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Hi everyone, I am new here but am excited to share my story. I have lurked these boards for a little while as I have been dealing with cytitis-like issues. I have had a few UTI's in my life, and doctor's always gave me antibiotics which would clear it up. The most recent UTI was about a year ago, and that is when everything went downhill. Four different antibiotics were given, but none seemed to work. Eventually I used a European herb called Uva-Ursi which cleared up symptoms for a few days, but the symptoms came back. I than tried a supplement called D-Mannose and it was like an instant miracle. It cleared up all symptoms for several weeks. Also, it has no side-effects because it's basically a sugar that is NOT digested by the body. The bacteria grab onto the D-Mannose, and your body flushes the bacteria out. However, sadly the symptoms came back. I was being very careful with hygeine but it seemed like the UTI kept coming back. I went to several doctor's over the course of several months, most tried to give me antibiotics saying "we treat the symptoms, not the disease" (which I refused to take anymore), and some said there was no infection and it was probably cystitis. Meanwhile my symptoms were getting so bad. I literally had to pee 24-7, and it was so uncomfortable I could barely function.
I went into full-research mode and scoured the web for studies about cystitis. I came upon some research about biofilms. Basically the biofilms theory says that bacteria can build walls around themselves to make themselves immune from antibiotics and other treatments. They can hide in different areas of the bladder and come out at any time. This is why you can go symptom free after an antibiotic/herbal treatment (you temporarily get rid of the active bacteria), but the bacteria hiding inside biofilms will stay dormat and come back out once treatment is done. The researcher believed SOME cases of cystitis might actually be uncured UTI's (which come back negative on UTI tests because they are in hiding). Also, taking antibiotics and other treatments (olive oil, oregan oil, uva ursi, goldenseal) only makes the bacteria stronger.
I figured if this biofilm stuff was true, maybe I had the same type of biofilm bacteria. I realized my infection may have kept coming back because I ended treatment (with the D-Mannose) too soon. If you leave even one little biofilm bacteria behind it can turn back into a full blown infection. That is why you have to take the D-Mannose in a way that will get rid of all bacteria. I decided to try the D-Mannose again since it seemed to work before, and there are no side-effects. After reading more information on the D-Mannose, I realized I was too lax on my previous treatment. I began taking the D-Mannose every 1-2 hours the first few days. The symptoms went away immediately. I kept taking the D-Mannose every day until I was down to about 2-3 doses a day. I now have been symptom free for months. I keep D-Mannose on hand just in case a flare comes back up. I think the key to taking the D-Mannose is getting the concentration levels high enough that all the bacteria are eliminated. Also, you have to keep taking it to ensure you do not leave any bacteria behind.
I realize this will not work for everyone, but even if it only helps one person it is worth telling my story. It has no side-effects, and is relatively cheap. You can buy the pure powdered form on amazon for a good price. I hope this helps someone.
I went into full-research mode and scoured the web for studies about cystitis. I came upon some research about biofilms. Basically the biofilms theory says that bacteria can build walls around themselves to make themselves immune from antibiotics and other treatments. They can hide in different areas of the bladder and come out at any time. This is why you can go symptom free after an antibiotic/herbal treatment (you temporarily get rid of the active bacteria), but the bacteria hiding inside biofilms will stay dormat and come back out once treatment is done. The researcher believed SOME cases of cystitis might actually be uncured UTI's (which come back negative on UTI tests because they are in hiding). Also, taking antibiotics and other treatments (olive oil, oregan oil, uva ursi, goldenseal) only makes the bacteria stronger.
I figured if this biofilm stuff was true, maybe I had the same type of biofilm bacteria. I realized my infection may have kept coming back because I ended treatment (with the D-Mannose) too soon. If you leave even one little biofilm bacteria behind it can turn back into a full blown infection. That is why you have to take the D-Mannose in a way that will get rid of all bacteria. I decided to try the D-Mannose again since it seemed to work before, and there are no side-effects. After reading more information on the D-Mannose, I realized I was too lax on my previous treatment. I began taking the D-Mannose every 1-2 hours the first few days. The symptoms went away immediately. I kept taking the D-Mannose every day until I was down to about 2-3 doses a day. I now have been symptom free for months. I keep D-Mannose on hand just in case a flare comes back up. I think the key to taking the D-Mannose is getting the concentration levels high enough that all the bacteria are eliminated. Also, you have to keep taking it to ensure you do not leave any bacteria behind.
I realize this will not work for everyone, but even if it only helps one person it is worth telling my story. It has no side-effects, and is relatively cheap. You can buy the pure powdered form on amazon for a good price. I hope this helps someone.
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