Fuck you, bladder infection. Get the fuck out.

The BBQ Pit
1

This will probably be TMI to some people. I don’t really give a fuck, though, because I need to rant. No one near me is awake, and even if no one reads this thread I have the satisfaction of bitching to my heart’s content.

To begin–

It is not my fault that my urethra is short. I didn’t have much of a choice in that.
I can just imagine floating in the ether, with an all-knowing being looking at my formless spirit and saying, “So what’ll it be? Multiple orgasms? Or… the ability to piss standing up? The frightful possibility of pregnancy and childbirth? Or the ability to piss standing up? A shorter urethra and thus the increased chances for contracting a urinary tract infection? Or… the ability to piss standing up? Well, what do you want to be? A chick or a dude?”

I didn’t *get *that choice. I just got a female body (which I happen to like most of the time) and when it comes to urethras, apparently I got shafted.

Really fucking shafted.

No one ever told me this was part of being a woman. No, I heard all about menstruation and childbirth and locking my car doors when I get in, right away, and cramps and menupause and all that. I’ve heard about all that. No one ever sat down to explain to me that a female’s urethra fucks her over. They don’t make jokes on sitcoms about that.

I LIKE having a vagina, and a vulva and soft squishy girl parts. I think they’re fun and pretty. But I am so goddamn pissed off at my body right now, and it’s not even its fault.

It started yesterday morning around 6 AM. I woke suddenly and stay awake for hours, visiting the bathroom about 15 times that morning. I knew exactly what was going on after the 4th or 5th time. The urgency. The frequency. The burning. I waited, angrily, until the student health services opened at 8:30. I was lucky enough to score a doctor’s appointment and get my prescription dropped off at the pharmacy before my first class. I skipped my second class to pick up my medicine (and cranberry juice) and felt much better. Uncomfortable, still, especially when I tried to pee, but for the most part, pretty good. The pain and discomfort came in fits, and it was tolerable enough that I could sit through class and pay attention.

But now it’s night again (or morning, rather) and I’m feeling shitty again. It’s past 3 am and I can’t sleep because when I lay down I have to pee. I can’t concentrate on anything other than the burning. And the doctor didn’t prescribe painkillers and Advil ain’t working and I’m about ready to give my Female status back because FUCK THIS. I just spent the last three hours in the bathroom because it made no sense to try and leave. My roommate’s asleep in our room, and my boyfriend’s asleep on the couch in the living room and if I stay in either room, I’d keep them awake, going in and out, gnashing my teeth, wailing, etc. So I camped out in the bathroom. I read a book. I peed. I longed for death.

And I long for death now. I long for death because I can’t sleep. And when 9 AM rolls around I have to be at work. Work until 12. And I can’t leave my desk. Which means I can’t go to the bathroom, to grit my teeth as I try desperately to pee and internally scream when I succeed. So I will have to sit still for three hours with a bladder infection, and then go straight to class. And I will not have slept, at least not much, so I will be exhausted. And irritable. AND PISSED OFF. And then there will be another class, and then a meeting. And meanwhile my urethra will continue to torture me, convincing me that my bladder is full and must be emptied when in reality, there is nothing there! And if anything, only a few mocking drops that cause such a line of FIRE to sear up my urinary tract that I almost start crying each time. If I don’t try to pee, it hurts. Once I pee, it hurts. No matter what, IT HURTS. And I am very fucking tired of it hurting.

Everything else is physically fine with me, but there is a burning, RAGING fire in my urethra that cannot be ignored. It hurts. A lot. And I can’t do anything to make it go away besides take my medicine and drink as much water and cranberry juice as I can stand. If I was miserably ill with the flu and had someone to take care of me, I’d feel better about things, I swear. Because I’m fine except I’m NOT. I hurt. Inside in a place that I can’t reach or rub or easily hack off with the nearest blade.

So fuck you, bladder infection. What did I do to deserve you?
I wipe front to back, I pee before and after sex when I can and I certainly do my best to keep clean.

So why me? Why now, the week after spring break? When school is kicking back up and things are getting crazy again? When the boyfriend and I are really doing swell and wanting to make love all the time?

WHY NOW?
<sub>Now I can’t drink on St. Patty’s Day because alcohol’s bad for bladders!</sub>
WHY?

And the worst thing of all is that I know that no matter what I do, I can’t necessarily stop or prevent another UTI. Doctors don’t even understand why they happen sometimes. All I can do is sit here in the hallway on my computer, watching the clock, waiting til I get so tired that I can pass out without being terrified I’ll piss myself, and pray that I get enough sleep to make it through the morning.

Perhaps in a few hours, when I’ve become properly delirious, I will create an effigy of my bladder infection, and destroy it.

GET OUT OF MY BODY. I need to be living my life now.

2

Guy here, and never had one, so I can’t feel your pain. But I have a lot of sympathy for you, having watched a few SO’s have the same problem.

Just a suggestion, and it may not work for you and your boyfriend, but it worked for an ex . Have him wash his penis and hands WELL just before you start your lovemaking. It might cut down on the frequency of infection. Of course, you might just be the person that gets these no matter what. Just saying it might help.

3

My sympathies, Search. UTIs are crawling misery.

There are meds that can ease the pain, burning, etc. but some doctors don’t seem to prescribe them along w/ the meds that nuke the infection. Some of them make you pee day-glo orange but that’s a small price to pay for a shortcut out of misery. They work fast, too. I usually felt a lot better within an hour. Maybe your doc could give you a scrip for one. Or there are some OTC things that might help, though. Have you tried Uristat? Haven’t used it myself: haven’t needed it, knock wood, but I’ve heard good reports from those who have.

All best.

Veb

4

Yuck. I’ve had many more of these than I’d like to remember. Enough so that when I feel that ol’ burning-and-I’ve-peed-but-still-feel-like-I-have-to sensation, I know it’s time to go to the doctor. I know your pain.

Some things that help avoid them: drink a lot of fluids, especially cranberry juice. Cranberry juice can help prevent UTIs. Wipe front to back after going to the washroom, to avoid sweeping fecal bacteria into the vaginal area. Change out of sweaty/wet underwear asap. Wear 100% cotton undies as they are more absorbent.

One of the best antibiotics I’ve had for UTIs is called Monurol (Montelukast Sodium, I think). It’s a single dose, little packet of powder that you stir into a glass of water and drink. It then works on curing the infection over 3 days. It’s worked great for me every time. Maybe ask your doc about it.

Hope you feel better soon.

5

A friend swears by cranberry extract.

6

Ugh, I have a UTI right now. It started Saturday night, and I was able to get Cipro Sunday morning, thank goodness.

You’ve looked into all the standard ways to avoid UTIs, I’m sure. None of them work for me. One thing that might have worked is a bacteria pill called acidophilus. The idea is that it’s supposed to take up space in your GI tract that e. coli usually takes up. I started it last July, and didn’t get a UTI until Saturday. The thing is, I ran out of acidophilus a little over a week ago and neglected to get more. So it is possible that it prevented UTIs in me. It could also be a coincidence, but if you get them often, it’s worth a try.

7

Get to a drugstore and look for an over-the-counter medication called UriStat. (No, not Monistat.) If you don’t see it, ask the pharmacist if they have phenazopyridine as an OTC med, or ask your doctor to write you a prescription for it. This product is an absolute godsend for when you have UTIs. I used to get them all the time, and it will in very short order get rid of the urge to urinate as well as the pain/discomfort. It’s not a treatment, but it’ll at least make you less miserable while you’re waiting for the antibiotics to kick in.

The one downside is that it’ll turn your urine orange. Not mild orange. We’re talking bright, hunting-gear blaze orange. Wearing pale undies? You’ll notice any “leakage” or spots. It’ll also show you where you haven’t been scrubbing your toilet properly, as the dye will stain there too.

