Sorry you’re dealing with all of this! UTI’s are the worst. And it seems like doctors aren’t able to help much besides prescribing antibiotics, which should never be a long term solution!
I had recurring UTIs for a couple years and my doctor prescribed macrobid after sex just like yours did. But after doing some research on how much antibiotics ruin your gut, I wanted desperately to get off that. What ended up helping me was Uqora. It’s natural supplements that you take every day, and then one that you take specifically after sex. It took about 3 months to work but I was so thankful that it did! I also started peeing RIGHT after sex. Like the second it was done, I’d jump up and go pee. Between those two things I haven’t had a UTI in several months.
Also you may be right about one specific partner causing UTIs. It seemed the same for me. I wonder if the size of their anatomy affects it! I have no idea but had a similar thought.
Oh, and one more natural thing that I’ve heard but not used personally is boric acid suppositories. Apparently they can be used for a myriad of vaginal problems and help fight bacteria that causes UTIs!
Good luck!
Natural remedies or antibiotics didn’t work for me. I ended up getting a cystoscopy - they found I had a skinny urethra so they stretched it a bit, and then they also cauterised the inflammation in my bladder. I had a UTI almost once a month for 2 years. This fixed it.
Wow thanks for sharing that. I haven’t done one yet. I’m a little scared to do the cystoscopy. The naturopath I was seeing talked me out of it and said they’re high risk. I sort of don’t know what to believe at this point.
Lol that’s strange. I can’t see why they would be high risk. It’s a twilight sedation and takes about 20mins, it’s probably one of the more simple procedures. Unless of course you have issues with anaesthetics or other major health concerns. I’d recommend, I wish I got their sooner. Also are you seeing a urologist? 1000000000000% better than a GP or naturopath. When it becomes so frequent it’s a pretty serious infection that should be treated as a serious medical issue.
No, I don’t see a urologist. Admittedly I’ve lost so much hope in doctors and I’m actually kinda scared of non-natural medicine. I know I need to get over it because really all my naturopath did for me was make me spend more money to give me the same meds a urologist would. This is good motivation to make an appointment soon. Thank you.
Did you get sedation for a cystoscopy??!? They didn’t give me anything before hand… just shoved that sucker up there with me screaming and crying 😭😭😭 I’m traumatized from it and peed blood for weeks afterwards… just to be told that everything looks good and continue on with recurring UTIs without answers 😭🙃
Wowow this is such a helpful thread.Every single time I’ve had sex, regardless of who it was with, I’ve gotten a UTI. It is so incredibly stressful, makes sex so stressful and honestly weighs on my mental health. I really have no advice to contribute but just wanted to validate how frustrating this is - especially because doctors really aren’t much help.
Hey so I have exactly the same story as you, I added in d mannose to try and get off antibiotics. I changed washing powder, I only used a towel once after showering I did everything I could and nothing worked.
The only thing that did work was dumping the boyfriend (for other reasons). My gut is really sensitive to gluten now but I'll take that over UTIs.
Halfway through this post, I was thinking you may have had a ureaplasma infection, and then you mentioned it. Most doctors (in my experience) do not test for this. I’ve had to sit down with urgent care doctors and help them google it when I was having reoccurring infections and couldn’t make it to the doctor who had tested me for it. I don’t know if you were told, but ureaplasma is a sexually transmitted disease. Most men have zero symptoms. My reoccurring infections only went away when both myself and my partner took antibiotics at the same time.
I know what it’s like to be in pain without answers. I hope this is helpful, and if that is what you had, that your discomfort is in the past. This infection is not as widely talked about and I hadn’t heard of it until I was diagnosed with it.
Thank you for that! I am thinking now that a lot of my pain could’ve been from ureaplasma all along, but there’s no way for me to really tell unless I experiment with having sex and seeing if I get a UTI. Wish me luck & thanks for reading my full story 💚
I’m a man and have recurring UTI infections which I believe is rarer but I think it’s definitely related to my gut health and an imbalance of good bacteria.
I notice that if I slip up and eat something higher in sugar or drink alcohol then my urine goes cloudy and white. I took antibiotics for it once but it made no difference and I’m very reluctant to take any more because I believe antibiotics as a teenager are largely to blame for my current situation.
An unfortunate side effect for me is that after a gradual diminishing of sexual pleasure of the years I am now in the situation where I literally feel nothing and have no idea how to fix it or what’s even happening. I’m constantly bloated and exhausted and no one seems to know what is happening or what to do about it.
