Wish I could say bye to this UTI!

[Jellowl]

Hello!

Alrighty, as most people know; UTIs are terrible and suck a lot. They hurt and are so unpleasent. Right now I might have one and I'm peeved. I've already had one in September and I really do not feel like getting another (though it looks like I may be )

When I have sex- before and after- I always urinate, I drink plenty of water everyday and my boyfriend and I are negative for STDs. I don't understand as to why my discomfot is so continual.

I've recently started birth control for the first time and am almost done the first month's pack; I'm on my period now. I've been wearing pads all month because of the spotting (I don't wear tampons because of discomfort and my personal choice). The pain is so sudden and I had zero symptoms before last night. Is it possible that maybe the birth control or constant pad usage can irriated my bladder? Or maybe just my urethra?

Could I wait and see if my pain is due from irritation or should I go straight in and get it treated? Drinking plenty of water has already lessend the pain by a lot. Also, do you have any other suggestions on how to prevent UTIs in the future?

Thanks for the advice,
Have a nice day!

[Danny S.]

Hi there, Jellowl!
I 100% agree with you about UTIs- they suck. It sounds like you're pretty aware of preventative methods, which is great, but it's definitely frustrating to feel like you're doing everything right and still getting UTIs. I'm gonna link you to a few sources which I think might be helpful, but here's something I pulled from UTI from birth control? What are my other options? that seems relevant:
"Some studies have shown that there is a correlation between oral contraceptives and urinary tract infections. Others say that women using birth control are more likely to have sex, and sex is directly related to UTIs, thus being on birth control indirectly leads to more infections. However, a study (as well as a doctor's opinion) doesn't affect your own personal experience. You know your body better than anyone else, and if you believe that your birth control pills might be causing your UTI, then it might be a good idea to change up your birth control method and see if something else may work better for your unique body."
If you're feeling like this irritation could be a UTI, especially seeing as you've had one before and know what they feel like, your best bet is to go to the doctor as soon as is convenient to save yourself from more pain. You know your body best! Here's another article which lists some more preventative methods: Out, Out Damn UTI!. Hope these help!

[Heather]

One extra thing you can ask your healthcare provider about, if you find you are frequently getting UTIs, is if they think an ongoing low-dose antibiotic expressly for UTIs may be a good thing for you. That's one route to tackling frequent UTIs that works well for some people. Alternately, sometimes a provider will provide these medications and direct a patient to take them only when they engage in sexual activity: that's another way to do this.

But by all means, if you think you have a UTI again, you do want to see your healthcare provider ASAP, as the longer we have them, the tougher they can get to treat, and you don't want one moving to your kidneys, which they can do and is dangerous. I'm sorry you're dealing with this: indeed UTIs totally suck.

[Jellowl]

Thank you very much for the advice!
I decided to take a risk and do the wait and see tactic. Thankfully, after a full day of constant water drinking and some cringe worthy bathroom trips, the pain slowly went away until there was nothing at all (So lucky, phew). This makes me think it may have been urethra irritation from constant pad use that needed some flushing. Do you have any advice on how to not get irritation from pads, besides the obvious of washing and changing regularly?

Thanks, have a nice night!

[Onionpie]

Hey Jellowl! Glad to hear you managed to stave off that UTI -- they really are hell. As for tips to help keep them at bay in the future, you could try using pads that are made of natural materials, or even reusable ones (they'll save you money too!). All the methods listed in the UTI article Danny listed will help, too!