UTI not fully clearing?

[buzzheath]

Hi all. I had a uti a few weeks ago. Was treated with 3 days nitrofurantin...this did help. But things didn't seem back to normal so then had a 7 day course of amoxicillin. Again, it helped, but within a few days of stopping, things felt weird again. Not full on UTI, but just a weird awareness of my urethra?! It's now been almost 2 weeks and I still don't feel quite right. Guess I'll call the GP again...been reading scary stuff about embedded UTIs and I really hope it isn't that...

Any advice? At my wits end and so miserable.

And you aren't breastfeeding? That could also set off this syndrome temporarily. Also - have you been swabbed for thrush? I've had that in my urethra and it's not pleasant.

@margegunderson Not breastfeeding, nope. Never been pregnant. I haven't been tested for thrush - is this something the GP can do...? I don't have any typical symptoms.

OP I am in the same boat, I don’t know if it’s thrush or a UTI, currently on day 4 of 5 day antibiotics that I got from a walk in clinic as my GP is rubbish. It did start to feel much better yesterday but today I feel uncomfortable again and I have some discharge - it’s clear and no smell so doesn’t feel like thrush. I’m so fed up.

Just got my urine culture back and it said "normal no action". Ffs. Though I'm assuming that might be because I was already on antibiotics at that point? Lord know what's going on.

My gp practice nurse said to wait at least 3 days after finishing antibiotics before doing a sample for culture

Just to say, I had a UTI mid February that I couldn't get rid of by drinking loads of water, so did a three day course of Trimethoprim which seemed to start working immediately. It cleared, then I thought it came back (reduced bladder capacity, slight pain on peeing, a jaggy pain after peeing, but this time my wee was clear, not cloudy), tried a course of Nitrofurantoin which did nothing, then 7 days of Trimethoprim, which also did nothing. Alongside this I was chugging d-mannose tablets, 2 x high dose cranberry extract tablets a day, loads of water, and latterly a probiotic that's supposed to work on the urinary tract. A month later I am starting to feel much more normal.

After the second lot of antibiotics I did buy some pee sticks off Amazon - they were consistently negative for nitrites but positive for leukocytes. Today was the first time my pee was negative for both. My guess is that I had some lingering inflammation after the first UTI. It wasn't as debilitating as it could be - it didn't stop me going out or anything, but I was beginning to think I'd be stuck with it forever. It really got me down.

I don't know whether the D-mannose did anything, but I'll keep taking the cranberry tablets and the probiotics, just in case. I've also cut right down on the coffee and tea I usually drink all day because I noticed that made my symptoms much worse.

Long story short - there's hope OP!

@HarlanPepper my UTI issues started mid-Feb too! Mind if I ask exactly which probiotics you took? I'll get some cranberry tablets too though I've been taking D Mannose already which I thought was the sugar from cranberries which is supposed to help. My symptoms are better but the discomfort after peeing - a weird tingling sensation - is the worst!

I think you're right about the d-mannose and cranberries. I was basically throwing everything at the problem that I could, without really considering which tablet was doing what! So I was probably doubling up to little effect. I'm out of the d-mannose now anyway but still have most of a large tub of the cranberry tablets.

The probiotics I bought were Optibac 'For Women'. There seemed to be some evidence that probiotics can help prevent UTI recurrence and I figured they'd be a good idea after all the antibiotics as well. There's a few different brands out there and they all cost a small fortune.

The jaggy nerve pain after peeing was the symptom that lingered the longest for me but now does finally seem to be on its way out. I hope you can say the same very soon :-)

I've also ordered an STI test by the way! Just in case. Assuming that comes back clear, and the symptoms hadn't otherwise improved, I was considering asking the GP about oestrogen cream - but I see you're a fair bit younger than me (I'm 45) so perimenopause would be unlikely to be a factor in your case.

@HarlanPepper thanks for getting back to me! Yes, that's exactly it...weird tingliness after weeing. Not quite pain, or stinging, but something in between. "An awareness" is how I keep describing it to my brother and he keeps looking at me like I'm crazy. Here's hoping it goes fully for both of us soon :)

Urghhhhhhhhh man this feeling. The whole area just feels so strange and tingly after weeing.

@SwordBilledHummingbird Just re-read your message about lingering pain post-infection. I really feel like that's what it might be for me. The whole area just feels a bit sore but it doesn't feel like the acute infection is still there.

How long did that last for you? Feeling quite hopeless. I miss taking peeing comfortably for granted...

How are you doing @HattieMacTattie ?

