Why are the antibiotics not working for mom's UTI? It's been three weeks, what can I do?

I get UTI's so frequently and I had to resort to antibiotics more often. I had tried everything natural to try and stop it, but nothing has worked better than the Lady Soma Cranberry Concentrate. I'm not getting anything free for writing this, I just wanted to write a review for the girl out there like me that might read these words.

I tried it on a whim because my cranberry pills weren't working, straight d-mannose wasn't working. I take two anytime I feel even a hint of anything happening and it takes care of it. I also take one after sex. This is amazing and I thank the people out there who make it cuz without it I would have to resort to antibiotics, and now I only have to resort to them in emergencies!

I noticed the lab said e-coli was the culprit for the uti. So now I rinse Mom with a warm spray from the bath shower hose in the morning and at night. Sometimes I rinse from the back first, then always from the front and down, being careful to get where the skin folds from the legs while she sit on the toilet. Quick, easy, comfortable, and washes any bacteria away from the urethra to tolerable levels I suppose as this has been the only thing that seems to work.... Oh yeah and I get her to drink quite a bit if possible. Sippy cups work good. Green Tea, decaffeinated, some lemon juice in it for electrolytes and taste. Go through lots of diapers and pads but at least no itchy uti.

Meow, your going the right way. Yep
Remember the methyl blue foam.
Yes you can do debrement in the
Clinic...they use a sonic machine.

Is it due to venous status ??

If so you can use a machine that
Will help with blood flow. It has
A boot that goes over the foot
To "the never land". It has a pump
That Inflates and deflates bladders
And this mimics blood flow...I
Can't recall the name.

I don't know the particulars on
Your moms wound, but the big
buzz word is biofilm
The sonic is sonicia and there are
Manual devices.
Good luck

busy, thank you. We're already seeing a wound care clinic and are using Santyl and Hydrofera Blue on a daily basis, also using plenty of skin barrier prep and Calmoseptine. Home Health is coming in twice weekly, we see the wound care doctor weekly.

We tried Medi-honey and did not have a good result. We tried an antimicrobial silver gel (name escapes me at the moment) and did not have a good result with that, either, though we may go to using that every other day, alternating with the Santyl.

I observe all sanitary/sterile procedures, using up to 4 pair of gloves per dressing change, cleaning items that may have come in contact with the wound or drainage (ie, bandage scissors) with alcohol, and so forth; also, any laundry that comes in contact with drainage from the wound is washed separately in hot water and some bleach.

She gets added protein twice daily and her protein levels have been raised from low-normal to normal, along with adding some 30 pounds in weight over the past 10 months.

On the Santyl/Hydrofera Blue protocol, I am starting to see minimal improvement. She needs to be hospitalized for a debridement under anesthesia as well as IV antibiotics; however, she's within 30 days of her last hospital admission and so Medicare would prove difficult to get past on a readmit. When we next see the wound care doctor, I'll be asking if she can have the debridement done as an outpatient instead, as I think that's important to be done.

Unfortunately, I don't believe the oral antibiotics are helping her UTI or her wound as yet; she's been on them for 5 days and I would have expected to hear her say the UTI's improving by now. She says it isn't. So we shall see what this week brings as we see both the wound care doc and her primary care on Wednesday. If she still can't be hospitalized, then I'll ask about taking her daily for outpatient IV antibiotics.

The problem is that she typically responds poorly to the treatment that would normally be indicated and, yet, testing shows that this is not arterial and should respond to typical venous wound treatments. But, from my research, I've learned that her poor response isn't actually atypical but, rather, somewhat normal. We just keep plugging.

momlover: AZO is for the very mildest of urinary track problems...... this is not an antibiotic. Re-occurring UTI's are usually brought on by something that is on going in the patient's routine. Consult a good urologist.

Oh I forgot....when you change bandages
About every day, wash the entire leg
And foot with diluted herbiclense or
Techcare surgical scrub when available.
but do not put them on the wound.
Also when you change bandage, make
Sure you a sterile. Use product past
Your elbow, wear gloves...and perhaps
Wear a mask good luck

meow. Let me give you what I learned from.
Some wounds that were difficult to
Heal. First we need everything to
Heal...protein and some trace minerals.
There is a product called pro-stat...15g of
Protein in 1 oz. Get the aw one (advanced
Wound therapy) but check with Dr
About the protein and kidney function.

As for wound infection, I have used medi-honey,
Rinse with sterile saline and reapply.
The the other is a once or twice
Per day topical soak of Dakins solution
(look on internet). On either one when
you wrap it, use sterile AMD gauze
Which is a special antimicrobial coatinB.C.
Consult with your local wound clinic.
I've also seen wound vac do wonderful
Things...good luck

Okay, thanks for the clarification. I just did some reading on C. diff and it would seem that I'm doing the right things to help prevent that, despite the frequent need for antibiotics.

