UTIs every month?? So frustrated.

Linda_Miami

Hi everyone.  I realize that UTIs are a common topic here.  But is anyone else's LO experiencing them EVERY month?  Its exhausting and sooooo frustrating.  My mom would be doing very well if it werent for these stupid UTIs.  Its not a hygiene problem.  We escort her and help her in the bathroom (we care for her at home).  She showers a few times a week.  She drinks plenty water.  She eats healthy.  She is not incontinent.  She has been seeing a urologist for years.  We have gone to a urogynecologist.  A gynecologist.  An Infectious Disease doctor.  We have tried Uquora.  D-Mannose.  High docs Vitamin C.  Concentrated cranberry extract.  You name it, we have tried it!  In the past it has always been e coli bacteria but now it has switched to a bacteria called pseudomonas aeruginosa.  There must be a way to get rid of this once and for all!

ninalu

Hi Linda_Miami,
I just happened to be chatting with my doctor a couple days ago about recurrent UTIs in post-menopausal women. Apparently, lack of vaginal estrogen predisposes some women to recurrent and sometimes intractable UTIs. She mentioned that a small amount of vaginal estrogen works wonders for patients who struggle with this issue. The issue is that dryness predisposes to microtears and microtears become hotbeds for bacterial replication, especially in an environment without proper moisture. 

We were not discussing PWD specifically, so I cannot comment about the appropriateness for this patient group, but wanted to share the information at least. 

I'm sorry your mom is suffering. I do hope you can get some help on this issue. 

M1

Pseudomonas is very hard to clear sometimes and can become resistant to antibiotics, continuing to treat can just make them more resistant.  Is she complaining of discomfort?

One trick you might ask about--tetracycline works sometimes, because you can get very high levels of it in the urine.  

terei

A supplement that could work as a preventative (not treatment) is d mannose, given daily.  It sounds like they are not knocking out the UTI totally with the current meds.  This is not appropriate for anyone with diabetes.  This is the most effective preventative I have heard of.

https://www.healthline.com/health/d-mannose-for-uti

Linda_Miami

Thanks Ninalu.

We did try that a few years ago but I must admit that we didnt try for a very long time.  I will ask the doctor about it again today.  Thanks so much.

Linda_Miami

M1 yes the urologist said that pseudomonas is hard to treat.  In our experience so is e coli.

With the pseudomonas UTI she sleeps 24/7 only waking up to eat and go to the bathroom .  The last time we decided not to treat it I ended up taking her to the ER because after a few days she could barely walk.

This is so hard

Linda_Miami

Thanks Terei.

I think D-Mannose only works for e coli bacteria.  Either way, my mom took that a few years ago and she had the worst gas and bloating of her life.  The doctors couldnt figure out why.  I had to take 3 months off of work because she was so uncomfortable and neither one of us was getting any sleep at night.  As soon as we stopped the D-Mannose the bloating went away.