i have now experienced the 36hour day

gampiano

Hello fellow travelers,

My DH who is probably in late stage 5 or early 6, had a dramatic shift in behavior, and became very weak and fatigued. So... i messaged the VA doc and we tested for UTI. Yes, he has one, not for the first time, but when the culture came back the Dr. added Levaquin to the bactrim that he is already taking. He was on L last month, had no side effects. However, despite the potential damage this drug can do, the bacteria is so resistant that he had to take it again. Its either that or go into possible sepsis.

In the last 48 hours he has developed a tremor in his hands and a Parkinson's -like gait, poor spatial judgement and balance. Thankfully I had purchased a walker a few months ago, just "in case", and last night at 11:pm i pulled it out of the box. Thank God i had it handy or we would have both been on the floor. This was and is a scary glimpse into the future. Im hoping these symptoms abate when he's off the L, and messaged the Dr, about it, but we still have to worry about ankle and tendon problems even after 3 months of being off the med. SO, ive had no sleep for the last 36 hours!

Ironically, I had just started to clear out the downstairs office, anticipating putting a bed in there. Now I feel the urgency of it all, and have to find a way to move my piano out of there too. How quickly things can turn... Last week he was a rock star in PT, and had no trouble with stairs. My advice:

GET A WALKER even if you don't need it now!

Going to try to take a nap,

Maureen

;

Jo C.

There have been some interesting negative effects with Levoquin which may or may not be involved in the changes in your husband's condition. If you use Google, there is much information re this. Seems that this antibiotic (as well as some others) can affect some people in a highly negative manner. My own mother who had dementia was prescribed Levoquin. She suddenly took a significant downturn in her ability to think, to process, her mobility was hampered; she became emotional and highly confused; all in all, she was pretty much delirious. Once the drug was stopped, she returned to her usual way of being. About two years later, while in care, she was prescribed Levoquin again despite it being on her allergy list - (error) - the same results happened, only this time the symptoms were worse until the error was caught and the drug discontinued.

A few years later, I had an infection and the doctor prescribed Levoquin - omigoodness - I could not think clearly, things were foggy and processing incoming information became hampered; found this out while at a red light while driving and had to turn around and get home. When I contacted my physician, he stopped the drug immediately and shared that this had happened with several patients - one so bad it was thought he had a psychotic break - this in a person who was stable and fine until the drug. He returned to normal after discontinuation of the Levoquin.

I am certainly not saying this is what is happening with your LO; just some input to be aware of in a "Just in case" sort of dynamic.

Most people do not realize that antibiotics can affect an individual in such a way, but it happens more often than we realize. Levoquin, from reports, seems to be one of the more dramatic.

So hope your husband improves and that things settle down soon. Take good care and let us know how you are.

J.

Jeff86

Years ago, I too had a negative reaction to Levaquin. Felt very weird and out of sorts—not myself. I hope, Maureen, that when the antibiotic treatment has run its course your DH will return to baseline.

that said, concur that being forearmed with a walker is a wise strategy. We have one for my DW and, in her weakened state, it is helpful.

M1

All of the quinolones--Levoquin, Cipro, oflaxacin--can do this and it's underappreciated. Glad Jo brought it up. I took it once several years ago for Salmonella and I'll never take it again if I can avoid it--I couldn't think straight for a week. Scary. Everyone should be warned about this...

Jgirl57

Sorry to hear of this rough turn of events gampiano. Good idea about the walker . Thank you for sharing and I hope it is not too overwhelming to fix the downstairs office but sounds like it’s time.