More than you wanted to know about the last 48 hours.
October 23, 2007Well, the child recovered from his fever in time to spend the weekend at my in-laws, as we had planned. Scott and I had a great weekend, and because of this, on Sunday night, the Lord chose to strike me down with yet another bladder infection. Yea, he didst render me insensible with pain, such was his wrath, that we should dare enjoy each other's company without a child mewling and tugging at our belt loops.
It began at midnight on Sunday, when I thought, hmm, what's that mild twinge in my lower abdomen? I then made the mistake of going to the bathroom, instead of throwing myself out the window. The less said about what happened in the bathroom, the better, but I will say that I have never experienced pain like that; I would rather have given birth through my urethra, and I'm sorry I just wrote that but there it is. Do you want me to delete it? Too late! Already published!
We spent much of Sunday-into-Monday in the emergency room—and it was the cutest little emergency room you ever did see. So wee! So not spattered with blood and fear! Until I showed up! Although there was only one other guy there, some guy with a cough, CRY ME A RIVER, the ER staff still decided to make us wait for hours, or what seemed like hours. I think I heard music coming from the triage room. They couldn't hear my moaning and weeping over the music and the clog dancing—I bet there was clog dancing—or maybe they could, and it amused them. If they could have siphoned my tears into their cocktails, they probably would have. The devils!
Finally the doctor took a break from his carousing to see me, and declared that instead of giving me the medication that works for bladder infections, he would give me the medication that does not work. I thought this was an interesting strategy, but maybe one that would result in pain, instead of not-pain. He didn't seem to mind that idea. I tried to argue my point, but he had already had enough of me. He was done the moment he entered the room and asked me what was wrong, and I had the temerity to observe that I had a bladder infection. How dare I diagnose myself!
I wasn't even going to write about this. I sat down this morning and thought, "Don't write about your stupid bladder, Alice, no one wants to hear about it." But my hands keep on typing it out. I can't stop them. Anyway, the drugs didn't work, I wept and clawed at myself, the pain, oh the pain, I went to my doctor, he gave me the drugs that worked, I slept the rest of the day, my son came home and I kissed him all over his sweet head, and here I am. The sun is shining, and I have the ability to stand upright. It's a good day.
Reader Comments (65)
And I agree - nothing makes me more angry than knowing what is wrong with me and a doctor not believing me. Condescending bastards.
Sorry, I'm all angry on your behalf now!
Then I saw a urologist who recommended that I go on antibiotics for (I think it was) three months straight. This would break the cycle, or so he said. And god almighty, it worked.
Now I get them maybe once a year and the pain is wee.
Amazing.
Oh yeah, the cranberry juice thing is real but you have to drink the real stuff, which is bitter and nasty. Ocean Spray cranberry juice doesn't cut it.
I, myself, almost died from Macrobid. V. allergic. I'm wondering what you had.
So don't want to kill me, eh? What they told me is this: There is an over the counter pain medication specifically for UTIs. So next time you are in the middle of a vacation, you can gimp down to the local pharmacy, get some pain relief, and then see your regular doctor the next day.
I don't know the market brand, but assuming you hobble in, grabbing your crotch and rolling your eyes and shivering, they'll be able to find it for you.
Sorry about your weekend.
But I second the "pee right after" advice -- it helps a ton. And drink more water all the time. And I can't use er, any sort of spermacide -- it changes the pH down there (to kill the sperm) but it also makes it WAY more hospitable to the icky things that cause UTIs. (Learned that from the funny lab near my office that investigated mucus. Seriously an entire lab devoted to the study of mucus. Cervical mucus was a favorite of theirs. They were weird at parties.)
Up until about 5 years ago, I was (incorrectly) diagnosed with chronic UTIs. Then I found a great gynecologist who suspected that what I was dealing with wasn't UTIs or bladder infections, but IC. This is completely different that an infection, and needs to be treated with different medication (Elmiron).
Also, Urelle is a GREAT GREAT! prescription urinary pain reliever. I think it even has anti-bacterial properties if there is bacteria in your urine. It also makes your pee a pretty blue color instead of that scary orange! :)
That standing order will ultimately save you many hours such as the ones you just described.
You can also buy a bottle of little test strips that you dunk in your pee to tell you how bad your infection is. At the very least, doctors are impressed when you can tell them the amount of leukocytes in your pee.
Annoying advice from a stranger: I drink cranberry juice every day just in hopes of warding off any impending infections. I also drink more water than most and avoid taking baths with bubbles or salts as that has been known to trigger them, in addition to other recreational activities.
Hope you are fully recovered.
That sounds terrible, honey! Glad to hear you are feeling better.
I had a similar weekend - sub out bladder infection and insert raging, out-of-control, ear infection that ended up feeling a bit like someone lodged a pick ax in my skull.
It was a real weekend killer complete with doctors, clinics, some wailing on the floor and the removal of gnarly, unspeakable things from my ear with an ENT instrument of torture so long and sinister that I nearly fainted straight away. In the end, it actually helped alleviate the pain quite a bit.
But I so appreciate your hilarious (albeit frank) spin on pain and disease! You definately painted the picture. You rock, sister!
Thanks.