@John Brunner Cipro is one of a class called Fluoroquinolones, developed quite some time ago; they are (or were) highly effective but over the years resistance to them worldwide has soared, and thus WHA recommends their use only sparingly. Frank
@Don Alaska The "banner" indicator in medical offices is urine clarity; it was even mentioned in my high-falutin' urinalysis. Cloudiness seems universally accepted as an indicator or infection. However, might you know whether such cloudiness might relate to dissolved solids related to kidney malfunction? Supposedly, min e are dumping protein. Frank
@Frank Sanoica I've always been a big water drinker. I never cared for sodas. My urine has always been clear. That night I was in the emergency room and gave them a sample, I could look at it and tell it was "different." It's never been that way. Until now, my issues had been stones. But even then they have mostly been uneventful...more than uncomfortable, but uneventful.
Urine that is freshly voided is almost always clear except for frank infection, but even sitting for a few minutes to cool can lead to precipitation of amorphous sediment which can make it cloudy.
@Don Alaska I've always examined it immediately, to get the distasteful event over with! Heard somewhere that cloudiness due to infection is caused by presence of dead and dying white blood cells. Frank
@Frank Sanoica You can get dipsticks at most drug stores to check your own urine if you want to do so. I wouldn't do it all the time, as the sticks can be a bit pricey, but if you suspect an infection, you can check it with a dipstick. It may not pick up the gram positive stuff I mentioned, but it will pick up white cells and gram negative bacteria, such as E. coli. You only need to "two pad" sticks unless you are worried about other things. Ask the pharmacist if they have LE and nitrite sticks. They should be able to help you. They are cheapest on line: link to dipsticks
So I finally got in to a different urological practice today...I had to wait over a month. This doctor says I do not have to self-catheterize! He said all the risks that University of Virginia Urology were talking about (eventually will completely lose the ability to pee, urine will back up into the kidneys) ain't gonna happen due to a weak muscle condition. He told me that's what I get for going to a teaching hospital and not someone wh. He DID recommend that I come back for a kidney ultrasound to make certain there's no bladder pressure causing urine to back up to my kidneys, and then maybe repeat the test every other year. He also took a blood sample to test for kidney function as a precaution (I get that test as part of my annual physical, anyway.) Just to make sure I did not leave myself at risk by taking this advice I wanted to hear and running with it, I pressed him. This doctor has lots of patients that retain a lot more urine than I do (one guy twice as much), and have lived with it for years. Some self-catheterize routinely, some might once a month, some less often, some never do. It all depends on their tolerance level for the symptoms and a personal need for relief, but there's no medical necessity to do it at all with a low-pressure retention issue, and it can be done just when you feel the need (not several times a day on a fixed schedule.) While the other urologist who removed my bladder stone did not get into details over this specific condition (because I was seeing him for a different issue), this is pretty much the same advice he gave me that UVA spat on. So this damned sword that has been hanging over my head worrying me for over 6 months has finally been removed. And I no longer have to worry about getting surprise emails "confirming an appointment" that the UVA doctor unilaterally makes on my behalf. I should have gotten a second opinion sooner. *sigh*
The only downside to all this is I was told that I needed to do something for my health and well-being, and even though it ended up being bad advice, I didn't act on it. When I left that urodynamics procedure, I felt reassured that I had willingly subjected myself to such a procedure to get to the root of the issue (just as I did with the bladder stone surgery), but when it came to self-catheterizing with no end in sight, I balked. If there had been an immediate need right in my face (all bad outcomes were described as being some point in the future), or if it had been a One-and-Done, it might have been different. Maybe. I was ready to be brutally honest with the new doctor today, telling him that I needed a less-hostile environment to work though this in, but that I might never bring myself to do the dirty deed. I feel as though I may have failed a personal duty test.
I was wondering when I would receive the next "MyChart" system email that my Univ of Virginia urology doctor made an appointment on my behalf, knowing I would have to call them to cancel the appointment and tell them I've found another doctor. I got that notice this afternoon. The appointment was for April 2022!! I gotta laugh. There has never been any discussion of any timeline for any of this stuff (although I certainly have resisted their advice), and there was no explanation for the far-in-the-future appointment (just as all the appointments have been non-discussed surprises via email.) I really don't know why she's gone from calling me in there every 4-6 weeks to now deciding we'll see each other in a year. The cynical part of me says that now folks are "vaccinated" and there's reduced perceived risk and greater movement allowed, they can start filling their schedules back up with people who have been too afraid to venture out. Their waiting room used to be chock-full (capacity of over 40 patients) of the at-risk demographic. When COVID hit I would usually be the only one in there...at most there would be 3 of us. I've always felt that I've been a "billable hours" vehicle, being summoned to fill out the schedule. Maybe this idiot's usefulness has expired So I called up their Scheduler to cancel and to formally say goodbye.
The nightmare begins again. I went in to the new guy for a 6 month checkup, and I have a slight bladder infection. I had one on Easter night as well (almost 4 months ago.) I've never had a bladder infection before in my life, and now these two. I've been not completely emptying for well over 10 years...probably closer to 15. I don't get it. And the guy did an x-ray to look at my kidney stones and my bladder, and there is some huge calcium deposit in (or near) my bladder (the 3 tiny kidney stones are of no consequence.) I don't understand. I had a bladder stone discovered in 2018 (goodness knows how long it was in there there) and did not have it removed until about 9 months ago (2 /12 years later), and it was small enough to just pull out. Last October everything was clean, and now this mass is the size of a fifty cent piece appears this quickly. He said it's calcium and not a tumor. I go back in a couple of weeks (after I've finished the antibiotics) and have the guy shove a scope up inside of me to take a look...after he catheterizes me to get ready for the scope. Last time a CT Scan sufficed. I am not happy. I thought the nightmare was over. I guess I should be grateful. The other place had me scheduled to come back in a year.