Refusing UTI treatment

livlea

she developed UTI and medical team gave her antibiotics without consulting us although she has signed medical directives refusing heath care treatment to prolong her life ,how could UTI be treated without antibiotics and let life take it’s course (don’t want her to suffer )

Would that be a good way to go if that was her wish ?

easy23

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/74721/refusing-uti-treatment

I think you should ask her doctor what will happen if you withhold treatment. I think developing urosepsis is very painful, but I'm not a medical professional.

Quilting brings calm

I think it’s a comfort thing. UTI’s are uncomfortable- the burning. My mother developed urosepsis because doctors refused to believe she had a UTI. Trust me, that decline is not something you want to see.

harshedbuzz

@livlea

Antibiotics can be considered comfort care when given to treat a UTI, and even pneumonia, to avoid painful symptoms.

Treating a UTI will not likely prolong life as many do resolve on their own.

HB

Maru

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/74721/refusing-uti-treatment

Treating a UTI is pallative treatment. A UTI can be very painful (like peeing broken glass), but even if it is not, there is a sudden mental decline that will be reversed by treating the infection.

I understand where you are coming from about life extending treatment, but this is not such.

MN Chickadee

I would treat it as a comfort measure. It is unlikely to affect the trajectory of her remaining days to treat it, but will make them more tolerable. Some people still decline from UTIs even when they are given antibiotics, but at least they aren't in pain.