8

Oh, man. I had one of these last week, and holy SHIT, it was miserable. I was in the bathroom at least 10 times from noon until 5 PM when I left work on Wednesday. I made a run to Wal-Mart to get some Uristat and cranberry pills (there’s a Pit thread around here somewhere on the clueless cashier I had), and then tried not to die the rest of the afternoon until I could make it to the doctor.

I highly recommend Uristat. It doesn’t take the pain away, but it did help me not to pee QUITE so much. Although, I must admit - it scared the living SHIT out of me at the doctor’s office. I had taken the Uristat earlier that afternoon, and they asked for a urine sample. I went into give it to them, and let’s just say I thought I had a HORRIBLE infection (well, I did, but that was from the Uristat). I panicked, asking the nurse about it, who laughed at me. I’ve never taken Uristat before, I didn’t realize it made everything orange!

One thing my doctor told me - a UTI and a bladder infection aren’t the same (I thought they were, and I thought I had a UTI). A bladder infection is further up - and for me, the bladder infection hurt way worse than the UTI ever did. He told me cranberry might help a little, but not the way it does for a UTI. Sucks, since I was taking cranberry pills all day.

You have my sympathies. I’m still on antibiotics for mine, and I’m a bit worried that it’s making a reappearance, because I’m still having a little pain there (and I saw the doctor LAST Wednesday), but I hope it’s gone. We’ll see. Good luck getting rid of yours.

E.

9

I suffer from chronic bladder infections. When I was 14, my urologist told me I had the bladder of a sixty year old. Yay.

What helps me keep the number of infections down may not work for you, but what the heck.

I drink LITRES of water everyday. If my water consumption goes down just a little, I’m nearly guaranteed an infection. My whole life revolves around carrying enough water with me wherever I go so I never run out. Juice doesn’t cut it. Soda definitely doesn’t cut it.

At the first twinge of pain, I not only up my water intake, but I also take generous portions of cranberry extract tablets.

When I do have to get a prescription, I always ask for Pyridium along with the antibiotic so I don’t have to feel the pain. I also always hold some Pyridium back so that the next time I have a bad infection, I can get pain relief while waiting for my doctors appointment.

I’m sure you’re already on board with this, but a reminder to always urinate immediately following intercourse, and never, ever use tampons.

Over the years, I’ve managed to cut down the time between infections (not including twinges) from 2-3 weeks to 6-12 months.

Good luck!

10

Thanks for all the well wishes. I feel much better today, which I hope is a sign that this is on its way out.
I’ve been drinking as much cranberry juice as I can stand, and so far today I’ve peed twice with no pain. (Hurray!) Who would have thought that peeing normally would be so wonderfully welcomed?

11

I have had a couple run ins with Bladder infections, myself. They totally fucking suck like a big nasty thing that totally fucking sucks with an extra helping of total fucking suckitude. The pills that turn your pee orange did work for me. Also, marshmallow tea seemed to help a bit. (Marshmallow the herb, not marshmallow the puffy white sugary things). I’ve read that blueberry juice has the same thing in it that makes cranberry so good for your urinary tract, so if you don’t like cranberry or just want some variety, I recommend it. You can get 100% cranberry and blueberry juice at the health food store, and that’s the best stuff to get. I liked half sugar-free lemonade and half blueberry juice-- much easier to drink lots of than cranberry juice, at least for me.

12

Nothing to add except make sure if you’re drinking cranberry juice to ward off/help with the UTI that it is sugar free. Sugar in the urine feeds bacteria!!!

Knutson’s has a good sugarless cranberry juice. Don’t be drinking Ocean’s Spray!!

13

I’ve been drinking the only thing Eckerd’s had at the time-- Northlands Cranberry Grape juice… 32g of sugar per serving.

