UTI and tachycardia

[valleysangel92]

Hello all

I've been having some problems the last few days with generally feeling unwell and I've had some nasty stomach pain that's progressively gotten worse. I went to the doctors this afternoon and they confirmed a UTI... they took my heart rate and it was going from 145-151.. It's only ever been like that once before when I had a very bad skin infection and I had to be kept in hospital over night with IV antibiotics. Hoping this one doesn't end up the same!

 

[SarahBear]

I'm sorry to hear that, Nicola. Did they get you started on antibiotics for the UTI? Hopefully that will clear up quickly and everything will return to normal! At this point, are you suspecting the stomach pain is due to the UTI and not Crohn's?

:hug:

 

[valleysangel92]

Thanks bear, I have some trimethoprim, it's 200mg 2x daily for 3days.. I hope that's going to be enough, in the past I've always needed a much longer course to deal with UTIs .

At the moment yes I'm hoping that the pain is from the infection and not crohns as my GI is a nightmare to get hold of if it is crohns and I'm not due follow up for 4-5 months

 

[DustyKat]

UTI's can be damned nasty things and have the potential to cause a number of side effects: lower abdominal pain, flank pain, back pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and on it goes.

If the UTI is causing the symptoms you have then your body will be quite stressed (infection and pain) and that will likely account for the increased heart rate.

Hmmm....the antibiotic regimen is an odd one for Trimethoprim as it is normally a daily dose, maybe different in the UK?? I imagine the double up is the reason for the reduced amount of time you are taking it. Normally oral antibiotics take a couple of days to kick in which doesn't leave you much time to overcome it. If you aren't feeling significantly better after 48 hours I would be heading back to the doctor.

Good luck hun, I hope you are soon feeling much better. :hug:

Dusty. xxx

 

[Niks]

Dusty - Jaime is on the same antibiotic twice a day but for a week?

I just thought this was normal.

Nicola - hope you feel better soon and the three days is enough.. Hugs :ghug:

xx

 

[DustyKat]

Oh okay, must be different in the UK. Granted the dose is a little larger in Oz but the regimens still don't equate.

So UK 200mg twice daily for maybe 3 days or up to a week.

Oz 300mg daily for usually 7-10 days and depending on the patient history a repeat course.

 

[valleysangel92]

Dusty - thankyou! UTIs can indeed be horrible, the last one I had made me delirious, I couldn't walk in a straight line and I kept trying to walk out of the fire exit instead of finding the toilet...

I thought it was a short dose too, but there has been a lot of hype here about doctors over prescribing things, especially in Wales since prescriptions are free. So maybe they try with the lowest dose and see what happens? I have been told to go back if they don't work, but I'd have to wait until Monday.

At the moment there is no sign of improvement, if anything the pain is just getting worse! I do have a history of a slightly raised heart rate anyway so 140-150 would be about what I'd expect with an infection.

Niks - thankyou! I've been reading about poor Jamie, her doctors are appalling! I hope she gets some answers and starts feeling better soon.

 

[DustyKat]

Just a question...

Were these antibiotics prescribed based on the results of a urine specimen sent to the lab or as a cover until you get the results?

Dusty. xxx

 

[valleysangel92]

Just a question...

Were these antibiotics prescribed based on the results of a urine specimen sent to the lab or as a cover until you get the results?

Dusty. xxx

They were supplied based on a dip test, they didn't send anything to the labs, they said there was high protein and 2 other things but I didn't catch what the other things were ( there was a med student and a GP in the room and they were talking among themselves) .

 

[DustyKat]

Likely the other two things were nitrates and leucocytes.

Not to take an MSU from you is ridiculous. Grrrrrrr. Trimethoprim is a good antibiotic for UTI's as a cover until you get the MC&S (microscopy, culture and sensitivities) results from the lab. IF the results show that the infection is sensitive to that drug then all is good but if the infection is resistant then you just might as well be popping smarties as Trimethoprim.

If you do not have relief when you go back to the doctor demand an MSU be sent for analysis. Mind you they will probably do one if you haven't responded but that just proves they wasted time in providing appropriate treatment to you. It will take 48hrs for culture and sensitivities to be run on an MSU. They should have taken the MSU the first time, that way they would have the results on hand and could pre-empt a change of antibiotic if needed.

Dusty. xxx

 

[valleysangel92]

Thankyou dusty! I will make sure that I push them to send something to the lab if I do have to go back... It seems fairly common practice in my GP to only send a sample to the lab if there isn't a response to the first course of antibiotics, which has always struck me as rather silly.