And with my mom, it's not just the UTIs, it's also a long-term wound that heals, then reopens, then heals, then reopens. At some point, it invariably becomes infected (currently, it's infected with MRSA, 4 weeks ago, it was VRE) and antibiotics are a necessity for that as well. Actually, 4 weeks ago, she had two separate organisms in her urine, and two separate organisms in her ankle wound, which gave us 4 separate organisms to try to treat - and all that without affecting her other meds. It's becoming more and more of a struggle...

After asking her urologists several times if there was anything else we could try. I I found the article in a homeopathic medical journal on women and reacuring UTI's. Your right about the e-coli bacteria which is like 80% of UTI's. If that isn't working it suggested the other ones for the less common bacteria. It also suggested a vaginal hormone cream as the older we get, the dryer we are which contributes to UTI's. The maintenance dose was also mentioned but the effects of that over time is that we develop an immunity to antibiotics and then we really need one, there is no one left that you can use. The worse scenario is the C-Diff infection that is caused from having no bacteria from all the antibiotics leaves that bacteria a perfect place to move in.
Unfortunately never got the chance to test them out as right after I received the medicine, I went on a long anticipated trip with friends and on my way home got a call from my sister, telling me that she had fallen down and the rest is unfortunate circumstances.
I'm only telling you all this because I wish someone had told me sooner. It's worth a try is all I can say.

brindle18, the research I've seen on D-Mannose is that it seems to be effective only for e. coli bacteria. I've just checked through his site for more info that D-Mannose is effective against "the majority" of UTI infections and I'm still only seeing references to the e. coli bacterium. Was this a recent show or blog post or something that maybe isn't coming up in my search on his site?

BTW, Dr. Oz says to take D-Mannose. There several kinds of UTI infections and Mannose works for the majority of them. For the others you can take Interface plus.and or Apolactoferrin. Lastly for all issues, take Acidophilus to keep your digestive tract in check.
I unfortunately didn't get to try them for my Mom.
It wouldn't hurt to try at least,

My Mother had constant UTI's and was given several different antibiotics. 10 days on,, 3 weeks off it seemed. I catherized her 2x everyday and that seemed to slow them down at least.
She would get resistant to one so ey would try another. She'd get an upset stomach and tha twould make her weak. I went on a vacation and while I was gone, she fell and broke her hip in 3 places from being so weak and ended up in the hospital where she got C-Dif and . S was in the hospital for 3 weeks and is now in continuous care. The facility Dr who specializes in Elder Care said that they all have some level of infection and cautherizing is not effective. The side effects of the taking antibiotics is what will get them not the UTI. He also took her off of Namenda because the side effect from that medicine is the same as what you would be taking it for!

My aunt's doctor recommended AZO. They have different products some are for treating and another AZO cranberry is for prevention.

My aunt's doctor recommended AZO. They have different products some are for treating and another AZO cranberry is for prevention.

Hi busy,

Appreciate your clarification. While I am not one of those people with whom you had bad experiences, I do understand your skepticism.

I do have integrity , so let me clarify something important:

1. I have made no medical claims. I have said that it can work and reported how it has worked for me.
2. I am not a doctor and cannot / do not prescribe; therefore , I have directed anyone who is interested to the doctor's website.


Quacks come in all professions. I have encountered many, some of whom happened to be MDs.


.

Greenleaf
I am sorry if I offended you. Yes I went
To the website mentioned in Washington
State. Thereafter I did a bit of other
Research. The final word, from accepted
Research from university was that it
Preliminary showed promise, but
Needed further study.
Over the years I have grown very tired
Of all the claims I have seen. All these
things on TV and the like....and when
You are sick and seems like nothing
Works, you will try just about anything
At any price. These people know this
And use it to their advantage.
I AM NOT SAYING ALL NATURAL MEDICINE
PEOPLE ARE QUACKS...there are some
Fine people who work very hard to help
People who have a need.

I guess that is why my opinion is colored
And clouded as it is.

If you do your homework, and it
Works for you, by all means use it.

If you make a medical statement about
A product, you need to prove to the
FDA that it does what you say.

It is not a perfect system, but o
The abundance of safety.


Take care and I hope you are doing well.


I
we have, and error on the s

I've heard d-Mannose works great IF the UTIs are caused by the e. coli organism. I'd planned on starting it for my mom, until I found that out. Since e. coli isn't in her organism "repertoire", it wouldn't do much for her. :(

The reason I took the time to share my experience was to try and help someone else alleviate their suffering or the suffering of their loved ones. I am always shocked at the responses of uninformed, inexperienced people who say things like "don't go crazy" and it's not proven. Well for those of you who want to bash truly natural and effective remedies, please wake up. I am sure that big pharma is indebted to you for pushing their cause ($$$) for free. You are seriously under their spell.

