UTI and Low Carbing (Woman's Health Issue)

sprinklesmom · 06-22-2009, 09:22 AM

I'm showing the signs of a UTI this morning.

Gosh do I hate these things.

I want to keep faithful to my LC way of eating, so I don't want to go the cranberry juice route.

I was thinking of something acidic I could consume. What about dilluted apple cider vinegar in warm water. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your advice in advance.

missm · 06-22-2009, 09:41 AM

Cranberry pills I got some at Trader Joe's and they work well

Blood Sugar 101 · 06-22-2009, 10:24 AM

Cranberry juice has shown some small effect in preventing UTIs, but once you have one raging, it will not fight it.

A couple thoughts.

1. Are you sure it is a UTI? If your urine is very concentrated and you are eating a lot of protein you may be peeing ammonia that can irritate the tissues around your urethra and make you feel like you have to pee all the time. They sell an OTC UTI test kit at the drug store which can show if you have a bacterial infection.

2. If you have a bacterial infection, you should see a doctor. There is a small but real chance that the infection can get to your kidneys if untreated.

sprinklesmom · 06-22-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

Cranberry juice has shown some small effect in preventing UTIs, but once you have one raging, it will not fight it.

A couple thoughts.

1. Are you sure it is a UTI? If your urine is very concentrated and you are eating a lot of protein you may be peeing ammonia that can irritate the tissues around your urethra and make you feel like you have to pee all the time. They sell an OTC UTI test kit at the drug store which can show if you have a bacterial infection.

2. If you have a bacterial infection, you should see a doctor. There is a small but real chance that the infection can get to your kidneys if untreated.

Thanks. yes I'm almost positive it's a UTI. I don't get them very often but when I have them I pretty much know. And everything is cloudy. I know what caused it too. I have an appt with the doctor this afternoon for a test and a script as I'd like to nip this one in the bud as soon as possible.

Dovelette · 06-22-2009, 11:08 AM

You should see a doctor, cranberry juice doesn't work anyway.

yvonne326 · 06-22-2009, 12:15 PM

Go to the doc and get some Cypro.

sprinklesmom · 06-22-2009, 05:29 PM

Just wanted to let those who care know...LOL

The Nurse Practitioner confirmed that using cranberry juice to prevent UTIs does in fact help and is not just an old wive's tale.

It does not cure the infection once it arrives. So now I'm on the horse pills for the next 5 days.

Remykins · 06-22-2009, 05:41 PM

I get UTI all the time, i get them after sex... sucks i know. When i feel lik eone may be coming on i start drinking a ton of water and i take cranberry pills.

That will actually usually take care of it. However i have never had luck with just drinking the juice alone (but i drink a glass after i have sex a lot). Sometimes i spreads further, and then i need some anti biotics... however i have notice that i am getting them more and more often and they are harder to get rid of... i wonder if the low carb would have anything to do with it. Research regarding diet and health are so far behind i guess there is no way to really tell.

Snowangel81598 · 06-22-2009, 05:53 PM

I actually got a pretty bad UTI last week and tried downing cranberry pill and water like crazy which seemed to slow it down, but didn't stop it. My mom suggested I get the Diet Cranberry Juice (no sugar added or sweetened with Splenda). I drank 2 big bottles of the stuff over two days and it completely took care of the problem for me. The diet cranberry juice will probably still put you over your desired carbs for the day, but I felt that it was well worth it, especially if you are like me and don't have health insurance at the moment and don't have much other choice.

Houston Heather · 06-22-2009, 06:06 PM

Uva Ursi tea is a urinary alkalinizer, like Cranberry Juice. I used to drink it every time I got romantic with DH, and it did a great job of stopping and preventing bladder infections.

UTI is one thing where I DO go see the doc and get antibiotics, I had one almost kill me when it got into my kidneys.

Don't drink Uva Ursi if you are on Lithium, it counteracts the lithium and that's BAD.

sprinklesmom · 06-22-2009, 06:37 PM

Good ideas here. Thank you all. And I just wanted to add that there was some positive news to this whole thing. When they weighed me at the Drs. I found that I am almost down 30 lbs.

