D Mannose

[starflight]

I'm a guy and I can tell you I just ordered some to give it a try. I also got some marshmallow tea along with it sooooo this is the first time I'll be attempting the use of these for IC. My pain is confined almost entirely to urinary pain and nothing has helped except drinking more water. According to chinese medicine weak kidney chi is the cause of this disease, idk if it's true but I found an chinese tea to help balance chi and when I do drink this I don't have a reaction so I'll continue using it.

I'm going to tell you I believe that IC is caused by a bacteria, or something like one. I'm not sure what else to say except I had a UTI when I was like 18 or so I don't recall exactly, I had it to long, then finally got treatment and it vanished but then returned shortly there-after only not as bad. I remember reading that the UTI merely weakend the bladder because it already had an inability to build the gag layer because of some cell or something so that also could be the reason I never noticed it until then. But I still believe these idiot urologists would find exactly what causes it if they only gave it serious research and not the BS they've been doing.

Imagine if everyone had IC? I bet you a million dollars if all those without IC had it then they'd take it seriously and a cure would be found in a month, or at least a better treatment.

I'll let you know how this works for me bye

[mommyof5]

D mannose for uti

I started using d mannose for a uti 3 days ago and it is working I will take it for a couple more days then take one tsp. A day for maintenance. For me I think the ic and continued uti are caused by systemic yeast and too many antibiotics. I will also try using the marshmallow root tea because I heard that is soothing.

[i3luebyrd]

D Mannose is great for preventing bladder infections. There are a few actual medical studies done on it.

What it is: D-Mannose is a sugar (like sucrose or fructose) and actually tastes like sugar if you get it in powdered form. The molecules are "coarse" and the e-coli molecules prefer to bind to the D-Mannose than to the walls of your bladder. So, if you can imagine these little furry balls of D-Mannose bouncing around your bladder picking up stray e-coli molecules, and then you pee them out. It DOESN'T work if you have an infection that doesn't stem from e-coli bateria (99% of infections are from e-coli).

Some doctors think it helps IC because: there's a theory that IC patients have "pockets" in our GAG layer (bladder lining). I think it's pretty much known that the pain we experience is from our bladder lining (or lack thereof). So, if you can imagine these pockets in the badder that are trapping bateria. The bateria never makes it into a sample because they're sealed into the bladder wall (still *just* a theory). So, if we drink the D-Mannose we might permeate the pockets and folds of our dysfunctional bladders and pull out those trapped sources of bateria.

It's not a bad theory. Then again, it doesn't sound like a cure either. You pretty much have to keep taking the D-Mannose to make sure the bateria don't get trapped over and over again. Or fix the bladder wall eventually.

Just in case, I take D-Mannose capsules on a regular basis to prevent infection.

[earthlady]

I had tried this a while back and ended up with severe diarrhea which I have since learned can be a side effect at high doses. Was wondering if anyone else has had this problem or if that the dosage was just too high for me. I was taking 1 tsp 2x day. I don't take it on a regular basis but kept it around just in case a uti came up.

[mommyof5]

To i3luebyrd, I really think they might be onto something with this pocket in the lining thing because i have gotten a uti almost every month for a whole year. The D Mannose worked but after i started to lower my doses the pain came back. I ran out of Dmannose powder so I had to order more online. No one carries it where I live. I also take Glucosamine MSM,D-3,hydroxyzine, well butrin and prelief. Glucosamine is supposed to help rebuild the bladder lining.

[mommyof5]

earthlady, i was taking one tsp. 4x a day when i started taking then went down to 3 then 2 times a day. I didn't have any side effects, so I guess it is different for everyone.

[earthlady]

Oh it figures it would just be me-lol If there are any weird side effects from anything I'm the one who would get them. Maybe I could cut the dose and see what happens.

[mommyof5]

Earthlady,hope you feel relief soon.

[earthlady]

Thank you. I'm currently ok but had tried the dmannose a while back thinking a UTI was coming and ended up with the 'runs' instead. I also wanted to try it in case there were bacteria hiding somewhere that did not show up on a culture Unfortunately I believe I have a 'loose' intestinal system when it comes to supplements and medications.

[AJ2011]

Interesting research

Just thought this might add to the discussion. It seems to be saying that if different types of cultures were carried out other than the standard ones at the onset of symptoms, bacterial infection would then show up. Basically, many people are not being diagnosed correctly with specific types of bacterial infections. It suggests
"Have the antibacterial agents administered to patients with urinary symptoms at times when they have either a positive or an apparently negative urine culture altered the balance of the urethral commensal flora, selecting resistant bacteria which then invade the proximal urethra and/or the paraurethral tissues?"
It makes sense to me because I have little history of UTIs or bladder problems generally,then one day I developed a mild case of standard cystitis (honeymoon, if you know what I mean), went to the surgery for drugs,did not even have a urine culture, then.. bam! Subsequent urine cultures upon second round of drugs showed negative (what a surprise).
http://www.scitopics.com/Why_is_Urin...y_managed.html
So then it makes sense why D-mannose may help some people if they have developed the IC in this way. It also explains why it's so important to look after your immune system and limit sugar intake, so your body can fight off these things.

[MaryJo]

D-Mannose?

Where do you get D-Mannose and is it better to buy capsules or powder?
Is it usually gotten local or just online?

Thanks, MaryJo

[DaniMSC]

Hi all,

Interesting discussion! Could anyone who has taken D-mannose help me with a few questions? I bought D-mannose in capsule form a little over three weeks ago and have been taking two 500mg capsules a day, but I haven't improved at all. So I'm wondering if I should try taking more, or taking it for another month? For those of you who had success or at least partial success with D-mannose, how long did it take to notice a difference? Did you take more than the package dose to find relief? Does powder or capsule make a difference?

I'm really curious because unlike so many other drugs and supplements I've tried, at least D-mannose doesn't make me worse or have negative side effects! And it's not $400 a month like other drugs I know of! haha So I would be willing to keep trying it if I thought taking more/taking it longer could help.

Thanks for your help! And yay for being in remission!

[MrsMack1985]

Hi Dani,

I personally take 6 grams per day for maintenance. The powder is more potent... unfortunately the amount you are taking would likely not help much or at all in my experience. You want to take 2 grams per dose, drink with a full glass of water and try to wait a full hour or longer before you pee. The longer the D mannose can sit in your bladder, the more bad stuff it will flush out with it when you void. When I am in a "flare" I will do this every hour or so until symptoms are gone, and I have taken 10+ doses in one day when necessary. Those are my thoughts, best of luck to you

[MrsMack1985]

MaryJo,

You can find it in health food stores or at like a GNC, but it is much cheaper online. I get mine from a Vitamin wholesaler online. Good luck to you!

[DaniMSC]

Thank you much Mrs. Mack, that was super helpful! I think I'll give it another shot since unlike many supplements I've tried, it didn't have any adverse affects on me. My current theory on my IC is a little shaky, since I now believe I have a good deal of PFD going on (waiting to see a PT) but since UTIs are what caused this flare, and I had the usual situation of multiple tests over a few weeks alternating between positive and negative for UTIs (and they treated me with an AB the first time that I had just used for a sinus infection that didn't work!) I believe bacteria could be part of my problem still. whew that was a confusing sentece! Well thanks again for your quick and informative reply!