So dispirited. Three courses of antibiotics and uti again.

Vagurux and decaffeinated drinks for me - no more problems. Ask your GP,
if he / she is not on board with the idea , find another / new GP. Go for it and good luck.

heart murmur.

This has been very helpful and interesting. Thank you to all who have written in. I have had lots of UTIs. I am 83. Just before Christmas my son came round to give me a lift and found me unconscious on the bedroom floor. This was 10am. I did not come round until 8pm. He immediately called for the ambulance and I was kept in hospital for five days. After lots of very good examinations the Consultant found that I had a bad UTI infection, delirium, rock bottom B12, a hurt murmur and other things, so I had a good MOT. All this was caused by a UTI. So yes, they are not nice things to have.

I can really sympathise lovetopaint. I had a lot of UTI’s some time ago, they came back at the end of a course of AB, but I saw a different GP, a lovely lady who spent her lunch hour looking through my notes. She prescribed me oestrogen pessaries and told me to take D-Mannose, and drink decaffeinated tea. I haven’t had a UTI since. I do think possibly a female doctor will be more sympathetic and may try to get to the root cause instead of just giving you yet another course of AB. Hope you feel better soon.

This thread has been fascinating. So often the advice given is don’t ask friends advice about medical issues.
Yet here is a situation where such different advice is given.
I had a string of different meds following delivering a sample to the surgery. It was only when I saw a senior nurse practitioner for something else did she mention Estriol cream So far so good

Age is no barrier to vaginal oestrogen. It can literally save lives, look it up!

Probably due to vaginal atrophy. GP prescribed vagifem, not had a UTI since (over 6 years ago). Talk to your GP. Makes me cross that so many GPS have no idea about this and don't suspect it in menopausal women with repeated UTIs.

Lovetopaint My aunt was 92 and has successive UT Is. She was put on Blissel and hasn’t had one since….she is now 94

You can use estriol at any age. It doesn’t enter the blood stream. It’s absorbed where it’s put.

Estriol cream changed my life after lots of misdiagnoses. Vaginal atrophy mimics UTI very well x

Thank you so much. So much information. I have vaginal atrophy and was told this some years ago. I am not far off 85 so am probably not a candidate for oestrogen. I took a sample in yesterday although my terrible symptoms of Sunday night had quietened down. Also the sample looked light coloured and normal. The dipstick was negative but he was sending it for analysis. At the moment the only symptom seems to be an uncomfortable feeling around my bladder area. I am continuing to drink a lot. Crossing my fingers and armed with all this extra information I will make an appointment with a lady doctor and discuss things with her. Thank you all so much and I am sure that your posts will be useful for other people who also have this problem.

bonnie57

I too have had a history of UTIs and almost constant antibiotic prescriptions which work for a week and then back comes the problem.Amazingly, I have now been without a UTI for almost three years which is because I take two D-Mannose capsules daily along with one Optibac for women.I have to be strict about taking them every morning otherwise I can get a faint signal that I am going into UTI mode.I use D-Mannose Complex high strength capsules which also have in them Cranberry extract and Vitamin C available from Amazon.The product is is made by Inspriko and is vegan.Hope this helps.

UTI Management

Lovetopaint037- just another angle to your problem. Have you been eating more sweet stuff than usual over Xmas time?
If like mine your bladder doesn’t empty totally, the excess sugar lying in your bladder ferments and infection sets in making symptoms the same as a uti when passing urine.
It was a nurse practitioner who worked this out for me when sample came back uncertain with a high reading of sugar. Just a thought. I’m careful now and eat very little sweet things and touch wood have been ok since holiday last summer.

clean

grandMattie

Also make absolutely sure you wipe yourself front to back. Otherwise you risk re-infecting yourself.

Yes, or sit in a warm sitz -bath type of bidet to wash the area clan of faecal matter.

emilie

Whatever UTI is, I've never had it. I'm 86.

Urinary Tract Infection. You're lucky. They're unpleasant.

theworriedwell

HowVeryDareYou2

I've had several UTIs but the GPs at my surgery say they don't recommend Trimethoprim for women over a certain age (I'm 66). I have Nitrofurantoin, 100mg, once a day for a week, and that works for me.

My husband had Nitrofurantoin and it worked after others didn't. He now has a course just in case so he can take it immediately if symptoms start, I didn't realise they'd do that.

I don't think my surgery would do that, but I always ask for Nitrofurantoin when I get a UTI

I had a radical hysterectomy at 38 and was advised not to have HRT. Now I have developed significant age related vaginal atrophy and experienced regular uti’s, despite careful personal hygiene and maximised fluid intake. I asked the GP for estriol cream to help my symptoms; dryness, itching all made worse with stress incontinence as well as atrophy. I now have estriol cream applied twice per week and use YES vaginal gel the days in between. I did have to stand my ground though, as the first GP I saw said that it wouldn’t make any difference to me as I had been without estrogen for 30 years. I then asked for a referral to a gynaecologist, following that appointment it was confirmed that I definitely needed the above. The GP does now prescribe these for me. I do occasionally get a uti, and due to the vaginal atrophy can get a false negative. Again I am quite clear about knowing my body and what I am experiencing and more than capable of recognising the signs and symptoms of uti’s, so will ask for nitrofuratoin antibiotic, which is first line treatment. So ladies don’t be fobbed off.

moggiek

My mother in law, who is 91, was recommended by one of the district nurses to take D-Mannose. I buy it on subscription with Amazon, and she says that it helps enormously.

I tried D-mannose which does seem to work for some people - but it gave me diarrhoea unfortunately, and I had to discontinue it. So do watch out for this common side-effect.
I also have a friend whose repeated UTIs only stopped once she started using estradiol pessaries to reduce vaginal dryness. She said that another risk factor to her for her was perfumed shower gels, et cetera.
I had the same problem with repeated UTIs over a period of months following catheterisation after surgery. It was only when I was given a higher dose of antibiotics over a longer period that it was finally beaten. My infection was caused by the E. coli bacteria and nitrofurantoin worked for me too.

My brother is on antibiotics permanently as every time he goes off them he has UTIs.

HowVeryDareYou2

I've had several UTIs but the GPs at my surgery say they don't recommend Trimethoprim for women over a certain age (I'm 66). I have Nitrofurantoin, 100mg, once a day for a week, and that works for me.

My husband had Nitrofurantoin and it worked after others didn't. He now has a course just in case so he can take it immediately if symptoms start, I didn't realise they'd do that.

I had a spell of persistent UTI's and had a bad reaction to Trimethoprim and cannot now take Nitrofurantoin (long story but it may have triggered something nasty for me) . If I have an upset stomach or have a IBS moment I use a periwash and find this helps. I am careful with wiping, wear cotton knickers and go free at night in bed. Should I have the rare occasion for sex my OH will use a condom. Not the best for him but I am putting myself first. Go back to your GP and ask for a referral to a Urologist.

Whatever UTI is, I've never had it. I'm 86.

Hi, I have just been prescribed these tablets, yes they are not antibiotics but called methenamine. To take 2 twice a day to stop any bacteria spreading. Hope this helps

watermeadow

A friend has recurring UTIs of the dangerous pseudomonas. She’s allergic to many antibiotics and has twice been prescribed one which caused anaphylactic shock.
She’s been ill for four months whilst on an urgent waiting list. I think the NHS just hopes troublesome patients will die whilst waiting.

Hope she's on hiprex