UTI Support Club

This is for patients suffering from UTIs, either recurring frequently or yearly. Please join if you are a patient or a health care professional with knowledge on this.

Only serious minded people looking for support please...

Good Morning lovelin,

I have had recurring uti's for the past 2 years.  My doctor recommended that I receive a cytoscopy.  It came back clear but my Urologist told me to keep taking my antibiotics for 30 days and I have another appointment on 11/19/07 for a follow-up.

I don't know what causes them.  My doctor told me that the women's body anatomy changes over time.

I used to get UTI's all the time. Then I found out my mom never taught me which way to wipe which is why I was getting them. Thanks mom! I'm super sensitive to anything in that region that is not the cleanest of the clean. It's so daunting. Any time I feel an inkling of it, down goes the Cranberry juice. I'm so glad it's an option.

My doctor has given some materials on what causes them. Also I read up a lot on the internet. What start17 has mentioned is one of the reasons.

I get it mostly after me and my husband make love. The worst part is, it comes at odd times, like late nights or weekends and I had to run to urgent care. Good I set myself up with Primary Care Physician recently.

Helloes. I have recurring UTI too. I haven't got one for a while which makes me very happy.

I'd drink cranberry juice but all fruit juices contain so much sugar and I'm trying to watch sugar so that's not much of an option for me. BUT at the earliest symptoms of UTI, I drink a lot of water - preferrably more than 2L that I usually drink. It really helps alot to urinate more often.

-Lemon Jello

I too have had problems with UTIs and twice they developed straight into kidney infections. They happened all within one year, the last a year ago. They all coincided with sex. I haven't had one since I went on a two week antibiotic regimen. When I did get them, I used pure cranberry juice (no cocktail) if I suspected one was coming and also used AZO analgesic pills. They are a godsend and I didn't know about them until I went to a different doc who gave them to me.  They are available over the counter at most drugstores. They really help for the day or two before the antibiotics kick in. Hydration is definitely good. Good luck- they feel like hell.

I had so many UTIs over the last thirty years that I ended up having to have a kidney removed from the damage.

Some tips from the trenches:

Always go pee after having sex, and clean thoroughly. Sometimes just a swipe with a wet washcloth will do. Yes, it's not romantic, but neither is peeing blood the next week.

Don't bother with cranberry cocktail. You can get cranberry (or blueberry, also works) extract in pill form, or get PURE UNSWEETENED cranberry or blueberry juice from the health food store.

Stay away from extra sugar. The e. coli (responsible for most UTIs) love sugar.

Don't wear the same underwear for more than 12-18 hours. If you wear panties to bed, change them for the night. This sounds a bit ridiculous, but so much bacteria can build up there!

Wear cotton underwear. Synthetic materials do not breathe, and bacteria is more likely to get into your urethra.

If you're going to have a bath, don't put anything in it (bath bomb, salts, bubbles). Avoid douching, scented pantyliners/pads, and flavoured condoms.

Drink lots of water.

Trust me. I'm on antibiotics every day for the last twenty years, and for the rest of my life because of this problem.

feydruss, that's a terrible thing to happen to anybody. I love sweets but I never knew that the terrible e.coli feeds on sweets.

I started having UTIs after my marriage. I get almost 2-3 per year. This time it happened with terrible pain and I was sent for a catscan. They have found a stone in my left kidney. But it's not that big that they can remove surgically.

Anybody have any tips on how I can flush it out of the system, apart from drinking lots of water?

 

arrrgh i HATE UTIs!! my mom always used to get them, and now i do. haven't had one in quite a while though. the only time i get them is from sex. the key is to pee immediately afterwards! do not pass go, do not collect $200, go STRAIGHT to the bathroom :)

might not be romantic, as someone said, but it's worth saving yourself the misery :)

lovelin, I believe they can break up stones with sonic therapy now... basically strong soundwaves smash them up. Makes them easier to pass!

i've never got them from sex. i am however extremely sensitive down there i can't use most bubble bath, watch what medicine i take, and stuff. It's ridiculous. Now that i said i haven't watch i'm gonna contract the worst one ever haha

Talk to your doctor about getting one dose of antibiotic to take after sex.  I work as a nurse in a urology office and that is what we do.

