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And so I’m back from outer space. Now I feel like singing I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.
If you’re an avid reader of our blogs, you would notice that it has been a week since my last entry. It’s only today that I was able to fully recover after days of being sick that’s why I was detached from the online world. Medyo may katigasan talaga ang ulo ko that’s why for two years in a row, I was hit with terrible UTI or urinary tract infection.
I hesitated sharing my story at first but thinking that there might be a lot of people who are unaware that they have UTI, a little sharing may be helpful.
Mayo Clinic tells that: “A urinary tract infection is an infection that begins in your urinary system. Your urinary system is composed of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Any part of your urinary system can become infected, but most infections involve the lower urinary tract — the bladder and the urethra.”
Review your anatomy right there. Okay, so here are the first few symptoms of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) according to Mayo Clinic:
And it’s most common with women than men. Pretty unfair, right? Haha. I’ve first had it when I was in high school yata or when I was a college freshman but it was in 2009 when the infection got really annoying. I was in and out of the bathroom for like 10 times in an hour. Peeing was painful and there’s blood in my urine.
I got afraid at that time so I did not tell my parents, assuming that they would get mad at me for not taking good care of my health. I researched and found out that it was UTI. Got some tips on how to deal with it. Antibiotic and cranberry juice saved me.
Having been attacked with the annoying UTI then, it seemed that I haven’t learned my lesson well. In March 2011, I was hospitalized for almost four days because of, again, a worse case of UTI.
I did not experience the frequent bathroom breaks nor the bleeding, but what I remember was the pain on my right side or flank (between the lowest rib and hip) that I was enduring for days. Add to that a painful lower back (pelvic area).
If I could remember it right, the worst pain was when Alva and I were covering the Miss Sto. Tomas 2011 pageant night, that was Feb. 25th last year. And on the next day, I got very high fever.
Dahil nga matigas ang ulo ko, I refused to get admitted to the hospital. “Yan ang gusto mo ha. Sige.” Sabi siguro ng katawan ko. I endured the back pain and the high fever. But what scared me was the chilling and the shaking part. My temperature reached 40 degrees celsius.
So it was only then that I told everyone to bring me to the hospital. After being released, I refrained from eating salty food and drinking softdrinks. Bottled water became a sidekick.
Unfortunately, I went back to my old ways. Started eating chips and preferring softdrinks over iced tea or just plain water again when dining out.
Last week, I started feeling side pain once more. On the left side this time. Then my pelvic area hurt so much that the pain crawled upward and it was just too much to endure.
Along with the pain that refused to subside was a fever, Tuesday last week, which happens to be my dad’s birthday. Because we knew that it’s UTI one more time, I had urinalysis and my doctor confirmed that my urine is highly infected na naman. Uh-oh.
Now I’m still on medication and will undergo another urinalysis on Wednesday. Life gets pretty boring when you only get to taste four of the five basic tastes. Haha. Goodbye saltiness!
If you left UTI ignored, it may lead to acute or chronic kidney infections (pyelonephritis) which could cause further damage to your kidneys.
Tips for those suffering from UTI. Drink cranberry juice. It may be a little expensive but it knocks out bacteria in your urinary tract. Don’t practice urine retention. And of course, drink plenty of water. 😉
Image Source: drinkyout.com
Reliv now might help with your uti. see stories on http://www.reliv.com