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Urinary urgency

My sister is now in an assisted living community. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a year and aMy sister is now in an assisted living community. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a year and a half ago. She has always had problems with urgency, but now she wants to go every five minutes. She had a number of falls so now she is in a wheelchair and unable to go by herself. It is the only thing she thinks about she will beg to go to the bathroom two minutes after she is gotten out of there. Any ideas on how to help her.

Comments

  • terei
    terei Member Posts: 658
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    I assume she was checked for a UTI. There me be other meds that would help with this. I also assume she is wearing pullups

  • harshedbuzz
    harshedbuzz Member Posts: 4,944
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    edited March 19

    She should be examined for a UTI.

    Sometimes urgency is a function of anxiety and might respond to an SSRI to dial that back.

    Many medications for overactive bladder are associated with worsening cognitive issues. Be careful to vet anything she is prescribed for this.



    HB

  • H1235
    H1235 Member Posts: 800
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    I’m no doctor, but I have had some bladder issues myself. I was told that frequent bathroom visits can sort of train your bladder to hold less or going more makes you need to go more. Kind of a vicious cycle. Not sure how you break that with a pwd (if that’s what’s happening). Does she have kidney problems? That can cause frequent bathroom trips. I would agree with the others that testing for a uti is probably a good idea.

  • dlkrueck
    dlkrueck Member Posts: 2
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    thanks all she is checked regularly for UTI. She has had kidney problems in the past causing her to go frequently but now it seems more of a mental obsession We will look at the therapies.

  • cdgbdr
    cdgbdr Member Posts: 128
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    I take mirabegron and my DH just started it. This is for overactive bladder. If it's a psychological thing it won't help but it does help with the frequency and urgency.

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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