My 4-Day Struggle With A UTI: A cautionary tale for those of you with a weak bladder

A UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) Is really painful!

Oh, my phucking gawd! Have you ever felt like you were having a baby, but you’re a man? Well, that’s how I felt last week when I was awakened from sleep on a Tuesday night from sharp pains in my lower abdomen.

Before anyone chimes in on the comments below about how I could never know what it’s like to have a baby, I know. It’s a figure of speech. It was excruciating is what I was trying to convey.

Anyway, I didn’t get any sleep that night. The pain in my lower abdomen was so severe there wasn’t any chance of sleeping. I thought it would pass, so I lay in bed holding my gut. I tried to go to the bathroom because I thought it was just poop cramps. With all my might, I tried to go with no results. I did pee a little and when I did the pain seemed to grow.

I hate pain. I’m sure not a lot of people do, but I mean I don’t tolerate it like most people do. I instantly turn into a man-baby when it comes to the smallest amount of pain. So when I started to feel the pain from this UTI, I was in agony.

Ahh, it will pass…

I am a very stubborn person when it comes to situations when I should go see a doctor. So the following morning I rolled out of bed in a lot of pain still and debated going to work. I was thinking about calling in sick that day and I would try and stay in bed to get some sleep. Nope, the pain was still too strong so I put my work clothes on and got ready to go to work.

I got there and managed to stay there for half an hour before a co-worker told me to throw in the towel and go to the emergency room.

I should actually back up a bit here and say that before I went to work I did some self-diagnosis on Google by searching “pain in the lower abdomen”, and “kidney stones” and from what I read and the symptoms I was experiencing were consistent with having a UTI. Urinary Tract Infection is what I assumed it was and I thought it would pass by the end of the day.

It didn’t allow me to even get 30 minutes into the workday before I had to drop everything and head to the emergency room because the pain got way too unbearable.

The healthcare system is flawed

So I got to the Emergency department (Outpatients) and was screened at the door with the usual COVID questionnaire and was told to take a number. I was then led through the Outpatient lobby out into another hallway lined with seats where I was asked to sit and wait at the end of the line.

I was confused as to why I wasn’t even asked why I was there. I was in fucking agony and it didn’t matter. I was just led to a seat and told to wait. Wait, and wait, and wait.

Everyone was then asked to keep moving down the chairs and they eventually started to take people into the first triage. A young lady with a child came in as we were moving down the line playing musical chairs and she took my place ahead of me and sat there complaining about having to get up and move down the line every few minutes. All she did was bitch and complain about the inconvenience, while I was there in fucking pain.

I wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up so many times but didn’t. I thought it better not to agitate that narcissist. I was in pain from this fucking UTI and she was upset because she had to change seats every few minutes.

Bitch took my turn!

So, I eventually got to the triage and they took my blood pressure and vitals. Asked me why I was there, FINALLY! That should have been asked at the door first in my opinion. She took my Medicare number and sent me on my way to the registration window across the room. Here I gave my Medicare information again and was handed a pee bottle and was told to fill it up and give it back and then go sit in the outpatient lobby.

More waiting. And that narcissistic bitch was ahead of me still and bitching about the whole process and letting everyone know how inconvenient this is for her. I didn’t say anything because we were all told to take a number, so they would still take us into the SECOND Triage when our number came up.

A nurse comes out and says 206? 206? Then the bitch speaks up, “A lot of people left so maybe they aren’t coming back.” The nurse asks, “OH, ok, so you’re next? What’s your number?”

Bitchface: Yes I’m next, it’s 211. And before I could say I was 210, the nurse says, “OK, come with me.”

FUCK!

Don’t Worry, This Urinary Tract Infection isn’t going anywhere.

So I’m still in pain from this UTI and that bitch took my place but another nurse eventually comes back out and I tell her that I was supposed to be next and she took me into her area for another Triage screening. She said she was sorry about the mixup and I said, “That bitch wouldn’t shut her fucking mouth long enough for me to say anything so it’s not your fault.” Oh wait, that was what I thought in my head, what I actually said was, “No problem. Mistakes happen.”

So after that screening to determine the level of pain that I’m in and what I was experiencing and so forth to determine my priority I was sent back into the waiting lobby to wait even more. I think this is around the 3 or 4-hour mark now. And I’m still in pain from this UTI bullshit.

Eventually, I finally was called upon and sent into another private room where I would eventually meet the doctor on duty. He came in and poked around my lower abdomen and made me yelp and he determined it was a UTI just as I thought (Thanks Google). He was initially going to send me for a cat scan because he thought it might be my Diverticulosis. But after having me get some xrays, blood drawn, and an ultrasound, that maybe it was just a UTI.

So he prescribed me some antibiotics (amoxicillin – clavulanic acid) for the Urinary Tract Infection that are the size of horse pills! I am to take these twice a day over the next 7 days. So far they seem to be working because the pain is barely there, except with the occasional sharp stabbing pain that seems to come about every once in a while. So three days later the pain is practically gone and it looks as if this UTI is on the way out.

Conclusion…

When you’re in a lot of pain don’t be like me and try and suck it up and hope it will pass. Especially if it’s a UTI like I had because it won’t just pass, it will actually get worse if not treated. I read that if I just let it run its course that I could have been in this pain for over 6 days. Yeah, that wasn’t going to go well with me and I’m glad I swallowed my pride and went to see the doctor.

Have you ever had a UTI before? Was your as painful as mine or worse? Post your answers in the comments below.