I still have a UTI after finishing a course of antibiotics? Why didn't drug kill it all off?

Surprisingly, for me cranberry juice has been helping to soothe the burning. It's when I drink orange juice or any other juice and even eat spicy food that's when I'm in trouble. So I've been staying away from that, but sometimes I forget myself and...burn.

My doctor just emailed me with the lab results this evening before she left the office. I saw the email a few hours later. She was telling me that because the bacteria that grew on the culture was so little usally that amount isn't treated unless it's causing me symptoms. So I wrote her back saying that it is and I would like to take the necessary steps in getting rid of it. I have to wait go her response when she gets back into the office tomorrow. Plus it doesn't help that I've been on a lot of antibiotics since january for different issues. I don't know why but this was the year my body wanted to catch a bunch of bacterial and fungal infections. From strep throat to a GI infection, yeast and now a UTI. When my UTI was first found the doctors didn't want to treat it because it was a small amount that at the time wasn't causing me to have symptoms plus I was being monitored for an unexplained case of non viral hepatitis. So doctors found it more important to monitor my liver instead of treat me for an issue that wasn't bothering me yet. After my liver enzymes returned to normal I developed a yeast infection and so they assumed it was that causing me to have burning. Long story short I must have had this UTI for probably 54-5 months and it kept getting covered up by other issues that it got to the point where I can no longer ignore it.

Also, yeah I 'm in the US. I will look into getting the Azo first thing in the morning. My doctor had prescribed me a prescription strength version of AZO. I was taking that while on the macrobid and it helped, but i stopped because the dye in my urine was staining my clothes and kinda creeping me out. I will use it again. Something has got to give at this point. The burning gets soo uncomfortable it makes me feel like my whole region is on fire. (Sigh).

Use pantiliners while taking the Azo and while treating a UTI since discharge is quite often on overdrive.

Does AZO help cure a UTI or just help with symtoms? ...and in addition to your cranberry comment. Agree with you totally except that cranberry supplements in pill form are usually a better option since cranberry juice is normally loaded with sugar and sugar can help cause, not cure, UTI's.

She should give you something in the meantime while waiting for appt. call her !

Interstitial Cystitis is not an infection.  It's a condition affecting the lning of the bladder (also known as 'painful bladder syndrome' and is often difficult to treat. Therapies may include medications, physical therapy, and biofeedback. Antibiotics haven't been shown to help with painful bladder syndrome.

It's often mistaken for a urinary tract infection (UTI), but there is no infection.  Symptoms include bladder and pelvic pain or pressure and a frequent urge to urinate.

No single treatment works for all people with IC/BPS.  Treatment must be chosen for each patient based on symptoms.  Patients usually try different treatments (or combinations of treatments) until good symptom relief occurs.  It is important to know that none of these IC/BPS treatments works right away.  It usually takes weeks to months before symptoms improve.  Even with successful treatment, the condition may not be cured.  It is simply in remission.  But, most patients can get significant relief of their symptoms and lead a normal life with treatment.  

Most treatments are aimed at symptom control.  IC/BPS treatment is often done in phases with constant monitoring of your pain and quality of life.  It is important to talk to your health care provider about how your treatments are working so that together you can find the best treatment option for you.    

Do u have I c. How are u doing with it

Hi 

I don’t have it anymore I got an over the counter pill called UVA Ursi I took 3 pills a day as suggested and I felt relief after the first 3 pills.   Sometimes I went to the doctor I would have burning and frequency but my test would come back negative that was crazy. Those pills gave me relief and healing if you try them let me know 

I hope this finds you feeling better?!

I had a similar situation. I get occasional UTIs, but don't have any bladder issues that i know of. The UTIs (maybe once a year) always go away with antibiotics. 3 weeks ago, I felt UTI symptoms (pain, burning, frequency, urgency, etc). Went in, had urine cultured, tested positive for leukocytes/blood & nitrites. Doctor said most sensitive antibiotic would be Levaquin. Went on that for 10 days. Got gradually better .By day 9, no pain at all. But after the 10th day when I went off the LQ, the symptoms came raging back within a couple days. So she put me on LQ again, much higher dose, for 5 more days. It did nothing. She recultured urine, and now it says positive for leukocytes but only minimal or none for nitrites. So she says "oh, I don't think it's an infection, must be interstitial cystitis so I'm sending you to a urologist." WHO doesn't have any appointments for THREE WEEKS! Are you kidding me? This pain is so severe, no way I can wait 3 weeks. Ugh. So I told her I disagree. That I had an infection 2 weeks ago confirmed by the lab. That her antibiotic treatment worked at first, but the infection came back. And that we need to try one of the other antibiotics while I'm waiting to see urologist. She is giving me Macrobid, I have no idea if it will work. But I am miserable, in so much pain. I read up on IC and have a couple friends who have it. It is basically sores on the lining of your bladder. I'm pretty sure, if I had this, it wouldn't have come on so suddenly - and also the pain wouldn't have subsided with the first round of Levaquin. I'm happy to be going to the urologist, hopefully they'll know more than this doctor did. They really need to listen to us when we say we're in pain - we know our own bodies and I have always been able to tell I have a UTI even before it shows up on cultures. It's a very sensitive area of the body. I know when something doesn't feel right. I hope you're feeling better. I agree with you, I want to curl into a ball and cry too. In fact, I did that the last couple days. Inhumane is right. And to think, my doctor would have left me this way with no options over the long holiday weekend, had my hubby and I not told her that was unacceptable. Ugh

Macrobid is an excellent antibiotic for UTIs since it only targets the UTI.  It works for me where other antibiotics always fail.

