Shirley,
I hope you get everything figured out and working properly again. UTIs and
incontinence are such a life-suck. They're just about the hardest part of life
with SCI.
I'm 41 years post-injury (C5-6, complete) and i've had my share of UTIs. I've
developed a resistant bladder bug that is probably with me all the time. As
long as i drink enough fluids I'm not symptomatic of infection, even though if
i did a urinalysis i'm sure it would come back positive. I try not to use
antibiotics except as a last resort.
I know a bunch of quads and just about every one has some favorite method of
treating a UTI without antibiotics. Things I've heard include: cranberry pills,
d-mannose, large doses vitamin C, probiotics, lime oil, oil of oregano and
bladder flushes with various solutions. I'm not a doctor, so obviously be
careful trying any of these.
The thing that has worked best for me (I have a suprapubic catheter) is
irrigating with a solution of colloidal silver. Silver is a natural
antiseptic/antifungal, so when i feel i'm getting a UTI symptom (usually
cloudy/smelly urine) I use a syringe to push the colloidal silver water up my
catheter into my bladder, then clamp off the catheter for at least 20 minutes.
i do this twice a day (once morning, once bedtime) for about 3 days at it makes
a huge difference. I wouldn't consider it a miracle cure, but it seems to take
out enough bad bacteria that my symptoms clear up for a while with no side
effects or possibility of resistance
I will be the first to admit that my results are purely anecdotal, and i was
highly skeptical of this silver stuff when another quad friend of mine told me
about it. I gave it a try because i was running out of other options, and it
ended up working for me. I don't have any studies to share--definitely do your
own research.
You can purchase colloidal silver online. Half gallon of it for about $40. I
use enough each flush to fill my bladder but not cause A.D. Everyone's bladder
is different, so i recommend discussing with your urologist first.
If anyone has further questions you can email me [email protected]
Best wishes,Don.
On Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 11:29:30 AM MST, SHIRLEY BELL
<[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks everyone, My Dr does want a sample when I change the catheter again.
I just did and this time things are ok, right now. don't want to try to change
again as that's when it goes south.
On 10/25/2023 1:30 PM EDT Eric Olson <[email protected]> wrote:
just happened to run across this article. Looks like you have a few of the
signs of an infection
https://www.hollister.com/en/continencecare/continencelearningcenter/livingwithaneurologicalcondition/7signsthatyoumayhaveaurinarytractinfection
On Wed, Oct 25, 2023 at 10:25 AM SHIRLEY BELL <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi all, anyone have an indwelling Catheter for 40 or so years and had
severe issues on and off with spasms and incontinence resulting in changing
even new catheters until one works? It's hard to explain but not good. I take
the max on spasm pills. Can't get in to see Dr for a few weeks, wanted to do
research before. Would a supra pubic help with this? Any help would be
appreciated. Thanks, Shirley
