Can a UTI really trigger dementia? What other issues could cause memory loss?

This is only a guess, EB, but is it possible that the medication your mother was taking could have masked other mental health symptoms? So that was seems incredibly sudden may actually have been building up for some time. As I say, only a guess.

The other thing that strikes me is that your mother's health overall must present quite a complex picture. She isn't old, but thirty years is a long time, if she's vulnerable to a uti bad enough to require hospitalisation then clearly physical care isn't going so well, and her range of psychiatric signs could have any number of causes.

How long has this acute crisis been going on? I'm wondering if it's still early days, and the best thing might be just to take deep breaths and give it time to settle down before you try to figure out the best way forward.

To answer the first question, though: yes. Uti's can develop into severe infection just like any other, and infection is one of the (reversible) causes of dementia. But your mother's u.t.i. didn't come out of nowhere - there is just too much going on even to guess what your mother's chances of full recovery are.

What country are you in? And what doctor is leading your mother's health care? - that's the person you need to work on establishing a good relationship with.

CM has brought up some very good questions and possible causes of your Mum's health problems. I agree that antipsychotic medication for almost 30 years may have been covering up other health problems that the doctor could have been thought were related to her psychiatric problems. Antipsychotic medications have evolved and improved over the last 30 years and there are new drugs that are more effective than those used in the 1980's.

You stated that the doctor "took her off her antipsychotic meds (that she had been taking for 30 years) ‘cold turkey’...{OH WOW!?!}...-- causing terrible withdrawals...{Of COURSE, IT WOULD!}..."Weaning her back onto her medication now." Is he weaning back on the same medications or different medications? How is she responding to the restarting of the medications other than "She says her mind is blank and can’t remember anything. She is very withdrawn, and SO confused,"?


Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) have a nasty effect on the elderly and a person who is usually alert and oriented can become confused and disoriented and not act like themselves if they have a urinary tract infection. Sometimes it takes more than one prescription of antibiotics to treat the UTI. Did the doctor do a "Urine Culture" to see exactly what organism is causing the UTI or just a routine UA (Urine Specimen)? If the doctor did not do a Urine Culture than I think I that you need to ask that one be performed along with a Follow-up Urine Sample to check whether the UTI has be resolved. Your Mom may need to have a "straight-catheterization" done for the Urine Culture.

Has your Mum experienced any major trauma or loss (like the lost of a sibling or other close family members or lost of ability to attend activities or any other major changes in her life) other than the hospitalization the past 6-12 months?

{My Mom experienced Major Depression with Delusions after her younger brother, age 83, died in March 2017, and her older sister, age 91, died in April 2017. Their deaths were too much for her to handle along with some other major changes in our family dynamics that occurred in 2016 and 2017. Mom went from being mostly independent to not being able to do any of her ADLS within 48 hours and now resides in a Memory Care Unit. She now uses a wheelchair and has to have help with all ADLS.}

I don't know if there is another underlying cause other Dementia that might be causing your Mum to "became very withdrawn and vacant...She says her mind is blank and can’t remember anything. She is very withdrawn, and SO confused, wakes up every morning not even knowing where she is." Has she been assessed for a possible TIA or stroke? What other tests were done while she was in the hospital? Or did the doctor just "assume" that your Mum has Dementia?

We need more background information especially as to what tests the doctor did while you Mum was in the hospital.

Hi Countrymouse, this is her first UTI (That I know of) but she has always had very good hygiene and has very rarely needed antibiotics ever.
It is 2 weeks today that she has been in hospital.
She has always had fairly good physical health- unfortunately she struggled with Mental illness though.
Being prescribed this medication decades ago she was never actually ‘labeled’ with a particular mental illness - she would always say ‘it’s anxiety medication’
Her condition was always good when medicated - a loving mother & wife, calm but low energy (wasn’t ever able to work) obsessive tendencies (highly highly religious- not in a healthy way) but could always do general home duties and had a friendly disposition.
However when she would take herself off her medication she would become very cranky and short tempered and I would even say void of emotion... so very very different when unmediated.
I am in Australia.
My mum just saw a local GP for her scripts and I don’t feel there is really a great level of care there.
It’s so strange that she now just stares and can’t answer any questions even as simple as “would you like a cup of tea”
She was at my sons birthday party just 6 weeks ago - helping me with food, walking around admiring my garden etc
And now she is sitting in a hospital bed with no memory and even wetting the bed the last 3 nights the nurse told us today...
The hospital did tell us that usually the spouse compensates for the early dementia signs and they don’t even know it...
My gut is just telling me there is more going on here...

