Water infections

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Izzy63

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Type 2
Hello everyone I’m new here I have over 40 years experience in nursing so I hope I can help out a bit. I also have type 2 diabetes with insulin. I’m finding myself have to many urinary tract infections I’m to because of my diabetes which I know that , just wondering if anyone else has been having these issues as well? I’ve been keeping mine under control with cranberry juice, cherry juice and water. I was told once by a pharmacist that they cannot allow me to buy canistin because they would lose their license if they sold it to me I have been asking around on this and nobody knows about it being illegal for any pharmacy to sell you canestin, canestin has been sold over the counter for years to Women like us I’ve looked into see if there is any kind of reaction to this medicine being diabetic and there is not. I bought it anyway against the pharmacies suggestion, but I’ve been a nurse over 40 years and I’ve never heard of such thing Even asked some of Doctor) friends and they have not heard of this rumour either.

Izzy63
 
Izzy63 said:
Hello everyone I’m new here I have over 40 years experience in nursing so I hope I can help out a bit. I also have type 2 diabetes with insulin. I’m finding myself have to many urinary tract infections I’m to because of my diabetes which I know that , just wondering if anyone else has been having these issues as well? I’ve been keeping mine under control with cranberry juice, cherry juice and water. I was told once by a pharmacist that they cannot allow me to buy canistin because they would lose their license if they sold it to me I have been asking around on this and nobody knows about it being illegal for any pharmacy to sell you canestin, canestin has been sold over the counter for years to Women like us I’ve looked into see if there is any kind of reaction to this medicine being diabetic and there is not. I bought it anyway against the pharmacies suggestion, but I’ve been a nurse over 40 years and I’ve never heard of such thing Even asked some of Doctor) friends and they have not heard of this rumour either.

Izzy63
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Welcome to the forum
Some people do seem prone to urinary tract infections as high glucose level will lead to the kidneys getting rid of excess glucose via urine and indeed some diabetic medications are designed to do just that. Cranberry is reported to be useful but juice is not really concentrated enough and contains sugar which will not help, the reason cranberry works is because it has a high level of D-mannose which helps to stop bacteria adhering to the urinary tract. However some infections will need treatment with antibiotics and it is important to have the correct ones and for a long enough course otherwise the infection may return.
Canesten is intended for the treatment of yeast infection which is a fungi causing thrush rather than bacteria implicated in UTIs.
Obviously the best thing to prevent those sort of infections is to keep blood glucose well managed as bacteria and yeasts just love a sugary environment.
I had the situation where I was prescribed penicillin for an infected toe which I don't take because I always get thrush but the doctor refused to change them and just said to by Canesten from the pharmacy to treat it. Needless to say I did not take them.
 
Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear that you are suffering from urinary tract infections.... I am guessing you mean thrush/yeast infections since you mention Canesten rather than the usual bacterial UTIs which generally require antibiotics? I can't imagine why you can't buy Canesten as it is available off supermarket shelves, but it is important to use the right medication for the right infection and since you mention Cranberry juice I would have thought you meant cystitis rather than a yeast infection. I am assuming as a nurse that you know the difference, but perhaps not. Do you know which you have?

Good diabetes management will help to prevent recurring infection in most cases, and prevention is better than cure, so looking at your diabetes management long term is important. Which insulins do you use and what sort of BG levels and HbA1c do you typically get? Have you made dietary changes to help manage your levels and are you choosing no added sugar cranberry juice. Cherries tend to contain more natural sugars so probably not a good choice when you are diabetic, unless you dose insulin for it.

If you can tell us a bit more info about your diabetes management then we may be able to offer more specific help.
 
Hello, and thank you for welcoming me … yes you are absolutely right about the bacterial urinary track infections and thrush usually comes with urinary track infections so canestin is always what is prescribed alongside antibiotic? If you get your juices concentrated to where you have to put the water to it and no sugar, you’ll find that it works better. I also use cherry juice concentrated. I dilute it with the water and do not add sugar or if I like to have it a little sweet I’ll add Splenda. concentrated juices are the best as you said.
 
Inka , hello and I was just going to write that. Thank you for mentioning it. I think everybody is a little different and everybody has to treat in their own way.. as for me, I’m old school so I tend to use the old ways of treating symptoms it seems to work for me but everybody is different.
 
Hello, and yes as a nurse, I’m fully aware of the difference.My BG levels are great. My HbA1c are normal now after a strict dietary change? I use Nova rapid and Toujeo along with glucosephase. cherries don’t have as much sugar as you think plus they’re natural sugars so your body is able to absorb them easier. I tend to use concentrated juices because there is no sugar added. You can add your own if you want like Splenda but the natural juices that come from the fruit Aren’t as high in sugar as some people think. Thank you for asking these questions
 
Good to hear that you are on a basal/bolus insulin regime. Do you have Freestyle Libre sensors or are you using finger pricks to track your levels.

I think I have had 2 bouts of thrush in the 5 years since diagnosis, one was at diagnosis when levels were through the roof, then again about 8 months ago. Both times I bought Canesten to treat it which worked well, so I really can't understand what your pharmacist was so wound up about, selling it to a diabetic.
I think the last time I had a UTI was about 30 years ago, well before my diabetes diagnosis, so haven't found UTIs a problem with my diabetes thank goodness.
 
Hi, I get water infections occasionaly . Dr prescribes Nitrofurantin. Seems to sort it out. It is due to being diabetic. I drink at least two litres of water a day which also helps
 
snowball12 said:
Hi, I get water infections occasionaly . Dr prescribes Nitrofurantin. Seems to sort it out. It is due to being diabetic. I drink at least two litres of water a day which also helps
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Yes that is an antibiotic that works 'in the right place' for UTIs.
 
rebrascora said:
Good to hear that you are on a basal/bolus insulin regime. Do you have Freestyle Libre sensors or are you using finger pricks to track your levels.

I think I have had 2 bouts of thrush in the 5 years since diagnosis, one was at diagnosis when levels were through the roof, then again about 8 months ago. Both times I bought Canesten to treat it which worked well, so I really can't understand what your pharmacist was so wound up about, selling it to a diabetic.
I think the last time I had a UTI was about 30 years ago, well before my diabetes diagnosis, so haven't found UTIs a problem with my diabetes thank goodness.
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Rebrascora, at the moment just pricking the finger I’m very interested in the freestyle libre sensor but GP surgery will not approve it. I’m from the USA a hospice nurse so things are a bit different over here in the Uk and it’s taking some getting used to and some of the names for antibiotics and other medications are very different., Yes it shocked me when he refused to sell me the cane stem for that silly reason. I just told him to call my doctor. She’s the one that sent me over here to get it and if there was some regulations on it I’m sure she would’ve known.. but I’m glad I found this site. This will help me a lot. Thank you for your help. I really appreciate appreciate it. I never used to get UTIs or thrush until I started taking the insulin. But I also asked to be put on Ozempic because it seems to be working a lot for diabetics and it has for me So prayers that I can come off of this medication soon that’s what I’m working towards.
 
You could get a free 14 day Libre trial ie one sensor to try it if you are interested. There is no commitment to buy after that, although it can be quite "addictive" seeing how your body responds to various foods and exercise etc, so it is a temptation to continue to fund it. If you are interested I can probably post a link to the free trial on the Abbott website.
Many of us self funded until we got it on prescription and we have some Type 2 members who still self fund and some of them are not even on insulin, but some Type 2 members on insulin can now get it on prescription. It is not cheap and not perfect, as it has some limitations that you need to be aware of but the extra data it provides day and night makes managing your levels with Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) ie. the basal/bolus insulin regime you are using, so much easier.
 
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