Has anybody had experience with the DH walking, sitting with a definite list to one side? Started suddenly. He doesn't seem to be in any pain and is not walking like he is off balance. Hopefully the doctor will have some ideas.
My husband has become progressively worse with his posture and gait. It started years ago with noticing one shoulder was dropped lower than the other. Now, he is stooped over at perhaps a 40% angle. When asked to straighten his neck and head forward, it is impossible for him to do this. He walks with a mincing little gait and uses a walker. He complains of being frightened when walking, of extreme exhaustion, pain. Is it real? I don't know. I do know that he has been just lying around in a hospital bed for over a year and won't take part in PT.
Don't know if this is your situation, but other people in my support group have reported that this can be a major side effect of meds, especially some of the anti-psychotic meds. Have any medications been changed recently?
Alice, my DW started listing to her left when she walked about two years ago, and the list would get more pronounced toward the end of our daily walk. If we tried to do three miles, she would be having to hold onto me for support by the time we got home and could barely make it up the five steps to our porch. That was the beginning of balance problems that have progressed to the point where her universe now consists of her bed, recliner, and dining table, and she requires lots of hands-on assistance in transferring between these and a wheel chair. That may also have been the beginning of "left side neglect" that now has her mentally blind to things to her left and renders her left hand almost useless (she has full use of it -- she's just unaware that it's there). I hope your DH won't experience all of this. As for meds, she's been on Aricept and Namenda for years, and no changes in anything preceded her starting to list.
That's good, I thought he sounded like he could use a larger dose, I'm not a medical person but my DW took Seroquel for several years, so I had a lot of experience with gauging her need for Seroquel. It's good that the Doc gave you some flexibility to increase the dose if you feel he needs more. I know it has helped a lot, the uptake is fairly quick. Be alert for changes, they can increase the dose if needed.
In March 2007 my Dh made his 3rd trip to the ER after a suspected TIA(confirmed). Since then his body leans to the left, especially when he's physically tired. The left shoulder droops then too. If he tries to do much physically, like a longer (more than 2 blocks) walk, he'll end up walking with knees partly bent, as though on verge of collapsing. I don't think his issues are from his meds,but they may be contributing. Eiother way, it goes back to the disease.
Thank you for your comments. He has been put on a new med (Thorazine). There is not many meds that work for him to control his agitation when they address his incontinence needs. He is in a residential facility and has also fought me with that. I do not like these meds, but if he needs them ... People will say it is all in the approach, but often this is not the case, it is just the darn disease. I wondered about a TIA also. I have not heard about the "left side neglect" before..sounds like something to consider. I guess it could be one of a number of things and it is so hard to know since he can not communicate, but does not seem to be in pain. Could be meds, could be just progression and I hope he does not have to go in the hospital since he always comes out worse than when he went in. Sad, sad, sad for anyone and he is only 55.
It would seem that with people starting to lean towards the left that it is the right side of the brain being affected first with this disease (in many people). Interesting.