Question: I'm an 86 year old male who was given 3 pain medications by a new primary care doctor as a result of a rear end collision that caused shoulder and neck pain..All medications indicated danger of constipation & black tarry stools. I became extremely constipated and ended in emergency room where I received an enema and a cathartic bag on my leg. Since then I have been seen by a urologist and doing self caths and now have been advised I have a urine infection and prescribed ciprofloxacn 500 mg which I'm also told can cause black tarry stools. Black tarry stool has developed after 4 days on the Ciproxfloxacn. I fear it will bind me up completely again and I'll be headed back to the emergency ward. Are their drugs for urinary infections that won't cause black tarry stools? Shall I insist on stopping the Ciprofloxacn?

Since your recommendation was to go ahead and try another product to eliminate the infection that the urologist indicated my urine sample showed, I considered seeking some other source of cure for any infection I might still have or at least have it checked to see if there is really an infection there.

I decided to have a fresh urine sample tested at a local lab without going through my urologist or insurance company (and I would pay the cost myself.)

But I've been told by the labs that there is an Arizona law that prevents them from checking urine for infection without a doctors recommendation. I therefore have made an appointment with my urologist for next Thursday (earliest time available).

And since I don't want to find another doctor to give me a different prescription I'm wondering if you can recommend any non pharmaceutical methods of clearing up possible infections in adult males? I have been told there are many available that might be effective. (I am not particularly concerned since my urologist has not made a suggestion of another prescription drug and I will be seeing her midweek next week.)