This is a positive post hoping that I can help others.
I have posted on this site about my sensitive bladder issues before.
My sensitive bladder would result in me not drinking very much maybe 250mls a day and puing loads with pathetic volumes of 50mls - 75mls each time. This is without a diagnosed UTI.
I knew I should have been drinking more and decaffinated drinks- but we don’t always do what we are supposed to do!!!
Anyway apart from this problem on top of it I would suffer from repeated UTIs - which were vile.
So anyhow at my last UTI GP appointment I asked for profalactic antibiotics- that spelling is probably rubbish - what I asked for is a daily dose of an antibiotic.
so I was prescribed Nitrofurantoin 100mg once a day
The change in my bladder has been remarkable.
From my input output chart today I have drunk 250mls coffee and 750mls tea. I have pued twice at 250mls and twice at 200mls - don’t i just love taking my measuring jug to the bathroom - but only 4 times to the loo
it is just so amazing that I can drink more fluid and not have to run to the bathroom or wet myself all the time.
My theory on this is that with Self catheterising I have always had a UTI but one so mild it was not diagnosable. But giving me the usual UTI symptoms of puing loads and not very much volume. Now I’m taking regular antibiotics it is resolved - YEAH.
I’m so glad it’s working for you Min. I’ve just bought some D.Mannose as I took it a few years back and it seemed helpful but my bladder was less problematic then. My last UTI took two courses of anti-biotics to clear - amazon delivered the D.mannose yesterday so crossing fingers it works.
It really does feel like you’re being caught between a rock and a hard place sometimes. I’ve found that caffeine can be quite helpful, in that it can prompt a bowel movement when needed and helps me empty my bladder easier too.
I suspect a lot of people restrict their fluid intake because of frequent loo visits and this in itself can lead to more UTIs because the less diluted the urine that sits in the bladder the more likely an infection is.
Lots of people do find a prophylactic antibiotic helps them. I’m so glad it’s working for you. It’s miserable always feeling you have a UTI. I have that feeling too, but mine is caused by a crappy urethra - it’s a kind of neuropathic pain.
And hopefully the D-Mannose will work for you Sonia. Many people swear by it. (Other people just swear about their bladders!)
I have been on one trimoprim for years at night 100mg, but i try to go without it out for a few months now and then as the trouble is your body gets used to it. I am just getting over another UTI, but i also take one cranberry everyday as per my urologist. I drink loads, if i dont it makes me worse. my bladder is the bane of my life lol.