I'm so glad they agreed to let me try the Macrobid. It worked! Within 24 hours, I felt so much better. Will take the entire 7 day course and hope that's the end of it. I really feel for anyone having bladder/urethral pain - to me, that is the kind of pain that I can deal with the least. 

Nice to hear you're feeling better.  Macrobid is good stuff, no doubt about that.

I understand your problem since I have the same one. Just wanted to give you something to feel grateful for. I was put on Levaquin and this, along with Cipro, has a black box warning about achilles tendonitis which I got. OUCH. Four months later it is much better but still there. Stay away from those drugs....

Heather I am going through the same exact thing. My two Drs slapped me with IC and I have obvious bacteria. I swear Drs do this when they don't know why their SMALL amounts of antibiotics don't work. Ridiculous. How do they expect to kill an infection that got let go so it had time to grow!? I've been battling with Ecoli that's resistant to antibiotics since Sept! I want to die. Pain is unbearable. Don't know how I've gone this long and as I type this to you I'm currently burning in awful pain.y one dr wouldn't even do a lab. Just slapped me with IC. My recent Dr. gave me one week of antibiotics and I ended up in ER in worse pain because it wasn't enough to kill it and it's resistant. ER did same thing. Says only some bacteria so no antibiotics. I'm like really!? So you stop treatment when it's Almost gone now it's grown into a bigger monster and I'm in even more pain. Not right. I'm done with Drs. And done with antibiotics. I'm going to try d Mannose. What do I have to lose. Please let me know how you made out. So sorry you went through this too. Not humane. I tried going by my Drs but it's awful to label someone with a bladder disease and medicate them with bladder disease meds and nothing works. They'll prescribe bladder disease meds but won't prescribe the right treatment to kill an ongoing infection. Idiots!!!! Drs are all textbook. This is our lives! And so far I've lost 8 months of mine. I'm sure you can relate. I read your posting and was like Wow I'm going through same thing. I'm curious how you made out. Too many people are wrongly diagnosed with this bladder disease when Drs don't know what else to do or their five day to a week antibiotics didn't work. ALL textbook. Try D Mannose. That's what I'm going to do. I need my life back too. Praying for you all and please let me know how you made out! Best wishes!

Tara! You have just reduced my anxity!! Iv had a uti for 9 months tried all antibiotics. First one last year was so bad weeing blood so much. Its not to bad now iv had a camra in the bladder and scan on kidneys all clear. But still coming back with e.coli bactira 9 months of antibiotics why hasnt it gone iv been obsessing its cancerious been soo anxious and depressed and now im getting sooo fed up. Did u get any better? I know this comment was 11 months ago bit im preying ul get bk to me x

Don't want to be the bearer of bad news Tara but D-Mannose is a preventative not a cure after the fact that you already have an infection. I finally did get rid of my infection with the help of cranberry and 1/2 tsp. of baking soda in a little water 5 times a day. Believe it or not, it does wonders in neutralizing your ph so you can get healthy. After I got rid of it, I started taking D- Mannose and still take the baking soda and nothing has returned. Good luck to you.

Julie!! I am so scared I'm shaking typing this!! I've had a uti for almost a month and I'm so scared I have cancer 😥😥. I have been on a round of Cipro, took it about 5 days, although I missed a couple doses. Went to Er, cause I was hurting and not getting better, he said that there was bacteria and said the Cipro wasn't strong enough.. gave Bactrum. I took 4 pills  (2xday for 2 days) and was so very sick!! I went BACK to ER, was told not to take anymore I had a reaction.. the er Dr said they should have my culture back from the first er visit,, he checked and said the Cipro actually was working, was just not long enough in me.. told me to go BACK and finish that bottle.. I did, still had symptoms, dr called in another round... I took about 5 days worth... went back to dr.. he looked at urine under microscope said no bacteria but I had vaginal cells in urine and gave me Flagyll??? I took it 1 day and decided to see my gunk who has a dr in the group who specializes in Bladders... so he did a catheter to get a pure sample, this was yesterday (Friday) told me to hang for a couple days to see what that turns up... I'm so very scared though I can't sleep or eat!!! 

Debbie, I too had a uti for a year...I kept Putting off to go to the drs because my symptoms would come and go.  Finally 6 months ago I went   They put me on macrobid because I had E-coli in my urine.  Macrobid worked then as soon as I went Off the symptoms returned.  This was the game we played for 5 doses of antibiotics. Finally my dr sent me to a urologist and he put me on a different antiobiotic (which cured the e- coli but I still had blood in my urine he said).  They did X-rays, a cat scan, and put a camera up my urethra.  When all was said and done. They found a huge 18mm kidney stone in my right kidney and a smaller one in my left.   So I have To have surgery to remove the large one in my right and they will blast the left one and I will Have to pass that. Anyway, I am Still waiting for them to schedule my surgery I am A little freaked out about it.  But I am Glad I do Not have bladder cancer.  How hold are you?   Have you had cat scans and X-rays?  Hang in there and soon enough they will find a cause for your symptoms. 

Wow! You started out with a bacterial infection and found out you had kidney stones? I've wondered about that myself... both of my brothers have had them.. I'm 50. Perfectly healthy, strong ... never sick, until this.  I have read so much web md and stuff I literally have made myself sick with panic!! 😥  The Gyn did an internal exam Friday, and he put some medicine in me to numb my bladder since my biggest complaint is pressure, low back pain and frequent peeing.. Thursday my GP said I had no more bacteria... but still white blood cells ..  I try to keep remembering that the GYN said he thinks my chance of bladder cancer is low... I just need answers ... I'm exhausted 😥

Hey Katr63032, I also wanted to ask you, did you ever feel intense waves of pressure , and crampiness not unlike period cramps in your lower stomach?  I am really starting to think I have kidney stones!

I am 36 years old.  And I have 4 children.  With all of my pregnancies I had Blood in my urine on and off and they thought the babies were pinching my urethra with the position they were sitting inutero.  But, the symptoms were on and off.   With my last pregnancy I had No urinary issues.  But after I had Her at the end of 2016 my urine was very cloudy, and smelled horrible I asked My obgyn and she said it was from producing a lot of estrogen from breast feeding.  So, I let it go on since I was Not seeing blood in the urine.  But once I finished Breast feeding and the smell did not go away I decided To go to my primary doctor and they cultured it and it came back for ecoli with microscopic blood.  So that was the beginning of teying to find the cause.  I will occasionally get a pain in my abdomen if I move Or bend a certain way but I also Associated it with working out and being sore since I work Out a lot.  I do get very crampy as well.  I tend To be in more pain if I dont Drink enough fluids in a day.  I did A 24 hour urine test to find out why I am Getting stones and hat ruins test came back normal, so they think it is from being pregnant and working out and not drinking enough, stones are all hereditary and my father has had them in the past as well.  I do Think you should have X-rays and a cat scan so hey can check to see.  My only symptoms were, mild pain, cloudy urine and smelly urine it’s amazing the stone is huge and has caused minimal symptoms.  But, I know others who have had more severe symptoms like visibil blood, intense pain.  Everyone is different.  Good luck and keep us updated.  

Wow@ kate63032,good luck with surgery. .on april 13th i was admitted to hospital with sepsis, pumped full of antibiotics for 2 days and also told i had pneumonia. .released after 2 days..2wks later on april 25th, i woke up with fever of 103..went back to er..i was gasping for air. .02 was in 80's..wbc was 29,i seriously thought i was going to die..stayed in for 5 days.since then ,zero leukocytes in urine.but now its my lungs, they don't know if it viral,bacterial or fungal.i have no insurance, so after i was released that was it..

Maurine, was it a UTI that led up to the sepsis?  If you have no insurance, does the hospital treat you free of charge?

 

Yes, they said it wad,altho i had NO symptoms of a UTI. Just 3+ leukocytes in urine .the hospital treated me,but not for free..i have abt 20k worth of bills..when u are a self pay,they want every penny..if i had insurance , the insurance company wouldn't pay close to that...

Well, color me confused.  You must have had some serious symptoms of some kind to have the hospital treat you.  With no symptoms of a UTI, why would they even test the urine for it?

Ok, I heard back from the Dr from when I went to my Gyn on Friday , and he did a catheter to get a "clean " urine sample , as he called it.. he said it didn't grow anything... but I didn't think it would, since I was only off Cipro for 1 day.. they have me scheduled to go in at 10:45 in the morning to discuss my next steps since I still have pressure...but, thank Goodness, no burning.... I still just have pain in my belly button region, and some lower back pain that comes and goes...I would LOVE to find out what in the heck this is!! He did say he doesn't believe it's anything life threatening though... because I told him I was so very scared all weekend long.. lol.. he probably thinks I'm a nut!!  Say a prayer for me, and I'll let y'all know how it goes....thank you for all the help!💜

Well at first my urine had a very sweet smell..i just felt something wasnt right..but i never had burning or frequency. .i went to dr ,had 3+leukocytes. Was on 3 rounds of antibiotics, stayed at 3+,by the time i got to er,had a fever,thats when they said i was septic and put me on iv antibiotics for 2 days