My very first UTI

Nov. 18, 2016

Hi, Kiddo.
Well, questions anwered. Today I found out I've having my very first ever urinary tract infection. Yesterday I peed into a bottle at the HMO and today my doctor called to tell me to pick up some bactrium, an antibiotic used for UTIs.

That led me to check UTI for men on Google, and here's what I found out: Women hit the jackpot more often than men. There are a number of causes, including sex. One Web site said women should pee after having sex in order to avoid them.

For men, the symptons include having to pee frequently; a burning sensation when you pee; releasing only small amounts of urine at a time; and in those special cases, stinky, cloudy urine and lower back pain. The back pain may indicate a kidney infection. There is also discussion of fever, and I have had hot flashes, but I think that's from the bicalutamide, which I've been taking to diminish the amount of testosterone that's available to feed the cancer.

Ways to avoid it: pee after sex (presuming you'e not flying solo) or wear a condom; and drink lots of water to flush out the bacteria from your system. (Interestingly enough, after a couple of painful little pees the other night while I was driving, I exited the car and had a fine follow-up instance with greater production, and there was no pain at all. So there you have it, I guess.)

And the cause: There are several, but the two that ring the bell for me are an enlarged prostate and bladder catheter insertion. The sites didn't mention biopsies of the prostate and the insertion of the gold pellets I'm packing around, but I wouldn't rule those out, either.

By the way, bladder infections are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. I start mine this afternoon and keep them up for 10 days.  Here's hoping I got the lucky strain.

Love,
Dad

Nov 22 update: change in antibiotic; e-coli infection

I began immediately treating my UTI with Bactrim (a.k.a. Sulfamethoxazole) Friday, Nov 18, on the understanding that I would check in with the consulting nurse to see whether further analysis of my specimen called for a different antibiotic. I attended a memorial service on the 19th and didn't make the call, then forgot to follow up. On Monday, the 21st, the doctor telephoned me, leaving a phone message that had such low volume I saved it for a quieter time, and forgot. Today he called to say the Bactrim won't likely be sufficient and he ordered a new prescription: Nitrofurantoin. I took the Bactrim twice a day; I will take this new drug four times a day.

This is a case of hypothetical risk becomeing a reality. When I had the gold beads implanted in my prostate, this was done through the wall of my intestine. It seems likely that some e-coli was dragged along and got into my urinary tract. My UTI symptoms have been improving -- no pain when urinating, for example. So maybe the Bactrim was having an effect. One method for fighting the infection could involve using an intravenous (IV) drip, but for now we're going with the Nitrofurantoin.