Post Punk Kitchen Forum

i woke up last night with a bad UTI. ugh. i couldn't sleep and all that would relieve me was a hot hot hot shower for a long long time. i went back to bed with my heating pad and managed to fall asleep for an hour, then i had to get up and pee, had another hour of sleep, woke up, had another hour of sleep, woke up..
ugh. i have been drinking a ton of water and i am going out to pick up some cranberry juice and drop by the doctors office in a while.

but, i need ideas of how to get relief. this is making me crazy. i am so. uncomfortable.

Urgh. So sorry. I used to be plagued with them, and I remember waking up at 5 in the morning crying in pain a few times. I find that showers help a bit - at least they pass time until the doctor's office opens. Hang in there.

And by the way, have you found what triggers them? They were totally sex induced for me. I have taken to not only peeing, but systematically showering after sex. Best decision ever.

cornsilk tea and eating loads of asparagus helps. tinned asparagus is fine :)

i am definitely picking up some canned asparagus. and trying to get a hold of cornsilk tea.
i have been drinking loads of water and cranberry juice, and i am picking up my meds in 30 mins :)

Ouch! Poor you smoothie! I hope you feel better soon <3

Oh, Smoothie! I feel for you :( I've started getting UTI's on a regular basis - usually once a month for the last year - and like aelle, they usually surface after/during periods of heavy sexual activity. I drink a glass of cranberry juice at least once a day to help prevent/stall the inevitable, but I haven't found anything that relieves my symptons - I usually let it run its course (2-3 days).

oh and also, i always have a bottle of ethical nutrients urinary tract support in my cabinet. if i even feel kinda dehydrated i take a couple. but i don't know if you have this brand in the usa?

First UTI I've had in years. It's time to go back to pissing and showering after sex for me too. BALLS.

They put me on cipro. It sucks, but I am allergic to nearly all antibiotics ever, even its relative levaquin. Uhg. I feel like death, but less like death than the other ones make me feel. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck me.

I have a UTI... got on antibiotics Tuesday morning and am still not feeling much better. My doctor roommate told me to finish my antibiotics today and go back to my doctor tomorrow if it isn't better. Not really what I'm looking forward to doing given the tests she told me to ask for. I just want to feel better!

Just be sure you always treat them quickly when you get one...I had one that turned into a kidney infection which was the worst pain I've ever had in my life. The doc at the clinic said kidney infections can be fatal because it turns into sepsis! :[

I think it cleared up! It took til the last day of antibiotics before I felt better, but today the yucky feelings are gone!

I used to get them all the time and am on a low dose antibiotic now for after sex. I tried everything: peeing before sex (which I still do-apparently new research is showing it is just as important if not more so than peeing after), peeing after sex, having sex only in the morning so I had time to flush it out, never any alcohol on same day as sex, taking D-Mannose like a fiend, drinking cranberry, etc. None of it worked and I got sick of being on high doses of antibiotics every other month (I can't deal with that kind of pain long enough to wait it out--it's intense).

I do highly recommend trying D-Mannose. It definitely worked, I just felt like I was taking it too much and it was negatively affecting continence. You might have a different experience, though.

i take D-mannose when i feel one coming on, and within an hour or so all symptoms disappear. i used to get them at least once a month (sex induced and alcohol induced for me...yay), but now that i know what they feel like in the very beginning, i find nipping it in the bud to be my best bet. i didn't realize that D-mannose affected continence though! i guess i only use it once every few months now, so it's not a problem for me.

This is me too. I tried everything imaginable. I was getting them a few times a month and missing work because I couldn't drive for more than 5 minutes without having to pee. Then they just gave me an antibiotic to take every time after sex. I generally take it like when I remember (maybe 2 out of three times) and hope that luck works with me when I forget and I'm not plagued with another UTI. That's not the most optimistic answer, but the only other thing that helped me was a lot of cranberry juice, often.

I can't say 100% confidently that it does--it just seemed to make me feel like my bladder was going to fall out or something. I was taking it A LOT, though.

My friend suggested D-mannose. Since I was on day 3 of the antibiotics I didn't get any. Plus it is like $30. If it starts to be a more regular thing though, I'll get some D-mannose to try to avoid killing my guts with antibiotics. Luckily I've only had two UTIs ever.

Hey ladies. I've had many UTIs as well as a muscle condition called Pelvic Floor Disfunction where the muscles are so tense all the time, they squeeze the nerves and mimic the symptoms of a UTI without any actual infection. It started with a real UTI that I didn't treat with antibiotics. It morphed into a kidney infection and 11 years later, I still have a very sensitive bladder. What I learned:

-cranberry juice or pills only help to prevent UTIs. They don't help once you have one. In fact, they hurt since once you have a UTI, the bacteria are irritating the bladder lining (thus the pain and urgency) and the acidity of the cranberry just hurts it more.

-if you get them regularly, an antibiotic after sex can really help, and if you take something low dose regularly, it doesn't really bother your stomach.

-get them under control. If you don't, you risk causing further harm and sensitivity.

-drink lots of water regularly. I don't get real UTIs any more but I will get the symptoms if I get dehydrated.

-If you have low dose antibiotics and get these false-UTIs, they can also help due to their anti-inflammatory properties. So if I get the symptoms, I take the low dose pills for a day or two, and the symptoms go even though I haven't actually had a UTI. It's not enough to cause any antibiotic resistance and can really help.

-hot baths or heating pads can really relieve the symptoms. Lying down also helps. And try to relax your pelvis as much as possible.

I feel like I'm getting a UTI (I've gotten enough to know very well when it's coming) and I'm chugging water and pounding cranberry capsules, but.... I have no health insurance, so going to the doctor for antibiotics won't do me. I'm going to go looking for some of that D-Mannose stuff tomorrow. Where would I be able to get it? Regular pharmacy like Walgreens or CVS? Grocery store pharmacy aisle? Or somewhere special?

I am going to go claw my urethra out in the mean time. *whimper*

Little My, so kidney infections lead to having a more sensitive bladder? I'd never heard that, but it would explain a lot!

I got mine at a semi-hippie vitamin store; I'd just call around to all the natural food stores and vitamin stores in your area to see who has it so you don't have to go driving around.

Hopefully you found it and are feeling better now! Whole Foods has it... it's expensive ($30ish) but cheaper than a dr and antibiotics without insurance!

Scar tissue in the bladder from infections makes the area more sensitive in general.

But at least, in my case, it's very very clear. I could get very dehydrated before my infection and it would never ever bother my bladder, and now, if I even go two days without a good amount of liquids, I start to get twinges down there that don't have anything to do with an actual infection.

So, I've just had one for . . . gosh, three weeks straight. And I finished my antibiotics. I wouldn't say that I have any pain, but that area just feels really sensitive. So, should I worry that I'm still sick? Or is it just sensitive from being sick for so long?

i would definitely worry a little. did they examine a urine sample under a microscope before prescribing the antibiotics? sometimes my doc has given me the wrong kind for my UTI and it hasn't really helped. and considering it can be lethal if it reaches the kidneys, i would say that if it't not completely gone by tomorrow, a visit to the doc is in order. and if you get any back pains in your lower back, head to the ER. but it could totally just be the after effects of the UTI. stay away from cranberry juice, though, it can made the urine acidic enough to keep the symptoms away but is not enough to kill a full blown UTI. my doc basically told me that 50% of the people who come in with kidney infections from UTIs have been drinking cranberry juice which has masked the symptoms but not made the UTI go away.
stay safe and healthy! hopefully it's nothing.