What the hell am I going to do ? URGENT

[idealworld897]

Going abroad tomorrow. Today, I have what feels like the start of a UTI. Namely, peeing a lot & a constant dull urge to pee. No blood/pain/discomfort as yet. Dr did a dip test today and was all clear, so wouldn't prescribe antibiotics. This is how the last UTI started, when the dip test showed nothing then 12 hours later I was calling the out of hours DR with blood in urine and severe discomfort. Fortunately for that occurrence, I managed to get antibiotics.

Ive now potentially got to travel tomorrow with the constant need to pee. How the hell am I going to do that. I will be abroad (Spain) - what if I need antibiotics ? Not so easy to get ?

WHAT TO DO ?

I have debated calling the out of hours DR tonight, exaggerating the symptoms, and getting antibiotics prescribed over the phone. I'm so worried as the last UTI started in this way ie dip was clear but needing to pee a hell of a lot and it turned into a full blown UTI.

Any advice ?

@idealworld897 you shouldn’t wait until you get to Spain.

Go to your nearest pharmacy and get the AZO asap. It’ll work within 30 or so minutes.
Just don’t forget to eat a little something first.

It’ll make all the difference, I promise.

It’s £7.99 on Amazon UK so I can’t imagine it’s much more at your pharmacy.

Good luck & have fun on your trip. 💜

DP has recurrent UTI's and it always goes the same way as yours, OP. He starts getting the symptoms, goes to GP. They do a test. Nothing. No treatment prescribed. Symptoms get unbearable. He goes back to GP. Another test. Positive for UTI. Antibiotics prescribed. It doesn't matter what he says, that it has happened before. They don't listen. He has never been wrong. It is unusual for men to have recurring UTI's, but he has a medical condition which makes them more likely and the GP still doesn't listen. He has ended up in absolute agony.

Hope you get sorted OP

@ Pancakebatter

I wasn't going to post this because private GP services are controversial on MN but having seen your update OP:

doctorcareanywhere.com/

£150 for unlimited 24/7 GP appointments for a year

I signed up and had the ABs in my sticky paw within 2 hours.

UTIs are awful. Hope you get it sorted

OP don't leave without the antibiotics. UTIs are a nightmare. You can limit your symptoms with d-mannose, cranberry etc but in the end I always need the antibiotic. And the progression is as you describe: first symptoms with no infection and then a day or two later - boom, raging UTI. Don't set out without the AB's. As precious posters have said: if you don't need them, you won't take them

@Cocopogo what an ignorant and foolish comment. I had a long lecture from my GP on the risks of ignoring a UTI - "it can go to your kidneys without any symptoms at all". Early intervention is responsible!

Two options, you can exaggerate symptoms and get antibiotics however I wouldn't take them unless you are definitely sure things are progressively getting worse as it's damaging to your body (I know with this response I'll probably get people having a go saying it's selfish as antibiotics are limited and they should be left for people who desperately need them, however it is an option if it offers you that peace of mind for your holiday so apologies to anyone i upset or offend with that response)

Or drink lots of fluids, try and flush this out of your system and worst case scenario doctors are actually really great in Spain. My brother got realllllly sick when myself and my family went to Spain and the A&E where fabulous and if anything quicker help then here in the UK.

I know it's easier said then done but please try and not let it worry you as that can exacerbate your symptoms. Go and have an amazing holiday. You deserve it!

Phone the gp and say you need to speak to the dr. If you get a telephone appointment back m, explain that you have cystitis and could tgey write a prescription and leave it at the front desk. I actually did this, I was in so much pain my dh picked it up.

Another thing is that Boots do cystitis remedies

My urologist advised cranberry juice after I had a procedure and suggested this instead of antibiotics to flush out my system. I would also be drinking a lot of this

Not necessarily. I’m prescribed amoxicillin for a chronic uti by a uti specialist and afaik that’s in the penicillin family

Drink sugar free cranberry juice and lots of water

Don’t mind clueless uneducated people like @Cocopogo .
My Urologist said that dipstick test is unreliable yet the nhs still uses them.
I sympathise as I’ve been in your shoes before. You know when you have a UTI when you have one! Hope you get some antibiotics today.
btw it’s worth speaking to your GP when you’re back if you’ve had uti more that 3 times this year. You might need referral.

Keep drinking water stay away from citrus, fizzy and sugary drinks.
Get some demannose tablets too.

You can get anti biotics over the counter from pharmacies in Spain.