I am reporting what works for ME. MY EXPERIENCE. Pharmaceuticals are sometimes necessary and great when they work and cause no harm or side effects. Does a simple sugar have side effects? I don't know. Do fruits and vegetables have side effects ? Anything can be overdone.

BTW, busy, NOW is not a vitamine group, and where have you read the "claims" you are talking about. The more power to you comment is just plain rude.

I am writing to adults here. I expect that folks with diabetes will be cautious and do their own research.

For anyone who truly desires relief from unnecessary suffering, I hope you will at least research the information.

The urologist didn't tell us anything about having my husband avoid citrus fruits/juices or dairy products while taking Hippex. He has been on the mediation for 2 months and is to continue it at least until he sees the urologist again in another 2 months. While there may be dangers associated with being on this medication long term, it is possible that my husband's doctor is choosing the lesser of two evils in putting my husband on Hippex full time since my husband was getting one infection after the other and had become resistant to Cipro, the antibiotic he had been taking for years. My husband is 79 years old with Parkinsonism as well as dementia and has been self cathetering for the last 20 years, long before he became ill. UTIs weren't that frequent in the past and didn't cause serious problems before he developed dementia. Due to the present condition of his nervous system, however, every UTI results in severe effects to his entire nervous system such that he would have to be hospitalized every time he gets an infection unless an antibiotic regimen is started at the first sign of a UTI. He was getting UTIs one after the other during the last year (2 per month) and had become resistant to the Cipro antibiotic he had been taking in the past so at this point I would rather take my chances with the long term use of the Hippex. That may well not be the best idea for other people but our situation and limited options, it seems to be the best course of action for my husband at this time.

Wow!! My wife (Judy) had a uti last April. We no sooner got it cleared up and she would get another one. That went on until about the first of the year when she was put on a low dose preventive antibiotic. The urologist said "see you in a year" and my only thought was "Yeah". It helped a little bit, now her UTIs are coming every other month instead of every month.

She had one in April and using the same medication she had used the previous time she got diahhrea about the 3rd day of the 5 day medication. A couple days after the medication was completed, she got something called Cdiff. The diahhrea was terrible and after about 3 days I took her into the hospital, not knowing about the Cdiff. The doctors put her on an IV for about 4 hours and wanted to know if I wanted to take her home and get plenty of water into her. I said no so they admitted her and kept her on IVs for 3 days and discharged her into a nursing home until the medication is completed.
Now we are going to try keeping the UTIs away by using cranberry capsules.
The antibiotic for the UTIs is what caused the Cdiff.
Judy also ended up with gout the same time the first UTI occurred this year. There is a possiblity the gout and the UTIs are related.
My advice, if the Cdiff (sp) is suspected, it is just too much for one person to treat.

There are some claims on the mannose for
uti but most say more study needed. I note
That vitamine groups carry it including NOW.

It seems harmless enough....as long as you
Don't go crazy. If it works for you, more
Power to you. Take care

D-Mannose cures any UTIs for me -over night. This simple and cheap sugar has quick and miraculous results for me every time. For less than $3.00 I have a lifetime supply.

My bladder infections don't respond to any doctors' tests, so for years I have suffered needlessly. I am middle aged and yet I was losing bladder control to the point of getting less than 1 minute warnings before I had to urinate. Of course, I often didn't make it. Humiliating. Needless.

Then I stumbled upon the following website and articles such as" D-Mannose for Bladder and Kidney Infections" by Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, MD.

D-Mannose works very quickly for me. I take a teaspoon of it at night and the UTI is gone by the next day. Apparently most people experience it having a sweet taste, however for supertasters like me it is not sweet. I don't mind at all because the relief is amazing. I, for one , do not need any more randomly prescribed antibiotics to take a toll on my body.

CAVEAT: I've seen many companies on-line who offer this product at outrageous prices.The brand I use is KAL, by Neutraceutical. I am in no way affiliated with this company and only know what my experience is with this one product. I do appreciate their reasonable price.

Here's to your health.