14

Just a couple of pointers from someone who once got a UTI, bladder, kidney infection all at once:

Water - I got my first UTI after being dehydrated during a bout of strep. Water is so important to your body and if you don’t get enough, you will regret it.
Pee - I got my second (the combo one) despite drinking a gallon of water a day because I sweated it all out at work and never peed. Peeing is good for you, that why we do it. If you aren’t peeing - something is wrong. If I don’t pee at least 4 times a day, I get worried.
Yogurt - Yogurt contains l. acidopholus. Eat it regularly - it really does help.
Cranberry Juice - An RN once told me that cranberry juice curing or helping to cure UTI’s is an old wives tale. The truth is that cranberry is preventative maintenance. You drink it before you get the infection to prevent the infection.

Don’t take long baths.

And, if you’re like me, you may as well buy the Monistat now. I get a yeast infection every time I take an antibiotic.
NO, IANAD - I’ve just suffered through this before.

15

Yeah, it’s not always easy to find cranberry juice without the sugar! Glad you’re feeling better. Also, I find that I can tell when a UTI is coming on, and I drink a lot of water, which seems to flush it out before it gets to the “omigodihavetopeesomuchbutidontwannahowlinpain” stage.

16

Good grief, you poor thing!

I wasn’t eating very well the week before I got this UTI, nor drinking water, and the day before I started feeling sick, I had to wait an hour or more to get off work before I could take a bathroom break. That might have had something to do with it.

lolagranola, are you saying that using tampons causes UTIs?

The upside to this whole situation is that now I know a lot more about UTIs and I’m telling all my friends what to do if they ever have symptoms. Right now I’m feeling pretty normal, besides the lower back pain (due to this being the first day of my period).

17

Ditto on the water, and cranberry juice [i prefer knudsens pure cranberry juice, no water, no sweeteners…I add splenda and water to taste] however, I have asymptomatic infections that I find when I feel like someone has stepped up to bat and laid on across the small of my back. I would get 2 to 3 a year, then I started wearing tampons and they stopped … I have had one in 5 years. I only wear a pad as a backup to tampons [TMI - I can go through a super plus/16 gram size tampon in an hour, so I am anal about leakage…and also when I have a job carry spare clothing in the car in case despite the tampon per hour thing, if I leak a huge clot and it gets onto my outer clothing I have rcourse because in general I work about an hour from home…]

I consider not letting my coochie marinate in a used pad has significantly ended my UTI problem… though I do change out the tampon each time I pee, so the string isnt hosting a kegger for the microbes and giving me a UTI…

18

Gawd, do I feel your pain. I’ve had chronic UTIs for years. I started seeing a urologist a couple years ago, and discovered that my urethra is abnormally tight, which causes urine to be retained in the bladder, which makes a lovely breeding ground for bacteria. Dilation is…well, about as much fun as you’d imagine, but it provides relief for some months from the infections.

But. I had my last dilation just two weeks ago, and had reeeeeeeeally been enjoying the whole sleeping all night without having to get up and pee thing. Then this past weekend, the husband and I enjoyed some very nice marital relations. The bladder infection, or maybe just irritation, returned, and for several nights I’ve had to get up many, many times to go to the bathroom.

I’m freaking tired as hell, and unbelievably frustrated with this situation. I need to talk to the urologist about this, and see what can be done, because I’d really love to be able to have sex with my husband without being miserable for days afterward. GRR.

19

My sympathies…I went through this hell years ago. I wound up getting an outpatient procedure (during which I was unconscious) called a cystoscopy and urethral dilation. Cleared it up.

I do still believe in cranberry capsules and plenty of water as adjunct therapies.

Good luck and good thoughts your way.

20

Just a note about the yogurt congodwarf mentioned. You should do some looking to make sure the kind you are eating has acidophilus. Some of the yogurt that has been pastuerized doesn’t have enough, according to articles I read before starting the pills.