Urinary tract infections etc- advice please.

[dizzy864]

For the past three years I've been getting a range of different symptoms which are all getting worse.

I've been suffering with many UTIs over the last three years. They've become more frequent and more severe. They come on incredibly suddenly. My last, three weeks ago on the morning we were due to go to an airport hotel for an early morning flight the following day to Orlando. Less than a month after my previous one. Gp gave me 5 days antibiotics. We should have cancelled the holiday instead we left home 03.30 the following morning, missing out the hotel. I had terrible, painful journey to airport and to Orlando. Antibiotics made me very nauseous and badly upset my stomach. It was a week into our two week holiday before I even began to feel better and was mobile again!!

I have an appointment with the same gp on Friday morning. She wants to investigate the cause of the frequent UTIs. Dipping my urine shows some very minor abnormalities and gp is happy to give me antibiotics. The samples are sent to a lab every time and the result is always normal, no infection present.

I have very dry eyes all of the time. My eyes are really painful. The pain lasts for weeks at a time, gradually getting better but never going away. My vision is always blurred. I find it very difficult to either watch TV or read a book. I think this is causing my constant headaches. I saw an optician 18 months ago. He was very unhelpful, telling me to continue putting drops in my eyes. I have spent a fortune on every kind of eye drops known to man. None give me any relief. I did get new glasses but my vision constantly changes with the dryness of my eyes, which I told the optician. He was not interested.

I have been suffering with frequent and urgent need to urinate on and off for years - the same investigation carried out twice, the last seven or eight years ago, stated that I have an exceptionally small bladder. I know that is not true as on rare occasions I don't have a problem! The rare occasions have become very rare now. I constantly have an upset tummy with varying amounts of pain and discomfort. Sometimes the gripey pains cause me to call out and double over. They are so sudden and so severe.

Three years ago, I lost all hair under my arms, my head and personal hair has really thinned and I lost the outer parts of my eye brows - the right eye brow being much worse.

I have a problem with blood sugar. Two and a half hours after eating, I suddenly become very hungry. Within 15 to 20 minutes, I am starving - headache, irritable and feel I have not eaten for days. It does not matter how much I have previously eaten or what I've eaten. I am starving within three hours of my last meal.

I have a problem eating some breads - but not all. I did wonder if I had developed an intolerance to Gluten but dismissed it as not all breads cause me a problem. I changed to only eating bread I had made and have not had a problem since.

I have gained over a stone and a half in last three and a half years. Hence, I followed a keto diet for 6 and half weeks before going on holiday. This is gluten free. My tummy was very slightly better but not much. I lost 11 and a half pounds. The big difference I noticed was that my blood sugar greatly improved and I was not constantly needing to eat. On holiday, I followed a regular vegetarian diet and my blood sugar problem returned. Keto is too restrictive for me as a vegetarian to stick with permanently.

I have memory problems - I read a book or watch a tv program and a week later I can't remember the plot. I remember only that I've read or watched the program. It's really frustrating. I am only 65!!

I have become increasingly depressed over the past three years. We have had a lot of personal problems and my depression may just be a reaction to them but I'm beginning to think it's more than that.

Just over two years ago, I refused to drive any more. Driving causes me a lot of pain in my knees and thighs - I think due to muscle weakness following many years of undiagnosed Vitamin D deficiency. I ache, sometimes for a couple of days after even a short drive. But I think the main reason, I stopped was I am not able to concentrate. I'm in a kind of mental fog most of the time. I get confused about every day things sometimes. It's really odd.

I have been hypo thyroid for more than 20 years. I have been on the same meds 100mg levo plus 60mg lio for over ten years. I did see a gp about my problems a couple of years ago. Every thing was blamed on my hypo. First lio reduced - made me very ill and put back up. Then levo was reduced - again very ill and put back up. I saw another gp. She increased my levo - I became very hyper, levo was put back down. My last couple of sets of bloods show I am in range. ( previously posted ) I am happy with my meds. I do not believe they should be changed. I do not believe my hypo is to blame.

I have really worked at increasing my vitamin levels. These were last tested 18 months ago and all in range, but not optimum. I take vitamin D and multi B vitamin tablet every day. My iron is lower than I would like but I can't tolerate even gentle iron so only take that for a few days at a time.

My daughter was diagnosed with auto immune disease a couple of years ago following several very severe allergies which hospitalized her a couple of times.

