To second guess my midwife? (Pee stick related)

[Munchkins1316]

I have had a couple of uti's develop during this pregnancy that have been quite nasty. One of which was diagnosed at a gp appointment...hours after my midwife checked my wee and said it was fine.

I've been having similar symptoms again accompanied with bad pain across my lower back so I popped in to see a midwife at the hospital after giving them a call last night.

She did a similar wee test which I noticed looked like the one at the gps where I had an infection. However she didn't mention anything. I asked a second midwife if I had an infection.

She said 'let me check' but didn't actually look at the dip stick and left the room.

I was told to take paracetamol for the pain and if was probably Braxton hicks (24 weeks pregnant).

I'm still in a lot of pain, wee burning and I'm not sure what to do. When the midwife left the room I took a picture of the stick and bottle so I could ask someone else!

Hopefully I've included the pictures in this post (first time) and you can tell me whether I'm being paranoid or should probably go to the gp again.

[FairyFluffbum]

I could never understand them so hopefully a midwife type person will be along but I'll confirm your pics are there

[Munchkins1316]

Sorry just to clarify when I looked at the bottle the 'LEU' which is the purple square was the one that looked like that the last time I had an infection.

The 'PRO' square was yellow and not green last time though.

Basically I have no medical knowledge so could be really wrong. I'm just going by the plus signs on the bottle and what the stick looked like last time I was at the gp's.

[Munchkins1316]

Thank you Fairy I'm not completely incompetent then!

[knobblyknee]

IDK if this link helps, its the product website.

www.cobas.com/home/product/urinalysis-testing/combur-test-strip.html

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Leu - white blood cells which can be in urine for a variety of reasons.
What about blood and nitrites?
Usually with common UTIs the sample is positive for nitrites, leucocytes, blood and protein.
But tricky to interpret the stick without seeing more details of the pot as we use a different brand with the pads in a different order.

[PeterLovesHisKids]

Hi, ex nurse here. Just had a look and my first thought was "woah, that's very purple!". It's infected. Urine on the stick is meant to be the same colour as the first column on the left. Stuff does change a bit in pregnancy, but I'd get thee to a walk in centre or GP for some antibiotics. Good luck, urine infections are awful

[BishopBrennansArse]

Go to GP. Particularly if they've already got it wrong once.

You can't take chances with uti in pg.

[DrewsWife]

Student nurse here (very green and wet behind the ears...

The dip stick will test for many things. You do need to read fast. The tests in used to using work in seconds. 15,30,45 etc. They show things in your urine such as blood, keytones (need to drink more) , infection markers. Based on that I would send it off.

I'd also suggest drinking more and sit for a while on the loo after you finish peeing. If your bladder isn't fully draining then you could get infection.

If you sit for a few mins. It allows any pooled urine to leave.

I was advised this during my pregnancy. I was always amazed at how much was left after I thought it was all gone.

I would just take a sample to your GP surgery and ask them to send it off for testing.

I'm confused as to why they wouldn't give you a simple answer.

[Curiouserandcuriouser30]

I would go back and get tested again. It does indeed look like you have leukocytes in your urine but as pp said that could be down to several things. However the fact that you have symptoms of a UTI is important. Those dip stick tests aren't always accurate anyway, and UTIs during pregnancy can be dodgy. Best to get yourself checked out!

[WhispersOfWickedness]

It's a long time since I have had to read one of these, but I think 'leu' is leukocytes, which are white blood cells your body produces when you have an infection, and 'pro' is protein, which would also be present in wee if you have an infection, so if those two are high, you are likely to have an infection. I'd go and see the gp.

[Munchkins1316]

Thank just looking through the link.

Lone cat everything looked like the 'normal' strip except for the LEU and PRO bits I think.

Thank you Peter, I think I will. In agony at the minute!

[SlaggyIsland]

You have a positive reading for leucocytes in your urine, ie white blood cells. Given your physical symptoms, I would say it's almost certain that you have a UTI.
Your nitrates (below) are negative - a positive reading for this confirms bacteria in the urine however it's not uncommon for it to read negative despite infection - I think you need to test urine that has been in the bladder many hours, and have a high bacterial count, to get a positive reading there.
Can't quite see from the bottle which one is the test for blood in the urine, this is the third marker for a UTI but again it's not necessary for it to be positive for there to be an infection.
In short - it sounds like you have a UTI and I have no idea why the nurse dismissed that and told you it was Braxton Hicks! You need antibiotics.

[PeterLovesHisKids]

Sounds grim, but peeing in a lukewarm bath or with the shower head running over your bits will ease any pain when you need to go. Tons of water, and don't be drinking anything acidic. UTIs truly are the papercuts of the nether regions in terms of pain .

[CantChoose]

You have leukocytes in your urine as PP said. This is one of the markers of infection. Nitrites are the other main one and yours are negative but as you have symptoms I would have given you antibiotics. At the very least I would have sent the sample to the lab to have it cultured (try to grow bugs in it!). Go back to the GP. Odd that it's happened twice, maybe she's reading the sticks upside down or something :s COI: I'm a GP not a midwife...

[Munchkins1316]

Thank you all, I didn't know whether I was being paranoid because of what happened before with midwife/GP.

I'll be making an appointment when they open!

[ProbablyMe]

Yes it looks infected to me too. (Veteran of 50+ hospital stays for UTIs with my 12 yo DS!)

[PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange]

HCSW I do these test multiple times a day and if I got that reading I would be sending a sample to pathology.

I would say it's a strong indication of a UTI.

[ValancyJane]

Go to your GP. I had a UTI in early pregnancy (have had cystitis before and was pretty confident I had it again), midwifes dipstick showed nothing, neither did GPs but he gave me antibiotics as I'd had symptoms and sent off my sample. It came back that I had a mild UTI. They don't muck about with them in pregnancy as they can bring on premature labour! Definitely see someone.

[blueteapot]

Putting it out there - are you sure its your dipstick that you lifted from the bin? Best take a sample to your GP and have it tested

[maybebabybee]

Midwives always say my wee is fine but then when it gets sent off to the lab it comes back with an infection. So YANBU!

[Wheretheresawill1]

That dipstick shows a presence of infection-leukocytes - this has to be a mid stream sample to be accurate

[Wheretheresawill1]

Also looks like protein present. Hard to read via a photo online though. See your gp

[blueturtle6]

Go to walk in, not to worry you, but I've been told uti can bring on premature labour.

[Pandora97]

I'd have sent that off, there's definitely leucocytes in there and got a doctor to prescribe you antibiotics. I probably would have sent it off anyway even if it came back clear with the symptoms you're describing.

Hope you've managed to get an appointment with the GP and got it sorted! Sounds miserable.

[Feeches]

I had similar symptoms to yours at 34 weeks. Turned out to be a kidney infection. I too had leukocytes in my urine and the doctor at my local labour ward wasted no time in giving me antibiotics. They even kept me in for hours to ensure I had kept them down (had been vomiting that morning). If you can't get to see a gp pronto then phone your local labour ward citing the pain. They take UTIs in pregnancy very seriously.