[mjrcpd]

Starting back in June, I began having "accidents" much more frequently than normal. Also at this time, I ended up going to the ER with a high temp and after a urine analysis, it was determined I had a UTI. I was prescribed 10 days of Cipro from the ER Dr. and off I went. I completed the antibiotic and felt better for about a month. I then had another bowel accident and days following, spiked another fever and went to my normal doctor. A urine culture tested positive for e coli in the specimen, therefore, another 10 days of Cipro. August 4th I finished the second round of Cipro feeling good again. On August 9th, I again had a bowel accident, and and that evening spiked yet another fever which prompted anothe visit to my doctor. He said that the infrction has possibly moved to my kidneys and or prostate, therefore, YET AGAIN sent me home with a script for 14 days of Cipro, saying it may take a longer dosage of meds to reach the infected areas.

To me, there's an obvious pattern developing. In my opinion, I think the Dr should have switched medications as the Cipro has obviously not worked. He claimed otherwise. Does anyone have any thoughts on what is happening, and furthermore, any thoughts on the Dr's diagnosis and treatment options? I'm 13 years post and T-11 complete paralysis. I'm so sick of being sick !!! I've had more infectionsin the last 3 months than I've had in the last 3 years. Help

[Ches]

You think youre resistant to meds or the accidents keep causing the infection? I'd pop a pain killer or two towards the end of meds cycle to slow the poop down.. but thats just my solution, def not in the books.

[Ragersilver]

Im not sure what your Bowel problem has to do with the UTI you are having problems with but I suspect its your bodies way of trying to cope with the infection.I would suggest you do stay on the ciro for at least a month in case the infection has spread to you prostate,you need to find the reason for the constant infections and if the culprit is E-coli D-Mannose 3 times a day as a preventative treatment will fix this but you need to take it for the rest of your life as its not a treatment as such but a preventitive.You need to get a proper culture done to find out which bacteria it is or you are wasting your time really,have a look at the thread INJECTABLE ANTIBIOTIC as this could also be an option for you as this is what I am going to try next after it arrives.............

Sorry I just read your post again and you did get cultures done so as I sugested D-Mannose 3 times a day is a great preventitive for all E-coli bacteria .........

[S&W Winger]

When they do the culture, that shows the antibiotic to which the infection will be sensitive...if it is ciporflaxin,then that is the course, bt longer, as is my case at the present time...as far as bowel: as the cipro is killing the "good" bacteria in the intestinal tract, as should anyone taking any antibiotics be eating yogurt, and everyday...a friend here also suggested 1000 mg of Vit C 3x a day during a UTI...I am also trying that along with a ton of water...constant drinking of fluids (alcohol does not count as that will dehydrate! LOL)...after a course of cipro, et al, I may have a bowel issue, and plan accordingly...just a few things to accept and deal with...but attempting to alleviate and stop before is always better! Thus I listened t the suggestions, and many have helped me...best wishes...let us know how it goes...



BTW, do you self cath or have an indwelling cath? If in- maybe change it more frequently, especially during an infection...if self, are you completely draining the bladder?

This post has been edited by S&W Winger: 15 August 2010 - 01:17 PM

[airart1]

i was gonna say strong long doses of antibiotics will definately turn u into a pooping machine, and they definately need to culture it and give u the exact kind of antibiotic for the infection, cipro is great and strong, and will cover a wide range, but sometimes its not the right one for the infection, especially if it doesnt get better, usually i can take 2-3 doses of cipro and my infection starts to do dramatically better, u still need to go thru the whole routine of course even if it looks better......and alcohol counteracts antibiotics, just like u never took it, so no alcohol or very little while on them..........

[qbounce]

Yeah, 10 days wasn't enough time to kill the infection. He should have made it 14. And, because they did a culture, I'm sure your doctor was able to verify the proper medication needed for that particular strain, right? Or, did he prescribe the medication BEFORE your test lab results came back? Because, in that case, you're correct, and he should have given you a different antibiotic for 14 days.

Hey, you are your best advocate when it comes to your health care. If something isn't working, speak up and say something! If your doctor isn't listening to you, get another one who will. It's really your call.

[airart1]

it just kinda sounded like they gave him cipro and took a sample, usually if they dont contact you its cool and reacts to what they gave you, if not they should call and change it, but i have had to call and they say "oh yeah, we need to change that, we didnt get around to calling you".....so i would check with them if u have a doubt, i have a pretty good relationship with my uro so i stay in touch and active with him, which i would recommend u do, most would rather u bug them and be well!

[mjrcpd]

I self cath 4 times each day and stick to routine as best as I can. Sterile caths each time and constantly wash my hands. I try to only touch the cath in an area that won't enter my body. Up until this last bout, I was very lucky and had few infections. I'm praying that the 14 days of Cipro will cure the e -coli bacteria and I can be healthy again. Seems the infection just sucks the life from me as I have no energy, body aches & constant fevers. I appreciate the responses from everyone and feel fortunate to have a place to turn where people understand a "day & the life."

[airart1]

use your gloves, they will help alot......

[Avocado Baby]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the problems you've been having. I've been having a similar experience the last year. I'm now trying acupuncture and it's managed to get rid of the infection. Whether they stay away when I've finished the course only time will tell. I'm trying not to worry about that at the moment.

