Mom's repeated mystery illness... Anyone ever experience something similar?

The hardest thing to ensure in the geriatric community is hydration. It is also the most common cause of the symptoms you list.

Try a dose of D-Mannose supplement daily for control/prevention of uti's. It's very safe and many urologists know about it. Easily purchased in drug stores and Amazon, I use one myself that also includes Cranberry Extract. Has helped a number of people I know, all 80+

Has she blood tested for rheumatoid arthritis?

Sounds like some form of sepsis. Decide with her and her doctor how aggressively you want to track down the source... and how aggressively you want to treat it.

Don't have a lot to offer, except that we went through this with my mother...and it was ALWAYS a UTI. The nursing home where she lived never wanted to give her an antibiotic. She was 93 with a UTI and they said that the "state" did not like to see patients on antibiotics. And yet, as soon as she began an antibiotic course,
she was herself again.

zmchipmunk21: She should see her urologist posthaste for a complete urinalysis. Oftentimes cultures do get contaminated. She needs to see her specialist in case she may have a U.T.I.

As many have said, I would check for UTI. My mother (85) gets a very similar issue - nondescript feeling of overwhelming fatigue, weakness, dizzy, no appetite. Turns out it is UTI related - doctor put her on Macrobid which perked her back up and she gets stronger each day. I am learning that the UTIs can wreak havoc and unfortunately many older women are very prone to them. The cultures can also be a bit murky in terms of helping interpret what's going on. We are seeing a urologist soon to see if there is anything we can do preventative - I think we have tried most of the suggestions here. Best of luck to you!

I had similar eposides while I was in a rehab facility after surgery for a broken foot. After lying down in rehab, when I got up and walked around for a while, lost stepping (almost fainted), and a cardiogist cut one of my heart medication in half (imdur). I was also prone to UTIs often, which finally stopped, by taking a capsule of 30,000mg of cranberry concentrate daily. Drinking cranberry juice and/or OTC cranberry vitamin didn't help at all (too small a dose). Have them do a urine culture...takes about a week. The UTIs wreck havoc on your body. And I've had no problem in 2 years. Here's hoping this helps. Good health to your Mom.

towards the end of my moms life she kept having repeated infections. Repeated bacterial pneumonia .

she was not taking pills very well so I asked the doctors for IV infusion of antibiotics. she had daily infusion of meds. Not sure how much it helped her body was so weak by then. But maybe it’s another option that may help in your mom case.

I've seen this happen with so many people and in the end, Drs. recommended low doses of antibiotic daily. Basically, to ward it off before it has a chance to grow. Otherwise, I have no idea. I hope you can get some peace on this.

have a cath urine collected…

Recheck for UTI.

My mom did exactly same--sometimes being hospitalized.

It was ALWAYS UTI.

A heart or blood pressure issue?

Dr. Ashley Winter, urologist,
recommends vaginal estradiol to keep all menopausal women UTI free. Ask your GP.
e.g. Vagirux
Estradiol (10mcg vagnal insert)

Check for aspiration.
Will cause oxygen saturation issues, fevers, muscle weakness as lungs are impacted. Comes and goes as body fights lung infection, then is re-infected by foodstuffs/liquids.
.

Is she having Kidney pain in the Back ? or any Kind of pain ? Someone mentioned intercystial cystitis - I had that the pain was excruciating . I got it from using foam in the Diaphragm . basically I changed My diet and ate simply - The white diet - Baked potatoes, rice and crackers - no spices or anything acidic , water and tea , no fats - eventually the intercystial cystitis went away but it was a painful few Months . The doctors really did Not help . I was allergic to the foam . My Mom Got a bad case of C-Fids ( Not sure if this is the name _ after being in a rehab and had a terrible open bedsore . Does she have any bedsores ? That could also be a cause of Infection - check her back . is she having any Diarrhea ? That is C-diff - it goes around in a Nursing home. I would respect your Mothers wishes at her age I would Not want anyone Poking and prodding me .

I think a urologist is the answer. She might be having small bladder or kidney stones. These can also cause infections. It's possible that the first antibiotic in January was appropriate for that infection. The February infection may not have been susceptible to the antibiotic.
Convince Mom to go to the urologist and accompany her. Remind her that going to a doctor is not invasive. Some recommended procedures do not hurt and could be performed quickly. This could provide valuable information.
Best wishes.

Ninety is a good long life. Cover the necessary things, keep her comfortable and just let Nature take it's course. Old people are the cash cow of the medical establishment and trust me they will keep the tests going until they find something to treat. Got to be your Mom's advocate and don't let them go overboard. I also am old and I find myself reining in my doctor when he goes too far.

Well sounds like maybe some type viral. SNF are not clean. Have her have personal body wipes for the days she doesn't shower (they do shower you less than needed) have her clean her hands and make the staff clean their hands. Seriously

Just a thought-is she on any SSRIs, pain meds, or any other meds that can increase her serotonin levels?
our elders often have poly pharmacy and some are very sensitive to increased levels of serotonin which can result from that.
the fever brings it to mind but I would also expect her to be confused or unusually quiet.
fevers in elders are rare as they don’t often mount such a response to infection. Maybe have a pharmacist review her meds and good luck!

