My MIL got a skin tear and it became infected. Her cognition has taken a considerable drop and she is sleeping far more than usual. Her appetite is down. Weak and confused. She can't afford to lose any more weight - down to 114. She is on antibiotics since yesterday, but still declining. Should I be worried, or is this just a Lewy decline due to infection? My husband is out of town so I am dealing with this by myself.

It will be hard to know for at least a short time I think. Could be the disease itself, but many on here talk about how their LOs have had declines during and after an infection. So, in a few days or a couple of weeks you might see improvement and you might not. It is really hard to know with this disease. Just do the best you can for her and that's all you can do. Good luck, hugs, Lynn

After only a day on antibiotics it would be hard to say but infection really does cause an exacerbation of LBD symptoms and treatment often brings them back to baseline. Do you know if they did a wound culture and sensitivity test? Sometimes it takes a few days to get the results and they often order a broad spectrum antibiotic in the meantime.

No culture, but she is on a powerful sulfa drug combo. She got up at 8pm last night. Gave her a snack and then around 11:30pm she tried to put her clothes back on. I explained that it was bedtime but she went back to her chair. I went into the kitchen and when I went back into her room, she was getting dressed. She seemed very confused. Got her back into bed after midnight. She was up and down all night. Still weak this morning when she took meds. I'll see what happens when she is up for the day. My husband is out of town with our son, so I am here by myself. I don't know how you sole caregivers do this. I truly admire you all.

How is the wound looking? Has the redness decreased? If there doesn't seem to be any improvement by Monday, I'd call her physician. There are so many nasty resistant organisms out there--especially in skin wounds--that a culture might be necessary.

Wound is still pretty red. Thanks for advice. Let's hope this won't be necessary.

Donna,
I do hope this skin issue begins to improve fopr your Mom, it never ends does it ?

My LO had a horrible (like you've described) reaction to flaggyl, which was an antibiotic given for bacterial infection. I later found that drug on a list of drugs to avoid if you have LBD.
Hope things get better for you.
Terri

Last September my mom had an infection in her leg and was given a sulfa-based antibiotic which caused a rapid cognitive decline and she ended up hospitalized in renal failure. She can no longer take sulfa, along with all the other meds she can't take, the list goes on and on.
Ellen

Quite a few people are allergic to sulfa medications. If there is no improvement by now, a C&S should be done to determine the causative organism and the antibiotics that it will respond to.

It has been over a week since my MIL started antibiotics. She has been steadily getting worse cognitively and physically. I took her to the ER to see if she had a secondary infection, but the tests were all negative. The ER doc said that it was the progression of the disease and that we should consider a nursing home (she currently lives with my husband and me). It is a sad state of affairs. Never easy, is it?

Please pardon my saying so, but most ER docs know squat! Is the wound still not improving?

The wound looks great. We go to regular doc on Thursday.

I'm glad to hear the wound is better and hope your mother gets back to baseline. God bless!