Anyone know what this means? - Interstitial Cystitis Network Support Forum

pnut · 02-03-2005, 11:21 AM

I got my urine results back and they came back AGAIN with "mixed gram POSITIVE organisms". What the heck is this kind of "bug", and what will work to get rid of it?

Every time I go in this comes back in my urine. I don't think they are giving me the proper antibiotic to kill it.

Can anyone let me know?

I just know if I could get rid of this bacteria, I wouldn't be having this continual problem.

Thank you so much for any ideas/suggestions/answers!

Dee

***Katrina*** · 02-03-2005, 12:58 PM

Well my best guess is that you have more than one bacteria in you. Did they culture you? What have you taken for it in the past? When you take something do they check afterwards to make sure it is completely out of you? Maybe you just need to take the antibiotic longer?? I hope you can figure this out.

pnut · 02-03-2005, 01:04 PM

Hi Katrina

Thanks for responding. Yea, they culture me, but nothing "specific" grows, so they just say I have "Many" bacteria that need to be treated. They have given me amoxicillin, cephalexin, cipro, bactrim, macrodantin, tetracycline, doxycycine, etc. I can't even begin to tell you how many different med's I've tried. I just can't seem to tolerate them, they make me swell or something and then I can't pee hardly at all, then I'm REALLY miserable.

No, they have never had me come back in to see if the bacteria was killed off, I think I will make sure they do next time I get something ( I hope I can tolerate ) and then see. I know I need for this bacteria to get out of my system, it's so scary that I still have it

They keep saying I need a broad spectrum antibotic for this, I have no idea which is the best for this type of bug, do you?

Is it possible that I have a vaginal infection and it's showing up in my urine and they are treating me for the wrong thing? Is this a possibility?

Thanks for listening and responding....I just need something to work, ughhh!

xoxo,
Dee

rhea · 02-03-2005, 01:08 PM

If oral antibiotics are not working for gram positive infections the next line should be Gentamycin. Either IM or IV..They are pesky little bugs that don't like to leave...Good luck and I hope you feel better...(I am not a physician-so you should also talk with your uro about not getting better..)

vm · 02-03-2005, 01:21 PM

Here's a little bit of info I found about gram positive bacteria. It doesn't all make sense to me

(chemistry/biology person I am NOT!) , but here it is:

Quote:

Gram Stain

The most used stain in bacteriology is the Gram stain developed in 1884 by Hans Christian Gram. This procedure is a differential stain method meaning that bacteria will give different results depending on their cell wall chemistry. The Gram stain divides bacteria into two groups based on their reaction to the stain. Gram positive bacteria will be purple after the last step; gram negative bacteria will be red. The size, shape and arrangement of the organisms can also be determined from a stained specimen.

It is believed that the difference that distinguishes Gram positive and gram negative cells is related to the nature of the cell wall. (Read about the bacterial cell wall in your textbook.) The value of knowing the Gram reaction therefore tells something about the chemistry of the cell. In clinical laboratories this information is available very quickly and can help in selecting a drug to fight an infecting organism. For example, penicillin is rarely effective against gram negative bacteria, but often is the drug of choice against gram positive bacteria. (Penicillin must penetrate the bacterial cell wall in order to interfere with cell wall synthesis. The gram negative outer membrane usually prevents entry of penicillin.)

http://biology.fullerton.edu/courses...9/gmstain.html

(Wonder if that's why they don't want us to have used pyridium prior to giving the urine sample - cause it makes our pee orange which would interfere with gram staining???)

Maribeth-rn · 02-04-2005, 10:38 AM

You basically have several types of bacteria growing (which is why it is called mixed). All bacteria respond differently to different antibiotics. It may take some time to come up with the right treatment. Be patient.

Beth

***Katrina*** · 02-04-2005, 08:12 PM

I would doubt a vaginal infection would show up in the urine and you are far from alone in getting the diagnosis of muliple bacteria.

Good luck on figuring this out and getting better!

vm · 02-05-2005, 04:09 AM

But if pyridium turns everything orange and part of the test is a dye (gram stain) wouldn't that change the results of the gram stain? The color of pyridium definitely interferes with the "dipstick" testing of urine where they are often looking for a pink color change.

It doesn't interfere with the culture - I have been on it when my urine has been cultured and the bacteria still grow and they are able to note that.