Urinary infections

Welshman1952

Well-Known Member
Messages
326
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Like many on this forum, I am prone to the occasional UTI. Generally, they are a nuisance more than anything and a short course of antibiotics soon has me on my feet. However, this weekend I had a totally different experience.

My symptoms started last Thursday when I started to feel run down and tired. By Friday this had expanded to include lots of visits to the toilet so I started drinking lots of water (6 glasses in 8 hours). However, the symptoms weren't that bad so I decided to weather it. What a mistake!

At 2am I woke up with nasty pains in my lower abdomen and by 3am it was so bad that I rang 111 as I had now stopped passing urine. There is no 24 hour medical care in my area so they recommended attending the local out of hours clinic between 11am and 3pm! By 7am I was in absolute agony and didn't know how I would last, so I rang 111 again begging for help. They reiterated what I had been told earlier, so I was left to suffer in extreme pain for a further 4 hours. Somehow I did last. I went to the clinic at 11am and they checked my BP (220/110) and BGs (10.9). They informed me my bladder was extremely full and I needed to be catheterised at a fairly local hospital and they couldn't do it despite the fact the nurse I was speaking to was a senior and prescribing nurse and catheterisation is taught to first year student nurses. By now I was in so much pain driving was impossible so they ordered an ambulance that took four hours to arrive. During this entire time I was given no treatment whatsoever and by now I was also experiencing pain in my kidneys.

Eventually I made it to the hospital where, within minutes of arrival, I was catheterised and experienced immediate and blessed relief! Interestingly, both the paramedic and later the nurse who catheterised me both commented on the appalling treatment I had received. Just to put this into context, the human bladder is apparently expected to hold approximately 500ml of urine. Between 3.30pm and 10pm I disposed of 6 litres of urine, as a result,I was kept in overnight as the surgeon was concerned about my kidneys. Thankfully, after several hours of medication my urine output stabilised and I was discharged.

So now I'm sat here with a slowly filling catheter bag that will stay on for a week, then next week they will check my prostate to explain the cause of the blockage.

So my learning from all this? First, don't ignore a UTI - get to a doctor ASAP. Second, accept my local medical service is abysmal and move as soon as possible.
 

NoCrbs4Me

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,700
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Vegetables
Holy cow!! That's a harrowing story! And that's appalling treatment. Glad you are ok.

I only had a UTI once (not long after I was diagnose, but before I had a blood glucose meter or started low carbing) and I felt so awful I called an ambulance and they took me to emergency. It sure didn't take 4 hours. And I saw a doctor pretty quickly. I was in no shape to drive myself. They ran a blood test for white blood cells and confirmed I had an infection. They put me on IV anti-biotics. I had to go in to another hospital the next day for another round of IV anti-biotics, but that cleared it up. Fortunately haven't had one since.
 
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Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Good grief!

Thank heavens you are getting treatment now.
I hope you are going to complain?

Take it easy for a good few days. Experiences like that really take their toll.
 
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Welshman1952

Well-Known Member
Messages
326
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Oh you can be sure I will complain! My only question is which one do I complain about first - 111, or the local hospital. I was also told by my consultant while an inpatient to visit my GP and have my sodium levels checked as they were very low. When the district nurse rang she advised I do this sooner rather than later. I was told by the GP receptionist I couldn't have an appointment for a month, or the doctor could ring me (what good that would do I don't know).

So now I have a complaint about my GP to add to the list
 

Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
What a nasty experience for you :( They treated you very badly as you had acute retention which is a medical emergency. My experience I had on Friday (same thing as you, but mine was caused by my bladder condition) I rang our health line here (your equivalent of 111) and they told me I had to go to emergency straight away and I couldn't drive myself there. I get to ER and they only had me waiting about 5 minutes before they took me in and discussed what to do. But I do recall being told a couple of times that I had done the right thing to come to ER and that retention can actually cause bladder damage, and at worse can be fatal. Well they catheterised me as well and I had some pain relief straight away (pain going to my rib cage front and back).

I'm glad you were finally treated correctly.... you poor thing. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I guess on the plus side you know if it ever happens again whether or not they're treating you correctly. Well I've learnt it's best to get to ER straight off.... I think I left it too long on Friday because my pain level was to the point where I was very agitated and my BP and heart rate was too high.
 

Welshman1952

Well-Known Member
Messages
326
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Well just to update everyone, my catheter is now history and I am flying solo. Thankfully, my experience in A&E and later as an inpatient was nothing short of outstanding and I now am well on my way back to health.

I have started a formal complaint about the way I was treated on that dreadful night and the caseworker has already agreed my treatment was appalling. I shall have to wait and see how things transpire.

BGs are now back to normal levels and my BP is within normal range. Tomorrow I go to the doctor for a review of my meds .... S/he had better behave!!