Bladder infection

mizzkbrat

I was just diagnosed with a bladder infection. (Sarcastic tone :yay:) 

Has anybody had this while pregnant? The doctor prescribed me with Nitrofurantoin and assured me it was safe in pregnancy. I'm just wondering if there was anything else besides cranberry juice I can suck down to make this go away quicker. It's bad enough to have baby girl use my bladder as her own personal trampoline, but adding this on top is making me miserable. 

NoraAurora

boo hiss. Sorry. Just cran juice (but they've only shown the really nasty kinds offer any help - I'm talking the organic knudsen's with no added sugar) and LOTS of water. The pills should take care of it quickly though. 

von1976

Instead of drinking cranberry juice, which is generally an apple/grape/cranberry blend, I opt for the capsules of powdered cranberry. You can get them in any health food store, but you can probably find them at CVS, too. I don't know anything about Nitrofurantoin other than what's found on the internet, sorry.

mamabearks1012

I had the same thing and it was horrible. I too took nitrofuratonin and symptoms started to get better after a couple of days and it was completely gone in a week. Drinking the knudsens pure cranberry juice helped too but wow it is tart!!

anna.oskar

Same thing here.  Diagnosed last night.  Staphylococcus saprophyticus so the Nitrofurantonin is a good choice of meds.  Really though, I feel like all the research indicates that during 1st and 2nd tri the small risks are outweighed by how terrible the side effects could be if left untreated.

But you DO need to really push the fluids since that antibiotic doesn't actually kill the bacteria, it just really slows down its growth rate.

mommym234

For the plain cranberry juice, it goes down a lot easier if you do half water half cranberry. It's almost tasty if you do about 1/3 cranberry 2/3 sparkling water and a squeeze of lime over ice. Also eat lots of garlic and green things, especially asparagus, and avoid sugar if you can. I've had a couple and that seems to help them go away faster. 

TurtleMomma

No advice but hope you knock it out quickly

ashleyp625

I had one a few weeks ago, and the meds with tons of water knocked it out in a couple of days. The frequent bathroom trips suck, but untreated is worse!

sjo_thetwins

I second the cranberry pills. I started taking them with my last horrible UTI and they helped tremendously. Also - the awful cranberry juice, it's hard to get down but because it tastes bad, I think it "tastes" like it is working, if that makes any sense. Feel better!

katlarissa

I have had several UTIs, including while pregnant. The cranberry juice you typically buy at the store won't do any good, unfortunately. The real stuff is STRONG. Thankfully I like tart drinks, but I will say that having it be really cold and drinking it through a straw helps. (I actually drink pure cranberry juice for enjoyment with a little Sprite sometimes, but obviously that's not what will benefit you most right now.) 

vcabbyw

Ugh I have chronic ones. So far... knock on wood, this pregnancy I haven't. I switched over half of my prenatal care to a naturopath family Doctor (was a midwife prior) and I take a uti cranberry mix pill daily as a preventative. Plus crazy amounts of water. I can tell you what it is if you're interested. 

When I did have one last pregnancy, besides antibiotics I increased water and started cran pills. 

mizzkbrat

Gotta get some cran pills sounds like it. Thanks ladies! 

ammiddleton3

On top of the cranberry pills, if you can find it anywhere D-Mannose is great with UTI's. Although it only will help get rid of one type of bacteria, and I can't remember which one it is at the moment. I order mine off of Amazon, but some local health food stores carry it too.

jbal918

I just finished my last dose of the same medication yesterday. I have a kidney disease and get kidney infections but for the first time ever, I got a UTI! I researched the meds like crazy before I took them and they are pregnancy safe. Hope you are feeling better!

Kaessi

Where do y'all find the cranberry juice you are referring to? I haven't been able to find any like that near me, only the "bad" stuff.

mothernorth

Ocean Spray 100%, NOT the cranberry cocktail, always helped me some. But emphasis on the water! Can not stress that enough. D-Manns powder too as PP suggested, and if you're in bad pain and can handle the sodiun, mix a Teaspoon of baking soda in with a bottle of water to help with the burn. It tastes like poison, but it helps.

kathleenkat

I find 100% at trader joes.

I used to drink 16oz daily to prevent bladder infections (I had been getting them 3-4 times yearly) and I went to a specialist and found that it was actually PROMOTING THE infection... depending on the type of bacteria you have, creating an acidic piss pool will actually be a breeding ground.

sjo_thetwins

Any of the whole foods or fresh markets will have 100% cranberry juice. It is awful, but chugging it as much as you can really does help - I still prefer the cranberry pills (which can be found at any drug stores but also the whole foods/fresh market places). Also, I started drinking probiotics when my last UTI showed up and those also seemed to shorten the length. Also helped with keeping yeast infections more at bay due to the antibiotics.