Thank you for all the support & advice. I spoke to 111 late last night, within an hour and a half I had been triaged and spoken to a GP and prescribed ABs (which I have just collected and taken the first one). I then received another call around 4.30am to confirm the ABs had been prescribed. I have nitrofurantoin for 7 days x 2 a day. What a brilliant service I received. The out of hours GP said the dip tests are no use and GPs should scrap them in her opinion. She said they are unreliable and GPs should prescribe on symptoms.

Oh @idealworld897 I am so pleased to hear that you have some antibiotics in your system now!
I had exactly the same situation just before leaving to visit family for Christmas, ended up at the OOH urgent care at 4 in the morning, but was comfortable within 24 hours of my first dose.

OTOH, my local pharmacy will dispense antibiotics, after a consultation with the pharmacist. No dipstick required, but they won't dispense if you have blood in your urine. Might be worth considering for the next time it happens, I've used it several times over the last couple of years, means I hit the UTI early, and don't have to wait/be fobbed off by my GP.

FWIW, I have also been hospitalised (many years ago), when the UTI tracked up to my kidneys.

We know what a UTI feels like!!

Hope you have a fabulous holiday. 2 weeks until I head off to Spain!

That's great OP, what a relief. IME the nitrofurantoin is extremely fast-acting so fingers crossed. I would definitely get some in stock from The Online Pharmacy/Superdrug online or similar for future emergencies.

@Tessisme has your partner been seen by a consultant? A friend of mine has such horrific recurrent UTIs that her consultant gave her a letter to carry with her to give to doctors/pharmacists to essentially cut the crap and get them to give her the ABs straight away - it's been very useful

I hope you have a lovely holiday. It sounds like your GP tried to save tuppence in the short term in the hope commissioned services elsewhere would pick up the tab.

@HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas a chronic UTI treated with a maintenance dose of antibiotics would be completely different to an acute attack like the OP is suffering with.
Often with long term infections resistance to antibiotics is built up meaning a less common prescription rather than the normal go to is prescribed. In your case amoxicillin which is more commonly used as an all rounder rather trimethropim or nitrofurantoin which are more infection specific.
Before becoming a pharmacy technician I spent years with chronic UTI's so understand your pain and feel for you. Hopefully the specialist is able to help. Funnily enough becoming pregnant seemed to have lessened mine to a couple a year rather than a couple a month which I'm sure is actually unrelated but just a strange coincidence!

From @weneedhelpandlove :

“…and worst case scenario doctors are actually really great in Spain. My brother got realllllly sick when myself and my family went to Spain and the A&E were fabulous and if anything quicker help then here in the UK.”

From personal experience I can say that local Spanish doctors can be ‘really great’ and others can be bloody awful. Some provinces are cash poor and offer very low salaries which gets them the ‘bottom of the barrel’ doctors.

The Spanish A&E doctors (in a hospital) are a cut above in general, and yes, the A&E service is remarkably good compared to the UK. An EHIC will be needed for treatment.

Ambulance attendants are nowhere near as skilled or well-equipped as UK paramedics. If they consider it necessary they’ll pick up a doctor from a local surgery on the way to you. (ambulances are private companies)

So if you’re unhappy with local doctor treatment (Urgencias) get yourself to a hospital A&E.

Sure but we also prescribe amoxicillin to pregnant women for acute uti attacks as they can’t have trimethoprim. I’ve also been prescribed amoxicillin for acute attacks before I was put on long term abx.

interesting that you felt better in pregnancy. I feel worse at certain points of my cycle and am convinced hormones play a part in my symptoms. I’m actually on long term high dose abx and have been for years rather than a maintenance, prophylactic dose……it keeps me symptom free while I take it which is good.

Years ago this was true. You could also buy strong codeine-based painkillers too.

They stopped this a few years ago, although you might find a farmacia in a one-horse town who will sell them.

Last I heard, they’re thinking of doing this for antihistamines, which a lot of people think is a step too far.

Equip yourself before you come on holiday.

@idealworld897 have a lovely holiday and glad you got your antibiotics. I've flown to America two separate times with a UTI and it's awful. Hope they kick in soon.

@swimlyn I got some last week from a main pharmacy in Malaga. They're pretty good at handing them out imo, even though they're not supposed to.

If that was ABs without a prescription they’re breaking the law. In general, travellers cannot rely on law-breaking suppliers.

It’s well known that being liberal with ABs is what has caused major trouble in recent years with AB resistant bugs.

Wear incontinence pads