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Sudden increase in confusion and UTI

Had a wonder vacation with my mom and upon arriving at her house she told me I was at the wrong house and then corrected herself and realized that she was home.  She was thinking that she lived in her prior (30 yrs ago) house which is three blocks away.

The next day she awakes early and is crying non-stop.  She wants to go "home."  This was a first for her.  She has never fogotten her house.  My sister could not distract her from wanting to go home.   I picked her up around noon and brough her to my house which she also didn't recognize.  She is here all the time.  She was mad that I bought a house and hadn't told her.  She thought I still lived with her.  She didn't recognize pics of her granddaughter.  

I took her to Dr and she has blood and white blood cells in her urine and they gave her an antibiotic for UTI.

I am hoping this increase in confusion is from the UTI.  My stomach is in knots.  She is SO UPSET and nothing we do takes her mind off the fact that she isn't "home."  

Comments

  • DrinaJGB
    DrinaJGB Member Posts: 425
    100 Comments First Anniversary
    Member

    A UTI in the elderly wrecks havoc on cognition.It can absolutely bring them down both mentally and physically. I would give the antibiotics a couple days or so to see if she improves which she most likely will.

    It is very important that she keeps herself hydrated during the daytime with water or non-caffeinated herbal teas. Drinks that contain caffeine also dehydrate the body. The elderly are notorious for not drinking enough because the urge has been diminished.

  • Rescue mom
    Rescue mom Member Posts: 988
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    At my mothers facility, they would test for UTI at the first sign of unusual behavior (or what counts as unusual in a MC). The elderly do Not have the pain most of us associate with UTIs, but it does cause them to act out. The behavior would stop when the infection was under control, seemed like usually a couple days…
  • DawnOfANewDay
    DawnOfANewDay Member Posts: 56
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    She is obsessing over her childhood home and wants to get it back from whomever has it.  

    She woke up this morning confused and crying wanting to go home.

    My sister lives with her. She cried most of the morning and it took me nearly an hour to get her to stop crying and obsessing over her childhood house.  I was up there at 11:00 and got her showered, hair done, dressed and took her out.  We went to an outdoor market, had lunch, and then had coffee and watched the planes land near the airport.  She was happy (still more confused then normal).  She said she was really tired so I took her home.

    I love 25 mins away and by the time I got home, my mom is calling me, crying about needing to get her home back.

    Tonight's dose and she will be on antibiotics for 48 hours.  Hoping tomorrow is better.  This is horrible.

  • AndyJackson
    AndyJackson Member Posts: 2
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    I can relate to it. My mother is facing the same issue. She becomes upset for no reason and starts crying like a baby. Despite dementia, she is normally a cheerful, easy-going person with a sense of humor, but that has changed for several weeks. I don't know if this will ever pass. She has been on Anti-depressants and Lithium and B12 supplements for weeks, but that didn't help. However, my friend Cynthia asked me to change her diet entirely into a natural ingredient-based diet. So we started using some ayurvedic herbs in her daily staple. Honestly, we could see some changes. I don't know if it will work in the long run, but it is currently working. I follow iahas.com and some recipes books for great recipes enriched with therapeutic herbs and spices.
  • DawnOfANewDay
    DawnOfANewDay Member Posts: 56
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    Member

    My mom is on antidepressants.  I think it was the UTI that made her so upset.   She isn't crying as much, but still doesn't remember that her house is her house.  She thinks she lives at a house she lived in 30 years ago.

    Over the years we have tried lots of different diets with no real improvement.  She has huge food issues and refuses to eat so many things that we just stick to a rotating menu of the few things she will eat.  

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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