OMG - I can't BELIEVE this! ... Ladies only Please!

Aviendha_RJ
Aviendha_RJ Posts: 600 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
So... I have a UTI. :sad: It hit today, REALLY hard & fast, under like, 4 hours. From "hmmm.... that's odd"... to full-scale RED eurine. I went to the Emerg. & I waited an hour to be seen (pretty good even 4 Canada)... & I get tested... sure enough. All results are lit up like a match. I have an infection. Ok... this all makes sense so far... right?

My First Question is... HOW.... and when I ask "HOW", what I really mean is "HOW in this world or any OTHER", does a doctor prescribe you something you are HIGHLY ALLERGIC to? How does this happen? Was he TIRED? That was the EXACT drug that's on my chart. Of course, I didn't read the script, Doctor's handwriting being notoriously bad, so I left. Stupidly. And went to the pharmacy, where I was informed... "uh... Miss? You can't take this." :noway: So I went BACK to the Emerg. for a new script. Took ANOTHER hour because the Doctor that saw me went home for the night. :explode:

New Doctor -> New script -> Back to Pharmacy -> Pharmacist tells me to drink about 4L of water per day to flush the infection out of my system (in other words, twice what I'm used to consuming)... take my pills... that's ok.

The doctor told me to watch for loss of Kidney Function because my infection is apparently rather epic. :sick:

Now, we get to my question for you ladies....

Do I keep working out? How? Can I? I have to make sure to watch for lower back pain. My cardio routine (TurboJam) tends to give me that "good pain" all over... especially in my core & lower back. So.... I put this on hold? I wait the 5 days & restart & eat right & hope for the best? My appetite SUCKS right now because I'm basically filling up on water... so sticking to 1200 kcal in a day won't really be an issue (I don't think).

But for now... because I have to be so careful about my kidneys... do I stick to walking/biking? Avoid weights? This Stinks! Any advice?!

Replies

  • justsummie
    justsummie Posts: 320 Member
    Give your body a chance to rest at least for the first 24-48 hrs. Not fun but worth it I'd think.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    What a terrible experience! I hope you feel better soon! I would rest for sure, if you need to up your calories to maintenance levels to get healing nutrients in you, I suggest it.

    I've never been blessed with that affliction, but my best friend said it was worse than child labor. :(
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    I suggest taking it easy while you recover. Maybe not turbo jam, maybe just a casual walk for an hour or so instead.

    As for the back pain? If your kidneys are acting up, the back is where you will feel it at first. Back pain from kidney trouble is far different than back pain from working out. But I don't really want you to feel either of these pains so stay active casually. Walk, wander the mall, do 10 jumping jacks once an hour or something light.

    Your infection will clear up and you will be set to go again. Don't risk your kidneys for your workouts :(
  • kkauz42
    kkauz42 Posts: 537 Member
    I'm no DR. so this is just my opinion lol. I would definitely drink as much water as possible and it is a good idea to rest. I personally rarely follow the Dr's orders...probably NOT a good thing but when I start feeling better I usually continue my workouts etc.
  • Cadenpet
    Cadenpet Posts: 79
    Cranberry juice too is good. And I would lay off the exercise. Just let your body focus on healing. Take all of your antibiotics and drink that water like there is no tomorrow! Hope you feel better soon
  • newnormal2010
    newnormal2010 Posts: 61
    I'd suggest taking it easy for the weekend, at least. You could call your regular doctor on Monday for more advice. Just remind yourself that damaged kidneys will limit your activity level for far longer than waiting for this UTI to clear. Good luck! :ohwell:
  • sitstaygimmeeakiss
    sitstaygimmeeakiss Posts: 130 Member
    I've had them in the past - they are as painful as *&^% and could be serious if you didn't treat your body right. So - I would stop exercising for a little while. Others have said - let your body heal. Drink plenty - more than you think you need! And, yes, cranberry juice in addition to water is excellent. You can even get concentrated cranberry powder in pill form at nutritional type stores - it's even better than plain cranberry juice, IMO.

    But make sure you keep drinking plenty of water - and rest. Give your body a chance to heal!
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
    1) Anytime you see a doc who is not your primary, DO NOT TRUST they will know your history. even with a chart in front of them. I always check and double check any scripts I get no matter who is dispensing. I have a few allergies, 2 of which are life threatening. I trust NO ONE.

    2) Give your body 24-48hrs rest for the meds to kick in.

