Keep on Knockin'

Today I knocked on another door in an attempt to get some answers. I’ve been unable to post the last two months because of a bladder infection that proved to be antibiotic resistant. The antibiotics totally laid me flat, and, according to the doc today, appears to have wiped out the good bacteria along with the bad….which has now resulted in an unfortunate vaginal infection. So I am still on an antibiotic. Nor does the ‘biotic stop there, as it were. The door I went knockin’ on was the door to the urologist’s office. They did a urine test and checked the volume of my bladder – in non-scientific terms, they checked to see how much pee I had. (Aside: it was kind of neat how quickly they did it; they used a machine similar to an ultrasound in that it was a similar technique and used ultrasound gel on my pelvis. Instead of an image, though, it was a numeric indicating the amount of liquid left.)

Despite an additional pelvic exam, and thorough questioning, the urologist could not determine the source of the urinary incontinence, other than stress. He also said the pelvic therapy I did over the summer was merely “expensive Kiegels.” Not only does this make me feel frustrated, it feels a little like a pat on the head and an accompanying, “It’s just your emotions” or “It’s all in your head”. I question why the female body has not been studied, has not been invested in, has not been researched extensively to understand how and why it is so complex. Don’t get me wrong: it is wonderful to hear the bladder infection is gone. I am grateful; being unable to pee was awful, and I hope to never repeat the experience. In order to keep myself healthy, and to prevent another recurring infection, though, I am to take a low-dose antibiotic for two months, as well as a fairly decent-sized dosage of Vitamin C. I can handle the Vitamin C, but...sixty more days. Of an antibiotic. After a previous roughly twenty-nine days on three different ones (two rounds were the same antibiotic) plus the antibiotic for the current vaginal infection. To say I am discouraged is an understatement. I keep rattling doors to different doctors’ offices in attempts to get at the root of the problem: why I always seem to be unwell. I know several different things about my body at this point, but no specialist, general physician, or nurse can account for a definitive diagnostic cause. Well, on to the next door, I suppose: the neurologist. If they can schedule me in properly…