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Sun Oct 01, 2006 9:38 am  |
| I know this is a gross subject, but most of us get them at least once in our lives. I have been getting urinary tract infections 3 times in the past year. It is so annoying and uncomfortable. The antibiotics the doctor prescribes really help to cure the infection but I want to prevent this sort of infection from happening. I hear drinking lots of cranberry juice helps prevent UTI's... are there any sort of pills i can take to prevent this from happening again? |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:26 am |
I dont get them now but did while I was pregnant, here is what I found that works best to naturally clear them.
D-Mannose Plus, D-Mannose is a naturally occuring simple sugar, closely related to glucose. D-Mannose Plus combines D-Mannose with cranberry extract to enhance its effectiveness in supporting urinary tract health.
http://www.vrp.com/det/5504.asp
This comes in a powder form that you add 2 table spoons to 4oz of water and drink, it actually taste pretty good. You can drink it everyday safely if you are prone to UTI's or just when you have them. A lifesaver for me, it cleared mine up in a matter of hours.
Stop drinking sodas and get your 64oz of water a day.
Remember that by taking antibiotics to kill infections in your body, you are also killing the good bacteria which can lead to cronic conditions like UTI's. Eating yogurt with Lactobacillus Acidophilus in it will replenish the good bacteria, a supplement of this would be helpful too.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Lactobacillusacidophiluscs.html |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:41 am |
| My grandmother swore by drinking a glass of water every morning with 2 tablespoons of applecider vinager in it. She suffered from cronic ones untill she did this. |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:42 am |
In addition to the great advice Vonstella has given - a simple home remedy to sort of ward UTI's off at the pass is to take an alka seltzer or two and for some reason that seems to help alleviate them as well. I read that somewhere on a home remedy site and now I always have alka seltzer in the house...just in case....I've been uncomfortable enough times with UTI's to want to stop them before they get unbearable.
Maria  |
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Maria, early 50's, post meno, normal to dry skin, more dry in winter, some sun damage... |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 11:38 am |
| this past August I was admitted to the hospital with a pretty bad kidney infection. It started with a little UTI, that I ignored for about 3 weeks. Yesterday, I started to feel like another UTI was starting...and I went straight to the doctors...3 days of Cipro and I hope I'll be good to go. I drink a ton of water every day, wipe the correct way, etc. I don't eat yogurt because I cant stand it....I did hear that something in cranberry juice helps keep bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall....I guess I need to get some cranberry juice. |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:05 pm |
| Chrissie wrote: |
| this past August I was admitted to the hospital with a pretty bad kidney infection. It started with a little UTI, that I ignored for about 3 weeks. Yesterday, I started to feel like another UTI was starting...and I went straight to the doctors...3 days of Cipro and I hope I'll be good to go. I drink a ton of water every day, wipe the correct way, etc. I don't eat yogurt because I cant stand it....I did hear that something in cranberry juice helps keep bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall....I guess I need to get some cranberry juice. |
You can get the same benefits of Lactobacillus Acidophilus in pill form if you dont like yogurt. Also the D-mannose HAS cranberry extract in it and serves the same purpose within a matter of hours. I have had friends swear by the alka seltzer method too, I had forgotten about this one. Also fresh blueberries are suppose to twice the amount of antioxidents as cranberries and really help with UTI prevention.  |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:25 pm |
| If you can't drink a lot of cranberry juice there is cranberry PILLS you can take. |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:47 pm |
Something else that is important but often overlooked: whenever you go to the loo, make sure you wipe from from to back instead of back to front to avoid the spread of bacteria.
When I used to get UTI, i go crazy. I drink 2 glasses of water every half an hour to flush out the bacteria. |
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Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:12 pm |
I hate these!!!!! I haven't gotten one in so long, but a few years back I got one, then another.
Lots of water, keeping yourself clean, taking a bath with baking soda and eating more alkaline foods helped me. |
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Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:16 am |
| Autumn is correct, my mum recently had a uti and she took Cranberry tablets and it cleared up |
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Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:26 am |
Sometimes when UTIs hit pretty hard, you have no choice but to get an Rx for antibiotics to get it under control. My doctor also used to give me a pill that would help control the physical pain and symptoms that made UTIs so uncomfortable until the antibiotics could kick in and get to work - I don't remember the name of it, but you can get something like it over the counter. The one I got by Rx made my pee bright orange - freaked me out the first time! I thought I was dying! 
If you get an Rx for an antibiotic, please be sure to tell your doctor to also write you one for something to either prevent or control the yeast infection you are sure to get from taking antibiotics.  Also, go to the health food store and get the strongest acidophollus (sp?) pill they make, but do NOT get the ones they put on the shelf - get the ones they keep in refrigeration. Be sure to refrigerate them when you get home and keep them refrigerated. The ones that have to be kept under refrigeration are the best pills.  Be sure to take them before, during and after the length of time you are taking antibiotics.
