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persistent UTI Tag

29 May

The Hearing Patient Voices project surveyed 410 people from around the world with chronic urinary tract infection (UTI).  The online survey measured the impact chronic UTI has on quality-of-life and focused on symptoms, various life domains, emotional wellbeing, healthcare experiences and avoidable costs to the health system.  You can read a summary, and download the full Hearing Patient Voices survey report, below.

 
14:20 / Information
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04 Mar

Kyla's recurrent UTI began in her late teens.  The infections were so regular and persistent that it completely dominated her 20s.  Each time she had sex she would end up with a UTI and in acute pain at the hospital emergency department.  She was so ill dealing with a UTI, or getting over one, that she missed out on socialising with her friends and having fun—instead she was often home in bed wondering what her future held.  She was referred to specialists who ordered all types of bladder tests and procedures.  Nothing worked and she was discharged back to the care of her general practitioner (GP).  The GP referred her to another UTI specialist, but this time was different.  The specialist diagnosed her with a chronic UTI and started a treatment protocol that turned her life around.  Her improvement has been slow and bumpy, but after seven years she is living a normal life and is sure she will be off her treatment very soon.  Read more about Kyla's story and her tips for others like her.

 
10:16 / 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.

07:32 / 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.

09:16 / Stories
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01 Jul

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.

 
09:08 / Stories
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01 May

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.

 
09:14 / Stories
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01 Apr

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.

 
09:13 / Stories
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01 Mar

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.

09:22 / Stories
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01 Sep

Craig had experienced a urinary tract infection (UTI) before.  When he next noticed the tell-tale symptoms of bladder and urethral stinging and frequency, he was confident things would be sorted when he saw his doctor.  Craig was wrong.   Despite having clear UTI symptoms, his tests came back negative.  Still suffering, he was referred to a sexual health clinic where blood and urine tests gave him a clean bill of health.  Feeling desperate for relief, Craig introduced some home remedies while waiting for an appointment with a men's health specialist.  In the meantime, he managed to see a doctor specialising in chronic and recurrent UTI and other urinary disorders, and was diagnosed with a UTI.  After being properly treated, Craig's recovery was rapid.  However, when he next experienced familiar UTI symptoms and another negative UTI test, his doctor opted to treat him for a urinary infection still and his symptoms resolved almost immediately.   Knowing how greatly others suffer from chronic UTIs, Craig feels fortunate he was able to break the cycle early before his infection became engrained.  He knows his outcome could have been completely different had his doctor continued to rely on UTI tests that were unable to identify his infection.  You can read more about Craig's experience here.

 
09:12 / Stories
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