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Hi Eric,
Re-run alley first .....
I've always had a foley. For 20 yrs I had about a grand total of 5-6 UTIs. An incredibly low number. Drs were amazed.
Then, in 2000, without doing anything different and even drinking more and being more clean down there than ever before ... I began to get fever-symptomatic UTIs.
I found out that the Proteus bug was found in my urine on December 13th, 2004 (I'm looking in my medical journal here). My Dr didn't want to treat it! (I've dropped that Dr ... a real lowlife himself). When my husband heard it was Proteus he insisted I be treated for it. So the Dr. put me on Amoxycillin. This turned out to be a grave error. Amoxycillin took care of my symptoms but it is not the potent/real drug to clear up Proteus.
So my symptoms returned every month. And for 5 months he treated me with Amoxycillin. THIS COST ME DEARLY because it was NOT eradicating the bug and, in fact, did me more harm by allowing Proteus to grow stronger or get sneakier (be encapsulating itself in my bladder wall or lying dormant).
I finally went to another Dr after a dispute with that Dr's mommy (HIS BILLING CLERK WHO WAS PADDING HIS POCKETS BY OVERCHARGING MEDICARE). My new Dr said Amoxycillin alone will not kill Proteus. He put me on VANTIN - a 3rd generation cephlasporin and he thought FOR SURE that would do it. It didn't.
Next ... at home IV antibiodics. Double doses. My urine was clear after that and I thought whooopeeee! FINALLY! But that was short-lived.
I finally went to a Urologist who put me on a low daily dose of Augmentin (250 mgs) and it's worked for 6 months now. He also wanted to eliminate a big KIDNEY stone being a possible culprit via a CT Scan. The results showed many big BLADDER STONES (more on that in another post)
Now, for your Qs...
No bug likes an acidic environment but ONCE IT'S GOT IN THERE only treatment will help. I know .. I've tried drinking more juices, taking cranberry capsules, etc to no avail.
I really don't have any SPECIAL sites to direct you to. Anything I've viewed has just been from a Google search on Proteus Mirabilis. My info comes from hubby having been knee deep in pee and blood for a job for 8 yrs. He knows ALL the bugs but all GOOD lab techs know that Psedemonas, Proteus, Sigalla and Salmonilla are THE BIG BAD 4 that are evil pathogens. And bastards to get rid of!
Despite being symptom free for 6 months now since being on low-dose therapy ... my urine sample taken in 2 weeks ago to my Urologist showed Pseudemonas! Damn! BUT that can be good news or bad. As my husband explains it ... even though it's not a bug one wants in their system ... It can/does have the ability to keep other bugs away. A big-dick syndrome. LOL. How lame but true.
I take it day by day now. The last 5 yrs have been extra tough. Two major sores keeping me in bed 6 months with each one. Then Proteus shows up in my urine and a Dr contributed to turning it into a super bug by wrongly treating me.
What are you currently on? For how long? Did you have a fever?
Lori Michaelson
AGE 41
C4/5 complete quad, 26 years post
Tucson, AZ
-------Original Message-------
Date: 03/07/06 17:24:16
Subject: [QUAD-L] Lori
Lori,
I have a UTI and found out it's proteus. Could you send me information,
website, etc on proteus that you found helpful. Proteus doesn't like an
acid environment right. I never had UTI problems when I had a foley.
Since I switched to a supra I've had problems. I know why too. The
supra just doesn't drain as well. I probably will need to change the
way I manage my bladder. I'll need advice on that in a week or so.
Eric
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