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Jessie - I will share about my ex mil who passed a couple of weeks ago. There are some similarities to your mother. Ex mil had diabetes type 2 and CHF for years and years. By Christmas of last year she was falling and at that time fainted and bruised herself significantly. Over the past year or so she had been having recurrent UTIs which were getting worse. At Christmas after the last fall she was hospitalized as an end stage heart failure patient and eventually moved to an ALF in the summer. She had some vascular dementia which affected her temperament, but was still capable of all her ADLs. She had some diarrhea problems in the later months. The UTIs got more frequent and in October she was admitted to hospital with one which they tried to treat but she developed septicemia and died a few days later. Her CV system was just winding down, and her immune system was failing. I found the information in the link sunny posted was very helpful in understanding what was happening and what will likely eventually happen to my mother who has vascular dementia. Hope this helps to give you another perspective. In the meanwhile look after you. This all is very stressful. (((((((hugs)))))))
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Yesterday her doctor put her on long-term Bactrim. She prescribed one pill to be taken every other day. I've never heard of someone using Bactrim like this to prevent UTIs, but there is so much I don't know. I was particularly confused because the E. coli they cultured last time wasn't sensitive to Bactrim. The nurse practitioner gave her Microbid when the results came back.

I'm glad you mentioned this, Golden. The doctor said the antibiotic used would target the E. Coli specifically. Bactrim?? I consider it a broader sulfa drug, so it twisted my thinking on it. I planned to look more into it, so I'm glad you talked about this. UTIs are so hard on the person and the caregiver that I'm hoping it will work. But I admit my faith in the doctor is rather shaky.
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Well, that was fast. I saw that Bactrim can be used off-label this way. To me it seems it would just build Bactrim-resistant bacteria in her body. I'll have to revamp my way of thinking and trust the doctor.
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Jessie - there may come a point where there is no ideal treatment - but a matter of making a choice as to what will work best - and that may be an informed guess on the part of the doctor. Ex mil was 83 when she died. I don't know if she was on preventative antibiotics or not in the past months, She did not call as much as she used to - part of the vascular dementia - and she was quite unhappy and more difficult for the POA to deal with. I see some of the same things in what you post about your mother. Could you have a good frank talk about your concerns with your mother's doctor?
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I have done a little reading and it seems that long term Bactrim is one of the recognised treatments for recurring UTIs and has reasonable success rates though I did not find an article about geriatric patients.
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Jessie, I'm just going to chime in here and say that I found that one of the things that I've found helpful is forging a real alliance with my mom's doctors so that I can ask them anything, either while mom is there or afterwards.

Most doctors are happy to explain what they are doing and why. I try to adopt an attitude of curiosity rather than challenge, if you know what I mean.
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She needs to see a doctor ASAP. He/She can make a diagnosis of what should be done next.
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I'm sorry you're going through this JessieBelle. I thought my mom was in her final phases a few times as she displayed all the symptoms and wow she's back to good now. Fully back to her old self.... never content or happy. ugg
Good for all the doctors, anyone she runs in to, good for anyone but the one who has to deal with her multiple times a day. Mine also has dr mrs. magoo's sister looking to her.. they're like each other's biggest fans. Her dr doesn't take kindly to additional observations.
Mine couldn't logically reason her way out of a paper bag anymore, except interestingly can, for show. But knowing the president's name gets her an automatic score.
When venting to ones I could trust and who know, have all said too bad for it, but wait for any event where you could sway her to the emergency room hopefully to a hospital with a neurological unit. Accompanied with pleas for help, as so good to see above. So much helpful advice and wisdom from the posters above. Will have to read that pdf. Its a lonely, scary road - a road less taken and the bumps are worse than wicked.
Take good care JessieBelle. Good vibes your way.
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UTIs are serious. They will cause Dementia/stroke like symtoms. If she ends up in the hospital, have her evaluated for a nh and hospice. Some hospitals have hospice on site as do nh. She may need more care than u can give. Will give u a much needed rest.
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This is when you call in the troops-NH, AL, visiting nurse-SOMEONE to help! Too tough to tackle on your own. You will burn out fast!
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I was wondering if this issue has been resolve Jessie- I'm new here and have some thoughts. I don't want to reiterate what you already know- so let me know.
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Get your mom's doctor involved with you and ask for providing a social worker for her. It has happened to my mom this year and she ended up with broken arm and leg. Then, the case manager from the hospital asked us to pick one of the facilities for a short terms care. You will feel relieved when you get a social worker for your mom.
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I have not been able to come back to this site since my mother and father passed but here I am. You are getting lots of caring advice. I just wanted to add that I found in my mothers case that many medications can cause UTIs such as Spiriva, and a lot of other illness that sometimes Drs just pile on more drugs. Check her meds and do a little research. Ask around about different doctors. I only could get a resident dr but he turned out wonderful. Was for less drugs and my mother adored him.This sight is a lifesaver.
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