Chronic UTI..never ending..HELP!

[JulieH]

Does anyone here get chronic UTI's or do anything natural to prevent them?

 

I have been on non stop antibiotics since just before Memorial Day and I've had it. I thought it was finally gone, and the little bugger appeared again last night. I feel MISERABLE today and am supposed to go out tonight for my 40th birthday. :(

 

Presently, I'm taking probiotics given to me by my acupuncturist and she's been treating it with weekly acupuncture. I did see a urologist and had an ultrasound and CT Scan and both were normal. He wanted to see me back to do a cystoscopy which I didn't go for (I'm scared to death and good grief, all these appointments!!) Plus, I was feeling better.

 

I've just started ANOTHER round of Cipro.

 

Then the antibiotics make me feel lousy, and then there are the yeast infections, and then the cycle starts again.

 

I had brain surgery in February and I swear, I haven't fully recovered yet and wonder if all these infections are just because my body is run down still? It has taken months to recover from that surgery and I'm still not totally "back to myself"

 

So does anyone here know of over the counter things to take for UTIs and for prevention? Anything work for you??

[ErinD]

Last time I had a UTI (July), the doctor asked what I'd had the time before. I said that it had been Cipro and hadn't been effective for me.

 

She told me that Cipro is one of the ones that the body develops a tolerance to very quickly.....so you might want to insist on something different next time. I think it was Amoxi-Clav that worked for me most recently. In other words, it may be more a problem with the medication than the UTI.

Good luck (and happy birthday) - hope you feel better really son!

[jenangelcat]

I used to have chronic UTI's but in my case it was from working a job that required me to go 4 hours without a washroom break. As soon as I left that job for a more pee break friendly one I was fine.

[thowell]

I had alot of these when I was younger. The treatment was the same, go in get diagnosed, go on antibiotics, two weeks to a month after the meds it would come back again. I was sick of it. I started drinking alot of water, cranberry juice, (get the organic kind) adding dried cranberries to anything I could and cherries. It finally went away! You may have other causes to consider giving your history but from my experience antibiotics do not always work. If you google home remedies you will find a ton. I know the cranberries work the others I am not so sure. I also know someone who would boil the stems of fresh cherries and then drain the juice and drink it she swore by it. I know UTI's are horrible. Good luck and Happy Birthday!!

[KidsHappen]

Are you sure they are UTI? Have they actually checked for the presence of bacteria? I ask because I have IC which feels exactly like a UTI but is not. It is not caused by bacteria but is in fact a long term chronic bladder pain condition that no amount of anti-biotics is going to cure. You need to be sure what you are dealing with before you can be sure that you are treating for it correctly. They only way to do this is check for bacteria each time. If they are finding bacteria they need to determine if that strain is immune to the anti-biotics they are giving you. If not then you need to look into IC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_Cystitis . This article does not mention the number one medication (only one really) for treating IC. That is Elmiron and it is expensive. I hope you don't hve this.

[melissad2]

I had a UTI off and on for at least a year after my first son was born. UGH, it was awful! I finally stopped drinking carbonated drinks, started drinking lots of water and cranberry juice and they finally went away and I haven't had one since. If I start to slide and go back to drinking pepsi (which I dearly love) I will feel like one is starting up again so I go back to the water and juice and it goes away.

[cdrumm4448]

I've had bladder infections for over 20 years. You need a culture to determine what kind of bacteria you have. Keep in mind that current urine tests for UTIs work like this: you pee in a cup and they measure the level of bacteria in your urine. If your level falls below a certain threshhold, they will tell you you do not have an infection (even though you probably still do). When the bacteria grows and you are really miserable, another urine test will show your bacteria have passed their threshhold. Urine tests must show the growth of bacteria over a certain threshhold to be positive.

 

So, I have used d-mannose in combination with oil of oregano to eliminate my infections. Cultures showed resistance to many ABs, so I had no other choice. I rarely get an infection now, and if I feel one coming on I treat as mentioned and it goes away. No more stabbing pain. No more peeing blood. No more sickness. They can both be found at the healthfood store or the internet.

 

I also take 55B probiotics a day, and usually also take chlorophyll, krill oil, a greens formula, and astaxanthin. The oil of organo will take care of most bacteria (especially staph) and the d-mannose is good for an e-coli infection. Get that culture!

[kalanamak]

Are you sure they are UTI? Have they actually checked for the presence of bacteria? I ask because I have IC which feels exactly like a UTI but is not.

 

I would go to a urologist who actually deals with females. You may have anatomy problems. I know 3 women who had urethral "burns" from the cranberry concentrate they were chowing down to prevent UTIs. This was found on cystoscopy.

