HELP! I get a UTI every single month!!

I can relate to this post. I have always had bladder issues. I had an infection so bad when I was a kid that they had to insert a catheter to empty my bladder. Back then, they told my mom to stop letting me take baths. This advice seemed to help until I reached puberty and began my cycle. Ever since this time, I seem to get a UTI almost every month! The burning, the urge to go, etc. I am a virgin and am not on any form of birth control. I try to be as hygenic as possible and as soon as I feel symptoms I begin to self treat with home remedies (water, cranberry juice, etc) and over the counter medications. I am getting concerned that this could mean something is wrong with my bladder. Getting tests done is expensive and I don't have insurance but I may have to bight the bullet and try to find out why this has been going on almost monthly for nearly 17 years!

Wipe down with witch hazel as soon as you feel a UTI coming on. It's gentle enough to use on your lady parts and its also an astringent so it'll kill the UTI causing bacteria down there. I use to get UTI's after EVERY single time I had sex. Ever since I started using witch hazel I haven't gotten one UTI and it's been almost five months now. In other words, witch hazel will be your savior from UTI's.

This is terribly scary. IVE been getting UTI's since I was 8 years old. IVE been considering birth control for regulation. Every time I use a tampon, I get a uti. Nothing seems to work! IVE been in the er 3 times for the UTI infecting my kidneys and causing high fevers of 103. I'm 17, and every time I go to school I fear getting a UTI. But now after reading all this.. i don't know what to do

Hi Ian here sorry to here your not well I'm a man problems with my prostate .I got a test after 6 years on my semenal fluid which should 4 different types of bacteria really bad ones .so every time I was with my partner is was infecting her .the thing of it is I was feeling fine years ago all good and girl I was seeing just happen to mention odors after we were together .I didn't make sense at the time but now I belive my prostate was infected long before I got sick .long and short ask your partner to check semenal fluid it takes 2 weeks to come back he may not even know that he's under well .hope you feel better soon

hi... i've been having mine for more than 10 years nows... i've done all everyone has said here and more... exams, changing birth control... the thing is with all these years and all meds i've been taking other complications are showing up..  with birth control, without birth control they still happen... it's annoying to always here the doctors say "oh we don't know why you have them, everything is ok, no abnormalties show up on the exams, we just don't understand"...

well guess what i don't understand either, the only thing i know is that it hasn't been easy living all these years wondering everyday and at every moment if the next time i need to go to the bathroom i'll have to be on my way to the hospital once again... i'm sick of this and it's hard on me but it hurts even more when you're in the hospital and you look at your loved one's faces and you see the pain they're in just by seeing what the doctor's put you through to try to relief your pain.

please someone come up with something to help us once and for all

I'm 16! and have been Getting utis about once ever two months for a year now. I'm not on Birthcontrol anymore and am still getting them! After sex i pee and my boyfriend is clean i'm clean. But they are ruining my life!!!

I feel your pain but I dont think it is birth control pill related or at least not only because of that. I am 56, a retired nurse, and have been post menopausal for 20 years. I hardly ever had one when on the pill. I have been getting them about every month for the last 10 months, 12 times so far. I am noe seeing a specialist here in Canada. He put me on a low dose Septra antibiotic every other day about 5 weeks ago but have had two more uti since then. Obviously not working. I too have tried every trick in the book short of abstaining from sex altogether which I hope I dont have to. This weeks uti had me see a dr at a walk in clinic for antibiotics and dr also said use estrogen cream around urethra and vaginal opening. We will have to see if that helps. I get an abdominal pelvic bladder ultrasound tomorrow and return to specialist in about 10 days. I'll keep the forum updated if he has any new recommendations.

Have you considered that you might be dealing with interstitial cystitis? It mimics the symptoms of UTI's. I get both UTI infections and intersititial cystitis. I've been dealing with them for 27 years, 3 urologist and no answers either but if you do also have interstitial cystitis, your bladder may be irritated by food or drinks you eat and cause it to inflame and burn.

I really want to know what is wrong with me too!

I just turned 20 and I've had about 15 utis since I was 15, that was the first time I had ever gotten one. The one thing that has been worrying me is that everyone has lead their belief the cause of it is birth control, but I haven't used birth control since I was 15. I hadn't gotten one in about 3 years so ever since I was 18 they haven't stopped returning. The scary part with mine is that it's never mild, and normally occurs almost immediately after sex. It always gets the point where I pee blood, it hurts to walk because I feel pressure in my bladder, and almost every time I pee in the cup for tests it's nearly black because it has so much blood in it. I have yet to see a specialist because I can't afford it, and it's always the same thing, I take the medication, it's gone, then once again after sex comes right back. No one has said what the problem could be, I wear cotton underwear, use a feminine wash every day, I urinate before and after sex, even shower after. They also gave me some pills to take after sex to help prevent them but it hasn't helped, I'm peeing blood again. Luckily I have pain pills left over, the one that turns your urine bright orange. I'm really scared that this is something I'm going to have to live with, it's so frustrating and getting expensive. I owe so money medical bills in so many places, I just want this to stop. It takes the fun out of intercourse, and it's not like I've had any other partner either, I've been with the same person since I was 15. We both are scared and annoyed with this happening every time. I just want it to be done with, but I'm so terrified of what the cause is, or if there is a cure.

Any suggestions at all?