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Kidney Infection with pregnancy
by beefytee, Jul 18, 2008 09:32AM
Hello,
My wife is in her 16th week, and everything seems to be going well. She currently is taking Macrodantin for a UTI. Here's the problem, she's showing signs of a Kidney infection, which according to everything I have seen increases the chances of low birth weight, and since low birth weight is associated with many many other potential issues, I'm obviously concerned.
Last week we had a routine appointment at which my wife complained of feeling the beginning symptoms of a UTI (she had many as an adolescent and is very familiar with the feeling). She gave a sample to the doctor, and we never got a call back. Frustrated, yesterday my wife called the doctors office, and they had a very hard time locating her results (we're changing OBGYN's for sure) and once they did they said she was positive for a UTI, and she was given the antibiotic...but she had been walking around untreated for at LEAST 7 days.
I guess my questions are...How long does it take for a simple untreated UTI to become a full blown Kidney infection (generally)
And how long can a kidney infection be present in the mother before it could potentially harm the fetus? (again she's at 16 weeks)
My wife is in her 16th week, and everything seems to be going well. She currently is taking Macrodantin for a UTI. Here's the problem, she's showing signs of a Kidney infection, which according to everything I have seen increases the chances of low birth weight, and since low birth weight is associated with many many other potential issues, I'm obviously concerned.
Last week we had a routine appointment at which my wife complained of feeling the beginning symptoms of a UTI (she had many as an adolescent and is very familiar with the feeling). She gave a sample to the doctor, and we never got a call back. Frustrated, yesterday my wife called the doctors office, and they had a very hard time locating her results (we're changing OBGYN's for sure) and once they did they said she was positive for a UTI, and she was given the antibiotic...but she had been walking around untreated for at LEAST 7 days.
I guess my questions are...How long does it take for a simple untreated UTI to become a full blown Kidney infection (generally)
And how long can a kidney infection be present in the mother before it could potentially harm the fetus? (again she's at 16 weeks)
Post Comment
It should not affect the fetus. I know reading and surfing the internet you can read some very concerning things...but in reality, there is probably little effect. The real danger is someone becoming very, very ill with a kidney infection and having to be hospitalized with serious complications. Sometimes preterm labor can be stimulated by an untreated severe bladder or kidney infection.
Your wife can pick up some UTI home tests at most any drug store. These are very similar to the ones they use for screening in the doctors office. They usually test for WBC's and Nitrites. If she is positive, she needs to insist on being seen right away. At that point, the office would collect a formal sample and send it for culture.
Some doctors offices will simply call in an Rx if a woman who has had repeated UTI's calls in with symptoms she recognizes as a UTI, but some won't. Gives her more ammo if she can say "I have all the symptoms plus a home UTI test was positive".
Never let more than 24 hours go by without hearing test results, unless they told you specifically it would take longer. Call back and insist on finding out what's happening.
Good luck. She should be fine. If she develops fever, lethargy, nausea/vomiting, or back/flank pain or worsening urinary symptoms, she should call her doctor right away.
Thank you for your response.
I wouldn't worry too much about it. Reading things on the internet can be disconcerting...but try not to listen to too much of what you read unless your doctor backs it up. Also...I would switch doctors. Any doctor who doesn't call you with a POSITIVE result for ANYTHING within 24 hours...isn't on top of his game...which isn't the doctor I would want during my labor and delivery.