Last Friday morning, I had blood literally dripping out of me after urinating. It hurt like hell to pee as well. Sort of came out of the blue!
Of course, it was Good Friday.........called 3 doctors and luckily got in with my urologist who I hadn't seen since 2003.
They worked me in, thank goodness. When I got there, they didn't want me to pee in a cup. Instead, they wanted to cath me to get it straight from the source.
When they cathed me, they were very surprised that I really didn't have the urge to pee, but that I was just hurting like you normally do with a UTI or bladder infection.
They cathed about 700cc of urine! This same doctor has scoped me before and said my bladder was the size of a 9 year old.
At that point, the doctor decided to scope me. OMG, my bladder looked like it had the measles or something! It was COVERED with red spots!
Now the doctor says I have a "hypotonic" bladder and chronic inflammation of the bladder. He put me on macrodantin. The urine culture came back yesterday and it was positive for e. coli.
I've never heard of having e. coli in your bladder. How does this happen, besides the obvious opportunistic location, does this happen?
I go back to see him May 7th, but I do know that he plans to keep me on the macrodantin for about a year.........great.
Anyone else had this? I've had IC and I've had to self-cath for certain periods of time due to problems voiding. I've just never heard of having an e. coli infection in your bladder.
Can it be elsewhere? I'm taking Xifaxin for my gut right now, so that should help balance out my gut at least ------ I hope!
I'm just grossed out. Can I give this to anyone else? Is e. coli contagious somehow? No one else in my family is sick, like if we ate something contaminated.........
Just scratchin' my head on this...........
Thanks for any input! Take care, terri3boys
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
| IP: Logged |
beths
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18864
posted
E coli is one of the common sources of a bladder infection. It is found in your intestinal tract. Often, when you have sex, the bacteria get pushed up into your urethra, multiply and you get either a urinary tract infection, or a bladder infection. Very common from self cathing. Tips to prevent it.. Pee before and after sex Drink a lot of water Always wipe front to back.
Posts: 1276 | From maryland | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged |
cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
very common....it can be an opportunistic infection like you said and if you are on certain abx to treat lyme..often they will kill off other bacteria that are suseptable to that abx you are on and you are left with an overgrowth of the ecoli.
So, it does live in the GI tract , so once this happens it is very easy for it to colonize the urinary tract.
How is your IC? A compromized bladder lining also leaves us open to infection. (i have IC too) I have also had ecoli UTI's while on abx to treat lyme.
Im not a dr but they make an over the counter product called azo...that turns the urine orange and will help with the burning....your dr could also prescribe pyridium, which will do the same thing.
Get rest and remember to keep drinking water to flush everything out.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
CherylSue
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13077
posted
Take D-mannose water dissolved in water faithfully. You'll avoid abx and infections altotegether.
Posts: 1954 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Dear terri3boys, As the others mentioned, E. Coli is the most common cause of a UTI. There is good news, though. Can you drink unsweetened cranberry juice or even better is unsweetened blueberry juice? These juices kill the bacteria. I drank cranberry juice when I got an infection after the idiots at IU Med cathed me and did it wrong while I was up there for testing in 2001.
D Bergy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9984
posted
D-Mannose is the sugar in Cranberries that flush E-Coli from the bladder.
E-Coli sticks to naturally occurring Mannose on the Bladder wall. By drinking the D-Mannose you give the E-Coli other Mannose to stick to, since it does not care where it is at. Then it simply passes out with the urine with the D-Mannose.
You can buy D-Mannose in many health food store.
Dan
Posts: 2919 | From Minnesota | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thank all of you for your feedback! I just never knew that a bladder infection could be from E.Coli!
I always practice all of the "tips" that were suggested, except for drinking unsweetened cranberry or blueberry juice. (I drink nothing but water every single day no matter what, but I AM going to get some of the juice or the D-Mannonse.)
I haven't been on any abx for almost a year for the Lyme, and I didn't start the 10 day round of the Xifaxan until AFTER I had been on the Macrodantin for a couple of days.
Since the Macrodantin was supposed to only work my bladder, I figured I might as well start "mopping" up my gut at the same time with the Xifaxan. (The urologist said it would be fine to take them together.) I had requested the Xifaxan from my gastro doc about a week or so earlier, but I hadn't started taking it yet.
My gut had been giving me some problems, so I had asked to have it on hand earlier. I remembered how quickly that 10 day course of Xifaxan healed my gut up last summer. I was bad shape........
I went from a year of Doxy with about 7 months of Diflucan thrown in there for the Candida overgrowth caused by the Doxy. Then my doctor said it was time to do the "cyst buster" tx for the Lyme.
Man, my stomach was ripped apart within 2 1/2 months while taking very low doses of Tindamax & Zithromax. I couldn't take it anymore and called my doctor to let her know I was STOPPING this abx combo.
I was losing so much weight, was constantly doubled over in pain after eating, and having what I call "gut bomb" colon attacks. She agreed that I should stop.
But it was my GI doc who THEN put me on the Xifaxin for 10 days and then introduced me to a much better probiotic --- VSL#3. I felt better just from that!
I've gotten a bit of a break from the abx, but now some new Lyme bands are popping up IgM. I don't get that. PLUS my viral titres are high for EBV, CMV, HHV-6, etc.
My body is having a party that I didn't send out invitations for!! I don't want to be a guest at this party!!!!!!!!! Ugggggghhhh........
Thanks again for all of your suggestions. You've all helped a lot. Does this EVER end??????????
Take care, terri3boys (and a house full of uninvited bugs)
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Dear terri3boys, I have had those horrible "gut bomb" attacks! I do not have them near like I did now that my gallbladder has been removed, but every now and then I still do. Getting rid of gluten has helped that a lot. I used to have those attacks when I did the Helidac Therapy. They use it to kill H. Pylori (another spirochete) responsible for peptic ulcers, tooth decay, heart disease, and diabetes).
It is very hard on you. Destroying the good microflora with the bad is the trouble with antibiotics. I could not tolerate Tetracyclene or some of the others, so I had to actually create my own combination of Amoxy, Pepto-Bismol, and Flagyl. Taking a Proton-Pump Inhibitor with it like Prevacid is part of it as well. Prevacid is the only one known to destroy H. Pylori.
I have been on antibiotics a lot due to having frequent bouts of Bronchitis. From birth until my late teenage years, I was on an average of two to four courses per year. At the age of 10, I was diagnosed with asthma and was placed on inhaled steroids. I stayed on them until I was in my late teens. At 17, I had numerous ovarian cysts the birth control pills seemed to worsen.
I had no choice but to go on Depo-Provera. I have stayed on it since, due to the pain and anemia caused by the bleeding heavily. To make a long story short, I am a powder keg of yeast. VSL #3 is something a friend of mine had wonderful results with. It certainly is worth a try when you can afford it. You are the host of the party, I am sorry to say!
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic