so, I went to the doctor....

[rm]

Right, so just went to the 24-hour clinic, because I have a UTI and that was too unpleasant not to get drugs for RIGHT NOW.

As per usual, there are a billion questions, including things about sexual orientation and how I know I have a UTI. These things are related, as women often get UTIs after penetrative sex, so the whole thing sort of came up in a context of "I've had these before, but not in ages because it happened more often when I was having it on with boys, but trust me, I know what this is and exactly how I got it" and also because the paperwork asked.

I was wearing, for the record, a white t-shirt, black pants and a black jacket. And a push-up bra ( really only have tow type sof bras -- push-up bras and bras I use for binding. There is no neutral). Sure I have short hair, and when I'm at the doctor's office and not freaked out I'm pretty calm and in control and authoratative and when I don't feel well, my voice tends to pitch lower, but seriously folks, if you've met me, and while it's easy for me to read as masculine, it doesn't really happen without effort. At all.

So imagine my "WTF?" when the doctor, very deliberated maked an x on the little line dividing the male and female boxes on my perscription form. Was it a 60+-year-old doctor trying to be cool about bisexuality and not quite getting it right? Was it bad hand-writing? (althugh his handwriting mostly didn't suck? Was it someone having a gender clue? Or was it more of the variety of the poeple at Citibank who call me "sir" even when I'm wearing lipstick and high heels.

The world may never know.

But now I'm home. And I have Cipro.

Comments

Re: this icon is rarely this apt

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

What are they?

Over the past two years I have had recurring bouts of UTIs (enough that my GP has given me a standing perscription for Cipro (no anthrax for me! ;-p)) and generally just suffered through with cranberry juice until the meds took effect.

Re: this icon is rarely this apt

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

Thanks! This is good info to have on hand!

Re: this icon is rarely this apt

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

There are now several over-the-counter varieties; the best known one is Uristat, but any generic containing Phenazopyridine Hydrochloride is fine. (That's the turns-your-pee-orange-novacaine stuff you may have had prescribed.) They're in the same drugstore aisle as the yeast infection meds.

Cranberry extract pills can also be a lifesaver when your stomach's irritated by all that acidic juice. I take a gelcap daily to keep my cystitis/UTI damage under control, and add another couple of pills if it gets worse. (The gelcaps seem to work better than the powder kind for me; I think I'm taking Nature's Bounty, which are also a pretty high concentration.)

Re: this icon is rarely this apt

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

After last year's string of UTI's, cranberry pills are part of my daily regimen. So far, they've been working fairly well and are so much easier on my tummy. (I find both the acid and taste of cranberry juice unpleasant.)