UTI PAIN FOR OVER 10 YEARS
Posted , 4 users are following.
I'm at my wits end with this.
I'm 22.
Ever since I started my menstrual cycle at 11 I have had horrible UTIs.
I never realized what they were until I was about 15.
Over the last 5 year's the UTI pain and symptoms have become uncontrollable.
I get them monthly and they can last 2 to 3 week's even with antibiotics.
Ive have check ups, blood tests, ultrasounds and xrays.
Antibiotics after antibiotics...
A whole list of different ones!!
I have been 5 months free of UTIs for the first time in my life but I'm back to square one.
I've had one for a week and I'm on antibiotics.
The pain is horrible. The burning is making me cry and sob.
I sit on the toilet for hours on end sobbing and in the shower because heat helps.
I don't ALWAYS pee after sex because we always use condoms?
I drink so much water and avoid citrus food and drnks.
Any help would be appreciated.
I'm suffering.
1 like, 8 replies
Guest maddy65225
Posted
You should always pee before and after sex, even wth condoms, because the act of sex can push bacteria into the urethra. Sometime the lubricant (or the material the condom is made from) used on condoms can cause an infection in sensitive individuals.
Do your urine tests always show the signs of infection (red blood cells, leukocytes, protein, etc.)? Does your doctor send urine to be cultured to find out what types of antibiotics an infection is sensitive to?
Have you ever had a cystoscopy? Had a potassium sensitivity test? I ask because what you are suffering from might actually be Interstitial Cystitis (google it and read the description).
Drinking lots of water is always a good thing, I drink at least 70 ounces a day. Avoiding acidic drinks and food is good, but there are SO many things that can cause a flare up of IC that you can't even imagine. Things from sugar to processed foods to certain medications.
If it should be proven you do, inded have IC, I would suspect the frequent UTI's you've had since frequent infections can be the culprit. However, following an IC friendly lifestyle can oftentimes cause a remission in symptoms and you can, perhaps, add back in a few of your favorite foods.
I would suggest you see your urologist and speak with him/her about IC and get their opinion. Even if they disagree, just try living IC friendly for a period of time and see if the sypmtoms and pain get any less.
In the meantime, try AZO tablets (they are over the counter), they will help with the burning and itching. They are simple dye pills which help numb the bladder and kidneys.
maddy65225 Guest
Posted
Thank you for the quick reply x
The last time my urine was taken they found a high count of white blood cells.
I've been on many different medications because the infection wasn't responding to quiet a few of them.
I will need to go back to the doctor and ask to have bloods and urine sent way again because this was 5 months ago.
I'm just starting to flare up again.
He doesn't take me seriously and the way he spoke to me felt as though he was sick of the infections coming back and having to treat them :'(
Guest maddy65225
Posted
Are you in the United States? Regardless, switch to another doctor. Through the years I have been subjected to just the attitude you describe (not being taken seriously) and when you're in real pain and have real symptoms, well, getting attitude from your doctor, the one person who should make a real effort to find out what's wrong. gets very old very quickly (my example is that, even though my gallbladder was removed when I was 15, my body continues to make gallstones with identical symptoms to gallbladder disease; at the age of 32, after 15-16 years of seeing doctors, I found a gastrointerologist who was familiar with my problem, did a procedure to enlarge the main bile duct and now stones have plenty of room to pass instead of getting stuck and causing pain).
The doctor should always have the urine cultured when it comes from a patient with your history. To simply keep prescribing antibiotics which don't effectively kill an infection is terrible and i again urge you to find another doctor - preferably a urologist.
The white cells would certainly indicate an infection.
maddy65225 Guest
Posted
I'm in Australia x
Most times he just gets me to do a urine sample and he tests it with a stick, notices i have blood in my urine and gives me antibiotics.
Guest maddy65225
Posted
Do the UTI's coincide with your periods? Have you had tests which rule out Endometriosis? Endometriosis is relatively rare (and can be in the bladder as well as the abdominal cavity) but should always be tested for when antibiotics fail to clear a UTI.
Takingtime maddy65225
Posted
Hi there, I agree with Sandra, condoms really only help prevent STI/STD, not UTI's. It is always important to pee after sex, and wipe from front to back. So here is what I have learned by my own experience. I have had issues on and off since April of this year, not completely feeling like a UTI, but more pains, they diagnosed me with a UTI, gave me a short course of antibiotics. At the time I did not have usual symptoms of UTI so I was in shock that is what it was.....then fast forward to a couple months ago, I started having frequent usrges to pee, and then I had crazy burning and itching, I had every test under the sun, blood test, vag swabs, urine samples, pelvic ultra sound, kidney ultra sounds, even short course antibiotics, because I can't take them for long dose due to sensitivity...I finally was reffered to a uroligist, he without testing at this point said I had an overactive bladder......I was not convinced of this as it did not explain the terrible burning, stinging sensations I felt........he told me to cut out caffiene from my diet which left me with a terrible headache for two days......then he ordered and in depth urinalysis.....seeing everyone that I had came back with no growth.....I was starting to think I was going to have to live like this forever........well they did the microscopic urinalysis and AHA they found bacteria.......and it cultured strep b. Strep b is a common found bacteria in vag or the behind, but it is not meant to be in the bladder to my knowledge. I showed no WBC anywhere, but clearly there was inflammation as the pain was not good. I am not sure how easy this can be treated, as I have looked on different forums and they say it can come back...which I hope not. I am not saying that it what you have, but I want to tell people that if they have symptoms of something going on, and urine cultures and samples come back with no growth, that does not mean there is no bacteria.......I hope you feel better real soon.
maddy65225 Takingtime
Posted
It feels better to know I am not alone in this. I hope you improve too x
tanya80789 maddy65225
Posted
Hi Maddy, I hope you're not still suffering. I have only just join the forum. I think you need to by pass your Dr. altogether and go and see a specialist. There was an amazing Dr. called Prof James Milone Lee here in the U.K. He was on the radio talking about cases just like yours and the fact you get resistant to broad spectrum antibiotics and the infection just gets worse. There must be someone similar in Australia to help you. Have a look at him on line there may be something. Also have you ever heard of D-mannose (sweetcures). It's brilliant stuff I use it all the time as a preventive, even my dr here knew about it. I stopped taking it a couple of times thinking the infection had gone away and the uti came straight back. It makes the lining of your bladder too slippery for the e-coli to lock on to, like cranberry juice but in high concentration.