
Long story short, my husband is in hospital again, second time this month. Yesterday all the sudden in the morning he could not talk, could not walk, fell and could not use his arms to get up. And had penile bleeding and weakness. And sat for breakfast and was falling asleep while eating, sort of semiconscious, very low blood pressure. 85/50. By the time ambulance arrived he became delirious and agitated at once, so unlike him.Yesterday drs told me they did some tests, no infections although maybe some pneumonia, which he had at beginning of this month along with pericardial effusion. That one bothers me as it can turn into something worse if underlying conditions are not treated. Apparently ignored or insignificant as doctors told me. Basically they telling me he is fine, my intuition is telling me he is not. Our medical system is horrible at this time and I am sure something is overlooked. Doctors have few minutes for each patient. From googling symptoms everything points to stroke or sepsis, but drs say not likely. Overwhelmed and unsure what else to ask doctors?
I can insist, I live in Canada and hospitals are overwhelmed, overcrowded, not enough staff. People are dying waiting in line, so in hubby’s case everything is blamed on Parkinson’s which is unlikely as progression does not happen from day to day. Not drastic one anyway, he was fine Friday night.
My late husband had sepsis and septic shock in Nov./Dec. 2018 but I don't recall any new stroke type symptoms from that, keeping in mind that he had a massive stroke in 1996 that left him with permanent disabilities.
I hope you get to the bottom of what's going on with your husband.
I cannot force drs at hospital to do that as I said system is overwhelmed.
Or it can take days, or I can discharge him and take him for private MRI.
This is what I read re stroke vs sepsis.
Yes, sepsis can mimic stroke.
Sepsis-associated encephalopathy or severe infection-induced physiological stress can cause sudden neurological deficits such as confusion, slurred speech, weakness, or unilateral paralysis, which are often mistaken for acute stroke. About 9.6% of patients suspected of having a stroke are found to have alternative diagnoses like sepsis.
Shortness of breath (dyspnea).
Chest pressure or pain.
Fast heartbeat or heart palpitations.
Lightheadedness or dizziness.
Fainting (syncope).
Fatigue.
Anxiety, confusion or other behavior changes (because of low blood flow to your brain).
Cyanosis (a blue or gray tinge to your lips or under your fingernails that happens when you have low blood oxygen levels).
There is no possibility of transfer to another hospital, they all operate over capacity. He is in apparently the best one, but he is being discharged today.
So, what you describe could be "just an infection" that did not yet meet the criteria for sepsis. And yes, some of those symptoms could visibly "look" like a stroke. A stroke is relatively simple to rule out with a CT scan (and in my EMS system, that's the first place we go when we bring in a suspected stroke).
It sounds like what the doctors are telling you is that your husband's lab values and and vital signs do not meet the criteria for sepsis, and there is some other underlying reason for how he is presenting. They might as yet be unable to find the source and it may be that the finding the source of the problem is being masked by (a) his symptoms, (b) secondary infections, and (c) his Parkinson's diagnosis. It seems like a "can't see the forest for the trees" problem.
Please be wary of googling for symptoms because (as you've probably discovered) it lead you down some rabbit holes. What I would recommend is that you ask the doctors if they will sit down with you for a few minutes to give you a synopsis of where they are at. If you're in a hospital, a good time to ask for this is when the doctors are "rounding" (usually in the morning). Also, write down your questions on paper and number them and hand that list to the doctor(s). That way, you can check off your various concerns and it's harder for the docs to dismiss your concerns.
As for my qualifications, I am a community paramedic in EMS so I do a lot of follow-up and patient/health education as part of my job. Quite a lot of what I do is translating medical information for patients and family. I've also just gone through this with family members who had very complicated medical histories. Best of luck.
Hubby had TIA, which resolved in hours, next day he was better already.
He was also over medicated which btw drs prescribed at the same hospital.
He has such myriad of symptoms it is impossible to know what next?
He will be back in hospital soon, he is really not well.