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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Extreme Dizziness And Unsteady Gait After Treating Ear Infection?

My husband has the 75mg fentanyl patch every three days we change it. Since he started talking it he has become very sick. We are trying to figure out if it is because of the patch or not? His head is extremely dizzy, he had a whopper of an ear infection almost two weeks ago, took all antibiotic pills and still on drops. Unsure if the unsteadiness is from the equilibrium being off from infection or the patch side effect? Fell coming out of bathroom, not good he has a above knee amputation and half of other foot off. Veteran. Please help we are in the middle of switching doctors! Thank you for your time i know it is very valuable.
Tue, 23 Jun 2015
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hello there,
If as you described that he had a severe ear infection then the equilibrium regulation in the ear itself may have been affected and would take time to resolve .That is most likely the cause of his dizziness. Fentanyl Is known to cause dizziness So you can have a reduced dosage but pain is managed better at a certain dosage so it kind of is like a tradeoff-better pain control but more instability in equilibrium. You can check out measures(available online) to make the house more friendly for people prone to falls. That way we can minimise any potential injury. We prescribe fentanyl as it has a much lower abuse potential.
Please thank your husband for his war effort.
Please feel free to address any further queries to me,
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What Causes Extreme Dizziness And Unsteady Gait After Treating Ear Infection?

Hello there, If as you described that he had a severe ear infection then the equilibrium regulation in the ear itself may have been affected and would take time to resolve .That is most likely the cause of his dizziness. Fentanyl Is known to cause dizziness So you can have a reduced dosage but pain is managed better at a certain dosage so it kind of is like a tradeoff-better pain control but more instability in equilibrium. You can check out measures(available online) to make the house more friendly for people prone to falls. That way we can minimise any potential injury. We prescribe fentanyl as it has a much lower abuse potential. Please thank your husband for his war effort. Please feel free to address any further queries to me,