QuestionHello, I am 20 years of age, I have one son 18 months old, and Jan 2 2005 was the first day of my last cycle as far as I can remember. I am very upset with my dr. For weeks, I have been complaining to him of lower back pain, mucus discharge, extreme frequent urges to urinate, lower abdominal cramping, extreme fatigue, and all he tells me is he can't do anything to fix something that is normal. I take urine tests every visit, He is constantly making me take blood work every visit, and instead of telling me why when I ask and what the results are, he brushes me off and says because everyone has too. He called today, Sept. 1, 2005, to inform me that I have a UTI and I am anemic. He then said to come to his office to get lab work for more blood test and urine tests right away. I told him with the price of gas this high and his office more that 25 miles away that I can't come at a whim. I asked him to prescribe me the necessary medication. He informed me, "Well...we aren't 100% sure u have UTI, but the results are very high, so u should get the lab work." I informed him I couldn't. He became mad and told me to have it done at my next visit in 2 WEEKS! instead. He never acts as if he shows any concern for my well being when I explain to him how I feel. Because I am 35 weeks, and he won't give me treatment, atleast not for another two weeks, can you answer my question and tell me if my sons well being and health have been compromised? What should I do to demand urgent treatment? Or, am I being paranoid, and is the doctor right about it not being a serious illness this late in my pregnancy. I am very upset and would just like some answers. Can a UTI be mentally compromising to my unborn son?
Sincerely,
Aura
AnswerIf you have a UTI, it will not cause any illness in your unborn baby or interfere with the pregnancy, however, it can cause you to develop kidney problems or worse if you do not have it evaluated. If there is a suspicion of a urinary tract infection at this time, you should get a "culture and sensitivity" of your urine. That involves giving a clean catch urine specimen to the lab. It will then be grown in a culture medium. If there are greater than 100,000 colonies of a particular bacteria, it is diagnostic of a UTI. Then they will identify the bacteria and you can be treated with antibiotics. This should be done. I would suggest that you go to your doctor's office and get the necessary culture performed. If you have anemia (a hemoglobin less than 10) you should take iron supplementation. I would give you one iron tablet every evening before you go to bed. This will help your stamina and help you during labor. UTI is very common during late pregnancy. You are due around October 9 and are now 34 weeks 4 days pregnant.