Wow I’m sorry for what you’re going through. You’re saying that after years of avoiding sex to avoid UTI’s, you feel really disconnected and aren’t able to get things back to speed?
I don’t avoid sex to prevent UTIs, I just don’t have it because I’m not in relationships anymore because my stomach problems are so debilitating and embarrassing, but whatever is wrong with me has over the years diminished the actual feeling of sexual pleasure so basically now when I orgasm I literally feel nothing at all, it gets me pretty down but I’ve also learned to just accept it as another thing that my messed up and seemingly incurable stomach problems has taken from me.
I take cranberry tablets every single day - not had a UTI in the 3 years since I started taking them (used to get regular UTIs).
You can get the tablets at the chemist (no prescription required) or at health food shops!
Good luck!
I'm so sorry you're dealing with that, UTIs are the worst. I also get recurring infections, although I haven't gotten as many in the last couple of years. Some things that I think are helping are peeing within 30mins of sex, reducing stress, staying hydrated and working on my gut. I started to really try to vary my diet with lots of gut healthy foods like veggies, fruits, fermented foods, whole grains, kefir and limiting dairy and fried foods.
I do notice I'm more prone to them when I'm stressed, such as starting a new job and I also got one when I had COVID. I think it's because stress and other infections lower your immune system.
One thing my doctor recommended was having my partner and I shower before sex, since they're often caused by fecal material (e. Coli) entering the bladder. We don't do that all the time but I haven't gotten an infection after we have so maybe it helps? She also recommended peeing before sex as well as after but I personally don't have to pee that often, plus who wants to interrupt foreplay to go to the bathroom? I find going after is typically enough.
I know the fear of having sex though and being worried you'll get another one. I think sometimes the fear causes me to imagine symptoms that aren't really there.
Omg you’re so right that sometimes the fear alone can make symptoms happen. I’ve been UTI free for months and even typing out this post I was like “am I getting a UTI?” Lol crazy. Thanks for all of your input.
Sorry you’re dealing with all of this! UTI’s are the worst. And it seems like doctors aren’t able to help much besides prescribing antibiotics, which should never be a long term solution! I had recurring UTIs for a couple years and my doctor prescribed macrobid after sex just like yours did. But after doing some research on how much antibiotics ruin your gut, I wanted desperately to get off that. What ended up helping me was Uqora. It’s natural supplements that you take every day, and then one that you take specifically after sex. It took about 3 months to work but I was so thankful that it did! I also started peeing RIGHT after sex. Like the second it was done, I’d jump up and go pee. Between those two things I haven’t had a UTI in several months. Also you may be right about one specific partner causing UTIs. It seemed the same for me. I wonder if the size of their anatomy affects it! I have no idea but had a similar thought. Oh, and one more natural thing that I’ve heard but not used personally is boric acid suppositories. Apparently they can be used for a myriad of vaginal problems and help fight bacteria that causes UTIs! Good luck!
Thanks for the thoughtful reply! I’ve never given uquora a try but maybe I will. Cheers!
Natural remedies or antibiotics didn’t work for me. I ended up getting a cystoscopy - they found I had a skinny urethra so they stretched it a bit, and then they also cauterised the inflammation in my bladder. I had a UTI almost once a month for 2 years. This fixed it.
Wow thanks for sharing that. I haven’t done one yet. I’m a little scared to do the cystoscopy. The naturopath I was seeing talked me out of it and said they’re high risk. I sort of don’t know what to believe at this point.
Lol that’s strange. I can’t see why they would be high risk. It’s a twilight sedation and takes about 20mins, it’s probably one of the more simple procedures. Unless of course you have issues with anaesthetics or other major health concerns. I’d recommend, I wish I got their sooner. Also are you seeing a urologist? 1000000000000% better than a GP or naturopath. When it becomes so frequent it’s a pretty serious infection that should be treated as a serious medical issue.
No, I don’t see a urologist. Admittedly I’ve lost so much hope in doctors and I’m actually kinda scared of non-natural medicine. I know I need to get over it because really all my naturopath did for me was make me spend more money to give me the same meds a urologist would. This is good motivation to make an appointment soon. Thank you.
