Uti advice

[Lockdownmum1010]

Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice please! Got my first ever UTI at the moment (in my late 30s so have done well!) I'm on day 2 of a 3 day course of antibiotics and my symptoms have improved but are defo still there (bladder feels sore, peeing more than usual but without the pain that I had at the start). My question is do the infections generally just get slowly better on day 3 and beyond? Bit conscious we are about to go into the weekend so if I need more antibiotics it might be harder!

Thank you!

Are you drinking plenty of fluids? 3 day courses have never worked for me, l'm more of a 7 day girl!!

You can absolutely call 111 over the weekend if things don't improve.

If symptoms haven't gone by day three you need to get more antibiotics. The trend for just giving three days is causing an increase in chronic/embedded utis as the course is not long enough to clear the infection.

Ah OK so if I still have any symptoms tomorrow (day 3 of abs) I should call 111 for more? Wasn't sure if I was just being impatient and it would slowly keep improving!

Yes drinking loads of water to try and flush things through! It's definitely not as bad as it was at the start thankfully, felt like I was being tortured by my bladder!

Personally I would move onto D-mannose rather than another course of antibiotics if the symptoms had started to improve.

Don't drink too much water or you will dilute the antibiotics and they will not be so effective.

Oh what is that please?

I wouldn't worry if your symptoms are still improving. If they get worse then seek further help as they shouldn't improve then get worse again.

Good to know, I am all new to this (and don't wish to repeat the experience!!)

Hope u ok op. My friend takes D mannose or cranberry tablets think Holland Barrett do them. They are so sore

You can get it from Holland and Barrett, it's a sugar that's in cranberry juice (which is why it's recommended to drink when you have cystitis/a UTI).

I’d be interested to learn what others think about cranberry based treatment. I’ve found it hasn’t made the slightest bit of difference.

D mannose will only help if it is an ecoli infection.

If you mean drinking some cranberry juice, it's not the same potency as taking D-mannose itself.

Thanks have ordered some to try!

I'm a veteran of UTIs and kidney issues.

Very important - Don't drink cranberry juice while on antibiotics. It's a great preventer but once you have an infection it stops the antibiotics from working properly.

And yes, if you still have symptoms tomorrow then you might need longer/different medication so get in touch with your GP. Drink as much plain water as you can ( as a chronic sufferer I drink 6-8 pints of water a day). Take paracetamol if you have a fever, but if you do get back in touch with your doctor asap as you might have developed pyelonephritis (kidney infection), same goes if you get any pain in your flanks.

Hope you feel better soon xx