Need to pee a lot.. Incontinence?

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Papillon1
Papillon1 Member Posts: 308
edited February 2016 in Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care

my mum is having hospice at home, which I am very happy about. The nurses come once a day at the moment and they are wonderful.

But mum has trouble sleeping as she is waking very often to pee. She isn't drinking a lot so it can't be because of the volume of pee. Does anyone have experience with this?

I know that as muscles get weaker a person can become incontinent. But what happens in the stages between not being incontinent and being incontinent - is it that the urge to pee is more sudden and intense as you can't hold it?

Am so sad at the thought this may be happening..

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited February 2016

    Papillon -- we're sorry we don't have any answers for you, but we're posting in the hopes of getting your thread bumped back into the Active topics so someone can weigh in.

    Can anyone help?

    --The Mods

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  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited February 2016

    Hi Papillon. So sorry about your mom but glad she's getting hospice help. I don't know if you have any idea, but is her urine very pale or clear? Sometimes when kidneys are shutting down, excessive urination (clear or pale) is not unusual. I went through it myself when my kidneys were in bad shape....peeing absolute buckets and drinkng very little. Whatever is causing it, I hope her hospice team can find a solution so she can get some rest. Looking into a urinary catheter might be an option, but I guess that's something your mom would have to be comfortable with. Thinking of both of you. Hugs.

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  • Papillon1
    Papillon1 Member Posts: 308
    edited February 2016

    yea today they suggested a catheter. So that may be a way forward. No idea on the colour, I'll have to ask. There was a strong odor earlier when she went to pee.. Kidney failure scares me! Is that common at the end stages?


    :(

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  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited February 2016

    Papillon, unfortunately yes, it's common. Having said that, some often recover kidney function. I did. The catheter might be a good start just to clear everything out. I can recommend some other alternative treatments and dietary recommendations to add if mom's up to it. Please feel free to pm if your mom's interested. Not to be nosy, but how old is she? At a certain age, we kind of lose that ability to recover from things like this. Have they done a kidney function test just to see where things stand?

    Please don't be sad, not yet (easy to say, right?). It might be fixable.

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  • Papillon1
    Papillon1 Member Posts: 308
    edited February 2016

    she is 68. She is also on oxygen 24/7 since new year, can't stand unaided and eats maybe 200 calories a day. She also can't talk since maybe a month ago, it's barely a whisper and really fatigues her to try and talk. It really is bad. She was diagnosed as having bc in her brain, lungs, liver and bones three years ago and managed to avoid hospital stays etc for three years.. But since Christmas that all changed.. . She has deteriorated so much since the start of the year despite having a new chemo regime start two or three weeks ago (tdm1, she only had one dose).

    She isn't up for alternative therapies I don't think. We are elated if she can manage a smile and eat a few spoonfuls of soup.

    I live away, with a young family - a flight away :( I was there last week and will go again next. She managed to whisper "don't cry" as I left last Monday... It's a big ask.


    Thanks for your reply xxx

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  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited February 2016

    Papillon, I am just so sorry. I wish more than anything I could give you better advice. No way would she be up to anything I could suggest. Again, you're both in my thoughts. Hugs to your mom and your family. This is all so very hard.

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  • Papillon1
    Papillon1 Member Posts: 308
    edited February 2016

    don't be sorry. It's just the way things are... You focus on your own battle. Or focus on things not related to cancer - that's what my mum did for the last three years, and is still trying to do - she prefers to forget cancer and to focus on other things as much as she can... She manages it better than I do that's for sure.

    Thanks for caring xxx

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