Questions About UTIs...

[txrepub4God]

Hi ya'll from Texas. I have been extremely ill this past week & not up to posting or reading much. Had my repeats labs done a week ago to follow-up on the WG, and the urine tests showed a pretty bad urinary tract infection. There was bacteria, mucous, leukocytes, casts & lots of other goodies showing up in there. I didn't see my rheumy for test results until Thursday afternoon, and she stated she wanted to do a repeat urinalysis with a urine culture to find out what bacteria is causing the UTI, so she'll know what antibiotic to treat me with. However, there was a mix-up with the lab order going to the wrong lab, so it'll be Monday before I can even give a urine sample to the lab, and a couple days after that before we'll know what the culture shows.

So, it'll be almost 2 weeks past a terrible urinalysis report before starting any antibiotics to treat it. How do you know a UTI is so bad that you need to be hospitalized to treat it? I'm very worried, as I'm now struggling with a head cold on top of the UTI, and now my urine output has greatly decreased to where no matter what I drink, my urine is barely trickling out. I used to work in healthcare & know UTIs can kill people that are immunocompromised. I don't know at what point I should just go to the ER & pray they admit me to treat it. My kidney function was worse on this blood test than it has been, and that was from a week ago when I was peeing fine. Now I'm super dehydrated no matter what I drink & hardly urinating. I have NO energy, & almost blackout when I stand up. I've had a few low-grade fevers, but nothing constant.

At what point do you go to the ER for a UTI? Thinking I should just wait until Monday, get the UA & culture done & wait to hear from doc, but don't want to make myself uber-sick being stubborn. Thanks.

[Pete]

In the interest of caution, I suggest you go to the ER ASAP. Since your urinary output is low, your kidneys may be shutting down. Hate to be alarmist, but this disease can take you down fast.

[rebekah]

I second what Pete says - please go to the ER. You will be able to get the results of the urine sample fast and can be a admitted and have it treated if need be. The sooner you go the better... the kidney's aren't something to mess around with. You shouldn't have to suffer more than you already have.

[Birdie]

At what point do you go to the ER for a UTI?

Short answer is: two hours ago at the latest.

August 2013 I was in the ER five times with a full time live in nurse dragging me there kicking and screaming a couple of those times. Four different hospitals (no kidding, five times and four different hospitals) couldn't come to a diagnosis because they couldn't get a culture to grow. The fifth time they decided to keep me longer than a few days, and kept a catheter in flushing for days without improvement, they did enough testing to realize that I was very near death. So my suggestion and questions are based on experience/surgery/pain/lost job/six months in bed/six more months of odd diet/etc.

1) Does it hurt when you pee?
2) Does it smell when you pee?

3) Is the pee an unusual color?

4) Passing blood clots or blood in pee?

5) Do you want to avoid six months of incredibly painful recuperation, followed by a year of less painful recuperation?

6) Do you want to avoid bladder cancer two or three years from now?

If you're asking it means you need to go now. You have a problem serious enough to be worried, you are justifiably concerned, you might suffer irreversible injury while waiting for the other option, it may take too long to catch it in time, etc, so go get help before you regret not doing it. To hell with somebody you don't even know thinking you cried wolf. Maybe you are but who cares, certainly not me. Take care of you.

OK, so you may never again ask for my looney advice... Just go. You can't wait two weeks to find out if you have a seriously serious infection, not to mention other possibilities we don't want to talk about.

[mishb]

Ouch my goodness, will you please just go.

You are a stronger person than me because I cannot stand the pain of a UTI. Please go and get some treatment for it, before it does it's worst on you.

Straight to hospital with you, do not pass GO, do not collect $200 - get going, if you haven't already

[NikkiNicole]

Hopefully you will have already gone to the ER. If not ... please stop reading this and go right now. It could be more than just the UTI. I had low urine output and passed out after a bout w/ the flu and was severely dehydrated, so much that they had to give me more than the usual amount of fluids.
SO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Debbie C]

Well since I see that you are still here reading this.. why are you not at the er.?

[NikkiNicole]

Anyone heard anything??? I am hoping since she hasn't replied to any of this that she actually went to the ER and is being treated and nothing worse has happened????

[txrepub4God]

Short answer is: two hours ago at the latest.

August 2013 I was in the ER five times with a full time live in nurse dragging me there kicking and screaming a couple of those times. Four different hospitals (no kidding, five times and four different hospitals) couldn't come to a diagnosis because they couldn't get a culture to grow.

So Birdie, what was causing your bladder/UTI issues? I'm having the same issue, my urine tests will show bacteria (moderate), mucous, leukocyte esterase in my urine, 2+ WBC esterase, 11-30/hpf WBC (normal is 0-5), epithelial cells (non-renal) greater than 10 (normal is less than 10), hyaline casts. It wasn't showing nitrates, blood, ketones, glucose or protein. I keep getting low-grade fevers every day, I have an upper respiratory infection, I have several times a day that I get severe abdominal cramps, but it does not burn when I pee and I don't know if it smells because my nose is totally blocked.

Since a repeat urine test I did this week with a culture didn't grow any bacteria, my rheumy's nurse said there was nothing I can do. I just know something isn't right, but I have no idea what to do now.

[Pete]

You may want to consider a cystoscopy to see what the inside of your bladder looks like. If you were ever on cyclophosphamide/cytoxan, you may have an inflammation there.