In 2013, I was at an amusement park with my family when I started experiencing sudden and frequent urges to urinate and a burning sensation when I peed. At first I chalked it up to getting older. I figured, 'Well, maybe things aren't working as well as they used to.' I was otherwise in great health and had no history of urinary tract infections (UTIs) or bladder problems. Though I wasn't particularly worried, I didn't let it slide.
After the amusement park outing, I reached out to my primary care provider (PCP) and explained my symptoms over the phone. Without seeing him in-person, he prescribed me antibiotics for a UTI. I took them and, for a while, things were fine. But a few months later, the symptoms returned. So my doctor prescribed me another round of antibiotics to treat a UTI. Figuring that they'd worked the first time, so they'd likely work again, I took the antibiotics and my symptoms seemed to mostly resolve.. These felt like labor contractions and as though there was a rope being tightly pulled around my entire body. It was difficult to breath