Husband with PD hospitalised with uti infection

[allofatremor]

I'm worried sick about my husband, he became very unsteady on his feet, couldn't stand up, couldn't walk his speech changed dramatically to a tiny whisper he just can't make himself heard.

This all happened in the space of a couple of weeks his neuro suggested a UTI and he was started on antibiotics , he just became poorlier and the GP sent an ambulance for him, he was admitted into hospital 2 weeks ago.

There was talk of him being discharged a couple of days ago, but he seemed to deteriorate overnight and was checked and found positive for Covid.

He was immediately removed from the ward he was in for 2 weeks, and taken to a high-risk ward obviously for patients that have covid.

A chest x-ray confirmed his chest was clear. The doctor said he doesn't need all these antibiotics that he was having injected into him for days?

He seems better in the sense he's more alert, although still confused, he hallucinates and has had delusions for some time now but with the UTI it was excruciatingly worse.

Nobody tells you anything I ask and ask, and don't seem to get any explanations.

He also is asthmatic, which I don't suppose helps.

I now have covid and can't go to see him, there's no other family I feel completely lost.

Will this nightmare ever end, why is PD such a soul-destroying condition some day, some how please find a cure for this monster.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated xxx

[Grumpy77]

Sorry to learn you're going through so much pain. PD is complicated enough on its own. But when you now begin to add covid and asthma into the mix... I can imagine just a fraction of what you're going through

The multifaceted way you describe the situation suggest to me you need top specialists dedicated to your husband. If you're with the NHS, then you probably won't get that, because typically they are overworked, overstretched and short in numbers

Hence if can afford it please go private

[allofatremor in reply to Grumpy77]

My husband’s neurologist is private he’s been under him for 11 years.

The thing is he was put into hospital by NHS and his neurologist said he can’t intervene because he no longer works for NHS.

When we first arranged to see him it was a private session but back then he was working for NHS in a midlands hospital?

I think I will message him again many thanks x

[Grumpy77 in reply to allofatremor]

Yes, please do

[Andreajohnson]

Bless you there’s not much you can Flo but gory better and wait ring daily for updates and I pray he gets better. I have refused the latest booster because the last one made my Parkinson’s accelerate and I’ve now got Terrible tremor which I can’t get rid of and my walking is terrible. So I’m taking my chances. It is a vile disease which general GPS have no idea about.

[LAJ12345]

if he has had a lot of antibiotics it could help to take a good probiotic and feed him some fermented foods and fibrous food and vegetables for a while to try and replenish the good bacteria.

Natural yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha are naturally full of probiotics.

Supplements to try are NAC, melatonin, B1, and a good multivitamin with zinc and b vitamins . (We use Hardys den hardynutritionals.com/produ... )

[allofatremor in reply to LAJ12345]

thanks for that link LAJ will take a look now x

[jeffmayer]

A heartbreaking story I've always said the only people who understand pd are the people who have got it doctors neuros spouses haven't got a clue it's a horrible condition that takes away your dignity the only way is to fight and scrap and tell it to do one all the best

[ddmagee1 in reply to jeffmayer]

You got that right! The only ones that really understand are those that have PD, and, sometimes, they’re caregivers. I get more help and empathy from this blog, than I get from my neurologist, GP, or any medical person! It’s sad that it has to be that way. Many people have no idea of how difficult living with PD is.

[jeffmayer in reply to ddmagee1]

Nobody can understand unless they have it

[CRMACK1948]

Oh you poor thing,life must seem the pits at the moment,but things can get better.My husband and I got covid in May,me mildly,and him really badly.He then got a urine infection,which ended up with him needing to be catheterised,and then mis prescribed medication which ended up with emergency doctors having to come out to give him an enema.At the end of June he couldn’t get out of bed,or feed himself.Now 4 months later he is up and about ,and able to go for walks,his voice is understandable,and he has started doing PD warrior exercises again,though slowly!

I thought he would never recover,but very slowly he has,so don’t lose hope.My husband is 75,,so being older doesn’t mean there’s no chance of recovery.The NHS have been no real help to us,I found supplements from British Supplements helpful.

[allofatremor in reply to CRMACK1948]

Oh my that is so wonderful to hear thank you so much for sharing that with me it totally changes my outlook on things.

I am going to contact the Parkinson’s team at the hospital today, because I’ve never seen any sign of them and his neurologist said it’s very important that they are seeing to him.

I’m frightened that he is going to totally loose his mobility as he’s been in bed for 13 days now.

My husband is 75 and he’s usually full of tenacity, he can’t control his bladder but they took him off a Catheter because of infection issues.

