Recurring bladder infections

[Reelok]

Hello, I've been having bladder infections for years now, and for the first time, ive taken anti-biotics without them taking any effect or helping my 'infection' what so ever. I have had a weird veiny, slightly bothering, rash on my upper left thigh,

and i needed to ask

is this linked to any kidney/bladder problems? ive had this bladder infection for 1 month, and the rash for roughly same time, maybe slightly longer

to give some sort of backstory, ive been severly dehydrated since i was 4 years old, and experiencing burning sensations whenever i urinate ever since then. I also had my first infection when i was 3 years old, and prescribed mild syrup antibiotics. And ive been having recurrent UTIs ever since. However they only recently started to do some real damage around 3 years ago

however, my first infection that needed proper medical attention (and was quite serious) around 3 years ago,, when hematuria was clearly present in my urine. Ive been having bladder infections VERY frequently ever since, but this is the worst one ive had in all those 3 years.

Please bare in mind that i am only 14 and despite having this my entire life, i dont have a freaking clue how to treat myself with this. I have called my GP and most likely gonna go for a blood test to make sure its nothin serious but is there anything i can do to help.

(please dont just say 'dRiNk WaTeR' because ive been told that for the past century, and i get it, water helps, )

[StellaA]

Why don't you want to drink more water?

My granddaughter is like this, she knows she should drink more because it's stops her pre irritating her bladder, and when she wets herself it burns her skin and causes sore rashes, but she goes through phases where she just refuses to drink and I don't understand why.

[Reelok in reply to StellaA]

I do. In fact, i force myself everyday to drink. My main problem is im physcially sick if i drink too much at one time,so i take really small sips and if i do force myself, i usually can manage 2 to 3 L per day. But thats only when ive got infections. Outside of my infections, i admit i dont drink as much as i should do. But i usually limit myself because if i do drink that much water perday, i usually need to urinate 8-12 times per day, because it takes more than 1 attempt to fully empty my bladder.

And, outside of quarantine, it's hard for me to manage my time (with school, travelling, shopping, the fact public toilets arent always open or free to use) so i usually avoid going to the bathroom by not drinking enough water when i need to. But during quarantine i can just go when i need to.

Also, at the start of this infection (when it was at its worse with visible blood and a lot of pain) i spent my entire week just drinking water. The only thing that did was get rid of the gross blood, but the infection was STILL there, usually when i drink water, with anti biotics the infection is fully cleared, but for some reason this time, it didnt help as much as the other times ive had infections

[Reelok in reply to StellaA]

also your granddaughter might refuse to drink water to avoid going to the bathroom, because the pain and burning sensation is something nobody wants to go through a second time, but drinking water does relieve the pain after going to the toilet a few more times after drinking a ton of it

[Yaleamanda]

You need to seek medical advice and also request to be referred to a urologist who will be able to carry out further tests.

[Reelok in reply to Yaleamanda]

thank you! and yeah i tried to get all the advice i could, and they agreed to carry out a few tests if these last prescriptions of anti biotics dont help, because theyve prescribed 2 to me already, and none helped at all, tbh

[Yaleamanda in reply to Reelok]

What advice have they given you? I would recommend D-Mannose too, it very good and lots of water, you may not like it but it will help in the long run.

[Reelok in reply to Yaleamanda]

The only advice i was given was to drink a lot of fluid, staying away from certain foods/drinks and looking out for any other symptoms, and i had to pretty much do some research in my own time to treat myself . The GP cant rlly do much until ive finished this last course of anti biotics, and all my mum tells me to do is drink water, which has helped, slightly, but not as much as it did in my previous infections.

[Yaleamanda in reply to Reelok]

there is plenty they could have done, for starters you can be referred to the urologist for further tests, your local continence team. Your Mum needs to push for this and ensure that it happens. Water will help, but they need to establish why the infections are happening. Good luck.

[Reelok in reply to Yaleamanda]

ok thank you! ill definitely bring this up next time im in contact with my gp

[Reelok in reply to Yaleamanda]

oh i dont know if i mentioned this in my post but i have trouble drinking water, the only times i manage 2L per day is when i have infections, but i usually dont drink water. and im not even trying to over exaggerate, but i usually go on around 200 ml of water for 3 days and wont even thirst slightly. The problem with me, im usually sick when i drink too much at one time, so whenever i do force myself to drink, its usually smal sips at a time, and it took me a whole hour just to drink 3/4 of a Litre in one go which was kinda annoying

[Yaleamanda in reply to Reelok]

As long as you are drinking, it doesnt have to all be at once, spread the fluids out evenly throughout the day. You can add squash to the water to add flavour, just make sure it is not acidic, apple and strawberry is good.

