What in hells teeth is this? Cystitis?

[Brandnewskytohangyourstarsupon]

Never have I experienced this torture!

Bladder seemingly can’t hold any more than a thimble full of urine despite already drinking 3 pints of iced water this morning.
Have to get to the toilet immediately as the pain and pressure is awful and I can’t hold it.
When I do wee, I get strong awful spasms that make my eyes water.
urine is clear, no colour to it (due to the volume of water probably).

Ive had some paracetamol for the pain, can’t leave the house due to pain, urgency and frequency of needing the loo.

Any top tips for those experienced? How long will it last??

I had similar recently, felt like cystitis but came on in literally 5 minutes, agony, bladder spasms, couldn't leave toilet. Urine turned red and passed either kidney stones or clots, relief immediately and then urine ran clear. GP urine test confirmed blood in urine and said infection and put on antibiotics, however later in the week said lab confirmed no infection.

What is it with this site and a reluctance to seek medical attention? We can't dip your urine over the internet but people who can are:

Pharmacists
Nurses
Doctors

Either walk into a pharmacy with a pot of wee and ask to speak to a pharmacist or call 111. These are the only people who can help you at this moment in time.

The Pharmacist will go by your symptoms which are classic UTI symptoms. They're rarely caused by other things so if antibiotics don't work, then you'll need to be referred but it's highly likely to be a UTI.

They're caused by bacteria, usually from your back passage, being introduced to your urinary tract. This can be due to poor hygiene, wiping, sex, or just bad luck. It's a very small area and easily transferred. It's extremely common and usually not something you can flush out if it's an infection. You'll need antibiotics and they'll advise you to drink plenty.

Urine is crystal clear.

Dipsticking urine isn’t an exact science either. There can be protein and traces of blood for other reasons, and some cystitis will produce a clear sample.

I wouldn’t wait to flush it out, I’ve had cystitis twice, both times I thought I could flush it out by drinking lots of weeing regularly, both time I ended up with a severe kidney infection that was a damn sight more painful than the cystitis itself.

I would be running for antibiotics if I ever get symptoms again

On the loo super often, actual pain until I sit on the loo and wee. CANNOT leave the house. Can’t just walk in to anywhere other than my loo !

Call 111 then

Yep.... it's absolutely debilitating, especially if it happens once or twice every month. I second those that say your first port of call for "why" is hormones. You can get oestrogen cream which when used topically helps prevent UTIs.

But also, you absolutely do need antibiotics now.

It will be Wednesday before 111 get back to me.

i think I will head to my fabulous local chemist in the morning and have a chat to the pharmacist. I have found them super helpful and knowledgeable in the past.

Thanks everyone for the info, I really appreciate it.

Utis can turn very nasty, very quickly without treatment - kidney infections, permanent damage and sepsis.

Low estrogen due to vaginal atrophy (full name genitourinary syndrome of menopause) can cause thinning of the genitals, including in the urethral tract. This can lead to symptoms if irritation and needing to wee all the time that feel like a UTI, and also UTIs.
As a one off, try drinking (you can sip, not down in one!) a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in a glass of water. Also a warm bath/hot water bottle and OTC painkillers
https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MEN0921351544-005Menopause-Support-Booklet_Web_Accessible-2.pdf

Hi. If you’re perimenopausal it could be the start of vaginal atrophy where the reduced hormones affect the bladder and urethra. Easily sorted with estrogen cream. See how you go but do research VA x

No it bloody won't. No one ever wants to take responsibility for their own health. Give them a call, you might be surprised. I have called 111 in the morning with tonsillitis and by 11am, have had a script emailed to local pharmacy. It's not hard. Or if you ring your local emergency pharmacy, they may be able to prescribe you antibiotics. Why wait and suffer?! Just bloody call someone.

my urine was totally clear, looked like water, still had infection and blood in it that could not be seen

Bladder/urethra spasms suggest kidney stones ime.

I’ve had loads of UTIs and cystitis in my time but a couple of times it’s been different:

it’s almost like a squirmy feeling/pain in my bladder and urethra.

The sharp pain on urinating is accompanied by an urge to push, whereupon its briefly worse but then suddenly better.

Blood being present seems
to
be an indicator too.

A stone can be TINY but still make itself known!

Still waiting for a call back from 111 since December for my child.

So no, won’t be ringing them.
I can cope with the paracetamol and fluids til the morning when I can speak to the pharmacist.
Taking responsibility right there, treating my own symptoms and not seeking advice until i think it’s time to do so.

Urine will be clear after 3 pints of water.

I didn't need anti biotics last time I had it btw, but it took a load of those sachets and holding on as long as I could before peeing to really force the infection out.

Not sure if that helped not needing the ABs but it's worth a try before you get to the chemist.

Sachets sound like a good first try so thanks for telling me about them, didn’t know about them.

I had this a few weeks ago. And I've had it once before. I've never been to the doctor for it. I just flushed it out with water and cranberry juice. I literally sat on the toilet drinking and peeing and within a few hours I was better. I'm not advising not to go to the doctor if you think you need to, just that I had this before and knew that this helped. Filling up your bladder complete helps so you doing a proper wee, rather than dribbles. I really sympathise though, it's not nice.

You might not need antibiotics. I have had cystitis several times and it always clears within 48 hours with the cystitis sachets that you make into a vile tasting drink. Any chemist/supermarket is likely to have the sachets (from memory there's one called Oasys and one called Cysteme at least). Amazon will sell it too I think.

D-mannose (available online or from Holland & Barrett or Boots) always works for me, lots of threads on here about it if you want to do some research OP but it's miracle stuff.

You don’t have anything to lose by calling 111 today. If they don’t call you back, that’s not great but you’re in no worse position than if you didn’t call. If they do, you may get to see a GP within hours and have the necessary antibiotics today.

I called 111 with a UTI a couple of months back on a Sunday and was seen within hours. one time (almost 20 years ago) I ignored UTI symptoms (and yours sound particularly horrendous, unless you’re exaggerating) hoping to flush it out, due to being a poor student who has no money for the £9 prescription charge, and ended up with a kidney infection.

Why would you suffer like this when you need antibiotics? Madness. I’ve been on daily long term antibiotics since I was 14 for bladder issues, I’m now 43. A short course of them for an infection when you need them won’t do you any harm whatsoever, that’s what they’re there for….! You run the risk of becoming more unwell for longer if you just struggle on.

Also, if you’re peri this may be the start of more regular UTIs due to lack of oestrogen - you’ll need Ovestin and possibly full HRT.

Have a read of this -

https://www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/vaginal-estrogens-what-is-ovestin-and-how-do-i-use-it/