DeeAnna,
As far as I know they just did a straight forward urine sample in a cup (I will double check with my Dad/siblings/hospital) she also had blood tests, ecg, CT scan (they said to check for haemorrhage)

The doctor gave her one dose of a new antipsychotic that has less side affects apparently but then the next day said she would put her back onto her original medication - she normally takes a tablet morning and night but the doctor is still only giving her one nightly.

There has been no trauma or loss or any event that has upset her.

Do dementia patients have that level of self awareness?
She really has not said much in the last fortnight at all - except
“My minds blank”
“I can’t reme anything”
She even said one night “I’m trying so hard to remember but I can’t, it’s all gone”

I’m very sorry to hear of your mums condition. It sounds very sudden also... it’s makes it very hard for the family to mentally process the situation.

EB, just so that you don't go round the bend yourself trying to work this out, maybe it would be best for you to concentrate on your Dad. If your mother is going straight to care from the hospital that must be very difficult for him, he'll need your support. And encourage him to ask for meaningful explanations from the doctors, as and when the picture becomes clearer.

With your mother, just reassure her. She's in a safe place, being well looked after, and it's very early days after what must have been - whatever happened - a major event of some sort.

Are you near a city of any size?

Please keep checking in to let us know what's happening, and take care of yourself, too.

A neglected uti that developed to the point where it required hospital treatment could well cause dementia. Not to mention renal failure and ultimately sepsis. The lady has dodged a bullet.

I will definitely keep you all posted!

Yes I will definitely keep an eye on my dad, he is so sad...

Life is cruel sometimes

UTI'S can cause changes in mood because oftentimes they can't tell you what's wrong. Have her checked. The doctor can do a culture of her urine to see if she actually has a UTI.

Most things have already been covered in other responses. Please find the names of medications she has been prescribed and look up the side effects for yourself.
Any vey serious illness can cause symptoms of dementia such as sepsis which Mum probably had. Existing dementia is often worsened by a hospitalization for anything so it is very possible that Dad has been picking up the slack for many years and no body noticed anything wrong.
This happened with my inlaws. FIL was physically ill and MIL was physically fit so she was able to carryone being a good housewife while FIL minded the shop so as to speak. Once FIL died MIL showed rapidly increasing signs of what was later diagnosed as vascular dementia and within weeks had to be institutionalized. Any oddities MIL had shown over the years were put down to a fall off the roof many many years ago.
No one is expecting a loved one to develope dementia and the early signs can be very subtle.
As far as medications are concerned obviously if new ones show undesirable effects they do need to be discontinued. Any of these antipsychotic or anti depression /anti anxiety meds do take a while to become effective, so in this case two weeks is probably too short a time to see much improvement and of course it is highly possible she will just continue to become sicker.
Read all you can about dementia, don't worry too much about the cause as symptoms will be similar so try not to be upset when she fails to recognize family, forgets names, stops eating and any other changes like the incontinence.
As mentioned it is important to find the bacteria that is causing the infection so a sensitive antibiotic can be prescribed.
This is going to be a very hard time for you all so try and concentrate on keeping everyone as healthy and stress free as possible.

Yes, a UTI can cause symptoms of dementia. However, once the UTI is cured, the symptoms go away. Your situation sounds much more complex, since your mother was on antipsychotic medication for many years. Why on earth was she taken off the antipsychotic medications cold turkey? What a terrible psychological and physical trauma that would be!

Yes, a UTI can cause symptoms of dementia. However, once the UTI is cured, the symptoms go away. Your situation sounds much more complex, since your mother was on antipsychotic medication for many years. Why on earth was she taken off the antipsychotic medications cold turkey? What a terrible psychological and physical trauma that would be!

A UTI can cause symptoms - but be aware that antibiotics or meds used to treat a UTI can also cause psych symptoms. There is reason to doubt the drugs used to treat dementia as well. Be very careful with anything they give her. It's an additional load for the liver and other organs. One doctor thought he'd take a dementia drug to see if it would help his mental acuity. He had disturbing dreams and upset stomach and questioned whether he should be giving it to patients who could not tell him it made them feel bad.

