Day 7 of a UTI & slowly losing the plot

[KatyMac]

Severe UTi turned up last week Monday evening

Rang GP on Tuesday and booked a phone call that didn't happen
Rang wednesday and was apologised to and got 3 days of cefalexin

I explained i didn't think that would work, as I have a Bladder repair (tvt/mesh) and that created a u bend and I never fully empty leaving a pool of bacteria

But i got 3 days

Rang back on Friday with symptoms still as bad & got another 3 days and they sent a sample to be tested

Rang back yesterday saying I still felt quite poorly like it was still there but not as bad and was told my sample was fine/normal and basically to get on with it

Today after 4 (so no chances of getting another sample there today) I got a text saying I needed to repeat the sample as it was borderline (so it wasn't normal)

Not the surgerys problem, but I go away on Friday for work and will be sat in a field for 3 days with a uti as the results won't be back

& I'm feeling sorry for myself

Go to a walk 9n centre.
Or a pharmacy that can prescribe?
Assuming you are under 60.
If you are ill maybe you shouldn't go away at the weekend.
If the infection backs up to your kidneys you could be seriously ill.
All the best.
Ps how about ringing 111 after 6pm.

That sounds really rough, especially with the back and forth on samples and short courses of antibiotics. If you’re still feeling unwell, it might be worth pushing for a longer course or different antibiotic since recurrent UTIs can be trickier to clear. If you’re due to travel, I’d try to get another sample in as soon as possible or call 111 for advice, they can sometimes arrange urgent prescriptions. Hope you get some relief soon.

Doing a sample tomorrow & speaking to a 'gp' tomorrow (I'm not sure who I'll be seeing but based on the last guy it won't be a gp)

Fingers crossed

Im better, not well but better...but I have the "uti starting" feeling

You need to somehow get a longer course of the correct antibiotic, or the UTI could get ‘embedded’. It’s now finally a recognised problem on the NHS website, although frustratingly very few treatment pathways exist, and mostly the guidelines keep sticking to these ridiculous 3 day courses. You should be taking the antibiotic until symptoms have completely gone for 48 hours, never mind what it says.

Also the standard testing they use is not fit for purpose. If you can afford it, get a test through digital microbiology (ideally before starting any more antibiotics, they have fast delivery). Look it up. This can tell you the bacteria you have and which antibiotic will work best.

You really want to nip this in the bud before it has the chance to turn chronic.

I have a tvt and get recurrent UTIs. I really recommend a nettle tea by Pukka called Radiance. It seems to clear the retained bit of water. Just in case it helps.

For your sample tomorrow, to get the best chance of it isolating the bacteria responsible rather than just coming back inconclusive cause it’s catching skin bacteria and vaginal flora, and the thresholds for what they class as a UTI are a ridiculously high number of a single organism (based on a small sample of pregnant women with kidney infections in the 1950s!). Look up how to properly do a ‘clean catch’ sample. Use the first morning urine or the most concentrated, even if your appointment is later in the day.

Good luck

I’d get a private GP appointment and get them to give you a longer course of antibiotics. Can you see the results of tbe cultures on the nhs app?

The results were inconclusive I think - nothing stands out

Result: Borderline
Follow up action: Need to repeat test
Red blood cells: 12 106/L
Epithelial cells: ++
White blood cells: < 20 106/L

I can't get a test other than NHS tomorrow i dont think

I know i needed a longer stronger course; I get so fed up of justifying why I know what I need

22 yrs of tvt, i have periods of recurrent uti and periods of freedom (much better since hrt btw @Hatwontfit )

I rang the chemist to ask if they could recommend the next a-b to try and he suggested trimethoprim (tongue and lips swell) or Nitrofurantoin (hands & feet itch)

@flowertea do you have a link for 48hrs after symptoms, that's a new one to me

At least this time i have the cup/syringe, on Friday it was a old style pot!

So those results mean it’s likely to have been contaminated and no clear signs of infection as the number of white blood cells are so low, but there is a tiny bit of blood.

Drink tonnes and take in a new sample which is as clean as possible mid-stream. Could it be interstitial cystitis?

Am sorry it’s so frustrating being in pain and the nhs not being very helpful!

I guess, it was mid-afternoon, they refused my morning one as I didn't have permission to have a test 🙄

Im pretty good at drinking!

Try and do first morning, it will all be less dilute. Drinking loads will help flush everything through though.

I heard a talk about vaginal oestrogen as a cure for UTIs. It’s Dr Arif on the Begin Again podcast with Davina.

This is awful OP. I had cephalexinf once and it’s not a first choice this was for a UTI I’d had for a while possibly kidneys and couldn’t get medical care (on a friends boat for the week, didn’t fancy telling them I had a UTI and could we possible go to hospital!)

then I had co amoxiclav which is really good and the GP gave me a spare course to take on holiday with me. Hope you get sorted.

They do suggest it and maybe it reduces occurrences but it's not by any stretch a cure. I've used it for years.

@KatyMac I've no link to it sorry. Just what I would do as I've suffered chronic UTI. Three day courses are ridiculous and should be banned, they are just contributing to bacteria becoming more resistant as by the time the 3 days are finished the test come back 'normal' or 'inconclusive', and the sufferer is told they don't have an infection. The 3 day course has killed off the weakest bugs - enough to skew the sample - but the stronger ones remain and can set up in the bladder wall. By hook or by crook get a longer course, but it has to be the correct antibiotic otherwise more harm than good. Yes to a concentrated, clean catch sample tomorrow. If that is still inconclusive if you can, pay for a digital microbiology test.

So test is in

Gp called

Another prescription for cefalexin- for me to take away with me this weekend - but I should only take it when the urine sample results arrive back and the text me

Plus a referral for an ultrasound

So test is in

Gp called

Another prescription for cefalexin- for me to take away with me this weekend - but I should only take it when the urine sample results arrive back and they text me

Plus a referral for an ultrasound

Did this just repost? Hope you are ok today.

Brain blip

Thought I hadn't posted and the message box was full.so I edited and pressed post!
Not on top form!🙄

Back on antibiotics after symptoms returned, enthusiastically, shall we say

So I'm not in a field for 2 days, i pain taking antibiotics that don't really work

And i might have thrush

I took matters into my own hands and took my antibiotics 6 hrs apart instead of 12 hrs apart and I am currently symptoms free

Fingers crossed