UTI or IC? If symptoms of IC are always there.

[futurehope]

I always seem to have symptoms of IC. Burning on urination. Dull burning pain over bladder. It's so common for me to have symptoms that I wonder how one is to know that if a UTI has entered the mix?

Last month, I started experiencing worsening back pain, feeling extremely tired, and I became sicker and sicker to the point of having a low-grade fever. At that extreme point, I finally knew that I had an infection.

I hate to wait to be that sick before I know I need an antibiotic - or to see a physician.

Any ideas?

[Janie Miranda]

futurehope. Sorry to hear you have been feeling so bad. Hope your UTI is cleared up.
What I do is buy some of those UTI test strips and always keep some on hand. I think you can buy them at this site and you can get them at pharmacies like walgreens. It has given me some peace of mind to be able to test at home.

[mela414]

The same thing happened to me. I was feeling pain and just thought it was IC pain and had to live with it. I spent the week on the couch in the evenings with a hot water bottle and drinking marshmallow root tea. Saturday night was spent home dealing with the pain. I was scrutinizing everything I ate and drank. By sunday the pain was terrible. I couldn't sleep but pulled myself out of bed to go to the office for a few hours. I happened to call my allergy dr for some test results that he had done 12 days before. I didn't remember that he had done a urinalysis. anway, he gets on the phone and says "you have a Uti....didn't anyone call you last week???" ...duhhhhhhhhhhhhh......... no....no one called. So, now here I am on antibiotics 2 weeks after the urinalysis when the symptoms and infection just got worse. I guess there has to be a way for us to keep on top of things better without always assuming it is a flare. There have been times that there's no question it's an infection....like when you can barely keep your knees from shaking when you have to go and it burns like crazy when it comes out but......then there are times when you don't get that drastic symptom and are not quite sure what is going on. Maybe we should ask our drs to give us prescriptions for urinalysis to keep on hand so that we can take it to the lab when we have our suspicions. I sometimes use the over the counter ones but don't always find them to be accurate.
Hope you feel better now that you know what you have and are able to treat it.:pray:

[Dixiefireball]

I always seem to have a real uti so its easy for me to figure it out now, but before this is how I was able to tell. My urine would get a fowl Oder to it. My urine would have those white floaty things in it, it would be darker in color, the pain would be worse. If it got really bad before i took action i would start running a fever. Normally more noticeable at night and first thing in the mornings.
I would also feel more tried and weak. You can buy those test kits such as AZO from just about any where to test yourself at home before making an appt with a Dr. however some bacteria doesn't pick up on those test strips, but I believe my uro told me its only a few. the more common ones pick up.

Hope this helps and I hope and pray you feel better soon.
please get to a Dr. to get on some anti, before this UTI goes up into the kidneys if it goes to the kidney area OH BOY!!

Rhonda

[futurehope]

My urologist has already seen me twice and treated me with two rounds of antibiotics. The last visit, about a week and a half ago, he checked my urine again and gave me the "all clear".

Unfortunately, a new prescription I've begun about 10 days ago seems to be a bladder irritant for me, but I need the med.

I just get frustrated because I seem to always be involved with one or another medical issue and it's nice sometimes (rarely) to not have to deal, ya know?

[futurehope]

Hopefully, you'll see my signature.

[Dixiefireball]

Is your Dr sending your urine off to a lab to make sure your on the right anti.? If the Dr. is just guessing at the anti. he is giving you it may only be covering up the system or keeping them at bay for a bit. after your off the anti for three days to a week the infection will show back up or the pain come back, or both? If this is happening you wasn't on the right anti. The anti. you where taking just kept the infection from getting wrose. It wasn't getting any better it was just keeping it at bay. the infection was still in the system. Until you get the right anti. the baterica will not go away it will keep coming back again and again until the right anti is giving and kill's the infection.

Then again you may be like me (God I pray not!) I keep getting UTI's over and over at least once a month. No matter what meds I've been on even IV anti. still the infections keep repeating it-self. I even take a low dose of anti at night to try to ward off these infection but yet my body finds a way around this low dose of anti. and another infection comes back. My uro has sent me and even spoken with other Dr's who sp. in infections disease, but still nothing has seem to work. So we just have to keep fighting the battle until we run up on something that will work. I'm lucky my uro works with me, or should I say we work together. he believes in me and I do him. Our team work together in fighting this disease makes a huge differences in my recovery. He has been my uro for six years.
I'm not saying this is your case what so ever! Please don't think that. I'm just speaking from my life with this disease and real UTI I keep getting.

I'm not saying your Dr. didn't send your urine to a lab either because I don't know that, but if he/she didn't this could be the cause of the repeat of infections.

Hope some of my information can help you in some way.
Good luck hon and best wishes. I really feel for you and do understand how much those real UTI's can hurt exp. with this IC diease.
sending you hugs and prayers.
Rhonda

[mela414]

Futurehope, I know what you mean about having a day to not worry about something. I feel that I am always sick with one thing or another and am always just trying to get through something. Things just don't come easy in the health department. ....something that most take for granted. Hang in there. I hope you feel better soon.