I think Levofloxacin should be banned for senior citizens!

I had a homecare client who was prescribed Levofloxacin for a UTI and she really had a hard time.
She had dementia and was completely diaper-dependent incontinent. So UTI's were common for her. She was never treated with this drug.
It really set her back. At the time she was still able to self-feed and help with transferring from bed to chair. She was also able to still hold onto the bed rail during diaper changes. When she took Levofloxacin the one time she lost these abilities she still had and also became non-verbal. She got back a little, but not as much as we hoped she would.

You're aware that UTIs themselves cause the effects you describe?

I hope your mother's feeling a lot better now.

Its the only antibiotic my husband can take as he is allergic to Penicillin, Sulphur drugs and Keflex. So I hope they don't ban it.

AKA Levaquin? My dad had a horrible reaction to Cipro and his record was marked not to give it to him, but still a former MD prescribed this and I was the one who caught it. I believe it is old doxycycline that can be an alternative...

I am not familiar with this drug but I do know that everyone reacts differently to meds.

I am so sorry that your mom couldn’t sleep. Did you speak with her doctor about her symptoms? Do you think that she was reacting to the UTI, rather than the drug?

Levoflaxicin worked great for my mom with Alzheimer's disease. All meds cause different reactions in different people. There is no cure all that will work for everyone.

Mom did suffer from delusions and irrational behavior that was the first symptom she exhibited with a UTI. I then knew it was time to get her to the doc.

When a UTI is present, the urine is normally cultured to determine which antibiotic should be used to kill the bacteria. If the wrong one is used, the infection will persist.

A UTI in the elderly will often create the symptoms you describe, hallucinations, anxiety, confusion and sleeplessness. It is possible the infection itself caused these symptoms in your mom and not the antibiotics.

That said, my 94 year old mother has horrible reactions and side effects to every medication shes given. It's awful. She can't even get pain relief as a result. I remember she had such a bad reaction to Tamiflu once, she had to go to the hospital!

Anyway, I hope the UTI has cleared up now and your mom never gets another....they can cause symptoms to mimic dementia and I saw it myself a few times with my dad!