Bladder chronic UTI and urgency

@daphne52 I’ve never heard of cranberry/d’mannose capsules. When I was working my way through college as a certified nurses aid (CNA) we passed out cranberry juice daily to the patients, especially for those who were catheterized. It was thought to help prevent UTI. My father-in-law who had end stage renal disease (ESRD) swore by it. I think it might fall into the category of “might help, can’t hurt”. When I suspect a UTI coming on I fill a huge glass with ice, pour cranberry juice over it and sip throughout the day. I don’t know if it is the cranberry juice itself or increased fluids in general that is helpful but it gives me a sense of flushing out bad stuff and promoting good urinary tract health.

Did your Transplant Center OK you taking Cranberry/D-Mannose? I used to take it before the transplant but they said no supplements at all after transplant. it worked for me before. And I am just recovering my first post transplant UTI after 3 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics. Taking oral antibiotics now at home. The UTI process and urine cultures was a traumatic process for me, as first 2 cultures were negative. I had to wait until a fever and chills to get accepted at a ER for treatment. Please let me know about the Cranberry/D-Mannose acceptance at the TC. Thank you, BB

Thank you for your reply. You are right. I don't think I have in my 70 years ever been this worn down and at this time I did mention giving up. I have never ever had a thought of not being here and probably should not have said that, but this has taken over my life. My husband is my rock and is my advocate. Having gone on this site is something I need to bring me to the reality that there are so many of us out there suffering. Thank you for the comforting words and words of wisdom, I needed that.

I am now trying the dmannose/cranberry capsules and it seems to cause gastro problems, (extreme gas). I'm going to try it another week and hoping the gas will ease. You mentioned catherization. I saw my Uro/gyn doctor yesterday about urine urgency and not completely emptying my bladder, which keeps me in constant pain. I am so hesitate to do it for 2 reasons, doing it wrong and harming myself and most important causing a UTI. I have chronic UTIs and losing the battle, now she wants to put me on a daily long term preventive antibiotic. Any advice. I just need any experiences you may have heard about benefits/warnings that may have come your way. I understand the hesitantly one may have on this forum giving out opinions, but I am beginning to trust the more life experiences on here than having my doctor playing guess and check, not knowing the how's and why's. I trust this sight because of the compassion shown on here. Thanks for listening. Kathy

Updating, I saw my new doctor yesterday and concerning my chronic urgency and UTIS. Now self catherization is what she wants me to do. She had me void and catherized me and my bladder was not empty. The overwhelming stress I am going through with these UTIs and now wanting me to catherize myself, a whole new stressor is added. I'm hoping to hear any experiences on here about self catherizing. When I expressed my concern whether it can cause UTI, she said my concern here today is emptying my bladder which not doing the self procedure, it can cause utis. I'm 70 years old and grasping all this info can be confusing and add to my overwhelming frustration. So glad I have a place to vent. Anyway looking for any personal experiences to help me understand the how's and why's of catherization. Appreciate all and any thoughts. Thought I would just give you an update of my journey. Thanks again for lending an ear. Kathy

This sounds so strange to me Daphne. Did the new doctor give you a diagnosis as to WHY your bladder isn’t emptying completely? There could be many reasons. As to self catheterization…go to the main Mayo Clinic page and put “self catheterization” in the search box. Many posts about it came up when I did that. You might want to join a second chat group about self catheterization and chat with others in that group about their diagnosis and why they are now self catheterizing. Did you make an appointment with a nephrologist yet?

Great question. I had no idea she was heading in the direction of self catherization. I Absolutely did ask her why this is happening to me and she said "I do not know", but you need the pain to go away. How does she know it will take the pain away, she doesn't. It's like I'm an old car and checking out the possible parts that may be bad, work on them until she finds the part that needs repaired. I am dumbfounded.

What the heck is going on with these doctors? Doctors take an oath to HEAL. At the very least I would think they’d order a CT Urogram to see what’s going on and look at the structure of your urinary tract. I’m going to suggest (again) that you make an appointment with a nephrologist. (Kidney doctor). Ask for an extra 15 minutes for the appointment and start at the beginning and explain what has been going on. Write questions down beforehand and take them with you so you don’t forget key questions. If you don’t mind me asking…where do you live?

I ordered some Cranberry/D-Mannose and wondered if others' TC have approved these for UTI's? I have taken them pre-transplant and they seemed to prevent UTI"S for years. Anyone taking this supplement now for post transplant UTI"S and does it help? I did ask my TC and they approved this supplement for me as I just had a UTI last week at 6 weeks post transplant and had to be hospitalized for 3 days. My Urine cultures prior to the hospitalization had been borderline or negative but the UTI was there and getting worse. It took a fever and chills to get me admitted to the hospital. I felt pressure on my bladder prior to the fever and I did not feel bladder pain. It seemed to be different symptoms now post transplant. Thank you, BB

You might want to look into using Apple Cider Vinegar. It tends to lower blood sugar, which may slow down bacterial multiplication.