Yannik,
Caveat: I am not a doctor, nor do I have any medical credentials. I'm just a
c5-6 quad, 27 years post-injury.
I'm sorry to hear about the horrendous struggles you've had since your injury 6
years ago. Most people who sustain a spinal cord injury have multiple,
recurrent UTIs for a period after the injury, but then seem to adjust and have
fewer and fewer UTIs. This may be due partly to learning sterile techniques,
but I believe it's more likely caused by the body developing antibodies to the
nasty bacteria that cause the majority of UTIs. My urologist once told me that
because most SCIs have residual urine in their bladders all the time, we
develop a host colony of bacteria that our bodies become tolerant to. I don't
know for sure.
It seems that antibiotics and traditional treatments are letting you down.
Keep pumping the fluids and the cranberry [it does help,] but you may also want
to try the simple sugar called D-Mannose. Google it--you'll find lots of
information and places to buy it.
http://www.healingtherapies.info/D-Mannose.htm
I've experience bouts of AD, but never to the extreme that you described.
Autonomic Dysreflexia IS a very serious condition, so your worries of a stroke
or death are not unfounded. You should always seek medical attention
immediately if you cannot find the source of your A.D. [I'd say 99% of the time
it's bowel/bladder related, so clear those areas first.] If those 2 obvious
causes are not the problem look for burns, cuts or irritations to your skin
(check your cushion too.) I once had sudden AD while eating take-out Chinese
food; I assumed I need to have a bowel movement, but then finally realized the
food container was leaking and dripping hot oil onto my leg. The burn on my
leg gave me A.D.!
A few thoughts:
Have you ever been checked for allergies?
Ever been tested for bladder or kidney stones?
Do you have any skin breakdown?
I hope people on the quadlist have some more ideas for you.
Sincerely,
Don.
