MAC ,BE and chronic UTI’s?

@westcottkm3040 I wonder if the right antibiotic is being prescribed to treat the UTI, in the right dosage, and for long enough. Your description makes me think they are knocking the infection down but not out. Have they done a urine culture to determine the specific bacteria, and a sensitivity culture to choose the correct antibiotic?

Culture today.
Tried two different antibiotics but hopefully the culture will help.

Hi I got a lot of UTIs when I was on the big 3. I was also treated for thrush. The whole thing drained me. Rifanpicin was the cause. Fair play you are on the big 3 again. Not sure if I could tolerate treatment for MAC again. I am on watchful waiting - my next ID appointment is in early April. Hope you get clear again. Do you have any other side effects? I hope you get sorted with the UTIs they make you feel awful.

Some GI issues and fatigue. But rafubutin was really bad. So went back to rafampin.
Will see what ultra sound shows and culture today.

I have a history of UTI that began when my bronchiectasis symptoms manifested. The symptoms were typical with pain, urgency and blood in the urine. Sometimes e-coli was identified in the culture but often only flora with no specific bacteria was identified. However, with blood in the urine, they would prescribe antibiotics; who wants antibiotics all the time when we know we're going to need them for lung infections? After a couple of years of frequent UTI episodes, i was prescribed vaginal estradiol, which I've been on for 6 years with no UTIs!

@ursala7 Can you tell me more about the vaginal estradiol you are using? Is it the vaginal inserts or a cream? My gynecologist is suggesting the inserts for me but I’m nervous because I already have frequent migraines and headaches are supposedly a common side effect. If you don’t mind sharing your experience, I’d appreciate it. Also, is there really no danger of increased risk of cancer as I’m now hearing? I have family history of uterine and ovarian cancers.
If this is too off topic for this thread, please feel free to DM me

Just a bladder infection. So just antibiotics.

@shelahsegal Glad to comment, if it helps. I have the vaginal estradiol cream.
I too was worried about the cancer risk of the hormone. For the first couple of weeks the directions said to insert daily. Then after that, twice a week. I felt a little weird after that first couple weeks.. I'm sure that was too harsh an adjustment. Then I quickly discovered that using the prescribed amount only once a week instead of twice is enough to keep UTIs at bay. Doc said fine, the goal is to get the intended benefit with the lowest dose. I don't understand why using it helps the urinary tract, but it is something about the acidic conditions with atrophy being associated with promotion of the bacteria that cause UTI. My family has a history of breast cancer in the older relatives, NOT associated with the BRCA gene, so I was a bit concerned . I'm in that age group (76) where we were at told by our physicians (at menopause) that HRT wasn't worth the risks. Now they're saying the big study from 25-30 years ago was possibly flawed. I hope my daughters, who are approaching menopause, will have better options. As far as the small dose of estrogen in the estradiol cream, the opinion of experts is that the vaginal application does not raise the level of the hormone in the blood stream or organs (except the vaginal tract) to any concerning level, therefore the risk (compared to systemic HRT) is very low. And certainly the risk/benefit ratio for me was a no brainer.

@ursala7 Thank you for your candid response!

I have been taking D-mannose for a few years (2 pills/day) and now rarely have UTIs. It might be worth trying.