Mental Effects of Syphilis Posted: 11-14-03 21:42pm
My mother (age 50) has just been diagnosed
with syphilis this afternoon. After
doing some brief research on-line, it
seems that it's a simple treatment with
pennicilin. (forgive me for most likely
mispelling that one) maybe not "simple,"
but it just doesn't seem like that big of
a deal. Her doctor has given her opinion
of treating it with three times the usual
dosage of some kind of medication as well
as 2 - 3 shots per week for an unknown
amount of time.
My mother is also an alcoholic who used to
binge badly 1 - 3 times annually while
keeping it in check the rest of the time.
Lately she has been unable to control her
drinking on a monthly basis like she used
to. She fears that she has become
"crazier" than normal and is unable to
keep any sort of attention span. She is
having more and more anxiety attacks -
even before she got the news today. Her
doctor seemed concerned that this may be
additional symptoms of the syphilis, even
signs of late stages of syphilis.
Does anyone have any ideas? My mom does
not have access to the internet and has
asked me to help her find more
information. She is understandably
frightened and intimidated by what is
happening to her.
Thank you for any information any of you
may be able to provide!
