Mark’s bladder problems began when he was only four. By the time he was a young adult, an anatomical cause had been identified and surgically corrected, resulting in a new lifestyle of daily self-catherisation. This is when the constant UTIs began. For the next 14 years, Mark suffered intermittent and back-to-back UTIs, some testing positive, others not. He was treated with combinations of short-course and low-dose antibiotics, but his infection returned within days of completing each course. In his late 30s, Mark’s infection spread and he knew more of the same short-course, low-dose antibiotic treatments would never release him from the ongoing cycle of pain and suffering. He knew it was time to search for a doctor who was prepared to treat his embedded UTI differently. Read more about Mark’s incredible journey.
Jessica was 25 when she felt UTI symptoms come on suddenly. A visit to the doctor and a dipstick test confirmed there was no infection and she was sent home. Her urinary symptoms persisted and were getting worse, yet repeat tests said there was no infection. Over two years, Jessica was sent from doctor to doctor to find out what was wrong. She was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis (IC), endometriosis and depression. She was offered procedures that only made her worse. Being prescribed even more medications, Jessica decided it was time to act on her original instinct that she had an infection. After pursuing a different type of test, it turned out that not only did she have an embedded bladder infection, she was also suffering from chronic Lyme disease. Read how Jessica went from rock bottom to gradually working her way back to good health and a normal life.
When Jean started having 'women's issues' after menopause, she had no idea a UTI would send her health into such decline. Repeat negative UTI tests misled her doctors into thinking there was no infection and she was prescribed antidepressants to deal with her growing state of panic. In a determined effort to find better answers, she was relieved to be diagnosed with a chronic UTI and was immediately started on treatment. She soon discovered a combination of a urinary antiseptic and Chinese herbal medicine was her answer. Jean is convinced chronic UTI is a multi-faceted condition that requires an approach to heal the body, mind and soul. Read more about how Jean healed her chronic UTI and reclaimed her life.
Sarah is an American woman whose UTI problems started in her teens. Antibiotics worked well at the beginning, but overtime the infections persisted and the treatment no longer worked as it once did. When her UTI tests started to show negative for infection, her doctors offered medication for her building anxiety instead. A urogynaecologist was able to keep her symptoms under control, but strong side effects from the medication left her feeling awful. Looking for a more natural solution to her bladder symptoms, she found a new healthy lifestyle offered more than just relief from her relentless bladder symptoms. Not only was she noticing her bladder feeling better, she was feeling better all over. Read more about Sarah's recovery here.
While on summer holidays, a simple UTI was the start of a horrid year of illness, pain and anxiety for British woman, Clare. Short-courses of antibiotics quickly cleared her UTI symptoms, but they returned each time. Repeat dipsticks and culture tests confused her doctors because they were unable to confirm an infection was present. Being a nurse practitioner and understanding her symptoms and her own body, she knew an infection was what she was dealing with. Clare was referred through the healthcare system, had the usual tests and was offered many of the standard treatments for managing her symptoms. Before embarking on this route, she found a specialist with the expert knowledge to diagnose her condition and treat the infection that had become embedded in her bladder. This is Clare's story.
To be diagnosed with a chronic UTI in Australia is no mean feat. Chronic UTI is a largely unrecognised and misunderstood condition. It is common for people with these chronic infections (who are predominantly women) to be referred through the medical system—sometimes for years and even decades. They see numerous specialists and have multiple tests, often walking away with a urinary syndrome diagnosis. Ongoing symptoms and pain management is usually the best that can be offered. For these people, the future can be bleak. This month we talk to five Australian women who have long-suffering UTI histories of between one and 35 years. Through their perseverance, each of these women found their way off the medical merry-go-round and were finally diagnosed and properly treated for a chronic UTI. Read more to find out how they reclaimed their lives and found their way back to health.
Alison was in her mid-20s when she was struck with her first UTI. A standard three-day antibiotic treatment cleared her symptoms, but they returned soon after ... and were much more serious. Unbeknown to her, Alison's bladder infection had ascended to her kidneys and had become life-threatening. With little forewarning, she was hospitalised numerous times with sudden acute attacks of pyelonephritis and sepsis. Each stint in hospital meant weeks of recovery time at home. Alison's mum knew it was not normal for a young, active woman to have become so suddenly vulnerable and seriously ill. Through a GP friend, she learnt about a UTI specialist in London and booked an appointment for her daughter immediately. Alison and her mother are both sharing their compelling story.
Jenny is a young Italian woman who was suddenly struck with a streptococcus infection causing acute bladder and vaginal pain and burning. Despite being treated, and tests confirming the infection had cleared, her symptoms worsened and her health was in decline. After a year she was diagnosed with vulvodynia and fibromyalgia and prescribed a treatment that took the edge off her symptoms. Feeling despair and let down by standard medical treatments that left her still extremely unwell, she turned to a dietician who introduced her to a natural approach to healing systemic body inflammation and strengthen the immune system. A year on, Jenny no longer suffers her dreadful symptoms and is back to leading a normal life. You can read more about Jenny's experience here.
A simple bout of cystitis changed Michelle's life. She went from being a happy, productive member of society, to someone who suffered relentless UTI symptoms that prevented her from working, socialising with friends and family and having a normal sexual relationship with her partner. If that wasn't enough, she had become a burden to the healthcare system as well. She was quickly written-off by her specialists as being a depressed, menopausal woman with interstitial cystitis. Her diagnosis was terribly wrong and she knew it. Michelle kept digging and found a specialist who understands chronic, embedded urinary infections. After being properly diagnosed and treated for her hidden infection, she experienced relief within weeks. And after 11 months of continued treatment, she is completely symptom-free. You can read more about Michelle's chronic UTI story here.
After suffering from recurrent UTIs for 60 years, getting through each day had become unbearable for Wendy. Her recurrent UTIs had become so unmanageable, she was living in constant pain with urinary symptoms that had her visiting the toilet up to 50 times a day. Along with countless short-course and prophylactic antibiotics, she was offered treatments such as urethral stretches to help manage her symptoms. Wendy was eventually diagnosed with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) and told she would have to learn to live with her painful symptoms. By now, she was battling an ongoing cycle of vaginal thrush and living on pain killers to get through each day. By chance, she stumbled across a UTI specialist who was experienced in treating chronic infections. Within months of starting treatment, she was surprised to find herself symptom-free and once again participating in a life she thought she had lost. Wendy's swift recovery allowed her to return to her beloved lawn bowling competition and she is now competing at a County level. Find out more about Wendy's inspiring story here.
