I see a lot of people posting about hospice helping. Are your parents considered terminal or will they help if not terminal?

My mom is 73. Chronic UTIs. Has had 3 in a 2 month period. Causes her to get disoriented and confused. Severe back pain. She is in a rehab center currently for a shld replacement but due home in te next 3-4 weeks. Ashe has had cancer 4x and is confined to a w/c. She was doing her own toilet transfer but not sure how that will be now with the shld repair. She required so much help and I care for her alone. That is on top of my family. I have five kids. She can't afford home health care and Medicare won't help with that. Hospice would be covered under Medicare but I thought the client had to be terminal within 6 months?
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I'll be 60 soon. I have some chronic health problems that are fairly easy to manage, but about a month ago, I started acting differently one day. The next day I was seeing thousands of little "grubs" in our carpets and was very upset. The night after, while my husband was at work, (and I only have spotty memories of the whole incident) I apparently fell down our wooden stairs, hit my head hard, large bruise and gash above my eye and severe shoulder/neck pain still ( I had crashed into the edge of a piece of wooden furniture at the bottom of the stairs). I remember being on all fours, watching drips of blood from my eye and thinking it was very interesting. I had terrible hallucinations, ran into our garage which my husband noticed when he came home. He found me at the kitchen table with my head on my arms with a puddle of blood around my head. Got me to the ER ASAP - apparently one of the first things they tested for was a UTI, and there it was - I'd had it for some time, no physical symptoms that I noticed, and I have no idea how long I'd had it. The first time I ever heard of these symptoms of a UTI was in the hospital, and I thought they were humoring me, because I was still not making sense, able to take in a lot of what others were saying, and no retention of what others were saying (thankful my husband spoke to all the docs and nurses and told me over and over, until my mental state improved, what was said and done during this situation. Haven't had a UTI since I was on the pill, but I'm going to take the advice of many of the posters here about preventive measures, what symptoms to look for, and if something like this happens again, to take the situation seriously. Other posters, you have my empathy and sympathy. I watched both my parents fade away over the course of several years (Mom with bladder and lung cancer, chemo, hallucinations - never tested - UTI due to chemo? We'll never know). I wish more med. professionals either knew of these symptoms or took them seriously, and that the availability of testing and treatment didn't depend on insurance co. policy, hospital/hospice/whatever policies, and that those who practice medicine would not just "practice", but that they would actually "perform" medicine. My thoughts are with all of you.
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My mother who is 95, has a history of UTI's, for most of her life, and actually ended up in a nursing home because of one back in February. 4 days ago, they was ambulanced into a major hospital because she was almost comatose...could not wake her up. Result was a severe UTI, and with antibiotics, all her vital signs look good...however ended up with Delirium, which has saddened our family tremendously because the person we see now is not our mother. The doctor's view is that it can take 5 days to months before it goes away...however, for every infection they get, they loose a little more of their faculties due to delirium. I am angry that I had never heard of this before...why is this not made public enough...or why is there not a cure for this. Is it because only the elderly get it, and it's their way of cutting back the population. I know that when my mom gets it again, we will not have her take antibiotics...it was the antibiotics that pulled her out of her comatose state. ...we will let her go...it is only the kind thing to do for her...otherwise she will become a vegetable.
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I wish I had known this before hand. My 92 year old mother is in the hospital right now with a U.T.I. because her Dr.'s didn't "pick up" on it a week ago. She has every symptom that is listed as well as wanting to sleep all the time. Needless to say she is now getting the treatment she needs , her so called "Dr." is fired and we are just thankful that things didn't get more serious.
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Good article, but what if your parent has an SPC and the care facility uses tight diapers which cover over the entry of the catheter through the abdominal wall? Can this provide a pathway, from the wicking of waste fluids to the catheter entry point, which would cause e-coli and proteus vulgaris colonization?