sorry to hear this it is a good question .my mom had dementia i do not think bladder infections could cause .you can google that ..so i do say that a uti does aggravate the person mind my mom had plenty of them she would come down with it almost every month ..she claim to be raped 3 times was screaming about it 1 time for sure but she never got raped ..heck one time i was sleeping she woke me up told me to call the cops & ambulance so i did then they took her .then round 11 am i found out she claim to be raped.but that was impossible unless a cat did it that was all that was in her room ..i hope you have her see a psychiatrist ..so they can give meds mine was on namzaric ..need to ask my mom for a little while took namenda in the morning then evening along with namzaric i think she did best on that ....if you have not taken her to psychiatrist you cqn keep her more calm with melatonin the over the counter till you get her to one but will not help with uti ..antibiotics only work ..my mom had bladder problems for a long time in sept 16th i think she had a upper super catheter put in bout 2 month been told she had to have one ..she did not void good enough .so she had a hysterecomy in may 2014 then tighten her bladder causing her to have more problems later ..there are kind of more ways & reasons to get dementia my mom inherited from her grandma she had it but they did not know about dementia back then she left i think in 1967 ..my mom left 4-9-18 ..it made it a lot easier for her to have a catheter or would be changing a lot ..it does effect the brain it is hard to it when it gets bad we could tell when she had another u.t.i most of the time so take her to a doc psych kind make sure they are good at it if they tell you vitamins you got a good one i believe they do work some dont i seen it do work google what vitamins to give a dementia patient ..do not listen to nursing home doctor's they only want to keep it going good for the nursing home & i do not think they care about the patient i seen that to my mom passed at 82 yrs old.. she was diagnosed that on may 2011 well it effect everyone different best thing take her to psychiatrist...

Has anyone checked to see if she's had a mild stroke? My husband had a stroke a year ago and also has been on anti depressants for years. His emotions are flat now and he rarely can recall dates. Recall of events sometimes just slip away.

EeeBee what part of Australia are you in?
I hate to say this but good luck....i had the WORST experience with doctors/hospitals and any care in Brisbane. I had to do all my own research and tell THEM what to do. I was more than vigilant to the point we couldnt leave my mother without a family member with her at all times. My sister and i started to clean her or be there when the nurses were as they did not do it proparely....it got to the stage when i knew a uti was on its way...if you want to help your mother unfortunately you have to do most the work.
In my opinion the only way to know is to watch her and listen to her because people with dementia arent always speaking 'rubbish' you need to see through it and try and work out what is really going on. There is a fantastic lady called Teeba Snow ...look her up ... i wish you luck

Yes, yes, yes!

UTI's are different in the elderly -- often without the symptoms that would drive a younger person to the doctor in haste, so they are often much worse when finally diagnosed. In elderly people a UTI will often cause symptoms that look like dementia.

The other challenge to your mom's mental health is the hospitalization itself. The combination of unfamiliar surroundings, intrusive strangers, noise and light interfering with sleep ... all of that can bring on delirium, which can progress to dementia fairly quickly, alas.

Any chance of getting her home even while her meds are being rearranged?

It happened numerous times with my mom, and Dr.s often overlooked and put her on Alz meds. Antibiotics quickly corrected. However, not always the case so be a strong advocate. But yes, this is OFTEN a cause in elderly women!

My mother used to talk about her mind being blank. She would describe it as like looking at a white, blank piece of paper. It would happen when she awoke from sleep, i.e. mornings, naps, etc. When she first started doing this, it would cause her to panic thinking she had had a stroke. After a while, she didn't mention it any longer.

You are not in denial. WTH were they thinking taking her off anti-psycho meds cold turkey. And without talking to you about it first?

Yes, a UTI can create havoc. Poor lady. Can you seek another dr. opinion?

I know it’s a completely different scenario but my friends dad had a liver condition which led to a build up of ammonia in his system/brain. When it built up to a particular level, he would have issues with memory, communication and making sense of what was going on around him. When I came to visit him in the hospital he knew that he knew me but he couldn’t remember who I was. Once his levels were brought back down, he had his faculties back and remembered everything that had happened and what he was thinking and feeling during that time. I just wonder if in your case it could be something like a high ammonia levels.

One thing I know is that you don't stop psych meds cold turkey. I recently stopped mine (18 years on two of them and 3 years on a third). I did it very slowly and I still had two weeks of withdrawal symptoms that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Towards the end of those two weeks my mom got sick at her memory care facility and had to be hospitalized. Thankfully my husband was able to help me and my sister came as well. I think your mom's memory may come back, but all those years on meds do take a toll.

I have been precisely where you are! And no one was around to help me either. I felt my way through it all blind and clueless. That said, what helped was a multi-pronged approach:
*Kept a record of her (Altered Mental Status fluctuations.
* I got REALLY connected to mom's primary care physician.
* for a time, we had her catheterized to measure intake and outflow of fluids.
*also have an excellent relationship with pharmacist--they understand drug interactions.
*Never allow a doctor cut off her meds cold turkey..they don't even do that to hard-core addicts and jailed criminals...why in the world this is common with our tax paying elders, I have no idea...but the coma it triggered in my mom almost killed her.
Good luck--do something nice for yourself!

Just a thought in general. Cranberry juice is know to be used for UTI. Why is the medical field not suggesting this instead of drugs and hospitalization

As someone else already mentioned, for a change of mental state associated with illness or hospitalization, this is almost certainly delirium.

A UTI generally can't cause dementia but easily can cause delirium, and delirium can take a very long time to resolve, especially in people who have dementia or whose brains are otherwise vulnerable. We do see a certain number of people who are not diagnosed with dementia prior to hospitalization (although if we dig into the history and prior symptoms, we almost always find evidence that the person was not entirely normal before hospitalization) but then the dementia gets "unmasked" during or after hospitalization. People with all forms of cognitive impairment are at higher risk for developing delirium, and it's associated with acceleration of cognitive decline too.

Being inattentive or spaced out is a cardinal feature of delirium.

Many of us in geriatrics would say it's not really appropriate to definitively diagnose someone with dementia during hospitalization...technically one should wait until delirium has had a chance to resolve.

Now is the UTI the only thing going on, that's a good question to consider. Sounds like there is a comprehensive evaluation going on.

I must say I'm surprised they would stop antipsychotics cold-turkey like that...someone who has been taking them for 30 years presumably has a significant mental health condition that would predate any dementia.

Eeebee, hope your mom gets better soon.

I have personally experienced the "confusion" with UTI with my mom. She is now 87 and still drives (very short distances) and is very healthy. But when she was 85, she got a UTI that would not go away and she became very confused and couldn't remember something that happened even a few minutes ago. She was definitely not herself. When the UTI cleared up, so did the confusion. I don't know the effects of the other drugs your mum is taking over such a long period, but I want to give you hope that maybe when they clear up the UTI she will be more back to "normal." Thoughts and prayers are with you.

To add to all of the confusion, the antibiotics she was treated with may have had a hand in this problem. You say she rarely has taken them; antibiotics can cause neurological symptoms in patients and on top of that your mom was on a lot of other meds. Things can get toxic. Someone mentioned cranberry. Just read up on everything your mom is taking. Some drugs, like dilantin, will contraindicate the use of cranberry. Consider cranberry like any other drug; it isn't always safe. Put together a memory book for her...pictures of close family members, pets, etc. to help her as her meds are reworked and things progress. I'm not a doctor, but I'm inclined to think this sudden condition is related to her sudden stop to all her meds. Who does that?

How much fluid is she getting? Being dehydrated can trigger disorientation, spaciness, etc. my husband is very sensitive to fluid changes and acts the same way.

EeeBee, i would get an integrative MD on board who integrates more current research and will try things out. Dr Bredesen says Alzheimers involves the overhaul of approx 30 different things going on with the body and labs... And many people are experiencing a reversal of symptoms as well as a reduction and improvement in managing the conditions involving a variety of behavioral health conditions. As is the work of William Walsh on Epigenetics and Autism which his research initially included Alzheimers but older adults were less likely to apply the protocols than young parents with autistic children who were very compliant...

EeeBee,
I'm sure 99.9% of these posts are affirmative which is very true.
UTIs also effect men!
Once the onset of either dementia or Alzheimer's kicks in, the issues then become hygiene and eating habits. If one is not getting the hydration needed, then they don't urinate, toxins effect the kidneys, the blood which effects the brain.
The longer the infection goes without treatment the more recurrent it becomes. There will never be a complete recovery from this as antibiotics will no longer help due to their system no longer reacting to treatment.
This will cause extreme mood changes, more toward anger, agitation to physical combativeness.
I learned this very quickly this past month with my Mother. I had to learn and experience via on the job training. I live out of State and things being what they were for the past few years; I was never informed about the situation until it was all dropped into my lap.
I went home the 1st week of April thinking Mom had dementia only to find out she has Diabetes 3 Alzheimer's....a new and improved catagory!
The first week of May, me and my husband went back to deal with issues only to have an episode I truly had not expected or experienced with Mom.
I knew about the UTIs, but I didn't know the signs to look for when the onset of the infection would be noticeable. Had to call 911, get Mom to the hospital where they had to treat her for no less than 2 infections because the panels were not revealing the exact cause. Mom did physically attack me while I was helping the EMTs, but rather me than them and just part of the course.
Come to find out from my sister these UTIs were happening very frequently and I was experiencing what she had with Mom.

EeeBee, there are so many things that affect dementia/Alzheimer's that it's like reading a menu at a Chinese restaurant. Choose from column(s) A, B, C.
Talk with the doctor. Set an appointment for just you to have a lengthy discussion about everything that can possibly cause issues...it can be good too.
When we were with Mom last month, she played her last hand her doctor gave her and I had to place Mom/stepfather in an assisted group home...stepfather has progressive dementia.
Science doesn't know 100% what causes these conditions. What they do know is that they are not caused by metallic exposure as was claimed about 4-5 decades ago.