Living with the world's leading expert...

spandit

Registered User
Feb 11, 2020
348
0
...on everything.

One of the daily struggles is making my father drink enough so his catheter doesn't clog up again. Despite being told this by various consultant urologists, GPs and nurses etc. and being read the advice in his catheter passport, he is still "not sure" that he needs to drink that much. He would like to read some advice on how much to drink. I could obtain this information for him but considering he considers the complexity of his clock radio akin to piloting the space shuttle, I don't hold out much hope for it sinking in.

It's fewer trips upstairs to the toilet for me with the "Big Ol' Jug O' Wee" when he's dehydrated but I'd rather get my steps in than have to drive him to A&E again.

He's always been like this, mind. He will pontificate on a subject of which he has no training and is utterly closed to accepting evidence to the contrary. His father, apparently, told him that Vitamin C was good for a cold. Despite there being studies debunking this, he will not be swayed. All part of the charm :D
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
24,920
0
South coast
Im sorry I had to laugh at your description - OH is just like - right down to pontificating on things that he has no training in . He is the worlds leading expert on just about everything!
I share your exasperation over catheter problems (I saw you have read my thread on this)
 

Canadian Joanne

Registered User
Apr 8, 2005
17,710
0
70
Toronto, Canada
How very frustrating for you. Know-it-alls can be very annoying (or so my husband tells me all the time) but a know-it-all with dementia adds an incredible layer of complexity to the mix. If I were you, I would print out several copies of the information and from different sources, because they would probably be tossed out. Is there a source (university or hospital etc) that he would think was an acceptable authoritative source?
 

spandit

Registered User
Feb 11, 2020
348
0
I was having a vent really, rather than expecting a solution :)

He went to school with Sir Robert Winston and was adamant that he appeared on an advert about 3 years ago, despite the fact that the actor in it looked about 25 (he had a moustache, though). I doubt he'd be able to convince my father even if he popped round for a visit...

As I was writing this, we had "Bargain Hunt" on the telly. "That's a lot of money for a painting" quoth the expert. I queried as to how he might qualify this statement. "My extensive knowledge of antiques". He does it deliberately, I'm sure :D
 

TNJJ

Registered User
May 7, 2019
2,967
0
cornwall
...on everything.

One of the daily struggles is making my father drink enough so his catheter doesn't clog up again. Despite being told this by various consultant urologists, GPs and nurses etc. and being read the advice in his catheter passport, he is still "not sure" that he needs to drink that much. He would like to read some advice on how much to drink. I could obtain this information for him but considering he considers the complexity of his clock radio akin to piloting the space shuttle, I don't hold out much hope for it sinking in.

It's fewer trips upstairs to the toilet for me with the "Big Ol' Jug O' Wee" when he's dehydrated but I'd rather get my steps in than have to drive him to A&E again.

He's always been like this, mind. He will pontificate on a subject of which he has no training and is utterly closed to accepting evidence to the contrary. His father, apparently, told him that Vitamin C was good for a cold. Despite there being studies debunking this, he will not be swayed. All part of the charm :D
? You gotta laugh! My dad is the same. He has a catheter but his reply to drinking water is”Water is for washing in ,not drinking!” He tells the carers this too.
 

imthedaughter

Registered User
Apr 3, 2019
944
0
My grandad was a Christian Scientist and although this has always been something my dad would talk about, as my dad regresses further back into his long term memory, it seems to becoming more prevalent. I spoke to him last week and he said: "I've just had a funny turn. don't know what's wrong with me and they've just given me a white pill telling me it will make me feel better. Pills for everything these days, nonsense," says the man who told the Dr he wants to be resuscitated should he fall unconscious. I mean, what greater intervention can you have?

Obviously Dad was a Dr (he was not). He is also, and has never been, particularly religious. Also, his father died from an infection which could have been cured by antibiotics and his mother died following a heart problem which could potentially have been treated, had he not refused medical intervention for his wife. You'd have thought that would have put him off scoffing at medicine, but no.

What was wrong with him? Constipation, and the pill was a laxative. HAH, he scoffed at the very idea. All clear now!
 

RosettaT

Registered User
Sep 9, 2018
866
0
Mid Lincs
I love the fact you have kept your sense of humor spandit, your post made me smile.

I find the best way to get OH to drink, tho' in fairness to him it's not difficult, is to vary the flavour. If asked he will always ask for a cup of tea but he doesn't drink it. Orange squash, cranberry juice, apple and blackberry and water always goes down well. He doesn't like cold drinks tho' so I always make sure they are warmed. On the whole he will drink 1,500 - 1,800ml per day.

As for knowing everything OH's father was like that, tho' thankfully OH doesn't take after him, even so OH can be very determined if he has an opinion nothing you say will shift it and if he decides to dig his heels in - well lets just say I don't waste my energy trying to change his mind.
 

spandit

Registered User
Feb 11, 2020
348
0
It's comforting that my situation isn't unique. There are some funny things that come out of his condition. After one particularly bad day (mobility wise), I had to give him a lot of help on the toilet. As I was, shall we say, "cleaning up" he said "I don't like this very much". I retorted "You don't like this very much? You're not doing anything!". He did laugh - found that very amusing.
 

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