Evelyn K.

I’ve been having minor lower and mid back pain for a couple of weeks and I passed them off as muscle pain not thinking more of it.

Two days ago I suddenly got extremely ill which seemed to come on out of nowhere to me. The doctors are saying I must have had an underlying UTI for a while now. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) I started getting the worst lower and middle back pain, I was shaking, dripping in sweat and I was extremely cold and also extremely hot sometimes. It is currently very warm where I live and my partner was sleeping without a blanket because he was so hot. I grabbed a hot water bottle and wore pyjamas, a thick bath robe and 3 blankets and I was still freezing. I also lost sensation in my hands and feet. My breath was also very rapid and my whole body was hurting almost as if I did an intense gym workout.

I took a lot of analgesia hoping it would help with the pain. I fell asleep but kept waking up every 30 minutes. I should have gone to the hospital straight away but I was not able to make those decisions at the time. The next morning I woke up in a drenched bed with the same symptoms and decided to take an Uber to my GP. My GP straight away knew I was really unwell. My blood pressure dropped to 88/75 and my heart rate was very fast sitting at 127. I also had a high fever of 38.9. Whilst at my GP I had to lie down as I felt very faint and she called me an ambulance. I got to emergency and I got taken in straight away. I had a severe kidney infection and sepsis about to go into septic shock. I received treatment and a very high dose of antibiotics straight away.

I think I really underestimated the situation trying to pass it off as having the flu or just back pains but if your body is giving you these signs get to a doctor straight away! I am so glad my GP was alert and took care of me so well, otherwise I would have gone home and the story might have had a very different ending..