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Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the most common medical problems affecting adult women, accounting for millions of dollars in healthcare expenditures, lost wages, and damaged life quality. Women affected by symptoms of urinary burning, frequent urination, pelvic pain, bladder pressure, cloudy urine, urine odor, and even bloody urine often seek care in the wrong places.
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Women suffering UTIs are very commonly briefly evaluated at a busy urgent care center or primary care clinic. In these circumstances, less well-trained healthcare providers do their best to help, but all too often a quick recurrence of symptoms occurs within just a few days or weeks. Urology specialty care is needed in these cases.
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Our urologists at Northlake Urology meet frustrated new patients weekly; patients who have suffered recurrent cystitis (UTI) symptoms over and over again. For these patients, urology specialty care can really make the difference! Each patient is unique, so our treatment plans reflect the needs of each women individually. Evaluation is aimed at eliminating potentially serious causes of true bacterial cystitis (UTI), then moving quickly to proven treatments and preventative supplements and therapies.
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Once serious causes of infections are excluded, our patients often institute one of our proven formulas for prevention and early treatment. Prevention entails hygienic changes, behavioral adaptations, supplements, and sometimes medications. TheraCran® One cranberry supplement is our standby most recommended UTI prevention supplement, reducing infections by up to 50%. Other cranberry supplements may not contain adequate concentrations of proanthocyanidins (PACs). At least 36 mg PACs daily are recommended to limit the ability of bacterial adherence to the walls of the bladder and lining of the urinary tract. TheraCran® One has been independently tested and certified to contain 36 mg of PACs. D-mannose is another supplement with proven benefits. Postmenopausal women with atrophic vaginal changes may benefit form topical estrogen supplementation or non-hormonal vaginal gel or cream.
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Finally, we have instituted a one-of-a-kind program to help women of any age suffering frequently recurrent UTIs. At the heart of this program is the use of antibiotics and probiotics at the very earliest onset of symptoms such as pain, burning, pressure, odor, urinary frequency, urinary urgency. By instituting treatment very early, an infection can often be stopped in its tracks with as little as one antibiotic pill, or in as little as three days of antibiotic therapy. Early treatment is the key. Early treatment can result in the need for fewer antibiotic pills, and thus fewer side-effects of those pills (such as bowel side effects or post-antibiotic yeast vaginitis).
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Our program begins by prescribing of a suitable antibiotic before the next infection. Your particular antibiotic is selected based on prior culture results, the sensitivity profile of prior infections, allergy history, drug side effect profile, office endoscopy, ultrasonography findings (evaluating the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and pelvis), and medical discretion. Patients fill the antibiotic prescription and (most importantly) they keep the medication on hand at all times.
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It certainly is not enough to prescribe antibiotics and stop there. There is more. Our patients are provided a take home urine specimen kit that helps us identify any bacterial or fungal organisms causing each new infection. We are partnered with MicroGenDX to identify infections quickly by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing. Using the MicroGenDX home test kits, bacteria are identified quickly, allowing us to recommend an alternative antibiotic (as opposed to the antibiotic empirically prescribed before the infection) whenever this may be necessary.
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Not only can MicroGen identify the exact bacteria causing an infection, but the test can also predict the susceptibility (antibiotic resistance patterns) of these bacteria to particular antibiotics. This advanced MicroGen test is not a lab culture. In many ways it is better than a culture: 1) it identifies infectious organisms by their microbacterial DNA “fingerprints”, 2) it is faster than culture (no need to wait for bacteria to grow on a culture plate in the lab), it commonly identifies multiple organisms (often missed on culture), it does not require live bacteria for identification (as culture does). This last point is important!
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This means that it is possible for you to take your empirically prescribed antibiotic before you even submit a urine specimen for the kit testing. This was a problem with the formerly used culture techniques. With culture, women had to wait until urine specimens were submitted to the lab before they could start therapy (antibiotics). With MicroGenDX, this is no longer necessary!
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We evaluate many women who have suffered recurrent urinary infections, bladder pressure, burning, and incontinence. Patients require thoughtful attention to medical detail by urology specialty physicians willing to devote time and effort to each individual. We can help and look forward to doing so. Call us today to get started or book your Northlake Urology evaluation online now.