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Carol
Mom has since been diagnosed with dementia and according to her doctor UTI's are more frequent with elderly with dementia. Mom's usual confusion goes into super overdrive when she has a UTI and that is usually the only symptom we notice.
She has been an assisted living facility now for 3 months and has had 2 UTI's since moving there. She has about one UTI every 6-8 weeks for the last year. This last time she called me and told me her VCR/DVD player had been stolen from her apartment. I was on my way to visit and the VCR/DVD player was exactly where it has always been - both in her home and in the ALF. I showed her the VCR/DVD player and she still insisted it had been stolen. Other over the top confusion associated with a UTI have included forgetting where her plates are stored in the home she lived in for 13 years; seeing relatives in the room and talking to them when they are not there; stroke like symptoms such as dizziness and stumbling.
Now, when her confusion is beyond the normal state we just go to the doctor and get tested for a UTI. So far it has been a UTI and Cipro has handled it quickly.
Good luck dealing with it - don't be surprised if it starts to happen often.
In my humble opinion, one of the most effective, yet seemingly unbelievable solutions to preventing and even stopping recurring UTI's is D-Mannose. When Mom was home here with me, I used D-Mannose on her foods (tastes like sugar) and we were able to avoid UTI's for as long as she was home with me.
Once she was placed, she had UTI after UTI, since I was unable to successfully recommend that D-Mannose be used. (I did not have healthcare proxy).
PLEASE read up on this simple sugar by doing a Google (or Bing) search on D-Mannose. I used NOW FOODS brand powder that I got from Swanson Vitamins (online). You can get it in health food stores (more expensive) like GNC or the Vitamin Shoppe too.
D-Mannose is a simple sugar that occurs naturally in some plants, including cranberries and blueberries. Although small amounts of D-Mannose are metabolized by the human body, much of it is rapidly excreted in the urine. In the bladder, D-Mannose can adhere to bacterial lectins, preventing them from sticking to the lining of the bladder. Bacteria can then be flushed away during urination, thereby precluding the formation of colonies within the urinary tract. Only a very small amount of D-Mannose are used by the body, which means that it does not interfere with blood sugar regulation.
I am not offering medical advise with this information, just going from my experience and the research I did myself. This truly worked for my Mother and I encourage others to try this simple solution.
Every time Mom has a mental decline, I hope it's from a UTI.
I just couldn't imagine knowing I was like that.
Mom used to get frequent UTIs. We are now 5 months without one. I replaced her juice /other drinks with a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 pedialyte. It keeps her hydrated and keeps her tract cleaned out. Five months without a UTI after having them almost every month before that is bordering on a miracle cure for us.
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