Welcome to NeuroTalk:

I wonder in reading this history if your husband was given antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone family, or Flagyl? (there are others also less commonly used like Zyvox and Tindamax).

Fluoroquinolones can cause tendon damage and ruptures. The ruptures may occur up to a year or more after use of the drugs.
This family of drugs are also neurotoxic and can cause peripheral nerve damage and in the elderly can affect the CNS as well.
This is thought to be permanent, but Dr. Jay Cohen, MD thinks some supplements may work for it.

More information and links here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post661103-2.html

There are suggestions that use of steroids and/or NSAIDs with fluroquinolones may make the reactions worse.

The mechanism of this damage is not understood clearly yet.

Thanks for the reply! I went through his script history and found that for at least 4 days approximately 5 months before onset, he did take Levaquin and Medrol (methylprednisone). I remember he asked the doctor to switch him to a different antibiotic, but I can't remember right off why (we weren't married or living together). I'll ask him. Then about 2 months later, he was on Cipro drops for what the doctor said was an outer ear infection. I looked at your link and for the last hour have been searching around the internet... his symptoms all fall within what other people have reported as adverse reactions, and it makes sense that prednisone alone helps this condition. We will definitely look into this possibility more.

Is he on asthma meds such as Advair? If so, how long? I have many of the symptoms you describe and they all seem to be dose related with the meds. I think my reflexes and speech have always been normal however.

judi

Some people are more prone to damage for some reason.

There is a book written about this by Stephen Fried called
Bitter Pills. His wife developed a permanent seizure disorder from ONE dose of Floxin. Floxin is not used much anymore orally. But Levaquin is a chemical derivative of it.

http://www.stephenfried.com/bitter-p...pillsbook.html
This is an interesting book, I have a copy of it myself.

Doctor Cohen suggests magnesium for fluoroquinolone side effects. And with your hubby's high C-reactive protein, you might try high dose Vit C. There are studies showing Vit C will lower C-reactive protein. Also in patients with potential RSD (a form of neuropathy) high dose Vit C works as well.
I'd use Ester C form (easy to tolerate) and at least 1000mg a day. Discuss this with his doctor to see if it would interfere with his other meds.

This is a PubMed paper on C-reactive protein and Vit C:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18952164

I hope he is not on a statin drug at this time...you didn't mention any. Statins are very hard on the nervous system and cause neuropathy in some people.

He was only on Affair for about a week spring 2011. He did have an unusually bad spring that year as far as asthma.

silly question.. but what was his occupation. was he dealing with chemicals.. or possible plant life.. I know as a past landscaper. that drugs and contact with certain plants or continued exposure to sun can cause adverse reactions to the medicines he may have been taking... even construction workers deal with chemicals through treated wood, ,metals, insulation, paints etc.. I think its all worth looking into... good luck, my prayers be with you

Not a silly question at all. He's in IT, so I don't think there's enough chemical exposure to cause this.

My wife worked in IT most of her life. I just read her the above quote, and her response was, "HA!" She was constantly assaulted by carpet & adhesive (carpet & wall covering) fumes, air-conditioning contaminants, fumes from chemicals put on the office landscape plants, pvc fumes from vinyl in office equipment, formaldehyde from particle board in office furniture, asbestos insulation in older buildings, cyanide from isocyanates in urethane foam in office furniture, paints, & furniture finishes, copy toners.... and the list goes on. She also has tinnitis she suspects may be due to decades of white noise generators.

Offices aren't any safer than other environments when you think about it/dig in a little...

Google: chemicals found in office air

Doc

A side note... this information has me worried for myself as well, since in early May I took a course of Levaquin AND Flagyl for C. difficle colitis!