MIL has urinary urgency/ accidents

Cardiffk

My MIL who has dementia is having urinary  accidents and we''re not sure what to do. It''s not like she''s completely incontinent. During the day she''s usually capable of getting herself to the bathroom without a problem. It seems more like when she is asleep she can''t recognize that she has to go until it''s too late then as soon as she sits up "it all come pouring out"(her words). Depends don''t seem to have the capacity to handle so much so fast and the mattress/bedding and the carpet get soaked. Does anyone else have any recommendations as to what to use to keep this from happening? This is very upsetting to her. We try not to make a big deal about it and just chalk it up to aging but this doesn''t seem to pacify her. I''ve considered trying to wake her in the middle of the night to have her go to the bathroom but I''m afraid this would also upset her as she worries about "being a burden" to us. Any Ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks

JJ401

Overnight leaking is a common problem. Maybe this thread on the spouse board will help.

 https://www.alzconnected.org/discussion.aspx?g=posts&t=2147558001

Jo C.

Very important to have the doctor order a UA with C&S to rule out a "silent" urinary tract infection.  Very often our Loved Ones (LOs) will have such an infection - called silent because there is no complaint of pain or burning, but the C & S will show the infection which is causing problem issues including that of changes in behaviors..

Do not just use the dipstick check as they are notorious for inaccurate results.

It may be that if she has a UTI that after treatment, the problem issue will be less.

She is probably sleeping through the bladder signal that she needs to use the bathroom.

jfkoc

I personally understand about the urine "flood". I cut off all liquid about 7p. I also can have a problem when I stand from sitting so I try to "go" every 90 minutes or so.,

Please get a 5 sided waterproof mattress cover and also waterproof pads for the bed. They go un to of the fitted sheet. I used a crib pad. 

Do get that Urine Analysis asap. Your local Urgent Care can do it.

loveskitties

On another thread a member recommended night time "depends" type product...

 Dry Direct Super Overnight Underwear

 Google it to see if this might be a good solution.

MimiMinder

We deal with this all the time. I switched my LO full time to night time Depends so there is just one choice for underwear. That has helped some with the leaking. We also switched out the fabric covered recliners for leather ones. Much easier to wipe down.

Agree with everyone else about getting checked for UTI, but also wonder if she has edema (swelling of the legs). This is one of my LO's problems, so when she is in a recliner with her feet up and even more so when she is in bed over night, all of the retained water finds a pathway of least resistance which is the bladder. 

The other thing is that my LO does not realize when it is time to change a Depends. There is only so much liquid those can hold before leaking. If only they turned colors when wet -- that would at least be a visual cue when toileting that a fresh one is needed.

The final thing is that we try not to make a big deal out of it. We tell her that the valve has just gotten tired, it can't hold back the urine anymore, and these things happen to people her age. We don't want her to feel like it's her fault since she truly cannot help it.