When is it ER time for UTI?

[Denied2016]

Holidays messed up the schedule, but have all the typical symptoms. Bad looking, smelling urine. Elevated pulse and blood pressure. Temp is normal but just feel ?off?. Sometimes really off, but ibuprofen takes the edge away where I can kind of relax.

Submitted a c&s on Friday, and the results are in, but guess what? My doctors closed...no one can reach him. LabCorp won?t give me the skinny, only my doctor. Chances are he won?t be in tomorrow either...so should I wait til I?m puking and changing color, or should I just go now? Is there a middle ground where I can be safe and wait til Thursday? I know it?s subjective, but would appreciate any help from experience. Cheers and happy new year, everyone

[Rustyjames]

You shouldn't mess around with a UTI. My blood pressure usually drops when I have one, that's when I go and get treated.

[Denied2016]

Thx, man. I’ve been messing around with it for a couple weeks

[pfcs49]

I've been able to stockpile a little Cipro. When I think I have a UTI, as soon as I have a specimen, I start taking the Cipro which has always relieved the symptoms and is often what the doc ends up ordering. I have a new primary care guy and I haven't broached the topic, but my previous doc would give me a prophylactic script for it if I asked. I'm pretty sure my current guy would oblige as well.
Good luck!

PS: if you're nearby, I could give you some Cipro.

[pete4sake]

Same here stock pile the Cipro if you can I swear those UTI bugs know when the long weekends and Holidays are

[Denied2016]

Funny you guys say that, cause I already did a 7 day round of cipro. I started a week before Christmas. It settled it down completely for a week. Clean color, smell etc...not as many physical symptoms. But I had to be off it for 3 days (according to my primary) for a c&s. So I did...and it came back with a vengeance. Now I’m officially a week off of the cipro. And my doctor took a few days off missing the culture result. Maybe I’m weird, but if I was a doctor with peoples health in my hands, I’d at least check my messages on days off. He can write the prescription while he’s making breakfast right? Anyways...

Im not dying yet, obviously. But if I feel physically worse, and it’s compounding, I’m gonna have to go. Thanks tho, you guys, and happy new year. Cool gesture of offering, pfcs, but I’m in Cali. Haha...you’d need 10 tanks of gas and a valve adjustment to drop that off chrs

[pfcs49]

Same here stock pile the Cipro if you can I swear those UTI bugs know when the long weekends and Holidays are

Mine certainly know when Friday night comes!

[Rustyjames]

.....Maybe I’m weird, but if I was a doctor with peoples health in my hands, I’d at least check my messages on days off. He can write the prescription.....

I know what you mean, or he could just make a phone call to your pharmacy.

[August West]

I have discussed this with my doctor. He agrees to keep nitrofurantoin on hand and start it whenever I get symptoms. To take it one step further, he agrees that I should take them only to rid the symptoms and then stop. I know this is against everything you have heard about taking the full course. But we are trying to nip it in the bud and treat symptoms vs a full blown UTI.

I know you were asking about a full blown UTI. But don't let it get that far. I used to do that. I would try to shake it off. Sometimes it would work. But when it didn't work, I would be miserable for days or even weeks.

Today, as soon as I get strong muscle spasms (my first symptom of a UTI) I take just one 100 mg nitrofurantoin pill and I am usually fine that same day. If not, I take one more the next day and I am fine. It hasn't failed me yet. It's so much better this way.

By the way, Cipro is the big gun. I have some on hand. But I save it as a last resort. If the nitrofurantoin doesn't work, I will submit a sample for sensitivities. Then, I will take Cipro while waiting for the results.

You really don't want to pulling out the big guns when a smaller one will work. Cipro can damage your joints. That may have contributed to my shoulder problems. My doctor would prescribe a lot of Cipro to keep on hand (a different doctor, in case you're thinking this guy is going overboard). I used to take too much, IMO. I have heard of people ruining their joints with just one dose. Be careful.

[Smashms]

i would call the on call doc as there has to be oe on call for the practice and see if they can look at the results, but if not i would't mess around with it too much longer as you can become septic. Take it from someone who did become septic from a UTI MSSA infection. not pretty i will tell you i was in ICU for 3 days till i stabilized then on a regular floor another week and a half getting iv antibiotics. when i was first in the ER they couldn't get my blood pressure more than 50/30.

[PN]

I was in the ER on December 24. I wanted my doctor to write a prescription to Labcor for a urine sample. I think his office was closed. Labcor was closed on Tuesday. I decided to go to Urgent Care, but they closed early. I knew I needed antibiotics. My last option, to go to the hospital ER. I was out in 2 1/2 hours with a prescription for Bactrim. My numbers got better before I left the ER.

[Tetracyclone]

I agree with smashms that if there is not a doc on call covering your regular doctor there is something deeply wrong with his practice.

Cipro gave me kidney disease in 2015 and I was weak and sick for 4 months. It is more dangerous for older people.

If Cipro did not clear the infection in 7 days you are in a world of trouble. The next level of intervention may be intravenous antibiotics. Good luck because it sounds like you need it.

[Denied2016]

Ya, it cleared it quickly while I was on it, but it came back immediately. Luckily today my body feels a bit more settled. Should be on the right one soon, and IVs if necessary. There’s a laundry list of things wrong with my primary, unfortunately...but going through the process of changing it. My insurance couldn’t believe how many things he’s missed or neglected. I take my blame for procrastinating on the holidays, but it definitely shouldn’t have taken this long to get a prescription. IEHP sounded like they were gonna smack him up. Thanks for the wishes...I’ll be better soon, promise

[Rustyjames]

I went to an urgent care once for a UTI and they prescribed Cipro, and about a week later they called and told me that I needed to switch to another antibiotic because the Bug wasn't sensitive to the Cipro.

[Denied2016]

Definitely, they give you what kills it best. Luckily I haven’t had any real uti issues in years. I know some people deal with it monthly