[mrs.m]

You need to do the cystoscopy. I had that same problem and my Dr. said it was a chronic inflamation. (there was a name for it but I can't recall what it was. It wasn't IC, though. I had bacteria in my cultures.) He put me on a med called Uroquid. I took it for about 4 months. I felt better in about 7 days after the meds. He said that I might have to take it for the rest of my life but we tried going off it and watched. And I no longer take the meds. A follow-up cytstoscopy showed the iritated area was gone too!

Edited August 12, 2011 by jannylynn

[MamaChristina]

I second cranberry juice, cranberry capsules, and orgenano oil. They have taken care of all of our UTI's. Stay away from sugar and drink lots of water too.:)

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

For 2 years I was getting frequent UTI's and my doctor finally put me on NITROFUR, a mini antibiotic. I take it prior or just after TEA. No more UTI's for me!

[Dobela]

Your dh also needs to be checked. He could be a carrier and infecting you each time you interact.

[ktgrok]

Yes, actually, I do have something that works. Amazingly well actually..it is a mixture of herbs that you steep and rink as a tea. My midwife makes it, and it is miraculous. Cranberry juice and capsules make the urine burn more for me, and put me in worse pain. This stuff is soothing to the urinary tract, and kills the infection. It isn't listed on her site, but if you email her I'm sure she will make it and ship it for you. I also used colloidal silver at the same time the first time, but the second time I just used the tea and was better in 24 hours. http://stores.homestead.com/CoyotesNaturalMedicine/StoreFront.bok

[Tiramisu]

Are you sure they are UTI? Have they actually checked for the presence of bacteria? I ask because I have IC which feels exactly like a UTI but is not. It is not caused by bacteria but is in fact a long term chronic bladder pain condition that no amount of anti-biotics is going to cure. You need to be sure what you are dealing with before you can be sure that you are treating for it correctly. They only way to do this is check for bacteria each time. If they are finding bacteria they need to determine if that strain is immune to the anti-biotics they are giving you. If not then you need to look into IC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_Cystitis . This article does not mention the number one medication (only one really) for treating IC. That is Elmiron and it is expensive. I hope you don't hve this.

 

:grouphug:

 

I thought of IC, too. A friend developed this and thinks it was caused by having been on months of antibioitics for a UTI caused by e-coli. It is treatable.

 

I think I once caused myself to get really irritated by drinking a lot of cranberry juice when I thought a UTI was starting so now I'm careful about this because it created more of a problem.

 

I would check for bacteria and get it cultured, and ask your doctor about the possibility of IC.

 

I'm sorry you've had to go through so much. The stress of it all could have just brought your immunity down. It's really had to not feel normal for months, but you'll be okay. I would think about what things you might be able to do to increase your seritonin (looks like it's spelled wrong) level naturally: exercise, sunshine, protein, fish oil. With all you've been through, it's natural to feel down and that affects how your body feels, too.

 

:grouphug:

[wapiti]

d-mannose

 

:iagree:

 

I would go to a urologist who actually deals with females. You may have anatomy problems.

 

:iagree:

[silliness7]

Does anyone here get chronic UTI's or do anything natural to prevent them?

 

I have been on non stop antibiotics since just before Memorial Day and I've had it. I thought it was finally gone, and the little bugger appeared again last night. I feel MISERABLE today and am supposed to go out tonight for my 40th birthday. :(

 

Presently, I'm taking probiotics given to me by my acupuncturist and she's been treating it with weekly acupuncture. I did see a urologist and had an ultrasound and CT Scan and both were normal. He wanted to see me back to do a cystoscopy which I didn't go for (I'm scared to death and good grief, all these appointments!!) Plus, I was feeling better.

 

I've just started ANOTHER round of Cipro.

 

Then the antibiotics make me feel lousy, and then there are the yeast infections, and then the cycle starts again.

 

I had brain surgery in February and I swear, I haven't fully recovered yet and wonder if all these infections are just because my body is run down still? It has taken months to recover from that surgery and I'm still not totally "back to myself"

 

So does anyone here know of over the counter things to take for UTIs and for prevention? Anything work for you??

 

If you're seeing a urologist I'm going to guess that they are culturing your urine to A) make sure it's bacteria causing your symptoms and B) make sure they have matched you up with the right antibiotic to kill it.

