posted
Cranberry juice didn't help me at all. When I have early signs, then most of the times I can flush it out by drinking, drinking and again: DRINKING ! At least 4 liters a day for 1-2 days.
It's not easy, though and sometimes I'm too lazy to do it... then I have to suffer.
Gabrielle
Posts: 767 | From Germany | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I have a great book called 'Prescription for Nutritional Healing' by James and Phyllis Balch. You can normally find it in any self respecting health food store.
There is an entire write up on UTIs. I will tell you no herbs, or cranberry ever helped me with the infections and cystitis I was having before I had antibiotic therapy for lyme.
I had reoccuring infections for years. It was miserable. Despite everything I did correctly to prevent them.
When I finally had antibiotics for lyme I went through the first four months sloughing off actual tissue looking stuff in my urine. Once my herxing started to become less severe the tissue like stuff disappeared from my urine...interesting, huh?!?
I have been off antibiotics for a few months now and am doing a parasite cleanse. So far so good...no UTIs as of yet.
They recommend Garlic (2-3 capsules a day), Vitamin C w/ bioflavonoids(4,000-5,000 mg daily in divided doses, Probiotics, Calcium and Mag., and a bunch of other supplements. They do recommend Uva Ursi (related to cranberry), Birch leaves, dandelion tea, and goldenseal (you have to be careful with this and use it very sparingly).
I would recommend you get the new edition of this book it is excellent and of course talk to your physician before you mix herbs with any other medications you are taking.
Take care and I wish you well soon. UTIs are miserable that is for sure!
-------------------- �Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.� - Ezre Taft Benson Posts: 655 | From NC, Exit 88 on the Deer SuperHighway | Registered: Dec 2004
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
here is a link that might be of some help too
If you cant use salt due to health reasons dont use the baking soda.
there is also something called d'manos(spelling) that others have said helped them, ive never tried it though.
as always..discuss anything with your dr first.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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MariaA
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posted
Uva ursi tea, and drinking a LOT of water.
Uva ursi is these little hard leaves that you can buy at a health food store/online/herb shop- you might want to flavor it with another herb tea.
Part of the point of treating UTI with juice is to drink a lot of liquid, some people try to avoid this because urinating is uncomfortable, but it's necessary.
Grocery store cranberry juice can be really high in sugar so I've exacerbated yeast infections before while trying to manage UTI's. There's a really tart no-sugar version now going around at health food stores/Trader Joe's which you can sweeten to your own needs. There are also cranberry capsules which supposedly work well, often containing other herbs such as Uva Ursi.
Often when I had 'early signs' I could correct it just by drinking a huge amount of water all in a short sitting. I remember it leading to temporary diarrhea a couple of times, but I didn't proceed to getting a UTI when I did this.
There are over-the-counter drugs for UTI discomfort but I"m not sure if they do anything aobut the infection itself or are just pain relievers.
Maria
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
Aniek
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Member # 5374
posted
cantgiveupyet - is the baking soda just for symptom relief? I'd actually prefer not to mask symptoms right now, so I know tomorrow if I need to call the doctor.
I can't do cranberry. I'm allergic to it.
I'm drinking lots of water. I also started feeling better after taking my Cumanda. So maybe that helped, or its coincidence. It might not be a UTI.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I thought Uva Ursi first and foremost too until I realized Uva Ursi is in the cranberry family and so Aniek is probably allergic to it as well.
-------------------- �Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.� - Ezre Taft Benson Posts: 655 | From NC, Exit 88 on the Deer SuperHighway | Registered: Dec 2004
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northstar
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posted
This wont help you today, but Gigi had recommended a product called d-mannose for uti's, I think. If you do a search for
gigi uti
maybe you will find the proper name.
I would increase the water, too (maybe adding electrolytes), and aspirin, if you can.
I used to do the cranberry, water, aspirin routine too, pre-lyme.
I wonder if the cranberry is used as ph adjuster, to make more acidic? Or is it used as a diuretic? In which case, there may be a substitute.
Northstar
Posts: 1331 | From hither and yonder | Registered: Sep 2005
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Aniek
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posted
Northstar,
The cranberry juice is used because there is something in the cranberry that prevents the bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall.
I'm really feeling much better. So I think it was a false alarm. *crosses fingers*
Hopefully this thread will help others in the future.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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northstar
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posted
The cranberry juice is used because there is something in the cranberry that prevents the bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall.
That's interesting!
I am glad you are feeling better! Always on a weekend, huh? !
Northstar
Posts: 1331 | From hither and yonder | Registered: Sep 2005
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Aniek
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Always when I'm supposed to be working on a paper.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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MariaA
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posted
aah, stress. That used to be my issue with these infections too. Since I upped my water intake by a great deal, I haven't had one in years. I know some people suffer them more often than others, though.
I asked a nurse about UTI and cranberry once, and she said that the acidity is part of why it helps, as well as the cranberry's medicinal action that you just mentioned.
So one other thing I tried was taking a lot of Vitamin C and a lot of water when I didn't want to simply chug cranberry juice but couldnt' get to a doctor. It seemed to help but maybe she was wrong and it was just the extra water that helped me. Vit C certainly brings on diarrhea if you do too much of it, beware.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
I went through a time of 18 months with constant UTIs. I took cranberry capsules and drank UVA URSI tea... sounds like that isn't right for you, however.
One thing that changed the entire cycle for me was learning that I was allergic to latex. I had been relying on *ahem* condoms and a diaphragm and I was allergic to both!
Probiotics also helped. Sugar/caffeine were totally out. Drink H2O like crazy. Also, quercitin set me off and I had to stop taking it. [If you're on a lot of supplements, maybe try tapering off and adding back slowly.]
My heart and bladder go out to you and wish you well,
wiserforit
Posts: 508 | From Banks of the Hudson | Registered: Jul 2006
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If you have had regular UTI's I would consider asking your urologist about Interstitial Cystitis.
I used to have LOTS of UTI's and always had to get in to the doctor because they HURT! However, a few years ago, when seeing my doctor once again,
my urinalysis did not show an infection, even though it felt exactly like all my other UTI's. Instead there was blood in my urine, but not so
much that I could detect it just by looking. I had to have my bladder instilled with a solution which treats the irritated bladder lining (outpatient
in the hospital.) That was all it took to stop that cycle for at least a couple of years. Then the cycle started up again and I was seeing my
urologist every week for instillations in his office of heparin. I had about 10 sessions and the doc was going to teach me how to do this
procedure at home. It must have scared me enough because the cycles stopped once again. I haven't had any flares in a while. I take hydroxyzine every
night for a few different reasons, but one is to keep my bladder from spasming and causing another go around with the IC. My LLMD said he sees a LOT
of this and there are so many people trying to treat what they believe is a UTI with herbs, etc. A visit to your urologist should rule this
out easily and could prevent a chronic illness of interstitial cystitis just in case you have it.
Hope this information helps! My best to you, Janet
-------------------- DISCLAIMER: No information presented above should be considered medical advice or take the place of advice given by a medical professional. Links to other sites are provided merely for ease of research. Posts: 287 | From Tennessee | Registered: Sep 2006
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Be careful, and check that you have truly resolved your UTI with a urinalysis.
Bladder infections can simmer and drain your immune system or they can "ascend" to your kidneys and be very serious.
Posts: 211 | From NC | Registered: Dec 2005
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cantgiveupyet
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Wow Janet, i wish my IC was that easily treated.
I had an irigation cocktail in my bladder for 24 hrs......and the pain came back. My urethra is too sore for anymore cocktails and it took 3 months for it to recover the first time.
All the LLMD ive went to look at me like im an oddball with the IC.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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clairenotes
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Aniek -- have you tested your pH lately? Whenever I have an infection I check to see if my system is too acid. If so, then use whatever pH balancer you like the best. I use something that has sodium bi-carb in it. This helps inhibit microbial growth and may make the remedies you use work better.
Not medical advice... just my own experience.
Posts: 1111 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2006
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I had infection like symptoms but tested a couple times as not having an active infection.
Macrobid which is the antibiotic for treatment of UTIs frequently did nothing for me but Zithromax and Levaquin always helped....turns out they were two of my best lyme fighting antibiotics...no coincidence in my mind.
For me it was lyme and now that I have intensive abx therapy I no longer have any symptoms of UTIs or UTIs themselves.
-------------------- �Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.� - Ezre Taft Benson Posts: 655 | From NC, Exit 88 on the Deer SuperHighway | Registered: Dec 2004
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For people with interstitial cystitis, you should NOT use cranberry juice or anything acidic, like orange juice.
This causes the irritation of the bladder lining to get worse and another attack can happen. This is what my urologist told me. My LLMD said that
he doesn't treat IC, that a urologist is best for that. It can and also cannot be related to Lyme. The bladder spasms and holds urine and it
does feel like a UTI, complete with back pain, sometimes painful urination, a feeling of fullness and bloating which hurts. My urologist
dilated my ureter and I had almost a liter of urine which was being held in the bladder. I got tremendous relief with that procedure. The bladder
instillations of heparin were not painful. I actually got tremendous relief. My urologist also prescribed hydroxyzine to take to keep the
bladder from spasming. It is an antihistimine that works by preventing smooth muscles from spasming. I take it for IC, sensitivity to sun and other allergies. Wonderful stuff!
Good luck with your treatment, Janet
-------------------- DISCLAIMER: No information presented above should be considered medical advice or take the place of advice given by a medical professional. Links to other sites are provided merely for ease of research. Posts: 287 | From Tennessee | Registered: Sep 2006
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