cystitis every time we have sex....help!

[itstooruddycold]

Does anyone have any answers that might help me?
For the past 5 years or so I've been getting cystitis every time my DH and I have sex. Its getting so that I really don't want to do it anymore and this is not good!
I always shower & pee before and after, drink pints of water every day but it does not seem to help.

It usually starts the next morning, I get that 'feeling' so I take cymalon or equivalent, drink lots, wee lots, have a warm bath etc etc but I always end up having to get ABs, I've had them so many times now I've lost count.
It gets so that my legs ache and I'm hot and feverish if I can't get the ABs fast enough.

Is there anything you guys can suggest that I can do to prevent this, its ruining my sex life - am I allergic to DH??

Just to give you some hope - I used to get bad cystitis on and off. Having been warned by my mother that I might be prone to it when pregnant I religiously drank cranberry juice every morning (along with the All Bran necessary for other reasons). Haven't had a twinge of it since and DD's now 11!

Seem to remember mum also recommending lemon barley water, so becstars recipe may be worth trying - even though recommended by a homeopath, its not homeopathic .

I'd second the COB foundation website - it's brilliant.

Definitely talk to your GP about it though, there should be lots of options you can try, whether it's diet related or AB related.

I used to suffer too every time I had sex, I found out that I am allergic to latex...condoms and the cap!

I find that when you start to get that burning feeling, straight away swallow a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and a pint of water. Works every time for me. I get cystitis a lot too but having been doing this for many years. Makes the acidity more alkaline and less painful.

This is coming quite a lot later in this discussion but might just be useful to someone who chances upon this conversation in a desperate bid to find relief if they are suffering from this awful problem too.

I suffered from repeated cystitis after sex for a good 4 - 5 years which at times was absolutely agonising. Not only was the pain awful and the dreaded fear that it would start to hurt roughly 8-12 hours after sex, but it was adding enormous pressure and tension to our relationship. My husband struggled knowing that every time we had sex there were these dreaded consequences and it was really hard for us both bear.

In my search to find a cure I tried everything. I had taken antibiotics but became very despondent taking course after course, and eventually I found it was starting a whole other vicious cycle with thrush. I was despairing. The best remedies I found were bicarbonate of soda (1 tsp diluted in luke warm water taken immediately at the set of symptoms) or Waterfall D Mannose (I found the powder form better than the tablet). The Waterfall D Mannose was a saviour for a long while, and it at least felt relatively natural, but the downside was the expense and in my case at least it was more of a remedy than a preventative course.

Then about 4 months ago after finding out I was pregnant I decided to try homeopathy knowing and fearing that I couldn't take my usual 'trusted remedies'. I had one consultation which resulted in me being given two sets of tablets, the first to address my overall well-being and balance, and the second to address the actual symptoms. I will admit I was extremely sceptical but at that stage was willing to give anything a try. Simultaneously with starting the homeopathy I had decided to try using Organic coconut oil as a natural remedy purely to lubricate and moisturise after sex, thinking this too was perhaps part of the problem. I mention this only because it was something I had started around that time and could just have been an added aid.

After one round of homeopathic tablets I honestly could not believe it but I had no symptoms at all, even from the first time after having sex, and it's continued that way. I cannot explain the relief of being able to enjoy sex again (and plenty of it) and not fearing it as I had grown to.

I don't normally write on forums like this but in this case I felt compelled to hoping that it might be the answer for someone else. For reference I was visiting a homeopath called Maureen at the Complementary Health Clinic in Hither Green, SE13.

I had one further follow-up session with the homeopath about a month or two after the first appointment and was given one further set of tablets to take and am still free of all symptoms. It has truly transformed my life. Please give it a go if you are suffering because you never know it may work for you too. The plus is that homeopathy looks to rebalance the body, in which case it aims to cure. Fingers crossed this continues to be the case. I wish you well if you are suffering from this problem and hope you find a cure too very soon. I'm happy to answer any questions if I can be of any further help.

I had this for years and it's miserable. Eventually I saw a urologist who, after a camera into bladder while asleep (sorry can't remember name of it!) said I had a deep seated bladder infection and I had 2 different strong ABs for 6 weeks and was cured!

I have to say that if I hadn't pushed for a referral I think I would still be being fobbed off with repeated short courses of ABs......

I found a herbal remedy cured my recurring cystitis. It consisted of buchu and pellitory and was amazing how well it worked.

Lots of people mention washing before and after sex.

Something else you can do after sex is to pour a jug or bottle of cold water over your bits after you have peed and washed.

It can help calm down any bruising or irritation that has happened.

Not very romantic, but better than another bout of cystitis and worked well for me.

I had recurrent cystitis for years around my mid-20s & never found the cause, it just stopped although I followed much of the advice given on here.

