I Hurt
 

Anyone else ever get a UTI? I'm on Cipro and those pain pills that make your urine turn orange but I still hurt :( I also take cranberry supplements and I'm drinking lots of water but I still hurt :( Any suggestions or just comiseration?

Just keep drinking and get thru it...it will be ok...warm compresses should help a bit and please don't over exert yourself.

Oh god sweetie I'm so sorry, I would NOT wish a UTI on anyone, even my worst enemy. It's good that you have Cipro though, it should be gone in a few days, I was on vacation once when I got a UTI, and I couldn't get to a doctor and OD'd on those turn your pee orange pills, and I ended up throwing up orange, it was AWFUL (I know that was wayyyy TMI lol)
so be careful, i'm sure that you wouldn't do that, but just a warning lol
water, water, access to a bathroom, rest, cranberry juice and water!

Liquids liquids liquids liquids liquids...
Keep drinking water, cranberry juice, etc., and flushing everything out of you.
How long have you been taking antibiotics? If for any reason you think it may be getting worse, I would consider seeing a doctor again. I really don't mean to worry you, but it's just better safe than sorry.

Liquids, water, cranberry juice and more water. The last time I had one, I drank water for a week after it cleared. Those are NOT fun. :(

Just started the meds yesterday. I've had it before but I just wanted to vent and comiserate :( The pain meds are finally kicking in though so that's a plus! I think getting a UTI had something to do with J leaving this weekend for his deployment... ;)

I can see overdosing on this stuff pretty easily and definitely feeling nauseous after taking it - I guess that's why they say to take it with a meal...? Those pills leave an awful taste in my mouth and it makes you want to drink water just to get that taste out!

Sorry - I know how miserable a UTI can be. I'm sure your doctor told you (or you read the pharmacy insert) but caffeine and alcohol aggravate it and also can counteract the drugs.

Feel better soon.

Unfortunately, I know a lot about UTIs. I am in that small percentage of women who gets the reoccuring kind. Fun, fun, fun. PM me any questions you may have. I'm pretty much an expert.

Keep drinking the cranberry juice and taking the antibiotics. It can take a few days of antibiotics before they knock out the more aggressive infections from your system. I'm surprised that the pain pills (I'm assuming Uristat) aren't helping. I'm guessing you must have a really, really aggressive one - especially because the doc put you on Cipro. Make sure you're eating when you take your antibiotics! Antibiotics will ravage your stomach if you have no food in your system. I have made myself so incredibly sick a few times because I took antibiotics on an empty stomach.

I have a lifetime prescription for antibiotics because I get them so frequently. I forgot to bring my antibiotics with me on my honeymoon. Big mistake. I got a UTI while I was in a foreign country. Luckily you don't need a prescription in Costa Rica but I had to try to explain to the pharmacists there in my limited knowledge of Spanish that I needed antibiotics for a UTI and it couldn't be Penicillin-based since I'm allergic.

Me too! It's actually nice to know I have company...I didn't previously know of anyone else who was in this boat.

Yeah, I stop drinking my usual soda and coffee and try to stick mainly to cranberry juice and water whenever I get one. Sigh.

I think I may be in the same boat as Theta and ZTAngel :( I've had SO many in the past few years it's getting ridiculous.

Warning...TMI ahead.
 

This thread reminds me of my horrific 2005 experience with a UTI. Had what I thought it was a 'minor' UTI and thought it went away because I didn't really experience the symptoms. I've UTIs before this, but they were few in number so I didn't know just how important it was to get to the doctor and get some anti-biotics...no matter how 'minor' it was.

The UTI turned into a massive kidney infection and I was rushed to the hospital. I had a 104.5 fever and was very septic. The Rocephin the injected into my left butt cheek made it very hard to sit for a whole day. I ended up staying there for 5 days.

Ditto what everyone said about fluids and making sure you eat. I don't know if it's like this for others on antibiotics, but usually when I'm on heavy antibiotics, I have a hard time with #2. Hooray for Senokot!

Feel better, SZ. It'll go away before you know it!

As much as that was TMI, I still appreciate the post! I'm usually ok with most antibiotics, Cipro included, but I've taken a few for other things that really did tear my stomach up (Keflex being one of them - those are some HUGE capsules!). I have heard the horror stories of UTIs turning into more serious infections so I always try to get on meds ASAP and this time was super fast (I love my part-time job).

