NEED SOME ADVICE PLEASE!

Posted , 4 users are following.

I'm new to these forums, and this is my first post. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas or suggestions for me. I'm a 69 year old woman. Last week, I woke up during the night from low pelvic cramping. The next day, I felt like I was getting the start of a UTI (I've had them before). I went to Urgent Care, where they did the usual urine dipstick & culture. The dipstick showed elevated leukocytes, but negative nitrates, & slightly cloudy urine. They told me it is suggestive of a UTI & started me on generic Macrobid. They said they will have the culture report back in a day or two. By day 2 on the antibiotic, I felt better, but was still having mild on-and-off cramping. At this point, I got severe diarrhea from the medication. That same day, I got a call from the Urgent Care that the culture came back as negative for bacteria & to stop the medication. I then called my primary care doctor. They gave me two appointments: one in two more days from now for another urine test, and another for next week to discuss results with the doctor. I've been patiently waiting for my scheduled appointments, but last night I was awaken by heavy pelvic cramping again. Had to get up & take a Tylenol. I slept on and off from there. 

I might add that I have no other symptoms, and no fever. But I feel so horrible, and have lost the desire to eat. I'm not sure if I can go through two more nights like this, but don't know what else to do.

 I'm driving myself crazy thinking it might not be a bladder issue at all, even though the dipstick test shows something going on.

Has anyone else ever had anything like this? Any suggestions would be so helpful to me right now, as I am very upset. Thank you all.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    I feel for you. I'm 80 and have had bladder issues for years. I have an overactive bladder and cystitis. My bladder has dropped so I now have a pessiary. Like you when they do the dip stick on my urine it shows white blood cells and an infection. When it comes back from the lab it's negative. I've had all sorts of tests and a cystiscope and this,showed cystitis.They do this to rule out cancer.I've tried Ll sorts of medicines and treatments.I get pressure and have to go constantly. I just finished PTNS which is a treatment for overactive bladder. It has helped me tremendously. I am now on maintenance. Have you asked your Dr if it could possibly be interstitial cystitis. I, too, get cramps which I think are bladder spasms and I take a ibuprofen. When you go to the,Dr, write down all your questions. Don't know if this helps you at all, but good luck and let me know how you make out.

    • Posted

      Thank you for your reply Ann Marie. I'm so sorry for what you have been going through, but happy you have a diagnosis & are on maintenance now. I have to wait until Monday to see my doctor. She thinks it may be a gynecological issue, but I'm not sure, since bladder tests are showing something going on there. I will just have to wait until I can talk to her, but trying to sleep has not been fun! One other thing: I am not getting any urgency to urinate, nor any burning. This is worrisome, since those things are usually associated with UTIs. 

  • Posted

    Terri, my wife who is 62 years old, also used to suffer from UTI's.  She used to take antibiotics, but that only lasted a few months, then the UTI's would return.  What she finally did was go the alternative route, and started taking D-Mannose, which you can get at a health food store. She still has to go and urinate frequently, but she no longer has UTI's.  She stopped taking D-Mannose after a few months, and hasn't taken for any for several months.  The problem, with antibiotics, is that it kills all the good and bad bacteria in the body.  After taking antibiotics, the body, has to build up the population of bacteria again.  We have something like 25 trillion bacteria in the digestive tract.  By going the alternative route with D-Mannose, you don't kill off any bacteria, good and bad...and it works!

    • Posted

      I started taking the D mannose too along with a good probiotic like culturelle ( Walmart carries it). Their is also a natural supplement called VX that is good for vaginal and urinary tract health. 

  • Posted

    Terri, to help you with your problem, try going to You Tube, and in the search bar, type in urinary tract infection.  There will be lots of information on how to help you with your problem.
  • Posted

    Terri, if you need help with You Tube, and you are not sure how to do it, you can email me at :     and I can forward you information.

    Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.

  • Posted

    I had those exact same symptoms. I went to the gynecologist and he prescribed the exact same medication and when the culture didn’t grow anything from the urine sample, he told me to stop the antibiotic and to come back in. The second exam he did a Pap test and swabbed my cervix because he could see I had infection. Vaginosis is the general term he use to diagnos what I had. It can come from all sort of things he said - even from an overgrowth of the bacteria that is normally present when we are healthy. He prescribed doxycycline and flagyl. I just took the doxycycline and it cleared up the infection and symptoms I had been experiencing. You may want to cut carbs and sugar from your diet at least until you start to feel better. Helps with the yeast after the antibiotic is taken. Hope this helps!
  • Posted

    I want to thank everyone for taking the time to respond to my post. Your comments have been very helpful! I'm still going to see what happens after my appointment. I'm driving myself crazy wondering if it's a bladder problem, GYN problem, or intestinal problem. Since the urine test shows something is not right, I have to focus on that one for now.

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