UTI not responding to abx or VVF

[retto76]

I have yet another UTI, and my dr wrote me up an rx of macrobid while awaiting a C&S. I was a little surprised, because more of my UTIs are resistant to macrobid, cipro, and cephalosporins. And I'm allergic to penicillins & sulfas, so I usually am treated with levaquin. But I went ahead with taking the macrobid and waiting for the C&S results.

Anyways, I have been on the macrobid for 4 days now (out of a 10day rx), and if anything, my urine is even more cloudy than before. I am also having huge spasms in my bladder that cause my legs & hips to stiffen quite violently, almost knocking me out of my wheelchair. I've had a few close calls on the toilet and on my shower chair.

I called about the results today, since last night and this morning were particularly painful with the spasms. The results are in, and they say that this infection is susceptible to macrobid! Why then does my infection seem worse than before I started antibiotics? I know that people with SCI generally need a longer regime of antibiotics than others. And I know that I'm only on day 4 of treating it. But in the past, my infections have always responded by now and have seemed almost cleared up after this many days on antibiotics.

Any thoughts?

On another note, shortly before this UTI set it, I decided to give Vetericyn VF another try. I've had on/off cloudiness in my urine, but otherwise no symptoms of a UTI. This infection reared its ugly head a few days after I started flushing my bladder with VVF. I wouldn't expect VVF to clear up an infection that already existed, but this infection seemed to coincidentally take off right about the time I started VVF. Any thoughts?

[gjnl]

How much Macorbid are you taking? My doctor and I have an agreement that when I have urinary tract infection symptoms, I take a urine specimen to the lab for a standing order urinalysis (UA) and culture and sensitivity (C&S) and then start a regimen of Macrobid until the results of the C&S are final. He has prescribed *Macrobid 100mg* two times a day as an interim antibiotic. If the C&S indicates another antibiotic is a better choice, he switches me to that drug for a 14 day course.

You should be using Vetericyn as a daily prophylactic instillation, not just when you notice "on and off cloudiness." When you notice cloudiness in the urine, you are well on your way to colonization. There have been a couple reports in threads here that heavy colonization has been cleared up by the use of Vetericyn, but typically at a high rate of use, i.e., 60cc or more instilled twice a day. The most effective way to use Vetericyn is as a preventative, not as a cure.

All the best,
GJ

Edit: *Macrobid 500mg* originally posted

[zillazangel]

It may be that in the time since you started the macrobid, the infection became resistant. That happened with a UTI that we are currently battling with Chad. Take in another sample now and re-run the C&S (but continue the macrobid).

[retto76]

Wow!! 500mg of macrobid? My dr prescribed me 100mg twice a day for 10 days. I called them today about the increased & continued cloudiness, and they had me bring in another sample for a UA & C&S. So I guess we'll see what those results say. Do people normally get 500mg doses of macrobid?

GJ - I wasn't symptomatic for a UTI, but I do always fluctuate between clear pee and somewhat cloudy pee regardless of whether or not I'm symptomatic. When I started using the VVF, my pee had been clear for a few days and I had no spasms or other symptoms of a UTI. It was shortly after starting those flushes that I came down with the UTI.

[gjnl]

Originally Posted by retto76

Wow!! 500mg of macrobid? My dr prescribed me 100mg twice a day for 10 days. I called them today about the increased & continued cloudiness, and they had me bring in another sample for a UA & C&S. So I guess we'll see what those results say. Do people normally get 500mg doses of macrobid?

GJ - I wasn't symptomatic for a UTI, but I do always fluctuate between clear pee and somewhat cloudy pee regardless of whether or not I'm symptomatic. When I started using the VVF, my pee had been clear for a few days and I had no spasms or other symptoms of a UTI. It was shortly after starting those flushes that I came down with the UTI.

Sorry I misspoke...the Macrobid capsules are 100 mg prescribed 2 times per day. I also have a standby supply of Cipro and they are 500mg.

I don't think Vetericyn was a causual agent in your urinary tract infection. It may have been coincidental, but not the cause. Have you checked the expiration date on your bottle of Vetericyn?

All the best,
GJ

[Bass740]

Any benefits to Colloidal silver? Or is this a myth? Im dealing with a resistant organism myself with no Cultures and in the spine. What once worked no longer works. Not sure what will happen, but for the OP and myself can Colloidal silver help either of us? I can imagine if any of it is true then it may be more beneficial for a UTI then Osteomyelitis.

[zillazangel]

How would you get silver to your bladder? And what do you mean by no cultures? If you haven't done cultures, how do you know its resistant? Maybe I'm misunderstanding you.

[Bass740]

As I sad in my post "what once worked no longer works"

What dont you understand by no cultures? They even have a term for such incidents, Empirical. My lesion is on the Aneterior part of the spine and to reach it they would have to go thru my ribs behind my lungs and the Neuro refused to do so and recommended to treat Empirically.

[Bass740]

Originally Posted by zillazangel

How would you get silver to your bladder?

I dont know! thats why I was asking if it can help. But it does come in a liquid form in-case thats what you meant by your question.

[zillazangel]

Originally Posted by Bass740

As I sad in my post "what once worked no longer works"

What dont you understand by no cultures? They even have a term for such incidents, Empirical. My lesion is on the Aneterior part of the spine and to reach it they would have to go thru my ribs behind my lungs and the Neuro refused to do so and recommended to treat Empirically.

No need to be snippy. You said this is a UTI, so all you need is a culture from your urine, which is easy to capture no matter what your situation. I'm not sure why you are talking about going in through your spine etc etc if you are suspicious of a urinary tract infection? And as for silver, there is no evidence that putting it in your bladder would help, as least as far as I'm aware.

ETA: I was mixing you up with the original poster. I don't know the answer to your question. But still, no need to be rude.