Chronic Urinary Tract Infections : Self Urinalysis

Exhibit A

I am writing this post in an effort to help anyone out there that seems to be suffering from chronic urinary tract infections (UTI). Ever since Wyatt was born and my Dr. bisected my bladder, I have had pretty much straight UTI's. It is starting to get really annoying.

Every time I went to the Dr. it was a $30.00 copay and the cultures and tests would cost me extra too. Plus, I had to drive to Idaho Falls (30 minutes away) just to pee in a cup.

Enter Exhibit A: I know what you are all thinking, did she really pee in that green Ikea cup, and if so...are my kids going to be drinking out of that cup the next time we visit? Well, the answer is Yes & Yes. But I promise to sanitize said Green Cup and if you are still worried, feel free to request a Blue, Yellow, Pink or Orange cup. The point is...I finally got smart and Purchased 100 Rapid Response Urinalysis Strips off of eBay for $23.00. Now, whenever I feel symptoms coming on, or in my case I start losing complete control of my bladder {like this morning when I completely wet my pants without the slightest notion that I was going to}, I then can test myself and see if anything is going on.

So today my strip tells me that I have:

• Higher than normal Blood in my urine.
• Higher than normal Protein in my urine.
• Higher than normal Leukocytes in my urine.

So I know now that I need to start my antibiotic that I have on hand. This is also something that I would recommend. Ask you doctor to add refills to your prescription so if you test positive for an infection, you can just refill it and start taking it at onset.

And please use caution if you follow my tips. Online you can find great sources to help you interpret the results of your Urinalysis. But you still should listen to your body and your brain and see a physician if the problem persists. 

Happy Urine!