Confused UTI and IC

[lovetoscrap44]

:hmm: I have been experiencing pain in my vaginal area since June, and some pain in my bladder area. I also have pain during intercourse .I have been on medication for yeast infections and a bacterial infection. In September I drank a large glass of Orange Juice and it set me on fire. I went o the Dr and she said she thought maybe I had IC. I was recommended to go and see a Dr. At Vanderbilt in Nashville. My appointment was Monday. She said she thinks I have IC also. However over the weekend my back started hurting really bad and so did my abdomen. She scheduled to do a test to insert irritants into my bladder to confirm the IC diagnosis. Now today she called and told me that my urine test is positive for UTI. The ones over the summer were all negative. Could this just be a UTI, or if you have IC are you more susceptible to UTIs? I have only had maybe three in my whole life.

[traceann]

Hello and :welcome: to the gang! You have come to the right place for information, support, diet help etc. Everyone is great and super helpful and caring! Here's a couple links for you in case you haven't come across them yourself:

Patient Handbook:
http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/

IC Diet Foods list:
http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/diet.html


I seem to have found that in my lifetime I have had tons of UTI's. I am not sure what that exactly means, but seems like some of us are more prone to them. I have had 2 or 3 since my IC diagnosis, which was a year ago the 19th of this month.

One of my tip offs now is if my lower back is hurting, sometimes though, hard to tell if it's just normal IC aches and pains or if it's an infection. I felt like a goof when I was in the ER this past June with abdominal pains (undiagnosed colitis at the time), and the doc asked me if I had or thought I had a UTI, "Nah" I said. "I have had my fair share and I don't have any of my usual hallmarks for it". Joke was on me, I indeed ended up having one.... ugh. So I guess for us ICers, it's hard to tell sometimes when we have an actual UTI or if it's normal IC troubles to deal with, lol. I keep test strips at home to use as a barometer. If I get a positive result, I call the doc. If I get negative and the discomfort keeps up for a bit, I call the doc, lol. :)

Sorry I couldn't be of too much help, hopefully others will chime in!!!

Hugs!

[vm]

When she instilled the irritants into the bladder - what did she say? Did it indicate IC?

I was very prone to UTIs once my IC started. If the bladder is all inflammed and just "irritated" it can be a little more prone to infection. It's a pain - IC is bad enough, but then a UTI on top is even worse.

Hope you feel better soon! :)

[lovetoscrap44]

I have not had the test yet. I was supposed to go on the 30th and now I have to wait untill the infection clears before they will do it. I have been having problems since June ( IC symptoms and clear unrine tests) and the lower back ache just since late last week. I was suspicious of something feeling different. I guess that was the UTI.


So have a lot of you had UTI's since being diagnosed?

[traceann]

I just wanted to say that by your screen name are you a scrapbooker?? (I didn't think it indicated you liked to fight, lol !!!) We have been having a great time in the Arts & Cratfs boards, you should come check it out. If you are a scrapper, VM is has posted some really great pages she's done!! :)

Hugs!