No Strength In Legs, Cannot Walk, No Muscle Movement. Had Pneumonia. Is This Reaction To Antibiotics?

Posted on Wed, 24 Apr 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 Answered on

Fri, 17 May 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : My husband has always had strength in his legs. He was admitted to hospital on a Thursday with pneumonia and by Saturday hehad lost strength in his leg. He now says he has no control of his legs. He says he wants to move them but says he can't feel his muscle movement. He is over his pneumonia, but cannot walk. Do you have any answer or even a suggestion as to what kind of specialist he should see? He is still in hospital _ 5th day. Would this be any kind of reaction to antibiotic. He can sit in a chair and lift his legs up some, tighten his thigh muscles, and move his legs up and down and back and forth. He cannot stand and get them moving to walk. I don't know what other info you need.

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (4 hours later)

Dear Ma'am,

Sorry to hear about your husbands condition. This weakness is not a side effect of the antibiotic but can be explained by two causes. Either he has suffered from a stroke during his stay in the hospital (this can be due to hypertension or any cardiac problem). Another cause of this problem is due to Guillian Barre syndrome...this is a cause of ascending paralysis which is caused following an episode of pneumonia or diarrhoea. Fortunately this is a self limiting condition and gradually resolves over a period of time. It might require treatment with immunoglobulins though.
The best doctor to consult would be a neurologist.

Hope he gets well soon. Please feel free to clarify any other query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar