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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Alzheimer's / June 2005Toilet problems - help please?
Hi all you've helped me greatly with some problems in the past and I'm afraid I'm back again asking for more advice please! My 65 year old mother is now in the moderate to severe stage of ADbut still being cared for at home, and we are now encountering some toilet issues. For some time we have had to help my mother to the toilet but once there she has always been able to carry out her bodily functions but now she seems unable to "go". We have had constipation problems in the past which have now been sorted but she now seems unable to empty her bladder also. Despite giving her plenty of fluids, and taking her to the toilet a number of times throughout the day (for 15 / 20 minutes at a time) she just can't seem to go and sometimes it is 24 hours or more before she finally goes. Occasionally she wets the bed but not usually. We have had the doctor and the district nurse in to examine her but they have ruled out any urinary tract infection and haven't been able to suggest anything. I understand that she may not need to empty her bladder as often as a fit person without dementia but I'm very concerned that it's going to lead to bladder / kidney probles so i wondered if anyone had experinced anything similar and could offer any advise. I've even tried running the tap in the nearby sink and tried to get her to really relax but nothing seems to work Any help would as before be greatly appreciated. Thanks Adrian I'm wondering if its a consequence of the level of cognitive impairment - it probably goes something like this.... 1. She doesn't know what she is supposed to do when taken to the bathroom for a scheduled visit (which I presume is what you are doing). The cues associated with sitting on the toilet no longer twig her to whats expected that she do. 2. She doesn't connect the physical sensation of a full bladder to the need to urinate (she probably feels it, but has no idea what it means or what to do about it). 3. She doesn't relax her sphincter muscle to allow her bladder to empty (again, probably no idea how to consciously control it, or that doing that would let her urinate. I haven't got any brilliant ideas - when they stop recognizing what physical sensations mean, conscious control of the functions, or the basics of using a bathroom, not sure you can fix it, since you can't hope to EXPLAIN and be understood, and running water hasn't helped. Mary G. Ah, a subject close to my heart. Toilets and turds are my specialty! Evelyn should be along shortly to help you out. She seems to know a lot more about dealing with turds. > I've even tried running the tap in the nearby sink and tried to get > her to really relax but nothing seems to work put her wrists in warm water, or if you can get her in the shower, run warm water on her lower arms. an old boy scout camp trick when a sound sleeper slept with his arms outside his sleeping bag was to put his hand and wrist in a basin of warm water so he would pee his bed in his sleep. ;^) > Hi all > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Adrian You should have a registered nurse come in to take a blood test to see if there is another problem. Thanks for the advise. We are getting another nurse in to check if it could still be a physical problem. Adrian >> Hi all >> [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > You should have a registered nurse come in to take a blood test to see if > there is another problem. |
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