I’ve never had a UTI before but think I might. This is a bit graphic but no choice- does this sound like one?
This afternoon I had to drain the lizard/rinse out the pickle/pee/salute Poseidon/whatever, and I was feeling fine, but DAMN! :mad: When it came out it hurt like hell- burning and hurting (and thinkin’ and prayin’)- so much I actually scared my dogs (outside the bathroom door) by yelling. I’ve never felt anything like that down there. It continued to burn for a few minutes afterwards, so much I had to lie down- it felt specifically like I’d dropped a few ccs of pepper into the orifice.
The next time I had to release the kidney juice it was almost as bad but not quite. The third time it was still less than pleasant but nowhere near as bad as the previous times. (If it had been I’d planned to go to the ER).
There was no blood. There’s been no radical change to my diet, I’m quite sure I haven’t contracted an STD (damn it- it’s not not having an STD I lament but the fact I can be certain I don’t have one). UTI is the only thing I can figure, but do those usually get better on their own that fast?
I’m drinking lots of water and grapefruit juice as it seems logical, but has anybody ever had a fast “start to finish” UTI before?
I’ve never, ever had a UTI get better on its own, and I’ve had more than my share of them. I do, however, find that the more I’ve accumulated, the worse it hurts. So the first, um, evacuation of the morning will be horrible, and the others will be not so bad.
Do you have a pain in the lower pelvis, right about where your bladder would be? I get that, even more than burning, as I am going, and right after I go. Are you trotting off to the bathroom more frequently, and making less than you usually do? Do you have a low-grade fever? Those are all possible signs of a UTI, too.
I say, if it continues to hurt, even if not like before, get thee to a doctor and pee in a cup. It takes them about 30 seconds to determine if you have a UTI. If you do, they will give you an antibiotic, and if your experience is like mine, you will feel relief after the first dose. Like in a few hours. Best. Thing. Ever.
Oh, and the lots of water is good, but start gulping the cranberry juice if you can get your hands on some. I don’t know why, but cranberry juice is the recommended course for all UTI sufferers.
The burning sounds like what I experienced when I had one. It may not be - it could be other things. Try drinking cranberry juice (not cranberry juice cocktail)instead of grapefruit juice. Helps so much more. If you can’t find cranberry juice, you can pick up cranberry fruit pills in a lot of drugstores. They help, but not as fast in my experience as cranberry juice.
And see your doctor - even if it seems all better - because it might not be all gone and you want that fixed, not turning into a kidney infection.
I actually came back in to add this. Seriously, you don’t want a kidney infection, and that’s what untreated UTIs grow up to be. I know a woman who had two kidney transplants because she ignored a strep throat infection too long. Her health issues have not been fun, at all.
And, so it doesn’t alarm you if the doctor says something about it: I believe they do actually look for blood in the urine for a UTI. The amounts are so small that they’re not visible with the naked eye, but I’ve sometimes been told there are blood cells in my urine. If you hear this, don’t panic, okay? But if there’s blood in your urine that you can see, you have my permission (nay, my directive) to panic mightily and get to an ER as soon as humanly possible.
My advice is, of course, probably worth exactly what you paid for it. But I do hope you’ll go to a doctor and get feeling better.
Thanks- it’s a whole lot better now, but if it’s still present tomorrow I’ll go. (I’m just hoping I can put off a doctor’s visit until after the holiday as til then it’s mainly ER and perhaps a doc-in-the-box.)
I’d trot off to the late nite/weekend clinic as soon as they are open next. Like Anne, I had one turn into a kidney infection complete with 106 fever and a 10 day hospital stay.
While you’re waiting to see a doctor, the drugstore has these pills called Uristat in the tampon aisle. It’s some kind of anesthetic for your urethra or something - definately helps. (You do take them orally. ) Wear your oldest undershorts, though, as they’ll turn your pee bright flourescent orange. You’ll be surprised at how much you leak.
My father used to teach the new Naval recruits a few things about health, and here’s what he had to say:
If you have to hold onto the overhead pipes when you piss, you have a UTI. If you bend the pipes, you have the clap.
Here’s what I have to say: go to the doc. Drink lots of water, take aspirin, and drink as much straight cranberry juice (NOT the cocktail, unless it’s sugar free) as you can bear. Cranberry juice has a compound in it that keeps most bacteria from clinging to the surface of your bladder and urinary tract. Aspirin will help with the pain, the fever, and the inflammation.
At the end (sorry), you’ll probably still need some antibiotics.
You might be feeling better now, but needing to yell from pain while you pee is never, repeat, never normal. Go to a doctor.
I’ve only had one UTI in my life, and what characterized it for me is what I call the “pain spike” - you get to feel every centimeter of your urethra burning and hurting as you pee. Does this sound like what you experienced, Sampiro?
DO go to your healthcare provider ASAP.
DO in the mean time drink LOTS of water. Cranberry juice is only helpful if you buy the 100% CRANBERRY juice, not 100% juice, that’s mostly apple, and drink at least 24 oz in a day.
DON’T take asprin, ibuprophen, or naproxen. They can all cause the walls of the irritated bladder to bleed.
DO take tylenol/Uristat for discomfort.
Not all bladder pain in from infection. There are foods that can bring on the same symptoms. A doctor can tell you which it is.
Oh, and did I mention, go see your healthcare provider? I did, didn’t I.
I will add that Uristat is awesome, but one of the side-effects is staining in soft-contact lenses, so be aware of that if you wear them.
AFAIK UTIs in men tend to get to kidneys much more quickly than in women (our shorter urethras mean more common UTIs, but in men longer urethras means a UTI is nearly to the kidneys). Get thee to the docs.
I’m going to deviate from the people telling you to write your will and go to the closest E.R. and say that this happens to me about once a year, and has for as long as I can remember. It lasts for maybe a half-hour tops, and then it goes away. The only commonality that I’ve found (and I’ll raise your TMI), is
that when it happens, it seems to happen after I’ve recently jerked off, and more specifically if I jerk off while I have to urinate or feel light I slightly have to urinate. I’ve always figured that it was just something getting “mixed” up between the urine and semen, resulting in burning.
In general, I just try to keep urinating; I’ll hang out by the toilet and let a tiny bit seep out at a time as it can, and this feels like it “washes things out” and returns everything to normal within 30 mins.
I say bladder stone. Absolutely killer pain when it passes. Lingering pain lasts for a while. Can lead to UTIs due to scratching (or not being passed). Still need to see a doctor.
There are cranberry pills that are just as effective (according to my MIL who has UTIs all the fucking time). Easier than drinking a ton of cranberry juice and easier to find than the all-juice stuff. Check the health food store or maybe even Walmart.
Not the straight juice. I bought a few bottles of pure juice at Wegmanns recently just to clean my pipes, and it had 8 grams of sugar per serving, which is nothing compared to the 25+ grams per serving Ocean Spray cranberry juice cocktail has. To the OP: Be warned, pure cranberry juice is quite expensive; I paid $7-$8.50 per 32-oz. bottle (I bought several different brands). The pure juice also does not taste very good. I had to dump a few packets of Nutrasweet into each bottle just to make it palatable. YMMV.
) Wear your oldest undershorts, though, as they’ll turn your pee bright flourescent orange. You’ll be surprised at how much you leak.