These symptoms presented themselves and I wasn't able to get my husband to the car, so had to call 911. He's had 3 UTI's in less that 3 months, I think, and hospitalized 3x. The other night, he had these same symptoms, but stayed responsive to my questions or directives. Then he seemed to recover, thankfully! Sent urine sample & it was negative. Has anyone else's loved one had these symptoms with something else? Just wondering what else might have caused that?
The combination of symptoms described—fever, lethargy, disorientation, difficulty holding the head up, trouble walking, hand tremors, and excessive sleepiness—can be seen in several medical conditions. Some potential causes include:
1. Encephalitis:
Cause: Inflammation of the brain, often due to viral infections (e.g., herpes simplex virus, West Nile virus).
Symptoms: Fever, lethargy, confusion, disorientation, tremors, difficulty with motor control (like walking or holding the head up), seizures, and excessive sleepiness.
2. Meningitis:
Cause: Inflammation of the protective membranes around the brain and spinal cord, often due to infections (bacterial, viral, or fungal).
Symptoms: High fever, severe headache, lethargy, difficulty walking, neck stiffness (difficulty holding the head up), confusion, sensitivity to light, and drowsiness.
3. Parkinson's Disease (in acute stages):
Cause: Neurodegenerative disease that affects movement.
Symptoms: Tremors (especially in the hands), muscle rigidity, difficulty walking, balance problems, and fatigue. Acute disorientation or sleepiness can happen in later stages or during complications.
4. Sepsis (with neurological involvement):
Cause: A life-threatening infection that leads to widespread inflammation and organ dysfunction.
Symptoms: Fever, confusion or disorientation, lethargy, tremors, difficulty with coordination, and extreme fatigue or sleepiness.
5. Hypoglycemia:
Cause: Low blood sugar, common in diabetics or those with metabolic disorders.
Symptoms: Tremors, confusion, disorientation, difficulty walking, lethargy, sleepiness, and potentially fever in some cases if the cause is infection-related.
6. Delirium or Acute Confusional State:
Cause: A rapid change in brain function often due to infections, medications, or metabolic imbalances.
Symptoms: Disorientation, confusion, tremors, difficulty moving, lethargy, fever if infection-related, and sleepiness.
You really need to get your husband to his primary doctor for a thorough examination and more extensive labs and blood work as a start. Using the ER and labs will not connect the dots. His primary doctor will pursue a diagnosis as testing for different illnesses or conditions point in a direction.
Side note: I have a relative who resides in Phoenix. He had these symptoms and was taken to the ER in serious condition. It turned out he was in a very small percentage of people who got severely ill from West Nile Virus. He is not an outdoorsy person so it was very surprising. He was hospitalized for a while as it affected him neurologically. He had to do a lot of rehab to relearn things (and thankfully had a full recovery). He was in his early 60s when this happened.
It may be that your husband has some infection that the UTI antibiotics is not knocking out completely. But he needs to go to his primary really soon.
What are your husband’s chronic medical problems ?
History of dementia , stroke or mini strokes , TIA’s ?
Have you told his doctor about this time where he recovered and no UTI ?