Should I be worried?

[rothy90]

Last year I started getting repeated UTI's, I had about one a month from June to October. I had an ultrasound and found out that my left kidney was half the size of an normal adult kidney. From then I was put on a long low dose to help reduce the risk of more infections. I had a Cystoscopy to check that there was no problem with my bladder and there was nothing wrong there, however my specialist said that my urethra was small and that could have been causing my UTI's, but the procedure had stretched it and so I should be ok now. I was unhappy with this response as it didn't explain as to why I was suddenly getting uti's out of the blue. I asked if there was anything else that I could have done. I then had a renogram and found that my left kidney was only functioning at 15%. But still my specialist wasn't being very helpful, he said that after being on 3 months of low dose it must have cleared any traces of infection up and I should be fine now. So I came off the low dose and low and behold I had another infection. I had to practically beg my specialist to let me have a CT scan to try and see what more is going on. All my blood work and urine tests are coming back fine.

Recently my left kidney has started hurting more often, and if I do anything slightly strenuous, for example I went for a day out in London, my left side swells up, even pushing my ribs up, it doesn't really really hurt, even when I press on the area, it just feels uncomfortable. The swelling goes down when I rest. I have an appointment on July 7th, should I be ok waiting until then or should I seek medical attention sooner? Thanks for the help!

[lindahand]

Sorry I review ed your message. I hope you have a productive appointment on the 7th. I would be very tempted to do what you need to to make yourself have a flair up. It seems ludacris to make yourself sick, but it may be the only way you get help.

[lindahand]

That is unfortunate. I would try booking an appointment with a regular doctor or a centre in a different area and see if they are more helpful. You want to get to the bottom of this. I know it can be a fight in public health care to get proper treatment. Swelling should always be taken seriously.

[rothy90]

Thanks for the response, but the problem is not in my bladder its with my Kidney.

I went to the drop in center yesterday and my urine showed no signs of infection but did have traces of protein in. The nurse refused to help me further and was very unhelpful, she wouldn't even take a look at my side !

[lindahand]

Do you have a phone line you could call and ask? Here (Canada - so public health like the UK) there is a health line staffed by a nurse and you call in, they do a verbal assessment and will tell you whether or not you should go to a doctor or the emergency room. If it is visably swollen could you go to your general doctor and have them check it out? Then if they think it serious they will phone the specialist on your behalf or send you to the emergency room.

If your blood tests and urine are coming back clear, then you probably have something else going on besides a bladder infection, and continually taking antibiotics will just weaken your immune system and give you yeast infections (taking probiotics after your antibiotics can prevent that). If your kidney is dying that may be the cause of the pain too.

One thing you can try is cranberry pills, the drink has too much sugar and counteracts the beneficial effects. They sooth the lining of the bladder and reduce infections. And it is safe. I take a combi pill that contains cranberries and probiotics.

If you are doing all the 'normal' things for good bladder health, cotton panties that are put in the dryer (to kill the bacteria), unscented laundry soap may also help, cleaning daily, peeing after intercourse, lots of water, I also found that maxi pads irritated things (more skin irritation than infection) so I use cotton ones now, and still having troubles with UTI or pain, keep bugging the specialist until you get answers. You may also want to look into Kiegal exercises to strengthen the bladder. I know they reduced my bladder spasms.

Sorry this meanders a bit. I'm a little tired.