*Long post about (mostly) female medical issues and Dr's giving me the 'I dont believe you' face until they see my medical history.*
It's so fun going to a Dr and having to explain my weird body. Specifically when it comes to UTIs and yeast infections. Because I do NOT get symptoms for them, until it has caused something else to go haywire.
My PCP who I've had for the last several years had me set up for checks every 3 months for this reason. After I nearly died from getting sepsis from a kidney infection that started as a UTI and had literally no symptoms until the sepsis gave me the chills. I was just minding my own business when suddenly I was so fucking cold and no matter what I did I could not get warm. So I went to the ER, and was told I was fine and probably just coming down with a cold.
I went home (on Dr's orders!) and went to sleep with all my blankets and the heater on IN SUMMER. Four hours later I woke up still cold, but now with the feeling that my brain was trying to escape out my ears, so I drove 45mins (I should have called an ambulance, do not drive yourself in such a condition) to a diffrent ER and went immediately from triage to a rush of nurses and a Dr getting me hooked up to IV antibiotics and fever reducers and a room for the next week with nonstop IV bags of drugs. I was told that had I waited any longer I would have been in ICU if I had made it that far.
Cut to tonight, I went to the ER because a few days ago I started having an odd pain in (as far as I could pin point) the urinary tract that had just progressively gotten worse (I waited because I have no insurance and was trying to find a free clinic near me, but had no luck). I had no burning when peeing, no back pain, no fever, no changes in urine color (still clear and non-yellow like it should be) and no change in smell, which are all symptoms I've been coached to look for even if I dont get them.
I told the Dr and nurses that I was unsure of what could be the cause, but had a hunch based on my history and the fact that I lost access to my normal Dr and appointments back in January due to moving 2 hours away and loosing my insurance.
I explained that I do not get symptoms, and its always a surprise when I find out I do have one. Cue the faces, and then I show them my digital medical records from the past few years with my normal PCP, and now they are curious and kinda believing me.
They run the usual urinalysis (which actually scared me because I peed while in the waiting room and it was normal, but when i went to give them a sample it was obviously full of blood, had me over here panicking like WTF why is it now very obviously wrong and I know I'm not on my period) and a vaginal swab, and then before any of that even comes back they do an ultrasound and take blood. Which like, love that, cover all your bases before you pick the winner. Very thorough, very appreciated.
An hour later they come in and are like 'you have a VERY bad UTI (the results were red across the board) and a yeast infection, but you do not have any other issues that we could find, are you sure you are only having that one specific pain and nothing else?'
I really love watching Dr's experience the oddness of my female bits.
Mind you, I do not have this issue with any other illnesses I've had (except the one time I had strep without the chainsaw throat feeling or a fever, just threw up at work and policy required I see a Dr before returning to work).
Hmm update.
Day 6 of 10 day course of antibiotics with no relief and only worsening (new!) Symptoms.
Finally can't take the pain and go to another ER.
New Dr looks at my prior tests, my current symptoms, and goes 'why didn't they order a urine culture?'
Apparently Im hosting bacteria that are resistant to certain antibiotics (penicillin based ones) and had they done a culture they would have known by day 2.
ALSO I do have a kidney stone lodged in my ureter (the main cause of my pain) but the inflammation from the UTI coupled with the dehydration (caused by the wrong antibiotics giving me diarrhea which meant no matter how much water I was drinking it was not staying in me) has stopped its progress through to the exit.
