1. Community
  2. Women's health
  3. Lichen Sclerosus

LS, bladder infections and antibiotics

Posted , 10 users are following.

Morrell1951
Morrell1951

I'm starting this discussion because this topic seems to come up here and there. Hoping the new user who posted about it on an old thread will tell her story here.

1 like, 85 replies

85 Replies

Prev
  • winifred02134
    winifred02134 Morrell1951

    Posted

    HI , first l want to thank you all for the way you have welcomed me into your group, its made me feel so much better to be able to  talk with you all .Hanny, funnily enough l use to paint years ago , got caught up in work and family and l haven,t painted for years, but my grandson is showing talent and l have set him up in my house and am teaching him everything l know and l do find it fun , l shall have to maybe do it again for myself. l also like to read l find it very relaxing l can lose myself in a good book l heard on the radio that your blood pressure drops within minutes of starting to read a book. Starting today with the probiotics ,going to see about some cranberry tablets next time l am at the health shop, also getting some youghut. Hopefully things will get better ! 
  • sarah33278
    sarah33278 Morrell1951

    Posted

    LS and bladder infections seem to go hand in hand.  The older you get also the worse the UTIs become.  Repeatitive UTIs need reporting and require antibiotics. I saw a Urologist for reoccuring UTIs who suggested a cystoscopy for suspected interstial cystitis but then when found out had LS, he recomended that I do 'not' have the cystoscopy until I get the LS under control.  Since commencing treatment for LS and halting intercourse, UTIs have ceased.
    • Morrell1951
      Morrell1951 sarah33278

      Posted

      Good to hear the UTIs stopped. I'm not at all surpried to hear part of the cure was stopping intercourse. I was celibate for about seven years from age 50 and when I resumed what I recall saying to a friend was 'I'm allergic to men!' I now know I've had LS for forty years, but then I thought it was an aspect of my psoriasis. I thought dating was stressing me out and making the skin flare up. In fact it was that plus the Koebner phenomenon (skin trauma triggering flare-ups) as I tried penetration into an atrophied vagina.

      Going by my mother and a 70-year-old friend, once it becomes interstitial cystitis UTIs are chronic even without sex.

  • Lula1
    Lula1 Morrell1951

    Posted

    I had infection in all of my mucous membranes when the LS started. This is what made me thing the LS was caused by infection. It took over a month on minocycline to get rid of the bladder infection. It was never diagnosed through tests. I had terrible vertigo and would need the loo everytime I got in the car or watched a movie. This went on for about five years with doctors telling me nothing was wrong and nothing was showing up in tests. What did show though, was an overgrowth of microflora. I was later diagnosed with common variable immune deficiency. I have yoghurt but it is very difficult balancing an immune deficient gut. If the antibiotics aren't working it's most likely you have been prescribed the wrong ones. Only mino worked whatever I had. These days I have more gut than bladder infections and they are often caused by fungus. Drs will say you cant get diarrhea from fungus. Well you can, because it makes good fodder for bacterial growth. Go on antibiotics and you have this viscious cycle. I hope this saves someone from some grief or a biopsy.
    • wilmatm
      wilmatm Lula1

      Posted

      You have had a rough trot Lula. And for so long not knowing what was wrong must have been terrible for you. Thank you for sharing your story so far. I am certain its a help if we all put our stories out there. 

      Wilma. 

    • Morrell1951
      Morrell1951 wilmatm

      Posted

      Yes, Lula, your story does show what a complex body environment LS can be part of. My sister swears she doesn't have LS, but she had surgery for squamous cell carcinoma twenty years ago (LS is the most common precursor to SCC). She's had terrible psoriasis on her scalp for years. Today she's having awful pain that may turn out psoriatic arthritis. It's all in the family.
    • hanny32508
      hanny32508 Morrell1951

      Posted

      Such suffering.  One wishes a real break through would come regarding auto-immune disease and all it variants.  All of us here have too long a story to tell regarding their terrible voyage with these kind of illnesses.  But I won't let it break my hope.  
    • Morrell1951
      Morrell1951 hanny32508

      Posted

      The thing is, doctors can fix our hearts and joints and circulation well enough to give us ridiculously long lives. My sister has believed her smoking and heavy daily drinking would shorten her life. But it may have just worsened her old age.
  • hb88
    hb88 Morrell1951

    Posted

    Hi! I'm new here and haven't read all replies yet but I've just turned 26, had LS symptoms for a couple of years but also have a chronic bladder wall infection and been on long term anti b's since April this year after having a cystoscopy. I have other health issues as well though (have had severe M.E. since I was 12 and various other illnesses too).  I wondered if there was some sort of connection.
    • Morrell1951
      Morrell1951 hb88

      Posted

      Hi Becca,

      I saw your new discussion about Emu oil. (My experience is, anything that has the oily texture of Vaseline provides a barrier to urine and helps stop the cracking.)

      Unfortunately your story is not unique here. Suedm and I have been talking offline about the part stress plays in LS and all these other auto-immune disorders. We all seem to have 'interesting' childhoods, and the rest of our lives, too. I really think we live in a fairly poisoned world that has affected us all more or less. Those of us who have some sort of hereditary predisposition for auto-immune disorders and a history of stressful life events (or mothers with traumatic histories) seem to suffer from a more or less wide array of problems. I was about 22 when the symptoms I now know were LS appeared. I wasn't diagnosed till I was 61!

      One thing we've really seen on this forum is that LS comes in levels of agressiveness. Mine's a slow-moving one.

      Do watch Dr. Goldstein's presentation – it's everything you need to know about what LS is and how to make the most of the prescription medicine.

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/dr-goldstein-lecture-271556

      Browse the topics. We've had some young women on here, I'm sure you'll find what they've said will make you feel less isolated. It sucks having something horrible that you don't feel you can talk about with friends. We should, though – many of us have fallen through the cracks for decades because we don't want to talk about it.

Back to top
Prev

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.