Getting rid of CYSTITIS/ UTI's

I had cystitis on and off for 7 years, it was complicated by the fact that I worked on boats so access to antibiotics was at times limited and I had to keep my own records to show to different doctors as I was constantly travelling. Finally antibiotics stopped working for me. (TMP is the only one that sort of helped at the end.) It was so painful and intensely disruptive to my life.

I now have me/cfs which is even more disruptive than cystitis, and while the cause of me/cfs is unknown, I wonder if years of recurrent UTi infections and long term use of antibiotics weakened my body leaving me more susceptible it.

Cystitis is serious, you must do everything you can to get rid of it.

What got me in the clear:

- no sugar diet, including sugar in processed foods. (I have now reintroduced it but I was off it for at least 6 months) I think the idea is to starve the bad bacteria.

- low GI diet.

- 2-3 cranberry tablets a day for 6 months (I now take only two a day. - lots of water, at least 8 glasses/day, no alcohol or tea or coffee for 6 months (I now have the occasional coffee but still no alcohol or tea)

- ovestin (oestriol 1mg/g) topical cream, tiny amount applied to the perineum (skin between vagina and anus) about twice a week. I still use this today, if I forget I get a UTI, I think although I am only 26 that I have low estrogen (also indicated by quite a dry vagina, TMI , I know) and it just tips me over into the okay amount of estrogen. My doc said that she usually prescribed it to menopausal women who suffered from UTI's.

Hope that this info is helpful.

Good luck in getting rid of the UTI's! :) With dedication you can do it!