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How Can Recurrent UTI Be Treated?
I have constant this all my life. Now I am 69 and when I get a bladder infection it won t go away after taking many weeks of medication. I have nothing anatomically wrong with my urinenarry tract. I have fibro and immune disorder. Nobody is helping me. I have been to many urologists to no avail. Can t you help me?
Tue, 29 May 2018
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.
There are various antibiotics to treat even the most resistant pathogens. The antibiogram should guide treatment options when the cause is infectious. If you don't get any relief after appropriate antibiotic treatment then the infectious nature of your disorder is in doubt. If you see improvement indeed but it won't last for long or it will recur after a short while then perhaps other options can be considered - I'll explain below.
Let me start my analysis with this: a urinary tract infection may present with the same symptoms as other - functional, non-infectious - disorders of the bladder. For example overactive bladder may cause urgency and other symptoms that may resemble symptoms of a urinary tract infection. The presence of bacteria in the urine is not always proof of a urinary tract infection. So your urologist should consider other potential disorders as well.
If it's a urinary tract infection indeed then the antibiogram should guide treatment. If the treatment is successful but the recurrence rate is high then continuous prophylaxis with either a low-dose antibiotic or with cranberries' extract can be employed. If there's absolutely no improvement with treatment despite using an appropriate antibiotic, appropriate dosing and appropriate length of treatment then you and your doctor should consider other disorders.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
There are various antibiotics to treat even the most resistant pathogens. The antibiogram should guide treatment options when the cause is infectious. If you don't get any relief after appropriate antibiotic treatment then the infectious nature of your disorder is in doubt. If you see improvement indeed but it won't last for long or it will recur after a short while then perhaps other options can be considered - I'll explain below.
Let me start my analysis with this: a urinary tract infection may present with the same symptoms as other - functional, non-infectious - disorders of the bladder. For example overactive bladder may cause urgency and other symptoms that may resemble symptoms of a urinary tract infection. The presence of bacteria in the urine is not always proof of a urinary tract infection. So your urologist should consider other potential disorders as well.
If it's a urinary tract infection indeed then the antibiogram should guide treatment. If the treatment is successful but the recurrence rate is high then continuous prophylaxis with either a low-dose antibiotic or with cranberries' extract can be employed. If there's absolutely no improvement with treatment despite using an appropriate antibiotic, appropriate dosing and appropriate length of treatment then you and your doctor should consider other disorders.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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