@buzzheath It was probably two to three months before I was completely back to normal BUT don't despair! My starting point was severe pain, not the discomfort/awareness that you're describing. It was so bad that I was bed bound (or in the bath, trying to calm it with heat), crying and begging DH to put me out of my misery as I didn't feel I could live with the pain. I was already off work for other reasons but there is zero chance I'd have been able to work, we even had to rebook a holiday as I couldn't leave the house, never mind get on a long haul flight and go out walking/hiking.

My recovery was also delayed by having a rigid cystoscopy, which temporarily (a couple of weeks) took me back to (almost) the most severe pain levels.

By the time I'd reached the stage you're at, it was probably just a few weeks to get completely back to normal. Changing my diet to be bladder friendly helped a lot with getting back to normal and it wasn't long before I was able to return to my usual diet, including caffeine and alcohol.

@SwordBilledHummingbird Thanks for reassuring me! As you can probably tell I'm freaking out about weird feelings down there and just want to be back to normal and have an underwhelming wee again😂So do you think yours was just inflammation/pain triggered by the initial infection? I already don't ever drink caffeine or alcohol, or spicy food, wondering what else I should cut out...

Glad you're better now!

@buzzheath It definitely was just inflammation/irritation. At the height of the pain, I'd had five lots of antibiotics (was almost admitted to hospital as the original infection had spread to my kidneys) and my GP refused to give me any more. He was convinced that the infection had gone and that more antibiotics would have been the wrong call. I actually hated him for it at the time but he turned out to be right.

You'd be surprised how many foods can irritate the bladder/urethra. Have a google for bladder friendly diets/interstitial cystitis diet and try cutting out anything that might be causing irritation. At the worst of my pain, I had to go completely bland with my diet, though I had so little appetite from the pain and nausea that it wasn't really a hardship. Along with relaxation and heat on my lower abdomen it really did help and I was able to reintroduce normal foods/drink back in quite quickly, though I only introduced one new thing each day so I could be certain if someone was causing a flare up.

And yes, it's awful. I remember being at the stage you're at now and feeling like I would never have a normal wee again! I do occasionally get flare ups like that but relaxation, heat and dietary changes (oh and no tight clothing in that region) nips it in the bud very quickly.

Have you tried taking ibuprofen? It might reduce inflammation which might help with the weird feeling. Worth a shot!

@Trufflump Good shout! I was resisting as I didn't want to mask symptoms and wanted to see if it was actually getting better, but sounds like ibuprofen actually helps with inflammation so worth a go. Is this something you've tried?

Sooo I just had another GP appointment, begging them for more/different antibiotics until I see the urologist next week. They said no, it's probably not an infection and is Interstitial Cystitis (based on one negative urine culture) etc etc but I'm skeptical.

Thinking maybe it's become embedded or something. Has anyone been to Dr Malone Lee's clinic in London? Getting a bit angsty now. The whole area feels sort of tingly and burning after I urinate, and it's just so uncomfortable :( I don't think it's IC as the initial antibiotics did sort it...it just kept coming back, and since then, no antibiotics are shifting it.

@buzzheath Interstitial cystitis is an outdated term, it's now called Painful Bladder Syndrome, and it doesn't mean you didn't have an infection as it can be triggered by an infection. That's exactly what happened to me. By all means, go private (I did - best thing I ever did) but in the meantime, try treating it as IC/PBS and see if it makes any difference.

It’s been a while since I had issues so I can’t remember if it helped with the nasty lingering feeling you’re describing but I would definitely take it for that.

The other thing to try is those over the counter sachets that neutralise your urine. I know they are meant for people with mild infections but mauve might still help if the area is just inflamed?

UPDATE: Weird feeling still not abating even on Day 7 on antibiotics, so booked in to Malone-Lee's clinic in Harley Street tomorrow. Gaaah. Hopefully maybe a longer course of antibiotics will help?

Following as suffering too - a severe UTI a couple of months back, blood in urine, temperature, treated with 2 lots of antibiotics which sorted all the really worst symptoms but am left with full ache in lower abdo and fairly frequent urination. Dip test negative. Feeling so fed up with it all

@lizzowhiz your situation sounds similar to mine. On 5th course of antibiotics now 
@buzzheath that was quick to get an appointment ! Would be good to hear how it went and if you found it helpful

@dahliaaa Yeah I called them and they literally had a cancellation for Saturday so I thought why not! From what I've read online, it seems like their treatment approach is pretty uniform for most people if infection is detected. I'm a bit hesitant of long-term antibiotics if it's not needed, and given the issue has only been going on for 4/5 weeks, but let's see! Will update.