went to the Doc yesterday

[kloe82]

My back has been pretty sore the past week or so I have tried taking robaxx platinum, tylenol and just plain resting but nothing has worked..... So I made an appointment to go see my Doctor, he says that its our dreaded friend a UTI...... I got really upset because right after the accident in 1995 I had to have my bladder irrigated twice a day and then I was put on antibiotics as a sorta perminent basis! Well I dont know what did it but years later my right kidney went to 5% functioning and I had to have it removed! Thing is I didnt even know it was my kidney it just felt like I had pulled a muscle on my side or something.... Ok so the point of my story is that I was prescribed antibiotics for my UTI its macrobid..... I hate hate having to take pills everyday but I am willing to do it if it is gonna help me I am just afraid that my left kidney is gonna do the same thing, and unfortunately its my only kidney left now!! I asked the doc what were some preventative measures that I could e doing and he said Vitamin C lots of water and to do a urine test once a month!! Blah thats not quite what I wanted to hear but I am not so sure what I was expecting him to say to begin with! So I submitted a urine sample yesterday and he told me to go ahead and start taking the prescription 100mg twice a day and his secretary will let me know the result! I dont want to take pills if I dont have an infection but I dont want it to get worse if I dont get the prescription....... What to do what to do?........ Has anyone really figured out a true preventative for SCI patients I cant believe how many of us SUFFER from UTIs its gotta rank up there as one of the most uncomfortable and painful feelings ever!!
Thanks for reading my post and I appreciate any responses and feedback! =)

[SCI-Nurse]

Unfortunately there is no magic prevention for uti's! If there was, whoever came up with it would certainly be very wealthy to say nothing of the publicity.

The best things you can do are drink plenty of fluids - primarily water and make sure that your bladder is not retaining more than about 400 cc at a time. You don't say what your bladder management program is - but if you are doing reflex voiding I would recommend that you talk to your urologist about other alternatives, such as intermittent cath. That should help to prevent the urine from backing up into your kidney.

As far as taking macrobid prophylactically - I hesitate to recommend or try to dissuade you from it. You need to speak to your physician and have him/her speak to your questions. They know your history and the thought process that they went through to get to this point. Generally, taking something prophylactically is just causing you to have problems with resistance in the future, but again, this may be worth the risk given your history.

Hope that this helps.

CKF