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kareinaI saw a recent FB post by Fruadelias that has me thinking that she is, at heart, a kinder, more compassionate person than I. She explained that she was having new medical symptoms and her doc had said "if it gets worse go to the ER", and now they were worse, but she was wondering if they were "worse enough", as she didn't want to be a bother and in the way for the people at the ER if it turned out to be noting serious (to say nothing of the energy needed to take public transit to get there, given that the symptoms were draining her reserves as it was). In contrast, when I considered the possibility of an ER trip this weekend I never once thought about the burden my presence might cause for the folk working there, but made my decision solely based on the lelel of inconvenience I would experience getting there balanced against the risk that they might not help.
The difference between us starts with how we experience pain. She sufferers from chronic pain, so it is a near constant thing that she is used to working around.
For me pain is normally a fleeting, rare, message from my body:
Me: *Bumps into something*
Nerves: Ow! Don't do that!
Me: *Rubs spot to acknowledge message and promise not to do it again.*
Nerves: Message recived. Alert cancled. Stand down.
Me: *Promptly forgets it happened and resumes tasks...* Hours later... What is this bruise from? *pokes bruise*
Nerves: Ow! Don't do that!
Me: *Gently rubs spot in apology*
Nerves: Message recived. Alert cancled. Stand down.
The one exception to this is when I get an infection, which generally keeps hurting till I do something about it. Usually it is in a finger, which was either stabbed with a needle, or bumped against something, and is thus easy to access, so the second it starts to hurt I am washing the area, (re)opening the wound, and cleaning with hydrogen peroxide before putting on a salve and taping it, and that normally triggers the "Message recived. Alert cancled. Stand down" response on the part of my nerves pretty quickly.
Except for bladder infections. My first one, in 1997 or '98, was the worst, since I didn't have any idea what was happening and thus missed any warning signs my body may have sent, and the first I knew I was already to the "burning sensation when I pee, plus I need to pee again directly after peeing" stage of the problem. Luckily my boyfriend at the time knew about bladder infections, recognised the symptoms, called his dad, who was a doctor. His dad called a pharmacy, the prescription was picked up, along with some cranberry juice, and the problem was soon solved, but not before I had been reduced to tears dealing with a pain both more intense and more persistent than any I had encountered hitherto.
Since then bladder infections have been rare, but they have happened. Since I am terrified to experience that kind of pain again I watch for the early warning signs, and try to always drink plenty of water. The few times it has crossed the line into starting to hurt a little in the bladder area and I need to pee again promptly after having done so, I up my water intake, drink cranberry juice, and make an appointment at the local health center. This usually results in a prescription for antibiotics, and the problem is solved.
The last time was five years ago, and the nurse who saw me explained that I had drunk so much water that she didn't really see bacteria in my urine sample, but she gave me antibiotics anyway, since it was clear from my symptoms what the problem was. She also gave me a small plastic sample jar with a lid, saying that if it happens again please get a sample before you drink so much water, so they can see the bacteria; they don't wish to use antibiotics when there isn't bacteria.
After four years of that jar sitting in the bathroom drawer unused I moved to this house and decided that, since I had never needed it, and it was a good size to take nuts or seeds along on a road trip, it may as well be useful, rather than taking up space. Besides, there is no under sink drawer in the new house, nor any other decent storage in the bathroom (fixing that is on the list, but other stuff comes first).
Now we've been in this house nearly a year, and until last week there was no sign that I might again have another bladder infection. Then, on Wednesday evening, I started to feel a little off, and the first little hint that perhaps it could happen.
But I felt better Thursday morning, and was focused on last minute preparations for my job interview in the afternoon (more reading of relavant literature and checking that my curtain hanging behind me was positioned correctly to make a tranquil background for the Teams meeting), and if there were any sympoms, I didn't notice them.
The interview went well. I felt I gave them useful and relevant answers to my questions, and that I received the same to mine. They have four canidates total they are interviewing, and will try to come to a decision within two weeks.
