I have only one fully functioning kidney due to an enormous staghorn kidney stone that started to break up and tiny pieces worked their way through my system and caused an ecoli infection.
Unfortunately the infection spread to my liver, kidneys and appendix, this meant the stone couldn’t be surgically removed or blasted until the infection was under control.
The end result was 9 months of antibiotics/antibacterial drugs, many stents and a blocked urethra.
This led to one kidney being badly damaged.
Eventually I was clear of the infection and the offending stone was surgically removed.
I had a year of severe pain it was truly grim.
I had to take steps to try and avoid infections, the hospital were wonderful and gave me really good advice to try and avoid more UTI’s.
Firstly ecoli does not always come from the bowel, it can be carried within a kidney stone.
Caffeine will irritate the bladder always avoid if you have infection.
Cranberry juice has no proven benefits for UTI’s and can often irritate the bladder therefore exacerbating symptoms.
D-Mannose is an excellent supplement and can be as effective as Nitrofurantion for the treatment of UTI’s.
Always have some urine testing strips handy, you can buy them on Amazon.
It’s worth being able to do a quick test yourself to see if blood/protein is present before contacting a doctor.
If you have pain in the flank or rigours then this is often an indication of kidney infection or stones.
I do hope you get this sorted.
