★★★★★
I have been feeling much better and though I must devote some extra energy to keeping myself healthy, the relief is well worth it! Here's what has helped me so far:
ACV- This has been a life saver!! I couldn't find the organic where I live in Mexico, so I just got the regular kind and it still worked wonders. I add a couple tablespoons to a large bottle of water which I sip over several hours. During an acute attack, I would drink a more concentrated solution and continue to drink a lot of water. I say would drink because I seldom experience the severe kind of pain that I used to feel. I can say pretty confidently that ACV has been one of the most helpful things in combatting these issues.
Water- I try to drink about 3 liters a day.
Probiotics- I take a strong probiotic everyday- helps to keep the general area in order, limiting vulvadynia symptoms and also keeps me more regular.
Fiber- speaking of regular... This helps with my bladder and female issues. If I am ever constipated, pushing at all can cause problems down there. I try not to push.
Kegel exercises- I contract the muscles and hold for a few seconds. I do this pretty regularly, but also when I am in the midsts of pain or discomfort. It really does seem to help.
Loose clothing- I used to wear tight jeans, sometimes a thong... Not anymore! I wear lots of skirts or dresses, cotton underwear and I make sure to wear pants and leggings that don't have big seems right through the crotch.
Stress- I know that avoiding stress is difficult at times, but it is paramount to reducing the severity of my health problems. So, I just pay close attention to what my body is telling me. If I am cleaning and start to feel a bit of pressure or stinging, well guess what- its time to stop for the day or maybe I just need to move slower. Lower back strain can make things worse, so I will try to sit more frequently, bend with the knees, that sort of thing. And I only cry when it is really worth it now. I think about whether or not what I am crying over is worth the pain it will cause a short while after. Usually its not. I am not a robot and it may be strange to say I choose not to cry-- but when you cry or worry or panic, the body tenses up and puts pressure on those nether regions. Sometimes the onset of my symptoms was enough to start this chain reaction of worrying and stressing and honestly it made it all much worse. Thinking too much about my symptoms never helped. I do what I know has worked for me and then try to keep calm and distract myself.
Things I try to avoid: sugar, lots of bread, alcohol (I immediately feel stinging in my bladder), really spicy foods, strong chemicals (bleach is the worst for me), pollution, cigarette smoke, lack of sleep.
Ice- I have several ice packs- I wrap one in a hand towel and place it down there when I start to feel swolen or stinging. It's instant relief.
Intimacy-Anything that touches down there must be clean. No after the game, after a long day anything with my husband. And right after, I make sure to pee and then rinse everything off. Maybe it hinders spontanaeity, but not as much as several days of pain.
I hope this is helpful. It's my arsenal and I'm sure that everyone needs to find what is specifically helpful for them. I have gone from having weekly bouts of severe pain, sometimes for several days... To having a problem once every couple of months.The first hint of discomfort and I am combatting it with everything Ive got. I really feel for anyone experiencing ongoing discomfort or pain of any sort and I wish you much peace and relief.
Sea Salt
★★★★★
So I decided to give Ted's remedy of drinking sea salt in water - Thank you Ted! After just one glass it was cured and I waiting several weeks to write this just to make sure it was gone. While all the other remedies did help and I would definitely recommend them for relief, the sea salt water ultimately was the cure. If you're reading this you are probably feeling completely miserable so give it a try, it can't hurt!
D-Mannose, Garlic, Alkaline Pills
D-Mannose, Garlic, Alkaline Pills
★★★★★
I was at restaurant and they served garlic soup. Right after, I realized symptoms of UTI were gone. I almost did not go to the dinner because of the pain of the UTI. Made the soup and that worked but can't make it all the time. So here is my daily regimen for keeping away UTI
Garlic pill (odorless). 1 in morning, 1 at night
1 D-mannose per day. (Sometimes when I feel symptoms, I do one at night)
Vitamin C every day. I take a liquid Vit C
Also I use an alkaline pill I found at the health food store every once in a while. No UTIs since I began doing this.
★★★★★
Haven't had another bladder infection. (grin)
Cranberry
★★★★★
When you have a bladder infection, avoid acidic food like citrus fruit, red meat, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, black tea etc.