But Thursday evening I begin to again be aware of a vauge discomfort around my bladder, and needed to pee more often. I drank more water, and resolved to call the local health center first thing in the morning.
When I called she made me an appointment for 10:00 and suggested that I try not to pee before coming, so they could get a sample, or, if it was urgent, then bring a sample myself.
So I re-washed an empty peanut butter jar, and filled it the next time it was urgent (hint, it is always urgent when a bladder infection is involved). I had clearly been drinking enough water, as there wasn't much colour in the sample.
In the couple of hours between calling and the appointment the symptoms, which had reached "unpleasant" early that morning, eased a bit, so they were at the "noticable, but not serious" stage when I walked over, and at no time had the discomfort risen to the painful, burning pain when peeing one can get with a bladder infection. (Thankfully!)
The nurse who saw me appeared to be a man (but I didn't ask, and he didn't say; I mention this only because men, having generally longer urethras, and so a smaller chance of external bacteria making its way to the bladder, than women, tend to not get bladder infections, so this could have effected his decisions duringour meeting) and looked to be at least as old as I am. He took my temperature (no fever), asked me some routine questions and took the sample to the lab. After a short time he said that there was no evidence of bacteria in the sample and I should go home, and to call them again if it gets worse.
I didn't like the sound of that at all. I had already achieved "uncomfortable", and really didn't want to cross the line to "pain", but he didn't listen to my fears and sent me away without help, and not even advice like "drink lots of water" and "drink cranberry juice". (Hopefully only because I said I had had them before and thus he could assume I already know the basics.)
So I walked across the street, bought some cranberry juice and some Alvadon and went home. Things stayed at "uncomfortable, but not painful if I take alvadon regularly and drink water often and cranberry juice regularly" through to Sunday late afternoon. My energy levels were low, so we didn't work on home improvement or even sewing projects, but we managed to play Quirkel, and I read a good way into DukeFlieg's new book.
On Sunday morning we tried walking to the store to buy more Cranberry juice, but I managed only half a block before deciding I should head home, pee again, and lay on the sofa so that it doesn't fly away. He, wonderful man that he is, continued on and bought the juice.
By noon I was feeling well enough to walk, slowly, to the little Christmas market next to the museum, by the Church Village. It was a small markert, but there was a young lady selling some butter she had chruned herself, into which she had added some finely grated Västerbottensost (the best of the local cheeses, just ask anyone in either Västerbotten or Norrbotten), an older lady selling home baked sourdough bread (which went well with the cheesy butter), and another selling bottles of Aronia saft (juice concentrate) that she had made from the berries in her garden. She described them as tart, flavourfull, and high in vitamin C, which sounded perfect for someone fighting off a minor bladder infection without medical help.
It is just as described. I looked the berry up, and the English word is choke berry, which I had seen mentioned in books, but have never tried. The juice is yummy. Much tastier than cranberry.
After the market we went into the museum so I could pee, and to have a look, since we had never been in before. It is nice. The building is an old timber farmhouse, which dates to the 1700's (there is probably a sign somewhere with the year, but, if so, I missed it. The rooms on the main floor are decorated in period style, with appropriate furnishings, and they had available the traditional Swedish Christmas glögg (warm, spiced wine, served over rasins and almonds) and pepparkakor (gingerbread cookies) for the visitors (I didn’t take any, since I don't like wine, and none of the commercial pepparkakor are made with butter, which my tastebuds belive is the only acceptablebaking fat).
Upstairs they had a display in one room on shoemakers, with a lot of traditional work tools and a shoe making treadle sewing machine, and the other was set up like an old one-room school house, with desks, books, maps, and all the accessories.
In the cellar, in one room they had a smithy display, with a write-up on the local smith from the 1800's whose bellows and tools were on display, and examples of things that smiths used to make, including iron wagon wheel covers. In the next room was a display of sewing and fashions, and even an extensive button display. There was also a long, narrow room with an arched roof and a conference table, which looked perfect for holding a small SCA feast, and in the room off of that containing an black Adler from 1913. This is an open-top car, so old you can still see how the style of horse drawn carriages influenced its design, and a display of veterinary equipment.
