Sudden changes all week and no UTI, what is happening ?

[nae sporran]

I mentioned some of this on my ongoing rambling thread, but was hoping for some insights from anyone who has seen it.
On Saturday C's arthritis got worse out of the blue. I gave her paracetemol, though she is on Ibuprofen gel and butrenorphine patches anyway.
On Sunday she could not get out of bed for the pain and was struggling to breathe. 111 sent an ambulance, and she was fine once they checked her out and got her out of bed. Of course the happy face was back again when she had someone in and she just wanted to be nice and apologise for being so much trouble.
On Monday she was normal again, or at least what I call the new normal.
On Tuesday she was bad again, though her chiropodist who has nursing experience thought it may be partly in her head. The on call doctor came out to the house and asked for urine sample and blood test to check kidney function.
On Wednesday we cancelled a trip to the new day centre while we waited for the test results which won't actually come until Monday. C was in a bit of pain, but not as bad as Sunday.
Today she was really bad again, sat for half an hour or so muttering about being on fire. Her face was drawn and she looked so ill. The ambulance crew came out, doctor had suggested calling them if she got worse again. She was in the toilet when they arrived and was suddenly a lot better again with her old happy charming personality to the fore. Could she have been constipated and something cleared ? Would that make such a dramatic difference ?
Ambulance crew spoke to the surgery, as I was on the phone chasing up test results, but the nurse practitioner checked for a UTI and she was clear. There was blood in the urine and a bit of a rash down below.
Now she is sitting happily listening to Andre Rieu on DVD.

Has anyone else seen such a dramatic change from hour to hour and day to day. Is it the constipation or can bad pain confuse someone with vascular dementia so much they act and look so ill.

I was writing it all down in the diary earlier, and even now writing it here again cannot understand what is happening over the last few days. Thank you reading and for any help or insights.

 

[Bunpoots]

I’m thinking back about 11 years now but I remember my mum seeming to be in pain and looking very drawn and unwell every time she got constipated, which was often as she would only eat cakes and yogurt and chocolate in the later stages so I suppose it could be part of the reason. It could take a few days of laxatives to resolve the problem then she’d be back to her normal for a while.

Mum was also recovering from a broken hip at the time and the pain made her miserable and, with the filters gone, we all got to know about it. I suppose a bit like a child who just wants someone to make it better..

I hope C feels better soon.

 

[nae sporran]

Thank you @Bunpoots.

 

[Toony Oony]

Hi @nae sporran - my Mum is frequently constipated and the CH and I are now well aware of the signs. In her case she becomes very down, but for someone who is normally relatively placid, she also becomes quite manic. She changes dramatically both in the way she sits/lays or stands, what she says and how she behaves. When she was able to communicate a little she would get very distressed , say all sorts of weird things in amongst how poorly she felt, however she was unable to say where it hurt. The CH have also noticed that when she is constipated there is often a rise in Mum's temperature. They know the signs now and monitor her carefully.
Mum eats such a tiny amount of pureed food, it's no wonder she has problems. The GP has prescribed a laxative to be taken on a daily basis which helps, and if that doesn't do the trick the CH slip a senna in a drink for her. I've taken to bringing fruit smoothies for her at each visit ... every little helps.

Another lady at the CH had a really funny turn in the Hairdressing Salon once when I was there. She slumped to one side in the chair, was groaning and moaning, couldn't communicate and was really out of it. The hairdresser and I were so concerned we called for a Senior Carer. I really thought the Dr would be called urgently she was so bad. 15 mins later the Carer popped back to tell us that the lady laid down for a few moments in her room and then had the biggest BM in living history. She was fine now and about to go for her lunch!

I do hope you can resolve this soon.

 

[nitram]

With my wife constipation often lead to difficulty with walking, leaning sideways or forwards, forwards was worse as it could cause a fall.

 

[nae sporran]

Thanks Toony Oony, though I'm sorry you learned from your mum's bad experience. Thanks Nitram, and sorry your wife is suffering too.

Today C is back to normal again, and that visit to the loo just as the ambulance crew were arrived does seem to have made the difference. I didn't really believe it yesterday, but it must be that she was constipated and now it has cleared she is fine again. She is on Senna tablets and when I have added a couple of Dulcolax in the past it has worked rather too well, but better a wee mess to clean up in the toilet than 4 days of pain, so I'll try it again if circumstances are repeated.

 

[nitram]

With my late wife I found stews with Knorr stock pots plus onion more reliable than all the prescription medicines which tended to do nothing or be explosive.

 

[nae sporran]

With my late wife I found stews with Knorr stock pots plus onion more reliable than all the prescription medicines which tended to do nothing or be explosive.

Thanks Nitram, that's an idea for my shopping list for tomorrow. Actually, now I think about it onions do rather play havoc with my IBS.

 

[nitram]

The stock pots came as a sample through the door so I thought I might as well use them and then discovered they were beneficial.
Another thing to try is carrot and coriander soup which of course contains onions.

 

[alzCaregiver21]

Hello, I am wondering if your mom's rash has since cleared up? My mom had something similar, and what helped for her was liquid coconut oil, applied directly to the rash. The brand of coconut oil that I used was Louana's coconut oil. I hope that this helps.