A couple of things.

[see-anotherside.livejournal.com]

I think I have a urinary tract infection. It started back in February and it wasn’t pleasant. I didn’t go to a doctor because I moved away from home for university and never got around to registering with a doctor in my new city. When I’m back home I’m never there long enough to get an appointment with a GP because the service in my area sucks. Anyway, I seem to be mostly over the infection now... it isn’t nearly as bad as it was, though I do still get the frequent need to pee, mostly at night, but it no longer burns or anything. My point is: I was reading about it and now I’m worried that I’ve left treatment too long and risk developing more serious problems later on, like with my kidneys. I’m going back home for the summer but I won’t get to see a doctor for maybe another month now - should I be okay?

Oh, another possibly related problem is that every few days I get this discomfort in my vagina, it’s kind of an itching sensation. At first I thought it was a yeast infection as I’ve had that a couple of times (I didn’t get medical treatment for that either, I know it’s not wise!), however apart from the slight itching I don’t have any other symptoms or thrush or whatever. What else could be causing this?

I might sleep with a guy soon (complicated situation), and I was wondering whether any of this could be made worse by having sex? Protected of course...

Thanks.

Comments

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

UTI: yes, it would be made worse by sex.
YI: yes, it would be made worse by sex.

Between the lingering UTI and the possible YI, I'd get to a doctor sooner rather than later. UTIs in particular are usually taken pretty seriously, I was told to get treatment from the chemist and if that didn't clear it up in a few days, to get straight to the doctor as these things can turn nasty on you. As for the YI, it's recommended to go to the doctor the first time so that you can get an accurate diagnosis, many women misdiagnose themselves as having YIs when in fact they have something else. Once you know what to look for, you should be able to spot it again in the future.

[see-anotherside.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I will see a doctor as soon as I can.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it. I think if you'd damaged your kidneys already you'd know about it, it's more about avoiding the risk of this happening. I hope it doesn't mess up the romance too much!

[see-anotherside.livejournal.com]

That's reassuring!

To be honest the romance is essentially over; something could still happen but now that I know it's safer to avoid sex for the time being, I probably won't get the chance to sleep with him at all. Oh well...

[starzysky.livejournal.com]

Hmm... yeah I'd do whatever I could to see a doctor ASAP about this. Do you have a Planned Parenthood nearyby? They are usually pretty cheap.

Also frequent urination can be a sign of diabetes.

[see-anotherside.livejournal.com]

That's not a bad idea, but tomorrow I'm going away for over a week so I can't do much for now.

Hmm... once I asked my doctor to test me for diabetes but because he thought I was just a silly hypochondriac he wouldn't do it.

[kkgal42.livejournal.com]

When you say frequent urination, are you actually passing a decent amount of urine every time you go, or is it more like you really feel like you have to go, but only a trickle comes out? If it's the latter, it's more than likely a UTI. If it's the former, it may be something else, such as diabetes or a pituitary problem. Either way, definitely try to get checked out by a doctor. Good luck!

[see-anotherside.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is more of a trickle. Sometimes I urinate without a problem. Other times, despite feeling the urgent need to go, I can only get a bit out and then I'm running back to the toilet a few minutes later.

[kkgal42.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that definitely sounds like a UTI :/

[storm-in-az.livejournal.com]

I would be taking tons and tons of fresh garlic in this situation. Since you can't get to your doctor yet. Just chop it up really find and swallow a spoonful at a time, like you would pills. Garlic kills EVERYTHING. You can buy herbs that are made for that. Ask at your health-food store if you're interested. Drink LOTS of water. Carrot tops, horsetail, oatstraw, dandelion, Pipsissewa, juniper berry---look for things like that in a formula.

But I think the garlic would be most helpful in the meantime.

[see-anotherside.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip!

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

You'll be very lucky if eating lots of garlic will get rid of either infection, but it'll give you a bit of a boost. Echinacea is a good herb for both YIs and UTIs if you want to try that, though again this is something that will help you along a bit rather than cure you, you still need to go to a doctor.

I do know home remedies for both UTIs and YIs, but in your case you sound like you really need professional diagnosis rather than messing around at home. (Also, bicarb of soda for UTIs tastes *revolting*, I tried it when I'd finished the course of potassium citrate the doctor prescribed but the UTI was still lingering a bit. Tea tree pessaries/suppositories is the other one, but again, get a diagnosis first.)

[archangelbeth]

Does your university have a health clinic on-campus? (The two big ones I went to both did, and I wound up in them a time or two.) If so, you might be able to go there and get them to give you the various tests relatively cheaply -- I think the stuff I did was either really cheap or covered by my tuition.

Good luck!

[leyo.livejournal.com]

I agree with archangelbeth, UTIs have a simple test and you don't necessarily need to see a GP to be diagnosed -- you can see a practice nurse or a college nurse. I see you're in the UK -- did you not automatically get registered with a practice near your uni?

But yeah, if there's a health centre at your uni they should be able to do a test on your urine. My college nurse has done UTI tests for me, it's v. quick. Pee in a pot and she dips a stick thing in the pot.

Good luck!