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My mom had an infected bypass and needed surgery this past àugust to remove infected graph and do a néw bypass. Spent almost month in hospital and anothèr two in rehab facility. Went home just before thanksgiving ans has been back to sorpital seven times since with uti. Stays a few days. Comes home a few days. Confusion starts ans back to hospital. Just had to go rehab again for two wéeks. Came home on thursday and back to hospital on saturday. She is only 74. At times cant so a thinf for herseld and wheelchair bound. Other times she is tackling the ateps trying to get to her loft. She can do it if she could just kick these infections. My dad is beside himself and so worn out. He had open heart surgery and kidney cancer and kidney surgery to remove one this year and he is having a hard time with it. They live more than 3 hours away from family help. What are doctors missing? Is 3 days on iv antibiotics not enough? Thankz for all the info shared here. It haa b3en most helpful. Betty
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I am 80 years old. Recently, I became very confused and then I crumpled to the floor. My grandson took me to the ER where a urinanalysis was run immediately and I was found to have a UTI. I took antibiotics for 7 days. Those were the ONLY symptoms. There was absolutely NO SMELL. I, being one of the "elderly" know for a fact that there are not always any symptoms until a UTI is well established.
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UTI's come with a particular unique smell. Sort of like when you eat asparagus. It is the same smell every time. Once you smell it you will never forget it. If your person starts acting strange, different then their normal, always think of urinary first. It is an easy test to do (just put collection try in toilet
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When my 99-year-old grandmother was placed in hospice, I made it clear that I didn't want her dying of a UTI. I want it treated because I was met with some resistance from her own PCP & basically had to change my tactics to get the med for her. She developed a UTI while on hospice & the R.N. was focused on a fever, which my grandmother never exhibits. I like to think I am an expert on my grandmother. I was aware of her behavioral changes & mentioned them. The R.N. wanted a fever. She never developed one. Even though I have been her sole caregiver for years & seemed to manage just fine, I became her P.O.A. officially. The nurse left & I was going to call in to sign my grandmother off hospice when she called & said she talked to the doctor & would deliver the antibiotic. Before, I asked my grandmother point blank if she wants to live because I'll fight with her or if she wants to be with grandpa, then I'll make sure she's comfortable in her transition. She said she is not ready to die, she wants to live. That is what I am going by. My grandmother, who is on no meds, had labs drawn & it was determined that she was "too healthy" to be on hospice.
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very informative, thank you
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I Think it was very helpful i am caring for a man who got a urinary tract infection and i new immediatley just from behavior change right away, His wife did not believe me and i tried to explain to her that it was very dangerous to not treat right away. We were at urgent care two days later and they told her how serious it was and started him on antibiotics still not better in its been 4 days i told her that utis sometimes have a different strain and need different anti biotics. She still dosent believe me Guess what back at Drs they had just got his urine back yes wrong antibiotic o we start a new one. This article will be great to take her very informitve and covered everything thank you
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My mom is also in hospital in ICU right now dad took her there last night due to being "loopy" I'm really hoping this is what's happening, I just sat by her bedside for about four hrs and all she would cam me is mommy :(. This getting old thing is for the birds ! They have her on two antibiotics and believe its a UTI. Waiting for the cultures to grow overnight then they will know more, sigh.
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Susan, I wish I knew the answer to that but unfortunately nobody really knows. I'll pray for your mother.
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My mother is in the hospital because of a UTI. She was hallucinating and very confused and paranoid. She started getting better with the initial antibiotics but is now getting worse for some reason. Please pray for my mom. I don't want her to die or end up in some mental hospital. Thank you. PS her name is Helen.
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My mother is 87 and has a UTI, and is being treated for it in a hospital. She has become very angry, hallucinates, and has decreased mobility in her entire body. She can no longer walk because of weakness. I believe these symptoms are caused by the UTI, but how long does it take to fully recover? Thanks for any help you can provide.
