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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Recurrent UTIs

31 replies

mummyh2016 · 21/10/2021 16:32

Has anyone had any joy with being put on antibiotics prophylaxis (long term preventative antibiotics) for a recurrent UTI when pregnant? I'm on my fourth course of antibiotics in a month, it keeps clearing up and then within a couple of days it comes back. I've been referred to an obstetrician who I am seeing next Tuesday as my GP won't make the decision to put me on it. NICE guidelines state it should be considered but to be aware of certain risks such as severity of symptoms, previous antibiotic use etc. I just wondered if I'm likely to have to fight for it or if it's something I'm likely to get pretty easy? I've had 6 days off work in total due to this issue and still have another 9 weeks at work before I finish, I can't carry on the way I have been. I've been on nitrofurantoin which has been clearing the infection, NICE guidelines state avoid at term but I presume if I'm still suffering at term they would induce rather than allow me to keep taking it. I can't take amoxicillin due to a penicillin allergy. I'm 25 weeks pregnant.

OP posts:
68degreesnorth · 21/10/2021 17:10

Are you sure it's UTI and not Interstitial Cystitis? I was treated with 6 or 7 courses of antibiotics before they realised I had IC...

Original poster
mummyh2016 · 21/10/2021 17:36

I keep being told it's a UTI, all my samples that have shown an infection have been sent to the lab at the hospital and up to now have shown as positive for E. coli.

OP posts:
68degreesnorth · 21/10/2021 17:42

Ok - that's good - at least they're not messing you about like they did with me! Hope you find something to help you ASAP, UTI's are no fun either!!

Original poster
mummyh2016 · 21/10/2021 18:01

Thank you! They messed me around the first time and it spread to my kidneys as I was kept waiting too long for antibiotics so they have been on the ball since thankfully!

OP posts:
JessBe · 21/10/2021 18:09

The main reason not to go onto prophylactic antibiotics is that you may end up with an infection caused by a more resistant bug down the line. As you are allergic to penicillin (worth being sure about this if there’s any doubt by getting allergy testing post pregnancy) you will be left with a limited choice of antibiotics, some of which aren’t great in pregnancy. I’d look very hard for a rectifiable cause for the recurrent infections eg incomplete emptying of your bladder when you pee, partial obstruction etc. If the bug they grow each time is the same ie same species and resistant to the same antibiotics (same antibiogram) then it either might be stuck on something eg a stone or a bit of abnormal or scarred bladder wall, or might just need a longer course of antibiotics to eradicate it.

JessBe · 21/10/2021 18:11

Ps another option that might be safer than long term prophylaxis is for you to have a rescue pack of antibiotics to take at the first sign of infection - ask for a couple of sample pots too so you can hand in a urine sample before starting the course. This is a good way to avoid pyelonephritis without taking daily antibiotics

Original poster
mummyh2016 · 21/10/2021 18:27

@JessBe

Ps another option that might be safer than long term prophylaxis is for you to have a rescue pack of antibiotics to take at the first sign of infection - ask for a couple of sample pots too so you can hand in a urine sample before starting the course. This is a good way to avoid pyelonephritis without taking daily antibiotics
That would work to be fair as I'm finding the antibiotics kick in within an hour or so of starting them so if I could have some to hand rather than having to wait for a doctor to prescribe it would mean I can start treatment straight away. The infection does go as I keep doing samples that come back clear but a couple of days later it's back again so we definitely need to find out why it keeps coming back. I found out after posting on here that my appointment on Tuesday is with a urogynae rather than just a consultant that covers all areas so she hopefully she will work out what is actually causing it.
OP posts:
JessBe · 21/10/2021 18:35

Urogynae are the best people to sort this out, hope you get to a good solution and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy a bit more..!

anthurium · 21/10/2021 18:39

Watching with interest - I have also had recurrent UTIs, probably around 4/5 treatments and I'm 32 weeks now. I've been given different antibiotics to treat different strains of bacteria, it shifts and then it comes back.

I've not heard of antibiotics prophylaxis, maybe I'll enquire about this with my GP. It's getting ridiculous however I'm asymptomatic...

Sorry Op it's really frustrating so I totally understand!

anthurium · 21/10/2021 18:40

@JessBe

Urogynae are the best people to sort this out, hope you get to a good solution and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy a bit more..!
How do you go about being referred @JessBe. ?

