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Thank you to everyone who responded to my question about requent UTI's. The responses have been very helpful and compassionate--neither of which I was getting with my ex-urologist. :) The last time I saw the urologist he did both a urinalysis and a clean catch (catheter) culture. The urinalysis revealed infection, so he put me on a 5th course of Bactrim. I asked if he thought a different antibiotic might prove more effective. He considered that until he thought about me being celiac. He said he didn't have time to worry about gluten. I had asked him to give me a couple of choices and I'd find out their gf status, but he didn't want to do that. I never received a call about the culture. I took the Bactrim, but was uneasy about staying on it prophylactically. I called to find out the results of the culture. The nurse told me it was clear. No bacteria. I asked why the urinalysis showed infection. She became huffy and said, "No bacteria." I asked why she
 didn't call and stop the antibiotic. She said the course of treatment had already begun. So, they apparently "graced" me with the wrong urine and treated me for someone else's infection.

None-the-less, I did have 4 infections in one year. I suspected food allergies play a part in this, because when I eat corn I seem to get UTI's. The following responses confirm that food allergies may play a part in UTI's:
"My alternative MD says thqat often UTI's are allergy induced."
"Caffeine and acidic foods can cause problems for some. I get them when I drink a lot of diet coke."
"Black pepper turned out to be a major irritant for me. Who knew?"
"Be very careful about gluten and dairy."
"If I were you I would order food sensitivity tests at Entereolab that determine which foods your body reacts to with IgA reactions. If a person has IgA reactions to foods (and with gluten, you do) there are antibodies being deposited in your organs. I react with IgA  to 3 proteins in milk, gluten, baker's and brewers yeast, eggs, and soy."
"Mine went away when I figured out what I was allergic/intolerant to: milk, wheat, vinegar, citrus--especially milk and vinegar. I had infections for many years, but have not had one since. I figured it out using the avoidance diet. My Dr. told me foods would not cause the problem, but he was wrong."

Many respondents suggested using cranberry pills or pure cranberry juice on a daily basis. The cranberries keep bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall.
"I include a cranberry pill in my daily pill collection, and make an effort to drink pure cranberry juice everyday. So far, so good!"
"Dilute pure natural cranberry juice. 1 part juice to 6 parts water. Shoot for 6-8 glasses per day."
"It's not a wives tale that cranberry juice is effective against UTI's, by the way! http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/uti_ez/ "
"I use "Daily Cranberry." I get it from the Vitamin Cottage but have also seen it at Whole Foods. You need to get off antibiotics. Take probiotics and drink lots of cranberry juice."

A couple of respondents suggested d-mannose, which comes from blueberries. I asked if anyone had used ClearTract, because it is  d-mannose and I had read in Dr. Mercola and Jon Barron that d-mannose
is much stronger than cranberry. I am using ClearTract (bought via internet) and pure blueberry juice. I like the flavor of the juice, and it seems to be doing the job. It is very expensive, though. I bought the juice while waiting for ClearTract to arrive.
"Check out Dr. Mercola's suggestions: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/03/05/blueberries-uti.aspx "
"You can buy d-mannose in health food stores or at www.vitacost.com "
ClearTract is found at www.clearbladder.com/cbii.html

Finally, two respondents emphasized that a urologist should be consulted with multiple UTI's. UTI's can be very serious and can involve the kidneys.
"I found out that, since I went undiagnosed for so long, there was some damage to the nerves which control urination (autonomic neuropathy) and I was retaining urine. Now I follow careful instructions about going to the toilet (go often and empty completely). I have had to do a special sort of massage to be able to do this. I have not had an infection in years. I had no idea I was retaining so much urine, since due to the nerve damage I did not feel it. The test was simple (I pee'd, then they cathed me and checked how much was left in there.) Other tests included ultrasounds and a special nerve function test."

"E-Coli is often the cause of bladder infections, but it needs enough antibiotics to get rid of it and often they don't prescribe enough. Obviously, e-coli comes from the bowel, so a shower after a bowel movement helps. Being scrupously clean helps keep infections down, but not if your bladder tissue is completely infected. They will just keep coming back until the bacteria is gone. I went to a urologist, after years of multiple bladder infections. She did a cystoscopy that revealed "white bladder." That meant the whole inside lining of the bladder was infected deeply inside the tissue. She put me on Macrobid for quite awhile and then 1 per day for 6 months. It helped for awhile; I didn't have as many. I also have blood in my urine aned some protein. My kidney function hovers around just barely normal. I suspect I have early stage IgA neuropathy. When I accidentally eat gluten I get a bladder infection."

"Make sure when your doctor does blood tests that your kidney function is measured and find out from a urologist if you have blood or protein in your urine. Be mindful that kidney disease is a Celiac/Gluten Sensitivity thing."
"Doctors tend to undertreat bladder infections and when you have recurring ones I think that is a sign that you have been under-treated and the same one keeps coming back."

Again, thank you to my dear celiac friends. This site is a godsend and I greatly appreciate you all and your combined wisdom.

Barbara in AL





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