Hi, I am new here, driven to seek advice by despair at mum's situation. Mum has vascular dementia. I started caring for her at the start of the first lockdown when my dad died. She fell and broke her hip before Christmas- they operated and pinned it, and sent her home on Christmas Eve. She came home with a persistent UTI as a result of the catheter she had in hospital and tests show it is highly antibiotic resistant. She is, I believe on her 4 th antibiotic- some of them have worked briefly but then dropped off. The only thing that had a longer effect was D-Mannose, worth reading up on if you want a non antibiotic option, but even that hasn't stopped the UTI coming back. Before she broke her hip, she was largely continent. Now she is definitely urine incontinent and I am having a steep learning curve in dealing with it. Every time the infection comes back, her mobility falls away along with her mental ability, and everything becomes 50 times harder. When the UTI is there with a vengeance, I have to move her on a Sarah Steady (a wheelable frame used for hip patients). When she is better, she walks with a Zimmer frame, though before the fall she walked without. She becomes very uncooperative, and sleepy, and it is very hard to get her to do anything. I'm not even sure what advice I'm asking for, just whether anyone out there has had a similar experience. I m near the end of my tether.
Mum's persistent UTI
- Thread starter Carolyn Joy
- Start date
Hi @Carolyn Joy welcome to DTP
I haven’t got any answers for you but I hope someone will come along with some answers soon, my husband used to get chest infections regularly they also caused problems.
I hope now you have found the forum you will continue to post..
I haven’t got any answers for you but I hope someone will come along with some answers soon, my husband used to get chest infections regularly they also caused problems.
I hope now you have found the forum you will continue to post..
My friend's mother had recurring UTIs. In the end, she was on a constant low dosage antibiotic, apparently she had became colonized by whatever bacteria it was. I don't know if this approach would apply to your mother, it's just the experience my friend's mother had.
My OH had a series of back to back UTIs as he is on a permanent catheter. Each time he was admitted to hospital, they would get rid of it, send him home and within days he was back in A&E. Like your mum, he would lose mobility and become much more confused. Eventually he was put on low dose prophylactic antibiotics (rotating between three different ones so that he didnt become resistant) and so far (over a year later) he has not had any more UTIs.
UTI's are terrible, and the damage it does can be long lasting. Ask the GP surgery if they can give you some of the test dips things. At least then you can monitor on levels on a daily basis.
Hi @Carolyn Joy UTIs are a nightmare my Mum had a bout of these unless you insist on a test kit ie urine pot from the GP surgery you may well be calling out paramedics the weekend like I did a few times fortunately my Mum is now on a prophylaxis for this bacteria but it was swapped a few weeks ago for Macrobid even though the dip test done by the gp was negative I was then telephoned by said gp asking me if I thought she had a urine infection beggars belief lol
Thanks for your replies and suggestions. A continuous low dose antibiotic has been muttered about at some point, but as I don't always get to talk to her actual GP, there seems to be no consistent approach. Asking for the dips myself seems an excellent idea and I shall definitely ask for that!
Mum's industrial pull up pants are getting soaked and leaking over night at the moment- they need changing part way through. So, before bed last night, I watched the Tena videos on how to change their products while lying down. With rolling the recipient a little, it looked possible.
4am, mum had woken a little, so I tried to change her. Got the sodden pants off relatively easily, but believe me, an inert body would be easy, as opposed to someone fighting you and pulling her nightie back down, pulling the covers back, hitting me, telling me not to in her school teacher voice (yes, she was a teacher a long time ago). I eventually go them in some kind of position, but not fully up. When she is like that you can't reason with her or anything.
Thanks, I will keep posting now I've found you!
Mum's industrial pull up pants are getting soaked and leaking over night at the moment- they need changing part way through. So, before bed last night, I watched the Tena videos on how to change their products while lying down. With rolling the recipient a little, it looked possible.
4am, mum had woken a little, so I tried to change her. Got the sodden pants off relatively easily, but believe me, an inert body would be easy, as opposed to someone fighting you and pulling her nightie back down, pulling the covers back, hitting me, telling me not to in her school teacher voice (yes, she was a teacher a long time ago). I eventually go them in some kind of position, but not fully up. When she is like that you can't reason with her or anything.
Thanks, I will keep posting now I've found you!
@Carolyn Joy you're trying your best have you considered contacting the CQC about the surgery. Also the Continence dept at your trust should be able to give you advise about the pull ups