It was a lovely diversion, but I did need to pee three times before we left. Then we went home, sampled the food we'd bought at the market and played a couple of games of Quirkel. During the second game I started feeling worse (despite the water and juice), and I am quite certain that contributed to his win that round (never mind that he's still ahead in total number of games won).
But after the game I suddenly felt even worse, including crossing the line over to a burning sensation when I pee, and, for the first time since the symptoms started, I had a fever. But it was 17:00 on a Sunday, so not much I could do about it till the health center opened at 08:00 on Monday.
Yah, we could have driven the 35 minutes to the hospital and sat in the waiting room for hours till everyone with more serious issues had been dealt with, and then faced the risk that even with the increased pain and fever the bacteria still might not show up in my very water diluted urine. (To say nothing of being exposed to whatever getms the others present might have.)
I briefly considered that, then decided that I would rather take a hot shower (which seems to help) and go to bed early, so I did, after reminding Keldor that the house is his if I die (I don't cope well with pain, and didn't hold out much hope for my chances).
The next 12 hours involved me sleeping fitfully, holding a hot water bottle against my tummy, getting up to pee and drink more every one to two hours, and taking another Alvaon every three hours, and sweating a lot. Do not recommend.
When Keldor's alarm went off at 05:00 I was starting to feel a little better, so I got up as usual and saw him off and talked with him on the phone while working on a sewing project as he drove to work just like it was a normal week day, though I drank more water and juice than normal.
By the time 08:00 rolled around I was feeling enough better that rather than calling the local Health Centre to make an appointment, I chatted with the folk at the national healthcare hotline, and agreed to wait and watch. By 09:00 I was feeling so much better I had the energy for housework. Not a huge amount, and I paused often to read, but clearly the worst was over and I was recovering rapidly.
By yesterday I had enough energy for a normal productive day, so the bedsheets are clean, clothes have been washed, and the laundry room has been swept and tidied.
So, now I know that when the Swedish national health care webpage says that bladder infections usually clear up on their own within a few days, that, yes, it can, but the process isn't pleasant. The upside is that I didn't take any antibiotics, so I don't also have to recover from the collateral damage they do to my wanted microbes. That said, knowing what I know now, in hindsight I can say, yes, if that Nurse had given me antibiotics I would have taken them! Then I would have been spared the extreme bits of Sunday.
The difference between us starts with how we experience pain. She sufferers from chronic pain, so it is a near constant thing that she is used to working around.
For me pain is normally a fleeting, rare, message from my body:
Me: *Bumps into something*
Nerves: Ow! Don't do that!
Me: *Rubs spot to acknowledge message and promise not to do it again.*
Nerves: Message recived. Alert cancled. Stand down.
Me: *Promptly forgets it happened and resumes tasks...* Hours later... What is this bruise from? *pokes bruise*
Nerves: Ow! Don't do that!
Me: *Gently rubs spot in apology*
Nerves: Message recived. Alert cancled. Stand down.
The one exception to this is when I get an infection, which generally keeps hurting till I do something about it. Usually it is in a finger, which was either stabbed with a needle, or bumped against something, and is thus easy to access, so the second it starts to hurt I am washing the area, (re)opening the wound, and cleaning with hydrogen peroxide before putting on a salve and taping it, and that normally triggers the "Message recived. Alert cancled. Stand down" response on the part of my nerves pretty quickly.
Except for bladder infections. My first one, in 1997 or '98, was the worst, since I didn't have any idea what was happening and thus missed any warning signs my body may have sent, and the first I knew I was already to the "burning sensation when I pee, plus I need to pee again directly after peeing" stage of the problem. Luckily my boyfriend at the time knew about bladder infections, recognised the symptoms, called his dad, who was a doctor. His dad called a pharmacy, the prescription was picked up, along with some cranberry juice, and the problem was soon solved, but not before I had been reduced to tears dealing with a pain both more intense and more persistent than any I had encountered hitherto.