I wondered if I could have an auto immune problem, as I've read it is usually genetic. If so, is my gp likely to test for it? Or more importantly treat it? What investigation is my gp likely to do to find the cause of my UTIs?

I'd be very grateful for any advice or help. I'd really like to get my life back.

[Clarrisa]

Hi, Your recurrent urinary tract problems made me think of my father's. He had interstitial cystitis. He told me that a urine culture & sensitivity (C.& S.) was necessary to test for it (not a standard urinalysis). Your bladder can shrink & lose bladder capacity when it goes untreated. It is considered uncommon in men but not so in women. Has this been ruled out?

[bantam12]

If you haven't had them already you need kidney and bladder scans, you may have stones causing the problem.

I always need at least 2 different antibiotics to clear Uti's and I'm just coming to the end of a 3 month low dose of Trimethoprim which has worked a treat, I saw my urologist last week and he was talking about 2 meds which keep the urine sterile, one is fairly new and is proving very successful. I'm about to start another 3 months of Trimethoprim as the urologist said if it works stay on it 👍

If you can't get anywhere with your GP ask for a referral to Urology.

[adelew]

I started getting UTIs and bladder irritation between infections alongside gaining weight and other hypothyroid symptoms like dizziness. The irritation I get is not urgency or leakage, but I do need to go more often - but the main issue is a spasm-type feeling I can wake up with and which only goes when I pass urine a few times. It's very hard to describe to doctors and of course they don't think it's related to hypothyroidism - maybe it is, maybe it isn't (but they don't even want to admit I'm hypo anyway!) - but it's between infections.

I've had bladder ultrasound and cystoscopy - nothing unusual found.

If I were you I'd push to see a urologist and have the above tests done at the very least. The relief of knowing they've looked inside and found nothing is the only thing that keeps me sane during a bad attack, and it's worth it for that alone.

Best of luck to you.

[thyroidquest]

Your dry eyes could be due to Sjogrens syndrome..you should discuss this with your gp. It is an autoimmune condition and there are several treatment options for your eyes. It can cause dryness 'downstairs' also which could be predisposing you to recurrent UTI's. I find HRT helps these dryness issues and interestingly, topical Testosterone gel (a small dose) might help Sjogrens symptoms according to several scholarly articles I found on the internet. Good luck!

[dizzy864]

Hi, thank you all so much for taking the time to reply. I have not had any tests done for the past eight or so years. I was fed up with being told that I had a small bladder and must learn to live with it. I gave up with trying to get a resolution and I've suffered for years.

As expected, the problems have not gone away, they've got worse.

I'm inclined to think that I am getting more than just a bladder infection. I have such a wide range of symptoms. As well as the quite long list that I mentioned, I have numerous other less bothersome symptoms.

I'm grateful for all your suggestions, it gives me a lot to talk about with the doctor tomorrow. I just hope she will listen!!

[dizzy864]

I have just seen my GP. She thinks that I may not actually be getting UTIs. She thinks that I have been suffering with inflammation of my stomach lining, which is flaring up from time to time causing the appearance of UTIs. She said that antibiotics also contain an anti inflammatory element and that is why I appear to get better after taking antibiotics.

I have got to have a full blood work out - booked for next Thursday. This will include a full thyroid check including thyroid anti bodies at my request as well as kidney and liver function.

She is going to refer me to a Urologist. This is a three to four month wait on the NHS. As soon as I have my blood results, I am going to see someone privately, if that is an option. I don't want to suffer for another three or four months.

She also said I should see a local optician, who she said would be able to carry out more detailed tests than the optician that I saw previously. I went to make an appointment this morning. I was very surprised to be told I would have to pay a fee of £73 for the examination. I said I just wanted to see someone on the NHS and talk to them about my problem. I made an appointment for that. I've just had a phone call from them telling me that the NHS appointment would only be a sight test - which I don't want. The £73 would look at my dry eyes specifically.

As I have a wide range of symptoms and believe my dry eyes are caused by some underlying health condition, I cancelled the appointment. My husband thinks I should have gone anyway and paid the £73. I can't see what it would achieve. The optician is not qualified or able to look at my health issues only the state of my eyes at the time of the examination. I already know they are very dry and it's causing me problems. This was also confirmed by the optician I saw eighteen months ago.

So much for our NHS!!!