The Colon Club

I've had 2 confirmed bouts of UTI since Jan. with minor amounts (WELL under 10,000) of Klebsiella Pneumonaie and possibly have a 3rd just weeks later. My UTI symptoms have ONLY been some 'over stretched'' sensation after short nap or upon waking. No discolored urine, smell, bleeding, cloudiness. Twice dip sticks showed 'normal' and yet culture showed KP.

I've taken Keflex in normal dosage 1st time. SUPRAX in large doses 2nd time. Doc just gave me Keflex 500 mg 2x's a day last night, for 15 days. Tried Cipro but had hives and explosive diarrhea within 12 hours of 1st dose. Allergic to sulfa.

My only anatomical problem is vaginal thin skin and dryness from aging and chemo (age 63). Atrophied vaginal and vaginal stenosis. Not sexually active since chemo 5 years ago. CT shows no problems. I also have to wear a pad 24 hours a day due to urinary leakage. Now changing (unscented,etc) pads numerous times daily.

One doctor mentioned Bowel Resection messing up intestinal flora permanently! Resection was over 5 years ago. Probiotics and Vit. C (2,000 mg daily) was mentioned but no advice on how much probiotics daily.

I'm afraid of Kelb P since it can be very serious and even deadly if it progresses to kidney. I can't get a straight answer on how to rid my body of this (found in 40 to 80% of normal intestines) and prevent UTI's.

My friend at church died a few months ago after a e coli UTI spread to kidneys then blood stream.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Hi Dianetavegia,

I have an UTI too since 1 year ago, diagnosed as klebsiella p, which is almost resistant to all antibiotics.
I think it is in my prostate (where only a few antibiotics can reach there, how lucky am i?) , but it should be not as patogen as e coli or any other bacteria. Meaning it is not fatal unless you have severe neutropenia or immunodeficiency.

I have pain urinating for many months, and i think i got it with the last surgery i had.
Bactrim should be effective against it but it is the last card i can play and docs want to keep it if the infection becomes systemic.

Drink lots of water (i know it is hard with chemo but you can ask for an IV extra), and try to make your urines as much acid as possible (lemon juice , orange juice, vinegar might help), indeed bacteria try to create an alkanine environment to proliferate, so this might not solve the problem but will give bacteria some challenges to proliferate.

Please discuss it with a doc , every situation is different.

M:

Diane,
I'm sorry, but I don't remember where you are being treated. I am assuming you are seeing a GI specialist as well as a urologist or even a nephrologist who are working together trying to fix this.
Three tries is about as many times as I would let them have. If your specialists are local docs, it might be time to go to a major cancer center or university hospital where they will take a team approach to your problem.
I wish you the best. Had never given them a second thought before, but now kidney issues scare the bejesus out of me. When I was in the hospital this last time being pumped full of fluids to try and restart my kidneys, I was absolutely terrified. When they finally got things flowing again, they were constantly checking the chemistry of the urine. I remember getting antibiotics, plus several days of sodium bicarb in with the saline.
I don't know why docs aren't more supportive of probiotics use. My onc started me on them when I first started chemo and I think it really helped.
Again, I wish you the best. It doesn't seem fair that you should have to put up with this is addition to everything else.
Dianne

Would cranberry juice help? I'm having surgery tomorrow, surgeon already told me, I would be cath. I've been drinking cranberry juice daily for the past few days in hope of prevent an infection.

Sorry you are having this problem.

Lee

I've been off chemo for 5 years in August. My last cath was for the liver resetcion two years ago. My doc told me I might be 'colonized' (that sounds so scary to me), which doesn't cause infections but can make the area more prone to other infections.

He believes my discomfort is caused by chemo/ menopause and some pelvic congestion from being constipated so often. He also thinks a lot of my discomfort is vaginal from chemo/ menopause. I've already been told I have vaginal stenosis and atrophic vaginitis (old age) which both can cause discomfort and stinging when acidic urine hits that area.

I can't take Bactrim but took Suprax this last time which is supposed to kill Klebsiella P. Last night the doctor I saw gave me Keflex 500 mg to take for 15 days in case this is just a resistant bout of KP.

I only see my onc twice a year. I saw the Gastro in Dec. (colonoscopy and office visit) and REALLY disliked this new guy. I will NOT see him again. Doc says the amount of colonized KP is so low that it is generally not even treated but since I'd complained of some discomfort, he had just assumed we'd caught it extremely early both times. Counts of 100,000 are considered an infection. QWEST shows mine as being in the 10,000 - 50,000 range (that's how they estimate with the next being 50,000 - 99,999).

I started probiotics. I read that 2,000 units of Vitamin C works better than cranberry juice. I need to pick that up, too.