Since then bladder infections have been rare, but they have happened. Since I am terrified to experience that kind of pain again I watch for the early warning signs, and try to always drink plenty of water. The few times it has crossed the line into starting to hurt a little in the bladder area and I need to pee again promptly after having done so, I up my water intake, drink cranberry juice, and make an appointment at the local health center. This usually results in a prescription for antibiotics, and the problem is solved.
The last time was five years ago, and the nurse who saw me explained that I had drunk so much water that she didn't really see bacteria in my urine sample, but she gave me antibiotics anyway, since it was clear from my symptoms what the problem was. She also gave me a small plastic sample jar with a lid, saying that if it happens again please get a sample before you drink so much water, so they can see the bacteria; they don't wish to use antibiotics when there isn't bacteria.
After four years of that jar sitting in the bathroom drawer unused I moved to this house and decided that, since I had never needed it, and it was a good size to take nuts or seeds along on a road trip, it may as well be useful, rather than taking up space. Besides, there is no under sink drawer in the new house, nor any other decent storage in the bathroom (fixing that is on the list, but other stuff comes first).
Now we've been in this house nearly a year, and until last week there was no sign that I might again have another bladder infection. Then, on Wednesday evening, I started to feel a little off, and the first little hint that perhaps it could happen.
But I felt better Thursday morning, and was focused on last minute preparations for my job interview in the afternoon (more reading of relavant literature and checking that my curtain hanging behind me was positioned correctly to make a tranquil background for the Teams meeting), and if there were any sympoms, I didn't notice them.
The interview went well. I felt I gave them useful and relevant answers to my questions, and that I received the same to mine. They have four canidates total they are interviewing, and will try to come to a decision within two weeks.
But Thursday evening I begin to again be aware of a vauge discomfort around my bladder, and needed to pee more often. I drank more water, and resolved to call the local health center first thing in the morning.
When I called she made me an appointment for 10:00 and suggested that I try not to pee before coming, so they could get a sample, or, if it was urgent, then bring a sample myself.
So I re-washed an empty peanut butter jar, and filled it the next time it was urgent (hint, it is always urgent when a bladder infection is involved). I had clearly been drinking enough water, as there wasn't much colour in the sample.
In the couple of hours between calling and the appointment the symptoms, which had reached "unpleasant" early that morning, eased a bit, so they were at the "noticable, but not serious" stage when I walked over, and at no time had the discomfort risen to the painful, burning pain when peeing one can get with a bladder infection. (Thankfully!)
The nurse who saw me appeared to be a man (but I didn't ask, and he didn't say; I mention this only because men, having generally longer urethras, and so a smaller chance of external bacteria making its way to the bladder, than women, tend to not get bladder infections, so this could have effected his decisions duringour meeting) and looked to be at least as old as I am. He took my temperature (no fever), asked me some routine questions and took the sample to the lab. After a short time he said that there was no evidence of bacteria in the sample and I should go home, and to call them again if it gets worse.
I didn't like the sound of that at all. I had already achieved "uncomfortable", and really didn't want to cross the line to "pain", but he didn't listen to my fears and sent me away without help, and not even advice like "drink lots of water" and "drink cranberry juice". (Hopefully only because I said I had had them before and thus he could assume I already know the basics.)
So I walked across the street, bought some cranberry juice and some Alvadon and went home. Things stayed at "uncomfortable, but not painful if I take alvadon regularly and drink water often and cranberry juice regularly" through to Sunday late afternoon. My energy levels were low, so we didn't work on home improvement or even sewing projects, but we managed to play Quirkel, and I read a good way into DukeFlieg's new book.
On Sunday morning we tried walking to the store to buy more Cranberry juice, but I managed only half a block before deciding I should head home, pee again, and lay on the sofa so that it doesn't fly away. He, wonderful man that he is, continued on and bought the juice.