[CRMACK1948 in reply to allofatremor]

Hello again,so glad that our experiences have given you some encouragement.We found that a high dose cranberry capsule has changed the goal posts.Since starting them ,my husband hasn’t had a single UTI,Before then it was one every month.You might find it interesting to Google “ Clean lungwort” It has a good track record for helping with chronic asthma,which would be a bonus for you both.Once he feels able,we were advised ANY exercise is beneficial,even if it just a minute at a time.Arm stretching ,hand clenching,there are lots of helpful exercises that can be done sitting down on utubet the moment you have “ slid down the snake” but you can both climb up the ladder ,even though it’s slow progress.

[LindaP50]

Sorry to hear about your husband with the Uti and then both of you getting Covid. My heart goes out to you both. Tough feeling helpless especially when you are ill. Keep up your strength, relax, do some deep breathing. Call the hospital often and keep tabs on your husband.

People with PD a Uti hits them even harder than others. UTI's affect seniors differently than someone much younger. Seniors show signs of confusion, very weak, legs are like jelly. Then, can also become dehydrated. It's not unusual for someone with a Uti to go to Rehab to make sure they can walk before being sent home.

Once your husband comes home, talk to the doctor about how to prevent Uti's. Our doctor increased his tamulosin to 2 tablets daily and put him on Vitamin C - 4 capsules of 500mg each (said drinking cranberry juice has too much sugar). There is a lot of info on this site about PD and Uti's.

A good probiotic supplement or have yogurt and such - as mentioned by LAJ12345. He also will drink Gatorade once a week to keep his electrolytes up to snuff.

I hope you both recover quickly from Covid and you can see your husband again soon.

[beehive23]

ok...i was admitted for uti 3 weeks ago...i felt like i was on lsd...it can MESS YOU UP...im starting thanksgiving cooking ....make certain the nurses are giving his pd medss on time not just during thier rounds when they coincide...he should be on high dose antibiotic and try and get probiotic such as yogurt etc to avoid diahrea and resultant dehydration as the antibiotic strips both good and bad biota in the gut. hang tough...i wasd put into a mental hosdpital fior 10 days locked deown because of a uti

i noticed the previous posts ......sorry about the redundant answers...

[allofatremor in reply to beehive23]

thank you for all your advice and opinions just had ahthories in to me wanting our savings and statements for 3 years they don’t waste any time bang goes any rainy day savings thanks U.K. government 😡😡😡

[beehive23 in reply to allofatremor]

i know that you are under immense stress...just remember that you can call the floor nurse and make certain his uti is treated, antibiotics are crucial try and get your regular dr to support you and husband...with antibiotics uti will get better but it takes weeks to recover in some cases until your body expells the toxin...have urine tested after you think he is better and push fluids to avoid reinfection for the future. keep a spare urine sampler cup and anytime you see unusual behaviotr automatically test fior uti. hang in there and feel free to contact me by message if you want or if you need somer more support...

[beehive23 in reply to allofatremor]

tell the dr. that you want a negative uti result before dc'ing the antibiotics..imo

[RonB1]

Try 100% pure cranberry juice from a health food store. It is a natural antibiotic and it works well.

[LeharLover62]

This sounds like my worst nightmare to not be able to be there in the hospital. We’ve been through 2 UTI hospitalizations and one for a bad cold and they’d always very difficult requiring me to be there full time with the doctors and nurses.

My hubby always becomes delusional and hallucinating with Anything that causes a fever now. It happened with both Utis and the bad cold.

Hopefully he’s on the mend by now. Here’s what I’d ask his care team:

1) which bacteria caused the UTI infection and have they treated it and is it gone now? It should be gone after this many days I would think. What are his blood and urine tests saying? Also keep track of both the bacteria and the antibiotics used for future reference.

2) are they sending in a physical therapist daily to make sure he is moving or at least sit him up in bed.

3) have they evaluated his swallowing? That is often very risky for pd when the patient is weak. Is he able to eat solid foods?

4) medications. Hospitals always mess these up…I would get someone on the phone to confirm he’s getting the proper doses and timings of his pd meds. In the US this would be a nurse and they should always take family calls.

Also note some medications could be making his hallucinations worse. Either too high dosing of levodopa, or meds the hospital gives like sedatives, painkillers etc. check on these.

5) can you send a friend in who doesn’t have COVID to help cheer him up and or help make sure he’s moving around a bit?

My heart goes out to you….hospitalizations are so difficult. Stay resilient and rest so you can help him with the long recovery after.