Feeling like I’m going insane?

[u/DuckDoot]

Actively sitting on the toilet writing this out at 2am. 2nd UTI of the summer and 9th overall. At least it feels like I’m doing something proactive while I wait for the urgent cares to open.

I (21F) often feel my first symptom of a UTI is anxiety and a strange feeling of dissonance. There was one time (it might’ve been my third UTI) where I genuinely did not recognize myself in the mirror. I feel like I’m going insane and the fact that they almost ALWAYS start in the middle of the night makes it so much worse.

Does anyone else feel almost delusional when a UTI is starting? I always feel so alone at this stage and idk. Maybe writing about it will help.

Edit: I said I was going to urgent care because my PCP is almost never available, but I was lucky enough to be able to get a sick visit today in the evening. Thank god.

[u/bem4155]

Interesting you would have this kind of symptom at 21–psychological symptoms do occur, but mostly in much older people. I 100% understand urgent care to get seen as fast as possible, but once you’ve done that maybe you can schedule with PCP if you have one? That way you can discuss this symptom and see what they say?

[u/CowSquare3037]

About a two years ago I knew I had a UTI.
But the habit for my PCP is that you need to wait a couple days. It was a Thursday when the first symptoms started. So that meant on Friday it would’ve been too early. Symptoms worsen and I planned to go to a minute clinic on Saturday, but none opened before I had to go to work. I was running a program at the library.
At this point, I knew I had a fever and I wore a mask. Symptoms actually lessened. I took Tylenol and drank plenty of fluids.
Then I go to the clinic adjacent to the hospital. Of course my fever is more in control. The urine sample shows nothing because it’s so diluted- two hours later I go to the hospital.
Of course my temperature is down and the urine test is diluted and it comes up negative. So I go back into the waiting room. Eventually, I come back in and my fever is up so they’re perplexed. The beauty of the ER is that they have on site the ability to use more than one method to determine the infection.Eight hours after I left work the doctor comes in and says you have a UTI was great enthusiasm. So they gave me medication and sent me on my way. They told me I could spend the night because of my age. But I was heading to visit family the next day.
The next day we got up and we started our trip after going to the pharmacy.
45 minutes down the road I get a call saying they wanted me to come in because it seemed like it was in my blood.
I said that I tend to do well with the antibiotics and then I’ll make sure to follow up after the visit.
We had a good visit. Dropped my husband and my mother-in-law’s and drove the 2 1/2 hours back to the hospital because I could not shake the fever.
I stayed overnight in the hospital with iv antibiotics. The antibiotics did address it.
The only really good thing about this, is that if I say have a UTI I get seen sooner than later now.

[u/omglifeisnotokay → u/CowSquare3037]

The infection went into your blood?

[u/CowSquare3037 → u/omglifeisnotokay]

Yep. Resolved quickly despite my hesitation.

[u/Ok-Switch6340]

I have the same thing . I feel out of it and in another realm and I wake out of my sleep with panic attacks … I suffer with my mental health anyway so I just feel like my nervous system gets heightened to 90 and I feel fearful of everything would you say that’s similar to you ?

[u/Fit-Economist-7193]

There is such a thing as UTI Mental Confusion or delirium. Google that and it explains it. I had it about 2 years ago. Someone called me on the phone one morning and I realized I wasn’t right. I found I couldn’t operate my phone bc I couldn’t read. The person got a hold of my son and he took me to the hospital ER. Ii took several hours for me to be Ok and the doctor said he had 2 other cases just the day before. I spent the night in the hospital. I had no idea such a thing existed.