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Recurring uti....going crazy!! Help me please!

Posted , 4 users are following.

clare22515
clare22515

Hey all.

I am a 26 yr old female with a recurring uti problem, i had my first infection at 16 years old, had a couple more during college but had a bad year in 2012 with 3 bad infections that year but ciprofloxacin solved the problem and i was infection free for over 3 years, taking the odd cranberry supplement here and there but was concious of just drinking ALOT of water. For me uti's seemed to be related to sex so i became more careful following all the steps necessary for those who get uti's.

I recently met the love of my life this year, we had 2 months of "intimacy" every day if not twice a day and no uti's then at the end of february i got one on a sunday morning, they usually come on within hours, recognised it straight away and was on cipro by afternoon and cleared it up, had no problems for 2 months till going to my lovers hometown. Felt a uti coming on but did not want to spoil the fun with his friends and family so i took some amoxicillan he had spare for two days and felt ok, did a test strip and it said i was infection free.

Fast forward just over a week later and a raging uti came on (we hadnt even made love in 4 days before it came on, usually intimacy triggers it so this is concerning for me), i just suddendly needed the restroom bad and it kept getting worse so quickly. My guess is that it is the infection from vacation coming back as i did not treat it properly and ended up in the ER and was put on keflex for 5 days. I was infection free for exactly two weeks and now my uti came back again this morning. I was devastated. I did research and When i finished the keflex i took d mannose everyday and reduced our love making. I did not take it before intimacy yesterday morning as it was first thing but i had taken it the night before and after love making took alot of it after throughout the day yesterday but started to feel slight twinges of pain here and there. I used the restroom this morning and it felt like a uti and did an azo home test and it was positive and now i am back on Cipro for 7 days.

Im scared because i dont know if it is a stubborn infection that wont go away (surely i would not have made it two weeks feeling good if an infection was still in there??) or if i got re-infected yesterday morning even though i followed all the right things to do. I keep having to go to an urgent care for the problem to strange nurses and doctors as i travel with work so i dont have a doctor to help me on this. I just want a normal love life again as i have had a previous serious relation fail due to this. I dont know what to do anymore sad . I just want to cry over this all the time.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest clare22515

    Posted

    Do you use a diaphragm or spermicide as your method of birth control?  Or lubricated condoms?  If so, one or all of these things might be contributing to your "sex trigger" of a UTI.  You also might need to stop the "first thing" sex sessions and take the time for both you and your partner to clean your itimate areas thoroughly and make sure his hands are nice and clean and everything well rinsed.  Drink lots and lots of water and urinate before and after sex to help flush bacteria out of your system.  You might also talk to your doctor about a long term, everyday antibiotic (I had an aunt prone to urinary tract infections who once had to take a 50 mg antibiotic once every single day for a solid year to completely kill a stubborn bug).  You might want to read up on Cipro, as well, as there are side effects that aren't good.  Broad spectrum antibiotics target every type of bacteria and kill the good with the bad, so I'd be willing to bet that many of what you consider "quickly healed" infections might actually be yeast infections.

    Does your doctor culture your urine to find out which antibiotic might be the best for a particular infection?  Have you ever had any type of scan to be checked for bladder/kidney stones?

     

    • clare22515
      clare22515 Guest

      Posted

      Hey thank you so much for your reply!!! Its so nice to hear from someone who understands.

      I am not using any kind of birth control right now as we are happy if i fall pregnant. I have never had a bladder or kidney scan, as i was always assured i had a simple uti and all of them have cleared up with antibiotics even stubborn ones but it took alot of medicine. Usually a stubborn infection would never go away and come back in a few days but this one had me symptom free and feeling well for two weeks and has returned. My mother did have kidney stones when she was younger so im not sure if its hereditory. I have never suffered adverse reactions to antibiotics, just to amoxicillan which i am mildly allergic too (just get a chest rash).

      My primary care doctor did cultures years ago when i had them in my country of origin but since i have moved to the US i have only been to an urgent care or a doctor at a planned parenthood for treatment and they only tested with dip sticks or spun the urine and never suggested lab testing, however when i went to the ER three weeks ago they did a lab test but i never got detailed results from this.

      Im not sure if its a yeast infection?? How would i know? and do yeast infections present the same symptoms and give a positive leukocyte test?

      I have taken day 1 of the cipro for my current infection, so far no urgency, no burning, no pain peeing, but i do have back pain, not constant but just a sharp pain from time to time, no feaver or chills or nausea, maybe the back pain is from drinking so much water? I did an azo test strip and it looks like number of leukocytes are going down, i just hope this infection is going away, im scared i'll have it all year sad

    • Guest
      Guest clare22515

      Posted

      I really wish you would google and read about the side effects of Cipro (you do know that it's the drug of choice for those exposed to Anthrax?).  I went to the ER approximately three weeks ago on a Saturday with excrutiating burning and pain when urinating, stress incontinence, high and low back pain, lots of blood in my urine (so much so that it was showing as bright red on my toilet tissue and pantiliner) and was given five days of Cipro.  Two days after I finished that, the infection came back and this time I saw my regular doctor who prescribed 10 days of generic Macrobid (Macrobid targets UTI's only).  I finished this last Friday and am holding my breath and praying my infection is gone.  I'll never accept Cipro or anything in that family again.

      A yeast infection, I'm almost certain, would show in a urine test (been a long time since I had one).  These days, curing a yeast infection is as simple as swallowing one pill where it used to mean a cycle of 7-10 suppositories.  Also, so many things are OTC now that used to be prescription.  At least here in the United States.  I'm given to understand it's not the same in other countries, like the UK, where this forum originates.

      I highly doubt drinking lots of water would make your back hurt although your stomach might feel waterlogged.

      Does your doctor know of your mother's bout with kidney stones?  I know gallbladder disease/stones can be inherited since I inherited this from my mother and had my gall bladder out at the age of 15 and my body *still* makes gallstones (I had a procedure in 1990 to enlarge the opening of the main bile duct so stones could pass and not get stuck which is what causes the pain called biliary colic).

      Ask you primary doctor about some sort of scan for stones.  I think ultrasound and/or a CT scan are the most common, followed by an x-ray in which a dye is injected and followed as it passes to its destination in your body (some stones are hard to find unless large).  Most doctors will tell you that bladder stones are MUCH more common in men than in woman but I was also told that a 15-year-old couldn't have gallstones.

      Do your research (God bless computers), make a list of questions you want answered and make an appointment with your PCP.  Writing things down means you don't forget anything in the stress of the moment.

       

    • Guest
      Guest clare22515

      Posted

      You really should discuss your pregnancy plan of action with your OB/GYN. Many, many antibiotics *do not* agree with pregnant or nursing mothers and have specific warnings against using them in both those instances.
    • clare22515
      clare22515 Guest

      Posted

      I agree, thank you for your advice, unfortunately my sex drive is just non existant now, myself and my partner have agreed to refrain from sex for quite a while till i get rid of this infection and i have a few weeks to a couple of months of normal bladder functioning and i can build up my immune system after taking the antibiotics providing of course that they work. So im thinking pregnacy is not in the immediate future, maybe we will try in 2017. Im determined to beat this though, i did in the past and was infection free for over 3 years.

      To anyone reading this "we can do this, we will get better"

  • miriam65408
    miriam65408 clare22515

    Posted

    Hi Clare,

    I was just reading this discussion and wondered how you are getting on.  I hope the infection has finally gone.  I'm in the UK but agree with all the advice you've been given here. 

    Did your doctor ever tell you exactly what bacteria was causing the problem?  D-mannose is expensive but has been proven to get rid of e.coli infections that antibiotics can't shift, if it's used consistently.  There is a website about it.

    I noticed that you've had 2 courses of Cipro already, and I know Sandra has warned you about it and you said you've read bad stuff about it.  I would strongly advise you never to take any Cipro or any other fluroquinolone (Levo etc) ever again.  They build up a toxicity in your body and you may feel ok until your personal threshold has been reached.  One more tablet could put you over that threshold, and then you can get all manner of problems including tendon damage, permanent neuropathy, gut problems - the list is very long.  There is a thread on this site at https://patient.info/forums/discuss/fluoroquinolone-toxicity-syndrome-427305 ; with useful addresses for more information, plus a lot of discussions.

    I do hope you're all better now though,

    All the Best

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