Dr says UTI I'm not sure...any advice?

Hi,

It started last night when I was woken up at about 4pm with INTENSE pain on my left hand side on my back where my kidneys are. It was very painful I had to breath through it and it lasted about 5-6 minutes before easing. By 11.30 am today it had happened at least 8 times and was extremely painful. I am not weeing more than normal nor does it hurt when I do, I have had UTI's in the past and this feels nothing like it.
DH took me to the Drs at about 12 and she said there was protein and white cells in my urine, and has put me on Antibiotics and has given me Paracetamol for pain relief.
She said that my experience with this UTI may be different this time due to being pregnant. This afternoon the pains started to spread across my lower back to my right hand side kidney but the paracetamol seems to keep the edge off as long as I take it 4 hourly.
I have spoken to my midwife who said to try the antibiotics and call her if it gets worse, the Dr also said to go to the hospital if it gets any worse which I will do but I just wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Cheers Missy

Do not want to worry you but I was told the same thing and I was in labour.. I was 23wks.. Go to the hospital and DON"T let them fob you off.. Better to be safe than sorry.. All the best

I had a UTI while pregnant with DS. I think I had back pain (isn't that bad that I can't remember that far back!) I did not have the stinging sensation (which is why I initially thought it wasn't a UTI) but everytime I needed to wee, I felt like I needed to push like I was in labour.
I couldn't get onto my OB, so went to the GP (had been a few days already) who did the urine test and put me on Amoxil and told me to get some Ural from the chemist. The Ural was disgusting stuff and made me feel dizzy, so I only had the one drink. I switched back to drinking the cranberry juice instead.

Hope you are feeling better soon Missy, and if you are concerned, maybe give your midwife a call again.

Nic

I had an Asymptomatic UTI with DD1 at 34 weeks. It caused a threatened prem labour. I would stick with ABs cos I didnt even have the constant need to pee that you normally do. I had to do a 24 hour urine collection to check my protein levels after the ABs were finished.

I have had a UTI this pregnancy. Dr found protein and something else in urine and then asked if I had any pain in the back and when I said yes and showed him where (exactly where you describe only not just on the left) he said it was a UTI. After antibiotics and an increase in how much water I drank it was gone. He also said my nausea was more then likely from the UTI and he was right as soon as the antibiotics kicked in the nausea pretty much went away.

If your really worried then go and see your midwife but I would give the antibiotics time to work.

Could it be a kidney issue ?

My niece suffered with kidney problems through all her pregnancies.

Just a thought. Maybe a second opinion might help ?

Take care.
xxx

Missy,

I had a UTI a few years back - not pg at the time. But golly the back pain was the worst. When I went in to hospt I couldnt walk upright. Apparently the UTI had progressed to my kidneys and they were inflamed. AB's did the job. From memory I had a normal progression of UTI - ie felt some pain with peeing but then it just jumped up a gear!

If you get any other symtoms like the runs, vomitting, restless or (obviously) regular cramping I would just go into hospt and get a re-assesment done. Just in case.

Good luck and I hope you are far more comfortable tomorrow.

Hi Missya,

Hope you are feeling better by today. A very similar thing happened to a freind of mine at about the same point in her pregnancy - turned out she had a kidney stone. She managed to pass it (with much pain!) but didn't end up needing antibiotics - can you get a kidney ultrasound to check for stones? Kidney problems and UTIs seem to be quite common in pregnancy. Cranberry juice does help stop the bugs from sticking but you have to also drink heaps fo water to flush them out as well. You also need such an enormous quantities of cranberry juice for a therapeutic effect that it's actually cheaper and more effective to get the tablet from from your health store or chemist (Microgenics is a good strong brand that's not too pricey). Once you've got rid of the infection, daily cranberry juice as a drink is sufficient to keep it at bay (plus it tastes yummy!).

Just my 2 cents worth, I had a kidney infection that came completely out of the blue and I never had any urinary type symtpoms. I was treated with anti-biotics. I wasn't pg at the time, but just thought you'd like to know that it's possible to have an infection of the urinary tract (which includes the kidneys I believe) without the "urinary" bit.

But if you're not confident, just get another opinion.

Hiya,
Thanks so much for all the replies, I appreciate it. The massive pain has gone today leaving me like I've been hit in the back by a truck but I can cope with that as long as the big pains don't return.

Thanks agian for the advice.
Cheers Missy

Glad to hear you're feeling better! :)

Missy, Just wondering how you are feeling now? Hopefully much better :)

Hi,

Feeling completely wiped out, and still fee like I've been slammed in the back by a truck but it is better.
I went to my own Dr yesterday just to check I should still be feeling like this and she was confused because the wee sample I did last sunday didn't grow a culture as she would expect it too if it was a UTI.
She has given me a script for more antibiotics in case I need them over the weekend (but I'd rather not use it) and she did another urine test and blood test so it's a wait and see game.

Thanks so much for your concern I appreciate it, it seems like one thing after another for this pregnancy and as I have no friends who are going through pregnancy at the moment I feel quite isolated and there is only so much Hubby wants to hear ;).

Thanks again
Cheers Missy

Best of luck missya, have you thought about taking a cranberry suppliment as well? won't do you or the baby any harm and it may assist in keeping those nasty UTI's away.

Nae x

Hiya Nae,

Thanks for that! yep I will getting some tomorrow, it's worth trying anything.

Cheers Missy

Missy - i had an asymptomatic UTI early in pregnancy (i think about 18 weeks) and the culture didn't grow as what happened with you. i had white blood cells in my urine and was actually getting pain in around both my kidney and my liver

i have done a lot of study on microbiology and i don't doubt that i had an infection even though the specimen culture didn't grow - basically, when you're pregnant, you have heaps more cervical mucus and that mucus can actually prevent the bacteria surviving in the wee sample to get to the lab! if you're still having pain, get it checked for sure - it may be that you HAD a UTI that has been treated by the Ab's and the pain you're now feeling cos simply be related to the way your baby is laying (mine appears to have moved posterior today and OMG it hurts!)

keep up the water (lots of), use the cranberry juice (with no sugar added i think you need) or have some ural - i dont find it gross (i use the normal one, not cranberry one) - and once it's all cleared up, take the ural every couple of days to stay on top of keeping your kidneys flushed!

hope you get some relief soon

Cheers for that B Girl, I hope the pain was nothing to do with the way the baby was laying because I don't want that pain again! At its peak it was up there with child birth!!
How long did it take for things to settle down completely?

Cheers Missy

i was at the doctor two weeks after the initial diagnosis and was pretty much ok by then. the pain for the baby on my spine is getting progressively worse during the day. think i might have to have a very serious talk with her later!!