Scary info! I had a strange UTI called proteus that I apparently somehow contracted from my 65 year old daughter when I was trying to be her caregiver. It caused none of the symptoms you described. I had very very severe pain in my upper abdomen.That was my only symptom. My daughter had the same UTI. In her, it apparently caused a milder upper abdominal pain than mine and a terrible mental confusion. I believe it is possible she had the infection a long time and that it was finally discovered when I developed it. Perhaps when these proteus UTI's develop they can become longstanding if unrecognized and neglected. Perhaps only over long periods of untreated infection do the mental symptoms develop. I am very concerned even though I have had no mental problems and my current urinalysis seems OK. Meantime my poor daughter continues to have recurring UTI infections and ongoing terrible mental problems.
Can anyone answer my question? Could the mental confusion supposedly caused by the "proteus" be avoided if diagnosis and treatment is begun fairly soon as was done in my case? I seem to be completely cured and not at al mentally affected in any way. Do older people develop mental problems from longstanding UTI's? Do the "pain" meds so many of them take cause delayed diagnoses? It is well documented that long term use of narcotics and or other mind altering drugs do cause mental damage and confusion. Also, they relieve pain and so could interfere with prompt diagneses. Most importantly, what about this proteus and the blood brain barrier?
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My only experience with UTIs is with my MIL who is bed-ridden in LTC. She too was having one UTI after another (she is not catheterized). A seasoned poster on this forum mentioned using a supplement (and a caveat that I don't sell this product and usually don't endorse the use of supplements). The supplement is D-Mannose and is a simple sugar that I can testify has kept my MIL UTI-free since last fall. It can be purchase at places like GNC or online. Since it is a supplement there is no "accurate" dosing guidelines but your body pees it out and there are no known side effects. If this is of interest you must first discuss with her doctor so he can be informed and give input (most likely he's not heard of it). You daughter must first be free of an UTI and then you can start giving it to her. Again I want to state I have no stake in this product whatsoever, just pity for my MIL's ongoing suffering with UTIs. It worked for her and that's all I can tell you. I wish you success in helping her be UTI-free!