recurring UTIs

[alpinerabbit]

Please do not use antibiotics as prevention. You are paving the way for a nice, antibiotic-resistant infectoin.

The irritation idea struck me - are you leaning too much on your urethra, rubbing it against the saddle or fabric?

(Definitely can't catch it from a spin bike seat, but possibly from an infested pad...)

[tctrek]

+1 on Vitamin C and/or Cranberry juice. If it takes hold I use Azo's for a few days in addition to the Vitamin C.

[OakLeaf]

I wouldn't really worry too much about the chamois - the bacteria are there all the time, it's imbalances and vulnerabilities in your immune system and the particular tissues that allow an infection to develop - but the best way to sanitize a chamois is to dry your shorts outdoors in the sun.


ETA: to echo what Indysteel and Alpinerabbit said, are you getting tested each time you have symptoms of a UTI? If all you have is frequent urination (and I DO know how awful that can be all by itself), perhaps you're drinking too much water without replacing electrolytes? taking another medication that causes spastic bladder? simply responding to stress?

Have you been evaluated for interstitial cystitis?

[indysteel]

I've had a nightmare of UTIs since August. I think had one almost every month for about six months. I did finally go on a preventative dose of antibiotics. The persistent feeling of either having an UTI or feeling like I was about to get a UTI was absolutely draining. I tried cranberry tablets, Vitamin C, copious amounts of water, peeing after sex, peeing before sex. Nothing worked.

When I finally visited a urologist, he explained that the bladder is a very sensitive organ. A low dose of antibiotics, taken nightly, can give the bladder a chance to fully heal. He was right on that count. I started that therapy in February and haven't had one since. The downside, however, is that the first antibiotic he prescribed--Macrodantin--caused some bad side effects. They don't occur in all people, but for those that can't tolerate the drug--the side effects can be quite serious. I'm tolerating the second drug--Proloprim--a lot better. It's not quite as effective, so I'm also taking 1000 mg of Vitamin C each night, too. Plus, yeast infections are more common.

I was only supposed to be on the antibiotic for four months. From there, I'm not sure what we'll do if they recur. While the drugs have worked, I feel very uneasy about taking them.

[ZenSojourner]

I'm not trying to be a buttinsky, but I would note that the dose of Vitamin C you're taking - 1000mg per day - is half what my doc had me taking when I had this problem.

I was taking 2000mg every day, in ONE dose all at the same time, for at least a month. Taking it longer than that wouldn't hurt.

Just food for thought, I am not a doctor nor do I play one on the internet.

[msincredible]

Another fan of cranberry juice here, and I prefer the 100% unsweetened cranberry juice. Maybe you could even dilute some into your water for your ride.

[Thorn]

I question the efficacy of the cranberry pills. They did not work for me. When I tried to do some research as to whether they are supposed to, the only medical studies I found said they were not effective. On the other hand juice does work and has been shown to work.

As Michael Pollan would suggest--eat food. Stay as close to the cranberry as you can get--IvonaDestroi probably has the best approach, although since blueberries also qualify I like to justify a big piece of blueberry pie. Hey, if nothing else, as comfort food, it also does its job

[Melalvai]

I despise the taste of cranberry juice but I had success with cranberry pills. At least, taking cranberry pills coincided with the end of a 10-month string of UTIs, whether it was a cause and effect or mere correlation I can't say.