Severe Baldder Infection

[ichope]

For me, it all started in 1997 when I started using the internet. I sat at the computer for hours without peeing. Then one day I got a horrible bladder infection. I also found out I had Streptococcus. It took five medicines to clear it all up. I believe that the infections cause the lining of my bladder to deteriorate. I became sensitive to any kind of food with citric acid, salt, caffeine, and the other normal bad foods for IC. At first, I just wanted a pill or something to make it all go away. I didn't want to believe it was food doing it to me. I thought there has to be some kind of treatment like an antibiotic. I found out I was wrong. I tried a couple of drugs for a short time, but they didn't seem to help. I gave up and just searching into the diet theory then. That is what saved me.

This past weekend I ate barbequed ribs, cashews, and lemonade. I flared up big time. I posted a message in the treatment section on the drug Cystex which I found over the counter. It took care of my problem over night. Perhaps other women's bladders are much worse than mine and this drug won't help them, but it did work for me.

Things I had to get rid of in my diet were Mountain Dew, Salty foods including nuts, any citric acid drinks, and cut way down on chocolate. My diet is much more bland now. I also stopped taking any and all allergy tablets including pseudafed. I use to take Claratin-D and Allegra-D. I try to avoid taking any allergy medicines now. If I do, they are usually the kind that make me sleepy without pseudafed, so I only take them at night. I only take one a day too until my allergies are relieved. I cannot use them continuously or they flare up my bladder. Last but not least, never swim in pools or lakes. The chlorine in pools buggs your bladder as well as bacteria that can be found in lakes. No baths either. After sex, take a few ibuprofin because that will flare up your bladder too.

Anyways, I'm sure this story is like many others, but I just wanted to share it.

[lainie]

I know how you feel! Sunday night, I had a few glasses of wine and had forgotten that I was on all that medicine(I know,how could I!)and the next day, was my bladder ever mad at me!! [img]mad.gif[/img] [img]mad.gif[/img]
I was going to check out some organic foods and try maybe vegitarian diet but....there are just some things that are hard to give up..like coffee! I am down to 1.5 cups but I used to have 3 or 4 before I was diagnosed..I think that may have spurred on my IC...Well, hope you have some "reprieve" from symptoms!! Take care, Lainie

[Kara]

Ichope,

For me, my IC spiked after I was given an antibiotic for a UTI that I really didn't have. So I question the use of antibiotics until a culture has done on the urine. I think for my case this particular antibiotic caused my IC to come out and rear it's mean and nasty head!!

Kara <img src="graemlins/scream.gif" border="0" alt="[scream]" />

[ichope]

I know my downfall is one can of Pepsi a day. I have cut down on pop and I drink one small cup of green tea. It is tea from China that my hubby's father sent. It hasn't bothered me with all that caffeine which I'm surprised.

I bought the UTI test strips (6 in a box for $9.99). It has saved me needless trips to the docs. It's a lot cheaper. It puts my mind at ease to know I can test myself any time and don't need to rush off to the doctor.

[Alleycat]

My IC started in Dec. of last year. I just came home with my husband after a trip to TX visiting our familes for Christmas. We were watching some fireworks from our window ( it was more like the last day of Dec ) and I had to go to the bathroom and it was really burning. Well I had UTI's all through my childhood and I was thinking it was just a bladder infection. So I just drank alot of water and cranberry juice ( BIG MISTAKE )Well the next day I had to go and I had blood in my urine. Well that was a sign something was wrong and I went to the doctor and they just said it was a bad bladder infection and put me on meds. Well that went on for like a month and I was getting stopped on one med and started on another till I was literally about to pull my hair out. So I finally went to the URO in Feb of 02 and he diagnosed me with IC. So some say its caused by frequent bladder infections. Cause the bacteria might have worn the bladder lining down. I still dont know for sure....all I know is instead of worrying how we got it...worry about how to get rid of it. Thats my theory of the horrid IC.
~Alison <img src="graemlins/scream.gif" border="0" alt="[scream]" />

[lainie]

Hi Alison, I just read your post and I think your uro is way off base..IC is not an infection nor caused by one...I think I may have only ever had one bladder infection in my life. My uro. says that they really don't know why some women get it and he isn't even sure about if the environment or diet causes symptoms to get worse..
I wish that the medical commmunity would start to take a more serious look at this disease..If they can put a man on the moon, why the heck can't they fix our bladders? I bet you if a lot more men had this, they would start to stand up and pay attention!
Take care, Lainie

[darlene]

Lainie, In addition to IC, I also have Crohn's disease, a chronic, inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. It has a lot in common with IC. During a seminar, for Crohn's, a patient asked the Doctor, why can we go to the moon, but cannot cure this disease. His answer was, it's much easier going to the moon, than finding a cure for Crohn's. IC is probably a far more complex disease, than we would wish it to be, otherwise, the cure would already be known. If genetics are a part of IC, and I would be surprised if they weren't, A cure won't be easy. I am putting my hopes for better treatments, which could come, long before a cure.

