Hi everyone, I got my first two UTIs in november and december of 2025 after becoming sexually active, both of which cleared easily with bactrim and macrobid, respectively. Then in January I tested positive for group b strep and was put on a week of augmentin. My symptoms only worsened and when I retested, the strep was gone but E. Coli and E. Fae were found, then 100k+ Kleb P. a couple weeks later, then E. Coli and E. Fae again. I took my first microgen about a month ago and it came back with high levels of E. Coli and low levels of E. Fae and Kleb P.
It's been about four months since the original Strep b uti, and four months of unrelenting symptoms. Since January I have taken a week of augmentin, 5 days of macrobid, 1 dose of fosfomycin, 10 days of cefdinir, 7 days of keflex, a week of macrobid, and I'm currently on the tail end of two weeks of augmentin again. I have never gotten any relief on any of these antibiotics. My symptoms fluctuate in intensity, but almost never in response to abx. I was starting to feel a bit better late into the 4 days of macrobid but then my doctor switched me to fosfomycin and it caused a huge flare, and now I'm allergic to macrobid anyway.
Microgen reported cephalosporin resistance, but all of my cultures have reported susceptibility to every drug I've taken, including cephalosporins. It seems they possibly lower my bacterial load as the Klebsiella was definitely reduced, but I've never really gotten noticeable relief from antibiotics, which concerns me because a lot of people report relief from antimicrobials being the reason they know their IC is in fact an embedded UTI. I've been on biofilm busters for 3 weeks now and d-mannose, hiprex, vit c, gennaMD, probiotics for 2 months, and I just couldn't tell you if they're making a difference. The only things I can point to that I know slightly lessen symptoms are a couple days in my follicular phase and pelvic floor stretching/therapy. However, I know that something bacterial is at play here, because my pee absolutely stinks, and my tests come back positive.
I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this experience with antibiotics not helping despite susceptibility being reported, why, and what that meant for their treatment. I've taken 12 courses since november and it has taken a toll, and I'm staring down the barrel of months if not years more. The fear of sepsis is a huge mental toll and sometimes I wonder if I should be looking more into pelvic floor dysfunction and hormonal imbalances as the main sources of my pain. I have been diagnosed with both but don't treat them aggressively because internal pt work and birth control both put me at risk for infection