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My mother constantly asks to go to the bathroom, very often within five minutes of going. Twice she asked me to take her to the bathroom while she was sitting on the toilet she has been tested and retested for a UTI, always coming up clean. What other underlying causes could there be, or is this just another symptom of dementia?

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Not enough water and dehydration .
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Reply to KNance72
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MUSCULAR TENSION Calcium and magnesium are essential elements whose roles include involvement in muscular response. When not in a normal balance, excess tissue calcium relative to magnesium will frequently lead to constant muscular tension and contraction. If the muscles surrounding the urinary bladder are in a state of tension due to this error in mineral metabolism, the volume capacity within the bladder will be reduced. This condition may contribute to an increased frequency of urination due to the restricted size of the bladder.
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KNance72 Aug 27, 2024
I did Not Know this Thanks Trish
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UTI testing with dip stick for nitrites can come up negative. The dip stick is designed to react to E. coli type bacteria. So other forms of bacteria will not cause a positive reaction. Also, if it is negative some labs do not do a culture. You might want to consider asking for a P.C.R. Urine test. This is more comprehensive. If that turns up negative you may want to ask her PCP for a referral to a specialist.
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Reply to liz1906
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This is a medical condition.
The answer off the top of my retired RN head is "many things" including a prolapsing uterus, and etc. It can also have origins in the brain.
Time to see MD for this MD question.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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A hernia. A tumor pressing on the bladder. Really anything pressing on her bladder.
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Reply to jemfleming
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Bladder is no longer emptying completely. Take her to urologist and they can test.
There are meds that can help or remedy the problem.
My mom had constant UTIs. Bladder not emptying completely was the culprit. Put her on a med and she never had another infection
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Reply to my2cents
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Prayers sent.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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First separate frequent urination from good kidney function. Assuming you have adequate insurance for trips to ER, go to the ER when you think she is urinating too much. Ask them to test both her kidney function and the presence of a UTI.
Frequent urination can be treated OTC. UTI's and reduced kidney function can't.
They require Rx meds. Weak kidney function may require a special diet too.
Best case, is that there's no UTI and good kidney function.
Then you know her troublesome urination is more associated with her bladder.
There are Rx meds for that too but you may have to accept it's capacity is shrinking with her aging. Depends and other products are designed to make that less of a bother.
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Reply to CaringJohn
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There is no way, after having chronic UTI's and treatment with antibiotics, that
a yeast infection is not happening.

Get help treating that. Maybe that can help the irritation which has it's own set of symptoms.
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Reply to Sendhelp
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Possibly prolapsed organ.

unfortunately due to gravity “everything” falls down and gets jumbled up.
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Reply to Betsysue2002
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High blood sugar diabetes. Has she been tested.
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Reply to Sample
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Your mom may be very incontinent. Also, her dementia affects her signal for when to use the bathroom.
My mom is 85 and I noticed her struggling to make it to the bathroom in time before placing her in a personal care home. My mom also has a reoccurring UTI all the time from poor hygiene.
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Reply to Onlychild2024
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Wow, cant believe none of the females here have mentioned GSM... Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause...it highly highly highly effects the urinary system, the urethra to the bladder and can cause the constant sensation of needing to urinate along with the typical uti symptom of pain, urgency, full bladder, etc but no positive urine test for uti...

What happens is the lining in the bladder, urethra and the vagina also, shrink and the skin becomes very thin and susceptible to uti, thrush, burning on urination,urge incontinence and feeling full even after peeing...sometimes even the length of the urethra shrinks.
It causes all sorts of pain and urinary issues.

50+% of women will get this in perimenopause or in actual menopause. It happens because of the cessation of estrogen production. It is progressive and the only way to truly treat the condition at its roots is with vaginal estradiol (no, it doesnt cause cancer based on the latest 20 year long study released in May (?) 2023).

You have to look it up. Its too much to type.

Just something to consider.
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Reply to PureExistence1
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Could be constipation.

When my mother hasn't had a bowel movement in 3-4 days, she will want to go to the bathroom constantly because she feels the need to go but doesn't register that it's not to urinate.