Blood Sugar 101 · 06-23-2009, 07:30 AM

The story on cranberry juice is that it has something in it that makes it harder for the infective bacteria to anchor in the bladder. So it is preventative.

But once the bacteria DO anchor, they create "biofims" that are very hard to dislodge and if they are well established the cranberry juice won't help.

If you are having repeated UTIs you might want to start checking your blood sugar. UTIs (and yeast infections) were the main symptom I had for many years of very high post-meal blood sugars. The tests doctors use to screen for diabetes do not check your post meal sugars, just fasting. It is possible to have normal fasting sugars and very high post-meal sugars and when you do you will have recurring yeast and UTIs that make life hell.

Sometimes the problem can also be that the drug you are given isn't doing a thorough job of eliminating the infection, but is just knocking it back and creating drug resistant organisms that then come back again.

There is a lot of controversy about how to treat this, and I don't have any words of wisdom. for how to best treat it. I never found diet to be the slightest bit of use. Lowering blood sugar helped alot but only after I did some massive antibiotic campaigns using a couple different kinds of antibiotics.

06-22-2009, 09:22 AM	#1
sprinklesmom Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New England Posts: 4,287 Gallery: sprinklesmom Stats: Size 22/Getting Looser/Size 8-10? WOE: Atkins keeping it simple and whole and exercise Start Date: 9/29/08	UTI and Low Carbing (Woman's Health Issue) I'm showing the signs of a UTI this morning. Gosh do I hate these things. I want to keep faithful to my LC way of eating, so I don't want to go the cranberry juice route. I was thinking of something acidic I could consume. What about dilluted apple cider vinegar in warm water. Any thoughts? Thanks for your advice in advance.

06-22-2009, 10:24 AM	#3
Blood Sugar 101 MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New England Posts: 1,832 Gallery: Blood Sugar 101 Stats: 1998-2007 170/142/145---2009 149/140 WOE: Varies: Insulin with 10+g carbs. Start Date: First LC diet 1998, goal 2003, continual vigilance	Cranberry juice has shown some small effect in preventing UTIs, but once you have one raging, it will not fight it. A couple thoughts. 1. Are you sure it is a UTI? If your urine is very concentrated and you are eating a lot of protein you may be peeing ammonia that can irritate the tissues around your urethra and make you feel like you have to pee all the time. They sell an OTC UTI test kit at the drug store which can show if you have a bacterial infection. 2. If you have a bacterial infection, you should see a doctor. There is a small but real chance that the infection can get to your kidneys if untreated. __________________ . . . You'll find lots of good information about blood sugar issues and diabetes on my web site Blood Sugar 101

06-22-2009, 05:41 PM	#8
Remykins MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 1,033 Gallery: Remykins Stats: 125/120 WOE: Low carb, JUDDD Start Date: May 6th 2009	I get UTI all the time, i get them after sex... sucks i know. When i feel lik eone may be coming on i start drinking a ton of water and i take cranberry pills. That will actually usually take care of it. However i have never had luck with just drinking the juice alone (but i drink a glass after i have sex a lot). Sometimes i spreads further, and then i need some anti biotics... however i have notice that i am getting them more and more often and they are harder to get rid of... i wonder if the low carb would have anything to do with it. Research regarding diet and health are so far behind i guess there is no way to really tell. __________________ . My dog and I are doing the low carb thing and loving it! . June 24th, it clicked! Im a lean mean, carb kicking machine!

06-22-2009, 05:53 PM	#9
Snowangel81598 Senior LCF Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 862 Gallery: Snowangel81598 Stats: 205/146/145 WOE: Low Carb Maintenance Start Date: Jan. 2003, Restarted (after 2 babies) Oct. 2006	I actually got a pretty bad UTI last week and tried downing cranberry pill and water like crazy which seemed to slow it down, but didn't stop it. My mom suggested I get the Diet Cranberry Juice (no sugar added or sweetened with Splenda). I drank 2 big bottles of the stuff over two days and it completely took care of the problem for me. The diet cranberry juice will probably still put you over your desired carbs for the day, but I felt that it was well worth it, especially if you are like me and don't have health insurance at the moment and don't have much other choice. __________________ 1st Mini Goal - 175 ~ achieved 2-26-07 2nd Mini Goal - 160 ~ achieved 7-30-07 Main Goal - 145~ achieved 6-09-08

