continued antibiotic use?

[jessicab]

hi everyone,

i have a bit of a dilemma on my hands and was hoping for some advice.

i haven't yet been diagnosed with IC, but have been experiencing continuing bladder trouble for the past 8 months, including frequency, discomfort, and more recently, pain. last week i went to see a new urologist. he was nice and understanding and is running some tests, but when i mentioned that the last urogyno i saw said that there was a possibility that i had interstitial cystitis, he dismissed it and said it is "very unlikely" at my age (i'm 22).

even though my urine came up clean (like it had the last 10+ times i've been tested for a UTI over the past months), he prescribed me macrodantin to clear up any possible infection or bacteria.

i don't want to fill the prescription because i'm concerned about the number of antibiotics that i have been on in the past months. i've already been on macrodantin three times before, and i've also been on 5 other types of antibiotics, none of which have seemed to help in the long run, although they do mask the symptoms initially.

i'm not sure what to do because i don't want to start off on the wrong foot from the beginning and i know it is important to follow physicians' directions, but i feel that i've done my research on bladder issues and it's pretty clear i don't have an infection. i'm worried that the large number of antibiotics i have been on in the past months are potentially doing more harm than good. i'm really worried about developing a tolerance or other potential health issues.

any advice would be helpful, thanks!

[KatieB]

I had a uro that I had seen for years who treated me for my kidney stones. I had told him many times over the years about the pain and frequency and urgency that I was having. He always gave me an Rx for antibiotics and then would give me a bunch of samples for things like Vesicare, Urelle, Uristat (?) etc. But he would never talk with me about WHY!!! Then last Oct my gyno mentioned IC. When I called my uros office his nurse told me "He doesn't think you have that" and then she said "He doesn't even treat it"!! That's when I went on my hunt for a new uro. If he had never talked to me about it, then how could he come to the conclusion that I don't have it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that happened to me too, until I finally found a uro/gyno who actually has experience with IC and is willing to talk with me about it. Good luck to you, it's really hard to find a doc that has experience with this, so talk to everybody in the office, from the receptionist to the nurse to the PA to make sure a new doc treats it. If I can help please let me know.

[ICNDonna]

If you're not feeling comfortable with what you're being told, you may want to see a different doctor for another opinion. The other option is to work with this doctor for a while to see if he helps --- you are not too young for IC --- even small children can have it.

Warm healing thoughts,
Donna

[ginaaa22]

Before I got diagnosed I was on antibiotics for 2 years. I was taking keflex "just in case" I got an infection. I would always get yeast infections as a result and I think this is why I have vulvodynia (an oversensitivity to yeast). It is in my opinion that some dr's hear your symptoms and they sound like a UTI which is fairly common so they give you antibiotics. Now because I have taken so many antibiotics before they arent as effective and when I do get sick and need them I have to take more. You should get a second opinion. Try and find a dr who sees IC patients. Obviously if you have UTI like symptoms with no bacteria present something else is going on--and antibiotics wont help.(as im sure we can all attest to)