Friday, June 3, 2011

BFP

Call it paranoia, or my hypochondriac qualities rearing their heads, but I take a pregnancy test just about every month.

The dollar store is my favorite place to go to get them. (They work as good as the expensive ones people, don't spend $10 on a fancy digital test). It's a bit awkward when I walk up to the counter with one arm full of pregnancy tests and the other holding my baby but yanno, whatever.

It doesn't matter that I'm not trying to get pregnant and there's only about a .5% chance I'll get pregnant every month, I still wonder if I'm am, and whip out a value pee test.

Well this month, my symptoms causing me to test were a little different. I had to pee like no other, all the time. More so than even when I was pregnant. I hate using public restrooms but I found myself having to take more trips to the loo than usual. The worst part was I sometimes wouldn't even go that much, so it felt like all the rushing to the bathroom was for nothing. Why couldn't I hold it? I'm normally really good at that.

The sensation reminded me of when I was very pregnant, and Lil' J was squishing my bladder. Tack that along with the fact that I still feel phantom kicks all the time and watch too much TLC and you have one pregnancy-paranoid mama.

Of course, like always except for one time about 11 months ago, it was negative. But Dr. Google and some Twitter friends helped me diagnose another possible problem--A UTI.

I've never had one and the number one quality I hear with them is that it burns when you go and I wasn't feeling that. But I did have many of the other symptoms. I read something about possibly loosing a kidney if it gets real bad and it scared me enough to figure out if this was the problem.

I went to the store and bought an over the counter test, cranberry juice and some AZO stuff that came highly recommended.

Why I was excited when the results showed up positive I have no idea. Maybe it's because it was cool seeing a positive result on a pee test, maybe it's because my quest for answers was solved. It was positive-negative though, which means my white blood count is up but I don't have a trace of the bacteria linked with UTI so I'm still a little confused and paranoid that perhaps my white blood count is up because I have some other deadly cancerous disease that may kill me (hypochondriac remember?).

I don't know how often people experience UTIs but let me tell you they SUCK! You know when you have a dream about having to go to the bathroom and you go, but then you still have to go and you're like 'WTH, I just went?' But really you didn't cause you're sleeping?--Or maybe you did and you wet the bed, but at least you feel better? Well, that's how it feels... Like you're dreaming you peed but you still feel like you've gotta pee. (My husband didn't get this dream analogy but if you know what I'm talking about just nod your head).

The cranberry juice, lots of water, and AZO pills seem to be helping. Hopefully this will all go away. And hopefully the next time I get a BFP on a pee test it will be cause Lil' J is getting a little sibling and not because my pee hose is jacked up.

21 comments:

  1. Sometime a hospital test can determine if its really a uti or not

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  2. I got UTI during my pregnancy bc I didn't know I had a bad habit of "holding it". Called my midwife bc I saw spotting. Since I was past 6 months, I had to go to labor n delivery the night before I toilets GRE exam. No bueno. This pregnancy...yes we just found out we're pregnant again...I will pee every minute to avoid that pain.

    Pray u heal fast.

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  3. Hahahaha! Sorry to laugh, but I'm laughing at myself cuz you got me again! Dammit! As a med tech student, the strip tests are for nitrate (or nitrite...I didn't do well on that part) splitting bacteria. Not all bacteria does that. Or it hasn't been in your bladder long enough to split the nitrate. Also, for it to hit your kidney...it's gonna have to travel up your ureter and if it does get there...major back pain (most likely). I'm sure you already know, tons of fluids. Yogurt and acidophilus (sp?) can help keep the "good bacteria" in place so that you don't go to the other end of the spectrum.....yeast infection. And, check with your doc! <---#1 most important thing:-)

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  4. UTI are no fun. UGH. feel better soon! oh and BTW, I about fell off my chair when I read your last line "...and not because my pee hose is jacked up". HAHA!

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  5. Oh man I laughed so hard, I totally have these dreams all the time :P

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  6. Careful... I apparently had a UTI at some point that I did not realize... Ended up in the ER one early morning running a high fever, the shakes, and horrible back pain (I had figured the back pain was from taking a hit while playing softball so I had shrugged that off for days, out was the shakes and high fever that sent me in)... Ended up with a bad kidney infection. The antibiotics from the infection (apparently they stay in your system 30 days then though you only have a week dose) led to my little princess, since birth control and antibiotics don't mesh....

