I've had a bladder infection for 4 weeks

Hi

Sorry to hear how awful you are feeling. I have a history of UTI's and kidney infection which led to septicaemia so I know how grim it can make you feel. Did the doctor send a urine sample off to try and identify which bacteria is causing the infection? Sometimes infections can be resistant to antibiotics but if you know what type of infection it is, you can get the antibiotics most suited to clearing it. Alternatively, the doctor could prescribe you a broad spectrum antibiotic. They are quite powerful and kill everything, including your healthy gut bacteria, but they do work if you need them and nothing else has worked. Doctors are reluctant to prescribe broad spectrum AB's due to concerns about resistance, but after 4 weeks, I think you should discuss this option. Also, Google D Mannose. It won't cure the infection, but it should help to calm your bladder and once the infection has gone, you could try them as a prevention tool. They've really helped me. Good luck x

Ps if you start to feel very unwell...go to urgent care... This happened to me and the infection had spread to my blood stream via my kidney. This can lead to Sepsis, which is life threatening. Don't want to scare you, but keep an eye on your temperature and if you feel very poorly, seek help sooner rather than later x

It may well have done. Quite often the sample can come back negative, particularly if you are already taking antibiotics when the sample is taken. My urologist advised that a mid stream, clean catch sample should be sent off prior to starting antibiotics when I get any further infections ( notice the when, not if!). You definitely need a different treatment regime tomorrow. Good luck x

I have been to the doctors again with no real answers. Urine test which was sent away came back normal. Had a blood test results at the end of the week and more antibiotics. 

Sorry to hear you're not any nearer to an answer. What kind of antibiotics have you been given? My last uti ended up in my kidneys but the urine test didn't show the type of infection. Maybe because you are on AB's already. Have you been given broad spectrum AB's? An alternative diagnosis could be I tidying cystitis. That can give you similar symptoms, biput without bacteria in the urine. Might be worth exploring that further. Hope you feel better soon. Definitely try the D Mannose as well x

Sorry, that should say interstitial cystitis 

Ciprofloxacin is a broad spectrum AB...it's what I had intravenously in hospital. That should sort it. You might want to take some probiotics during and after treatment as they wipe out you healthy gut bacteria and can upset your stomach for a while. Hopefully you should start to feel better in a couple of days.

Hi Linda I too have been treated with a bladder infection. Mine was  e coli which i got from a high intense antiobotic to get rid of a bacterial pneumonia infection and the side effects was not a good one as it said and did give bad diarear. Anyway   I developed a bladder infection e coli  I was given antiobotics but because the strain was too potent for the antiobotics and did not get rid of it. I have been given 4 lots of different antiobotics and it is eased but does not go away. My doctor says  drink lots of fluid and trust me after what i found out it is the best thing and i will tell you why. I googled all to know about bladder infection and most doctors especially men as they do not know the real unpleasant  discomfort is. Anyway as i took a lot of homework to find out about e coli in the bladder and not just e coli My discovery was on a study that was made  and they said the best thing you can get is what is called  D - Mannose powder or pills. Powder absorbs much quicker. It is bought from a good Health shop where i got it . One teaspoon twice a day in water.   Trust me. I wish someone even suggested it to me as I was beside myself with a lot of discomfort,  as I worked shift work. Anyway what happens is that we have good and bad bacteria in the gut  This powder does not hurt the good bacteria. When you take one teaspoon twice a day the powder goes to the bladder and then  the e coli sticks to the sugary D-Mnnose that is already positioned in the bladder wall  and then gets flushed out of the system.  You will see this on the label. " healthy urinary tract washes away undesirable parisides 100 percent.  Trust me if you are again on antiobotics take this powder as well. I had enough of real discomfort to a point of just screaming. I understand everyone is at a different level of discomfort but mine was not good.  So Just one teaspoon twice a day and it does flush away Just also to say the reason why the antiobotic does not work to getting rid of it is that the strain of E coli which is a parasite will survice each strain of antiobotic and become resistant to it and that is why if the doctors prescripe you more potent ones and then they still become resistant to it.  It works and helps but not enough. This D-Mannose powder is a miracle worker for me it absolutley gave me a total relief after just the first day.If you need any more infor  just leave a message. Your

Hi Linda, I've just seen this discussion and have two things to add:  one is that if it is interstitial cystitis as Alison suggested, there is a site called cystitis and overactive bladder foundation which has pages of information about this condition.  Doctors don't seem to know much about it and it's hard to diagnose because samples come back clear, but it is very painful and can be long lasting - I'd never heard of it until a few weeks ago!  You can search for the name I gave or just cob and then it'll be near the top of the search page.

The second thing is, if you've already taken a course of Ciprofloxacin I very strongly recommend that you NEVER take any more - certainly not for a few years.  This is because it's one of a group of powerful broad spectrum antibiotics that work by preventing bacterial DNA from dulicating; unfortunately  they don't know when to stop and can also prevent human DNA from duplicating - and we kind of need it!  There are many discussions on this site about the dangers of and the very serious Adverse Reactions to these antibiotics which are called Quinolones.  They can damage your muscles, tendons, gut, and give you mental problems like panic attacks, insomnia and memory loss.  Find the discussions (you'll find me there!) by searching this page for Quinolones or Ciprofloxacin.  Also, make sure your doctor understands that you don't want this type of antibiotic again.  My husband got away with one course of 500mg for a week but the second time he had them he was in agony (not joking).  This was 2 years ago and his mental concentration still isn't right.

I hope you feel better soon, best wishes x

Hi Linda, just to add, the EMIS Moderator kindly started a discussion called Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome in which he gives email addresses of useful sites to find out about this condition which is caused by taking Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin or one of the other 'floxie' drugs.  If you put that into the search box you'll find lots of info there.

Thank you everybody so much for your replies. Hopefully these antibiotics will work. If not I don't know what they will do. I will also try D mannos x

 

Hi Linda, You said your doctor gave you Ciprofloxacin 500mg when you posted 24 hours ago.  I've written already to tell you how dangerous this antibiotic can be.  I strongly recommend you go back to your GP and ask for a different AB.  Cipro is broad spectrum - which means it will kill off most bugs - but it will kill off some of your own cells in the process.  This isn't my opinion, it's a fact and there is a lot of information on the web to say so.  If your doctor rubbishes this, tell him the BMJ published two articles about how dangerous Cipro can be last October (as a doctor he should keep up with these things!).  Depending on what your infection actually is from the urine sample, the doc can prescribe an effective AB which is nowhere near so dangerous as Cipro.  I strongly urge you not to risk it - please don't take this course thinking "Hopefully these antibiotics will work".  They may (or may not) knock out the bug but there's a real chance that you may find they knock out your ability to walk (from tendon rupture and other muscle damage), or to think straight (from central nervous system damage) or to eat properly (from gastro-intestinal damage).  I know people (including my husband) who have suffered all of these adverse effects from taking these pills - some are still suffering 5 or more years on.  Why would you risk it?  Don't worry about upsetting your doctor - better than upsetting your body!  Do go to the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome discussion on here and follow the link to floxiehope - this will hopefully show you I'm serious!  Good luck - and stay safe!

Miriam