[Lucydog]

I have an antibiotic resistant UTI. The bug is E coli and as Im allergic to Pennicillin I usually take Ciproxin when it flares up.
However as Im pregnant as well the options are limited so my dr wants to treat me with a course of intravenous antibiotics which would mean going to the hospital every day for treatment. Im wondering if anyone has any experience of this.

Secondly what can be done to avoid UTIs. If Im getting resistant now whats it going to be like in 5 yrs say? Ive never known why Im so prone to UTIs, I mean I used to be a microbiologist so its not like I dont know about hygiene!! Shoud I continue with ISC or would there be better options? I cant really carry on like this can I?

cheers
L

[Kwag_Myers]

Well, my first question is: when are you NOT pregnant? I remember your mishap with the revolving door last spring, and now you're pregnant again? You do know what causes that, don't you?

Second, have you see City Girl's thread? There are several holistic options listed. Plus, garlic is a natural antibiotic so you may want to give that a go. The supplement tablets won't give you garlic breath. Then again, if you eat garlic it may help with the chronic pregnancy thing.

[1heart4u]

You might try D-Mannose with Cran Forte. I will not, do not, take any pharmasuiticals, unless it is matter of life or death.
When I was at Craig Hospital, in rehab, and refused anitbiotics for a UTI, they gave me D-Mannose with Cran Forte (cranberry extract)
As explained to me, the D-Mannose keeps the bacteria from attaching to the lining of the bladder wall. I take 500mg once a day, and have not had a UTI for over 3 years, and I cath every 4-6 hrs. I am NOT a doctor and would encourage you to check with your doc. My regular doc, said it is a great product and to keep taking it. If I have any symptoms of a UTI(cloudy urine or bladder accidents) I increase the dosage to 500 mg twice a day. Clears up same day.
Also the alka selzer does help prevent UTI's. Always check with your physcian before following any recommendations from anyone.
Hope this helps
1heart4u

[Irenec]

Lucydog, on Sep 9 2009, 11:16 PM, said:

I have an antibiotic resistant UTI. The bug is E coli and as Im allergic to Pennicillin I usually take Ciproxin when it flares up.
However as Im pregnant as well the options are limited so my dr wants to treat me with a course of intravenous antibiotics which would mean going to the hospital every day for treatment. Im wondering if anyone has any experience of this.

Secondly what can be done to avoid UTIs. If Im getting resistant now whats it going to be like in 5 yrs say? Ive never known why Im so prone to UTIs, I mean I used to be a microbiologist so its not like I dont know about hygiene!! Shoud I continue with ISC or would there be better options? I cant really carry on like this can I?

cheers
L

Hi I have just read your post. My husband has a UTI. He is also allergic to Pennicillin, also is intollerant to many other antibiotics. How did you get on with your infection? Did you go into your local hospital every day? or did you clear it some other way? If you did go into hospital daily how did it work, how long did you go in for?

My husbands GP says he may have to go in hospital for treatment. Ididnt know you could go in on a daily basis

[Lucydog]

I have just finished taking a course of a very large dose of Ciproxin which tends to be the main one I take. Although the E.coli came back as being resistant it may be possible to get rid of it with a big enough dose. So Im now waiting on a sample I gave in last week to see what happens next.

[DavesMom]

Hello,
I just read on another forum about people taking 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar in 8 ounces of water. It could also be put in something else as long as you take the teaspoonful every day. Several have said it prevents uti's and some said they had a uti that it cured. I am going to try this with my son because I figure it is harmless and if it helps, why not? Just adding my 3 cents.
DavesMom, Diane

[Wicket]

l'd say try D-Mannose, (powder form because it is more potent I think) 500-700 mg a day for prevention but for a UTI when you're already infected it is more than this. Directions on how to take for an existant UTI should be on the container or any qualified naturalist should know. D-Mannose is unique- it is a simple natural suger that is not assimulated by the body and so ends up straight in the bladder where it works by acting like a decoy so little E-coli baddies stick to it instead of the bladder. Much more potent than cranberry. Thus they can be expelled with the next voiding. It only works on E-coli infections and even against the resistant strains-AND the little buggers can never become resistant to it. No side effects either.
I have been using the stuff since mid August when I found out about it as I was having reoccuring UTI's during the summer and so far no infection.


Best of luck and congrats.

This post has been edited by Wicket: 06 October 2009 - 05:51 PM

[partygirl]

Have you tried taking high dose vitamin C?
I take 1000mg twice a day and it keeps me from getting UTI's, also Cranberry capsules are very good.

[davjed]

Lucydog, on Sep 9 2009, 05:16 PM, said:

I have an antibiotic resistant UTI. The bug is E coli and as Im allergic to Pennicillin I usually take Ciproxin when it flares up.
However as Im pregnant as well the options are limited so my dr wants to treat me with a course of intravenous antibiotics which would mean going to the hospital every day for treatment. Im wondering if anyone has any experience of this.

Secondly what can be done to avoid UTIs. If Im getting resistant now whats it going to be like in 5 yrs say? Ive never known why Im so prone to UTIs, I mean I used to be a microbiologist so its not like I dont know about hygiene!! Shoud I continue with ISC or would there be better options? I cant really carry on like this can I?

cheers
L

The E. coli is resistant to penicillin to start with. Cipro is the drug of choice for resistant UTIs. I've had similar problems in the past. I take 100 mg of generic Macrobid once daily as a prophylactic antibiotic, and 1000 mg of vitamin C twice daily. I have only one or two infections a year now. Er, frequent sex is a known cause of increased UTI in females.

[davjed]

Some use Bactrim (sulfur based) as a prophylactic antibiotic but it is not as effective against resistant E. Coli as Macrobid is.

[lune14]

partygirl, on Oct 11 2009, 06:20 PM, said:

Have you tried taking high dose vitamin C?
I take 1000mg twice a day and it keeps me from getting UTI's, also Cranberry capsules are very good.

A word of caution about Vitamin C, especially in high dose.... be CERTAIN to confirm with a urologist and your primary care physician before beginning such a regimen. Vitamin C is a huge taboo if you are prone to kidney stones and it can also be unsafe for a great many people. I developed stones twice when I implemented daily intake of unsweetened cranberry to aid in preventing recurring UTI's. Two surgeries for stones later.... so just double check.

[Tetracyclone]

[quote name='Tortfeasors' date='Oct 11 2009, 11:51 PM' post='133886']
This might be a dumb question, but why can't a UTI be treated with some sort of bladder-specific rather than systemic medication? What I am thinking is filling the bladder with a strong antibiotic solution rather than hoping enough will filter through the blood stream (--like how they do the urodynamics studies or the VCUG).

Tortfeasors,

I have wondered the same thing.

[partygirl]

Hi lune14, your concerns about use of high dose Vitamin C are not substantiated by the research. In fact the theory that it causes kidney stones has been dismissed long ago.
check out the various articles on the internet.

[dangerousdave]

I don't want to start taking anti biotics on a regular basis

I know it's a bit early to shout about it .. but
Started taking D-Mannose on 21 Oct

Level teaspoon every night
I have more energy (lethargy), urine is clear and no smells. A little sedement (I will always have sedement because of the Clam op)
Here in the UK it is a non prescription remedy, much the same as vitamens and minerals.
My doctor isn't negative about taking it.
It seems to be working for me

When a bladder infection gets hold in me .. it gets in the blood .. and thus everywhere .. it brings on the shakes and soring temp. Thus the need for systemic biotics, sometimes needing intrivenous doses in hospital.

This post has been edited by dangerousdave: 02 November 2009 - 10:48 AM

[Hikkakaru]

lune14, on Oct 14 2009, 01:34 PM, said:

partygirl, on Oct 11 2009, 06:20 PM, said:

Have you tried taking high dose vitamin C?
I take 1000mg twice a day and it keeps me from getting UTI's, also Cranberry capsules are very good.

A word of caution about Vitamin C, especially in high dose.... be CERTAIN to confirm with a urologist and your primary care physician before beginning such a regimen. Vitamin C is a huge taboo if you are prone to kidney stones and it can also be unsafe for a great many people. I developed stones twice when I implemented daily intake of unsweetened cranberry to aid in preventing recurring UTI's. Two surgeries for stones later.... so just double check.

partygirl, on Nov 1 2009, 06:36 PM, said:

Hi lune14, your concerns about use of high dose Vitamin C are not substantiated by the research. In fact the theory that it causes kidney stones has been dismissed long ago.
check out the various articles on the internet.

Completely agree with partygirl. It has been refuted that vitamin C causes kidney stones.

http://www.orthomole...ns/v01n07.shtml
http://lpi.oregonsta...dneystones.html
http://www.helpyourselfcommunity.org/featu...e-kidney-stones

However I would like to point out one important thing for a lot of people in this community,
MOST VITAMINS HAVE SOME CONTRADICTORY EFFECTS WITH PRESCRIPTION MEDS.

Quote

High doses of vitamin C can increase the amount of aspirin, paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs – painkillers like ibuprofen) that is in the body by reducing the amount that is lost in the urine – this could make it more effective, or could increase side effects.

Some antacids contain aluminium, and vitamin C can increase the amount of aluminium absorbed, which could make side effects worse.

Vitamin C may help the body not to become tolerant to nitrate drugs (used in heart failure), which could keep them effective for longer.

Vitamin C may increase levels of tetracycline antibiotics, making them more effective but potentially increasing the incidence of side effects.

[lune14]

Thanks for the input partygirl and Hikkakaru. All feedback is appreciated.

As for the relevance of Vitamin C to kidney stone formation, I have been repeatedly warned by my urologist about this. She is a member of one of the leading teams of urology in my region so I am more than shocked that she has never mentioned this. I will be having a look at the links you posted Hikkakaru and discuss the info with my urologist.

Thank you for posting the other information about vitamins, etc. I am quite dismayed at how our society has adopted this "it's all natural so it's ok" attitude. Natural remedies can be toxic too and when someone says "it worked for me" that doesn't always mean you should do it too. Do question things (or ask Hikkakaru lol)

Thanks to you both!

[Tetracyclone]

Recently I was told I had an antibiotic resistant UTI. Antibiotics are always hard on me- my digestion goes haywire and I feel very tired. I took a week of Cypro but then my Doctor admitted he couldn't help because the antibiotics didn't help. I cannot face the idea of intravenous antibiotics, so I took my spasm crazy self to the local chinese herbalist. She gave me a standardized dosage over the phone and said we could fine tune it when she returned from her holiday. It helped.

I think Chinese herbs are a very good route to try because they work by entirely different principles, so if your bug is resistant to one treatment it will respond perfectly well to another.

That said, nothing worked to stop my symptoms of increased spasticity and irritated urethra, but it turns out the infection is gone. Something else is wrong with me that is kicking up symptoms. I had a CT scan today, and maybe that will show something.

I know I will try first the herbal route next time. The price was very reasonable.