Urinary Tract Infection

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Finally had enough courage to self Cath. Great right it adds convenience and easy to do and finally felt empty. Lol. Later same day starts to hurt slightly while peeing. Okay no big deal I think I just need an antibiotic. Reach out to my family doctor and he gives me a med (nitrofurantoin) - awesome tight should sort that out asap. Not correct infection ends up getting worse now I can physically see I am peeing blood. End up going to the ER, they confirm not a kidney stone etc. they switch my medication (ciprofloxacin) feeling like okay this will work I am good now. 4 days on this new medication I can still feel the infection underneath and did some further research into my medical charts and found out they where unable to culture the urine sample I dropped off when in the ER. My plan is to collect a new sample in the morning and drop off at the lab to culture it and hopefully call me afterwards and tell me the medication I am on isn’t working. . That’s my plan at least for now.

Still can’t believe this is all after I self Cath and of course this had to happen. I am like wtf sometimes life is very frustrating to say it politely. Lol isn’t it like incontinence and RRMS enough. Guess not ;(

Cheers

Jason

 

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Really glad you came by to vent though old friend.
You are so so smart and so persistent you will get this squared away quickly. Good on you!!

 

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I self cathed for 2 years and it never got easy for me. I also had numerous bladder infections while doing it. I even spent a week in the hospital with pyelonephritis or a kidney infection. After that I stoped catheterizing myself. Now I’m in my mid 60’s and I lost all feeling of my bladder, and they want me to start catheterizing again. I am 2 times a day just to ensure my bladder is emptying completely and the infections have started again. I trying not to take antibiotics so I drink a lot of zero cranberry juice. I think it helps but the professionals say it doesn’t help. What do they know - it works for me. I use a new catheter each time but they still happen. Who knows why? Instead of catheterizing, I wear diapers all the time. Because I can’t feel my bladder I pee constantly. I can’t tell when I have to go, but I feel myself going but I can’t stop it. Oh well, it’s my curse. Hang in there guy. You are not alone. Keep talking and we’ll all share our issues and maybe help each other. Take care and be well!

 

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Amen brother. I will tryout drinking cranberry juice as I have even heard that prior but haven’t actually bothered to try some. Lol . Same old thing until one is in the position that they NEED to does one actually try some of the tricks they have read or heard about. Lol.

Thanks for the response and you are basically confirming my original concern with respect to self cathing. I am fine wearing diapers long over that stigma and self consciousness I just got frustrated always waiting in order to collect a urine sample; I am 41 years old. My bladder is seriously special needs because if I am requested to provide a urine sample my bladder seriously just shuts down and will not provide it for like 1-2 hrs. I have slowly learned how to coach it myself but still easily can take the 1-2 hours to provide sample.

I was so happy that I finally manned up and was able to self Cath I was like awesome don’t need to play games anymore with my bladder. Lol given the first time I self Cath I get a urinary infection from hell seriously making me reconsider my previous plans aren’t so unmanageable…

Time will tell lol but talk about being beyond gun shy to try again.

Cheers

Jason

 

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And Maymay941 I sure hope you are correct on the quickly part. However I will admit I am not so convinced. Hopefully tomorrow will be a much better day.

Thank you for the well wishes. Hope you are doing well yourself.

With love.

Jason

 

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Jason, sometimes it just goes that way! Damn! I personally cath myself when I travel and have not noted an infection following. Let’s call it beginners luck and hope it gets better. If you have recurrent infections, be sure they culture the urine. If the infections tend to be the same bacteria, sometimes you can go on a prophylactic dose of the med that treats that bacteria. Good luck! And good on you for getting up tge courage to do it!

 

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@Jwh51 sorry to hear about this. I had something similar happen in the early days of self cathing. It wasnt an infection, so the doctors concluded that I was unlucky and had hit a small blood vessel. I used extra lubrication for a few days and it hasnt happened again. I have also had a couple of infections, so you are right to make sure that they culture a sample. Good luck with finding the problem. If you try self cathing again, it does get easier. I self cath 2 or 3 times a day. Cheers, phil

 

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Cathing is a skill that gets easier with practice. When I first started, I felt like I needed four hands to juggle lube, antiseptic wipes, and get the catheter in without it touching anything. It's much, much easier now, and I don't feel like I'm all thumbs doing it.

Definitely get that UTI looked at by a doctor!

