Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Dreaded UTIs

I went to see a urogynecologist this morning because I wanted to see a specialist about the recurring UTIs that I get after having sex. He told me that this has nothing to do with my husband and that some women, for unknown reasons, have defects in their immune systems. That means that when bacteria get forced into the urethra during sex and then up into the bladder, the immune system doesn't take care of it and a UTI ensues. He told me that I am already doing the best things I can, including taking the prophylactic antibiotic after sex. It is much better to take that as preventative medicine than to treat an infection later. He recommended that when I'm no longer pregnant, I come back for a cystoscopy (taking a look at my urinary tract and bladder) and ultrasound of my urinary system to make sure there is nothing actually wrong with me. He suspects that these tests will come back normal. So I got what I needed, which was confirmation that I would most likely be mixing antibiotics and sex for the rest of my life and that there didn't seem to be any safety issue with that approach.

I found out today, unfortunately, that my regular OB/GYN is not really available to help me with my pregnancy. Not only is she part-time (which makes seeing her quite difficult), but she is pregnant with her second child, which means that she is definitely not going to be available when I go into labor. So I'm going to see the other female doctor in her practice, who I have seen before, and who I like well enough. I'd rather not have to think about switching doctors because this doctor's office is so close to work and makes it very convenient. In addition, this practice is affiliated with Brigham and Women's and that's where they do all their deliveries. It is an excellent hospital and so I should be happy to be going there.

1 comment:

Meg. said...

Hi, me again. =)

You can completely dismiss this advice if you'd like, but I'd really like to share one of my UTI cures/prevention methods with you.

Like you, I used to suffer from UTIs every time I had sex. I was miserable. To make matters worse, I started becoming allergic to many of the anitbiotics that were prescribed to me, and the thought of pumping so many drugs into my system made me really nervous. I knew there HAD to be another way...

So I started researching like mad....and I came across my savior, D-Mannose. D-Mannose is a sugar that your body naturally produces in really tiny quantities, and is excreted in the urine. It turns out that if you take D-Mannose in large quantities (in pill form), it is immediately filtered into the bladder. When it reaches the bladder, it makes the bladder walls "slippery" and prevents bacteria (the kind that cause UTIs) from adhering and causing an infection. So, after you take the D-Mannose, it essentially causes you to pass any and all bacteria in your bladder through your urine!

I know this sounds crazy, but I'm living proof that it works, and works well. Nowadays, I take a few D-Mannose before and after sex, and I haven't had a UTI in almost 2 years. This stuff rocks! And it's so much healthier for you than constant antibiotics that may not kill all of the bacteria that are present.

You can find the stuff at health food stores, or online on iherb.com. Ok, end of infomercial. =) haha