[bingbangbong]

Hi there, I can tell you what has helped me. I started getting bladder infections around age 15 and they persisted for about 15 years till I worked out how to treat it myself. I had so many courses of antibiotics and in the end they just stopped working. Initially I found drinking cranberry tea regularly would help for minor flare ups, then the neat cranberry juice with no added sugar or anything (from

a health food store) diluted into water for more serous ones. This isn’t the nicest drink tho, it’s quite bitter. And if you have trouble drinking as it is maybe not the best for you.

Apple cider vinegar “with the mother” diluted into water is brilliant for treatment of flare ups and maintenance dosing, but again it relies on a lot being drunk to flush it away.

So, I think the best treatment that I know of is D-Mannose, you can get it in tablets, which I think would be good for you as you won’t have to drink so much water for it to work. I took tablets and drank the diluted powder version for years. If it was a bad flare up I could be taking 6-8 tablets per day. For maintenance just 1-2 per day. And it is what completely sorted my bladder infections. It’s not cheap though, but there are places online which sell it in bulk for cheaper.

Eventually you should hopefully get to a place where you just take a minimal maintenance dose. And now I don’t need to take anything at all.

There are other natural treatments available from health food shops. A homeopathic remedy called cantharis is one. You could try having a talk with somebody in the store about other available remedies if you have a store nearby you.

My experience was that various GP’s couldn’t help me aside from prescribing more antibiotics. So I decided I had to find my own remedies.

There are certain foods and drinks you should avoid, sugar, caffeine and acidic foods. Alkaline foods are ok though,you could look it up online. Wishing you all the best.

[Reelok in reply to bingbangbong]

Thank you! and yeah ive definitely been doing research about this because its been bothering me recently quite a bit, again ty. Also, yeah the GP cant rlly do any tests unless theyre really concerned about how much damage ive already done to my bladder and/or kidneys,, though they did say if these last perscriptions of anti biotics dont help then theyd agree to carry out a few tests

[bingbangbong in reply to Reelok]

Well good luck, UTI’s are awful! Am here if you need to ask anything x

[Glowflex]

Hi, I feel your pain I’m 37 and have suffered with bad water and kidney infections as long as I can remember, I struggle with many antibiotics too as I have an allergy to penicillin. The water thing is a difficult one , I was the same I never really thought to drink that much unless I had an infection , I tried but the effort faded when I got better .i found an app on my phone to remind me to drink regularly really helped , and carrying bottled water so I always had one with me . Also cranberry extract tablets from Holland and Barrett work as a preventative measure really well, I only get them every few months now instead of every few weeks and I’ve not been hospitalised with an infection since I started taking them. Hope you improve 🤞🏽

[Reelok in reply to Glowflex]

thank you! ill try looking into that

[StellaA]

I never read the part about the rash before, are you changing your pads or knickers if you've had a leak?

I have had problems recently with leaky pads and even bladder leak underwear just not being up to the job and letting the inside of my thighs get damp and sore.

Im getting special large wipes now that are ment for more delicate older skin and prescription cream.

[Reelok in reply to StellaA]

Hello, turns out my rash had nothing to do with my uti at all, and isnt even that serious but i still have this uti,, 6 months and counting. Worst part, my mum still wont let me see me GP. Another problem, i just got tested positive for covid as well, so ill probably have to wait another 2 weeks before i can even ask to make a phone call because i have no idea how these procedures work at all. Anyway, thanks for your help

[Slice]

