What Causes Pelvic Pain When Suffering From UTI?

Posted on Tue, 22 Apr 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 22 Apr 2014 Answered on

Fri, 9 May 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : hi! My daughter is away at college, just went to med center with UTI. Dr gave her Nitrofuantonin (Spelling) mono-mcr 100 mg. Strong stuff (to her)! Took with meal and still bothered her .But anyway, 5 days worth, she'll get through it. She is asking though-if it is UTI, why does she get more pain after eating (even before she started the medicine). I think her last UTI was in early childhood, I don't think I've ever had one so no clue on this one. More severe pain hits like w/in a half hour to hour after eating, then gets better (bearable) like in another hour-ish, clearing up more as time goes on-until she eats again. This part was happening before she went to dr too. Is that common with UTI?

Answered by Dr. Vaddadi Suresh (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Where exactly the pain is located? Detailed Answer: Hi, UTIs can recur in girls. Where exactly the pain is located, in the abdomen or in the pelvis or over the bladder region?

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Vaddadi Suresh (7 hours later)

The pain is in front in pelvic area and in back, just a little higher-right side. She says if she were to put her hands on her waist, as if in an "I'm exasperated" pose (thumbs to front and fingers to back) , the back pain is roughly where her fingers would reach down, around hip-posh level, if that makes sense. Thanks!

Answered by Dr. Vaddadi Suresh (16 hours later)

Brief Answer: looks like PELVIC PAIN. Detailed Answer: Hi, This type of pain is regarded as 'pelvic pain', and it encompasses a broad area. This may be seen in recurrent UITs, Various pelvic causes like ovarian and adnexal organ inflammation, bladder problems, uterine, cervical and mesenteric inflammations. As, clearly she did not respond to antibiotics (nitofurantoin is a fairly good urinary antibiotic) i would advise a pelvic ultrasound to rule out the above mentioned possibilities. Meanwhile, you may try an OTC antacid drug like esomeprazole or rabeprazole 20 mg for few days and see if her food precipitated pain responds. Feel free to post any queries ahead. All the best.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar