How I Cured My Chronic UTIs and Antibiotic Use

Amoxicillin, Ceftriaxone, Cipropfloxacin, Cefixime, Nitrofurantoin, Trimethoprim, Levofloxacin.

If you’re familiar with any of these words then I’m guessing you’ve taken your fair share of antibiotics. 

I’ve certainly taken my share. Actually, more than my share. 

After I became paralyzed at the age of 13 I started a cycle of chronic antibiotic use that I thought would never end. Like clockwork I would get a urinary tract infection (UTI), take antibiotics for 7 days, be symptom free for 7 days, and then get another UTI. Round and round, over and over. 

As a teenager I was unaware of the dangers of  antibiotic resistance and the damage that chronic antibiotic use was doing to my body. All I knew was that UTIs were awful and I wanted relief. And I had no idea how to get it without drugs. 

I let my doctors convince me that urinary tract infections go hand in hand with intermitten catheterization and that I would always require antibiotics for treatment.  

Fast forward about 10 years, after the birth of my second child, and I had had enough. I was sick of constantly taking urine samples to the lab every few weeks, sick of waiting on my doctor for the results, and just plain sick of suffering from UTI’s. 

I decided to take matters into my own hands and figure out how to free myself from dependence on antibiotics. 

I began doing my own research on how to prevent and cure UTIs and here’s what I learned:

The Truth About UTIs

1. Uncomplicated UTIs (no cystitis, fever, or immune system issues) do not require immediate treatment and often resolve on their own.

In a 2002 study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, researchers looking at UTI treatments compared the antibiotic nitrofurantoin to a placebo group. 51% of women in the placebo group reported improved UTI symptoms after one week demonstrating that spontaneous cure of UTIs without antibiotics is not only possible but likely. Another study, published in the journal BMC Family Practice, showed that 71% of women with symptomatic UTIs who were willing to delay treatment reported clinical improvement or cure after one week.

2. There are lots of home remedies and natural antibiotics that can be used to prevent and/or treat UTIs.

Cranberry juice, ginger, and garlic are just a few in a long list of foods and supplements that are effective against bacteria and viruses.

3. Bacteria can colonize your bladder without causing any symptoms or having a detrimental effect on your health. 

Colonization is the presence of bacteria in the bladder with growth and multiplication, but without tissue invasion or damage. This is also known as asymptomatic bacteriuria (source).

Symptoms of colonization include cloudy urine, increased urine odor, and changes in urine color. These symptoms are not always signs of an infection and can be mitigated by upping fluid intake and diluting the bacteria level. 

Infection occurs when the bacteria colonizing the bladder attach to the bladder wall and cause an immune response and clinical symptoms such as fever, chills, frequent/painful urination, abdominal cramping, incontinence, and increased urine odor (source).

Doctors often treat asymptomatic bacteriuria without needing to. 

4. Cloudy, smelly urine does not always mean you have a UTI.

Cloudy, foul smelling urine can be caused by many things, including the foods that we eat, how much water we drink, and certain underlying health issues. High levels of vitamin D and phosphorus are filtered out through the kidneys and can cause urine to become cloudy. Asparagus and other foods can cause urine to smell. Simply being dehydrated is often enough to cause dark, cloudy, strong smelling urine. Vaginal infections in women and prostate problems in men can lead to cloudy urine, as can some sexually transmitted diseases (source).

5 Steps to Freedom From Chronic Antibiotic Use

Armed with new knowledge, I was able to successfully put a stop to my chronic antibiotic use once and for all.

How did I accomplish this?

With these simple steps:

1. I stopped taking antibiotics.

This one is obvious, but it was the most important. UTIs are extremely annoying. Especially when you have a spinal cord injury. Cathing more often or having to clean up after incontinence would sometimes take hours out of my day. It would prevent me from carrying on my normal activities. UTIs would increase my spasticity and cause nausea. It was very tempting to call the doctor and get antibiotics for a quick fix to the symptoms. Maintaining my determination and commitment to natural solutions was hard but it was vital. 