Uti
who says so and why, how was it dx?
Start with the simple things first. Urine
In the body is sterile (for the most part).
So something has crawled inside somehow.
first....have we done a culture? Then at
The same time a test is done to find the
Correct antibiotics. Most common is
bactrim (a sulfa drug)......so either we
District kill it, either not long enough or
strong enough....or its not getting there....
Or its being reintroduced.....either by
Physical abnormalities...or some other
Ways.
By plumbing design, ladies usually have
More problems.....first start with bygone
Externally. Soap and water or pericare
Cleaner for a little while....also change
undies frequently. We could be dribbling
And that makes a place for things to
Grow.. .also there could be some back
Flow.
As someone said maybe not fully emptying
Could be the problem.
also give the body the best chance to
Heal itself....is she a diabetic...some
Meds can make you more prone to
A uti . Cranberry shows some limited
effect. How is overall health and nutrition.
Drink plenty of liquids.
We may need to look higher
GP. =urologist. =nephrologist


Why say uti. Going to the bathroom alot,
Pain, fever.....could be something else


And as for the witch doctor potions......(and
hold your letters)......IF it truly a reliable and
Significant improvement......some pharmacy
Company would have it done long ago.....
Those boys are smart....and know a
good things when they see it.


Start with the basics, and hope your
mom gets well soon. The worry is
If it spreads to kidneys, and that is
A totally different headache.



Good luck

The drug Hiprex/Hippex mentioned here is methanamine and hippuric acid. You can also purchase an OTC called Cystex which has Methenamine 162 mg and Sodium Salicylate 162.5 mg and benzoic acid to prevent UTIs and alleviate symptoms. I have read methenamine is NOT safe for long term use but a lot of people swear by it. It may also be recommended to avoid citrus fruits and juices (e.g., orange, grapefruit, lemon), milk and dairy products, and antacids during treatment with methenamine. These products may decrease the effectiveness of methenamine.

Get black (cumin) seed oil , cold pressed from Egypt. I get it at blackseedproducts.com. Never get UTIs or upper respiratory infections anymore, since I started taking it in the fall. . I take it every day as a tonic. I also get it for my friend, whose husband had been in the ICU for acute respiratory distress syndrome and then complications after survival . She doesn't give it to him since he is on SO much stuff. She takes it herself so she doesn't pass any infections on to him (she's a nurse in a nursing home) . One simple infection could kill him.

My husband's medicine bottle says "Hippex" under same the generic name that was mentioned. It is a pill that is taken by mouth. The pill is fairly large but is scored so it can be split.

donnalee, I know. My mom has a long-running wound and, every time she gets a UTI, it affects that as well. She's not good at articulating that she may have one (she also has chronic cystitis, so it's very hard to know which her urinary urges are from) and sometimes, by the time she says something, her wound has started to blow out with infection as well. This last time - I don't know how long she had the UTI going, she never said. But it affected the wound so fast and so explosively that she ended up in the hospital and now rehab for IV antibiotics.

What we've done in the past, and I guess I'm going to have to start doing it again, is have a standing order for a weekly UA to be done at the hospital's lab. Fortunately, her nurse practitioner is VERY on top of this issue with her and will do whatever it takes. I'm also going to ask about the Hiprex - that does cover some of the infections she gets so, if that'll help stop them before they start and it's relatively safe for her to take, I'm all over it.

We've talked about doing a prophylactic dose of antibiotics for her, but with the organism being different nearly every time, that probably wouldn't be that effective. AND she's started having VRE infections which are very antibiotic-resistent.

And, as I said, the NP doesn't want to do the cranberry since she doesn't seem to get the e. coli infections - she HAS said that, if that was an organism that affected her, she'd certainly consider adding a cranberry supplement and then monitoring the INR for a while to get it adjusted properly. Also, every time she has to go on antibiotics, THAT affects her INR as well - she hasn't been on a stable dose of Coumadin from almost the first of the year because she's been on antibiotics for nearly that whole time for this or that.

It's very frustrating.

The Coumadin Clinic wasn't happy about me giving my husband cranberry extract pills. I was insistent but he has had so many UTI's recently and I thought this might help. He will be texted next week and I can take him off the pills it it causes problems or before if I see problems. I am going to ask my Dr. about Hiprex and see what they say. I'll let you know how things go. Again, I am open to all suggestions and comments.

I don't want to make life misserable for my poor husband but am trying so hard to find something that helps him. Drs seem to wait until it is a full infection or bacteria before they are willing to treat. The antiobodics by IV seems to cause him a lot of problems with his bowels and his tummy. I guess we just keep trying to stay ahead of the game.

I just googled Hippex - it's actually Hiprex (Methenamine Hippurate).

donnalee, e. coli is in the gut - it can cause food poisoning. Some is good, some is bad. It can also be in the blood, yes (as can - I think - any bacteria). E. coli as relates to UTIs for women is (as I understand) usually due to poor hygiene, wiping from back to front. I can't speak as to e. coli UTIs in men.

Interesting that your husband's clinic wants him to do the cranberry juice even though he's not had e.coli because they don't want him to get that organism - my mom's doctor and nurse practioner went exactly the opposite way and said that, because she never gets e. coli, it's not worth her taking the cranberry juice and mucking with her INR. So...go figure. :)