mutiple UTIs and birth control pills

[adira.livejournal.com]

Recently I have started getting UTIs all the time, I have had 3 in the past 2 weeks. I usually get them a day or two after I have sex. I always pee after sex and I drink lots of cranberry juice, the only thing I am doing differently now is taking birth control pills. Has anyone else found that the pill makes you more susceptible to UTIs?

I have ordered some d-mannose and some herbal bladder/urinary tract supplements, hoping that this will help prevent them so I don't have to go on antibiotics (which give me nasty yeast infections).

Comments

[emilia-romagna.livejournal.com]

more than two liters, actually.

[lilyofthewest.livejournal.com]

If you've had three within the past two weeks there's a distinct possibility that you've had just one infection that has never completely gone away.

Is this something that you've seen a health care provider about? If not, you probably don't want to wait too much longer trying to self-treat with cranberry, water and supplements. Lower urinary tract infections that go too long without treatment can spread and become a kidney infection -- which can be pretty dangerous.

If you have been to see a health care provider and have already taken antibiotics there's a possibility that the bacteria causing your UTI(s) is only partially susceptible to the antibiotic you've taken. Ask your provider about getting a urine culture and sensitivity run -- the lab not only checks to see what bacteria is causing the trouble and what antibiotics will kill it.

[adira.livejournal.com]

I've seen a doctor about it, but I had to go away for a week, so I haven't spoken to her since I got back, I was planning on making an appointment.

[trinity85.livejournal.com]

I know that I didn't have any UTI problems until I started taking the pill. So yeah, there could be a correlation.

[adira.livejournal.com]

If they are related, its a bummer of a correlation, since now I'm freaked out about getting a UTI after sex all the time.

[5ampunkrock.livejournal.com]

Are you new to sex, or just the pill? I'm not sure in your case if starting HBC coincided with becoming sexually active, but I know in my case I thought the same thing, that the pill caused UTIs, because I hadn't had a UTI in years until I got on HBC/started having sex, and no matter what I did (washing before and after, peeing before and after, etc.), I kept getting infections... but after a month or two, my body calmed down and I haven't had one since July/August.

Turns out, my sister had the same thing happen to her when she first became sexually active; they just kept coming back no matter what she did, and died down after a little while. I think it was just our bodies flipping out a little bit at a new invader!

I'm a big fan of D-Mannose, but be aware that it only works for UTIs caused by E. coli. I somehow managed to get one caused by a different bacteria, so it didn't work for me at all. Have you gotten a culture done with your doctor? Once they know for sure the specific bacteria that's causing it, they'll know which antibiotics to use to kill it. For instance, they kept giving me cipro for my infection, until they did a culture and sensitivity test and it turns out it was resistant to cipro. It takes a few days but it's worth it if they keep coming back.

[adira.livejournal.com]

No, I've been sexually active for the past 4 years, but it its only my second month on the pill. I've had a few UTIs before, but not nearly as frequently.

[5ampunkrock.livejournal.com]

Hmm... is the partner new? Maybe there's just something about him that irritates you. My BF told me about a friend of his brother who kept getting UTIs with one particular boyfriend and no others... my BF was afraid I was allergic to him! LOL Fortunately it passed.

Hopefully you'll figure something out soon! UTIs suck, when I kept getting them I was so so so miserable

[fearandloathing.livejournal.com]

Advice: make sure both parties are very clean before sex, and if you want cranberry, you can take cranberry pills.