Eventually I found I had a fibroid & my consultant said it could well have caused or at least contributed to the cystitis due to the position it was growing in distorting the urethra/bladder making it more vulnerable to trauma, inflammation etc but after it grew it to a certain size the pressure moved to another site. The other fibroid symptoms I had occurred at the same time so I tend it to think it was linked.

I just wish recurrent cystitis was investigated properly with referrals, ultrasounds, etc as it would definitely help some women & it is so bloody miserable! I'm still angry all these years later that I had to leave the Pulp set at Glastonbury because of it

I'm just writing not to lose the thread. Have had very frequent bouts of it formonths and months. Now I had it innediately

Bloody commercials! Pressed to get it off the screen and then accidently hit post.
Problem is it came on within hours of having sex (it was a lot in a short while) but then went away as usual. This was saturday. Then it recurred briefly the following night (no more sex btw) and again tonight with a vengeance.
Dr is closed and it hurts like hell.
And now I bleed when I pee. Is that normal with cystitis?

Has your urine been tested for signs of infection, or are antibiotics just being diagnosed on the basis of symptoms?

What is being described sounds a lot like interstitial cystitis, which is not an infection at all (so antibiotics do nothing). I have IC and spent four years with exactly what you are describing and antibiotics very frequently until a new GP decided to actually listen to me!

If it is IC, cranberry will make it far worse, so that is worth looking out for.

Blood in urine is definite a sign of a uti. You need to get yourself along to out of hours doctors today to get some antibiotics before it gets worse. Worth trying bicarbonate of soda drink till you see the GP as it'll calm the acidity of your urine down and stop it stinging so much. But I'm afraid a trip to GP is needed.

Will definitely try to get to dr again. I've been to gynecologist because in addition to frequent cystitis it would also often 'sting' during and after sex. (My partner is very considerate and will stop immediately, but for other reasons I got used to sex beinga bit painful in the past so dont always tell him.)
Will now Google interstitial cystitis. I had high hopes for cranberry tablets sorting me out!

You should be able to take a longer cause of antibiotics while still breastfeeeding. If your doctor's not sure and needs advice they can contact the BfN drugs in breastmilk helpline for information, so can you. Good luck hope it clears up.

I had this problem when younger and found taking the cranberry tabelts really helped.

Sorry all, this is a thread I found when googling the problem and I just jumped on it for advice! I'm not op.
Am on phone and in despair! Will start own thread now

I get blood when I have a bad episode of IC, so blood does not mean it has to be a uti. It does tend to be slightly darker blood and later in the episode than with a uti though, so I can tell the difference now.

I tried to post on this last night but the tablet turned itself off.

This might sound ridiculous but has anyone suggested it might be thrush?

I would always get very sore and want to wee for a day or so after sex when I was younger, in one particular relationship, and I assumed it was just being young and not properly ready or relaxed or whatever, but anyway, I've had thrush a few times since and it actually feels very similar.

How often have you been taking antibiotics? If it's frequent then that might well be your answer.

I would stop all that, take a one off thrush treatment, and make sure your husband does as well, or he will give it back to you (if that's what it is) and avoid antibiotics as much as you possibly can. Or it will become a vicious circle.

This used to be my problem constantly. Got for a pee straight after! Never happened since x

This happend to me always after sex too. Eventually we split up and I was mostly fine when not being sexually active. However I found stress would bring a bout of cystitis on. After menopause I had issues with incontinence and read that the best way to keep healthy down there was to have a healthy sex life even if there was no partner. So I got a sex toy. Cystitis returned within hours of use. I would get a headache and very quickly had bladder inflammation and agony. So I tried clitoral stimulation only without penetration. Same result. Each time i get a bad bout I go get urine tested. It always comes back negative. Dr has prescribed topical HRT. However I think it's interstitial cystitis. The only thing that eases the symptoms is sodium citrate until the bladder inflammation clears up.

I used to get cystitis alot after sex. I found that as soon as were done , I will go to the loo and have a wee and then wash with just cold water no soap or showergel down below just cold water. As I found that after sex down there can be very sensitive for me and even using shower gels that I can normally use down there is a no no. The next day once everything has settled down then shower etc.
I was sick of being sore all the time. Cranberry juice also works but it's too acidic for me so give me heartburn and stomach ache. I also found the cranberry tablets didn't do a thing.
Also wiping front to back will help too, this is the same for sex if DP goes near the back end then don't let it go near the front. Sorry if that's a bit too much detail but I couldn't think of how to word it.
I also got it more when we used to use condoms maybe it's the latex or the spermicide on them.

I used to get this too. A nice old lady told me to pee and wash before and after sex and it worked 😳

Has your partner been treated with antibiotics? It appears he's the one with an infection and he keeps giving it you.

I used to suffer too.
I tried EVERYTHING.
Was meticulously clean before and after sex. Pee'd after.
Partner clean.
All hospital tests clear.
Eventually (after feeling exasperated) I was prescribed Nitrofurantoin which I either take just before or just after intercourse.
Finally, I can enjoy sex without worrying about the inevitable infection after