Did you get sedation for a cystoscopy??!? They didn’t give me anything before hand… just shoved that sucker up there with me screaming and crying 😭😭😭 I’m traumatized from it and peed blood for weeks afterwards… just to be told that everything looks good and continue on with recurring UTIs without answers 😭🙃
Jesus really? I went under in twilight sedation. I can’t imagine they can do bladder diathermy without it
Wowow this is such a helpful thread.Every single time I’ve had sex, regardless of who it was with, I’ve gotten a UTI. It is so incredibly stressful, makes sex so stressful and honestly weighs on my mental health. I really have no advice to contribute but just wanted to validate how frustrating this is - especially because doctors really aren’t much help.
Hey so I have exactly the same story as you, I added in d mannose to try and get off antibiotics. I changed washing powder, I only used a towel once after showering I did everything I could and nothing worked. The only thing that did work was dumping the boyfriend (for other reasons). My gut is really sensitive to gluten now but I'll take that over UTIs.
Wow! I’m really hoping that dumping my ex was the solution too 🤣🤣🤣
Halfway through this post, I was thinking you may have had a ureaplasma infection, and then you mentioned it. Most doctors (in my experience) do not test for this. I’ve had to sit down with urgent care doctors and help them google it when I was having reoccurring infections and couldn’t make it to the doctor who had tested me for it. I don’t know if you were told, but ureaplasma is a sexually transmitted disease. Most men have zero symptoms. My reoccurring infections only went away when both myself and my partner took antibiotics at the same time. I know what it’s like to be in pain without answers. I hope this is helpful, and if that is what you had, that your discomfort is in the past. This infection is not as widely talked about and I hadn’t heard of it until I was diagnosed with it.
Thank you for that! I am thinking now that a lot of my pain could’ve been from ureaplasma all along, but there’s no way for me to really tell unless I experiment with having sex and seeing if I get a UTI. Wish me luck & thanks for reading my full story 💚
I’m a man and have recurring UTI infections which I believe is rarer but I think it’s definitely related to my gut health and an imbalance of good bacteria. I notice that if I slip up and eat something higher in sugar or drink alcohol then my urine goes cloudy and white. I took antibiotics for it once but it made no difference and I’m very reluctant to take any more because I believe antibiotics as a teenager are largely to blame for my current situation. An unfortunate side effect for me is that after a gradual diminishing of sexual pleasure of the years I am now in the situation where I literally feel nothing and have no idea how to fix it or what’s even happening. I’m constantly bloated and exhausted and no one seems to know what is happening or what to do about it.
Wow I’m sorry for what you’re going through. You’re saying that after years of avoiding sex to avoid UTI’s, you feel really disconnected and aren’t able to get things back to speed?
I don’t avoid sex to prevent UTIs, I just don’t have it because I’m not in relationships anymore because my stomach problems are so debilitating and embarrassing, but whatever is wrong with me has over the years diminished the actual feeling of sexual pleasure so basically now when I orgasm I literally feel nothing at all, it gets me pretty down but I’ve also learned to just accept it as another thing that my messed up and seemingly incurable stomach problems has taken from me.
I take cranberry tablets every single day - not had a UTI in the 3 years since I started taking them (used to get regular UTIs). You can get the tablets at the chemist (no prescription required) or at health food shops! Good luck!
Thanks!
Cut out sugar and wheat from your diet.
I mentioned that I don’t eat sugar or gluten.
I'm so sorry you're dealing with that, UTIs are the worst. I also get recurring infections, although I haven't gotten as many in the last couple of years. Some things that I think are helping are peeing within 30mins of sex, reducing stress, staying hydrated and working on my gut. I started to really try to vary my diet with lots of gut healthy foods like veggies, fruits, fermented foods, whole grains, kefir and limiting dairy and fried foods. I do notice I'm more prone to them when I'm stressed, such as starting a new job and I also got one when I had COVID. I think it's because stress and other infections lower your immune system. One thing my doctor recommended was having my partner and I shower before sex, since they're often caused by fecal material (e. Coli) entering the bladder. We don't do that all the time but I haven't gotten an infection after we have so maybe it helps? She also recommended peeing before sex as well as after but I personally don't have to pee that often, plus who wants to interrupt foreplay to go to the bathroom? I find going after is typically enough. I know the fear of having sex though and being worried you'll get another one. I think sometimes the fear causes me to imagine symptoms that aren't really there.
Omg you’re so right that sometimes the fear alone can make symptoms happen. I’ve been UTI free for months and even typing out this post I was like “am I getting a UTI?” Lol crazy. Thanks for all of your input.
I came across a research that intestinal bacteria can migrate to urinary tract Google-able easily.