UTI not going away! Help

I managed to get rid of my last UTI by drinking copious amounts of plain water. A glass every hour for as long as you can. I had the anti Bs but did not need them. First time I have had this success. It was in the early stages but I flushed it out it seems. All the advice says drink lots so I did. Hope this helps you.

At the beginning of the year I had the same problem along with what I thought was thrush, it turned out to be a medication that I was on for diabetes, Forxiga. I stopped taking it after I read about it's side effects online and got an appointment with my GP and diabetic nurse. But in 2008 I had an UTI and it turned out to be an e-coli infection brought on by antibiotics giving me diarrhoea, it took nearly six months to get rid of and I don't have that antibiotic anymore. Have a look at any side effects of medications and talk to your GP about it and get them to send a water sample away for testing to see what sort of infection it is.

With 'UTIs' going back over 60 years I have found that they cannot always be diagnosed in the laboratory

My best solution is to buy Potassium Citrate mixture ( Mist Pot Cit) from the chemist when I feel the symptoms coming on. I respond positively to the first dose.

My pharmacy tried to sell me potassium citrate tablets costing 2 or 3 times as much as the Mistpot cit. liquid but I respond very quickly to the solution when available so choose to buy liquid

A hospital doctor from Liverpool in the 50s said that each women's ward had a large container of Mist pot cit available which was doled out when needed

I mention this as someone who finds that Nitrofurantoin is no longer effective but Mist pot cit usually is! Strange that itis sometimes so difficult to get hold of

Did your doctor just write a prescription, or was a sample of your urine tested first to ascertain exactly what bacteria are causing the infection?

If a sample was not tested, request that this be done, as antibiotics these days are designed to target specific infections.

Drink as much water as possible, so you wee frequently and make sure you empty your bladder completely each time by sitting a couple of minutes longer on the toilet - often if you do this, you pass a little more urine.

Keep warm around your lower back - the region of the kidneys, and try cranberries or cranberry juice, or add a half teaspoonful of apple cider vinegar to each glass of water.

I was in agony suffering from repeated UTIs and nothing helped until I saw a new doctor at our practice who suggested I tried Cefalexin 500mg for a week three times a day then one every night before bed. This was 17 years ago and I followed the advice and I still take the nightly tablet and fingers crossed I have not suffered since. To be doubly sure I also drink cranberry juice and water through the day. I still see that doctor and thank him every time 😊

JamesandJon33

MsBee When you get your UTI sorted, ask your GP to prescribe a low dose vaginal HRT. I had your trouble plus a dreadful allergic reaction to anti biotics. The doctor at the hospital made me promise to ask my GP for the prescription. 3 years later not even a hint of a uti.

Hi, I’ve had constant bladder irritation, constant antibiotics, blood and urine tests and Cystoscopy. Finally diagnosed myself with vulvar atrophy, in conjunction with female GP. Started on vaginal oestrogen and although not perfect it’s a MASSIVE improvement. I’m 65 and it’s a low dose. Apparently unlikely to cause any harm. I’m very grateful to be on it.

I had very frequent UTI’s and countless antibiotic courses, but since taking high dose cranberry tablets I haven’t had one at all. I get them from Amazon, as high dose as possible, I take four a day. To be avoided if you take warfarin though. Good luck!

Same problem for me. Multiple antibiotics later it would clear up. Dr put me on vagifem and this helped. However I would occasionally forget to use it and almost immediately a UTI would happen. Then the nurse practitioner suggested an E-string which is inserted 3 monthly. Game changer for me! Hope you get it sorted, it plays havoc with your stomach too using all the antibiotics. 😬

I've had the same problem with a UTI and been through all the various antibiotics. But, as soon as the course of tablets stopped the UTI would return. Eventually my GP prescribed a long term preventative course of Methanamine, a different kind of antibiotic which I take twice a day. Plus, vaginal oestrogen cream applied twice a week to keep the vagina healthy. It has worked. She also suggested I buy D-manmose, but I haven't had to use it as the UTI has not returned.

My dear mum had exactly that 8 wks in total I then pushed for hospital app as wanted to know why it wasn’t going away after intense courses of antibiotics. She was 77 and healthy. Long story short she had lumber puncture when the consultant was suspicious. Please push for hospital appointment don’t keep get fobbed of with more antibiotics.

I've suffered from UTIs constantly having to get antibiotics from the Doctor. Then I saw something about Gina which are low dose (10 micrograms) vaginal tablets. They are a low dose of oestrogen and have changed my life. I've given up going to the doctors as it is so difficult to get an appointment and it is not made any easier when all they want to do is prescribe antibiotics which then becomes a vicious circle and not getting to the root cause.

I get Gina from Boots online pharmacy where I do have to fill out a detailed form every time I get more and it does have to be approved by a Pharmacist panel however I've never had a problem getting approval. They are then available for me to collect at my local Boots pharmacy. It does cost - its about £26 for 24 vaginal tablets which you insert twice a week - well worth it in my opinion. Because of all the GP funding problems I'm not sure they would prescribe them for me at my Dr's surgery but I'm happy to get them through Boots online pharmacy. It's definitely a game changer.

Vaginal oestrogen has absolutely changed my life. I was plagued by recurring UTIs until a fabulous doctor prescribed me estriol cream. No more UTIs - which is a double blessing as I have stage 3 kidney disease now.

Lemon barley is still considered helpful.

I think once your bladder is inflamed, you have to go for a multi pronged attack. Ouch!

You can run a jug of cool water over your bits, whilst you wee, sit in a cool bath to do it, or use a cool flannel when passing urine.

