Cowhugger

*Moderators- please leave this post up in all trimester forums- it is something that everyone needs to know about.*

Hi everyone-

I just got out of the hospital and thought I would let you know what happened to me so that hopefully none of you will suffer the same thing. I am not trying to scare anyone, but according to the doctors who treated me, both kidney and urinary tract infections are often ignored until they are quite serious. You are about to read how serious they can get.

Quick background- I have been staying in Malta for the last 6 weeks- I am having the baby here, and so we had come to set things up, start making visits to the Obstetrician, etc. Of course it is hot here, but I have been taking it easy. I had a few dizzy spells which I chalked up to the heat, as you would. I also began weeing all the time, with not much wee coming out. This I assumed was due to my bladder getting smaller as I neared the third trimester.

Last Sunday in the morning I felt a little nauseated and feared my morning sickness had returned. After a few hours of discomfort, I decided a lie down might help. The nausea got worse and by the afternoon it was bad enough to want to throw up just to get it over with. I was restless in bed, and kept turning the A/C on and off because I felt hot, then cold. I was also sweating, but I thought this was because of the nausea.

Around one in the afternoon, a pain began on my right side- just to the right of the bellybutton. It was a dull, but very strong pain. It began to spread more and more to the right, wrap around to the back, and stopped where my right kidney was. After about 10 minutes, maybe 20, the pain got so bad that I was writhing around in agony. My LO stopped moving around at this point and I got really scared. I couldn't yell for my husband, and as he was in the back garden I managed to text him to get him to come. He took one look at me and told me we were going to the hospital.

I got to A&E, and they saw me immediately. By the time they put me in a wheelchair I was unable to lift my right leg and the baby still hadn't moved. They took me to the labour ward- being only 25 weeks along at that point I realised that things were really serious. I had to wee in a cup and the wee was really cloudy (another symptom to watch- do not ignore cloudy wee). They started taking bloods, inserted an iv, and began testing to be certain the baby was okay.

The baby seemed fine (although he still wasn't moving) and so I was taken down to Obstetrics. I stayed there for days, on drips, antibiotics, and having continual fetal monitoring until the suspected infection cleared. The doctors said it was a kidney infection, but I was lucky enough to catch it at the very beginning. Yes, all this stuff happened and that was just the BEGINNING of the infection.

The woman who was sharing the hospital room with me wasn't so lucky. She ignored the signs- frequent urination of tiny amounts, faint spells, and a couple days of nausea, which she, like me, assumed was a returning spell of morning sickness. For her, the infection was full blown and it was not until she went into labour (at 28 weeks) that she went to the hospital. It was obviously extremely traumatic for her- she was injected with drugs to stop the labour. Her first night, she stayed in the labour ward, not knowing what was going to happen to the baby. Her time in Obstetrics next to me was much worse- she was on a catheter, stronger drugs, and had constant fetal monitoring. She was also in a tremendous amount of pain. Fortunately the baby was saved, and her body responded well to the drugs.

We were discharged the same day, and are on a strict regimen of 4+ litres of water a day, occasional checkups/urine tests, and vigilant watches for a recurring infection.

I am not trying to scare anyone into sleepless nights, etc. I don't want you to think that every time you feel nauseated, or only wee a little bit, or whatever, that you are on death's doorstep. But I hope that everyone here reads more on kidney and urinary tract infections in pregnancy and gets to know to chain of symptoms. If everyone does this, then we can save anyone from a potentially dangerous situation. Here are a few reliable links-

kidney infections - http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00593.html
urinary tract infections - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pre...uringpreg.html


By the way, they are most common in the 2nd tri, so 2nd tri girls, be especially vigilant.

Here's wishing you all a healthy pregnancy

Amanda xo

Frankie

Thanks for the information have made a note for future reference

Ann-Marie

Rachel16+Bump

Sorry you had to go through all that pain! hope your feeling better soon xx

helen1234

me too
thank you
xxx

wanababy

Thanks and Thank god everything is OK with you!!

I'm only in my first tri with first so I will watch for the signs...

Thanks again hun...

Take care

Liz
xx

enigma

Oh my, you must have been petrified, im glad your ok now.

leedsforever

Keep drinking the water hun

thanks for the info!! I often wonder after I always need the toilet but little amounts come out!!

Would my mw pick up a urine infection?? xx

bluebell

glad you're feeling better now and thanks for the info!!

xx

Mervs Mum

Thanks Amanda

glad you're both ok.

I have to say, apart from the nausea, the initial symptoms do sound familiar to me. I've been off work for 2 weeks - occasional dizzy spells, an intermitant stitch like pain in my side, frequent urination but with very little there and my wee is sometimes cloudy. Thanks for this - I'll be extra vigilant now.

x