When does your mother have these episodes? Is it during activity? Or are they when she is just sitting down?
I had a homecare client who used to literally pass out unconscious after having a shower. Not during the shower, but when she was all dried off and dressed. I asked her doctor what was causing this. He said it was the activity of showering (she was nearly bedbound) would get her blood flowing pretty much and she'd be overcome. She was never unconscious more than a few minutes.
I stopped showering her and we did only bed baths. The fainting stopped.
Then she started passing out while sitting in the wheelchair. If she was in the chair more than 15 or 20 minutes or so, she would pass out. Her doctor said this can happen to people when they become elderly and feeble. He did every test available and found nothing other than what he already knew. This client lived for several years after these fainting spells or "episodes" started.
My mother's friend (85) has been having fainting episodes for about a year now. Her health is all right and her doctor said the same thing as my client's doctor.
Sometimes it's a phenomenon that just happens with elderly people even when their health is pretty stable and there's no crisis happening.

I am answering your reply here. I would ask that her blood thinner to be stopped just to see if her symptoms stop. There are natural ways to thin out the blood. Vit E, fish oil, and certain vegetables. Her blood has to be allowed to clot if blood thinners are the problem. She has blood in her urine because of the possible bladder cancer. This is how they found it in both my parents. I have never heard of an antibiotic in shot form. Seems not to be working so as u asked, needs maybe a 7 to 10 day regiment and a culture to determine the bactera so correct antibiotic is given. She should be on a probiotic when on antibiotics to keep her from getting a yeast infection. My Mom took a cranberry tablet and probiotic daily. She only lived a yr after starting this but had no recurrence of an infection. Alva suggests D-Mannose. It helps prevent UTIs and I have read may clear them up.

For my Dad, the internal bleeding showed up in his stool.

At her age, everything is wearing out. Sounds like she has gotten to a point where she is refusing further evaluations and is not as interested as everyone else might be to find a 'cause.'. A 'clean catch' urine is one that is collected using steps to decrease any contamination of the urine from surface organisms. You can find a detailed description on line.
Decreasing her dose of anticoagulant is likely a good idea...recent studies show that the risk of severe/fatal bleeding in the brain or other places inside the body after a fall increases with age. And as her body is wearing out, falling is more likely.
A 'comfort care' focus makes sense...there may be a medical practice that provides services to home bound patients and can see her at the facility when she has 'an episode.' See if the facility has one that already visits their residents.

A couple of questions:

Are you quite sure that the UTI specimen is being tested for every UTI? I once had a second one, not picked up the first test, which needed a different antibiotic. The litmus-type test in the doctor’s surgery is certainly not enough.

Also, we recently had a post about an elder ex-nurse who was self-administering fecal removal from her bowel. The problem was that she didn’t clean underneath her finger nails afterwards. Have you checked that as well as ordinary hand-washing?

Clicking unfollow. ✅

Best wishes as you go forward.

FWIW, I had a bladder cystoscopy at the Urologist's office last year b/c I had blood in my urine on 2 separate occasions. It was painless and no big deal at ALL. Lidocaine was used before the scope was inserted, which is why I didn't feel any pain. The procedure was done in the office with no pre preparation necessary; he was able to see my entire bladder and scan for tumors or issues and I could see it on a monitor too. The whole procedure took about 10 minutes, nothing of consequence was found, and my mind was put to rest afterward that I had some horrible issue that would kill me.

Perhaps such a cystoscopy could be done for your mom which would reveal issues or put her mind to rest as well.

Good luck!

This is a false belief, a false conclusion:

"She has had blood in her urine previously but she believes it was from her blood thinner so she's had them cut her dosage in half now."

Also false conclusion"
"the extended cultures come back "contaminated". Not a UTI, right?"

Thank you! The urine specimens were gathered using a cath catch(?). I don't understand how they could be "contaminated". Mom has mobility problems so she is transferred to a potty chair in the shower room and the staff cleans her afterwards. She is diligent in hand washing and has liquid soap available to her. I'm just mystified her bloodwork is normal with what I believe is an infection...again not in the medical field so I wanted to ask here. Love this group and know there's a lot of folks with much knowledge on many issues!!

If there is something making her sick, it will show up sooner or later. If there's a hidden UTI, it will spread to her kidneys and it won't be hidden anymore. If there is a malignancy in her urinary system, other signs like blood in urine will appear. It's OK to wait and watch.

Follow-up with the urologist.
Have her re-tested for
UTI (not just a dipstick urinalysis).
Yeast Infection
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)

All these can be possible after antibiotic treatment(s).

Just an opinion here. If there is bacteria in the urine, I would say its a UTI. And maybe a 10day treatment is not enough. Sometimes IVs are better. A lesion in the bladder could mean bladder cancer. Which is easy to treat in early stages. But it means chemo being put directly in the bladder and then turning every 15 min or so. It also means a bathroom to herself or aides cleaning thoroughly with bleach after each bathroom use. This is because Tuberculosis is used in the chemo.

A fever usually means an infection somewhere. Does she take blood thinners. Over time they cause internal bleeding but this should show up in at least a bowel movement. With my Dad the blood thinner was stopped.