Re: UTI QUESION

lulu1 · ‎03-29-2011

@KentuckyWoman wrote:
For those of you who have had UTI diagnosis, how long does it take you to get rid of it. I was diagnosed with a UTI on February 12 and and I still battling it.

My family doctor is sending me to a urologist but he can't see me until May 8!! I started running a low grade fever last week and they changed my antibiotic to Macrobid. This stuff is awful. I did call them and they are trying to get me in to see this urologist sooner. My husband is furiours and so am I. I'm also worried. I've never had one before but many friends have and they tell me they can be difficult to treat and get rid of.

Just wondering what others have experienced. Calling the doc again in the morning.

@KentuckyWoman

I am so sorry for your lengthy suffering. I am questioning why your family physician is not being more aggressive with getting you in to see an urologist immediately. If today's phone call does not result in immediate treatment, go to the ER.

corita · ‎08-20-2012

@Laura14 wrote:
I had one last year that I battled for a few months without prescription meds.
While you are waiting, I also recommend cranberry juice (make sure it is real pure cranberry juice which is expensive and extremely tart) and mix it with something to mask the flavor if you need to or just do a shot. I found mine in the organic section of the market for about $5-7 for a small jar.
Some people also recommended apple cider vinegar to drink and bathe in (again real stuff with the mother root which I found at Walmart). The bath did nothing for me but it's a recommendation I found if you want to try.
I also used AZO which is over the counter which really helped alleviate the symptoms and also has a minimal antibiotic in it. There are several different versions including one with cranberry in it. It's only meant to give some relief to get to a doctor but I used it for well over a month as my main treatment. It's very inexpensive at Walmart.
I also found Cran Rx which is a cranberry gummy with d-mannose in it which is supposed to help as well as others have recommended. My local supermarket had that for about $10 a bottle.
The best advice I can give you and what really helped me was to stay away from caffeine like tea/coffee etc and acidic food like tomato sauce because it really irritates the bladder. Never really realized that until I got a really bad UTI and I found if I drank or ate something like that, I felt it and not in a good way.
Good luck and I hope you heal soon. There's not much that makes you more miserable than that.
---------------
Just an FYI ....I used to take AZO too when fighting UTI's. Did help til I could get antibiotic from doc. But my doc told me that AZO can raise blood pressure. Stopped using it and now have D- Mannose on hand.
Another FYI ....when I was working... I had many more UTI's than I do now, being retired. While working, I was not around restrooms that I could use so I found myself holding off till I could get to one...bad decision.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

A UTI is what cancelled my knee replacement last April. I did not get rid of the infection until July. I took 2 rounds of antibiotics, and drank lots of water and cranberry juice.

Thru my ordeal, I learned I am a carrier of Strep B in my urine, so that ALWAYS shows up in a routine urinalysis. My urine must be cultured to check for infection.

KentuckyWoman · ‎03-13-2010

@Trinity11 wrote:
@KentuckyWoman...have you had a urine culture to determine what bacteria is causing the infection? Once the culture is done, there will be a print out from the lab of the antibiotics sensitive to the bacteria. Since you have been sick for a few months you may have inflammation and it will take a little longer to feel like yourself again.

Macrobid is is not a particularly strong antibiotic. You may need bactrim, cipro or cephalexin dependent upon the type of infection. With a UTI, always get a culture.

If if your fever increases see a physician because UTI's can spread to the kidneys. Good luck...

Thanks @Trinity11. I have known from the first culture what the bacteria is and it is very common for women to have it. Macrobid may not be a strong antibiotic but it does have nasty side effects and I experienced several of them. It turns out, according to the nurse practioner that Macrobid can cause fever and chills. I have been on five antibiotics over the past few weeks. I haven't taken any Macrobid since yesterday morning and I feel better. No fever, chills, headache, shortness of breath, dizziness, etc. I get to see the urologist April 9. Thank goodness!!

KentuckyWoman · ‎03-13-2010

@Laura14 wrote:
I had one last year that I battled for a few months without prescription meds.

While you are waiting, I also recommend cranberry juice (make sure it is real pure cranberry juice which is expensive and extremely tart) and mix it with something to mask the flavor if you need to or just do a shot. I found mine in the organic section of the market for about $5-7 for a small jar.

Some people also recommended apple cider vinegar to drink and bathe in (again real stuff with the mother root which I found at Walmart). The bath did nothing for me but it's a recommendation I found if you want to try.

I also used AZO which is over the counter which really helped alleviate the symptoms and also has a minimal antibiotic in it. There are several different versions including one with cranberry in it. It's only meant to give some relief to get to a doctor but I used it for well over a month as my main treatment. It's very inexpensive at Walmart.

I also found Cran Rx which is a cranberry gummy with d-mannose in it which is supposed to help as well as others have recommended. My local supermarket had that for about $10 a bottle.

The best advice I can give you and what really helped me was to stay away from caffeine like tea/coffee etc and acidic food like tomato sauce because it really irritates the bladder. Never really realized that until I got a really bad UTI and I found if I drank or ate something like that, I felt it and not in a good way.

Good luck and I hope you heal soon. There's not much that makes you more miserable than that.

Thank you @Laura14. I have only had one other uti in my life and it was very painful. Other than the feeling I need to "go" a lot, I have had no pain. There was blood in my urine and that is what immediateley sent me running to the doctor. I know what bacteria is and it is common for women to have it but is can be difficult to get rid of it.

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

You're welcome @KentuckyWoman. I hope you feel better soon.

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

I'm sorry you're going through this. I haven't had them often, but I know from experience they are not fun. In your situation, I'd go to the ER and get them to treat you now rather than waiting another month and risking it getting worse.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

I have suffered from UTIs since I was a child. I was even hospitalized at one point while they ran various tests to try and figure out if there was a reason I kept getting them.

I work on a health campus and when I got what I knew to be a UTI , I walked over to the Express Clinic where they did a culture and I was given Bactrim. I took that and never felt good the entire time. 3 days after getting done with the Bactrim I had what felt like another full blown UTI so back to the express clinic I went and was given another course of Bactrim. Same results. I went back to the express clinic and was told they'd put me on Cipro this time and that knocked it out.

About a month ago I was sitting at my desk and wham. UTI. That quick, no warning. This time I called my PCP and she saw me within an hour. Took a culture which showed an infection, gave me an RX for Cipro and this time gave me an RX for Pyridium which was a Godsend. It's the prescription version of AZO but works better and quicker, at least for me.

I have read over and over again that there is no proof that cranberry juice does anything for a UTI. My doctor told me the same thing when we discussed it. She told me water. Water, water and more water. She also said once you have a UTI, cranberry juice isn't going to cure it or help in any way. You need meds. She did tell me it wouldn't hurt to take Cranberry supplements and see if they help.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

Oh another thing that just about everyone has told me in the medical field when I go to be treated with a UTI, despite the fact that the AZO box says the pills don't interfer with the urine culture, they do. Everyone has said to try and hold off taking those until after you give a specimen to be cultured because it's very difficult to figure out what specific bacteria you have once AZO is in your system.

Also, as others have said, please, please do not wait on this. I also don't want to scare you but I personally know a 52 yo woman who tried to self treat a UTI. It got worse and worse. One day her daughter went to her home to check on her and the woman was nearly unresponsive on the couch. She was taken to the hospital via ambulance. She had sepsis from the untreated infection and ended up on life support.