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06-22-2009, 09:41 AM	#2
missm Junior LCF Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Palm Desert Posts: 25 Gallery: missm Stats: 302/as of 8/17/09 265/180 by 10/10/10 WOE: Atkins Start Date: May 09	Cranberry pills I got some at Trader Joe's and they work well

06-22-2009, 11:08 AM	#5
Dovelette MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Cape Verde Posts: 1,665 Gallery: Dovelette WOE: Atkins OWL/JUDDD Start Date: WLS 4/20/2004, Atkins 3/31/09, JUDDD 6/26/2009	You should see a doctor, cranberry juice doesn't work anyway.

06-22-2009, 12:15 PM	#6
yvonne326 Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New Jersey Posts: 19,492 Gallery: yvonne326 Stats: 198/194/155 Start Date: 10-26-09	Go to the doc and get some Cypro.

06-22-2009, 05:29 PM	#7
sprinklesmom Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New England Posts: 4,287 Gallery: sprinklesmom Stats: Size 22/Getting Looser/Size 8-10? WOE: Atkins keeping it simple and whole and exercise Start Date: 9/29/08	Just wanted to let those who care know...LOL The Nurse Practitioner confirmed that using cranberry juice to prevent UTIs does in fact help and is not just an old wive's tale. It does not cure the infection once it arrives. So now I'm on the horse pills for the next 5 days.

06-22-2009, 06:06 PM	#10
Houston Heather Big Yapper!!!! Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Houston Posts: 8,776 Gallery: Houston Heather Stats: 228/169/160 Waist: 42/31.5/31 WOE: Atkins 2002 Ongoing Weight Loss/pre maintenance Start Date: Feb 26, 2008 (second and last time)	Uva Ursi tea is a urinary alkalinizer, like Cranberry Juice. I used to drink it every time I got romantic with DH, and it did a great job of stopping and preventing bladder infections. UTI is one thing where I DO go see the doc and get antibiotics, I had one almost kill me when it got into my kidneys. Don't drink Uva Ursi if you are on Lithium, it counteracts the lithium and that's BAD.

06-22-2009, 06:37 PM	#11
sprinklesmom Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New England Posts: 4,287 Gallery: sprinklesmom Stats: Size 22/Getting Looser/Size 8-10? WOE: Atkins keeping it simple and whole and exercise Start Date: 9/29/08	Good ideas here. Thank you all. And I just wanted to add that there was some positive news to this whole thing. When they weighed me at the Drs. I found that I am almost down 30 lbs.

06-23-2009, 07:30 AM	#12
Blood Sugar 101 MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New England Posts: 1,832 Gallery: Blood Sugar 101 Stats: 1998-2007 170/142/145---2009 149/140 WOE: Varies: Insulin with 10+g carbs. Start Date: First LC diet 1998, goal 2003, continual vigilance	The story on cranberry juice is that it has something in it that makes it harder for the infective bacteria to anchor in the bladder. So it is preventative. But once the bacteria DO anchor, they create "biofims" that are very hard to dislodge and if they are well established the cranberry juice won't help. If you are having repeated UTIs you might want to start checking your blood sugar. UTIs (and yeast infections) were the main symptom I had for many years of very high post-meal blood sugars. The tests doctors use to screen for diabetes do not check your post meal sugars, just fasting. It is possible to have normal fasting sugars and very high post-meal sugars and when you do you will have recurring yeast and UTIs that make life hell. Sometimes the problem can also be that the drug you are given isn't doing a thorough job of eliminating the infection, but is just knocking it back and creating drug resistant organisms that then come back again. There is a lot of controversy about how to treat this, and I don't have any words of wisdom. for how to best treat it. I never found diet to be the slightest bit of use. Lowering blood sugar helped alot but only after I did some massive antibiotic campaigns using a couple different kinds of antibiotics.