Sometimes your bladder is so inflamed that you get the urge to to go as soon as it begins to fill.

I read that Cranberry juice is no good, you may as well drink coloured water. The tablets however are effective. I try to avoid antibiotics like the plague as they give me thrush and then have to use Canestan. I do not suffer from UTI's these days. I am on Estrogen only patches (but I don't have a Uterus any more). The things Miss Adventure mentioned struck a cord as I used to suffer dreafully from UTI's as a young teen. My auntie told me to drink loads and to put a rolled bath towel between my legs and if I needed to pee to pee into the towel. She said it was the getting up in the middle of the night was causing distress to only pass a teaspoon of urine. I was drinking some awful stuff called Cystopurin which tasted vile. Anyway I tried the bath towel and it worked! No idea how but for me it just worked!

I was plagued by UTIs some years ago; every few weeks I would be on yet another course of antibiotics. I felt utterly miserable. Then, by sheer luck, I spoke on the telephone to a very sympathetic female GP. As well as antibiotics, she prescribed Ovestin cream - to be used internally twice a week for two months, then two months off. I have stuck to this regime since that time and, touch wood, haven’t had another UTI since. Hope this helps.

I do find lady’s of our age need vagifem to insert twice a week keeps uti’s and other symptoms at bay . I had that awful feeling that lasted for 9 weeks before I realised and got help

keepingquiet

MsBee

I think the bug is ecoli in my urine which I have read is the most common one so I thought it would clear within a week or so. Just worried if you have a strain resistant to antibiotics (is that possible?) will you have it for ever?!

E coli comes from the bowel.

E. coli is the most common cause of a uti. It is this that d-mannose targets. I take three easy to swallow capsules every morning. I buy them from Amazon. It reduced my utis by 90%. When I did have one the results showed no E. coli I also took this while on anti biotics as Iwas bewailing the fact the doctor had issued me with only three days medication. I knew this was a recipe for a return of the uti. My daughter repeated that she had a colleague at work who had been told by a hospital consultant to take d-Mannose. She tapped into Amazon and ordered the capsules. Arrived the next day and took them straight away with cranberry. Unlike other episodes that one did not return.

Following on from all the grans who have recommended D Mannose, I picked up an order today but I’m not sure how much to take. The instructions say to take two 500 ml tablets for one month then 2 a day for up to 10 days if I have a uti. Do I then stop taking them until the next time I feel an infection starting? So little information came with the pills and information on line is very mixed.Thanks for any help or advice you can share

Aloe Vera gel was the game changer for me. Just lubricate the area each time you go to the loo. A lot of the discomfort is caused by dryness. I recommended it to a friend who had upped her Vagifem with no positive affect. She was sceptical but it worked for her also. Non invasive and no drugs involved.

I have had repeated UTIs and too many antibiotics.Once the last one cleared, I started taking D-Mannose Complex which has high strength D-Mannose 1000mg,Cranberry Extract 160 mg and Vitamin C 82mg two capsules per day.This I obtained from Think Organic by ordering via Amazon.I also take Optibac a pro biotic again from Amazon.I have now gone 7 months without a UTI which is my best ever.Hope this helps.

bonnie57, do you take D Mannose daily or just when you feel a UTI is coming on?

Read up on professor malone lee now sadly RIP, who devoted his life to the study of repeat uti. He recommended long term courses of low dose antibiotics. He stated at a low dose there was no resistance to the antibiotic. He also said that the routine urine lab testing performed by the NHS do not show up any infections he said it was ‘not fit for purpose’ and that the urine needs to be studied microscopically. His studies were some years ago and he was not allowed to continue in the NHS but was allowed a private clinic.s his findings are becoming mainstream. Now I was put on his regime by a urologist at an NHS hospital

JamesandJon33

MsBee When you get your UTI sorted, ask your GP to prescribe a low dose vaginal HRT. I had your trouble plus a dreadful allergic reaction to anti biotics. The doctor at the hospital made me promise to ask my GP for the prescription. 3 years later not even a hint of a uti.

I had that same problem. Low dose HRT worked wonders. No infections for over 4 years now.

Sallywally1

Read up on professor malone lee now sadly RIP, who devoted his life to the study of repeat uti. He recommended long term courses of low dose antibiotics. He stated at a low dose there was no resistance to the antibiotic. He also said that the routine urine lab testing performed by the NHS do not show up any infections he said it was ‘not fit for purpose’ and that the urine needs to be studied microscopically. His studies were some years ago and he was not allowed to continue in the NHS but was allowed a private clinic.s his findings are becoming mainstream. Now I was put on his regime by a urologist at an NHS hospital

Yes Sallyw As a chronic UTI sufferer since adolescence his ideas were a breath of fresh air to me.

There is much that is still not known about UTIs but there is more research now about the bladder microbiome. The urine is not sterile as used to be thought. Unfortunately urine testing is still outdated here, and has it been proven that many infections are missed by our system.

I am in a support group, (“Live UTI Free”) which originated in USA, which promotes information and more research, and has many U.K. members. It is difficult to find U.K. Urologists who are interested, or indeed understand chronic UTI. I was lucky enough to find one but he retired.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202407/medium-377994-img-1621.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202407/medium-907381-img-1622.jpeg

Llamedos13

Following on from all the grans who have recommended D Mannose, I picked up an order today but I’m not sure how much to take. The instructions say to take two 500 ml tablets for one month then 2 a day for up to 10 days if I have a uti. Do I then stop taking them until the next time I feel an infection starting? So little information came with the pills and information on line is very mixed.Thanks for any help or advice you can share

I buy this brand of D Mannose and these are the recommended doses (these are 1000mg tablets)