I came home from work last wed ready to take him to the gym where he has been making improvements and he was in the chair, he fell earlier and was unstable. He could barely walk and I called the orthopedic doc who said not an emergency (^$#@#%%#%). I took him to the internist thursday who said it could be an ear infection (amoxicillin since last thursday afternoon, no improvement overall). he was ok friday and seriously fatigued yesterday. This moring he was initially fine and an hr later was dizzy and wobbly. We are going back to the internist tomorrow. Any suggestions?

Saved1986, I had vertigo in 2008. I fell and broke my hip. Since then I've been taking ginger root caps which stopped the vertigo.

Thanks Big Al I have him on ginger root and yes, he did break his hip in june, and a ton of other health issues popped up (emphysema and CHF). The CHF is under control and the emphysema is bad but not horrible. He was up to 0.45 miles on a treadmill and 30 minutes on an exercise bike: and then last wed he fell, has dizzy spells and is fatigued.

At this point it really could be anything, either very simple or very complex. Could be his heart, maybe he needs oxygen, perhaps he's having mini strokes.

In general it sounds like your dad is in a steady decline for quite a while now. Often after a broken hip they are never the same again and this is how things tend to look and go. Can't make any suggestions unless the doc can figure out what the problem is.

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Hi Saved, sorry to hear your dad's sick again, it sounded for awhile like he was doing pretty good. I'm with BigAl on the Vertigo, first thing that popped into my mind.

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His internist checked for mini strokes. He was on the upswing for months and then it was immidiate.

WATER!!! WATER!!! Pedialyte! water.... How much water is he drinking... Unfortunately older people think they drink alot, but in reality, they usually dont.. Then lots of older folks (esp men) dont drink because they have trouble getting to the bathroom fast enough.. Talk to him, is there a way that you can figure out how much he is drinking.. If he admits to not drinking becus cant get to the bathroom fast enough, get him a urinal to keep beside his chair, or with him... dad use to carry his on his walker everywhere around the house. Which sometimes caused for embarrassing situation, but we worked around it...

I do agree with Arrow, it could be the TIA's. I was under the understanding that doctors couldnt tell if a person was having a TIA unless they saw it... When Dad had them, he would be really weak and unbalanced for a day or two, and gradually gain his strength back. But never gained all his strength back, was noticably weaker ever time. It could be an ear infection... might try some of the ear treatments we have on here... I would go down the list... did you start any new meds. Is he taking meds by himself, could he be messing up on taking his meds? Like either forgetting to take them, or possibly forgetting that he has already taken something, and so taking it again??? Definitly check the amount of water he is drinking, and what about his food intake, is he eating? eating enough? Too hot in the house? Getting enough sleep? all of these things had caused my dad-in-law problems.. we just needed to work on each situation as it occured... Working with elderly parents is always hard, partially because they dont remember as well as we think we do, partially because they dont want us to worry, so they tell us the answer they think we want to hear...Just keep investigating, and try not to lose your patience.... Slow and steady... just keep loving him and keep doing the best you can for him... In the long run you both will be forever thankful

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Is he taking D3? low D3 levels cause pelvic weakness in the elderly and contribute to falls. Get his level checked even if he is taking some

He is on lasix (20mg once a day) and he takes his pills with water in the morning and evening. I will increase his water intake and he is open to things like that. (He does keep a urinal by his chair also) He is on amoxicillan for a possible ear infection (since thursday). Yesterday, I put an organic apple, a kiwi, some grapes and frozen berries in the vitamix and he did drink that (bioflavanoids are good for vessel strength). He also has a galss of OJ a day (also a glass of root beer unfortuantely) . Also, he has insomnia and has to catch up on his sleep every morning.

His D was low in august and the doc gave him 50,000 IU daily for 30 days and then 1 week after that.


Just me: You rock! I was giving him magnesium once a week for awhile and have not the last 2 weeks. When I get home tonight I will give him the magnesium drink (ionic fizz magnesium). I am sure if he is on lasix, is is urinating out more magnesium and blood tests which show normal magnesium are not always correct. He is also on potassium supplements.

Saved 1986 get your father off antibiotics! Antibiotics should only be used in a life and death situation never for a "just in case" scenario.
Antibiotics kill all bacteria including those in the gut. Normally a person has trillions of them weighing about 3 pounds. Taking antibiotics kill these off and then the person has nothing to digest food with and extract nutrients. That is why he is so weak. He needs to take high quality probiotics to repopulate his gut.
I think it is medical malpractice for doctors to hand out antibiotics like candy-they really do more harm than good.

Hey, I agree. I have some ohiras probiotics which I will start him on again starting friday (are they ok to take with antibiotics?).

No they are not! Antibiotics kill the probiotics. Get him off the antibiotics first. The sooner the better.

I agree, but we have a doc appt thursday morning. Today is day 6 of the antibiotics. I will talk to him when I get home and see what he wants to do. The antibiotics obviously did not help.

My thoughts exactly.

Antibiotics weaken the immune system, and that is something your dad doesn't need right now. In fact, he needs to strengthen his immune system, and that starts by taking alot of D3, C, magnesium, and iodine.

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