CHRONIC UTI'S

[Bobbie]

I found the following posts in Case Histories and moved them to General Discussion so the posters can get feedback from other posters:

by zelda » Thu Aug 26, 2010 9:19 pm

Help.....my mother has constant UTI's, been on maintenance dose of antibiotics and has had c diff twice.

What do you do for a person who get uti's and feels awful, yet is not supposed to take an antibiotic???

jUST LIVING WITH IT IS NOT AN OPTION. My mother is 85. We have been to quite a few doctors and no one seems to have a good solution. There has to be an answer.
Zeldazelda
Brand New Poster

by rhona » Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:47 am

I have been getting chronic UTI's. I'm nervous when I have to take an antibiotic, but my ID doc told me which ones are safe to take. I will only take those when I have to take one. I'm trying the homeopathic route for getting rid of UTI's. I haven't had one in 2 1/2 months. If you google it you can find specific remedies that would be good for her symptoms. She can't just live with it. You don't want it to turn into a kidney infection.rhona
Regular Contributor

by Vetiver » Sat Oct 09, 2010 9:03 pm

I too am interested in this topic. My father is 82 and has metastatic prostate cancer. He HAS to have a catheter in, so we are looking at chronic UTIs. End of July he contracted C.diff and has been struggling ever since. His weight is now dangerously low and I fear the C.diff and UTIs may kill him before the cancer ever does. I lost my mom to C.diff on July 23rd (they did not get it from one another) and I cannot bear to have it kill my father as well. He is presently in a nursing home and the plan is to have him move to my house, but if I can't get him over this I fear having him live with me. He is a good hand-washer but uses a wheelchair, and he has to wheel from the toilet to the sink to wash...and then he's putting his hands right back on what he touched when his hands were 'dirty'. I also worry that if he ever DOES get to come home he may have a relapse at the same time I am on an antibio, as I have chronic ENT problems.

When my mom was ill no one told me what a horrid, devastating illness C.diff can be. It is very hard to watch loved ones suffer from it. :(

[Bobbie]

Standard Introduction
Welcome to the site. Read the first forum ALL USERS READ THIS FIRST & its subtopics – especially the announcements: PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST and GUIDELINES FOR POSTING TO OUR DISCUSSION BOARDS. They will guide you in using the site & answer some of the most frequent questions. Read Dr. Borody’s & Dr. McDonald’s articles and some of the topics in FAQ – especially Hygiene, Nutrition, & Testing.

I identify with all three of you. I have chronic UTI's (plus IC - google it for an explanation) and am on a hormone cream plus 50 mg. of Macrobid. Macrobid was considered a "safe" antibiotic, but it now has a C. diff. warning, but I don't think it's a big offender. E. coli cause most UTI's, and Macrobid is usually effective against that bacteria. Do check with your doctor and pharmacist.

Some people find cranberry juice is helpful in preventing/treating UTI's. I can't tolerate it because of its acidity -- not good for IC or acid reflux -- I also have it as well as IBS. There are also cranberry pills and other "natural" solutions to UTI's. Drinking a lot of water is suggested; however, I recently had blood work done and it showed too low a level of sodium -- I might be drinking too much water. Who knows?

See FAQ- UTI's for hints. Be sure and see (or take your parent to see) a board certified urologist.

Vetiver,
I'm so sorry you lost your mother to C. diff. The stress involved with your father must be unbearable. As you know, catheters can cause C. diff. I also emphathize with your own situation. Have you seen an ENT for your problems? I've had several sinus surgeries. The first one (years ago) didn't work, but the last one was a Godsend. I also do saline irrigation (listed in FAQ) twice a day; I wouldn't be able to breathe if I didn't. I know you are aware of the importance of good hygiene from your post. You might use "throwaway" gloves when you visit your father to protect yourself.

Did you know you can probably get help thorugh Hospice for your father -- at the nursing home or at your home? Patients don't have to be terminal. They were a Godsend for my mother. She qualified through disability (dementia) and failure to thrive (loss of weight). She had RN's visit her two or three times a week plus a nurse's aid; a social worker and chaplain visited on a regular basis. We also could have gotten a "bath" lady and volunteers to visit.

I live in the KC area, and there are over 80 hospices in this area alone. Usually, Medicare or private insurance will pay for Hospice care. Mom didn't have Medicare, but her insurance paid for 8 months of Hospice care; she was eligible for 2 years. I can't say enough good things about Hospice. Even though Mom was in an assisted living, I needed more help even though I was there every day and also hired a woman to come in several days a week. (I was afraid she would fall -- she broke a hip in 2002 so I moved her here from MT.) She did fall and break a second hip last year at Thanksgiving. She died on December l9; she was almost 93.

I've had C. diff. twice (the first time for 4 years - extenuating circumstances.) My younger son also had C. diff. twice many years ago -- the first time he had it was in l979. It is an awful disease, and you have my empathy and my prayers.

Try Ensure for you father. See FAQ-Nutrition. It kept my mother alive for almost two years because she refused to eat much -- except desert and candy.

Some of us have troubles in multiple. It's exhausting, expensive, and just plain a pain in the a...

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[Vetiver]

Thanks, Bobbie. The 'care' in nursing homes is abhorrent anymore. That's a whole other issue though! I am just appalled by how clueless the 'caregivers' were at the facility she was in. They strapped a breeathing treatment on her and had her doing leg exercises not long before she was taken to the ER. I have had nightmares about it since she died.

Oh I have had ENT probs for years, hon. Seen a few ENTs who basically tell me that I am 'doing all I can do'. I have a dysfunctional eustachian tube and end up with fluid in it/ear infections, and sinuses that get infected if I cry too much. I discovered a couple of years ago that Afrin is my friend! Gets the tube open and the fluid out. I do tote gloves with me when I go to see my dad.

My dad qualifies for hospice but does not want to BE hospice. Although his cancer has spread to his bones he still 'fights' it, so he doesn't meet the definitions of hospice.

They were giving him protein shakes at the n home, but he didn't like them and wouldn't drink them. After numerous calls from me they have now started serving him double portions...finally. He has weird ideas about the n home, like that I can't bring him 'outside food', so their double portions are the best I can do right now.

So where are you now in YOUR C.diff situation, Bobbie?