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Chances are, you’re reading this blog post because you’re suffering a bout of the *lovely* lady problem…cystitis (apologies if you’re a male who is suffering)
My word, this is one of the worst problems I ever have to deal with, and my body can cause a bit of grief at times (I have a dreadful digestive system) but this is definitely one of the more irritating (pun intended).
I’m currently sat in a hot bath that is half water, half urine.
Yes, you did read that correctly!
Now, I’ve suffered cystitis since I was about seven years old (I remember being sat on the loo all day long at my Nan’s house, drinking lemon barley water and being in an awful amount of pain) so you’d think I would have learned how to control and/or avoid it.
But alas, this infection continues to plague me every six months or so. So much so that the doctor at the walk-in centre recognises me when I turn up. Yes, very embarrassing!
My symptoms today came out of the blue… I haven’t had sex for a few days and I made sure I urinated afterwards (tip #1). However, work has been rather stressful so I’m going to pinpoint that as the cause this time.
I’ve also reduced my alcohol intake recently due to following the Slimming World diet, so I am going to rule that out as a cause this time… although I have found in the past that a weekend sesh can have an effect on my poor, weak bladder.
Now, I do apologise for going off on a tangent about the cause but it may help some of you pinpoint what’s caused your symptoms!
As soon as I felt that wave of heaviness in my lower abdomen, I knew it was back! So, I did what I always do… I went to the shop and bought a carton of cranberry juice (tip #2 – sort of). I never learn, as you’re supposed to drink this as a preventative but I don’t want to drink it every day because it’s such a tart drink. However, the urination pain did ease off mid-morning. Yay!
No… not yay! I had been lured into a false sense of security by the paracetamol I’d taken in the morning (tip #3) and, teamed with the cranberry juice, I believed my bladder to be fine and dandy. How wrong I was, and how disappointed when those horrific pangs of pain stabbed my urinary tract after lunch (at work!).
Fast forward six hours and I’m still suffering. I’ve taken some more paracetamol and also some ibuprofen (tip #4) and I’m currently sat in a hot bath (tip #5) and I’m weeing freely.
The bath has certainly soothed my bladder and urinary tract and I’m going to apply additional heat once I’m out; I will put the electric blanket on. However, a hot water bottle will certainly help too (tip #6).
So, hopefully by morning my bladder will have returned to normal and I won’t be rushing to the loo constantly throughout the day.
- Drink cranberry juice regularly to prevent cystitis occurring – it may help slightly to reduce the problem once it’s arrived but it’s recommended as a preventative rather than a remedy
- Paracetamol and ibuprofen will ease pain but won’t get rid of it (annoyingly)
- Barley water is a Godsend – it flushes out the bacteria after symptoms occur
- Have a hot bath and wee in it as much as you can – the temperature will soothe any pain and it will wash the bacteria away
- Drink a pint of water with some bicarbonate of soda – apparently this works wonders but I’ve never tried it as I never have the bicarb in the house
- Buy those cranberry sachets – they’re very good but taste disgusting after a while (I hate them now!)
- Go to a walk-in centre or visit your doctor! A course of antibiotics will clear up any symptoms
- Have a wee after sex – again, this is a preventative! I wouldn’t recommend having sex with cystitis as your symptoms may increase – ouch!
I hope you feel better soon if you are suffering! Search the web for more remedies to help relieve symptoms at home before going to see the doc.
Lots of Love,
Loula xoxo
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a nurse – this advice is purely from my own experiences!