    3) Drink as much acidic beverages as you can tolerate. cranberry juice is good but only if you can tolerate the real thing and not that Ocean Spray cocktail crap that is mostly sugar.

    4) Water, water, water
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
    I've had them in the past - they are as painful as *&^% and could be serious if you didn't treat your body right. So - I would stop exercising for a little while. Others have said - let your body heal. Drink plenty - more than you think you need! And, yes, cranberry juice in addition to water is excellent. You can even get concentrated cranberry powder in pill form at nutritional type stores - it's even better than plain cranberry juice, IMO.

    But make sure you keep drinking plenty of water - and rest. Give your body a chance to heal!

    In the states they sell the over the counter under the brand name AZO. Excellent stuff, but will turn your urine a bright orangey red. Seriously it will look like you are peeing watercolors.
  • Pheef52
    Pheef52 Posts: 254 Member
    I use to get these pretty bad when I was in college and was non symptomatic to them so they would always turn into kidney infections (back pain) which I also never paid attention too since I already had a herniated disc that would flair up here and there. I was a Division 1 athlete and the team doc would always just make me sit out a day completely then I could do cardio the next day just no contact. So you would probably be safe after a day or two of rest to do cardio and light weights. stay away from things that would beat the area of your back located to the kidney realm.
  • junipuni
    junipuni Posts: 264 Member
    Just want to ditto the cranberry juice or pills suggestion. Just make sure if you do cranberry juice it is the pure cranberry stuff, not the cranberry cocktail or some mix of cranberry. Personally, I'd opt for the pills.

    That all sounds horrible, what an ordeal! I would definitely rest as much as you can at least for the first day or two. Hope you feel better soon. :)
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    I would wait it out and let my body use its resources to heal the infection without having to battle all the self inflicted muscle repair that would be needed. No sugar, lots and lots of water and rest the first day or two.

    I've used D-Mannose successfully to treat UTI's but nothing as epic as yours is!
  • namrettik
    namrettik Posts: 127
    Having gotten a kidney infection from a UTI before, don't push your luck. That was the worst pain I have ever been in. Drink too much water, take your medicine, avoid as much sugar as you possibly can.

    A rather disgusting trick to help with UTIs is to put about a teaspoon of baking soda in 16 oz of water. It's horrible (very salty and the texture....*shudder*), but whenever I had a UTI sneaking up or already present in the past, it helped a lot and even got rid of a few. If it's too much to swallow (literally), having about the same concentration or more to wipe with in the urethra region on some toilet paper can help, too. If drinking the concoction isn't enough on its own, combine it with the wiping.

    Yeah, TMI and detailed, but I figured you needed the help.
  • Papillon22
    Papillon22 Posts: 1,160 Member
    Sorry you're going through this. I had my first UTI four weeks ago. I kept working out during the treatment, but at that time I was just walking so it was something low impact. I'd say listen to your body. If you feel up to it, go for a walk. If not, give yourself a break.

    I had to take two courses of antibiotics because the first one didn't work :grumble: When I finished the second one, I still had some minor burning so I bought cranberry pills and took them for two weeks straight and they finished the job. I had bought cranberry juice before, but it's full of sugar and much more diluted than the pills.

    Good luck to you. It will pass!
  • Aviendha_RJ
    Aviendha_RJ Posts: 600 Member
    Hey! It's me again... So yeah... this morning is a little better. I picked up some Cranberry Pills, but I haven't worked out yet. It's about 10am & I'm well into a 4L bottle of water. Actually, I may have downed 2L already. :drinker:
  • Aviendha_RJ
    Aviendha_RJ Posts: 600 Member
    Hey! It's me again... So yeah... this morning is a little better. I picked up some Cranberry Pills, but I haven't worked out yet. It's about 10am & I'm well into a 4L bottle of water. Actually, I may have downed 2L already. :drinker:
  • Jujubie
    Jujubie Posts: 130 Member
    Glad to know that you are feeling better. You want to fully get rid of it. You can mix the real cranberry juice with water (1/3 juice and 2/3 water) and that will give some variety for your water intake. You can also mix it with carbonated water.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Even though you're feeling better (yay!), don't work out. I had an asymptomatic UTI a couple years ago that turned into a serious kidney infection, and I was out for 2 weeks! You just can't risk getting dehydrated at all and this infection takes a lot of energy to fight because it can spread so easily.
  • sweebeesmom
    sweebeesmom Posts: 148
    I would cut down on exercise for awhile, a couple weeks maybe.. do light exercise, like walking instead. I got a stomach ulcer about a month ago, and it put me out of commission for at least a week and I didn't feel fully up to doing regular exercise until maybe a week ago. HTH.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    In the states they sell the over the counter under the brand name AZO. Excellent stuff, but will turn your urine a bright orangey red. Seriously it will look like you are peeing watercolors.

    AZO rocks! It doesn't help the infection, and you can't take it before a urinalysis, but it helps with the pain after you've been diagnosed and begun treatment.

    I agree with everyone else. Rest and recover. Your body is burning up extra calories fighting the infection anyway.
  • Aviendha_RJ
    Aviendha_RJ Posts: 600 Member

    AZO rocks! It doesn't help the infection, and you can't take it before a urinalysis, but it helps with the pain after you've been diagnosed and begun treatment.

    I agree with everyone else. Rest and recover. Your body is burning up extra calories fighting the infection anyway.

    I'm in Canada... we don't have AZO. So I decided to start taking some Positive Bacteria (some kind of crazy intense natural stuff) and Cranberry tablets. But I think I'm on my third Litre of water & it's not even 2pm yet!

    But your body burns calories to fight sick? Man... should've taken that biology class in high school... but the disection thing freaked me out. Took Astronomy instead!
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
    I used to get UTI way too often years ago. Then a nurse in an urgent care clinic told me these types of infections feed on sugar and I should cut back on it (made sense because at the time I was having a couple snickers bars every day) and second, always pee after sex (oral etc). If that's too much info, sorry, but haven't had a UTI in 15 years.
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
    I have GI issues that cause me severe pain in my lower abdomen (like doubled over hardly able to walk) and I spent 3 days out of commission earlier this week because of it. I pushed myself too much doing stuff around the house on the 3rd day and almost hurt myself. Exercise isn't worth it if you're going to make yourself worse and make the healing process longer. Might as well just take the time you need to recover.
  • Strive2BLean
    Strive2BLean Posts: 300 Member
    I wouldn't do any exercise until all was clear. It won't hurt to cease activity until you're body is at it's optimal health. Why risk it? I also would have asked the doctor his opinion on this and take it from there. Good luck and take care of yourself.
  • Jenlynphi
    Jenlynphi Posts: 183 Member
    Sorry for all of your trouble. I think a lot of doctors are overworked (especially in the er) and you have to really double check everything. I found that out the hard way. I sometimes have to ask what they prescribed because of the terrible handwriting. . Give your body a few days to heal and recover. I drink a glass of cranberry juice twice a week to prevent UTIs and kidney stones. Make sure that you drink lots of water. Hope you feel better soon.
  • jarrettd
    jarrettd Posts: 872 Member
    I went through something like this about a year ago, except I had 4 UTI's in 6 months. Hit hard and fast, just like you described. The cause ended up being artificial sweeteners. I stopped drinking diet soda, and the cycle of infections stopped. Now I know to drink only one or two diet drinks a day, with plenty of water in between. I never want to go through that again.

    You didn't say what antibiotic you are allergic to...I'm assuming sulfa drugs, like bactrim and septra. I'm highly allergic to those as well, so they give me cipro. I worked and exercised on meds, but I didn't have as much energy. Listen to your body; don't overdo it.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Give yourself a day or 2 days to recover (you'll find you're actually probably feeling quite a bit better tomorrow). Wear only cotton panties, nothing tight fitting, try cranberry pills too.
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    I've had a bladder infection that did the same thing with the pink/red urine. I knew it wasn't my cycle so it freaked me out. Dr's office found out that I have a bad bladder infection.

    After a couple days on the antibiotics you'll feel a ton better. It's more than likely a bit more than just a UTI the often spread to the bladder. It would be far longer to go to kidney but is possible.

    Bactrim is the go to on these infections. I couldn't imagine being allergic. Cipro and other's are quite strong and it would be crummy if you became sensitive to those to where they didn't work if you had more infections. I had an urgent care prescribe me something I clearly stated was an allergy. I didn't take it when I got to the pharmacy and found out the main ingredient was what I'm allergic to. I didn't know then that was what it was but glad I figured it out and didn't just take it. I've had small amounts of it in cold meds and didn't seem to get a reaction that time.
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