Psychosomatics of pyelonephritis
Pyelonephritis, or a kidney infection, is a bacterial inflammation of the kidney, most often an infection that has travelled up from the bladder. It causes pain in the lower back, a high temperature and shivering, often together with signs of cystitis. This is an illness you cannot wait out: you need a doctor the same day, and it is treated with antibiotics. The Ladder method adds questions about boundaries and where your place is, and it comes after treatment.
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When to see a doctor
A GP, urologist or nephrologist makes the diagnosis from a urine test and, if needed, a blood test and an ultrasound. The NHS advises seeing a doctor the same day if you suspect a kidney infection: without antibiotics it can damage the kidney or spread to the blood. Do not wait for it to pass on its own.
In the Ladder method
In the Ladder method pyelonephritis is not explained as "you cannot set boundaries", and you are not to blame for becoming ill. The cause is bacteria and conditions that let them grow, and treatment starts with a doctor and antibiotics. Questions to yourself belong after you feel better.
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In the method the kidneys and urinary tract fit the image of boundaries: where your territory ends and what steps onto it without asking. It is an image, not the cause, and it does not replace treatment.
On the ladder this shows up as the steps "I do not know where my place is" and "my boundaries are not respected". You can work through them at your own pace once you have recovered.
These are questions for reflection, not an explanation of what causes the condition and not a treatment.
More: signs, medicine, sources, questions
How it shows up
Book a doctor’s appointment if you notice:
- Pain in the lower back or side
- A temperature of 38 °C or above, shivering
- Nausea, sometimes vomiting
- Frequent and painful peeing
- Cloudy pee with a strong smell
- Blood in the pee
- Weakness, feeling really unwell
What medicine knows
A kidney infection happens when bacteria, most often E. coli, travel up from the bladder into the kidney. The NHS says it is often a complication of cystitis, and that women get it more often than men because their urethra is shorter.
The risk is higher in pregnancy, with kidney stones, diabetes, blocked urine flow, with a catheter, and if cystitis went untreated for long. Sometimes the doctor does not find the cause at once.
Signs according to the NHS: pain in the lower back or side, a temperature of 38 °C or above, shivering, nausea and vomiting, frequent and painful peeing, cloudy or strong-smelling pee, sometimes blood in the pee. There may be general weakness and confusion.
What the doctor does and what helps: a urine test and, if needed, a blood test and an ultrasound. Pyelonephritis is treated with a course of antibiotics, which you must finish even if you feel better. Drinking plenty matters, and with a high temperature and pain a doctor may suggest a painkiller. A severe case, pregnancy, or vomiting that stops you keeping down drinks and tablets is treated in hospital (NHS).
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Frequently asked questions
Can pyelonephritis be caused by nerves?
No, pyelonephritis is caused by bacteria that travel up from the bladder to the kidney (NHS). Getting chilled and stress can weaken your defences, but they do not cause it themselves. It is treated with antibiotics prescribed by a doctor.
What does pyelonephritis mean in psychosomatics?
There is no proven "meaning". In the Ladder method pyelonephritis becomes a reason to ask yourself where your boundaries lie and whose place you are taking. It is a question to yourself after treatment, not a diagnosis.
How is pyelonephritis different from cystitis?
Cystitis is inflammation of the bladder: frequent, burning peeing. In pyelonephritis the infection is in the kidney: back pain, fever and shivering are added. It is more dangerous, and you see a doctor the same day (NHS).
Related topics
Psychosomatics does not replace tests and treatment. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis.