My spouse is a female, who is almost 94 years old. Very good health(other than the issues I will mention), likes to read, do word problems, and look at mysteries. She took a fall last year, no evidence of damage and EEG was normal (and better than some folks in their 60"s according to the technician). No cause for alarm in October, 2023. During our physical in 2023, her Thyroid levels were way off and basically bottomed out because she was not taking her medication as she should. So, our physician put her on a higher dosage (which she sometimes omitted). I noticed her recall for recent events was slower, yet her ability to solve complex word problems was great.
Fast forward to this year's physical in early late August, the testing results indicated her thyroid was still bottoming out. He asked me to make sure she was taking her thyroid.
Last week, she suddenly started seeing ants / bugs on her clothing. (no where else). I contacted our physician who asked me to bring her in the next day as he suspected a UTI. She had ketones in her urine, leukocytes, and a diagnosed UTI. He tested her cognitively and said she tested high for those things that matter and not so well to those things that don't matter to a retiree. He said there was mild cognitive decline but he felt that the UTI and severe hypothyroidism are major contributors. We just finished the course of antibiotics and started Memantine yesterday.
She functions very well. Washes clothes, cooks, takes care of her ADL, able to communicate with me very well, but is still seeing these bugs (especially after a meal) or if she gets nervous. Do they ever go away?
You need to do self testing of the urine now. Get a "hat" that fits in the toilet. Test her urine every few days with test strips (very cheap on amazon) and you want to be looking for nitrites, blood and leukocytes levels. She needs frequent tests on thyroid levels because hyper can be bad as hypo and leads to anxiety and stress.
Give this a bit of time, retest the urine per the doctor and lab; be sure not just a u/a but a c&s (culture and sensitivity) so you know that the particular bacteria was hit with the correct antibiotic.
As to the bugs, she may have some floaters in her eyes. Many of us do. On white paper or a painted wall they can sure take on the look of bugs and you move your eye they move with it.
Best of luck to you. Hope you'll update us that she's back to her normal self soon.
Thank you so very much. She is having some issues with her eyes as well. I thought about floaters and a friend poo pooed that. I am going to follow your suggestions, and I so much appreciate you taking the time.
It's interesting that when she looks down at her shirt is where she sees the bugs / gnats. Your response is very thoughtful, and I will get the items for testing. I did read that severe hypothyroidism can create similar symptoms as a UTI in terms of cognition.
My parents (who were in their 90's) both had Macular Degeneration, and now I have the start of it. My hubby has the same, so he and I compare notes. There are times when we see a circle of pin hole colors, usually red, blue and green. For me that happens after looking out a window too long on a sunny day. Mac-D can also make a straight line look wavy. Then there are floaters that we have had for years (laser is available to remove those floaters now).
Did you wife have cataract surgery? If yes, when I wake up in the morning and the outside is still somewhat dark, I will see a wreath of red colors, or a wreath of black, it varies, when looking around the room. This does go away after a few seconds, or when I turn on a light.
Another thing, both hubby and I will see the letter "C" backwards and in a form of tiny bubbles. This will slowly travel down the front of the inside of the eye. Usually takes 20 minutes before it disappears. First time seeing it really scared me. Now I just ignore it.
As you can tell, when we get older life gets pretty interesting with the various stuff that surprise us.
Thanks so much for your feedback. So very helpful. I agree with you that we need to have her eyes re-tested to rule out any optical issues.
I am grateful for finding this forum. Already experiencing such helpful and informative information and thoughtful folks.
I have a LOT of eye floaters as a result of a medical infusion I received 19 months ago. They've never gone away. But I see them in my line of vision all the time, not just when I look at my clothing. They're especially annoying when I'm looking in the distance, because they are sprinkled everywhere. At first, I thought spiders were dropping in my face, and I'd push them a way or grab at them. It was no fun. In time, that visual disturbance went away, but the smaller floaters persist.
The Opthamologist can confirm or put to rest the existence of floaters in your spouse's eyes. My Opthamologist sees them all the time when he examines my eyes. Get your spouse an appointment to rule out or confirm eye conditions causing her to see bugs.
I'd also ask for more clarification on the cognitive testing that shows, "she tested high for those things that matter and not so well to those things that don't matter to a retiree." What sort of things "don't matter to a retiree, cognitively?" That sounds pretty odd to me since I'm a retiree at 67 and all matters of cognition matter to me. Some doctors have a way of over simplifying or minimizing things to where they seem to forget they're speaking to grown adults and not toddlers! Knowledge is power. We can't understand what's happening to us if things are sugar coated to make digestion easier!
Wishing you the best of luck with all of this.
Dr. Cox did not mean it in a disparaging way. We have been his patients for 9 years. He really meant that she demonstrated some mild cognitive decline, but wasn't sure it was definitive or a combination of impacts that have a medical basis (thyroid + UTI).
I suggested we look at the drug he started her on. He agreed. He's a concierge physician and we have a very intimate, professional, and forthright relationship with him. Plus, I have a nursing background and an understanding of Naturopathic principles that he respects and engages with when needed. I pose questions to / for him that he's probably never been asked, and he reminds me that he learns from me as well. Basically, he has never been dismissive, and we appreciate that.
During the testing, Joy responded to some questions that I found myself grappling with for a minute. But when it came to the day of the week (she forgot that it was Thursday and thought it was Wednesday). She was aware of the city and state, but not the county. These are things that she was aware of a month or so ago, but not last week. She was aware of some current affairs, but not all. So, that was the basis for his response.
Thanks for your warm words and feedback.