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Stories

08 Dec

Lauren first shared her story with us in May 2018.  She had been misdiagnosed with interstitial cystitis when an acute UTI did not resolve and she was prescribed a series of medicated bladder instils by her Australian urologist.  Although this treatment helped take the edge of her symptoms, she sought a second opinion from a UTI specialist in the United Kingdom.  She was diagnosed with a chronic UTI and immediately started on a scientifically validated antibiotic treatment protocol.  After 22 months of continuous treatment, she has fully recovered and celebrates 18 months’ symptom and medication free!  Read Lauren's updated story.

 
22:26 / Stories
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01 Dec

Michele developed a septic UTI at the age of 21.  This was the start of nearly three decades of recurrent UTIs, persistent UTI symptoms, negative tests, positive tests, doctors' appointment, invasive procedures and much ongoing pain and suffering for her.  When she was searching online for explanations for her mysterious condition, Michele came across an online support group for people with embedded, chronic UTIs.  This was an important turning point that led her to find other women who were being treated by a chronic UTI specialist in the United Kingdom and, a little later, another based in the United States.  Michele consulted with both doctors in person.  With just over a year of treatment, she can now lead a normal life and says she hasn't felt this good in years.  Read more about Michele's chronic UTI story.

08:07 / Stories
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02 Nov

Jane was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis (IC) after having persistent UTI symptoms that her doctor put down to over active bladder (OAB) and possibly gynae problems.  Despite the shock diagnosis, she discovered her symptoms miraculously disappeared when she took a long course of antibiotics and she remained well for another 10 years.  She was distraught when her UTI symptoms returned, so she sought treatment from a chronic UTI specialist.  There was gradual improvement on long-term, full dose antibiotics, but her recovery really accelerated when she was diagnosed with vaginal atrophy and began localised oestrogen and then systemic hormone replacement therapy (HRT).  Read more about Jane's recovery here.

07:59 / Stories
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01 Oct

Alicia's first ever urinary tract infection (UTI) struck in the middle of the night.  She knew something was terribly wrong, but doctors at her local hospital in Spain looked at the negative dipstick and sent her home with some cream.  As the weeks went on, Alicia's suffering intensified and so did her search for answers.   After a multitude of doctors, tests and procedures, and trying to manage work and family while her physical and mental health deteriorated, she learnt about a clinic in nearby England specialising in diagnosing and treating patients with complicated UTIs and other urinary symptoms.  She decided she had nothing more to lose and booked an appointment in the hope she had a treatable infection that her doctors had missed.  Read how Alicia was eventually diagnosed with a chronic UTI.

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01 Sep

Coby was familiar with having the occasional acute UTI, just like many of her female friends.  She started to worry though when her recurrent UTIs increased in frequency.  Just weeks after completing a prophylactic course of antibiotics, she developed a serious kidney infection.  Reluctant to be stuck in a never ending cycle of pain and back-to-back short course antibiotics, she was determined to find a different approach to stop her infections.  When her urologist mentioned other patients reported good results with D-mannose, she decided to give it a try.   Within six months her recurrent UTIs were gone.  Almost seven years on, she feels confident and empowered that the treatment she stumbled upon has broken her recurrent UTI cycle for good. She realises not everyone with recurrent and chronic UTI has the same success with  D-mannose, but she wants to reach as many people as she can in the hope it works for others as well as it has worked for her.   You can read more about Coby's experience with D-mannose here, along with a link to her information website.

08:07 / Stories
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01 Mar

At the age of five or six, Bella knew there was something different about her.  Her bladder often hurt and she could not control the urgent need to race to the toilet frequently.  This led to 'accidents', unsympathetic teachers, teasing kids and doctors who misunderstood the cause and the severity of her condition.  Her unrelenting urinary symptoms had shaped her entire life.  In her early 20s, her symptoms had become markedly worse.  Newly married and with the encouragement and support of her husband, she flew to the United Kingdom to attend a chronic UTI clinic.  To her relief, she was diagnosed and treated for a UTI that had plagued her for her entire life.  After five months of constant antibiotic treatment, Bella cannot believe how much her symptoms have reduced and how good she feels for the first time.   Now that she is receiving a treatment designed specifically for her condition, she knows she will be fully cured in time.  She is looking forward to living a normal life and she is excited that some day she and her husband will start a family—something she feared might never happen.  Read Bella's story here.

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01 Feb

At just 21, Emma failed to fully respond to a course of antibiotics for a UTI.  Once her treatment was finished, her symptoms returned.  Negative tests eventually led her to being diagnosed with an incurable urinary condition 'interstitial cystitis', years of daily pain and the devastating loss of  her baby boy at 21 weeks' gestation.   Through the support of a grief counsellor, Emma gained the courage to advocate for her own health and she started to question her diagnosis.  Now believing she had been misdiagnosed a decade ago, she urged her doctors to consider the possibility she could be suffering a chronic, embedded urinary tract infection (UTI).  After further research, her doctors agreed and began treating her infection.  Within months, her symptoms started to ease and she was pregnant again!   Emma shares her bittersweet chronic UTI story here with the sincere hope it helps others like her.

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03 Jan

Carrie had only ever had a urinary tract infection (UTI) once before.  When she was 40, her second UTI refused to budge and her life soon became a revolving door of doctors and ER visits.  Suffering terrible bladder and urethral pain and becoming increasingly unwell, she battled to hold herself together and manage her day-to-day life with three small children.   Carrie knew her original infection had never fully cleared and it had become an infection like no other.  She researched until came across a different form of testing and a doctor in the United States who was prepared to see past the negative culture tests and treat her for a chronic, embedded UTI.   She is now close to being symptom-free and is back to living life as a happy, busy wife and mother.  Read how Carrie fought her way back to good health.

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05 Dec

Naomi is a young Canadian woman who experienced her first UTI at the age of 19.  Following typical antibiotic  treatment, she was left with vague UTI symptoms that became an unwelcome daily companion.  Within the following year, her symptoms gradually escalated into bi-monthly acute UTI attacks.   Naomi's doctor found an antibiotic solution that quickly brought her infections under control, but she was unsure how to stop the recurrent UTIs from striking at random and dominating her life.  While being treated by a popular Calgary acupuncturist for unrelated back pain, the practitioner suggested acupuncture might help her recurrent UTIs as well.  Naomi, now aged 29, felt she had nothing to lose and started acupuncture treatment targeting her urinary tract in January 2019.  She reports she has not had an acute UTI, or required antibiotics, in almost a year.  You can read more about Naomi's acupuncture experience here.

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02 Nov

Elle suffered chronic pelvic pain. By the time she was 25, investigations left her with diagnoses of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), stage III endometriosis, general anxiety disorder and interstitial cystitis (IC). Even though she had never noticed bladder symptoms during this time, she was treated daily with Elmiron. Two years into her treatment, like a bolt from the blue she woke to crippling, stabbing bladder pain, abdominal pain, bladder burning and frequent, urgent urination. These symptoms never left and she had nowhere to turn. Since she was never convinced of her original IC diagnosis, she started to research other possibilities. Being in Canada, she was able to access a more sophisticated urine test and a practitioner who has a history of successfully treating patients with low grade, chronic bladder infections. After eight months of treatment targeting her infection, she says she is well on her way to being healed. You can read more of Elle’s story here.

08:20 / Stories
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