 

If that is NOT happening, that is what you need. Apart from that :grouphug::grouphug:. I've been there, done that. And it is AWFUL!! My last pregnancy seemed to kick the cycle. I have absolutely no idea why though I suspect that hormones play a role in UTI's but no one really knows much about that. I've had one UTI since his birth 2.5+ years ago. That really is a stinkin' miracle.

 

My last urologist recommended a special brand of cranberry capsules. I didn't really see that they helped all that much. No more soda, no more caffeine, lots of water, cut out acidic foods if you think that will help. No soap down there, no baths. You've heard all this though probably. No tight pants, cotton undies.

 

Be aware that there are other issues that can *feel* just like a UTI that is why you MUST be cultured every time.

 

:grouphug:

[JulieH]

ugh ugh..and more ugh!

 

I've had UTI's my whole life as I had major kidney surgery as a baby, but this one just doesn't want to go away.

 

I know this is going to sound HORRIBLY irresponsible..but I was supposed to go for a cystoscopy last Friday, and ummmm...well, I blew it off. Totally blew it off. Didn't even call.

 

I got some really horrible news Thursday that just totally threw me for a loop and I just could not get up and go to the appointment at 8:15 the next morning.

 

I'm thinking "hey..well, maybe this infection is finally gone..I feel better"..then BAM! I wake up with it again today with a vengeance!!!!

 

The urologist is really nice.

 

I should just call them and book it huh? I'm scared to death of a scope going up there...OUCH!

[JulieH]

ok..there..I rescheduled the cystoscopy. They culture every time I go in (the urologist)...

 

I thought I'm too young for IC?? Usually that's older folks.

[Heather K.]

I feel your pain and frustration!

Check out d-mannose--- it's a concentrated form of the sugar found in cranberries, so even more effective than just cranberry pills. The simple sugar sticks to the bacteria in your bladder better than the bacteria can stick to your bladder wall, so they can be flushed out. Effective for just e-coli, I believe.

Also, I had a cystoscopy and was very nervous beforehand. It was SO not a big deal. They numbed me beforehand with some lidocaine gel and it was over before I knew it. I wish someone had told me not to stress about it! ;)

Best wishes and happy birthday!

[JulieH]

I feel your pain and frustration!

Check out d-mannose--- it's a concentrated form of the sugar found in cranberries, so even more effective than just cranberry pills. The simple sugar sticks to the bacteria in your bladder better than the bacteria can stick to your bladder wall, so they can be flushed out. Effective for just e-coli, I believe.

Also, I had a cystoscopy and was very nervous beforehand. It was SO not a big deal. They numbed me beforehand with some lidocaine gel and it was over before I knew it. I wish someone had told me not to stress about it! ;)

Best wishes and happy birthday!

 

thank you!!! I feel better. :)

 

At least the doctor is REALLY nice. Any other urologist I've ever seen had the personality of a paper cup. At least this guy is super friendly and kind...excellent bedside manner.

[Tabitha]

I had some issues and my osteopath helped me get it under control. I was on CIPRO twice within 5 weeks. It was NOT fun.

 

Alongside CIPRO I took a detoxing probiotic, and a balancing one. Both of these are designed to be resistant to antibiotics, so that is when you take them. Then I took them for 3 weeks after the CIPRO was done, and added in a natural antibiotic.

 

After this, I am daily on a theraputic probiotic.

 

Detoxing probiotic: here

Balancing probiotic: here

Natural Antibiotic: here

Theraputic Probiotic: here

 

Bottom line though is that you need to figure out what is causing this. It stems from bad bacteria overgrowths in your body. I am off gluten. That has helped immensly. I have had little things to happen and they all fall in line with being a Celiac. That is how I am treating myself, and I'm staying fine. Haven't had any more infections. I also did intestinal testing to find out what the heck was going on inside me. I did have low levels of bad bacteria overgrowth which just solidified all the treatment the osteopath was doing.

 

I will be on the theraputic probiotic from here on out. My body doesn't produce any lactobacillius on it's own. :-(

 

CIPRO kills bacteria, both good and bad. You need to have the good bacteria taking root in your guy immediately following antibiotic treatment. If you don't, the bad bacteria grow back faster and take over, leading to more infections.

[gardenmom5]

I've self treated my last two UTI's because I'm trying to avoid antibiotics if I can.

 

cranberry juice. it does something to the lining of the bladder so bacteria cannot attach to it. Or I will pick up some cranberry based tablets from the health food store.

 

I will add - have you actually been "tested" for a UTI? or self-diagnosing because it hurts? after doing the cranberry I was still in pain so I finally went it. she even attempted to grow a culture from my bladder. not a single bacteria. zip, nadda, zilch. my urine was acidic so it was irritating things. (e.g. lemon on a paper cut) she told me to add a teaspoon of baking soda to a glass of water to help make it more alkaline and drink it several times a day.

