[draco12]

my urologist will prescribe antibiotics and as soon as they are done and my infection goes away i get another one. i cath using closed intermtent systems using very steril technique. i take cranberry pills. i drink adequate amounts of water. nothing seems to work. i will sweat a bit and if i don't cath immediately, accidents will be had, usually at night. my uurologist prescribed uroquid (sp?) which changes the pH of my urine that makes infection less likely, but i have not been able to start it as you must not have a uti or be on antibiotics while starting it. i am getting very frustrated as it has been a constant issue for months now, where as when i left the hospital in sept. of '05 i had no issue for aeveral months and once they started, there has been no looking back.

This post has been edited by draco12: 25 July 2006 - 10:02 PM

[benok]

Hello draco12, there are plenty of helpful threads here in apparelyzed especially on controlling the bug. If you get the chance, the search will be of big help because I assure you that you will enjoy reading the posts even way back the past months and years.

1. Constant UTi's can also reflect a kidney stone or bladder stone.
2. Once you think you are free of uti after taking antibiotics, take some prophylaxis like macrodantin 100mgs or norfloxacin upon advise of your doctor. Somehow, it will prolong and control the bugs. I guess as SCI patients, we are to drink the medicines for lifetime.
3. Be careful in drinking antibiotics because it might result to being resistant. I stop responding to oral antibiotics like cipro that everytime I get uti, only injectables are given. Aside from being painful, it is also so costly.
4. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure: continue your cathing in the most sterile way and cranberry pills/juice and lots of water.
5. Take vitamin cee that makes the urine more acidic. Maybe it works like uroquid. Once the ph is acidic, it will "kill" or lessen the thriving of bacteria.
5. Lastly, "we have a certain degree of uti and do not treat if the symptoms like chilling, sweating, fever etc does not show". I just cant recall whose words was it that shared this post that is why I cannot quote him.


okay?

[Simon]

Yes, do not treat a uti if you have no symptoms like sweating, fever etc, if al you have is a positive urine test or smelly urine IGNORE it. Otherwise, you risk becoming antibi resistant, thus you're in BIG trouble.
Get Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) POWDER, it will make your urine acidic reducing infection risk. Must be powder though, fizzing vit c is useless as the fizz contains caron dioxide which is almkaline and makes the vit c ph neutral. The vit c is the cheapest method. DO NOT drink orange juice as this turns alkaline in your system, so making urine alkaline. I've had 4 treated uti's in 23 years, most of the rest of the time I've had smelly urine.
Also, cranberry juice is good, not sure how effective tabs are though.
Simon

[DaveP]

I came across a Norwegian herbal tea called "Horsetail Tea" used by pregnant women in Norway that had UTI's and it worked well for me. You drink 3 of these teas per day followed by a glass of water and you pee like crazy. Once the UTI had gone, I just drank a cup of this tea once a day, or a few times per week, and I've been OK since. If I think I have a UTI, I just start the 3 teas per day again for a couple of weeks to make sure it gets cleared out.

I've never taken anti-biotics for a UTI and would only do so as the last possible option - not the first option.

[In The Wind]

Simon, on Jul 26 2006, 12:42 PM, said:

Yes, do not treat a uti if you have no symptoms like sweating, fever etc, if al you have is a positive urine test or smelly urine IGNORE it. Otherwise, you risk becoming antibi resistant, thus you're in BIG trouble.
Get Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) POWDER, it will make your urine acidic reducing infection risk. Must be powder though, fizzing vit c is useless as the fizz contains caron dioxide which is almkaline and makes the vit c ph neutral. The vit c is the cheapest method. DO NOT drink orange juice as this turns alkaline in your system, so making urine alkaline. I've had 4 treated uti's in 23 years, most of the rest of the time I've had smelly urine.
Also, cranberry juice is good, not sure how effective tabs are though.
Simon

man, I drink alot of OJ. Are you saying this is not a good thing to do?

[draco12]

thanks everyone. i will give your advice a try.

[russ1]

Be careful with the Vit C advice - this here referenced article suggests that increasing your vit C intake can put you at a higher risk of kidney stones, particularly if you're prone to them - it's quite an interesting article.

