I had a bladder infection when I was pregnant with my son at around six months. I am about six months pregnant now and think I may have another bladder infection. The only time I have EVER had a bladder infection is when I was pregnant. The last time it was pretty bad and they put me on heavy antibiotics. Almost immediately I got a yeast infection. About 2 months ago I had a sinus infection and they put me on antibiotics....again almost immediately I got a bad yeast infection. I was eating lots of yogurt AND taking pro-biotics....it didn't seem to help until I was completely done with the antibiotics. I have a doctor appointment this afternoon. Obviously if they put me on antibiotics again I am afraid I may be facing another yeast infection which ends up being almost more uncomfortable than the original infection. My question is, has anyone gone through these infections during pregnancy and are there alternatives to the antibiotics that I might want to ask the doctor about? I am uncomfortable with the infection, but obviously I would like to avoid a yeast infection if at all possible. My body just doesn't seem able to fight them off when I'm pregnant and there are antibiotics in my system. Thanks in advance!
Well, I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and thank goodness. It turns out I do have a Urinary Tract Infection and ALSO Bacterial Vaginosis. Obviously I am on antibiotics. Unfortunately I am having to take 2 different kinds since they are two separate infections. I started a round of over-the-counter Vagasill to TRY and counteract the antibiotics as well as taking probiotics and eating yogurt. I am trying to stay away from yeasty/sugary foods, drinking LOTS of water and pure cranberry juice. However, I have only taken 3 doses and I already feel a yeast infection coming on. Oh well, I would rather the baby be safe and be uncomfortable for awhile than risk the pregnancy. The doctor also prescribed some yeast infection meds that the pharmacy is keeping on hold for me in case I need them when I am done with the antibiotics. I'm pretty uncomfortable at the moment, but am feeling much better now that I know what is going on. I would have gone to the doctor regardless, I just wanted to see if (in the off chance that it was just a mild bladder infection) there were alternatives I should know of to speak with my doctor about. Hopefully this will all clear up quickly and the yeast infection won't be too bad. Thanks for all of your advice and I will keep it in mind for any future infections.
Cranberry juice - drink the whole bottle. I have always had bladder infections and I can head them off if I dring a large quaity of Cranberry juice and follow up with more. I've been told you can buy cranberry in pill form too.
In my experience cranberry juice almost worked (I probably didn't drink enough and certainly didn't take the capsules) but I've found that taking extra vitamin E eliminates symptoms of UTIs.
I've also successfully used Manitech's Ambritose (only available through Manitech distributors and costs $100 per jar--yikes!)
Good luck.
I buy Cranactin By Solaray. It is concentrated Cranberry capsules. I take two to three maybe 3-4 times a day depending on how bad it is. Then back off as it gets better. You see an improvement pretty quickly with this. I've taken pregnant or not. You can also take one daily as a supplement to keep from getting bladder infections if you are prone to them. Works great!!!!
Get cranberry caps (not juice unless you can find unsweetened - sugar feeds the infection) - Take LOTS of them. No toxicity problems and no problem for the baby. And drink LOTS and LOTS of water. Flush flush flush, your bladder. You might also add a little vitamin C. Good luck. This has worked with me in the past. But if it doesn't work get to the doc. cause you can end up with a kidney infection, which is way worse!
check out colloidal silver, also, grapefruit seed extract -- just go to your local health food store like Good Earth
You can ask your doctor for alternatives, but antibiotics are the best solution for a bladder infection -- you don't want it to move up the urinary tract and end up with a kidney infection or, even worse, kidney failure. But, you can ask for a test to confirm that it is a bladder infection and not just go off of diagnosis of the symptoms.
Hi K.. Are you in Colorado? I have a great Homeopath in Lafayette who can treat you and has had great success with treating bladder infections without antibiotics. I definitely wouldn't try to treat it on your own with home remedies because of the risk of it turning into a kidney infection. My mom did that several years ago and has suffered with her kidneys ever since. I am all for avoiding antibiotics, but there is a fine line :)
K.,
There really are no alternatives to antibiotics honey. You have an INFECTION. And a bladder infection can give you a KIDNEY INFECTION (ask me, done it, and it hurts MUCH WORSE than any yeast infection!). Take the antibiotics, but talk with your doc about the yeast infection. There are things that they can give you for that!! Most docs know that taking anti0biotics means a yeast infection for most women... It does for me, so I know what you are going through. I always ask for a diflucan when they give me any... I don't think you can take that while pregnant though, but definitely ASK!! It is a miracle drug, on that front!!
Good luck!
V.
I go buy the big bottle (family sized) bottle of cranberry juice-generic-and I alternate drinking a big glass of water & a big glass of cranberry juice til the juice is gone. Drink at least 12 oz at a time. And go buy a few cups of yogurt too-the yogurt helps w/the yeast infection.
I was told, after repeated UTIs that I needed to do a few things (maybe you're missing one or more too & this will help)-sitting down all day, especially working at a desk for hours at a time, is bad. You hold your pee & the funk just all sits there (basically). Go pee before bed, first thing in the morning & after intercourse-always. Of course, wipe front to back. Drink more water & less flavored drinks (I was drinking koolaid like it was going out of style).
Don't do any OTC or herbal stuff w/o talking to the doc first.
I have a friend with yeast problems... if you do have to go on antibiotics don't just eat yogurt and pro-biotics. Stay away from yeast-y foods and sugar as well! My friend is on a very strict diet because of this problem. I'm not sure what her condition is exactly but she doesn't eat sugar, bread, or red meat. She sticks to fruits and vegetables, beans, and white meat. Maybe this would help you! Good luck!