I posted on your other post and hadn't seen this one. I didn't realize that you weren't able to empty your bladder all the way in one go. Does your doctor know this? They should have referred you to a urologist. This is most likely why you have a chronic UTI. It sounds as if you are retaining urine. I'm guessing on this, this, that it may be making you sick when drinking water. The question is whether your doctor did blood screening on you and has done more with labs on your urine to determine whether you have an infection. Like I said, you need to talk to your mum just to see if she can help you understand why she doesn't want you to call for another visit. This is not something that you need to get into an argument about. It's not about right or wrong, it's just about an understanding. BTW, does she know about your not being empty your bladder in one go? If not, you need to tell her, and you need to see a urologist. The biggest problem you have I think is that you have become resistant to the antibiotics. You say that you were chronically dehydrated at the age of 4, do you know why? That serious infection you say you had about 3 years ago, was it microscopic hematuria (likely only seen in in the microscope, or blood tinged urine? If it was blood tinged, it's very likely that this was not just a UTI but pyelonephritis. This is an infection in the kidneys. At this point, I would sit down and talk with your mother and have her go through all of this history with your urinary system from the beginning of it. Don't let it become confrontational. I don't have any idea of what's going on in her head, but there may be something that's happening that she may be blaming herself about whether or not it is her fault. You are at an age where you might be able to help her. Let her know that all you're trying to do is get the whole picture and history. You have had a lot of medical issues and you are getting to a point where you need to understand clearly what has happened over the years. Eventually, you will be having to make decisions yourself on your health care, whether that is at 16, 18, or what ever. Don't rely pon your memories from the early years. This is where your mom/mum comes in. Also because you have an extensive medical history, I would, with your mum's help get all the medical records that you can, as far back ass you can. Reassure her that you still need her and this is so that when you are on your own, you have these records to refer to. On the down side. You want o do this now just in case, the Lord forgive, that something happens to your mother, you have those records. The longer you wait, the less information you may be able to get depending on how long the records are kept on file. If you are going to sit down for a long talk, you might want to record it at the time and then transcribe it later. Good luck, and I hope nothing comes of the positive Covid test.

[Reelok in reply to Slice]

thank you, ive recovered from the virus and i just had an appointment with my doctor last week

good news: im most likely being referred to a urologist after my next appointment

ive read through it all and yeah i have a few things to say

most of the time when i have UTIs with blood it isnt micro scopic, its clear blood as day.

i wasnt sure at the time if it was a kidney infection since ive taken a lot of blood and urine tests and ultrasounds. They confirmed that it was a bladder infection.

however

since i last replied to anyone on here, this infection still hasnt gone. At the appointment, i did a urine test and it came out negative for a bladder infection but it was still really painful.

also my mum has come accross finally, we've talked about my medical history and things and shes helping me out a lot more now.

finally is it ok if i ask something? For the past couple of months or so a new symptom has been bothering me a lot. It's basically random , long deep pain in my back on the left side just below my ribs. It's usually sudden and it shocks me quite a bit tbh.

Ive noticed something else,, it usually gets a lot worse when im near or on my period, its just the kidney area that aches at the most random times. And im 100% sure its not muscle pain or anything like that. Its just recently been getting worse. I havent told my doctor about this one yet since im not sure if periods are linked to kidneys at all so i didnt want to sound ridiculous or anything.

again, thank you for reading

[Slice in reply to Reelok]

Hi there, good to hear from you again! One thing is for sure, you're going to keep chasing these UTI's until you find out what's going on with the incomplete emptying of your bladder. There are many reasons why this could be happening. You definitely need to see a urologist and have complete urodynamic testing as well as complete imaging of the bladder area. If I remember correctly, you had said something earlier about the incomplete emptying of your bladder and it should have been examine at that time. The problem could be anything from a physical obstruction in the bladder or urethra (most likely partial), to a problem with the muscle tone in your bladder and other things. Don't start freaking out as it won't help. You also need to get to be a pain in the butt with them to find out why it's so hard for you to drink water. I want to mention that, while I don't want you to make yourself sick trying to force yourself to drink, youThe next time you see someone, you need to get an accurate assesment under typical situations whether you are well enough hydrated, or whether the trouble with water intake is also creating borderline adequate hydration levels. Look up the symptoms for dehydration and for heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Learn them and pay attention to them. Summer is coming. It's the time where this can be a real problem, and in your case perhaps even more risky because of your having trouble with water intake. When you start feeling the symptoms of heat exhaustion, act on it! Get in the shade and rest and if possible start taking in fluids, but slowly. One of the things you can also do is try putting a small amount of salt in the water, something like a pinch in a glass. Not acting on it in a timely manner can lead to heat stroke and this can kill you.

So far as the pain in your back, are you also having cramps with the pain? If so, it could be associated with the prostaglandins that are released during your period. Note, this is JUST a guess. I am trying to help, but understand that I am not a medical professional. Hope everything works out for you.

[Reelok in reply to Slice]

also i forgot to mention,, my doctor does know about not being able to empty my bladder in one go. It was actually them that found that out when i went for an ultrasound