D-Mannose
★★★★★
Cinnamon
Cinnamon
★★★★★
★★★★★
I scheduled a doctor's visit for what I thought was a UTI (frequent urination with discomfort, bloated abdomen, back pain, etc) but they could not see me til the next week. So I bought grapeseed extract capsules and took 2 daily in conjunction with drinking water at every opportunity. (To help flush out any bacteria. )
The day before my appointment, my symptoms had stopped and I was never diagnosed with a UTI, though the doctor said my symptoms matched a UTI diagnosis, and that mine had probably cleared on its own. I didn't mention the grapeseed extract; I was just glad my symptoms were gone. It took about 5 days of grapeseed extract daily.
★★★★★
So I bought D-Mannose from the local big-chain health food store for about $35, and while it was expensive, it worked so good and immediately! I ended up getting some $25 stuff off of Amazon, and have used that occasionally if I feel "off" to good effect, though not all the time (like right now I thought I was treating BV and it's not responded expect a little, so I treated it like trich with tea tree oil and coconut oil and that really worked-- but it's only been a few hours.
But yes- D-Mannose is a necessity for a woman's medicine cabinet.
★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
★★★★★
If you still get one, take 1/2 tsp. baking soda in a glass of water, several times a day, if necessary, until it goes away. This alkalizes your body, and an alkalized body cannot get sick. I also take baking soda if I feel something "coming on" and it almost always goes away.
Make Sure it is a UTI
Lime Juice for UTI Prevention
★★★★★
2 tbsp/8 oz. glass of water (2x per day, 1/morning, 1/evening)
I get a UTI at least once/month and they're primarily caused by sex. I've always done the routine of cleanliness (peeing before/after, showering so there is as little bacteria in the area to even tempt an infection etc.) when having sex though an infection always occurred no matter how careful I was. This has been happening for the past 7 years and I've only ever been prescribed antibiotics to cure/prevent. After being sick of taking so much antibiotics to keep up with my libido I started doing my research on alternative treatments and here's what I've found that worked...
If your story parallel's mine, I've found that drinking lime juice in the morning and evening diluted in water prevents me from getting a UTI. Though you MUST do this EVERYDAY. People in my situation are in a critical place considering body maintenance and keeping our bodies clean. Lime is very Alkaline with other beneficial vit.'s and I believe this has a lot to do with disallowing bacteria to develop - hence - no infections. Though once more, you must be discipline and drink EVERYDAY. I promise this will work.
Fresh Lime Juice is always best though there are crystallized forms if you're always on the go like me. I stock up on limes at the beginning of the week, squeeze my lime juice and keep in fridge. When I'm without it I always make sure I have the crystallized packets.
Olive Leaf, Turmeric
★★★★★
Recently, I broke down and went to the hospital to get antibiotics. They didn't work, it was alarming truly, this is modern medicine. After, about, THREE trips back to the hospital, and THREE rounds of antibiotics, and about 4 months of struggling with my latest bladder infection, I finally found a natural cure, that I think is very effective.
I was frustrated, nothing was working. I tried the ACV, I tried sea salt, baking soda, alka seltzer, EVERYTHING. Coconut Milk, (which tastes really gross)
My friends, a combination of Olive leaf extract, and turmeric herb cured my stubborn bladder infection.
You have to take about 2 dropperfuls of olive leaf extract (alcohol free) dissolved in a cup of water about three times a day, along with 2 caps of turmeric herb, three to four times a day.
This is intensive treatment, but that's what it took for me.
I cap my own turmeric by the way, in veg. caps 00
★★★★☆
The white vinegar helps,The feeling of having to pee will goo away fast, I went all day long hurting, ended up leaving work early cause of the pain, I went on line and looked up help. As soon as I mixed it up I felt a little better. And a little better is, Alot better when you feel that way....2 tablesoons to 1 and a half cups of water.
Distilled Water
★★★★★
Please read this if you have a UTI or IC!!
I have been researching and this is my conclusion: Your urine is either too acid OR too alkaline. It may have caused bacteria to grow, or if cultures couldn't detect bacteria, it could just be irritated as in IC. I always read that my urine was too acidic. When I tried to make it more alkaline I was even more miserable! Once, when I was taking a barley powder product for it's health benefits, my bladder got worse. It was too alkalinizing. I read that DISTILLED WATER was very acidic, so I chugged a gallon that day. What a relief! (One wouldn't want to drink distilled water for more than three days, as prolonged use can be detrimental, but it is easy on the struggling kidney and bladder.)
Make sure you know if your urine is too acidic or too alkaline before you treat yourself. You can buy testing strips at a pharmacy. The doctors in our rural area would think I was weird if I started talking about natural cures and acid/alkaline. Be your own doctor if possible. Best wishes.
★★★★★
Alka Seltzer
Vitamin C