 

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I am glad that you are keeping up with this. But it sounds very, very hard. But you must get better. That is what's most important. Hang in there.

 

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Regarding drinking cranberry juice... I've had bladder infections before, and drinking cranberry juice DID knock it out. I've heard people say "cranberry juice isn't an antibiotic!" True, it isn't. But what I've been told is that cranberry juice changes the PH level of your urine, and the "germs" can't live in it then. When I've used it, I drank like a half gallon over a period of 8-10 hours, and both times, it did the job.

 

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Regarding drinking cranberry juice... I've had bladder infections before, and drinking cranberry juice DID knock it out. I've heard people say "cranberry juice isn't an antibiotic!" True, it isn't. But what I've been told is that cranberry juice changes the PH level of your urine, and the "germs" can't live in it then. When I've used it, I drank like a half gallon over a period of 8-10 hours, and both times, it did the job.

I sure hope you like cranberry juice...

 

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Agreed jeffswet time will tell. Thank you all for responding. I guess it’s just one of those things one needs to go through to understand how to do it properly in the future. I am going need a lot of Ativan to try again lol

Still not fully gone however I think the medication is working or maybe that’s just me trying to be positive. Here’s to hoping.

Thank you

Jason

 

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Regarding drinking cranberry juice... I've had bladder infections before, and drinking cranberry juice DID knock it out. I've heard people say "cranberry juice isn't an antibiotic!" True, it isn't. But what I've been told is that cranberry juice changes the PH level of your urine, and the "germs" can't live in it then. When I've used it, I drank like a half gallon over a period of 8-10 hours, and both times, it did the job.

As long as you can tolerate it, it's generally helpful, even in conjunction with antibiotics. Unfortunately, though, some with OAB or interstitial cystitis find that acidification of the urine is painful, sometimes extremely so. If you're not used to drinking cranberry juice, start with a small amount before you start drinking large quantities.

A small glass of creamery juice is enough to cause me significant pain. I think a half gallon would send me to the emergency room for pain meds. It's kind of ironic, since most people who find that I have interstitial cystitis immediately recommend cranberry juice!

You mileage may vary, of course.

 

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...they switch my medication (ciprofloxacin)...

I'm sorry that they gave you Cipro. It has a bad reputation for causing tendons to separate from bones, even years later). Regardless, I pray that you get the relief you need.

 

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I take D-mannose as a UTI preventive.
It stops bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall and allows it to flush out.

Role of D-Mannose in the Prevention of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: Evidence from a Systematic Review of the Literature - PubMed

The inexorable rise of antimicrobial resistance reinforces the need for alternative approaches to both treat and prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs). A potential approach is administration of D-mannose, an inert monosaccharide that is metabolised and excreted in urine and acts by inhibiting...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

it's a OTC supplant and can be found at Walmart.

D Mannose Capsules

Shop for D Mannose Capsules at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better

www.walmart.com

 

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I take D-mannose as a UTI preventive.
It stops bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall and allows it to flush out.

Role of D-Mannose in the Prevention of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: Evidence from a Systematic Review of the Literature - PubMed

The inexorable rise of antimicrobial resistance reinforces the need for alternative approaches to both treat and prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs). A potential approach is administration of D-mannose, an inert monosaccharide that is metabolised and excreted in urine and acts by inhibiting...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

it's a OTC supplmant and can be found at Walmart.

D Mannose Capsules

Shop for D Mannose Capsules at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better

www.walmart.com

 

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@garry Hi Garry- I was just going to mention the D-Mannose powder. I keep the NOW brand on hand from Amazon just in case. It works. I generally start with a tsp.in a little bit of water and do that every hour until the burning starts to subside and then I stretch the time out between doses. Do that for 3 to 4 days and maybe do a extra day just to be sure. Found it on a UTI message board when my husband was out of work years ago and we had no money. - Just if anyone else sees this - If you even THINK you might have a KIDNEY infection, go to the doctor immediately no matter what! - Pam

 

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OT - Cranberry juice helps. If you are prone to stones, be careful with massive vitamin C doses/tablets as it can, over time, increase you chance of kidney stones.

 

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OT - Cranberry juice helps. If you are prone to stones, be careful with massive vitamin C doses/tablets as it can, over time, increase you chance of kidney stones.

That is good to know. Those are, apparently, 'kinda very (excruciatingly) painful...'

 

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Any relief yet Jason