Uti - A&E?

[londonfieldz]

I've had 4 utis in the last 3 months, having previously not had any. Otherwise in reasonable health.

After calling 111 yesterday with another uti, they sent me to the out of hours gp. I felt shakey and tired but no temperature and BP was fine.

He prescribed a 3 day antibiotic course and said that if I started to feel worse and feel it further up my back then I should go to a & e.

I don't know if it's psychosomatic but this morning I feel like it's aching around halfway up my back and I feel very woozy in my head. It seems a bit much to go to A&E.

What do you think?

Are you able to get an appointment with your gp? It sounds like it may be a kidney infection.

Go to a&e to be on the safe side.

Yes you should go to A&E. That's exactly what the GP said you need to do under these circumstances.

See your GP. It's within hours, I'd only say A+E out of hours. Even then I'm not sure I'd go, I'd wait until GP in the morning

It’s neithe accident nor emergency. See your GP.

Just spoken to gp who said I need to go see them. Thanks all.

How did you get on?

Pain in the kidney area after a UTI is urgent and does require medical intervention. Don't be fobbed off.

Sorry for the delay, I've been asleep all afternoon. Feel absolutely terrible. But was basically fobbed off by the gp (different one to the one that told me to come in. He seemed concerned that the utis weren't actually utis and that something else might be going on).

The gp I spoke to did another dip test and said there was no evidence of an infection (although yesterday they found protein and white blood cells). Maybe the antibiotics have already kicked in. I feel awful though, headache, shakes etc. They basically said that without evidence of a uti there was nothing they could do.

Hope you feel better soon OP.
If you're having recurrent UTI's you should ask your GP to refer you for an ultrasound of your renal tract. Not much use for you currently but it could find some underlying pathology as to why you get them frequently.

Thanks @wildewillow they seemed reticent to refer for ultrasound. They said if I get another one they might.

Do you have a temperature OP?

What has the GP suggested you/they do next?
They done any bloods?

Don't hesitate to call 111 agaib later if you need to, or even take yourself to a&e if you feel very unwell quickly.

No temperature this morning. I haven't taken it since.

They haven't taken any bloods. They sort of just shrugged and said that without any evidence of a uti there's not much they can do. It's a bit infuriating seeing as I feel so awful, but maybe there's not much they can do.

My mum nearly died of sepsis due to an untreated kidney infection that spread from a UTI, get to A&E

OP had a UTI, has been given antibiotics and taken them, now has no evidence of UTI. Unless there are clear symptoms of an infection or sepsis link to sepsis trust here I can't see that A&E is called for. Maybe call the GP again or 111 if you are still concerned?

You need to push to be seen and to have a decent length of antibiotic course. The dip tests are less than 50% effective at detecting infection so pretty useless. You don’t want to end up with kidney damage or a Chronic UTI. (I have both!)
Hope you feel better.
www.chronicutiinfo.com/intro-key-info/how-does-cystitis-become-a-chronic-uti-an-overview/

A. 3 day course of antibiotics sounds rather short to me. It's usually at least 5 days and I once had double that.

I would push for further investigation. As A&E said, it might not be a UTI.

PS 4 UTIs in 3 months should = urology referral.

A three day course is standard uti treatment for a woman, it's 7 days for men.

Did they send of a sample?
They really should do, as it's the only way to tell if they have you on the right antibiotics.

3 days is obviously fine if symptoms go, but surely should be continued if symptoms persist or worsen eg lower back pain which could = kidney infection.
At work I am an antibiotic guardian, very few dental things really need them as operative treatment more effective. However UTIs are undertreated leaving 1000s women in pain- the tests don’t work.

Thats why it's really important a sample is sent off for culture and sensitivity, or the GP could end up just giving a longer course of antibiotics that are not going to work.

It's unfortunately not uncommon to get referred pain in to the back with a uti so it's not always indicative of kidney issues, but it should definitely be considered as a possibility.

IME the cultures don’t work either- they come back as “mixed growth” which the GPs take to mean sample is contaminated, the don’t prescribe.
When I had it done properly (privately) it grew out E. coli and E faecalis, even though NHS tests didn’t show anything.
UTI testing and treatment needs a massive overhaul.
Anyway, OP how are you feeling now?

Thank you all so much for your concern. I still feel pretty pants to be honest. Just put the children to bed and am now going to crash out. Still feel shivery (like when you have the flu) and have a general headache.

They did do a culture after the second "infection" (which was 2 weeks after the first I'd ever had. It came back negative and the gp said that was possibly because rather than an active infection it was residual irritation.

I've had liver function tests and kidney function tests aswell as a fbc (these were done as part of my work health assessment a month before my first infection). All came back normal range.

The only thing is that I've had a coil put in (a year ago now). I read something about it being harder to get rid of infections when you have the coil because the ecoli clings tonit, but the gp seemed pretty sceptical about that.

Have you finished the antibiotics?
I get that shivery thing too when I have a bad UTI.
If you are still systemically unwell and have finished the antibiotics I think you need to go back to the Dr tomorrow.
Hope you feel better.

Thanks @Chrisinthemorning I've just taken the evening dose of day 2, so one more day to go.