I'm getting sick and tired of my situation and the GP isn't suggesting anything else.

anthurium · 21/10/2021 18:42

@68degreesnorth

Are you sure it's UTI and not Interstitial Cystitis? I was treated with 6 or 7 courses of antibiotics before they realised I had IC...
@68degreesnorth

How did they diagnose IC? Were you referred to a specialist?

Original poster
mummyh2016 · 21/10/2021 18:46

@anthurium if you get recurrent UTIs you should be referred to a specialist according to NICE guidelines, it was my doctor who asked me to ask my midwife to get me an appointment with an obstetrician who made it with urogynae - she hasn't actually told me this but I've googled the doctor I have the appointment with.

OP posts:
Original poster
mummyh2016 · 21/10/2021 18:47

@anthurium

Watching with interest - I have also had recurrent UTIs, probably around 4/5 treatments and I'm 32 weeks now. I've been given different antibiotics to treat different strains of bacteria, it shifts and then it comes back.

I've not heard of antibiotics prophylaxis, maybe I'll enquire about this with my GP. It's getting ridiculous however I'm asymptomatic...

Sorry Op it's really frustrating so I totally understand!

Thank you! I'll report back how I get on on Tuesday, hope you manage to get sorted as well!
OP posts:
JessBe · 21/10/2021 18:49

I can’t think of anything clever other than to ask for a referral! In the meantime staying well hydrated, peeing after sex and double voiding to try and stave off another one. You might find that you’ve given birth and your anatomy has gone back to normal before you get seen though, as it won’t be classed as an emergency (not to diminish your pain though - UTIs are bloody awful)

68degreesnorth · 21/10/2021 19:02

@anthurium yes I was referred to somewhere (can't remember what they were now as it's a while back), and they did a bladder autopsy and camera inside the bladder to see. It was done on general anaesthetic and very painful the next day 😬

anthurium · 21/10/2021 19:17

Thank you @68degreesnorth @mummyh2016 @JessBe

Really appreciate your input, will liaise with my midwife

Good luck Op!

Tootiefruitie66 · 23/10/2021 15:31

This is exactly like me. I have had 3 lots of antibiotics recently but within a few days of finishing the course I feel as if I'm getting another uti. I'm so fed up! I'm only 19 weeks but I had a cerclage stitch put in a few weeks ago and I wonder if that is making it worse. I also got told I had ecoli. I just don't know what to do but it's making me so low as I'm constantly uncomfortable.

Original poster
mummyh2016 · 23/10/2021 16:46

@Tootiefruitie66

This is exactly like me. I have had 3 lots of antibiotics recently but within a few days of finishing the course I feel as if I'm getting another uti. I'm so fed up! I'm only 19 weeks but I had a cerclage stitch put in a few weeks ago and I wonder if that is making it worse. I also got told I had ecoli. I just don't know what to do but it's making me so low as I'm constantly uncomfortable.
It is horrendous isn't it! Are your antibiotics clearing the infection up or is it the same infection? Are you getting samples checked after you finish a course of antibiotics to check it's gone?
OP posts:
Tootiefruitie66 · 23/10/2021 19:33

@mummyh2016 so horrible! I really feel your pain. Yes the antibiotics get rid of it (mostly anyway) and then within a couple of days of stopping the course it's back again. I'm going to have to speak to the doctor I think and see if I can go on more long term antibiotics for now but I'm just worried about them becoming not as effective and stopping working. I have an appointment next week to check if the ecoli has gone. I had thought it was the cerclage stitch causing the issues but now I'm not sure if it's just pregnancy having read other people's comments on here. I didn't have it with my first pregnancy though.

Original poster
mummyh2016 · 25/10/2021 14:14

So my appointment for tomorrow has been cancelled Hmm they tried to rebook me for 5th November but I explained I'll be poorly again by then so I've got in Thursday this week. Different doctor, this one doesn't appear to be a urogynae though so I'm feeling pretty deflated.

OP posts:
Alessandra87 · 25/10/2021 20:42

You need to be on a full dose of a safe antibiotic for longer. Preventative courses and short courses cause more problems than they solve. Look up Professor Malone Lee. There are other specialists including Urologists in agreement with this.

