Them UTI Blues

[sheath]

I have been on Z-Paks before...I think I took one pill a day for four days? It absolutely killed the pain. I felt better within hours.

SlickTony...I hope you do feel better. I don't know what advice to give, other than what has already been given here. Other than, maybe...REST. Resting always helps an illness, no matter what. Gives your body time to do the things it should be doing.

S.

 

[SlickTony]

Thank you everybody, I feel better WRT the UTI stuff, at least so it's not as painful anymore, but earlier today I had a strange turn. I was sitting here at the computer when all of a sudden I felt hot, cold, and clammy at the same time, sweat started rolling off of me, and I felt like throwing up. I lay down for a while, long enough to doze and sort of watch Bull Durham and direct the guys in the procedure for cooking up a batch of red beans.

Today's my husband's birthday. I did want to give him something for his birthday but we're flat broke and I've got this damn condition. Major suckage all around.

I wonder if he should go to the clinic to see if he's carrying the thing asymptomatically.

 

[Native Alien]

Yes Slick, he sound be checked and you should be rechecked because this doesn't sound like a simple UTI in my honest opinion. They need to be looking at your kidneys as well as finding out where the hell the infection is.

 

[ReadyOne]

It is very hard to connect with my regular primary by phone; in fact, the whole damn clinic is set up so that you can't. They don't take anybody's phone calls. They just put you in voice mail. When I called to see about getting my original prescription refilled, I didn't hear from them for a week; in the meanwhile, I'd gone to another doctor, the McClinic we deal with on the weekends and after hours. They recommended I see a urologist.

The local hopsital runs an "Ask A Nurse" service, free by phone.

Some health plans also do (as it can save them paying for a doctor's visit).

I suppose you could even look at hospitals/HMOs in a nearby big city if you have cheap long distance. Phone book on the internet? Google search for "ask a nurse"?

 

[ReadyOne]

...
but earlier today I had a strange turn. I was sitting here at the computer when all of a sudden I felt hot, cold, and clammy at the same time, sweat started rolling off of me, and I felt like throwing up. I lay down for a while, long enough to doze and sort of watch Bull Durham and direct the guys in the procedure for cooking up a batch of red beans.

Sounds like a vaso-vargas (?) incident.

As explained to me by my Dr after I had one in his exam room, there are two nervous systems. The voluntary one in you spine runs most things most of the time. There is an evolutionary "obsolete" one consisting of the vargas nerve that also run from brain to diaphragm with stops at the heart, lungs, stomach, etc. It acts like a back-up to keep you breathing and heart beating if you loose "conscious" control. For example, hold you breath until you pass out and the vargas nerve gets your breathing stated again.

"Vaso" deals with blood pressure.

Anyway, the vargas nerve starts interfering with things, dropping blood pressure and reducing control of the stomach. This gives the fainting and nausea. Things cascade into hot/cold flashes and remaining symptoms.

Treat as for fainting. Sometimes upping blood sugar (orange juice if it can stay down) will shorten the course. Recovery generally in under 10 minutes. Extreme cases (very rare) call for life support measures (keep breathing and circulation going).

Forgive me if I've got spellings wrong, and it's been a few years since this happened, so I may have missed a detail.

PS: It was a blood draw that triggered the one in the Dr's office, which was "nice" because it had happened before with no apparent cause. For once, a failure while being monitored!

 

[SexyChele]

I've only had 2 UTI's in my 43 years, and if I never get another one, I'll be eternally thankful! Not sure about the cranberry thing, but I do know the last UTI I had the doc recommended LOTS of water and/or cranberry juice. Started drinking down copious amounts of both until I could see her. (The next day) By the time of my appointment, the UTI was pretty much gone. Doc said there are some people who can actually cure their own UTI's by drinking lots of cranberry juice. Of course, I started doing this at the very beginning signs of a UTI, so it didn't get nearly as bad as the first one.

One thing to consider, Slick Tony - UTI's can turn into kidney infections rather quickly. With my first UTI, the doc put me on very strong anti-biotics, and I had actually been on them for a few days. I woke up at 2 in the morning with intense pain in my lower back that was excruciating. I took a couple of vicodon and it eventually let up. I called the doc the next day (Sunday) and he told me to get to an emergency room and have it checked out. Turned out the antibiotics weren't doing a darn thing, and the infection was on its way to my kidneys. Had to put me on even stronger antibiotics - which also made me ill, but hey! - and it eventually went away.

If there is anyway you can get checked out, do it. This is not something to play with!

Good luck!

 

[SlickTony]

I appreciate everybody's concern and advice. I went back to the doctor, who not only took a urine culture but a blood count, and said that my white count was the high end of normal, but it was a good thing that I had come in, considering how bad I'd felt the day before. He prescribed mo' better antibiotics, reminded me to have yogurt to prevent yeast, prescribed more pyridines, and urged me to follow up with that urologist.

 

[jenlovesamy]

Go to the urologist, trust me. Feel better soon, sweetie.

 

[wideeyedgrin]

UTI's

Sorry to hear about the problem. Men also get UTI's and often show no symptoms. As for as medicine's go, sometimes it takes a combination of sulfa drugs and antibiotics to kill the infection. Have you been checked for chlamydia or T. vaginalis? Both can sometimes shows the same symptoms and the doctor might not think of it.

 

[SlickTony]

The doctor said that probably my husband and I weren't bouncing the infection back and forth between us. I'm not worried about chlamydia or any of that stuff.

 

[SexyGiggles]

I just finished my latest round of drugs for a UTI over the weekend...sucks...third one this calendar year...this time they put me on macrobid instead of cipro...works better for me, but everyone is different...I hate these things...I've spent much of the past week or two drinking cranberry juice and water...saw something recently saying that Alka-Seltzer can help get rid of a UTI, but I'm not sure yet...it's got 1000mg of citric acid in it, which is probably part of it, and has aspirin in it too, which helps the pain...

If you notice a fever, back pain, etc., go see a doctor immediately -- it can be an indication of a kidney infection or something worse!

The symptoms of a UTI can mimic those of chlamydia or other infections, so be sure to get tested. Also, many men can carry the bacteria but still go unaffected by it, so be sure that he wears a condom while you're on the meds!

Good luck!

*giggle*

 

[livingITup]

Yuck, I know what you're feeling. I suffered with what I thought were UTIs for about 5 yrs, before I was finally diagnosed with intersitial cystitis, a painful bladder disorder that mimmicks UTIs, but no bacteria is present. I feel your pain, really.