Any home remedies for cystitis?

Kidney and urinary tract
1

I am 20 years old and I have suffered from reoccurring cystitis for 3 years now. When I first had it, it was due to me not urinated enough as I was scared to use the toilet at my boyfriends house - I'm silly I know! I went on antibiotics and drunk a lot of water.

The second time was New Year's Day. I guess I had a bit too much alcohol and had been very sexually active with my boyfriend for 2 weeks before the new year. I tried to cure this at home, drinking pints of water, sitting on the toilet until early hours of the morning and caressing a hot water bottle in between my thighs. Unfortunately, I ended up having to go on antibiotics. The antibiotics cured the infection but I then was diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis. For anyone suffering for BV I truly feel for you and hope you find a cure. BV stuck with me for 3 months, I ate healthy and used medicines to cure it. I was prescribed antibiotics but they only seemed to work for a week.

2 months on, BV has gone and I am back to being sexually active with my boyfriend again. I went away for a week without him, when I came back (2 days ago) we have been inseparable and sexually active. Now I have woken up to a bladder infection.

My symptoms are the same as they always have been:

- urge to urinate all the time - I mean every second of every minute!!!

- burning sensations when passing urine

- after passing urine, my bladder or vagina, I'm not sure which it is, pushes so hard to get nothing out that I then see light blood fall into the toilet bowl.

- pushing so hard that I end up pushing out poo (sorry for description)

- small discomfort in lower stomach

- lack of sleep

I woke up at 5am from the discomfort and went straight to the toilet with a large bottle of water. I drink the entire bottle and ended up throwing it all back up as it was too much for my body to handle. It's now 9am and I am still on the toilet.

I have had a hot water bottle in between my thighs but I'd much rather be in the toilet.

I do not want to go on antibiotics as I am afraid of them causing my BV to return - that to me is worse than cystitis.

In the past I've had cranberry sachets and they may have created a slight improvement but I'm not sure.

I apologise for the in depth description of my current state but if anyone could suggest some home remedies for this to go asap I'd really appreciate it!

2

Hi Cherrymiller200, firstly, I do sympathize with you. You're going through quite a lot. With all of the antibiotics you've been prescribed, do I take it that these have been prescribed by the same person....your primary doc or GP? If so, it is time to see a specialist. You cannot keep going back and forth with these symptoms 

, especially taking antibiotics all of the time. They just aren't good for you when you take so many. Now, you may say these were prescribed by a specialist and if so, more than likely a urologist. But a good urologist will have you properly diagnosed and not keep feeding you these meds. While you do show signs of IC, a specialist should be able to properly diagnose you even though IC is not always easy to diagnose. As far as home remedies, there are things you can do at home to offset IC symptoms but first you must know if that's what you have. Vaginosis is an infection with so much bacteria that usually an antibiotic is necesssry but IC, as I've been told by my Gyn, is not an infection. When this first began with me, last September, I was told that the percentage of bacteria I had was not enough to constitute a full blown bladder infection and that IC can't be treated with antibiotics. Actually, there is no set treatment for IC. They do have treatments but they are not always effective for all women. What I do is try my best to watch my diet. They say you must keep to an alkaline diet...too much acid is what causes "flares." So things like caffeine, heavy spices, tomatoes, even wine (due to sulfates) are wise to steer clear of. And lots and lots of water. I also find exercise is helpful, especially Pilates. Also, with many women who do have IC, they have pelvic floor issues that need to be addressed. So as you can see, there is no set cure for IC. You seem to get the infections after sex and this is pretty standard cause of vaginosis. Forgive the intrusion but is this guy a new boyfriend? I know that new partners or more than one partner can cause vaginosis...although it is not known as a sexually transmitted thing. I don't like the blood you mention when you're trying to go but with IC you do definitely get awful pressure down there. For me, when I have a bad flare, it hurts when I go and hurts afterward. And it takes long for me to try to finish and get it all out. And some of the worst flares will cause me to have pelvic pain that feels like cramps. One thing I highly recommend is to get on a good probiotic as soon as you can. You've taken far too many antibiotics which could really mess with your gut. Look for capsules that have 10 to 50 billion CFU's. Without a good probiotic you could be leaving yourself open to other problems down the road and you don't need that. As a rule you should have a clean diet...no junk, nothing white and low to no sugar. Plant based foods are recommended as are complex carbs like legumes, etc. Stay away from sodas and anything high in fructose or sugar. The only other thing I can recommend is to see a urologist if you have not done so already. I hope some of this has helped a bit and I do hope you feel better soon.

3

First of all, thank you so much for the informative response, I really appreciate it.

I've been able to surface from the toilet and just rest and sleep in bed with a hot water bottle in between my thighs. I can still feel the pain in my lower stomach, I don't have the urge to pee as much but I'm scared for when I do so - I really don't want to be on there for hours in pain again.

I think going to an urologist is a good idea. Unfortunately, I am to be going away with my boyfriend for a week to Greece in 4 days so hopefully this clears soon. Awful timing right?

I was with a different guy 3 years ago when symptoms of cystitis occurred. I have been with my current boyfriend for 8 months and have had cystitis symptoms twice - this one being the second. Around January time was when my first symptoms of BV came so around 3/4 months in with my current boyfriend.

To cure BV after the antibiotics didn't seem to work (they only got rid of the smell) I used home remedies. Completely changed my diet, chicken veg and rice. Always drinking water. Natural yoghurt containing lactobacillus was an everyday necessity. I took folic acid, I read this on one of the forums here. I'm not sure if this helped but all of these together seemed to have cured BV for now.

I will go to see a specialist after my holiday. In the mean time to get rid of pains and symptoms I will drink a lot of water, use a hot water bottle and take paracetamols.

Thank you so much for your help

4

You're so welcome. It can be touch and go until you get a true diagnosis which is why a specialist should be seen. The yogurt is helpful but make sure you get some good probiotics in you every songle day. Changing your diet is good, too. Maybe after your trip you can get this squared away, right? I hope you have a wonderful time. We here in the states do not have many clinical trials going for IC and under the current sickening administration it can only worsen. So for those of us who suffer with this, it's a lot of trial and error...but a urologist can be the best help, I feel, in addition to keeping to a more alkaline diet. Take care and have a great trip!!

5

Hi Cherry

I can only tell you I saw on this site someone recommending D Mannose and it has helped me. I got rid of the infection with antibiotics and took probiotics each day too to prevent thrush but at different time of day. I then put myself on D Mannose tablets which are supposed to not allow the infection to take a hold & remain hidden in the bladder lining .. which is what often happens ...do look D Mannose up on the internet ... hope this is of some help & you soon feel better ... Ella

6

Hi Ella,

Thank you for your advise! I actually purchased D Mannose tablets two days ago after being recommended them from a friend. They hopefully come tomorrow so I'm glad another person agrees that these work too!

My symptoms are slowly leaving so hopefully things are looking up!