Had Cystitis For 3 Weeks - No UTI. Painful Urination, advice gratefully received

Hello, I am not a doctor but I am suffering from a few conditions that have made my diagnosis difficult. One of my problems was UTI, there was nothing in the urine but I was told by my doctor that there is Interstitial Cystitis that can be painful but will not show up in the urine. I did take antibiotics for the specific cystitis and it has cleared up. Do not treat yourself for Thrush if you still have the pain when urinating. You need to go back to the doctor and remember all your symptoms. I found that the antibiotics worked pretty quickly within 4-5 days I was clear of infection. Its also worth looking up your symptoms on the computer, feel for pain in your groin etc, is your period regular. One last thing make sure you drink as much water as possible with the antibiotics that should be specifically targeted for your UTI, the water will help to flush the infection out, I mean a lot of water, not cola or coffee, flush flush flush

Hello, I am not a doctor but I am suffering from a few conditions that have made my diagnosis difficult. One of my problems was UTI, there was nothing in the urine but I was told by my doctor that there is Interstitial Cystitis that can be painful but will not show up in the urine. I did take antibiotics for the specific cystitis and it has cleared up. Do not treat yourself for Thrush if you still have the pain when urinating. You need to go back to the doctor and remember all your symptoms. I found that the antibiotics worked pretty quickly within 4-5 days I was clear of infection. Its also worth looking up your symptoms on the computer, feel for pain in your groin etc, is your period regular. One last thing make sure you drink as much water as possible with the antibiotics that should be specifically targeted for your UTI, the water will help to flush the infection out, I mean a lot of water, not cola or coffee, flush flush flush

Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to offer advice.

I will up my intake of water, today it does feel a bit worse and I am currently only 2 sachets in from the treatment the Chemist advised. (missed my last nights one as I fell asleep with it by the bed - still there this morning...oops!)

I'm fed up of it now and today I have a thumping headache too.

The Chemist said 3 weeks was a long time to have cystitis, so what you've said about Interstitial Cystitis gives me hope that this can be easily treated with antibiotics. The Dr said it would settle down after they cultured it and found no infection, but this certainly isn't the case.

Thank you again for your advise

P.S. Periods are a bit all over the place at the minute but that has been the case since my miscarriage

Hello you, when I replied last time I couldnt see your questions but as you have replied I will tell you a bit more. I am 50 but quite fit and have had quite a bit of experience with Cystitis, periods, thrush and now Pelvic Inflammatory Disease.

Firstly I have had thrush for quite a few years, when I first got thrush (much younger) it was definitely connected to stress, I was moving house and probably due to time issues left it a bit too long. I was prescribed Caneston which cleared it up. As the years have gone on I have had it far more frequently and it is definitely (for me) connected to stress. If I get thrush I use the pessaries that are 100ml and last for 6 days, these are are far better than the one big pessary they give you for one day. The cream is very important to use and I have been told by the nurses to use it generously on the outside of the vagina. I have taken the oral pill which you take for one day and is quite expensive, that has never worked for me. Thrush can spread to other areas especially your bladder as they are quite close but whether it would cause pain on peeing I am not sure - and if you are using he cream there will that work or would that mean that you now have a urine infection and thrush cream will not work now. I have had cystitis in my younger days and I have learnt to catch it very quickly because the pain is so bad when I pee that I would go straight to A&E if the surgery wasnt open to get antibiotics. In those days I just had the antibiotics that anyone with urine infections would get. It would take a few days to work but the minute I took them I could feel some relief. I have tried the sachets from the chemist, not prescription, but they have never ever helped and only antibiotics work for me. If you are taking the sachets and you are still in pain with peeing then get back to your GP. The sachets must be for extremely mild cystitis but if you do feel they are making a difference then they would be better than taking antibiotics, with cystititis you urinate more often so there is a reluctance from the patient not to drink but you do need to drink, and it should be water and wait for it at least 3 or 4 pints - at least. The bladder needs to be flushed out.

I would not recommend sex while you have thrush or UTI, but its up to you.

It is a good idea to speak to your mother and find out what types of medical problems she has had, you would be suprised how often things run in the family and it gives you a history of possible problems, its better to be prepared.

The reason why I am on this site is because I have Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, this is mainly caused by Sexual diseases but as there is no way I have any I can only think its due to me using yoghurt soaked tampons to alleviate my thrush, this was recommended in the British Medical Journal so not Woman Own, anyway after three years of using this method with Caneston I now appear to have caused myself a bacterial infection which hasnt been diagnosed yet as my Ultra Sound Scan even though urgent is in 3 weeks so have decided to go on the antibiotics now. To help others who may have PID it is very painful, I had a UTI at the same time. My groin and all my right hand side was tender, my leg up to my knee was numb and hurt, throbbing in my groin and generally felt in pain. Only wanted to eat easily digestable food and wanted to drink liquids. Had a CT scan while in hospital under A&E watch, so that ruled out kidney stones, appendix etc. a hernia was suggested but my symptoms are PID but when I asked why the doctor hadnt diagnosed it, she said you didnt tell me you were putting yoghurt in your vagina, I said, you didnt ask. Anyway, after taking the first antibiotic I can feel it working so hopefully I am on the mend.

Last piece of advice, it is very important to get the correct, specific to the problem, antibiotics, I have been on a few different antibiotics, sometimes they can be all round antibiotics but i

With regards to your periods, you can cause problems with them worrying ie stress. If you feel very unwell and have a temperature as well as spotting or periods being early or late that is a sign you may need a D&C which is like a clean out. But just spotting or having them early or late can be caused by continually worrying. Try and find something, if you feel well enough, to take your worries away, some form of exercise, yoga, dancing, anything, just going for a walk. Exercise does make you happy. As I said periods with no other symptoms at all can be caused by you. I am not a doctor so do not take everything I say as read and if you feel unwell go to your GP and make sure all concerns are written down.

Hiya, thank you again for your reply. So sorry you have so many health issues, hope you are finally getting to the bottom of it.

This morning (after the sachets), it is definitely less painful to actually wee, but now I am actually feeling sore down there. Do you think this is possible cos of me going to the loo so much more and my wiping a lot? Although I do try to be gentle but I do have both eczema and psoriasis so my skin is very delicate.

Did I mention I have IBS? Do urinary issues and IBS tend to come in a package deal?

Thank you again for taking the time to reply

Hello, I am hopefully back to 100% with the correct diagnosis so dont worry about me. Your problems on the other hand eczema and psoriasis are not so easily solved or cured. My friend, same age, 50, has had very bad eczema all her life and covers herself in E45 throughout the day, she has thought of possible allergies ie wheat, dairy etc. and excluding them from her diet but if she does that when she inadvertently has wheat or dairy in her food she has a very bad attack of eczema.My friend has also had weight problems and has had her stomach stapled but this is at 50 so her weight problem was due to her diet, which I can tell you is terrible. She has now lost a substantial amount of weight but I would imagine she still has eczema, but not sure.

I have never suffered from IBS but it cant be diagnosed and there is no definitive treatment so you are left to try and work out what is causing the problem. Fibre in the diet is probably the best idea but that may affect your eczema (if you do have an allergy) so you need to experiment with different diets and see what makes you feel better. Again look online and see what other people say about IBS and if they have found anything they eat helpful. But Fibre of some sort is what springs to mind immediately.

Soreness down below could be caused by excessive rubbing or wiping, maybe applying cream afterwards ie E45 may help, I only say E45 because it is recommended by doctors, you may have soreness due to thrush so you could continue using the cream externally, be generous. Trial and error really.

With cystititis and other bladder infections any perfume, knickers not washed in mild detergent, lycra, hair shampoo, conditioner, bath stuff, soap, anything at all that isnt mild and contains any type of perfume can set it off if it gets near your parts, but presumably you know that as eczema would be worse. You cant even get your hair shampoo or conditioner near if you are having a shower, not tight jeans, lycra is the worst, only cotton pants etc etc. There is only a certain amount Doctors can do so you need to do some research yourself and experiment with different foods. A diet of water and fresh vegetables would be a good start but how many people could stick to that????? Please reply if you find out any answers or help yourself in anyway. Again remember I am not a doctor so this is just advice to make you think about how to help yourself. If you feel ill go to your GP.

Hi, I have suffered with the same symptoms for the past 2 years and finally found out the cause of it. I got diagnosed with chronic cystitis! The treatment for this isn't tablets but its a change in the diet as the cause of it is you've basically turned your body acidic! So to treat it is by eating all fresh fruit and veg and drinking loads of water. Although they say its good to drink cranberry juice the sugar in it causes the opposite affect on your bladder which will cause it to be painful again! By following an alkaline diet you will find you bladder will return to normal after maybe a month. Basically it means your bladder in inflamed and because you urine is acidic you are just irritating the bladder lining.

if you google Alkaline diets then it will bring up a list of things to eat to help neutralise you body again and then you can gradually bring back in your normal food!

But make sure you drink at least 2 litres of water a day because that will help no end!

Hi L,

You just may be inflammed due to all the things that are going on with you.  Go back to the doctor and see if he will extend the antibiotics even though there is no culture that came up.  Is this the only time you have had this pain?  Or has this  been a regular thing?  If you end up having this over and over, you may have interstitial cystitis (ic) which plagues mostly women that have too many mast cells (we tend to be very sensitive to about everything).  Ask for Pyridium if the doctor did not give it to you or England's equivalent which hides most of the pain but you are bright orange when you hit the powder room.  Then get macrobid for antibiotic.  Since you miscarried (I am sorry but it's nature saying nope, not a good egg, happens  to most gals, when the time is right, you will get pg).  This is also a "trauma" to the body so if it is just a small infection and the doctor will give you the pills then see how you feel.  Does it burn not only in the bladder but does the pelvic walls hurt, too, especially when you go?  If it does, get some yeast cream even though you do not have yeast, it is so calming....it is also an indication you might have the beginnings of ic (trauma brings ic out as well but it is a bug you get when you have sex cause you are not born with it).  I hope not for your sake, it is a horrible life sentence if you do.  I am not good at answer forums but if you keep getting these episodes, read everything you can about ic, MYCOPLASMA (bug/bateria) which CAUSES ic and if you have it long enough, years and years, you can develop rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or some other autoimmune disease.  A Dr. McPherson Brown figured it out in the 1940s but he had no one to follow his work and so it was shelved for years and years til someone wrote a book and brought it to light.  I am so pssst that most of our doctors are still in the prehistoric ages and not working on this, if it was guys getting this problem it would be solved by now!!  It is just like ULCERS, for 50 years it was blamed on STRESS and it was a BUG/BACTERIA.  I am afraid we are down this road with ic.  Get yourself educated in every which way so you can be the brilliant one to help yourself and find a doctor that is open to giving you drugs.  IF YOU END UP WITH IC, you need to be put on either Augmentin (which supposedly works the best), zithromiacin, or doxycycline) and you need to be put on it FOR YEARS.  And convincing the doctors to do that with the overuse of antibiotics you have to search long and hard to find a doctor that is open to that, find articles on it and bring it to the doctor to have material to show them.  I was fortunate enough to have my gyn read the article and to research and she put me on doxycycline.  Made me feel better than I have ever felt but it is like it is not enough drug to do the whole trick.  I just went to our top teaching hospital and they are poopooing the idea and not even teaching it to the new docs, so disappointing but the guy promised to read my articles so I have my fingers crossed, I want to try augmentin and see if it does work better as someone had written.  Dig and dig for the best articles you can find.  Good luck!  Allyson

L,

I forgot to write in my novel....STAY AWAY from anything with caffeine, chocolate, sugar, flour products, koolade, NOTHING SUGAR FREE, tea, any sodas, coffee, while you are having the bladder problem, these type things MAKE IT WORSE and if you end up with IC, all those items out the window for life if you want less pain.  I sure can tell if I cheat and really pay for it!!  Like I said if this does not clear up in the next 2 months, be a sponge and read, read, read!  Allyson

Just to answer your last point: yes, cystitis-like pain can be caused by anxiety. The muscles in your bladder can tense up just like any other stress-related muscles (head, back, neck, stomach, guts = IBS, etc etc) and the sensation is indistinguishable from "real" cystitis. I have had this on and off for most of my life, I'm used to it now and of course that means I can manage it. Of course you need to make quite sure there is no infection, but anxiety is certainly worth bearing in mind. Also... if I get sore around the vulva which I do occasionally as I'm way past menopause, I use baby oil... so soothing and completely harmless.

In my mid 20's I suffered with this so many times (always after sex) and it was horrible. I have a good routine now though and I have managed to avoid it for the last 5 years. Here is what I do: I always go to the loo straight after sex, and over the next 24 hours I will drink a soluble 1000mg vitamin C tablet (which I heard makes things more acidic and harder for the bacteria) and later on I always drink 3 glasses of water over the course of an hour, so I go to the loo a few times to keep the bacteria from being able to multiply. I always stay away from sugary drinks (this inlcudes cranberry!!) as I think sugar feeds the bacteria. Really simple but very effective for me. I really hope this helps someone as it used to make me so down suffering with it so regularly.