Yes, you can get cranberry pills. I used to take them and they do work. You should include them with your daily dose of vitamins. Cranberry juice (the kind that you SHOULD drink vs. the sugary stuff) is very tart and hard to swallow. Makes having UTIs that much worse IMHO! But, if you can swallow it, it would also be a good idea to have a glass a day to keep UTIs away. (OK, I did not mean for that last part to rhyme!)
Good luck and hope you feel better soon! |
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Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:01 am |
thank you to everyone i REALLY appreciate all this information!!! i get chronic UTIs for the past 4 or 5 years. i was so in the dark about this stuff and the multiple doctors i was seeing didnt shed light on the situation.. the only help they give is just writing me a prescription for anti biotics.. they never told me about the antibiotics killing all the good bacteria too to make me more prone to infection and to get some good bacteria suppliments into me O.o but man you guys are a wealth of vital information.
i have tried cranberry pills and they do work.. but you really have to take them faithfully. it is absolutely imperative to drink enough water.. and never have sex if you are even a bit dehydrated that is a guaranteed UTI  |
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Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:57 am |
| Quote: |
| and never have sex if you are even a bit dehydrated that is a guaranteed UTI |
 I never knew this!
I hate UTI's they are soo uncomfortable, but I didnt know any other way to treat it other than doctor prescribing me antibiotics. I hate taking antibiotics for obvious reasons; but doctors never inform me of other ways. It's so easy for the doctor to write a prescription for antibiotics. I always find that they prescribe too many pills of antibiotics to take. I usually only go through half the bottle of pills and then stop taking them because my infection seems to be gone.
Also with cranberry juice, when I go to the grocery store I cant find natural cranberry juice. They seem to be all from concentrate and w/ lots of sugar (which I dont think will work for UTI's) Are there any good brand of cranberry juice that works? |
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Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:20 am |
| BCgirl wrote: |
| Quote: |
| and never have sex if you are even a bit dehydrated that is a guaranteed UTI |
I never knew this!
I hate UTI's they are soo uncomfortable, but I didnt know any other way to treat it other than doctor prescribing me antibiotics. I hate taking antibiotics for obvious reasons; but doctors never inform me of other ways. It's so easy for the doctor to write a prescription for antibiotics. I always find that they prescribe too many pills of antibiotics to take. I usually only go through half the bottle of pills and then stop taking them because my infection seems to be gone.
Also with cranberry juice, when I go to the grocery store I cant find natural cranberry juice. They seem to be all from concentrate and w/ lots of sugar (which I dont think will work for UTI's) Are there any good brand of cranberry juice that works? |
Juicy Juice is the only 100% juice that I know of. I realize that cranberry juice is the most accessible remedy for UTI but, I cant stress D-mannose Plus enough. I swear that it knocks them out in about 2 hours. Its basically a concentrated version of the good stuff in cranberry juice. My bottle has lasted almost a year. BTW if you are going to take perscribed antibiotics for ANY problem, its really important to take ALL the pills in the bottle. Just make sure you are replenishing during with some form of Lactobacillus Acidophilus and for at least 1-2 weeks after meds are finished.
Another piece of little known info, women should pee before and most importantly after having sex to help prevent UTI's. Im not really sure of the reasoning behind this but it does help. |
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Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:53 am |
My aunt used to have problems all the time with UTI's and some dr told her to go to a health food store and buy a bottle of Juniper Berries. She has since not had any more UTI's and she used to have them very often.
I hadn't ever had one and when I did, I also tried to Juniper Berry pills and if I took 3 a day, it usually only lasted about 2 days-3 at the most.
I'm not really sure what the pills are though. Also acidophilus is good too! |
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Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:29 pm |
[quote="vonstella"][quote="BCgirl"]
| Quote: |
Another piece of little known info, women should pee before and most importantly after having sex to help prevent UTI's. Im not really sure of the reasoning behind this but it does help. |
Peeing is good especially after sex because it helps flush out any bacteria that might get pushed into the urethra during sex. |
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Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:36 am |
It was fortunate that I stumbled across this thread, because I just ended up with a mild UTI this week! I have only had this once in my life, and it was well over 10 years ago...so I have no idea why this came out of the blue!  Anyway, I went to the docs and got antibiotics (Cipro), which pretty much stopped it before it really got going. But like BCGirl, I too hate taking antibiotics...so all these posts are great info for me to prevent future UTI's! I'm not a huge fan of cranberry juice, but I did find some super-concentrated soft gels (Nature's Bounty or Nature's Resource...can't rememeber!) that have the same "good stuff" in them, so I will now be taking those on a daily basis!
Thanks all!
Mary |
_________________
43, Confirmed desert rat (Scottsdale, AZ), animal lover (3 kitties and a pup) and hopeless product junkie (I blame EDS...lol!) |
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Thu Oct 05, 2006 11:54 am |
| BC girl, I used to get UTI's all the time....so painful. My first sign was a pain in my lower right back (where your kidneys are)...when I started feeling that I started drinking alot of 100% Cranberry juice (it's pretty much always mixed with grape or some other juice...make sure it's 100% juice not cocktail) and plenty of water. They do have cranberry pills but you ahve to take tons of them..lol to equal a glass of Cranberry juice. I just started replacing my oj in the morning with cranberry juice. |
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Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:14 pm |
Oh,those UTI's are just the pits.
One Dr told me to not wear pantyhose,unless I could find the type with a cotton croutch.And to wear only cotton panties. Cotton breathes,and it is natural.I have heard about the D-Mannose before,but the Plus sounds great.
I will be checking into that one for sure.
I just love all the tips we share. 
Have a wonderful day
Linda |
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Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:18 pm |
| I heard pantyhose are horrible for UTI's and cotton panties are best...cotton lets your skin breathe. |
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Fri Oct 06, 2006 12:26 am |
| bex wrote: |
| BC girl, I used to get UTI's all the time....so painful. My first sign was a pain in my lower right back (where your kidneys are)...when I started feeling that I started drinking alot of 100% Cranberry juice (it's pretty much always mixed with grape or some other juice...make sure it's 100% juice not cocktail) and plenty of water. They do have cranberry pills but you ahve to take tons of them..lol to equal a glass of Cranberry juice. I just started replacing my oj in the morning with cranberry juice. |
Ladies, if you are going to use cranberry juice to help with UTIs, please don't use the stuff off the shelf that is mixed with other flavors (such as the "Ocean Spray" line of cranberry juices). Like Bex says, it has to be 100% cranberry juice, and the less sugar the better.
As for the pills, I believe I have found an alternative to them.
One of the ladies (Scalawaggirl?) linked to this naturopathic doctor's website on another topic (dry skin brushing) and this product is listed as a favorite of the doctor's (note: emphasis added is mine):
"Cranberry Concentrate, Unsweetened, Tree of Life 16 oz. Bottle. This is my secret weapon for bladder infections. It makes the bladder slicker inside so bacteria can't stick to it and helps to tighten urethral sphincter muscles so you don't dribble. You'd have to drink a couple of gallons of Cranberry Juice off the shelf to get the same affect as just 2 tablespoons of this stuff. Plus, you'd be ingesting too much sugar and if your bladder infection had anything to do with yeast, the sugar would feed it. I put this stuff in a shot glass, down it, then chase it with an ounce or two of plain water. Repeat the treatment for about a week.
Here's the link to the actual product: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp;jsessionid=HDDL3R2PMHHXUCQUC4YFAFYKCQL00UNE?source=CJ&id=TR-1001&_requestid=271212
It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for we ladies to use cranberry as a preventative. I have a friend who always drinks cranberry juice whenever we go to dinner, instead of water or soft drinks. She says she does it to prevent UTIs.
HTH. |
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Fri Oct 06, 2006 1:01 am |
Thx for the sharing, Mermaid Girl, coz I'm one of those ppl who would still gulping gallons of ocean sprays and hoping it could work faster. Except that, I had some preventive pills prescribed by the physician, which I took once I saw signs of UTI. Cranberry pills just doesn't work for me (still don't know why  ) Expecting my order of Cranberry Concentrate, Unsweetened, Tree of Life 16 oz. Bottle next week... |
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Fri Oct 06, 2006 2:21 am |
| bobosm wrote: |
| Thx for the sharing, Mermaid Girl, coz I'm one of those ppl who would still gulping gallons of ocean sprays and hoping it could work faster. Except that, I had some preventive pills prescribed by the physician, which I took once I saw signs of UTI. Cranberry pills just doesn't work for me (still don't know why ) Expecting my order of Cranberry Concentrate, Unsweetened, Tree of Life 16 oz. Bottle next week... |
Yay! I'm so glad that passing on information will help someone!  I'm probably going to order some of the concentrate myself to have on hand as a prevenative. Seems painless it you just gulp it down from a shot glass and chase it with water!
All the best to you!  |
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Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:23 am |
Hi MermaidGirl!
Thanks so much for posting this info! I started taking the cranberry pills, but I already take so many other supplements (pills/capsules) that I'd rather just down a shot of this instead. I was planning to go to the mall today anyway, and they have a Vitamin Shoppe there...so I will definitely get my hands on some of this stuff!
Mary |
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43, Confirmed desert rat (Scottsdale, AZ), animal lover (3 kitties and a pup) and hopeless product junkie (I blame EDS...lol!) |
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Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:34 pm |
Oh my gosh ... I'm a pro at this one.
I used to get so many UTI's - and most of the doctors were horrible. I was told to cut out coffee, drink cranberry juice and it was implied that I didn't properly 'wipe myself' after using the bathroom.
I finally found a fantastic obgyn who said 'this is not normal'. He sent me to a urologist and they discovered I had a lot of scar tissue in my urethra from a bad fall I had when I was 4 years old.
I'm much, much better now but here's what I do/take:
1. Macrobid. I'm allergic to Cipro but macrobid is specific to that area and I do well on it. I take one capsule 'as needed'. I've learned to recognize when I might "need it".
2. I'm also so attuned now to my body - go to the pharmacy and look near the cranberry tablets for urinary health. There are newer formulas with anesthetic. Many times I take these if I feel a 'tingle'. It's always cleared me up in one day.
Hope this helps - send me a message if you want more info on names, etc. |
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