A question for you all: what do you think causes recurring UTIs? Intercourse? Physiology? Bathing habits (and yes I know which direction to wipe) Something else? Just curious...

ok..the brown/orange pills...maybe TMI ;)
 

I forget what they were called...but i FREAKED out when one of my sorority sisters gave me some to take b/c of my UTI last year. I didnt know they would turn my pee orange.I thought i was peeing blood (i knew blood was red, and pee was yellow soo that = orange from the pill).Anyways i called my mom freaking out, so then she freaked out,and i nearly passed out just at the thought of it. Luckily, my roomate let me in on the pills' secret later that day lol!!:p

get well soon SZeta!

Sexual activity (coitus and/or cunnilingus-especially!) is a frequent reason for a recurring UTI. Not to be indelicate, getting up and urinating following either is a BIG help in staving off intercourse related UTIs. The concept is to rinse out any bacteria that may have been "pushed" up the urethra during intimacy.

Ive heard condoms are a big culprit in addition to the ones you already mentioned.

Shew. I had a heinous one during a terrible snowstorm in college. I couldn't get off my hill to get to the doctor for a couple of days. Everyone said "drink beer - it will make you pee." So when I finally got to the doctor I was plastered.

I also suggest that you eat yogurt so as to avoid that other nasty problem that can affect women after being on strong antibiotics....

Haha, luckily my doctor prescribed Uristat to me when I got my first UTI several years ago and told me to make sure I wiped really well since it could stain my underwear and to consider wearing a pantyliner or pad because of the color my urine would be while on this medication.

Here's some TMI for you: don't ever just take the Uristat and wait to go see the doc for your antibiotics. Twice I have wet the bed because I guess my muscles got too relaxed from the pain meds and it caused incontinence. And of course, since my pee was bright orange it stained my new mattress two years ago! :eek::(

Sage, I always make a point to urinate after intercourse because I know that's supposed to help prevent them but it doesn't always do the job for me I guess... I also never take baths, as I hear they can cause a UTI also.

Last year I had a really bad UTI following the use of a condom with spermicidal lubricant - not fun. I have since switched to regular but will be very happy to do away with them all together once I'm married next year! :D Maybe condom use IS my problem after all.....

Knock on wood, I have never had a yeast infection, though I hear they are common after antibiotic use. Good point though!

If you have recurring UTI/kidney infections, it might be best to consult a urologist rather than your general practitioner. I struggled with infections for about 4 years. I would take a round of antibiotics, have a week or so of "health", then the infection would come right back, full blown.

I was at my doctor's office having a routine blood test because of a "black box" warning on a drug I was taking. They called and told me that due to my test results, I needed to come right back to the office. I was referred to a urologist that day, and less than a week later, I was having kidney surgery.

I had struvite kidney stones, which fill up the kidney. They're not as common as the other kinds, but much more damaging. They basically cut my kidney, cleaned it out, and put in a temporary drain and some stents in my urinary tract. After I had recovered from that surgery (about 8 weeks), I had another surgery to remove my other kidney, which was damaged beyond repair. I had borderline function in the one kidney for nearly 3 years, but due to another major infection, my kidney function fell below the acceptable level, and I am now on hemodialysis and on a transplant list.

I don't want to be an alarmist, but don't take your health for granted. If you continue to have problems, either find out why or find out what can alleviate the problem.

I know this has been a loooong post, so if you made it to the end, thanks for reading.

P.S. Please consider designating yourself as an organ donor on your state driver's license next time you renew.:)

Wow, I had now idea you were struggling with such a serious disorder! I know UTIs seem simple but you're very right, they are nothing to joke about or put off treating. Lukcily, I've never had them come back so soon, I'm usually good for about 3-4 months or so before another flare-up, but I think it will be awhile until my next one since J will be gone for a while ;) And Fawn, I am definitely an organ donor :)

Did they prescribe any kind of pain reliever to ease the symptoms, like Tylenol or whatever doesn't interact with Cipro. Cipro is not a joke drug, so like Daemon said, you are going to have grin and bear it with water, juice et al...

Please follow your physician's guidelines.

