Bladder problems associated with MS

  Hi...I'm hoping you can help me again, because I'm at the end of my rope!  Was diagnosed a month or so ago with Possible MS, Fibromyalgia, and have had a Neurogenic Bladder for 6 months.  I retain urine and have no urgency so I self cath 8-10 times per day.
  My problem is with infections.  I have chronic UTI's and also developed a severe kidney infection 2 1/2 weeks ago.  Have been on numerous (7) antibiotics during this time.  Just finished ampicillan and Cipro which I was taking at the same time as I was receiving IV antibiotics about every other day.  Problem is that I cant get rid of the infection and its driving me crazy and my doc says it's just not possible that this is happening. I am very good at cathing and am very careful to keep bladder empty, I also use a fresh cath each time. Did an IVP which showed one small kidney stone right where the bladder (or ureter) curves.  Actually, he said its more of a shadow, but they assume its a stone.  He also said both uterers are swollen (or stretched), so this might be a sign that Ive been passing stones previously.  I am in an unbelieveable amount of pain in my back right kidney area, my lower abdomen, as well as the bladder itself.  I run a fever on and off from 99-102 degrees, feel nauseous, some vomiting, blood in urine both gross and microscopic.  2 weeks ago, I was unable to get any urine out with self cath so they put on a foley cath which stayed on for a week.  My cath bag would almost always show blood in it.  Am able to use self cath now, so foley was removed.  I went to Mayo Scottsdale in November for all of the neurological and urological tests and got the diagnosises.  
  I know this is more urological than neurological, but it seems that your forum and my neurologist have better suggestions and are more thorough than urologists.  I really would like your opinion on what could be going on.  Im not able to work during this, and its baffling my docs, so Im hoping you can shed some light.  My PCP says there has to be something going on in the uterers or the kidneys that all of the tests are missing, so he'd like to get me in for a test that goes into the uterers and into the kidneys to look around (sorry, forgot the name of it). Here's what Im wondering:
  1.  Do you have any idea what could be causing these infections, and why the antibiotics are not working for me? (they have in the past)
  2.  Is this something I should be concerned about as far as damage to my kidneys or other problems in the future?
  3.  Do you know if this test is just a scope test, or is it more involved?
  4. Doc told me we'd wait a week or so to see if I can pass stone on my own (this was about 2 weeks ago).  Since I cant void on my own, and use a small self cath, is it possible to pass the stone?  
  5.  Any comments or suggestions would be most appreciated, I really value your opinions.
  Thanks,
  DD
Dear DeeDee,
Thank you for using the Forum again. I am sorry I didn't answer your question earlier.
Urinary infections, especially those associated with fever, should not happen so often if you are catheterizing yourself more than 6 times per day with a clean method. In some cases, bacterias can stay "hidden" in the walls of the bladder even after antibiotic treatments, and produce recurrent infections when you get off antibiotics. Stones are also a common factor of recurrent infections. You can have stones in the kidneys, in the ureters (the tubes that connect your kidneys to your bladder), or in the bladder itself. Stones in the bladder create a favorable environment for the development of bacterias, and could also explain why you couldn't catheterize yourself recently. Stones could explain the presence of blood in the urines (but an infection can do the same). It is also possible that you have a reflux of urine from the bladder into the ureters. The urine going "backwards" to your kidneys could explain why you have infections with fever (urinary infections limited to the bladder are usually not associated with fever), and could account for the fact that your ureters are dilated. In the long term, repeated infections can damage the kidneys. Recurrent stones in the kidneys and ureters can also damage the kidneys. So I think it is appropriate to be concerned and to keep trying to find the cause of these problems, unless everything goes back to normal spontaneously (this happens sometimes). Some people have to take antibiotics or urinary antiseptics permanently, but we don't like this because it increases the risk of bacterias becoming resistant to antibiotics.
Based on your description, I would think the test is only a "scope test", to see what is going on in your urinary tract directly. If anything abnormal is seen, this test allows to take samples for analysis.
You can pass a stone which is in your ureters (between your kidneys and your bladder) into your bladder. There is a possibility that the stone won't be evacuated with the catheter, but you have to keep in mind that sones in the ureters can be very small. Also, even if the stone stays in the bladder, it will not be painful any more.
I hope this helps. Remember that this information is disclosed only for the purpose of general medical education.