Dementia has many different aspects, one of which is belief that one has taken in liquid when one has not. Coupled with the anxiety about urinary incontinence and urinary tract infections, it is hard to convince her to drink enough liquid. Water alone is boring.
It is more and more apparent that dementia, memory loss and aphasia combine as a perfect storm to make it hard for her to tell me what she is feeling and what I can do to help.
Today we are caught between a UTI and anxiety about incontinence. The inability to move quickly to the toilet when needed is not providing any added benefit.
There must be some better way to deal with it all.
Carpe (dammit) Diem.
Adjunct_Wizard 
I do understand, more than I want to! It’s a mixed bag, and we’ve taken a few steps that have helped me. Add myrbetriq 25 mg for urgency, five extra minutes is not overrated. I take 3 mg of fosfomycin every 10 days so i don’t get UTIs as often. A d we bought a pure wick system, which was hard for me to justify the cost but I’m glad we did. I don’t get up at night and I drink enough to stay hydrated. I hope you find things that work for her.
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The Pure wick system is interesting. Does it work well for you? Her NP suggested that it might be a good idea. — even though our insurance won’t cover it.
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… also is it noisy at night?
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You have had quite a week (not unlike many of your weeks, bless you). You and Cheryl will remain in my caring prayers. I hope your writing brings some peace, some release. Take care!
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The pure wick sounds like an option for when she is laying down,,, ‘But when she is afoot or sitting i use incontinence protective Pads… which are placed into her underwear.
I could pay a lot more for them but I have found a package of 42 /up to 9 hr protection maxi pads for $5.00 at CVS.. They have adhesive strips to secure them in place.with my loss of managing my bowels I have transitioned to Maximum long length rom Sam’s club 64 count pkg.
I wouldn’t personally like the panties because my6 hand arent strong eniughto enable me to tear the elasticized sides and pulling panties down with heavy contents it is nearly impossible to get out without smearing stuff onto ones legs.
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I buy incontinence products from Because Market online.Lately we have been shifting products for overnight and during the day to figure out what works best. Purewick is an option I have considered and discussed with our PCP to see if that might help with UTI’s. It’s pretty expensive – the device is $250 or so but the thing on the end of the tube is apparently a throwaway device good for one night only. turns into $250/mo. or so. None of that matters if it works.
She doesn’t seem to be able to sense when her bladder is full. She feels it when her bladder starts leaking. I’m probably more worried about it than she is. 🙂
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