I know how awful it is feeling constantly ill. I've not felt like myself for a very long time! I'd definitely go with the advice of the others with regards to probiotics and vitamins. I'd not been taking them and I think my immune system was pretty shot.

What's your BP like? I've had to increase the frequency to reduce the infections and the number of resultant infections.

I hope you manage to keep the infections away.

[mjrcpd]

FOLLOW-UP

Ok......I finished the 14 days of Cipro on the 25th and felt great while taking it, minus the normal nausea/stomach isuues. Last night (4 days after completing the Cipro) I woke up in the middle of the night with a 103 fever yet again. Accompanying the fever was the unbearable neuro pain and general sense of illness where my whole body ached. Tylenol helped reduce the fever but someting is still happening within my body. A call to the doctor prompted an apt in the morning for another urine analysis and culture and a complete blood count. I'm so sick of this pattern as its now happened 3 times. Should I consider changing doctors? This is crazy

[Soryfam]

I don't know about changing doctors, but I'd definately ask to be put on something for 1-2 months. If you have insurance, switching to levaquin might help. I just has a UTI with e coli, and something else. The levaquin works great, but is VERY expensive.

I get MRSA infections often. They generally pop up in my blood, but also in my sinuses, my foot, my heart and my back. My doctor puts me on Daptomycin IV immediately and then I continue it for at least a month after I leave the hospital.I just finished the most recent dose, and now he is trying Doxycline twice a day as a preventative. We'll see what happens. He seems to think the MRSA is hiding out in me, and that the meds supress it, but don't get rid of it.

[qbounce]

mjrcpd, on 30 August 2010 - 08:50 PM, said:

FOLLOW-UP

Ok......I finished the 14 days of Cipro on the 25th and felt great while taking it, minus the normal nausea/stomach isuues. Last night (4 days after completing the Cipro) I woke up in the middle of the night with a 103 fever yet again. Accompanying the fever was the unbearable neuro pain and general sense of illness where my whole body ached. Tylenol helped reduce the fever but someting is still happening within my body. A call to the doctor prompted an apt in the morning for another urine analysis and culture and a complete blood count. I'm so sick of this pattern as its now happened 3 times. Should I consider changing doctors? This is crazy

Maybe your first assessment was right and Cipro isn't doing the job? Have you ever called regarding what might work best on your cultures?

[Tetracyclone]

I am a few hours late for learning that alcohol ruins the efficacy of antibiotics. A glass ans 1/2 of wine later, and my dose is due. I will wait until I go to bed...

I'm glad to visit this thread as I have been plagued with e-coli this month. I realize i was not keeping to my routine with cranberry, but who knows if that would have prevented this infection? I took 7 days of cipro but the infection returned in a week. I experimented with Millard's advice of washing the bladder with Vetricyn, but I don't have advice for how often. Daily was not enough and I found the milky bladder sediment returned, but it was much less. Would twice a day have been enough? for how long?

I got a new antibiotic from my Doctor and he prescribed it for 14 days. At the end I intend to use the Vetricyn wash for at least 3 days, twice a day. I took the advice from another thread and ordered threelac, a probiotic that has a good rep, and I will use it along with my usual from life sciences.

I have concluded that survival will be a fine line of careful adherence to a routine that uses the best of non-antibiotic defenses. Meanwhile I intend to use the antibiotics prescribed for two more weeks and hope to give myself a good fresh start.

I feel sooo good with the boost these antibiotics have given me. Suddenly I remember what it is like to have my body feel OK for most of the day. My hands work pretty well! It feels suddenly so predictable in this body and I realize I must have been suffering from this bladder infection for a very long time, and now suddenly the symptoms have stopped.

With this inability to empty my own bladder properly I will just have to do all I can to support my immune system, and to believe that I can be healthy. Positive attitude is a huge help, but we cannot fake it.

Thanks to my fellow travelers, and my hope for good health to all.

[davjed]

A few thoughts from my experience with resistant E. coli infections over the years. Cipro has been very helpful in clearing up my UTI's and I usually try to run 7-10 days of it tapering off to half dose the last three days. A word of caution concerning long term usage is that the hydroquinolones (Cipro, Levaquin) have been related to tendon tears in joints. Most of my shoulder tendons have been torn beyond repair already but I still use Cipro in spite of that. I have not tried the D-mannose system but will keep that in mind if things get more frequent than once or twice a year. Two things that I do take that I think help are 1000mg of vitamin-C twice a day and a prophylactic dose of 100mg of nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin) at night. A coule of liters of water a day helps keep things clear and mellow yellow. Cipro was a godsend when it came out for me. I had been having to take Amakaycin IM deep into my shoulders with a really acid ph. I think that may have contributed to my eventual shoulder deterioration even before the Cipro use.......

This post has been edited by davjed: 31 August 2010 - 01:38 AM

[tyvin]

Listen up; no alcohol, plenty of water, yogurt (cultured) and for COL ask the doc to check the CnS (culture and sensitivity). It sounds like your infection is resistant to Cipro (it happens often) meaning the Cipro will not kill the bacteria and something else will have to be prescribed according to the well done CnS report that BTW takes at least 24 to 48 hours depending on the lab.

Good luck to you