 

probiotics will help your gut to counter antibiotics killing all the bacteria.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Be sure you get a culture as part of the diagnosis process and then re-do the test after you finish the course of antibiotics. Most docs assume that the drugs do the job and skip that retest. For some folks the drugs never quite finish off the infection and then in a few days, weeks or even months the infection is back but it isn't really back-its been there all along and is just worse now.

[JulieH]

I've self treated my last two UTI's because I'm trying to avoid antibiotics if I can.

 

cranberry juice. it does something to the lining of the bladder so bacteria cannot attach to it. Or I will pick up some cranberry based tablets from the health food store.

 

I will add - have you actually been "tested" for a UTI? or self-diagnosing because it hurts? after doing the cranberry I was still in pain so I finally went it. she even attempted to grow a culture from my bladder. not a single bacteria. zip, nadda, zilch. my urine was acidic so it was irritating things. (e.g. lemon on a paper cut) she told me to add a teaspoon of baking soda to a glass of water to help make it more alkaline and drink it several times a day.

 

probiotics will help your gut to counter antibiotics killing all the bacteria.

 

Oh no..I've been tested..over and over and over. Thank God for insurance! Though, I'm very experienced with UTIs and know instantly when I have one, so I go and get tested and the antibiotic.

 

I'm jus SO fed up with antibiotics..they are really taking a toll on me!

[Mrs_JWM]

Have you been catheterized and tested? I ALWAYS tested positive but actually had IC. My vet diagnosed it...my treatment was the same as my cat's - make my urine less acidic so the mucosal lining of the bladder could heal. I used Prelief and drank lots of water. No flareups in 7 years after having been on antibiotics for probably six months out of every year for two years.

 

Here are other people who've had success with Prelief:

 

http://www.akpharma.com/prelief/testimonials.html

 

:grouphug:

[Laura Corin]

I thought I had replied to this before. Do you drink/eat anything containing nutrasweet/aspartame? It can mimic the symptoms of UTI, and may make infections more likely. Try giving it up - it worked for me.

 

Laura

[JulieH]

I thought I had replied to this before. Do you drink/eat anything containing nutrasweet/aspartame? It can mimic the symptoms of UTI, and may make infections more likely. Try giving it up - it worked for me.

 

Laura

 

No..but I have been drinking more coffee since I got a Keurig for Christmas. I wonder if coffee could do anything?

 

This isn't just a little discomfort though. It's a full blown "I want to scream at the top of my lungs and can't" type of pain.

 

Ever see Tom Hanks in the Green Mile? Ever see his facial expressions when he had that horrible UTI and would go out to the out house? Well, triple that. That's how I feel.

 

I should buy stock in the company that makes AZO!

 

I'm a little bummed because hubby is driving and we're taking the train in to the city..I was going to have a couple of glasses of wine, but a sip of wine irritates my bladder when I DON"T have an infection so I better stay away. Oh well.

[Tammy (TX)]

I would definitely look for links to foods. I grew up having UTI's all the time - over the years I had tons of antibiotics, cystoscopies, even voiding cystourethrograms (VCUG) and those aren't fun. They could never figure out the reason.

 

Luckily, they seemed to stop after I got pregnant and I haven't had one since (10 years). I don't know what stopped them, but I do know that I started to "clean up" my eating when I got pregnant. At that time I also quit a teaching job that kept me from using the restroom when I needed to. I'm sure that helped.

 

I now know I'm gluten intolerant as well as intolerant to a bunch of other foods, including most milk products. Everyone is different, so maybe there's a trigger for you. I hope you figure it out soon, because I know how miserable UTIs are!!

[Tabitha]

I second trying the baking soda.

 

My sister drinks 1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved in a glass of water daily. It keeps her yeast infections away.

 

Something you might like to try is ph strips. Test your urine and the eat accordingly using a acid/alkaline diet chart.

 

PHion strips are awesome! And The Wolf Clinic has a great food chart (you can google them).

 

This also helped me get things under control. It was nice to be able to see where I was and learn how to eat to keep myself balanced.

[catz]

Does anyone here get chronic UTI's or do anything natural to prevent them?

 

I have been on non stop antibiotics since just before Memorial Day and I've had it. I thought it was finally gone, and the little bugger appeared again last night. I feel MISERABLE today and am supposed to go out tonight for my 40th birthday. :(

 

Presently, I'm taking probiotics given to me by my acupuncturist and she's been treating it with weekly acupuncture. I did see a urologist and had an ultrasound and CT Scan and both were normal. He wanted to see me back to do a cystoscopy which I didn't go for (I'm scared to death and good grief, all these appointments!!) Plus, I was feeling better.

