It started yesterday morning. An odd sensation in my belly. An urge to void that wouldn’t go away, even though I’d gone just before leaving for the barn. An urge that nagged at me, increasing in strength, until I got home.
By early afternoon I could no longer fool myself that this was anything but the dread:
:eek: BLADDER INFECTION. :eek:
I lucked out when I called my doctor’s office. There was a cancellation and could I get over there right away? YES. My doctor’s office is only five minutes away and (after voiding as much as I could squeeze out) I zipped on over.
I now have a prescription for Bactrim, started yesterday afternoon, the news from an LPN friend that it will take 48 to 72 hours for the antibiotics to clear things up, and a desperate need to go to the bathroom.
I hear that. I’ve never had a bladder infection, but I have had my share of UTIs. Always having to pee, never feeling empty–even if you just that second stopped going, and the burning, the burning.
TMI possibly-
One of the only ways I could get myself to pee when it was at its worst was to pour a glass of cool water over the area to start myself. Not easy at work.
For UTI’s, I use over-the-counter Cystex. 'Cause I’m allergic to so many antibiotics. Usually, if I start taking Cystex immediately at the very first sign of a problem , and forcing fluids, I can get rid of an infection very quickly, without going to the doctor. Cystex has both an analgesic for the pain, and an anti-bacterial for the actual infection.
Yeah, the doctor should give you something that NUMBS your ureters, etc. as it goes through. I can’t believe they didn’t give you that! You must be going BONKERS.
Worst. Illness. Ever.
You totally have my sympathy.
If you force fluids, you might bring on relief sooner. I mean, you can’t work, eat, sleep, read, or do anything but drink and pee. But it might end the agony before doomsday.
I’m at least spared the burning, the burning as I pee. Having been through that once or twice, I am grateful, grovelingly grateful. No, my burning agony is confined to the endless pressure in my bladder. Would pyridium help that or is it just effective for the urethral scalding?
I’m chugging down water and cranberry juice till I squish.
I often have to pee every 5 minutes. And feel like I still have to go, even if I’ve just gone. So I went to the doctor. She took a urine sample to check for infection. She also gave me the dreaded Finger Of Doom test in case it was prostate related. Her conclusion? “You just have a small bladder.”
Great. I wish I had a UTI; at least then it’d be curable.
Definitely I’d take the small bladder over the UTI, oh yes oh yes!
Heck, for most of my adult life I’ve had a teensy bladder. My friends found much hilarity in this. Oddly enough, since the changes of menopause concluded, I’ve had less of a problem. For the first time in years, decades, I’ve been able to sleep through the night without having to get up, flinging cats in all driections, for at least one trip to the bathroom. (There was one part of The Change where that was an almost hourly activity.)
So, indeed, I know what it’s like to have to take a whiz every waking hour or so. I would gladly, gleefully go back to that for the rest of my life rather than go on another day with this infection, thankyouverymuch.
Although it does seem to be abating somewhat. The pyridium I got today is helping some. It still is
Yeah, you might notice about the pyridium, it, ummm, makes your “output” frighteningly orange. Hi-lighter orange. Just thought I’d mention it.
You definitely have my sympathies! Due to all my kidney stones, I get lots of infections; see the stones, when they move through, cause scarring on all my inner bits. The scar tissue provides lots of lovely footholds for bacteria. Yuck!
Having been warned about the Technicolor side effect, I’m not alarmed, just mildly amused. In fact, after taking the first pill I was impatient for the pumpkin piss to show up – “Aha! The pyridium’s finally reached my bladder! Get to work, dammit!”
It definitely seems better this morning, although there’s still a lingering feeling of not-quite-there-yet. You have my utmost sympathies, norinew, I can’t imagine, and don’t want to know, how it must feel to pass kidney stones and have frequent bladder infections. :eek:
