Pyridium onset?

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

A patient of mine was prescribed pyridium for a UTI while hospitalized for another issue. Two hours later she was still complaining of pain and spasms when urinating. I was under the impression that Pyridium started working right away. The I line drug resource said the onset was "unknown" and our pharmacist said it should work in ten minutes. (which seemed odd considering it's an oral med.)

In your experience, how long is it until pyridium should start to work?

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

According to Epocrates, it works by producing topical analgesia. It sounds like it actually needs to be in the bladder--present in the urine--before it's going to do its thing. No idea how long that takes though.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Just from personal experience, about 4-6 hours.... then if kept on a schedule and not PRN, it does pretty well maintaining relief.

[teeniebert, LPN]

xtxrn said:

Just from personal experience, about 4-6 hours.... then if kept on a schedule and not PRN, it does pretty well maintaining relief.

Yep, it takes a while, but when it finally kicks in OH BOY does it help.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

When you see bright orange pee you should be getting relief. It takes over an hour if not more. It's the best thing for the urethral spasms (if ya know what I mean). It's always in my medicine chest; just in case . Once is once too often.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

teeniebert said:

Yep, it takes a while, but when it finally kicks in OH BOY does it help.

Yep ....big time ?

[Creamsoda, ASN, RN]

for me within about 1 hr. As long as it gets into your system and works its way into your bladder it should start working. sweet sweet relief

[AZMOMO2]

I take that ALOT for spasms... the onset takes awhile! I think about 1-2 hours usually. I have had to take some other type of pain med to take the edge off until it kicks in though... but I LOVE it!! But it takes awhile... you have to think of the process... it is a pill, it needs to hit the gi tract, get absorbed into the blood stream and filtered through the kidneys to get to the bladder to numb the tissues inside the bladder itself. Unlike other pain meds it does not work on neuroreceptors in the brain.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

I think every woman should get a 4 week supply every year at an annual physical- it can take care of the pain, not mess up a C&S, and give RELIEF !!!

[foreverLaur]

Personally, I start peeing orange and feeling much better within about 45 minutes. Luckily, my doctor gave me a standing prescription for it.

[plasmatix]

My mom, age 82, has had a lifelong susceptibility to UTIs. She has an issue with reduced effectiveness of phenazopyridine: a maximum dose does very little for her, and frequently has to be augmented by an opioid; significant relief for her comes from the antibiotic.

Several years back (in the days when you had to have a prescription for phenazopyridine), I went through a period of heavy UTI recurrence. I, too, seemed to experience reduced effectiveness with each infection. I don't think it's possible to develop a "tolerance" to phenazopyridine, but I did wonder whether there was cumulative damage sustained in the urinary tract caused by repetitive UTIs in relatively quick succession against which the medication was less effective.

At any rate, that's when I fully embraced the concept of prophylaxis via nitrofurantoin. Since that time, I've experienced, on average, one UTI every five years.

However, the memory of that paralyzing pain sticks with you a long time. To this day, I make sure that there are always at least 3 doses of phenazopyridine in my medicine cabinet at all times.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

I can buy it over the counter and it's not expensive.