UTI Question

[Lexxtech18]

About a week ago I went to the ER with abdominal pain. I haven't urinated in like... months, maybe close to a year. But the day before I went to ER, I urinated, just a little and it BURNED like hell. Anyway, so they did a straight cath at the ER and when the results came back it was a little strange.

I had +3 bacteria but no growth on the culture. Also I had a pretty high WBC in the urine 50-80 (blood WBC was normal.) So I'm wondering if this is normal for a person with renal disease? My PCP (the quack) was stumped and couldn't tell me why I had a +3 bacteria but no growth, You'd think with it being a straight cath there wouldn't be any or little contamination. So.. wth? And the high WBCs has me kind of worried. The resident put me on Cipro anyway and that seems to be clearing up the pain and... idk if I ever actually had a UTI or something more.

You'd think I'd know these things, working in a lab.

[billybags]

Lexxtech18, Like you my husband who is on APD machine had not peed for over a year and then 4 months ago started peeing ,not pee but white stuff, our GP said it was an IT U and gave him tablets. To cut a long story short he had to have a , don't  laugh a stick up his d*** in urology. Apparently when you pee you get rid of all the bugs and bits of crap from your bladder,  but when you don't they all accumulate there. He had to have a jet wash which cleaned it all out and since then he has been OK in fact he has started to pee abit. Keep your eye on it and ask to go see a urologist if it does not clear up.

[Lexxtech18]

Oh that does not sound pleasant!  But it makes sense that if it's just sitting in there with no place to go it will start to grow ickiness. I'm just worried about the WBC being so high. I talked to some co-workers in the lab/hospital and they couldn't figure it out. But I'm hoping it's just a "no-kidneys thing" and be done with it! Lol

[gothiclovemonkey]

i still pee a tiny bit...about a cup a day (gotta love those annual collections haha)  but almost every single time i go to the er, they say my wbc are elevated... usually no symptoms of anything either.

[Lexxtech18]

So.. sounds like it's pretty common for renal pts to have high WBC in urine. I'll have to ask my neph next time I see him. Which isn't often. But that's what it sounding like the more I research it.

[SteveK87]

The last 3 hospital visits Ashley has had was due to UTIs.  Very common in those who do not urinate due to ESRD.  The thing that sucks is you will not really know you have one until you start getting all the physical symptoms such as pains, nausea, etc.  Antibiotics for I believe 10 days usually clears it up and you're back in action.  Every time she gets them we think a cold or flu because the symptoms seem very similar for her.  But when it doesn't clear up after a week or so then we usually go to the hospital.

[cariad]

I have a suggestion to treat UTIs, but I have no idea if it would work for those in end-stage renal failure. I have found that absolutely nothing works as well as the supplement d-mannose to treat cystitis virtually instantly. d-mannose is the name of a sugar that is found in cranberries, and studies that I read indicated that cranberries are effective primarily because they carry this compound. I am a dyed-in-the-wool sceptic, and d-mannose has cleared what I believe were UTIs within hours of taking the capsules.

Because of how it works, I don't know if it would be efficacious for those who no longer urinate. Also, being a sugar, diabetics should be especially cautious and check with their doctors before consuming.

[Lexxtech18]

When I first had an inkling that I had a UTI my mom suggested cranberry tablets, but seeing as I don't urinate, there would be no way to actually flush out the bacteria. Or I could be totally wrong in how that system works altogether. lol

[SteveK87]

When I first had an inkling that I had a UTI my mom suggested cranberry tablets, but seeing as I don't urinate, there would be no way to actually flush out the bacteria. Or I could be totally wrong in how that system works altogether. lol

As for flushing out the bacteria you must remember without kidneys there will be no way to flush out all the extra Vitamin C that comes with cranberry supplements.  I guess it would depend on which supplement you go with but I believe per 100g of cranberries you get 22% of the daily value for an average person/diet.  A supplement which provides  say 10x servings of cranberries in one pill would not be good to take.  Same goes for things like coconut juice.  Yes it is healthy to maintain good potassium levels but if one with ESRD was to drink coconut juice on a regular basis they would soon run into health problems because of the abundance of potassium that is found in it.