UTI in mother - early 70s

[Jumpingjackandjill]

My mother was at the doctor yesterday. She said she wasn't feeling very well over the past week. She said her sleep was disturbed about every two hours because she needed the toilet. My mother went to the doctor and the GP diagnosised a UTI. This is my mother's first UTI as far as I know. She has antibiotics now for 5 days.

It's bad timing, a week before Christmas. I hope the antibiotics work and it clears up. If not I don't know what she can do over Christmas.

Is there anything I can do to help her aside from encouraging to drink fluids which she likely won't do because she's going to the loo a lot.

I read about d mannose but I have no experience of this.

My mother says cranberry juice will help but I am apprehnsive about that due to sugar in the juice. My mother has claimed there is sugar free cranberry juice.

Is there anything I can do to help her?

About the elderly thing - she is aging. She not be as old as 80s or 90s but she is aging and I see a decline in her too.

about the bowel issues - what do I say to her?

The more you write about this the more concerned it makes me. It sounds like you are correct that that she may have some bowel incontinence issues - which if she's sitting in faeces in a period pants is likely to explain the UTI.

( and there you go Mrs Offended @Temporaryanonymity )

If I were you , I'd sit her down in a private place where she can't easily run off - corner her in other words in your home or her home most likely. Wait until you are both relaxed and calm and then say pretty much what you've said here.

that you are very worried about her, you are worried she has medical problems she is embarrassed or afraid to talk to you about, that you love her and are worried (repeat this throughout what you say), the reasons why you think this - thread worm cream, pants, UTI and so on [if she tries to divert you into a HOW DARE YOU this is private, just gently direct it back to the main issue, don't engage with that part, say we can discuss that later, what is important now is I love you I am worried about you ad nauseum]. Depending on her and how she seems, you could go so far as to say you fear bowel cancer and this is treatable if it is caught early enough (if she is familiar with Deborah James, mention her) or if you think she won't cope, say whatever the issue is with her bowels it can be treated but help and appropriate management will be better for her health and stop you being so scared and worrid for her.

Stick with it,be stubborn and don't let her wriggle out of it. It will be uncomfortable probably for both of you but it could be life and death stuff so it really matters and its worth half an hour of awkwardness for her and you if necessary.

Separately if she does need pads, you can get referred via your gp to the bladder and bowels service and get pads for free if necessary.

Good luck with it all. I have this parental caring t-shirt and I know how tough it can be.

I don't know if she has bowel incontinence.

I do think she has some bowel issues whatever it is. I suspect she may have the same condition I have but she's not diagnosed . Her diet is very simple and there's so much she can't eat. Maybe dirrehoea. I don't know what she has.

I found period swimwear in her room but I honestly think she's not even wearing them. I never see them amongst her laundry. She bought them and I don't know why. It's so odd.

Unless if she is wearing them, I don't know and she's using period underwear and swimwear as pads or incontinence stuff.

I don't know. At a guess it was a random purchase and I think maybe she has the onset of dementia but doctors aren't listening to me because she's not forgetting. Unless if there is memory loss but it's vague and not noticeable.

Thank you for the advice. I screenshot it.

I am not a stranger to bowel and colon health.

Seeing her diet, it's actually fairly limited and there's hardly any fruit or vegetables. Another guess is constipation with over flow diarrhoea maybe.