Should I be annoyed… either gas me up or talk me off the cliff.

MorpheusMorpheus
edited August 2024 in General

I’m not asking for medical advice and this post may contain some TMI, I’ll keep it as clean as possible.

After my colectomy, as I was home healing, I developed a UTI. My primary care physician, who knew I had a colectomy, prescribed an antibiotic. Three days later, the urine culture comes back and showed I have E. coli which is resistant to the antibiotic which I was prescribed.

As I’m doing some research, I see that apparently E. coli infection is very common for anyone having a colectomy. Shouldn’t the Dr have had some foresight and prescribed a different antibiotic knowing E. coli is common after a colectomy and resistant to the antibiotic which he prescribed?

He called me today and prescribed a different antibiotic which I just got back from picking up, 9pm on a Friday night. I could have been 3 days into the right antibiotic but here I am still hurting and just starting the right meds.

So… should I be annoyed?

Comments

  • BearBear

    Doctors usually have general information on everything versus specializing. When I was having problems with my diabetes medication, I searched out and chose an internal medicine doctor. Doctors usually have general information on everything versus specializing. When I was having problems with my diabetes medication, I searched out and chose a internal medicine doctor. That was his specialty.

    When I was younger, my mom worked At a drugstore. She was a cashier, but also got certified as a pharmacy technician. This was decades ago at a private drugstore. So she would work on the floor as well as behind the pharmacy occasionally. I learned back then that doctors don’t know everything about the medication they prescribe and don’t always know the latest information as much as a pharmacist might.

    Whether or not, you should be annoyed as up to you. If you don’t trust your doctor, get a new one. Otherwise don’t let this stay in your head Rent free.

  • calineurcalineur

    You could be annoyed, if in the past you had only positive experiences with this doctor prior this and he/she had a great reputation of being informed and helping patients. In my opinion, When a person learns that death by medical errors is one of the top causes of death in the USA, we could ask ourselves how is it that we still expect accurate health service from doctors and the medical system that controls them. I've been "annoyed" by the medical system and doctors in general for so long that the last time I had a doctor's visit was in 1998 for a physical exam (I see "alternative" health practitioners if needed along with diet and fasting to treat literally anything). I take my health in my own hands thank you very much.

    In April of this year I was my mother's caretaker. She was suffering from various issues, but according to her, she had congestive heart failure and hyperparathyroidism, both caused by medications prescribed by doctors. She was having issues that were not improving, so I decided to take her to see a doctor. The food was so bad at the hospital I had to tell them "are you trying to shorten her life with this crap"?? and told them I'd feed her myself. Then they treated her with a drug to treat aedema (caused by the congestive heart failure), against her wishes. Long story short, she died 2 weeks later. It's true she was going down anyways, but I dont see how the medical system helps at all. If anything, the opposite is true. That's been my experience anyways.

  • TxTomTxTom

    Be annoyed, but don't dwell on it. These days, doctors have to waste a lot of time playing secretary and shuffling paperwork to meet bureaucratic obligations--time that could be spent on patients instead.

  • TaromilkteaTaromilktea

    Doctor here, species of bacteria are not always susceptible/resistant to all of the same antibiotics. Especially in the case of years of over use of antibiotics, and bacteria developing increased resistance to medication. It's not entirely uncommon for a physician to prescribe an antibiotic that's usually effective in killing the bacteria that you're likely infected with, but sometimes it's not the typical bacterial infection, or that bacteria isn't susceptible to the antibiotic that it usually is.

  • SunsetSnugglesSunsetSnuggles

    @Morpheus
    So sorry this happened to you (both the UTI and the prescription). I would be annoyed. 🫂

    When my grandma was last in the hospital, she had a blaring yellow hospital-placed bracelet stating not to draw blood or take blood pressure from one of her arms, due to having axillary lymph nodes removed during a mastectomy. My family and I watched a nurse pick up that wrist and prepare to draw blood from the arm. Unreal. Obviously we spoke up. But it was a startling lesson on how closely we or our families must pay attention to medical staff. My grandma was out; had we not been there, the nurse would have proceeded.

    I do agree with @TxTom on the not dwelling aspect, for your own sake. (Consider that even on the "right" antibiotic, you might still be in pain.) We need to be aware, but try to let the anger pass through.

    @Bear is correct; pharmacists are the experts in this field. We shouldn't have to call a pharmacist to double-check every doctor's prescriptions, though.

    I do like to let people know, however, that you can call any pharmacy across the country, ask to speak with a pharmacist, and they will take the time to listen to your entire cocktail of meds, and let you know if anything interacts with each other, and much more. It's an incredible resource that most people don't realize is at their fingertips.

    On a similar note, I recently found out that hospitals often have a free nurse line you can ask for, when calling the front desk. A registered nurse will take time to listen to your medical situation and give advice. Even if your health insurance provides a nurse line, the wait will likely be far less, this way. Another wonderful resource.

    Huge thanks to those in the medical field who dedicate their time and efforts in helping us.

    @calineur
    I'm so sorry about the loss of your mom. Thank you for sharing. 🫂

    ~ Sunset Snuggles

    🫂 Enthusiast 🌄 Travel Fiend 🐄 Animal Lover

  • OverTheMooonOverTheMooon

    I'd be annoyed for sure. But, take it with a grain of salt. Your source is the internet (which ISNT always wrong). It's just as likely that he goofed and forgot about it, too. They're human.
    It's unprofessional though. I'd assume doctors read up before a procedure like that. He should've prepared better. Sorry you're going through it

  • UREverythingUREverything

    I switch my pcp as needed. Not so much 3 strikes your out, but what was the level of incompetence!
    I understand healthcare is turning into a fast food drive thru model.
    But ill move to the next pcp if I feel like it.

  • CuddleHugs01234CuddleHugs01234

    If that’s something he normally does as a doctor, yes, he should’ve been aware. I have learned to check with the doctor, but also to research stuff myself too. They don’t always give all the options and they don’t always use the terminology where we even know what to look up.

    Sometimes asking him why he didn’t realize that at the time may give you some insight. I like to give them feedback if I feel they could’ve done it a better way, because maybe they don’t realize. In one case we could’ve been more proactive with one thing, and it would’ve maybe been a less stressful route in the end. And the reason he didn’t do it like I thought during my hindsight was because insurance wouldn’t have covered it that early, but if I had known all the options I could’ve paid outright if I had chosen to, if I had have all the options.

  • Jack62Jack62

    I have found over the years that having a close friendly relationship with your pharmacist can be very valuable and can save you some grief. After a few years I wrote a very glowing letter to her employer. I mentioned a couple of times how she caught a drug interaction or something like that, gave her a copy. I suggested she should have a raise.

  • Tigerlilly32Tigerlilly32

    As a medical provider, Your provider followed standard procedure by prescribing a broad-spectrum antibiotic commonly used for UTIs while waiting for the culture results. It's important to understand that cultures require time to grow and do not provide immediate results.

    The provider's actions were entirely appropriate, though I do understand your frustration. Wishing you a smooth recovery. Happy healing ❤️‍🩹

  • achetocuddleachetocuddle

    Medical care is like fast food and we are the hamburgers/piece of meat.

    @CuddleHugs01234 is correct. Sometimes you get good insight by asking doc why they did that. That way you have a better idea if they are a good doc trying to make a thoughtful decision best for the individual or if they made a mistake.

    I wasn't sure til reading Tigerlilly32 reply, but that is correct. But entirely understandable to be annoyed about hurting with a UTI (horrible) for 3 days.

  • MorpheusMorpheus

    Thanks for your replies. Ironically or maybe not so ironically, after 1 day of the correct antibiotics, I feel a world better so I’m not annoyed anymore. It’s all very interesting though especially after reading all of your comments.

  • xandriarainxandriarain

    Im suprised you weren't prescribed antibiotics from the get go by the doctor that performed your surgery. I recently had a far less invasive surgery than the one you had and was given a script for all the meds I would need ahead of time and was instructed to start antibiotics the day before surgery. Also I hope I am not stepping over the line here but I highly recommend taking a probiotic while on a antibiotics to counteract the damage they can do to the good bacteria in your gut.

  • lovingspoonfulllovingspoonfull

    I loved @tigerlilly32’s response. I’d also add that there are specific reasons to wait to escalate a prescription from a public health and microbiology perspective. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria that survive the treatment pass those genes along by replication or by other gene transfer methods like plasmids.

    The more you use an antibiotic, the faster you accelerate to the time that that antibiotic is less effective. Doctors and public health professionals are trying to stave off when that occurs, so protocol dictates “don’t use it until its need becomes apparent”.

    There’s also the secondary concern that some of the stronger antibiotics also have more side effects so it makes sense to only use them when needed. Antibiotic use should always be carefully considered.

    This of course creates pain and difficulty for patients; that’s never fun and they have my sympathy.

  • achetocuddleachetocuddle

    A probiotic is a good idea and it won't hurt you even tho you can't be sure you need it. Of course run it by the doc. Like @xandriarain I don't mean to overstep and I sure don't mean to say I know as well as the doc does. I just know the probiotics helped me with antibiotic side effects.

  • UREverythingUREverything

    Glad to hear that.

  • MorpheusMorpheus

    @xandriarain

    Im suprised you weren't prescribed antibiotics from the get go by the doctor that performed your surgery.

    As part of my preop, I took 2 different antibiotics the day before the surgery. The surgeon also gave me some internal antibiotics during my surgery. I also spent three days in the hospital where they gave me antibiotics intravenously.

  • starrynitecudsstarrynitecuds

    I am so sorry you went through that, UTIs are horrible. Definitely let the dr know, email is best. Your faith in the doctor has been shaken, it's a valid concern/reason.
    When picking up a new prescription, always talk to the pharmacist. Most states mandate continued training for pharmacists, unlike doctors. Fingers crossed this med works quickly.

  • Gwynne42Gwynne42

    As a woman who has had multiple UTIs, e. coli is frequently the cause. The doctor usually starts with a broader spectrum antibiotic first until the specimen is cultured. Bugs become resistant due to mutating to survive various antibiotics. If we begin treating every infection with the strongest possible antibiotic, then eventually all bacteria and viruses would become resistant.

Sign In or Register to comment.