I haven't had an infection while pregnant, but I know drinking cranberry juice can help with urinary tract infections. You can also buy cranberry capsules instead, you should be able to find them at a pharmacy or health food store.
I wouldn't recommend not using antibiotics if you have a bladder infection dignosed by your provider and are pregnant. Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to kidney infections as a results of untreated bladder infections and those kidney infections can lead to sepsis (blood poisoning) or even respiratory failure. These complications are not uncommon, unfortunately. Your provider should also be able to make some suggestions on how to avoid a yeast infection that might come with antibiotics.
As far as preventing future infections, drinking plenty of water and cranberry are all excellent. A little extra vitamin C can also help prevent the bacteria from wanting to infect the bladder.
Hope you feel better soon!
Dr. C. Swartz
OB-GYN, Boulder
http://drcarrieswartz.blogspot.com
Bladder infections can be linked to preterm labor issues if left untreated is what I have heard...talk to your doc or health care practitioner to see if there are other things you might be able to do to deal with the yeast if it occurs. Also, esp if your husband is not circumcised, talk to the doctor/practitioner about any steps he should take so he doesn't reinfect you with yeast-I have heard in the past that can happen and that men have no symptoms themselves.
Good luck! And check out Planned Parenhood Federation of America's website-they have a very thorough section on yeast that may yield more info and ideas for you!
Lots of cranberry juice and water for the bladder infection. As for building your immune system, try taking echinacea every day, getting more sleep and eating extremely well. I had this problem during pregnancies too and doing the things I stated helped a bunch. Good luck!
Have a GREAT day!
S.
Yeast infections are killer when you are pregnant! I think they are way worse than a bladder infection, I do get really bad yeast infections though, I try to avoid antibiotics because of it. If you can find it, aronia berry juice is the best for bladder infections. It is more potent than cranberry. My sister will drink about 32oz of it just before bed, and in the morning her infection is gone. I've never been able to do that, I just drink it throughout the day. You can also take cranberry pills with it.
Good luck!
Lots of water and pure cranberry juice works for me every time for the bladder infections.
If you do have a bladder infection, take the antibiotics. I had one at 7 months of pregancy, and didn't realize it until I had back pain. I called my OB and she had me admitted to the hospital. I had started going into pre-term labor, without even realizing I had a bladder infection. A yeast infection is very uncomfortable, but it is much better to treat the infection and keep you and your baby healthy.
Good luck!
cranberry pills, cranberry pills, cranberry pills. and 100 percent cranberry juice that is not sweetened, I add water to it so it isn't so tart. and try to drink as much water as you possibly can.
I can usually get rid of my UTI's before I have to go in to the doc.
Bladder infections can cause preterm labor when you are preggo--so you have to be careful--that being said, you can get pills that are a combo of cranberry, uva-ursi and d-mannose at the health food stores that clear bladder infections up quickly. Those and lots of extra water can help a ton.
Good Luck!
I am an OB/GYN physician. I strongly encourage you to get the antibiotics from your doctor. They should do a urine culture first to see what the bacteria is because it might be resistant to the usual antibiotics. If this infection gets into your kidneys, which is more common in pregnancy, you will need to be hospitalized for IV antibiotics! I know the yeast infections are a pain, but a preferable alternative to being in the hospital. Good luck! Hope you feel better soon.
when doing the yogurt, go with plain. I know that it doesn't taste as good, but I have been told that even the sugar from normal yogurt can feed the yeast.
K., I don't want to scare you but my good friend is 32 weeks pregnant. She had some sort of infection and did not want to take antibiotics. The bacteria traveled to her brain and she developed a brain abcess and had to have brain surgery in mid-May. Now she is on HUGE doses of IV antibiotics, steroids, etc. Thank God her baby seems to be ok but can you imagine this? If you need antibiotics take them, they will not hurt the baby. Ask for the yeast infection pill at the same time. Bladder infections can be dangerous. Please don't risk something as horrible as my friend is going through. Good luck!
I finished antibiotics about a month ago for a bad root canal and it probably cost me 20 times more to get rid of all the problems that the antibiotics caused. I got a yeast infection so bad that Diflucan would not touch it. I had to go to the health food store to get something to clear it up. Antibiotics are not good unless it is the last resort. To clear up a bladder infection fast drink about 8 oz. of pure cranberry juice three times a day. At some stores they carry cranberry juice that is called 100% cranberries and you could also get pure cranberry juice without all the sugar at the health food store. Drink as much water as you can. A lot of times sugar makes infection worse. Good luck! I know things like this are not fun especially when you are pregnant.
It really isn't safe, especially when you are pregnant, to try alternative treatments to antibiotics. As you may already know UTI's, kidney infections, etc. can all lead to contractions and premature labor. It is extremely important to treat them right away and effectively. Also, it is unfortunate that pregnant women are more susceptible to yeast infections because of increased hormones. Make sure the yogurt you are eating has live cultures in it. You can also limit the amount of yeast that you consume while you are on antibiotics (breads, etc).
I was in your position as well during my pregnancy as well, I got an infection in my 7th week. Talk to your doctor about the best antibiotic for your situation (the most mild as possible), let them know about your concerns and your desire to avoid a yeast infection. I took a chewable Cranberry supplement during my entire pregnancy to prevent new infections. If you are in Colorado, I got my supplement from the Vitamin Cottage but I have seen them at Sprouts and Sunflower market, any good health food store should have them. It is a safe supplement for you and the baby. Cranberry Juice is great as well, make sure you are getting a pure juice with as little sugar as possible, sugar is counter productive to keeping you infection free. Of course the obvious drink lots of water and pee often, like that is hard when you are preggers, but don't put off your potty breaks. Good luck! Congrats on your new little one.