When this happens I give her Milk of Magnesia to help her have a bowel movement and that takes care of the constant urge.
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Reply to southiebella
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Has she been checked for diabetes? Urinary frequency is a symptom of type 1 diabetes.
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Reply to LindaW313
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DrBenshir Jul 30, 2024
Not just type 1, also type 2:
Polyuria (increased frequency of urination),
Polydipsia (increased thirst),
Polyplagia (increased appetite).
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Microvascular Ischemic Disease. They call it the silent disease. It is something that causes issues with blood flow to the brain, and it is 45% the leading cause of dementia and 25% leading cause of stroke. I have recently learned that my mother (age 80) has it. We can live with it for years and have no symptoms. It usually makes it presence as we get older. It is commonly mistaken for signs of old age. It effects your memory, urinary continence, sleep habits and so much more. I have been trying to get a diagnosis for my mother, and all this time have been thinking she had dementia until we saw the results of her MRI. She had an MRI and other testing and blood work done for dementia, but she passed everything, until we found this on her MRI. MRI is the only way to find this disease. There is no sure for it, but you can have a treatment plan that is specific to the patient if caught early enough, and might even possibly reverse it or at least slow the progression down. I advise everyone to read up on this and have your loved one tested for it, as you may catch it early enough to help them in the long run.
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MiaMoor Jul 30, 2024
You're right - everyone should know about this and how we can avoid it robbing us of quality of life in our autumn days.

It's not easy to get tested for it, as that requires an MRI. Not everyone can afford that and, in the UK, it won't be done unless there is a medical need for such an expensive scan. Furthermore, there is no medical cure, but we can be proactive ourselves.

The way to avoid it or, possibly, reverse it (if, as you say, it's caught before it causes too much damage) is to change your lifestyle. Eating healthily, reducing blood pressure, not smoking, exercise, etc. can prevent the damage to the small blood vessels and even reverse the scars that form in the brain.

I wonder if this is why there seems to be an increase in people suffering from dementia, rather than just more people living longer. After all, dementia isn't as prevalent in communities who follow a Mediterranean diet, or eat foods with lower levels of cholesterol and sugars, or have more reliance on their feet for getting from A to B than hopping in a car.

MID, or "small blood vessel disease" was what caused my mum's stroke and vascular dementia. Unfortunately, the first thing she did when leaving the hospital, after a 5 weeks stay, was to light up the cigarette her husband passed to her. Her doctor's warnings were ignored; her husband reasoned that she was too old to change. Mum was only 63 years old. Now, she's 76 and won't reach 77.
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When my mom started losing the ability to realize when she needed to go, she would go every 5 minutes. I think she knew there was a problem and she was afraid she would go on herself. It wasn't but a couple of months later that she had to move to depends.
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Reply to Tresha
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As we age, our muscles down there become weaker. I know when I stand up from sitting an hour, it's a mad dash to the bathroom. Or if I am running water at the kitchen sink, that's another trigger that gets my bladder to respond.... (sigh).
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Reply to freqflyer
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Interstitial cystitis is a chronic condition. It never goes away but can be controlled. Certain foods and beverages cause symptoms to flare. Consult a urologist.
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Isabelsdaughter Jul 30, 2024
I have the same thing, and it is chronic. I have had it most my life. Also countless utis when I was younger. I also have pressure in my lower ab/bladder . And I am up countless times at night to go, really horrible.
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One other thought is , make sure she completly empties her balder , when she goes.
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Reply to Anxietynacy
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LakeErie Jul 30, 2024
What is a balder?
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My mother with dementia was fixated with the toilet. There was nothing wrong with her like a UTI, she just felt the need to be on the toilet constantly. For her, it was part of the OCD behaviors that go along with dementia.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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LindaKC Aug 1, 2024
Finally an answer that resonates with me. My mom went through the same thing and it was awful. 24hr caregivers were counting 70 trips a night to the bathroom for a period of time. Absolutely awful :(
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Interstitial Cystitis.

Painful Bladder Syndrome

High Oxalate level showing in urine.

Some medications affect the feeling of bladder urgency.

Could be many different reasons.

Yes. Chat with her doc.
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Reply to cxmoody
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That's a question for her urologist for sure, but perhaps she's not emptying her bladder completely, or perhaps she has an overactive bladder, both of which are very common with the elderly.
Her urologist can test for both these issues, so make an appointment for her today.
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