So sorry you are suffering xx

Alessandra87 · 25/10/2021 20:43

If it's going away then coming back after a course (especially if the sample grows enough to come back positive), then you need a longer FULL DOSE course. Preventative low dose could well make things worse. You need to eradicate the infection properly.

Stupid outdated guidelines.

Original poster
mummyh2016 · 26/10/2021 19:21

So for the first time since I've had this issue the UTI hasn't disappeared after taking antibiotics. Finished my course last night, dropped a sample in the doctors first thing this morning and had a call back this afternoon to say another prescription had been sent over to the chemist as it was still there. So now on my fifth course in the space of a month. Thankfully the only symptoms I have is going to the toilet more than usual but I'd just put that down to pregnancy. Feeling fed up though as there seems to be no end to it. Looking forward to seeing what the obstetrician says on Thursday providing they don't cancel on me again!

OP posts:
Original poster
mummyh2016 · 01/11/2021 07:34

Just realised I never came back to update sorry!
Saw the obstetrician on Thursday, he was very hesitant to prescribe anything as he said I'd only had 5 infections and they don't class it as recurrent in pregnancy until you had had 6 or more?! I felt like I had done a lot of research before my appointment and at no point did I see this so don't know if he was bullshitting. Also I had spoke to my surgery the day before to find out the results from the lab for all my samples but they hadn't had anything since early October back, when I told this to the obstetrician he questioned if they were true infections. Anyway I asked him to look at his system as the lab was at this hospital so there was a chance he would have the results and bingo, they were all there, all showing the exact same infection for every single sample. He then prescribed me a low dose of cefalexin, he did say there was a 10% chance of side effects such as sickness and that it is linked to penicillin which I'd had reactions with before however as none of the reactions I had previously had with penicillin were life threatening he wanted to try me on cefalexin. I was told to finish my course of nitrofururantoin before starting the low dose of cefalexin so I didn't start taking them until last night. Low and behold an hour after talking it I was sick. Another google tells me cefalexin absorbs into the blood stream quickly so I'm hoping I had absorbed it before I was sick? I'm going to try it tonight after food to see if that improves things, if not I'll call the hospital to see if I can take anti sickness tablets with them (which I have left over from last month when I had the kidney infection) or see if they would rather prescribe something else. I'm back for a follow up appointment next week anyway so if I can manage taking them until then I'd rather do that than traipse up the hospital again.

OP posts:
Lorw · 01/11/2021 08:43

@mummyh2016

Just realised I never came back to update sorry! Saw the obstetrician on Thursday, he was very hesitant to prescribe anything as he said I'd only had 5 infections and they don't class it as recurrent in pregnancy until you had had 6 or more?! I felt like I had done a lot of research before my appointment and at no point did I see this so don't know if he was bullshitting. Also I had spoke to my surgery the day before to find out the results from the lab for all my samples but they hadn't had anything since early October back, when I told this to the obstetrician he questioned if they were true infections. Anyway I asked him to look at his system as the lab was at this hospital so there was a chance he would have the results and bingo, they were all there, all showing the exact same infection for every single sample. He then prescribed me a low dose of cefalexin, he did say there was a 10% chance of side effects such as sickness and that it is linked to penicillin which I'd had reactions with before however as none of the reactions I had previously had with penicillin were life threatening he wanted to try me on cefalexin. I was told to finish my course of nitrofururantoin before starting the low dose of cefalexin so I didn't start taking them until last night. Low and behold an hour after talking it I was sick. Another google tells me cefalexin absorbs into the blood stream quickly so I'm hoping I had absorbed it before I was sick? I'm going to try it tonight after food to see if that improves things, if not I'll call the hospital to see if I can take anti sickness tablets with them (which I have left over from last month when I had the kidney infection) or see if they would rather prescribe something else. I'm back for a follow up appointment next week anyway so if I can manage taking them until then I'd rather do that than traipse up the hospital again.
They gave you medicine containing penicillin even though you’ve had reactions to it in the past? That to me is just crazy, is that like a done thing?

I hope you get it sorted. I’m 33 weeks now and have basically had an ongoing water infection since I was 16 weeks - just keeps coming back. Flowers

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