Bug

Thank you @CallieAndToby22 I hope they get to the bottom of your issues as well.  

Hello, my father 72 year old male has been in the hospital for 4 weeks and the doctors don't know the root cause of his dysautonomia. 

If you've had these symptoms and have a diagnosis, it would be very helpful to us.

Presentation:

• Took him to ER bc of sever orthostatic BP drops and inability to eat
• Cannot sit up for very long without passing out
• Saliva production stops at times
• Bowels weren't moving before but now he is able to have a bowel movement but isn't eating much so hard to tell
• Couldn't urinate despite having full bladder- has been catheterized for over 3 weeks now so can't say if that function as come back
• Bouts of extreme neuropathic pain in legs, now also in hands and forearms
• Severe muscular atrophy,  hard to tell how much is due to being in bed for 4 weeks or if this is part of disease process

Tentative Initial  Diagnosis 

• Gulliam Barre or something similar, original thought was some sort of autoimmune issue

Treatment:

• IVIG for 5 day course finished about a week ago

Tests:

• MRI head, neck, thoracic and cervical- no spinal structural issue
• Spinal tap- didn't show anything that would lead them to think it's something other than some autoimmune issue. elevated cortisol in spinal fluid but did not have monoclonal antibodies
• EMG- showed no demyelination of nerves which they expected to see if this is autoimmune
• So now bc of this EMG result the Neurologists are thinking they may have this wrong.  Not sure what to do or who to call.  He is wasting away and we could use any ideas out there.