I was floxed over 2 years ago with 300mg twice daily for 8 weeks.  At first I didn't have many problems. Then after a few months I noticed I could not exercise at all. I used to exercise all the time and never hurt. If I try a few push ups, the next day my arms are severely painful and numb/cramp/hot/weak for months!  I get random numbness in my arms and face.  Over a year ago I rollerbladed slowly around the block once (I used to aggressively rollerblade miles before floxin with no problems) and the next day I couldn't walk my knees hurt so much and my left leg felt like it was lit on fire for 9 months.

It is over a year and I still limp half of the week and usually have some pain in the knee or burning sensations under the thigh, knee, or heel.  I have learned to simply not exercise or exert myself in any way or suffer severe debilitation and pain for months or years. This even happened with just 3 minutes on an elliptical (no impact machine) I had sore elbows and knees. 

Mentally though I was fine, except slight worry about my condition and inability to exercise anymore.  I had a MRI of the knee and it showed up ok, even though 1 year later I am still in pain.

Rheumatologist said I am fine. Now a neurologist wants to do some eeg study and poke me with big needles for a half hour as well as a brain mri with contrast. He doesn't think I have MS, but wants to rule out and see if I really have nerve problems or if it is all in my head. 

I am seeing a psychiatrist because I can't sleep AT ALL for days, but now with xanax I can usually sleep at night.  2 years after the floxin I started having severe anxiety, panic attacks, random numbness and tinglings, nausea, dry mouth, numb tongue and bitter taste, and uneasy feelings, smothering feeling, sick feeling etc. 

The psychiatrist thinks all this pain like a sore leg for a year is all in my head, I don't see how pain that is basically in the same place, but does move up and down the leg on different days or with whatever limb I overuse is all in my head.  However I do believe that maybe the floxin ruined my nervous system and makes every little stimulus seem like pain and then the damaged nerves from exercise or whatever take a year or more to heal.  Anyhow can anyone tell me when this ends? When it gets better instead of worse? The last 6 months have been mentally horrible feeling bad all the time and not sleeping, eating much, etc.  The psychiatrist wants me to start Effexor XR this weekend, but I tried paxil a few months ago and was a vegetable for 3 days and had to quit. I have heard effexor makes you vomit and it is almost impossible to get off it, with severe withdrawl symptoms.  But these kind of things always get exaggerated on the internet, and my psych. really thinks Effexor will help since he thinks I have GAD and maybe somataform disorder or fibromyalgia. Of course no one believes its the quinolones! 

Can anyone give me advice on when this goes away? Whether I should try the effexor xr? Whether I should do that painfull EEG test at the neurologist, I told him if I do do it, I am coming in on xanax and vicodin! He basically said ok.  Any advice would be helpful, I am falling more and more apart every day.