That is the only way. DRINK, DRINK and DRINK some more.  Water that is.

Dehydration is a key factor in kidney stones

oh man these are terrible. i had the worst one i've ever had two weeks ago.. totally freaked me out when i started peeing blood clots. i think it was from sex with my boyfriend who came down to visit the weekend before i started having symptoms... it sucks that there are so many bad consequences to something that feels so good... lol. i used to be prone to yeast infections too, but i've got that pretty much under control now.

 somebody said something about dehydration... that also means you should avoid caffeine, since it causes dehydration. (just thought i'd throw that out there.. i was drinking more coffee than usual too)

YES!! I have had major problems since I was in elementary school! What I want to know is WHY!?! I have been following all precautions to stop them but they keep on coming! I had kidney infections so bad I needed ultra sounds to check that they were still functioning correctly and in-fact they were... and there were no stones!

The past  year I have been good... But if anyone knows any other causes (besides bacteria, sugar, ect ect) LET ME KNOW. Is there anyway I could have a defective urinary system or something?

I pee 24/7 too.... it seems like that would help!

ah definatly do not take a uti lightly!

i had many uti's and soon ended up in the hospital with a kidney infection that went into my bloodstream took xrays and also had a kidney stone

basicly the three most pain full weeks of my life in the hospital and my kidney infection was so serious that i had a hundred and 3 tempature for about two weeks!

even though not all kidney stones are caused by uti's it definalty can lead to them. some tips i was given is to

-drink tons of water aday! but stay away from unpurified or tap water because it his loded with hard chemicals and calcium

- stay away from sugar. not only cause of the bacteria but all the caffiene and also sugar is hard for your kidney to take in

- resist drinking caffiene and sodium. instead try lemon juice or cranberries

- pee wen ever you have the urge!

oh wow, UTIs are my arch-nemesis! Before I moved in with my boyfriend (now fiance) I had a series of awful UTIs. Some were so bad that I passed blod clots, which obviously freaked me out. Each time I went to the doctor (my gyno at the time), he blew it off, and prescribed me antibiotics, which almost never worked. I would have less pain/symptoms for a few days, but that nasty UTI would fight back...HARD.

After trying a few different antibiotics, the UTI finally went away. The next THREE were treated with the same drug, and it was ok, but by no means good. I decided it was time to switch docs, to a woman. She suggested, just as a precausion that I see a urologist. So I did, and she was awesome. I had a cystoscopy (which was awful, but I am a big baby) and it came back clear. However, after the procedure, I was UTI free for quite some time. I thought maybe (the doc did not confirm this) that the tube widened my urethra, which allowed the bacteria to expel more easily.

Anyway, after all is said and done, I had one more horrific UTI the NIGHT I moved in w/ my fiance, and we went to the hospital in the middle of the night. After that, UTI free for over a year!!!!

The trick: I drink 5 times more water these days (which is still not enough). I pee immediately after sex, even if it is just a drip. Sometimes, depending on the night, I "clean up" a bit after sex. The minute I feel that slight burn when I pee, I ingest a ton of water, which usually nips it in the bud!

And that's it! Hopefully those buggers will stay away!

feydruss, my stone is not that big that it can be treated with sonic therapy... according to my PCP. She has reccomended me to see an urologist and I have to find one soon.

renee, again, my dr did not recommend me to take antibiotics each time after sex, as I am also trying to get pregnant. She has said that if it gets worse, she will certainly do that.

But I just hate hate hate this disease...

Good read from world's healthiest foods... their food of the week is cranberry, and it talks only about Cranberries and UTIs...

