to think that peeing gallons of blood & having a fever is an emergency?

[Trying2Heal]

I've a history of urinary tract infections progressing to kidney infections since I was about 3 years old. 18 years ago I was diagnosed with bladder cancer, but following treatment it has been in remission since then.

After an extremely stressful life experience I had what I thought was yet another urinary tract infection but yesterday it progressed to blood literally pouring out of me whenever I urinate, and I'm having to urinate at least once every 20 minutes. During the night I counted the number of times I had to get up to pee it was 21 times. And each time I peed blood my urine is quite intense red, and it is EXCRUCIATINGLY painful. I am shivering and sweating. I called 111 and they told me a "local service" would call me back. The local service was this awful rude woman who told me to just drink lots of water and to try to get a GP appointment later this year and just kept asking me if I have friends and a support system. She was so rude and eventually hung up on me.

The last time I had these symptoms I ended up with a serious kidney infection and hospitalised for several days. Clearly I need antibiotics.
Am I to just sit here getting progressively more ill?

Not only that, peeing blood is a red flag for bladder cancer as you will know, you need a cystoscopy to check you don't have any new growths.

A&E immediately

You don't mess about with urine infections they can turn serious very quickly which it sounds like is happening here

You really need to get yourself to a and e. Hope you’re ok 💐

sending best wishes

Really hope you are now at a&e

I hope you're in A&E now. I would make a complaint about the 111 lady as she is giving dangerous advice.

Are you at A&E yet?

I had a urine infection that travelled to a kidney and subsequently spent 6 nights as an inpatient on seriously strong IV antibiotics. I was early 30s, healthy weight, otherwise fit, nothing big in my medical history.

You are ticking far more risk boxes than I was, please, please don’t leave it any longer, you likely need a blood test so even if you see the 111s GP, they’ll probably still send you to A&E.

Good luck. The consensus for A&E is unusual on MN and you really need it.

I remember one thread where a woman posted as she had a ludicrously heavy period and on urging, called 999. If she had just gone to bed as she was considering, she would have died in her sleep of sepsis.

Hope yours is not nearly as serious and easily fixed. UTIs are agony.

Screw the shower. Just go to A&E. Why wait?!

Hope you're being triaged again A and E, they can get strong anti b into you much quicker than the GP can offer

Go to A&E. Now!!

Really hoping you are in A&E now OP. *

CrimsonCattery* I remember that thread too.

Get yourself to A&E please, peeing blood and fever is not good at all.
This is the same 111 service that told a friend of mine to dress an infected cat bite overnight and ‘see what it looked like in the morning’, despite the bite having an expanding area of redness and swelling around it....She narrowly avoided the bone getting infected and possible sepsis....

Don't call 111 for things like this again, call 999. It's urgent, you need A&E not triaging.

OP I hope you are in A&E and hope you are OK

You're not unreasonable, take yourself to A&E if you haven't already (I've only read your opening post and you may have done so but I felt so horrified at the thought of you in such a state and the appalling 'advice' you were given over the telephone, I had to respond quickly).

Definitely one for A&E. I have recurrent bladder/kidney infections and have attended A&E many times in your position. Only once was a doctor rude to me about it, then I think she was shocked when she realised just how much blood I was peeing out.

I had a terrible experience with 111 when I had a shivers, a temperature and abdominal pain. She told me to stop taking painkillers "to see if my temperature kept rising" and that I should "maybe see a GP as it might be something inflammatory but you don't need to worry". I was admitted to hospital that evening with appendicitis. I wouldn't bother ringing then again after that.

I hope you've gone to a and e.

You poor thing, that sounds absolutely awful. Hoping you've gone to A and E and that you're okay.

I hope your ok op..

That sounds really worrying. I'm glad you're going to A&E - sounds like that woman realised how badly she'd done her job.

This is why this 111 triage for appointments at A&E is so dangerous as the call handlers are not experienced enough to recognise unwell people and rely heavily on their algorithm. For an infection that bad oral antibiotics just won't cut it, you need IV antibiotics. The GP would send you to A&E anyway. I hope you get the treatment you need and feel better soon. Once you do feel better consider a complaint, that is bad service from 111.

Sorry you are so ill. I had this recently and thankfully my GPs prescibed antibiotics within the hour once it got to this stage - took 4 lots of antibiotics for it to go. With your history I would go to A&E.

Unless you have a "period" or have just given birth, you should not be bleeding from anywhere, hope its all OK, please keep us updated.

Well who called you from 111? A clinician, health advisor or the out of hours? If you were told a local service was going to contact you then that would be the out of hours service. They are separate to 111. 111 sends the referral to the out of hours go service who then call the patient. Did you try to call the gp this morning anyway? Weekdays before evening would be in hours. So 111 can only refer you to your gp anyway.