UTI angst

[Guest guest]

Hi, Bee and group,

I need some encouragement! I have a UTI that I have been treating

since Friday with parsley tea and also cranberry juice, per Bee's

files. (I know I oughtn't have the cranberry, but it is more

important to me right now to clear this up).

I had slight symptoms of UTI on August 13, and drank cranberry juice

for a day and they went away almost immediately. Then I developed

more symptoms very quickly on August 20, and the pain went all the

way from my right kidney down to the urethra. I woke in the middle

of the night with the kidney very sore, no other symptoms before

that. Because I was afraid of kidney damage from endometriosis (long

story; emergency hysterectomy in March), I decided to go on Cipro for

five days, per my gyn. I did not feel comfortable enough with my

knowledge of natural healing to mess around with the kidney. My gyn

was out of town, and I only had a phone consultation with the doctor

on call. The symptoms cleared up after the 2nd pill. I didn't do

either cranberry juice or parsley tea.

On my follow-up last Thursday (Sept 11), I was told I still have the

UTI, but I was having no symptoms at all except fatigue, which could

be from anything. I insisted on trying the natural remedies, and

also requested a kidney function test (which will be Friday, a CT

scan). I have had the quart of parsley tea and a quart of pure

cranberry juice with stevia, starting with partial doses late last

Thursday afternoon, then full doses since then., or for five full

days now. (I know the parsley tea is for eight days, and the

cranberry for four.)

Today I feel pretty awful, fatigued, and have no appetite, and have

some pain in the kidney and ureter, but no trouble urinating. I'm

afraid that I am going to do damage to the kidney, because I don't

know what its status is right now, whether there was long-term damage

by the endometriosis (which had grown around the ureter and was

squishing the kidney); kidney was obviously swollen in March CT scan.

I'm not in as much pain as I was August 20. I know if I call the

doctor, she will just say, " time for the antibiotics. " But I really

want the natural treatments to clear this up. I tried the anti-

biotics; they cleared up the symptoms almost immediately, but not

completely. I want to show her that this works, so that maybe she

will prescribe fewer anti-biotics—she's open to new ideas.

I'm sorry this is so long. I am a bit frightened that I am doing the

wrong thing—more frightened that I am of taking more anti-biotics,

how stupid is that? How long should I expect it to take to clear

things up? If I don't have terrible pain in the kidney, is there

damage being done anyway?

Is there more I could be doing (I know you say " more is not always

better. " ) ?

WHY didn't anyone raise us up to natural healing methods so we

wouldn't have all this angst??!!

Thanks for any help you can give—

Rhe