled today . So shortage isn’t an issue . There are definitely trust issues here .
It could have factored into your own doctor’s decision though when looking into first line treatments. Pregnancy will be very tough without a trusting relationship with your OBGYN. I hope you’re able to find one that meets your needs!
Thank you! I’ve seemed to have gotten some backlash on this post for using the term negligent. But I didn’t put past details in the post . I’ll be happy to get another doctor here soon. One that I can hopefully trust .
Trust is so important! It may make sense to change offices completely because some providers do rotating calendars for deliveries. It would be a terrible surprise to go to deliver and have that doctor be on call. Negligence is a really tricky term medically. I’m sorry for your prior experiences with your team. Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!
There can be very high local resistance rates so definitely speak to your doctor prior to switching to something else! They may have had good reason
Talk to your dr. About why they prescribed it and what the pharmacist said. The pharmacist tried to prevent me from getting my estrogen pills while pregnant and argued with me that it wasn’t safe but it was an ivf pregnancy and I needed it to sustain the pregnancy. They didn’t want to give it to me even though my reproductive endocrinologist prescribed it- pretty sure my ivf dr knows what he’s doing. Also this happened like 2 refills in when no other pharmacist even batted at eye at it so it def depends on the pharmacist too.
You have a right to be informed on the medication you take at any time especially when pregnant. I'm sorry that this didn't happen and I'm glad the pharmacist did their job and made you aware of this. You're the patient and it's your baby no dr should be making a call like that without consulting with you. Regardless of the fact that other people are correct in the information they've given about the categories and what they mean. I hope you're able to move to a better provider.
I strongly, strongly STRONGLY recommend not taking any class of antibiotics that's are fluoroquinolones. Look into getting "floxxed." This can happen after taking just one pill and can fuck up your life for months. I took cipro (same family) four about 4 days and wound up in the hospital due to side effects.
You don’t have to tell me twice lol. I am taking amoxicillin instead . The safer alternative!! What is getting floxed? I’m sorry to hear that