UTI/ going crazy

[palmtree]

On the Sunday before last, my caregiver found me on the floor of my apartment with my head under the bed and unconscious.

The next thing I knew I woke up in the hospital with a red gown on and a Foley catheter in. Everyone was acting really strange around me so I knew something was up but they withheld my sleeping pills so I was too tired to care.

They sent me down for an MRI and I was sure they were giving me electric shock treatments. I got too scared and waved my arms out of the machine. That stopped the machine immediately so they stopped the test.

Got back to my room and I thought they had moved me to a new room. Everything seemed meticulously arranged to look like my old room only I didn't remember the green wall. Suddenly I felt like I was going blind. I looked behind me and saw they had a strobe light going. I put a cold wet washcloth over my eyes and finally they turned that thing off.

The next day I woke up and my mind was clear. They told me I had a UTI and it was causing delerium. Thank God it was only temporary!

Has anyone else heard of UTIs causing delerium? I don't want to ever experience anything lie that again. Does anyone have any ideas of how to prevent this from happening? I self-cath with sterile catheters, keep everything clean and take a daily prophylactic antibiotic. What else?

[Tia1]

Thats really scary and I'm sorry that you went through that. I hope and pray that this never happens again. You sound like you are on the road to recovery.

[REG53]

Yes, I have heard of this and I am glad you are feeling better. I had a lot of uti's and I took a low dose of antibiotic for years but the dr. took me off last year and told me to use betadine on a wipe to clean myself before I cath. and so far so good.

[kelm10]

that is scary

That is really scary.

Can you look back and notice any new symptoms before this happened?

Some people I know that have bladder issues, do a sitz bath to keep bacteria from that area down. The people I know do it twice a day. But, they do not cath. How often do you cath? Do you think that you could do a sitz bath with soap and water before you cath? This would make sure that area is fairly clean before you cath. Not sure if this is feasible for you. But, maybe worth the try. I would even consider vinegar water to do the sitz bath to get rid of the bacteria.

[KatieAgain]

Lord! That must have been scary. And I am certainly glad you are O.K.

Any infection can cause delirium...but it had to be pretty bad.

Have you asked your doc for those urine strips to test your urine daily? Might help detect something early so you don't go through this again.

[Kimba22]

Hi palmtree,

Oh no! How very scary!!! Glad it didn't last too long and you are OK.

I've had it before (more than once) from infections and a bad reaction to Rebif (dangerously high fevers ... spent 3 months in the hospital with that one ... treating neuro refused to believe Rebif was the culprit). Never had it exclusively with a UTI (had multiple infections going on the time I had it with a UTI), but yeah, have heard of UTIs being the cause before.

There is something called a closed system intermittant catheter that can help reduce the risk for infection. The introducer tip is supposed to cut down on the amount of bacteria that can be passed into the bladder. Insurance and Medicare will cover them if you've had two UTI's in the past 12 months. (Does require documentation.)

[alishape]

Omg!

Wow, the hits just keep on coming! Is this an exclusively ms related phenomena or can anyone with any type of infection get delirious? Infections increase symptoms for most of us anyway, and now this!

Last night I happened onto this post. I was having strange urethral spasms so I popped on a depends I'd bought for other problems. Not trying to hijack or anything, but I was thinking catheters or botox might be in my near future. Lol, if I need to start worrying about delirium too, they can just toss me right in the loony bin from the emergency room.

In all seriousness, I'm glad you've got a handle on it and good luck to you.

[palmtree]

Thanks everyone. I ordered myself a sitz bath kit from my phone in the hospital so it was there when I got home. I'm trying it use it every time I cath but it seems there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I am supposed do to take care of myself.

It seems there should be away to sterilize a sitz bath. I'm allergic to betedine so I tried alcohol but I don't know.

[PattiHNC]

How scary! I,m glad you're ok now, and I hope you never have anything like that again!

[KateA2]

An alternative to a sitz bath could be having a Washlet installed on your toilet. I am saving up for the S300 (after trying the S100 overseas and LOVED it.) it's a toilet-seat bidet that has all kinds of nifty features: front or backside wash, temp control, spray pattern, auto-clean, heated seat(lol) and warm air dry, etc. The Cadillac of potty experiences

[Mamabug]

My MS flares, not my UTI's, usually cause manic thoughts and behavior, and occasionally psychosis. I can relate to the feeling of loss if control. Unfortunately, I'm not able to prevent flares, although Copaxone has done a good job, for me, at reducing the fx and severity.

But, hopefully, you can prevent UTI's.

A supplement that can be purchased at health food stores or on amazon.com, called D-Mannose, has been very effective for me. Just take one serving size per day. I like the NOW brand, and prefer the powder. Other brands also sell it and it can be purchased in capsules.

[palmtree]

My MS flares, not my UTI's, usually cause manic thoughts and behavior, and occasionally psychosis. I can relate to the feeling of loss if control. Unfortunately, I'm not able to prevent flares, although Copaxone has done a good job, for me, at reducing the fx and severity.

But, hopefully, you can prevent UTI's.

A supplement that can be purchased at health food stores or on amazon.com, called D-Mannose, has been very effective for me. Just take one serving size per day. I like the NOW brand, and prefer the powder. Other brands also sell it and it can be purchased in capsules.

Your post was a comfort. What is terrifying about having any delusional thinking is that, once you see or hear something that is not occurring, from then on, everything you say is considered invalid. What if someone came into your room and raped you? No one would believe you.

I've never heard of that supplement. What is it supposed to do? I'd like to try it.

[palmtree]

An alternative to a sitz bath could be having a Washlet installed on your toilet. I am saving up for the S300 (after trying the S100 overseas and LOVED it.) it's a toilet-seat bidet that has all kinds of nifty features: front or backside wash, temp control, spray pattern, auto-clean, heated seat(lol) and warm air dry, etc. The Cadillac of potty experiences

The Cadillac of potty experiences LOL! I think you have hit the nail on the head. This is just what I need when it comes to potty experiences.
I tried the sitz bath (ordered 2 by mistake)

The sitz bath does not seem to be the answer to keeping everything sterile. Once I sit in there I get the water contaminated. The water needs to flow. Now, to try to find $$$ to pay for the Washlet.

[Mamabug]

Your post was a comfort. What is terrifying about having any delusional thinking is that, once you see or hear something that is not occurring, from then on, everything you say is considered invalid. What if someone came into your room and raped you? No one would believe you.

I've never heard of that supplement. What is it supposed to do? I'd like to try it.

Yes; it's awful to not even have control over one's own thoughts and behaviors.

Regarding D-Mannose:
It's a nutrient that supports urinary tract health, bladder health and digestive health and is good for the immune system. It has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. It can be found in cranberries, other berries and in some vegetables, but it doesn't have the high sugar that you get when drinking cranberry juice.

I've read that it can even cure a UTI, which is more than cranberry juice claims. I'd never try that, instead of an antibiotic, but, it sure would be worth taking a higher dose of it (which is said to be safe) while waiting for lab results and a prescription. If you are already taking it daily, though, you likely wouldn't need to do that, because you would probably not get a UTI.

[palmtree]

Well I looked up D-Mannese. I think I will try it. They claim to prevent E-coli from multiplying. That alone would be a huge help.

I wonder how it got it's name. If it's what I think it is, it makes me laugh. You meet D-Mann, you like D-Mann, you have a good time with D-Mann and, when times get rough, the product will ease you from D-Mann.