Journey Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Long story short, my daughters and I moved in with my elderly parents last year. Dad is great, my mom not so much. She has had dementia but the last couple of days it has gotten 100% worse. She just got off a med for a UTI and we wonder if that's what is causing this. She was in the hospital the last two days for the UTI but they released her today even acting like this. They said the UTI is all gone. It's 4:10 a.m. and I've been up with her for over an hour listening to her talking to her family members who have all died and watching her watch people (whom are not there) coming down the stairs. What is happening to my mom and what does this mean? Her doctor is a moron and knows nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 My first thought (just upon your title) was uti. Reading it, same answer. I'm sorry your family is going through this and I hope you are able to access the care she needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy in Australia Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I have a friend who is a nurse and has looked after many elderly people. I've lost track of how many times she has told me that UTIs cause a severe change in her patients' mental state. Big hugs to you. My own mother has slowly progressing dementia. This is one of the hardest things I've been through :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicMom Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 That is probably not the dementia. It likely has to do with an unresolved UTI affecting her systemically. If you can't get anywhere with her doctor I would go to the emergency room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Pain meds in general make my 92 yo mother appear to have severe dementia. Pretty much any change to her meds is a bad thing for her mentally. When things are stable with her meds she is really good for 92. It takes a least 6 weeks for her to get back to normal after her meds are changed. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 My mother's UTI made her delirious. I hope that things get back to normal soon for you. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Elle Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 As a nurse, a sudden change in mental status not caused by meds and no other symptoms of stroke makes me think uti. One over the counter treatment I have found very effective is alkaseltzer without aspirin, one dose for 3 days. But please check with a healthcare professional before treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Long story short, my daughters and I moved in with my elderly parents last year. Dad is great, my mom not so much. She has had dementia but the last couple of days it has gotten 100% worse. She just got off a med for a UTI and we wonder if that's what is causing this. She was in the hospital the last two days for the UTI but they released her today even acting like this. They said the UTI is all gone. It's 4:10 a.m. and I've been up with her for over an hour listening to her talking to her family members who have all died and watching her watch people (whom are not there) coming down the stairs. What is happening to my mom and what does this mean? Her doctor is a moron and knows nothing. I am not a medical expert by any means, but my grandma was hospitalized for a uti and had this very thing happen. I spent the night with her in the hospital, because she didn't know where she was and she was seeing all sorts of things and people that weren't there. She did know who I was though, so I stayed so she would (hopefully) not be as scared. I would get a second opinion, if that is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Could be UTI related, medication related, etc. Dehydration can also look pretty scary sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Could also be some sort of immune system "malfunction" following the UTI and/or the antibiotics. This is controversial. What I would do: buy some D-mannose powder (I use Now brand).and give it for a few days to clear up any remaining UTI (was it the usual E. coli or something less common?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 UTIs will definitely cause delirium in the elderly. I would strongly suspect that the infection has not cleared, despite administration of a "full" course of antibiotics (from the doctors' perspectives). I went through this a couple times during my father's passing years. He was an extremely lucid person otherwise, but UTIs could bring on delirium. Doctors would pronounce him "cleared" (because he'd had his full course), but he was clearly not right mentally. You would not believe the pushing it took to get further treatment. They'd just say he was getting "old." Balderdash! I'd demand a "re-culture" the urine and surprise-surprise when there was delerium there was also urinary tract infection. With addition treatment his clear mental status returned. The elderly badly need advocates. Have them rule out active infection. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I agree with all above, plus adding that meds reacting together can bring on delirium. My mom reacted to the antibiotic given to her by going over the rainbow until we got the med changed. She also had lots of visits with dead relatives. :) Good luck! You must persist. Something's not right with your mom, this isn't how dementia works. And finally, you MUST switch doctors soon if you think he is a moron. Seriously. Your life is going to be hell if you don't have an intelligent, authoritative advocate on your side. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: for all of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Long story short, my daughters and I moved in with my elderly parents last year. Dad is great, my mom not so much. She has had dementia but the last couple of days it has gotten 100% worse. She just got off a med for a UTI and we wonder if that's what is causing this. She was in the hospital the last two days for the UTI but they released her today even acting like this. They said the UTI is all gone. It's 4:10 a.m. and I've been up with her for over an hour listening to her talking to her family members who have all died and watching her watch people (whom are not there) coming down the stairs. What is happening to my mom and what does this mean? Her doctor is a moron and knows nothing. My Dad just went through this ordeal this past winter. He was 88 at the time and suffered from an UTI. He was hospitalized where he combated hallucinations b/c of the uti. The drs. told us that the infection in the elderly wreaks havoc in them. AND, it takes longer for the elderly to improve. He was on meds but it took a very long time. I didn't know if he was going to live (because we didn't know much at the beginning of this) so DD and I drove up to visit and spent 3 days. We visited him each day in the hospital. We went when he was at his worse and witnessed him seeing objects in a very skewed manner - he saw a street and people on his wall; the trash can was a door or something like that. He reached in mid-air for "something" (still don't know) only to not grasp anything. Your Mom probably needs med/s and good drs. now. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Ditto what everyone else has said with my grandma (currently 94 years old). She saw things and people (almost always dead relatives) and heard folks from other floors singing. Other folks were out to kidnap her or her relatives. AND it took a TON to get treatment for her as her doctor didn't believe in treating older people with UTIs (and she can't change doctors due to medicare and being in a nursing home). The change is tremendous. I don't wish evil on people, but I sure hope that doctor ends up with someone who won't treat him when he gets older and has similar issues. I guess I just consider that karma... Best wishes to you, Journey. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Long story short, my daughters and I moved in with my elderly parents last year. Dad is great, my mom not so much. She has had dementia but the last couple of days it has gotten 100% worse. She just got off a med for a UTI and we wonder if that's what is causing this. She was in the hospital the last two days for the UTI but they released her today even acting like this. They said the UTI is all gone. It's 4:10 a.m. and I've been up with her for over an hour listening to her talking to her family members who have all died and watching her watch people (whom are not there) coming down the stairs. What is happening to my mom and what does this mean? Her doctor is a moron and knows nothing. Infections often cause what appears to be dementia in elderly patients. I found out the hard way with my Mom. Yes, it could totally be the medication, a mix of medications, another infection, this infection not cleared...any number of things. I would be worried she still has an infection or the UTI really isn't cleared, or she is reacting to some medication they gave her in the hospital. My Mom was put on multiple things by multiple doctors and no one seemed to know why. I took her off all of them, got her doc to find the infection -c. dif, a hard one to detect, and usually a gift from the hospital! - and put her on antibiotics. She returned to 90+% of normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 My mother had a severe UTI a year or so ago. She ended up in the hospital. Before the UTI, she had never shown signs of dementia at all. During the UTI, it was like she was a different person. It took repeated doses of several antibiotics to finally clear her up. Once her UTI was cleared, she returned mostly to herself. She doesn't seem to be quite as sharp as she was before, but almost. I was terrified at the time. At one point, she did not recognize me and she was making growling sounds. I hope you can get help for your mom and that she will recover as well as my mom did. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Probably UTI, Possibly medication. Insist on a different antibiotic. Push fluids and give her some food with coconut oil. Look up the signs of a stroke and see if any of them fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 My 'with it' Mom didn't know her own name when she was suffering from an un -diagnosed uti. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Infections often cause what appears to be dementia in elderly patients. I found out the hard way with my Mom. Yes, it could totally be the medication, a mix of medications, another infection, this infection not cleared...any number of things. I would be worried she still has an infection or the UTI really isn't cleared, or she is reacting to some medication they gave her in the hospital. My Mom was put on multiple things by multiple doctors and no one seemed to know why. I took her off all of them, got her doc to find the infection -c. dif, a hard one to detect, and usually a gift from the hospital! - and put her on antibiotics. She returned to 90+% of normal. What is -c. dif? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodhaven Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Just stopping by to say I hope your mom is doing better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 What is -c. dif? c-diff is an antibiotic resistant bacteria typically found in the intestinal tract. It's common here, probably most people have a little of it but have enough good bacteria it can't get a foothold. Some people, either due to antibiotic prescriptions or immune difficulties, get persistent infections with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 What is -c. dif? a bacterial infection that can be particularly difficult to get rid of. My grandmother passed away due to c-diff, following hospitalization for a UTI (at 95 y.o.) One probiotic that kills c diff is s. boulardii (which is actually a beneficial yeast). I didn't know about it at the time my grandmother was dying. I think a brand name for it is Florastor, though I've never used that brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Katy and Wapiti, Thanks for the info. I've learned something new. W...so very sorry to hear about your grandmother. The silver lining, so to speak, is the 95 years! That is just wonderful! I was born after both sets of my grandparents passed away so I never knew them. I like to hear of stories like yours (enjoying the long life of a grandparent is what I mean). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 UTIs will definitely cause delirium in the elderly. I would strongly suspect that the infection has not cleared, despite administration of a "full" course of antibiotics (from the doctors' perspectives). I went through this a couple times during my father's passing years. He was an extremely lucid person otherwise, but UTIs could bring on delirium. Doctors would pronounce him "cleared" (because he'd had his full course), but he was clearly not right mentally. You would not believe the pushing it took to get further treatment. They'd just say he was getting "old." Balderdash! I'd demand a "re-culture" the urine and surprise-surprise when there was delerium there was also urinary tract infection. With addition treatment his clear mental status returned. The elderly badly need advocates. Have them rule out active infection. Bill Long time no see. Have you been lurking or absent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 What is -c. dif? Clostridium difficile. Very difficult infection, usually hospital-acquired. Takes a month or more of antibiotics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Just another person to say - it is the UTI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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