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bladder infection

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Carina1962

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I keep getting bladder infections ie a feeling of pressure on my bladder and wanting to go to the loo often. I've got an appointment to see the doctor on Thurs but I only had one in March this year (2 years was before this) but I think I may have another one :( I never used to suffer from infections like these before diabetes. I'm trying to drink cranberry juice diluted with water but wondering what else I can do to keep my bladder healthy?
 
Cranberry juice is good, preferably the Light version - cranberries are so very sour that loads of sweetener/sugar is needed to make the juice palatable. You can also buy cranberry extract in capsule form if you get fed up with the taste.
 
the advice I was given was to avoid an excess of salt sugar and caffeine, drink plenty of water and lemon barley (unsweetened if you can get it) is supposed to help too.

Hope things clear up for you soon
 
I hope that this clears up for you soon
 
Have never had these but hope you get it sorted and that you feel better soon
X
 
I saw the doctor yesterday and he has given me antibiotics again as he saw from the sample I had to give him that he could see a slight infection there and he said he would send it off for analysis - why do they send the samples off for analysis? what could they find? anyway am back on the antibiotics and he told me that being diabetic I will be more prone to UTI's (which I seem to be) as the bacteria feeds on the sugar (glucose). What can I do to prevent these in the future? apart from the obvious, drinking more water, cranberry juice etc?
 
The obvious stuff works - at least as well as anything is going to! You might also try camomile tea between the glugs of cranberry, it's very soothing.

All the girls in our family have always suffered multiple UTIs between the ages of 2 and 7, and I can still remember having to wee in a warm bath to reduce the pain.
 
And watch out for a post-antibiotic bout of thrush, to which us sweet-bloods are also prone. It's not fair and it's not right, but that's the way it is! :(
 
They send it off to see what the lab can grow from whatever bugs are in your wee. That's because the broad spectrum antibiotic they automatically prescribe for UTIs doesn't hardly touch some more tenacious bugs and if you have one of them, you'll need a more specific AB.

You usually get about 3 days worth of the broad AB, but the more specific one is taken for about a week.

I had my first UTI for donkeys years a short time ago.

However, what you have sounds somewhat more like cystitis, TBH - do you have a sort of 'dragging' feeling in your underneath parts?
 
It's not cystitis this time but I have had cystitis twice now since becoming diabetic, last one was in March this year and I woke up at 5am peeing blood and it was absolute agony so of course rushed to the doctor as soon as it was opening time and immediately got a course of antibiotics. The one I have now was not that burning, painful sensation that I get with cystitis but just a feeling of 'pressure' on the bladder and feeling that you haven't quite fully emptied your bladder but not the 'peeing razor blades' feeling with cystitis. I am obviously prone to them (my daughter is too although she is not diabetic) so am thinking of popping off to Holland & Barrett later to buy some cranberry capsules. I already take Co-enzyme Q10 so now more expense if I start buying the cranberry ones on a regular basis. Co-enzyme Q10 is the only supplement I am prepared to buy on a regular basis as it has got some very good heart health benefits and also good for statin taker like myself.
 
Didn't think you could ingest CoQ10 orally?

I never had a sensation of peeing razor blades or blood with cystitis, just being desperate to wee even when I was empty and the dragging sensation. Like one's innards are trying to get out of the available orifices, and weigh too much.
 
I had a really weird one a few years ago - became unable to wee. Very scary to not be able to do something as fundamental as that. The doc even tried me on a drug that is normally given to gents with prostate trouble. The look on the pharmacist's face was a picture when he checked that it was for me!
 
Urghh, did you wonder if you were on the turn? 😱 :confused: :D
 
carina62 said:
It's not cystitis this time but I have had cystitis twice now since becoming diabetic, last one was in March this year and I woke up at 5am peeing blood and it was absolute agony so of course rushed to the doctor as soon as it was opening time and immediately got a course of antibiotics. The one I have now was not that burning, painful sensation that I get with cystitis but just a feeling of 'pressure' on the bladder and feeling that you haven't quite fully emptied your bladder but not the 'peeing razor blades' feeling with cystitis. I am obviously prone to them (my daughter is too although she is not diabetic) so am thinking of popping off to Holland & Barrett later to buy some cranberry capsules. I already take Co-enzyme Q10 so now more expense if I start buying the cranberry ones on a regular basis. Co-enzyme Q10 is the only supplement I am prepared to buy on a regular basis as it has got some very good heart health benefits and also good for statin taker like myself.
Click to expand...


I get a lot of UTI's because I have Interstitial Cystitis which is sort of like cystitis but its a lot worse, the symptoms I get are really bursting feeling to the point it hurts, forget the razor blades when you pee you can get that but also you get like a follow through pain that seems to come right from your bladder, also you will get blood in your urine if you think this fits you look up cob foundation group on internet and see if you could possibly have IC the only true way of proving whether you have or not is to have a camera put into your bladder and they would know from what they see. If you get worse after eating acid things like oranges, lemons, strawberries, even some fruit drinks then this could be why you get these symptoms.
I am in big trouble at the moment as the diabetes is making me go more but also the IC does as well I can't win but hoping it improves once I get the diabetes under control as I am trying to do it with just diet and have only just found out in the last few weeks that I have it.

Helen
 
I finished my course of antibiotics today and I bought some cranberry capsules from Holland and Barrett. I will see how I get on as I don't think it's cleared up 100% but will give the antibiotics times to work and hope that the cranberry capsules take effect but if not, looks like it's back to the docs for me. I hate these infections and it's only since becoming diabetic that i'm getting them :(
 
Hi Carina, I also now have a water infection I am used to getting them though because of the ic but haven't had one for months now hopefully the antibiotics I got yesterday will get rid of it as I go on holiday in 2 weeks.
I can't take cranberry in any form because of the ic but I am drinking plenty when I am at home to try flush it out, I didn't realise that you got water infections with diabetes as well I have a lot to learn being a newbie to it all.
It really brought it home that I am going to have this and have to deal with it properly when they offered me the flu jab last night at the doctors it made me think about when I am ill I am going to have to eat and normally I just don't eat.

Helen
 
Hi Helen, it's high blood sugar levels that increase the risk of infections rather than the diabetes itself. If you can get those under control, the incidence of the infections is likely to go down.

You don't have to eat if you don't want to (unless you're on insulin or other BG-lowering drugs). I sometimes have just a little bit of food when I take my metformin tablet, and then only eat when I'm hungry after that.
 
LeeLee said:
Hi Helen, it's high blood sugar levels that increase the risk of infections rather than the diabetes itself. If you can get those under control, the incidence of the infections is likely to go down.

You don't have to eat if you don't want to (unless you're on insulin or other BG-lowering drugs). I sometimes have just a little bit of food when I take my metformin tablet, and then only eat when I'm hungry after that.
Click to expand...

Thank you LeeLee I am so annoyed at getting an infection again I get them a few times a year but at least I got antibiotics well before my holiday so good chance of it going before I go.

Helen
 
Unfortunately being diabetic seems to play havoc with your kidneys. Since I was diagnosed I've had multible bladder stones and an exceptionally painful bout of kidney stones. The kidney stones were one of the worst pains I've ever experienced especially when you get severe spasms. Half the time I couldn't pee and when I did I was peeing blood. Not an experience I care to repeat in a hurry.

Hope the infection clears up and you're feeling better soon.
 
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