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My mom has a catheter, as a nurse I know the symptoms of infection in the urinary tract. She had also become very confused and lethargic due to uti. She has had chronic UTI’s for years even before her health debilitated. She has never ran fever with a uti. She is on hospice so asking for a u/a was out of the question. I spoke with her hospice nurse and she called the doctor and he prescribed Macrobid. My mom has always had urinary infections that are resistant to macrobid. I voiced my concern to her nurse when she told me what he ordered. She contacted her Dr. again and he said no give Macrobid as I ordered. Three days later her symptoms are worse and urine the color of tea with a very foul odor. Mom's new nurse whom we just met came by to introduce herself and meet mom. I voiced my concerns again regarding the Macrobid not helping rid the infection. She contacted Dr. and finally he ordered a broad spectrum antibiotic. Three days after starting new antibiotics and her urine is clear, appetite is back and a lot less confusion. The down side of a broad spectrum antibiotic will cause diarrhea, so of course I’ve been pushing her to drink more fluids to prevent dehydration. Sometimes we have to be a little persistent to get the right medications. Thank God she’s much better.

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I love having an RN in the family. No one listens to me. But my DD walks in the room with her scrubs on and they listen. Sometimes, she is just saying what I already said. Nurse gave me attitude about not sending Mom to rehab. She looked like she was dying. Called DD and she came and thought the same thing. Checked the antibiotic Mom was on, it contained pennicilan which was in her records as being allergic to. They confirmed that when she wss admitted,

You have to be on top of things. I can't believe you told the Dr. the med did not work for Mom and he ordered it anyway.
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Don't you love it when they ignore everything the family tells them? As a nurse, you have medical knowledge but the ego of the doctor had to hear it from somebody else before he would change it.

Glad mom is doing better.
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My husband had a supra pubic catheter and was under hospice care in our home for the last 22 months of his life. He too would get an occasional UTI, but with them he did always run a fever. And hospice did(only once)order a uranalysis be done, otherwise they just assumed he had one.
Thankfully the antibiotics that were ordered always helped him. However there were times when the hospice doctor/PA wanted to add a new medication of one kind or another and if I didn't agree with it or saw no need for it, they wouldn't.
You have to stay on top of hospice that's for sure, as you are discovering. I'm glad your mother is doing better. God bless you for looking out for her.
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Very glad your mother is OK! And thank goodness you watched out for her! My mother today also just went through a life/death crisis - all OK now. She's taking a nap.

Warm, encouraging thoughts to you!
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