 

I've just started ANOTHER round of Cipro.

 

Then the antibiotics make me feel lousy, and then there are the yeast infections, and then the cycle starts again.

 

I had brain surgery in February and I swear, I haven't fully recovered yet and wonder if all these infections are just because my body is run down still? It has taken months to recover from that surgery and I'm still not totally "back to myself"

 

So does anyone here know of over the counter things to take for UTIs and for prevention? Anything work for you??

 

Have you tried cranberry pills? My son had 2 UTIs as a young 6 year old and he is not circed. The 2nd UTI was basically due to the fact that they ran some unnecessary tests on him due to the UTI to check for reflex and had to run a catheter. The 2nd UTI came up within days of that. When he got the first one he spent the night at his cousin's for the first time and was afraid to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I swear that month he just finally discovered he could hold it. The dr. said we might want to think about circumcision. :confused:

 

So anyway - started on unsweetened cranberry juice/pills. Never have had another problem!

 

I'm so sorry - I bet you're right about your body being run down yet and trying to find some balance. Hope you feel better soon. Keep going with the probiotics for sure! :grouphug:

[kalanamak]

ugh ugh..and more ugh!

 

I've had UTI's my whole life as I had major kidney surgery as a baby, but this one just doesn't want to go away.

!

 

Well, it sounds like you have an anatomical abnormality, and cystoscope may not show it as it may be "further north" than that. You may need suppression. :grouphug: I know they feel awful.

[KidsHappen]

ok..there..I rescheduled the cystoscopy. They culture every time I go in (the urologist)...

 

I thought I'm too young for IC?? Usually that's older folks.

 

I was diagnosed at 13 but I have had problems my entire life. I had a life threatening anaphalaxis reaction to the iodine dye they used to do x-rays when I was three or four years old for this and I had problems before that. I had major problems for a few years then remission during first round of pregnancy and breastfeeding and then a few more years of problems. Second remission during pregnancy and breastfeeding of last four children and then a new flare up starting about five years ago. During the first two rounds of major problems there were no viable treatments. It is only in the last ten years or so (don't know exactly how long but patent hasn't expired) that they came up with the med that treats IC. I personally have found that anything that increases my seretonin levels increases flare ups but it is different for every person. I have one child that is prone to UTI, always varified by cultures that I worry about and another who has frequent symptoms but never a positive culture yet that I worry about. It can happen at any age and if you are having regular problems and negative cultures then it is time to investigate further. Sorry, I know how hard it can be.

[KidsHappen]

I second trying the baking soda.

 

My sister drinks 1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved in a glass of water daily. It keeps her yeast infections away.

 

Something you might like to try is ph strips. Test your urine and the eat accordingly using a acid/alkaline diet chart.

 

PHion strips are awesome! And The Wolf Clinic has a great food chart (you can google them).

 

This also helped me get things under control. It was nice to be able to see where I was and learn how to eat to keep myself balanced.

 

This is another case where it is important to know the cause. If it is bacteria then you need cranberry to fight the bacteria and flush it out. Also it flushes out the bacteria and makes the ph inhospitible to bacteria. However, if you have IC high acidity burns the lining of the bladder and makes the pain worse. Then baking soda helps immensely. It lowers the pj causes less burning to the bladder wall. This can be done a few times a day and really does help.

[KidsHappen]

I also going to join in recommending probiotics. They definitely help. Finally, I have found that a beer or two when I am having a flare up really helps. I am not sure why but beer seems to fill my bladder and make me need to urinate more frequently which really helps. Flushing as much liquid through the system as possible keeps the urine watered down and therefore burns the bladder wall less. When I am having problems my goal is to keep my bladder as full as possible without actually having to empty it so that it has concentrated urine in contact with the walls.

[dancer67]

I am also thinking kidney stones. I would ask for a CT Scan. Or IC. If your pain is triple that of the Green Mile, Kidney stones come to mind immediately.:grouphug:

[tinag]

had been diagnosed with cystitis(sp?). She went to a ND and he put her on natural estrogen and progesterone and they pretty much went away. I did some research and read that as we get older our lining thins out and we get more UTIs. When you take natural estrogen it thickens the lining back up.

[RanchGirl]

I would schedule an appt with a urologist but in the meantime, I would start on d-Mannose and probiotics right away. Good luck!