Alright faithful TFP ladies...
I got lucky with an early appointment today, and it was right on the money... I had a "rip-snorter" of an infection, according to the doctor.
The urine sample had a count of 40-something (dunno what they were counting, but it was a measure of the infection strength), when the normal count is around 5.
Yeah, so I got my Cipro, yay!! Taken two already and hoping for good results in coming days. This afternoon my left kidney was starting to ache, so I think I took care of the problem just in time (today was the 3rd day).
Word to the wise: I took my second pill tonight, with a glass of calcium-enriched cranberry juice... bad idea. I read the instructions and apparently Cipro doesn't work as well when it's taken with milk or calcium-enriched fruit juice... but it's okay if you do it with food AND those liquids (the food absorbs the calcium). So I hurried downstairs for a midnight snack!
Also, FYI: Do NOT treat yourself at home for a UTI. The doctor told me that before the advent of modern antibiotics, kidney infections resulting from untreated UTI's were the #1 killer of women. He said his grandmother died in her 40s from an untreated UTI that spread into her kidneys.
Take this stuff seriously!!