[Alleycat]

Hey Lainie~ ( Hope I spelled it right )

Yes I know IC isnt an infection cause when they did a urine culture..they found no bacteria but I was still having burning and symptons of IC. Its just that he asked me if I ever had bladder infections when I was younger and I had them often and he said well the bacteria from the bladder infections might have worn the lining down and now its just gotten bad. Sometimes I think..if they can give a person a new heart ( the main thing to live ) and why cant they think of "anything " to help the IC patients out. I agree if they percentage of men was higher with this condition..they would be on top of it.
~Alison <img src="graemlins/blah.gif" border="0" alt="[blah]" />

[njgal]

Hi:
I believe that a history of UTI's definately plays
a role in IC. Everyone who I know who experience IC in some form had UTI's at some point. The
question is, does the initial infection some how
wear down the lining of the bladder and the
urethra. I also notice that many IC sufferers also have other problems such as fibromyagia and
irritable bowel syndrome. This is very interesting
as no one quite knows the actual cause of
those syndromes as well. Perhaps it is some
sort of auto-immune problem or maybe pain centers
in our brain hyperreact in some way.

NJGAL

[Kara]

Ichope,

Thank you for the tips! I have always wondered about pools and lakes? When I used to take baths as a little girl, I can always remember my urethra hurting aftewards. Probably the IC. My urologist thinks I was born with it. I was 3 months premature. I wonder if that has anything to do with my IC.

Anyway thank you for the great pointers!!!

Kara
<img src="graemlins/blink.gif" border="0" alt="[blink]" />

[bubs]

I know I'm slow with this post but your story was so similar to mine I couldn't believe it. Last March I got a terrible UTI where my urine looked like just blood. I was put on antibiotics and it cleared up. About 2 months later I got another one and peed blood again so I was on another antibiotic. After the blood went away and my anibiotics were gone, I still had alot of pain, urgency, frequency and all of the IC symptoms. Thats when it all started for me. Up until those two UTI's I had only had one infection in my whole life and that was when I had a catheter after giving birth. As a child I never had problems with infections or frequency. It just started boom! like that. I really think the infections must have done something to the lining of my bladder because now I can't eat much but a very bland diet and I have weekly treatments. Just in the last 4 days I'm am finally feeling some relief. I have been feeling aweful since March.

Bubs

[Nicole in ATL]

I also have a history of chronic bladder infections. Started when I was about 17, went to uro when I was about 19. he put me on long-term antibiotics...seemed to help. I still had UTI's but only about 3 times per year.

Then when I was 26 began having symptoms of UTI again, but urine cultures were clean. Got diagnosed about 6 months later.

Kara- I also sometimes felt my urethra burning after I took baths when I was a little girl-.

I do think the UTI's played a role in my IC.
I also think there is some genetic aspects as my grandmother and aunt both have chronic UTI's. Who knows, they could have undiagnosed IC.

Nicole

[Tina Nacho]

Hello Everyone:

For me, it all started with a severe bladder and kidney infection when I was 19 and was hospitalized for two weeks. Although I had periodic symptoms throughout my 20's, I did not get diagnosed until I was in my mid thirties. My symptoms became even worse this past July when I came down with a UTI (Strep-type B) for the first time in years. Since then, my symptoms have been so chronic and severe that I've had to quit my job and put off many of my goals for the immediate future.

I'm lucky in that I live in Baltimore and have access to doctors in the medical community that are studying this disease and have been for the past 10+ years. I have also asked several uros throughout the years if they think an infection kicks IC off and they say "no." I just don't believe it. I also believe that one of the most critical factors in understanding any disease and the consideration of treatment protocals begins with finding a cause. Right now, all the medical community can due is minimize the pain and keep looking for answers.

Regards&gt; Tina