most say Doctor; I say THYME. The dried herb you can buy at any grocery store (CHEAP). Here's how it works for EVERY woman in my family: Take a teaspoon - teaspoon 1/2 (I use a lot b/c I reuse the same thyme for three cups of tea in one day) and put it in a coffee mug, pour hot water into the mug and let sit for 3/5 minutes, drain the thyme out and use that thyme to start another cup (it's pretty much just Thyme tea) while you're drinking the first cup. The trick is to FILL your bladder with thyme tea, it has natural ingredients in it that will literally EAT away at any bacteria in your bladder and it tastes good, too! Imagine what Lysol does to bacteria; that's what thyme naturally does for you body, just like that! It also helps support healthy lung function. I drink this all the time, it's good for you. If you have an infection, drink three cups for three days and the infection will be gone. Also, a lot of women mistake bladder infection for cysts on the ovaries; so if you're ovulating, that may be a possiblity. I was just diagnosed with IBS, same pain as you have, and my OB said, "welcome to you upper 20's, this is common." lovely! but THYME WORKS!! good luck!! and DON'T drink cranberry juice unless it's CONCENTRATE from the health food store; any sugar makes UTI/bladder infections worse and there's nothing but sugar in the store bought garbage!
A lot of people are saying cranberry juice, but unless you buy concentrate and pretty much drink the entire thing within an hour, it won't work. The sugar in store-bought makes it worse; only straight cranberry juice (no cocktails or blends) will make a difference.