Help... UTI or Interstitial Cystitis Problems

[huggingmama]

Anyone had experiene with a UTI or interstitial cystitis in pregnancy?

At a routine blood check a few weeks back, the midwife noticed that it showed I had a very small UTI. I wasn't feeling any symptoms, but she prescribed a 7-day aniobiotic, which (after much thought and research) I took. In the last few days of taking the antibiotic, I started to feel symptoms! (Feeling the urge to go, constant discomfort in the bladder area, etc.) So this weekend I drank a ton of cranberry juice. It got worse. So I read online about IC and how fruit juices are actually bad if you have IC. So I stopped the juice and symptoms got better for a day. Now they've been back for the past couple days. It's not pain, but general discomfort and it's really frustrating.

I called the midwife and she seemed surprised--"But that antibiotic would have gotten rid of the UTI"--and didn't think it was a UTI anymore. She suggested cranberry juice (at which point I explained that if it's IC, that would have exacerbated the problem). She said I could come in for a urine test if I want to see if it's a UTI, but she doesn't think that's it. But the midwife is an hour away. Also, I've gotten sick this week (horrible sinus cold) and I don't want to drive that far. I just want to rest... but between the cold and the discomfort down there, I'm pretty miserable.

Anyone have any experience with this? If it's IC, it looks like there's nothing I can do? I've been drinking water like crazy, but I'm wondering if anyone has any other ideas. TIA!

[MaerynPearl]

I developed a very severe bladder infection at the tail end of a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection.

It ended up so bad that I felt like I had been kicked in the lower abdomen by a football player. I guess for me... and possibly for you... the antibiotics went to work elsewhere and totally ignored that infection that was brewing.

[huggingmama]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

I developed a very severe bladder infection at the tail end of a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection.

It ended up so bad that I felt like I had been kicked in the lower abdomen by a football player. I guess for me... and possibly for you... the antibiotics went to work elsewhere and totally ignored that infection that was brewing.

Yikes! How did you get rid of it, if I can ask?

[MaerynPearl]

Stronger antibioitics and prescription-strength phenazopyridine for two days to get me through the pain until the antibiotics took care of it.

I was on much less strong antibiotics with the sinus infection, she put me on the strongest amoxicillan she felt comfortable giving me (and I have a crunchy doctor... one that would prefer not to give me any pills if we could help it, but my body is just really quick to catch infections during pregnancy and we have to treat them the best way possible)

You really should get checked for a UTI, you can get strips from walmart to do so if you dont want to drive to the midwife, around here they are right by the yeast infection treatment.

If you leave a UTI untreated it can develop into a kidney infection which can put you and baby both at risk, so treat it while its still somewhat harmless!

[mrsfru]

I've lived w/interstitial cystitis for many years. In my experience, you probably would have discovered long ago that you had it, although many docs who treat women who have chronic pelvic pain miss it. Have you ever been seen for endometriosis or chronic pelvic pain, like vulvodynia or vulvar vestibulitis? If so, it's really possible they missed the IC. It's also possible if you've been going through life not complaining or seeking treatment for having to urinate often, pain w/urination, pain w/sex, frequent "bladder infections", etc. It's certainly possible that someone's symptoms would first show in pregnancy--there's a lot of strain on that bladder during pregnancy. All of my pregnancies have triggered bladder pain for me at different times--w/my first, my doc prescribed Tylenol w/codeine, b/c it was so bad. This is my third viable pregnancy and so far, no problems, but that can certainly change. If it is IC, there are things you can do...but unfortunately, no one's going to officially dx you right now (that's done under general anesthesia through a cystoscopy w/hydrodistension and looking w/a scope for the tell tale signs of damage to the bladder lining). They can do bladder instillations w/certain meds, like Heparin, right now while you are pregnant to help heal the damage, but I think a doc would want a firm dx first. For yourself though, you can lay off the acidic foods and drinks (esp coffee, tea, some juices, and all those flavored waters/beverages made w/citric acid and aspartame--those will set your bladder on fire!!!) Dasani bottled water has a great mineral content that helps buffer the bladder pain and no chlorine to further irritate it. Avoid extra Vit C if you don't need it, and add calcium and magnesium.

Otherwise, it's probably a low grade bladder or kidney infection that's brewing and this is the wrong antibiotic for it. Did she order a culture--one that cultures out over a few days or a week instead of the overnight one? That will help figure out which antibiotic will work. Also, anyone who already is in pain from a bladder infection can have worsened pain from a lot of acidic food or drink, like the cranberry juice.

GL--I really hope it's just a bladder infection!!!

mrsfru

[huggingmama]

Thanks. Can I ask what your IC symptoms were? This feels like I have to pee all the time, even right after I've gone to the bathroom.

Since my NP is 10 min away, I went there for a urine test today instead of the midwife. The initial result showed nothing, but they are going to do a culture... and I won't get the results until early next week. The NP would want the midwife to treat this, and she agreed that the antibiotic should have eliminated it.

One thing she said was that the antibiotic could have caused a yeast infection??? I've never had one, but the cure would be a topical cream, and this doesn't feel topical... it feels like something is going on with my bladder.

Maybe it's just pregnancy discomfort? But I would hate to think I have 6+ more months of this! I don't recall this at all from when I was PG with DS.

[mrsfru]

Originally Posted by huggingmama

Thanks. Can I ask what your IC symptoms were? This feels like I have to pee all the time, even right after I've gone to the bathroom.

Since my NP is 10 min away, I went there for a urine test today instead of the midwife. The initial result showed nothing, but they are going to do a culture... and I won't get the results until early next week. The NP would want the midwife to treat this, and she agreed that the antibiotic should have eliminated it.

One thing she said was that the antibiotic could have caused a yeast infection??? I've never had one, but the cure would be a topical cream, and this doesn't feel topical... it feels like something is going on with my bladder.

Maybe it's just pregnancy discomfort? But I would hate to think I have 6+ more months of this! I don't recall this at all from when I was PG with DS.

My earliest symptoms were general pelvic pain and pain w/sex. Later, I had pain, that goes away while I am urinating, and returns afterwards. So, I'd feel like I had to go, and as long as a little was coming out, the pain was gone. That's pretty standard w/IC. Sharp pains in my bladder at times, a deep burning at others. It just depends.

As for what they are saying...I'm not really buying that the antibiotics "would have" gotten rid of a bladder infection, b/c if they weren't the right antibiotics for that infection, they wouldn't work! Also, sometimes they have to be taken for longer. I do agree that you could have gotten a secondary yeast infection, and those can cause the urethra to be irritated, too.

It's also possible that your urethra is irritated from an infection that's now gone and it will take a few days to heal.

good luck!

mrsfru