UFOs

I don't hear much about suspicious encounters with extraterrestrials any more.  No crop mazes that mysteriously appear.  Back when I watched the Twilight Zone, there was at least a monthly sighting!  Several TV shows (X-Files for one) kept making it more real for me.  Nowadays it seems like Roswell just disappeared.  No more exciting UFOs?  Well, the government doesn't even call them that any more ... now it's called "unexplained aerial phenomena".  But I digress ...

The real topic today is UTI.  I just was diagnosed with my first one.  A week after my down under exam.  At first, the urge to go pee seemed a little more frequent.  Another phase of growing older I thought.  Since it didn't seem normal for me, I called my Doc's office and asked if my lady doctor could just call in a prescription.  No ... of course not.  It was Friday afternoon and surely I could wait til Monday, I bravely told myself.

Phase II was not being able to control the urge.  We all love Dr. Google and I checked out some home remedies.  Drink more water, take cranberry extract (which I do daily, so I tripled the amount) and so on.  I felt a bit better but by Sunday, I started feeling overall ill.  My lower abdomen started being noticeable, not painful per se, just heavy feeling.  I made it til Monday morning (thank you, Depends) only to find out Weds was the first available appointment.  By appointment time, I had a full blown really bad UTI.  

It was a doctor I had never seen at my clinic and I really like her also!  She said if there is a next time, talk to the nurse about just coming in to pee in a cup and then they can call in the prescription.  We chatted for a while as my concern is my Mom used to get UTIs a lot and pretty bad.  They would cause her to hallucinate!  And I wondered if it was genetic.

Apparently UTIs are quite common in Senior Adults, not just my Mom,  although the symptoms are often very different.  One telltale symptom of UTIs in the elderly is often mistaken for the early stages of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, according to National Institutes of Health (NIH). Indicators of infection in seniors include the following:

• Confusion or delirium
• Agitation
• Hallucinations
• Other unusual behavioral changes
• Poor motor skills or loss of coordination
• Dizziness
• Falling

Often these are the only symptoms that present, so it is crucial to watch for these rather than the urgency or burning or whatever others get.  I was always surprised about how often she got them and how her Dr didn't pick up on any of these symptoms.

Mrs. New Doctor sent me on my way and called in a prescription for Bactrim.  Also (written down) a few items to help prevent ... drink MORE water, eat more probiotics, eat more cranberries, blueberries, vitamin C, and probiotics, wipe front to back (as always!), remember post coital voiding (not an issue but second time I've heard that word in a week!!) and take an over the counter supplement called D-mannose.

After two doses of Bactrim, the UTI was back to normal but I started feeling like a truck ran over me.  Twice.  Aches, pains, shivers, hot flashes ... like the flu.  I hate being a wimp, but I called the nurses station to be sure it wasn't some drug reaction.  The New Doctor called me back ... it WAS a drug reaction.  Sulfa!  She apologized (well, how could she know if I didn't even know) and called in a different antibiotic, nitrofurantoin.  

Stay tuned.  UTI still seems at bay but I still feel a slight case of the flu.  Small price to pay.  It's Saturday before Memorial day so I'll just laze about.