By noon I was feeling well enough to walk, slowly, to the little Christmas market next to the museum, by the Church Village. It was a small markert, but there was a young lady selling some butter she had chruned herself, into which she had added some finely grated Västerbottensost (the best of the local cheeses, just ask anyone in either Västerbotten or Norrbotten), an older lady selling home baked sourdough bread (which went well with the cheesy butter), and another selling bottles of Aronia saft (juice concentrate) that she had made from the berries in her garden. She described them as tart, flavourfull, and high in vitamin C, which sounded perfect for someone fighting off a minor bladder infection without medical help.
It is just as described. I looked the berry up, and the English word is choke berry, which I had seen mentioned in books, but have never tried. The juice is yummy. Much tastier than cranberry.
After the market we went into the museum so I could pee, and to have a look, since we had never been in before. It is nice. The building is an old timber farmhouse, which dates to the 1700's (there is probably a sign somewhere with the year, but, if so, I missed it. The rooms on the main floor are decorated in period style, with appropriate furnishings, and they had available the traditional Swedish Christmas glögg (warm, spiced wine, served over rasins and almonds) and pepparkakor (gingerbread cookies) for the visitors (I didn’t take any, since I don't like wine, and none of the commercial pepparkakor are made with butter, which my tastebuds belive is the only acceptablebaking fat).
Upstairs they had a display in one room on shoemakers, with a lot of traditional work tools and a shoe making treadle sewing machine, and the other was set up like an old one-room school house, with desks, books, maps, and all the accessories.
In the cellar, in one room they had a smithy display, with a write-up on the local smith from the 1800's whose bellows and tools were on display, and examples of things that smiths used to make, including iron wagon wheel covers. In the next room was a display of sewing and fashions, and even an extensive button display. There was also a long, narrow room with an arched roof and a conference table, which looked perfect for holding a small SCA feast, and in the room off of that containing an black Adler from 1913. This is an open-top car, so old you can still see how the style of horse drawn carriages influenced its design, and a display of veterinary equipment.
It was a lovely diversion, but I did need to pee three times before we left. Then we went home, sampled the food we'd bought at the market and played a couple of games of Quirkel. During the second game I started feeling worse (despite the water and juice), and I am quite certain that contributed to his win that round (never mind that he's still ahead in total number of games won).
But after the game I suddenly felt even worse, including crossing the line over to a burning sensation when I pee, and, for the first time since the symptoms started, I had a fever. But it was 17:00 on a Sunday, so not much I could do about it till the health center opened at 08:00 on Monday.
Yah, we could have driven the 35 minutes to the hospital and sat in the waiting room for hours till everyone with more serious issues had been dealt with, and then faced the risk that even with the increased pain and fever the bacteria still might not show up in my very water diluted urine. (To say nothing of being exposed to whatever getms the others present might have.)
I briefly considered that, then decided that I would rather take a hot shower (which seems to help) and go to bed early, so I did, after reminding Keldor that the house is his if I die (I don't cope well with pain, and didn't hold out much hope for my chances).
The next 12 hours involved me sleeping fitfully, holding a hot water bottle against my tummy, getting up to pee and drink more every one to two hours, and taking another Alvaon every three hours, and sweating a lot. Do not recommend.
When Keldor's alarm went off at 05:00 I was starting to feel a little better, so I got up as usual and saw him off and talked with him on the phone while working on a sewing project as he drove to work just like it was a normal week day, though I drank more water and juice than normal.
By the time 08:00 rolled around I was feeling enough better that rather than calling the local Health Centre to make an appointment, I chatted with the folk at the national healthcare hotline, and agreed to wait and watch. By 09:00 I was feeling so much better I had the energy for housework. Not a huge amount, and I paused often to read, but clearly the worst was over and I was recovering rapidly.
By yesterday I had enough energy for a normal productive day, so the bedsheets are clean, clothes have been washed, and the laundry room has been swept and tidied.
So, now I know that when the Swedish national health care webpage says that bladder infections usually clear up on their own within a few days, that, yes, it can, but the process isn't pleasant. The upside is that I didn't take any antibiotics, so I don't also have to recover from the collateral damage they do to my wanted microbes. That said, knowing what I know now, in hindsight I can say, yes, if that Nurse had given me antibiotics I would have taken them! Then I would have been spared the extreme bits of Sunday.