Taking baths in and of itself doesn't cause UTIs. Its mostly the additives (i.e. bubble bath) that can irritate the UT itself.

Wash your va-jay-jay with plain water and a very gentle cleanser if you feel like you need to, per my midwife. She said to use Purpose cleanser or Dove sensitive skin. She told me to stay away from douching altogether if I could help it. And go commando at night whenever possible, she needs to breathe.

I NEVER douche and I always try to sleep with just loose pajama pants on, no undies. Baths don't cause UTIs, you're right, but they allow bacteria to flow more freely into the urethra and that can cause a UTI, baths can indirectly contribute to an infection.

And I love that you used va-jay-jay :D

I'm anal about cleaning my tub before and after a bath, so maybe that's just me, lol.

That's my favorite name for Vagina! :D Thanks, Grey's writers!!! lol

I hate UTIs!!

And, no, the orange pills never work. You should feel better within about 3 days or so.

I had my first one about a month ago and I was in pain, but not too much so that I was prescribed pain meds.
Good thing is that all of my sister's empathized with me when i had to cut our convos short to run to the restroom :p

Besides the reasons already mentioned, my dr told me some women just have shorter urethra than other women (and women have shorter ones then men) and so they get more UTIs. Thankfully, I've only had a handful of minor ones. But they were terrible. :(

I've had a few minor UTIs, but I had one horrible one. I was at work at the TV station a few years ago, and we were 1 1/2 hours into the morning show. I started getting nauseous, with chills and sweats. I finally had to run out during the weather and get someone to cover for me. Everyone said I turned white, and I puked for the next half hour. Turns out I had a horrible bladder/kidney infection. The drugs helped, though, and I felt a million times better the next day.

I take the cranberry pills daily now. Two per day usually, but you can take up to 6 if you need to. They've helped.

Unfortunately, I'm allergic to Cipro, so I don't know which I feel worst about for you - I'm shuddering in empathy! Because of that (and other healthy reasons), I drink cranberry juice daily.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this SthrnZeta. I make and pass A LOT of kidney stones (Cysteine stones) so also get a lot of UTIs. My best advice, if you can stand it, ask for a mild scrip of Vicodin while giving the Cipro a chance to work. Cranberry supplements are just that--supplements. Best thing to do is to drink as much as you can stomach of cranberry juice (pure is best but hard to drink straight). When I get an upset stomach, I often go for the cranapple juice. It's easier to drink and I've often had to drink up to a bottle a day while getting rid of the UTI. This causes more of a void to push the bacteria out. The over the counter pills like AZO don't often work for everyone (they never do for me)and just turn your urine red orange.
Feel better:)

I'm taking the AZO tablets and they help a large amount, though not completely. I have taken vicodin in the past when it was prescribed for other things and it didn't do much for me. I think I'll just have to deal with it for now and keep drinking the water. Definitely not a fan of cranberry juice - but cranapple is alright.

This thread is so shocking! I've never had a UTI or a yeast infection, thank God (I'll probably get one or the other right after I post this. ( ). My friend said she often gets them after sex (at which point, I refrained from gloating;)) and my sister warned me to drink water out the butt through college because that's when most of the people she knew got their first ones because they replaced water with soda and alcohol. It all sounds so horrible, I'm sorry for your pain!

Does cranberry really help that much? What is it supposed to do? I hear people talk about grabbing the cran for a UTI, but no one seems to know why, they just know that they should!

Cranberry naturally helps inhibit bacterial growth in the urethra and is even supported by the American Urinary Health Association (or something like that) as having urinary tract health benefits, though I'm not sure this statement has been investigated or proved factual by the FDA. Cranberry juice by no means cures a UTI, though it can help keep it from getting worse while you are on antibiotics and may help prevent infections in the future if drank regularly. I have known girls to start drinking it in mass quantities when an infection hit and were able to avoid going to the doctor and getting meds prescribed but that has never been enough for me.

i believe that i read somewhere that if a woman is having recurrent infections, her partner might need to get checked. he could be passing the bacteria back to her.

get well sister.

A lot of things cause UTIs, including diabetes or taking too many of certain medications. One thing I only found out about fairly recently is that, left untreated, a UTI can cause Alzheimers-like symptoms.