Urine infections

Hi, I know a lot if you post a lot about urine infections but its not something I’ve ever suffered from. So can someone help me please. A couple of months ago I went to see my gp because I had a very sore stomach, sore when I moved and very sore to touch but I wasn’t ill at all. My gp wasn’t sure what it was but said it could be a urine infections but it wasn’t the typical area of pain for a urine infection. I produced a sample which showed a high level of white blood cells that would indicate an infection so gp gave me some antibiotics. Finished antibiotics, stomach was no better so guess that wasn’t the cause of the stomach pain. A couple of weeks later the stomach was still very sore but slightly improved so I went back to gp, took another sample, which this time was clear. Forget about the stomach pain for now, I’ll post bout that another time. It finally got better anyway. So, my question is, how do you know if you have a urine infection, since I had one with no symptoms, there was nothing to indicate to me i had a urine infection, if my stomach hadn’t been sore, we would never have tested urine, it was just a coincidence I was looking for the cause of another problem. So, now I wonder if I often have a high white blood cell count and have an infection and it goes untreated. Would this be dangerous and just how would I know if I wasn’t ill, also would an infection like that clear itself without treatment. Maybe I should go back an ask gp but since I’m not ill it seems a bit of a waste, it’s just something I’m thinking about now. Thanks. Cheryl:-)

hi cheryl

i’ve been plagued with UTIs recently. started with cystitis which i remember from my teens. not nice burns when you wee.

got trimethoprim and it cleared up but only for one day. i seem to have a permanent UTI and its driving me nuts.

i’m on a stronger antibiotic but still no luck. my worse symptom was one morning when i was feeling well, my hands started shaking like i had parkinsons. i wasnt cold but took family’s advice and went to bed. 12 hours later hubby came up with scrambled eggs on toast because i hadnt eaten anything. i shook my head but he insisted i try and sat down to watch me eat. i had one mouthful and threw up.

other symptoms are feeling that youre losing your mind, talking nonsense and unclear speech.

my late mother in law was tested for alzheimers but it turned out to be a bladder infection.

get back to your gp cheryl. you have a chronic condition called ms and UTIs can bring on a relapse

i’ve been to see the bladder nurse who said i need to self catheterise. i managed this for a while but now i can no longer do it.

my gp said self cath may be causing the UTIs.

aarggh!

take care hun

carole x

I believe you can buy urine testing strips that are used by GPs.

Hi Cheryl I know it can happen that you can have a UTI without symptoms but I can’t imagine that will always be the case. It causes me to feel very ill, headaches,nausea, aching joints, urgent need to wee frequently and a temperature. Coincidentally though today I noticed my urine was a horrible smell (another sign of infection). I also self- catheterise. I am not really having any other symptoms though atm. So I phoned the surgery and spoke to a nurse who has got a ‘just-in-case’ prescription for me. If I start to feel bad I will take the antibiotics as I go downhill very fast once the UTI takes hold. Anyway, another sign of a UTI can be that your MS symptoms seem a lot worse suddenly. If you notice any of the above - please see the GP as it may well be a UTI. They are horrible - one of the worst parts of having MS IMO. Hope they stay away! Teresa xx