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspic e&dbid=145

...three volunteers were given 27% cranberry juice cocktail. Urine samples, collected before and 4-6 hours after drinking the cranberry juice, were combined with human bladder cells and incubated with Escherichia coli (the most common cause of bladder infections). The number of bacteria able to adhere to the bladder cells (the first step a pathogen must achieve to be able to cause infection) was significantly reduced in the urine of all women who drank the cranberry juice cocktail, and the effect was doubled when the women drank eight ounces of cranberry rather than four ounces.

Cranberry's protective effect is thought to be due to a specific type of tannin, found only in cranberries and blueberries, which interferes with projections on the bacterium, preventing it from sticking to the walls of the bladder and causing infection. However, once the bacteria have established a hold, it's best to seek medical advice. No evidence shows cranberry juice is able to cure an established bladder infection, which can lead to a more serious kidney infection. The researchers plan further studies in a larger group of women to investigate the optimal amount and frequency of cranberry juice consumption. ...

Cranberry proanthocyanidins:

• Alter E. coli's cell membranes
• Prevent the bacteria from making contact with cells or attaching to them even if they somehow manage to get close enough
• Change the shape of E.coli from rods to spheres
• Disrupt bacterial communication

I don't know if people are still reading or posting to this group but...just wanted to add another voice of support and share my story.

I've struggled with recurrent UTIs for about 6 years now; at first they were relatively mild bouts of cystitis that went away on their own, but for the past two years or so they're getting harder to treat, in the sense that I keep having relapses within two weeks after stopping treatment. It's especially scary because I fear the prospect of the antibiotics not working for me one day. Unfortunately I live in constant fear of suddenly developing yet another UTI, and the EXCRUCIATING pain that goes along with it...At the moment, I'm feeling like I might be developing one which is making me panic.

Having said that, I have been successful in getting down to just two or three infections per year (although these generally relapse at least once). I think I'd be suffering much more often if I didn't take the following measures whenever I felt even the slightest hint of symptoms:

TO PREVENT UTI: *drink a huge amount of water (start with two liters, then keep going throughout the day) *drink apple cider vinegar mixed with water really seems to help me feel better *take cranberry tablets, and 100% pure cranberry juice to supplement it if possible *eat spoonfuls of D-mannose sugar (not sure if this works)

...but my most important prophylaxis is Cystex tablets. I take two right after having intercourse and am convinced that their anti-microbial properties do help prevent UTI. These are not available here in the UK, but I order online from the company's Web site.

Of course, once I come down with a full-blown infection none of this helps and I just have to hope and pray I can get a doctor's appointment with a prescription for a strong antibiotic!

Anyway, I hope this helps someone out there. This problem is really, really agonizing --- definitely the most painful, uncomfortable thing I have ever experienced.

I'm also wondering if anyone else has experienced their UTIs getting harder to treat over time? I find that doctors don't really have much insight to offer besides offering antibiotics, ultrasounds, and cystoscopies (the latter two have been negative for me). If anyone wants to share insight or strategies, or just commiserate, feel free to contact me.

I have fought with the unbearable pain of UTIs since I was 6 months old. I have been probed, examined, catheterized, x-rayed, stretched, you name it, the tests and "treatment" often more painful than the infections themselves (and often showing nothing abnormal).

Listen up. If a doctor is treating you for UTIs, STOP going. Urologists have never, ever cottoned on to the fact that women simply have shorter urethras, and they will tear your body and immune system UP if you let them. Taking antibiotics is like marking the calendar for an infection 3 months down the road.

I do not work for this company, but I'm going to sound like I do, simply because this product changed my life. I'm not normally one who takes herbal remedies, but after 30 years of recurring UTIs, I had given up on the medical community's ability to treat my problem. This was a last desperate resort. It worked.

The company is nativeremedies.com, and the product is UTI Tonic. It has cured me. It's $30, and one bottle has lasted me a year with NO recurrence. In fact, after 4 months, I just stopped getting UTIs altogether and didn't have to take the supplement anymore.

Everything other posters have mentioned is also helpful, especially the pure cranberry capsules, available at any local pharmacy.

Edited to add:  This product also works as a urinary tract pain reliever.  When taken with plenty of water, it kills symptoms dead in about 6 hours.  No more orange pee.