My 90 year old mother has reoccurring bladder infections ......?

She has had active bladder infections most of this year & on & off for numerous years now & has been hospitalized numerous times this year as a result. A Macrodantin prophylaxis doesn't seem to prevent them. Her recent culture revealed Ecoli bacteria. My mother vomits & gets a fever. She also has a diverticulum in her esophagus causing her to vomit so she was recently given a feeding tube near her navel for 100% of her nutritional intake for now on or she would vomit because of the food entering it, her windpipe causing coughing & possibly inhaling food/vomit into her lungs (aspiration pneumonia danger). I don't know if the current vomiting is attributed to the diverticulum anymore or if she vomits because she gets a fever when she has a bladder infection. Her internist won't address issues with me and is nonchalant about it & her urologist doesn't return my calls & in general has not offered any support except finally macrodantin @ my request. She's on an IV in a Nursing Home.

I'm sorry to hear about your Mom, It's sad watching our parents grow old, but it's something we all have to try and be prepared for. If I were you I'd be at that urologist's office first thing Monday morning and insist that he or she sit down and have a long talk with you about your Mom's situation. Wish I could help more, I'll remember you and your Mom in my prayers.

Good Luck and God Bless you all.

My step daughter has a feeding tube and has a tendency for regurg and pneumonias. She gets and antiemetic about a 1/2 hour to 1 hour before feedings, that really helps. The fever could be combo bacteria and dehydration. The E coli, is from infrequent diaper changes and sitting in feces for too long and/or improper and incomplete cleaning at changes. She needs new doctors. If her doctor's have given up, see if you can find someone else. Make frequent, unannounced trips to the nursing home. You could shake things up with a letter to the doctors and an implication of "neglect" and "abandonment" These are big no-nos in the medical profession

She probably is having frequent UTI's due to her age. After the age od 50 our kidney's reduce every 10 years until we die. We are trained as nurses to expect kidney problems in anyone elderly or after the age od 50. Honestly your mother's body is probably shuting down due to natural causes of old age, the human process. However that does not excuse how the staff are treating you. Maybe you could move her somewhere that you feel more comfortable with the staff.
Good luck to you and your family and I will keep you in my prayers.

I can understand your concerns. if you are the main caregiver for your mother then the internist should be discussing these matters with you, If he is not then you need to get a new one. Managing the bladder problems can make a difference in your mothers quality of life.

So sorry to hear this. It is very common for ladies of her age to have recurrent urinary tract infections and E-coli is commonly the cause. Some of the problem is that when this happens the patient ends up with a low grade permanent infection which flares up from time to time - often ever more frequently. They respond less and less well to the medication as time goes on.
It is difficult to know the cause of her vomiting but it could of course be due to the infection, the diverticulum or it maybe that she has spasm in her stomach and esophagus, poor motility of the digestive tract, the stomach fills and returns its contents as vomit .
The physicians sound most unhelpful they may not be a lot that they can do but they have a duty of care to you and your mother at a time when you need support and the best possible management in the circumstances. Don,t know if any of this is of help - I am sorry.