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  7. That's so funny. I always think I'm pregnant too. I get those phantom kicks(probably gas) and since I haven't had my monthly visitor yet since the baby, I'm always paranoid.

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  8. I used to get UTI's all the time! They never could figure out why I kept getting them, but luckily they just stopped coming by theirselves. They're horrible! I hope you feel better soon!

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  9. Ugh...UTI's...I had never had one before I got pregnant with my first child, and then I got a FULL blown one. It came without warning. There was no frequent urination. No pain. Nothing. One morning when I was about 16 weeks pregnant, I woke up, went to the bathroom and promptly started peeing huge chunks of blood. No urine. Just blood. It was so painful that I screamed and my MIL and my husband came running into the bathroom and saw all the blood and immediately rushed me to the ER where I was pumped with antibiotics and fluids. Since then, I've had them so much that I've had surgery to dilate my urethra so my bladder will empty completely and I have a refill on antibiotics so all I have to do is call the pharmacy. Yeah, UTI's are no fun. No fun at all.

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  10. UTIs are the worst!!! Awful! I've had one that traveled up to my kidneys..and after months of strange back pains ended with horrific pain all over my body, really high fever, and a very strange crunching sensation under my skin on my neck...toxic chemical build up maybe..I'd guess I was spetic after my kidneys were infected for that long! You definitely want to nip them in the bud! Beware of taking too many of those cranberry pills..they can leave you running for the bathroom for other reasons no so pleasent! Also there are some great tips online on how to avoid getting them in future..I never get them anymore after doing some research! :)

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  11. The dream analogy makes perfect sense. That's exactly what it feels like. Hope you get better soon!

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  12. i get UTI's alot too, but like you never really experience the "burning" sensation, so its usually the constant peeing sensation and those dreams! ha glad to know im not the only one that has them!!! ;) and yes listen to the other commenters, that antibiotics and birth control do NOT work together, so if you cant control it with the cranberry juice, then make sure the dr gives you other birth control....also arent those test strips GREAT?!?! especially for me at 3am running to walgreens to see if i had a bladder infection or what (no more babies for me! ;) ---)

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  13. What a convienent blog post for me! I'm going through the same thing this week. blah! Like you, I too have flushed with lots of water and some cranberry juice (yuck!). If symptoms get worse, head to the doctor as ya might need an antibiotic! feel better chick!!

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  14. You got a positive pregnancy test about 11 months ago? What, you weren't sure if you were pregnant?? Haha, just kidding!

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  15. I've had problems with UTIs since my 4th baby, my only c-section. I get them especially when I'm stressed. At the first sign that it's coming on (and I'm quite familiar with the first signs at this point) I a take a small glass full of water that has 1 tsp of baking soda mixed in and then I take a glass of alka-seltzer. It's gross, but it works every time! I have to do it very early on, but I haven't had to see a doctor or get on antibiotics for a long time for this issue.

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  16. Can I just say...YOU CRACK ME UP!!! But, poor baby. UTI's suck. You have the righgt approach though. Good luck. On all fronts. ;-)

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  17. hahah....THAT TITLE SENT ME SCRAMBLING TO YOUR PAGE :-)!

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  18. I only get UTI's when I am pregnant and I have never had the regular "normal" symptoms - I never even know I have them until the doc says "hey we gotta treat this"

    So don't feel bad about not knowing - not everyone gets the symptoms.

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  19. I'm sorry! I hate when an UTI happens. I got them alot as a child. NO FUN! Hope it clears up for you and SOON! :)

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  20. If I were you I'd go to the doctor for antibiotics. I had a few UTIs last year and one of them I thought had resolved on its own. The urinary symptoms went away completely but the infection didn't and I ended up getting really sick. Since then I always go to the doctor right away whenever I have symptoms. Not worth the risk that it might get worse, you know?

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  21. When I first read the title and the beginning I thought you were announcing another pregnancy. You fooled me. LOL.

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