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What Causes Persistent Weakness, Lethargy And Excessive Sleepiness While Recovering From Stomach Flu?

Posted on Wed, 5 Oct 2016

Question: Hi. My wife had a fever and upset stomach for a few days; felt very weak and for a couple days is in bed, the her back hurts so helping her up out of bed is difficult. She normally bounces out of something like this and feels exhausted and sore. But this time after 2 to 3 days, during which time she eats a little bit but drinks a lot of water, does not snap out, and wants to sleep a lot. Now today this morning we talked and she had some milk in bed. But that was 6 am and she has not responded to being spoken to, and so has not consumed any water. She does not open her eyes or nod when spoken to. Her breathing is persistent like a machine, short repetitive but regular breaths. I am about to call 911 but want to be sure first that my neighbor who is a medical nurse might not be able to try something like smelling salts. Wife is overweight, probably 350 lbs, no liquor, no coffee, no medical events history, but her ankles s are 8 inches thick and feet swollen. My guess is that she is diabetic. She normally eats only salads, but had an indulgence and ate a half pound of white chocolates the day the issue started.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (18 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
she needs immediate medical attention, please take her to your nearest ER..

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXX, Welcome to HCM,
I've gone through your query and understand your concern for your wife,

I've gone through your query and understand your concern for your wife..

As per the given history post infection, and persistent weakness, lethargy, excessive sleepiness and unresponsive to voices since 6 am, and the "breathing is persistent like a machine, short repetitive but regular breaths", is very much indicative of metabolic disturbances, which has to be evaluated in details (Arterial Blood Gas-urgent, Hemogram, Electrolytes, blood sugar assessment, 12 lead EKG, LFT, KFT and/ CT scan head-urgent) along with immediate neurological check-up and parenteral (I.V.) supportive care since inability to eat and drink..

Yes please go ahead and call 911 to avoid any further delay, after that you can seek out for help from your neighbor, the medical nurse, not for smelling salt but for a brief check-up on her overall status before urgent care medics/paramedics arrive..

The feet swelling can be due to various reasons but if your suspecting she's diabetic, then please inform your neighbor to check her blood glucose at first (if she's having the kit) as prolonged fasting can also precipitate hypoglycemia..

She needs immediate medical attention, please make the phone call to 911 or take her to your nearest ER at the earliest..

Let me know how she stays in the due course..

Take Care
Kind Regards

Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee