Chronic UTI

First, most drugs contain lactose, which older people cannot digest. This causes diarrhea. The best recommendation I ever had was to get a bidet seat and have no more problems.

To clkurth:

My infections come from inside my bladder, a spastic bladder and highly sensitive to colas, alcohol, any carbonated drink, some juices, flavored coffee-the expensive kind- and who knows what else... I too take D-Mannose, both morning and night, the cranberry supplement capsule, (gummies may have the bad type sugar, unlike D-Mannose which is a safe sugar that lines the bladder). I also drink at least a half glass water before drinking or eating to soften the effect of any irritants in food and drink. I went from monthly UTIs to one a year.

A month ago, I developed a uti, which turned sepsis, and even the CDC got involved in finding an antibiotic which worked--the bacterium was rare. Could have died without even knowing I had a uti. This one snuck up on my with NO symptoms, till I was delirious and sepsis was there also.

They said I had overworked myself - three weeks of setting up grandson in school in Paris, a daily grind of shopping, building, and bookwork, not enough sleep or rest. Then when I came home, I dove into cleaning a rental of mine to list, and that pushed my immune system over the line.

You say your immune system is weak in your bladder, and I concur, mine also. But I imagine there are other areas where it is also weak, just hasn't shown up yet. I'd watch what you eat and drink, have water before doing either to dilute any sensivities, and see what might give you a twinge in the bladder when you take it. Any alcohol give me a little twinge within minutes, then goes away. But the irritation leaves you vulnerable to the e.Coli which is found in small amounts all over and in our bodies.

Good luck, be cautious, urinate a LOT.

Do not ignore a UTI - rushed friend to ER (after years of falling, breaking wrist, feeling bad with no one listening); was stage 4 kidney, cardiac, brain, muscle, nerve presentations. 5 days in hospital. at CARDIAC recheck, HE found a severe, life threatening UTI that was the direct cause of all her issues, over the long time of being medically dismissed - had spread throughout entire body - and missed in hospital as well. now she has to get to and pay for PT and other outpatient expenses, and will have long road to a meaningful recovery, for her. Stay the course and get your own answers, wherever you have to look.

Oh, I'm so sorry you experienced such a scary experience.

Have you tried adding methenamine (prescription) with your D-Mannose?

If you try it, keep tabs on your kidney function as methenamine can be hard on it.

How does methenamine work? Never heard mention of it. Would like to know and will research. Thank you for sharing with us.

Here's a link from Cleaveland Clinic https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/19603-methenamine-hippurate-tablets

My urologist PA prescribed it & had me add two D-Mannose capsules per day (a.m. & p.m). The normal dose of methenamine are two tablets per day (a.m. & p.m.). I used both of these meds for three years, until my kidney eGFR labs began to go down. At that point, I found that methenamine can be hard on kidneys, so we cut my dose to one D-Mannose per day (a.m) and half a tablet of methenamine per day (p.m.). So far, no UTIs and no interstitial pain with this level of meds. I hope you get relief.

Now, that is promising! Sorry for all your woes, but it could help so many others like me. I will definitely take this to my doctor PA and give it a shot. Why don't all professionals know about the new treatments at the same time? Most of mine still don't know D-Mannose... Thanks!

Thanks for sharing this dosage adjustment experience. I find that the methenamine wiped me out. So I will try to modify this dosage. I’m taking D-Mannose twice daily along with cranberry twice daily. I also take Nettle and Oregano oil capsules nightly. Doing all I can to stay out of the doctor’s office. Using extra good hygiene, changing underwear twice daily. Drinking a ton of water. Sure hope all this helps.

I hope it will help you, if you try it at a lesser amount. Each body is different in how it reacts & responds to certain treatments. Best to you! ♡

I had 4 UTI's in 4 months in and out of the ER. Too much stress for me. My urologist then started me on 250mg Keflex per day. TC said some people need a low dose of an antibiotic daily to prevent these UTI's. Is this safe to continue Keflex for years? I know you are not doctors, but just asking. It seems the TC does not talk about UTI's and what to do about them. Hope you had a very nice Thanksgiving. BB