UTI suggestions

[Lazarus]

My friend asked what she could do besides drink a lot of water and cranberry juice. She has had a lot of problems like this and mentioned cystitis (?) and lots of gut problems....she is having what I call a pseudo flare after her second shot....

how I wish Cat Dancer was here...she could give me lots of ideas to pass on to my friend. I think she Already knows all there is to know but was just asking I guess in case....she is PPMS. Her doctor will give her antibiotics and she has great medical care..... but maybe someone knows something that helps

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Linda)))))) ~

To clarify, when you wrote:

"she is having what I call a pseudo flare after her second shot....",

are you referring to her second vaccination?

If so, I hope that she will report her reactions to the vaccine to add to the data base for people with MS, as well as other immunosuppressive disorders.

I wish a National Data Base existed for people to report their reactions to the vaccines. I doubt that there is. I would imagine that there is a tremendous amount of scrambling behind the scenes with every aspect of COVID.

I don't know any ways to conquer recurring UTIs, unfortunately. With Jim, we tried yogurt as a probiotic to balance the antibiotic.

You and your friend are in my prayers, and I send healing, positive energy to both of you.

Love & Light,



Rose

*Virtual Hugs Are Germ-Free!


THANKS!

[agate]

AZO for the UTI symptoms--It used to be available only by prescription but now I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff that is available over-the-counter as AZO. It's this stuff--phenazopyridine hydrochloride:





I've had quite a few UTIs--I lost count of them. Each time it's meant a trip to a lab for a urine sample and then a wait while it was cultured. Then finally there would be the appropriate antibiotic, which has to be taken exactly as directed. If that antibiotic doesn't knock it out, another one will be tried.

If she's pretty sure it's a UTI, she should get that urine culture done ASAP.

Drinking fluids is good. Some people swear by cranberry juice but I'm not sure how helpful it really is.

[Lazarus]

Great! Perfect for me to send. Makes me feel good to send along the information from you and Virginia

[Virginia]

I have UTIs a lot Linda. In fact I am on an antibiotic right now. I have to take this one for 10 days. I drink cranberry juice every day and have for years, but it hasn't helped. Now I drink it because I have developed a taste for it.

I occasionally can stop one if I take AZO Antibacterial Protection. At the top of the box it says Defense for when it Starts. I try to keep it on hand. They put out a lot of AZO products now, but this is the only one that has helped me stop a UTI. I have to spot it very early on and get started right away. This is why I try to always have it on hand.

Good luck to your friend. It is miserable.

[Sunshine 2]

I know all about this. I kept getting UTI’s so I decided to go to a urologist upon rec by my PCP.

Many people with MS have detruser-extruser problems which means the muscle at the top of the bladder appropriately squeezes, but the muscle at the bottom is out of sync so it squeezes when it should release. Hence, there is a build up of urine in the bladder: youre peeing, but not enough. Too much is left in the bladder and this brews a UTI. There is med to stop this problem: I take Alfuzosin because I couldn’t tolerate Rapiflo or Flomax. Men often have a similar problem when the prostate enlarges, presses on teh bladder causing incomplete emptying.

This problem can also cause the bladder to become quite large, and in some instances, there is too much urine and it can back up into the kidneys, infecting them and damaging them (likely not your friends problem).

My Urologist also put me on a low dose antibiotic daily: no infection since then. Nitrofurantoin is popular for that,although in rare cases daily Nitro can cause pulmonary fibrosis. So, some urologists rec Bactrim or Trimethoprim which is a component of Bactrim.

UTI’s are becoming harder to treat: as there are some that have become antibiotic resistant. This is why they make you wait for culture results before choosing a med. The culture shows which antibiotic the infection is susceptible to, and which it is not. So, the Urology Association recommends against treating before culture results.

There is also an OTC med at amazon called Ellura. My MS friend swears by it. She hasn’t had a UTI since then The Urology Association endorses it. You take it daily and twice a day for two days if you think you might get a UTI. It is a certain part of the cranberry , different than and more helpful the other OTC cranberry pills or cranberry juice.

The obvious we learned as young women: Pee after intercourse. Wipe front to back. For prevention.

Recurring UTIs might be the same one that never went away if the antibiotic did not do the trick.

GO See a urologist is the best thing you can tell your friend.

[agate]

Linda, maybe your friend would be interested in joining this board?