Recurring UTIs

[YourCalmPeer]

Hi all. I have had 2 UTIs in the last 6-8 weeks having dipped my urine (both at home and at the doctors) and been positive for nitrites both times. Each time I was given a 3 day course of nitrofurantoin which I completed each time. My symptoms the first two times were dark/cloudy/smelly urine and bladder pains/spasms.

Two weeks on from finishing my second course, I have just dipped my urine at home as I’ve had bladder pain again which has gradually gotten worse over the last week or so. This time it’s positive for leukocytes and protein. I should add I don’t know if the protein is accurate or not as I didn’t test mid stream like I should. Anyway, I will hand in a sample tomorrow and hope to get more ABs. My question is, is this common to get UTI again and again? Should I be concerned? Is there anything to help prevent? Should I ask for a different AB? Thanks for any experience or knowledge 😀

It sounds like you might have a bug or bugs which are resistant to Nitro.

I would ask for different antibiotics and a longer course. Ask them to send it to the lab.

Drink plenty of water and cranberry juice.

20yrs sufferer of UTIs, so understand what you're going through x

It could be the same uti rather than different ones and you may need a longer course of antibiotics but this is likely to be tricky to get the GP to agree to as they are generally no up to date with latest research and guidelines on embedded uti. This may help https://cutic.co.uk/.
I ended up needing to get treated at the Malone-Lee Harley street clinic as I couldn't get the NHS to take it seriously.

@BritishDesiGirl @Neggroni thank you both! I agree I need to try a different AB. I will request this tomorrow. Do you guys get bladder pains? I actually ended up paying for a private ultrasound on my ovaries etc yesterday as I thought the pains I was having were pelvic but actually maybe it’s been bladder all along. Sometimes it’s shooting/spasms and other times it’s like a heaviness in my lower abdomen. Thank you both again !

are you having sex?
if yes your partner might need treatment as well.

Not since the last one so it’s been about a month!

OP try a hefty shot of neat rough whisky, possibly before you retire

as been recommended ^ drink plenty of water, coffee irritates the
bladder, cranberry juice, or make your own with seasonable cranberries,
lemon barley water or also make your own with pearl barley and lemons,
flush out that germ, good luck

Don't want to read & run as UTIs are hell on earth!

I was plagued until I started taking D-Mannose. I was very skeptical but honestly it's changed my life & got me off anti biotics altogether!

Have a look at it x

Yes I got bladder pain, it was incredibly painful this with the constant feeling of needing to urinate were my worst symptoms. You could also try to see if the GP will prescribe hiprex it is not and antibiotic but and antiseptic.

Hi OP, I get recurrent UTIs. They should have sent the sample off to see which is the right antibiotic for the infection. The antibiotics they give you after a urine dip are general UTI antibiotics, because they don't know at that point what they're dealing with. When the sample comes back from the lab, if the culture is positive, the lab will inform the GP which antibiotics are needed. Did they not do this?

What age are you Op?

I get recurring UTIs , D-mannose did nothing for me , I took it for about a year . I’m now on long term antibiotics and haven’t had one for 3 months which is bliss . If you are menopause age apparently vaginal oestrogen can help .

I had chronic UTIs and results from lab always came back negative. In the end I asked what stopped them from doing a blood test. (Vet friend seemed surprised they hadn’t done one). So they did a blood test and then referred me to a urologist, who said they saw it all the time. 6 months of 2 types of antibiotics got me sorted.

Thanks everyone. I handed a sample in this morning and I’m waiting to hear from the doctor. I pointed out this is my third (either it’s the third time or same infection) in 6 weeks or so and asked them to try me on something else so fingers crossed! Thank you all

Hope you get to the bottom of what's causing it soon OP.

UTI's are hell.

I used to suffer badly, I had all sorts of tests, and a urethrotomy.

Now I have to take an antibiotic post intercourse to keep them at bay.

The antibiotic so frequently makes me feel nauseous the next morning, so I can't win really 🤣

How old are you? It's a classic perimenopause thing, often effectively treated with oestrogen cream (which you can buy OTC as Gina if you want to give it a go). Miraculous for me.

Or estriol cream. It’s a life-saving game-changer

Stay away from the cranberry juice OP. It's good for prevention but truly awful if your bladder is inflamed. Very acidic, usually full of sugar and basically like pouring salt onto an open wound.

Does sound like you've never really shifted the original infection. Hope they give you some different antibiotics. They keep the really good stuff for difficult to treat strains.

Thanks again everyone. Still waiting to hear from the doctor. I’m 33 so I wouldn’t have thought peri menopause this early but thank you. Thanks for the heads up re cranberry juice also - I’ll stay away for now. Have ordered d mannose tablets and hope they will help once I’m rid of this once and for all (fingers crossed!).

Update. Called doctors and apparently they’ve dipped my sample and no sign of infection. Yet when I dip at home it shows positive for leukocytes and protein. I’ve asked to speak to a doctor so have a call later on. I could cry!! Thought I’d be started on ABs by now

@YourCalmPeer did they send your previous sample off? If they haven't mentioned this, do ask them.

I’m not sure. They said the first time that they would and would contact me if I needed different ABs but then never heard so assumed I was on the right thing.

those who have experience bladder pain, can I ask how it feels? I’m assuming this is what I’ve been having but I don’t know. Most of the time I get what I can only describe as mild spasms. Noticeable but not necessarily really painful. Other times it can be a dull sort of heaviness lower abdomen.

@YourCalmPeer that pain sounds very familiar. Just keep an eye out for back pain. When I get that, I know things are starting to reach my kidneys. I ended up with vomiting, a fever and diarrhoea a couple of months ago along with back pain, which was a kidney infection. Not an experience I'd like to repeat!