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My dad was neglected in a nursing home where I was visible 5 days out of 7 and ended up in the hospital where he's been in and out since July 23, 2014. I found him going into a TIA (mini-stroke) on July 23rd during a pop up visit. Some findings were CDiff as well as a current UTI. Although dad has been discharged from hospital after many admits, He is now taking 3.000mg of antibiotics daily, however there are still symptoms of confusion, frequent urination and/or frequent pressure without urination. Dad is approaching age 77 this month, I do understand UTIs can take the elderly away faster. His Drs have stated that there is nothing else they can do based on his coumadin. I've worked in healthcare previously for years but am learning so much with dad now living back with me. I have focused all of my time on him, needless to say with only two hours of healthaid services and have realized that God has given me this as his assignment. Ohio, Karen
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I just received a call from my elder mom who is in rehab for a broken femur at the age of 88 and she was unconsolably crying over her mother's death (30 yrs ago) as if it just happened. The aides said that she was going to be revaluated for UTI. I didn't know there maybe a correlation. Appreciate comments and feedback
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Unfortunately there seems to be a disconnect or lack of acknowledgement in the medical community regarding this issue. In my experience with both my mother & mother-in-law, both having dementia, incontinence, and wearing diapers, I have been told by geriatric physician's, ob/gyn's and infectious disease specialists there is no correlation between UTI's & dementia symptoms. In fact, a primary physician has declined testing my mother-in-law, who cannot follow instructions to voluntarily urinate & needs catherization. He feels catherizing her is worse for her than a UTI she probably has, so she will go untreated. She has a history of UTI's.
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Outstanding! My wife has urinary tract incontinence...she is 73. What should she do? Thank you. DB
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Wingnit1, I'm sorry to hear about the issues with your father. My uncle is in the hospital right now with the same issues. At first they thought he took too much medicine. But now they are saying that the problem could be a uti. But we haven't seen a Dr and I don't know what tests need to be run besides a urine test. Right now he is mostly out of it and unresponsive. I don't know what to do to help him.
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im glad it was here for me to read
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This is SO helpful. Our mom has recently suffered from this and just began antibiotics yesterday. How soon can we expect the behavioral changes to go away?
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This morning I was awoken with the worst burning feeling in a long time and needed relief right away. It was 3am so the doctor’s office wasn’t open. I dug through my sister's medicine cabinet (I was staying at her house thank god) and found Lady Soma Cranberry Tablets. I highly recommend this product in everybody’s medicine cabinet. The product worked within 20 minutes and I was able to go back to sleep!
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This is an excellent article and serves as the perfect starting point for further research on the topic. We hope that you keep doing the good work to help the elderly live a dignified life and these become the golden years of their life.

The Golden Estate
Privileged Living for Senior Citizens
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Can a UTi in an elderly woman have symptoms that include hot flash, fainting and incontinence all at once?
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This is becoming a regular thing with my mother. It is affecting her mind in that she is completely not herself, imagines all sorts of things. We just cleared up one UTI, and we are back there again. I read the causes and for mom, I believe it has to do with bowel incontinence and not being properly cleaned or not cleaned in a reasonable amount of time. That has been an issue I have dealt with and earned the title of being a "BITCH". I really don't care, when she was left sitting in feces for an hour and then the CNA went home without cleaning her, I went ballistic! She eventually got fired because another patient had bruises... not good! This last time, one of the CNA's didn't like having to wash my mother after a BM... left her not completely cleaned and mom was upset; then two of them refused to wash her told her there was no soiling... but there was and here we are - again. I will have a conversation with the nurse manager... count on it!
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My mother was moved into a skilled nursing home about 3 months ago after a stroke and fall. She also has moderate dementia. She had been on hospice care up to her move. The family has reqested no life saving or prolonging care. Just comfort compassion palliative care. Now they are giving her antibiotics for her reoccuring UTIs and also thyroid supplements. We think these are inappropriate to her and her family's stated wishes. What do the forum people think and suggestions?
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Years ago, we once took mom to the ER and was hospitalized because they couldn't find what was wrong. After 3 days there, the doctor was going to release her. My father refused to have her released without a diagnosis. He asked the doctor if he tested her blood and urine. They didn't do a urine test....Well, she had UTI...I would think it should be Automatic for hospitals to include a urine test for elderlies just to rule out UTI!
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My mother also has UTIs frequently. I was wondering if there were any suggestions on how to make her feel better faster. Once she gets the antiobotics into her system, it still seems to take over 5 days for her to feel better. She does not want to eat and just wants to lay around. Any time she seems out of sorts, I immediately take her to be tested for a UTI.
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It is better to get urine tested for any infection.
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