2. I stopped drinking anything but water, and I drank like my life depended on it.

I used to watch how much I drank because I didn’t want to have to catheterize frequently. I loved milk and sugary drinks like hot chocolate. When I stopped taking antibiotics I knew that I had to drastically increase my fluid intake. I am not a big fan of drinking my calories (I would much rather eat something that tastes good than drink something with the same calories) so I decided to cut out everything but water and double my fluid intake from 1.5 liters to 3 liters per day. 

Not only does water help reduce the concentration of bacteria in your bladder and make it less likely to attach to the cells lining the urinary tract, but it dilutes the nutrients that bacteria need to survive and flushes the bacteria out with each bathroom break (source).

3. I ate raw garlic every day.

When I started my research into natural antibiotics, garlic topped every list I came across. 

Garlic is one of the oldest known foods to be used therapeutically. From Ancient Egyptian medical texts to home remedy books published in Early America in the 1800s, garlic has been documented for medicinal uses. Regarded as the father of medicine, Hippocrates  used garlic to treat pulminary illness, to cleanse the body, and to treat growths of the abdomen and uterus (source).

But garlic’s medicinal use isn’t just an old wives tale. There is hard science backing up its effectiveness. Dozens of studies prove garlic’s ability to kill pathogens. In one such study conducted at the University of Sarajevo, garlic was tested against multiple strains of bacteria and fungus known to cause illness including MRSA, E. Coli,  Salmonella, and Candida. Fresh local garlic was shown to be effective at killing them all thanks to the active ingredient allicin that forms when garlic is cut or crushed.

Garlic was my first line of defense to both prevent and treat UTIs after I stopped using antibiotics. When I didn’t have any symptoms of a bladder infection I ate 1-2 cloves of raw garlic per day in my morning smoothie. During a symptomatic UTI I would dose garlic as if it were a prescription antibiotic. I simply diced 3 cloves of garlic, waited 10-15 minutes for the allicin to develop, and swallowed with some water. I repeating this 3 times per day for 5-7 days or until my symptoms were clear.  

In my experience garlic works just as effectively as any of the prescription antibiotics I have taken. 

4. I supplemented with D-mannose.

D-mannose is a sugar molecule similar in structure to glucose, but instead of being metabolized for energy, it is excreted in the urine. When d-mannose enters the bladder it attaches to the receptors on E. Coli bacteria that  are responsible for adhering to the tissue in the urinary tract and causing infection. Once attached, the bacteria are stuck and get flushed down the toilet along with the d-mannose (source).

In multiple studies, d-mannose was proven not only to be effective at treating UTIs, but more powerful than antibiotics at preventing recurrences.

During an acute infection, I supplemented with d-mannose powder 3-5 times daily. For prevention I still take d-mannose morning and night and after intercourse.

5. I trusted my body and supported my immune system.

In order stop taking antibiotics, I had to believe that my body was capable of clearing up a UTI on its own. I also had to support my body and my health in order for my immune system to be strong. I committed to eating healthier and worked at making nutrition a priority. 

Over the course of a few years I cut out processed food, sugar, dairy and most grains. I increased my consumption of fiber and antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables and started taking supplements that support my immune system. 

Free At Last

Learning how to keep my bladder healthy and finding alternative treatments for UTIs took me almost a whole year. I stuck to the steps, garlic breath and all. Throughout the journey I often experienced frustration, self doubt, and fear. It took hours of research and reading. It took determination and perseverance. But most of all it took trusting my intuition and having faith that there were more options available to me than what my doctors were were telling me.

It has been seven years since my journey began and since then I’ve only had to use antibiotics a handful of times. Three times for surgery, once for a kidney infection and once for a bladder infection. That totals five times in seven years compared to the 20 or more times a year I would use them before. These days I don’t have to eat garlic everyday, but it’s still my go to when I feel an infection coming on. I stick with d-mannose for prevention and drink only water and unsweetened herbal tea. Knowing that I can prevent and treat UTIs no matter where I am, without my doctor, is so empowering.

Was this process simple?

Yes

Was it easy?

No

Was it worth it?

Definitely

If you’re sick of having to rely on antibiotics and want to reduce how much you use them, I am proof that it’s possible.

If I can do it, so can you.

Ready to take the leap? Let me know in the comments and tell me the one step that you are going to take right now to make life with less antibiotics a reality!