This post has been edited by russ1: 28 July 2006 - 04:00 PM

[benok]

nice article. Thanks russ1

[Shetlander]

I am having similar problems, I've been using texas catheters for the last 10 years (the sheath type). But over the last 2 years I've been dogged with UTI's. I went to the doctor, and unfortunately sometimes they know less about your individual condition than you do.
Anyhow I went to Glasgow Spinal Unit for a check up. They prescrided a 6 month course of Nitrofurentine (or how ever you spell), I don't want to be taking anti bios forever, but the doctor said if this worked I would be fine????? I have a nurse ultrasound my bladder every month to check its not extending/pocketing. Anywaze I 2 weeks ago put in an indwelling cathetor myself and have drunk loads of water, usually 6 litres a day, and have been taking my 50mgs of anti bios, feeling so much better and had no sweats, gonna take it out again in 2 weeks time and hopefully it'll clear the problem. I guess its whatever works for the individual, I don't always believe what the doctor says, maybe a bad thing????

[lune14]

The article russ referenced is great info (Thanks russ1). I recently underwent kidney stone removal (at a whopping $10k+) and the experience was basically a pain in the ass! Was the first time I ever had stones but none the less I had them bilaterally and was experiencing UTI's quite often since the stones had formed when I had rarely ever been incontinent in 25 years. (I self cath at 4 hour intervals, more if situation calls for it). My sudden and frequent incontinence and bloody urine once every 2-3 months was the only reason we decided to look for the stones at all as I had no pain/discomfort.

After the stones were discovered I was given a reference sheet by my urologist on foods to limit and foods to avoid in order to control the amount of oxalic acid. Here's some info that might be of some value. Please do NOT use this as a guide to your own medical treatments, rather consult your doctor always! I just felt it was good to know :-)

Foods with high oxalic acid content
(0.1% or over)
To be avoided:
Beet tops
Beets
Black tea
Chocolate
Cocoa
cola
Dried figs
Ground Pepper
Lambs quarter
lime Peel
Nuts
parsley
Poppy Seeds
Rhubarb
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Vitamin C

Foods with moderate oxalic acid content
(0.2% or over)
To be eaten sparingly:

Beans (green or wax)
BLackberries
Blueberries
Carrots
Celery
Coffee (roasted)
Concord grapes
Currants (red)
Dandelion greens
Endive
Gooseberries
lemon Peel
Okra
Scallions (spring onions)
Orange Peel
Oranges
Peppers (green/bell)
Raspberries (black)
Strawberries
Sweet potatoes


Additional notes from the Urology Clinic:
(please remember this is general info, always consult your doctor!)

Most patients form kidney stones because of one or a combination of the following abnormalities: 1. Low fluid intake, 2. Excess salt, oxalate, calcium or purine (animal protein) intake, 3. Deficient citrate or magnesium in the urine.

To reduce your chances of getting another kidney stone you should do the following:
1. Increase your total daily intake to 2 liters (quarts) per day. Water is the best fluid to drink to reduce kidney stones.

2. Decrease the salt in your diet by removing the saltshaker from the table and not adding any additional salt when preparing food. Remember that restaurant and fast foods are VERY high in salt content.

3. Limit the amount of oxalate in your diet (see list above)

4. Limit the amount of purine in your diet by limiting the amount of animal protein (particulary red meats)

5. Increase the citrate level in your urine by making the following lemonade drink and drinking 3 glasses in the morning, 2 glasses at mid-day, and 3 glasses in the evening.

* Take 1 cup of reconsitituted lemon juice (or juice of real lemons) and add 2 liters of tap water. Add sugar or sweetener to taste. [/b]

[Philip]

If you are a new injurie your body needs to get use to fighting off the bugs. You develop the anti-bodies that fight infections so hopefully in time your bodie does most of the preventions. if are doing a steril technique and still getting infections then look at possible changes in the techinque. Even changing the way you wipe the head with the cleaning agent can improve reliablity. If you are swabbing in a circulare motion then try try swabbing the urethrea with on then center with one the left with one and the right with one. The point of this is to swab any surviving bactiria away from the urethea I just do a clean techinique and get the rare infection every few years. another thing to consider is use the same bathroom as much as possible. Our body becomes accustom our habitate and Bugs in your house you already have. Everytime i move I seem to get a UTI after a settle in I have no problems. What the doctors are doing are one size fits all soluition.

[chuck]

Simon, on Jul 26 2006, 12:42 PM, said:

Yes, do not treat a uti if you have no symptoms like sweating, fever etc, if al you have is a positive urine test or smelly urine IGNORE it. Otherwise, you risk becoming antibi resistant, thus you're in BIG trouble.
Get Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) POWDER, it will make your urine acidic reducing infection risk. Must be powder though, fizzing vit c is useless as the fizz contains caron dioxide which is almkaline and makes the vit c ph neutral. The vit c is the cheapest method. DO NOT drink orange juice as this turns alkaline in your system, so making urine alkaline. I've had 4 treated uti's in 23 years, most of the rest of the time I've had smelly urine.
Also, cranberry juice is good, not sure how effective tabs are though.
Simon

Simon,
Are you saying ot scratch ORANGE JUICE entirely from diet or just in times wiht UTI?
Thanks for all the advice on here, it really makes a difference for me!
Chuck

[Joakim]

I´ve had my share of uti´s and then some! The last couple of years it improved and it only happens once or twice a year (i used to have like 10 or so). I started with some tricks that seems to work, first I put up note in my bathroom that tells guest not to use my towel , I always use alcohol on my hands when im not at home and I don´t use a bag for the urin I go directly in the toilett because it seems like the bladder doesn´t get completly empty when using a bag. I also use a drug called Hiprex in Sweden (contains Metenamin), it works really well.
I would also like to say that if you get an uti you should get some treatment, it can get out of controll really fast. I had a uti that spread to the kidneys and to the blood in just a couple of days and I hadn´t even realized I had an uti, I almost died that time, spent weeks in hospital

[luckycharms]

I used to get uti's constantly. I would take a 2 week dose of antibiotics and within a week or two it would be right back. It was terrible. The worst part of it is that I am allergic to a lot of drugs, the sulfa family being on of them. I am only able to take a couple types of antibiotics to cure the infections, cipro in pill form or gentomician in shot form (which is suppose to be very hard on the kidneys). After this went on for so long doctor's began asking me what they could give me since I was taking so many antibiotics and allergic to so many also. Finally they put me on a program where I take one keflex which is a pretty low grade antibiotic every day. I use to self catheter but and use the toilet as well, and later reduced that to once a day and now I don't catheter at all. I still take one keflex a day and have not had a uti for about a year and a half. When I was getting infections it went on for about 8 years or so and kept getting progressively worse.

One question to all of you. What symptoms do you have when you have a uti? I have been told my symptoms aren't normal. When I have a uti, usually in the morning I will wake up sick to my stomach and begin to vomit. This will continue until at times I will be vomiting every 10 mins or so. It will keep happening until I go to the hospital and get something to stop the vomiting and get antibiotics started and then I am fine. Has anyone else had these kind of symptoms?

[milk]

My friend and I both get UTIs pretty frequently and he asked a few doctors about it. Two of them told him he could not treat the infection and let his body get used to it over a month or two and the symptoms should go away. this doesn't sound safe, and I can see where it might work, but also where it might not. What do you guys think? ever heard of this?

[Haa007]

draco12, on Jul 25 2006, 04:57 PM, said:

my urologist will prescribe antibiotics and as soon as they are done and my infection goes away i get another one. i cath using closed intermtent systems using very steril technique. i take cranberry pills. i drink adequate amounts of water. nothing seems to work. i will sweat a bit and if i don't cath immediately, accidents will be had, usually at night. my uurologist prescribed uroquid (sp?) which changes the pH of my urine that makes infection less likely, but i have not been able to start it as you must not have a uti or be on antibiotics while starting it. i am getting very frustrated as it has been a constant issue for months now, where as when i left the hospital in sept. of '05 i had no issue for aeveral months and once they started, there has been no looking back.

I take a vitamin C everyday and have not had a uti for 8 months. It helps to keep the urine acidicin the bladder. Hope this helps!

[benok]

Quote

My friend and I both get UTIs pretty frequently and he asked a few doctors about it. Two of them told him he could not treat the infection and let his body get used to it over a month or two and the symptoms should go away. this doesn't sound safe, and I can see where it might work, but also where it might not. What do you guys think? ever heard of this?

hello milk: I believe what joakim posted will tell about the effects if the uti will be left alone. I think it will always be in the best discretion of how we understand our bodies when we have the bugs. If we feel that we display symptoms and still can manage to bear it by taking lots of water then I think we dont have to take oral antibiotics. But there are cases that when our bodies make it feel that this uti we have is something different, and then we have to treat. Uti's left untreated can affect the kidneys and then cause some anaphylactic shock. Cheers!

[In The Wind]

I'm going into surgery tomorrow for bladder stones as that seems to be the root of my repeated infections. these were found after an IVP so maybe that's the cause for some of these other repeated infections?