The Dreaded UTI

The first time I had a Urinary Tract Infection was during the first month after marriage, that wonderful transition where the female body gets used to all sorts of new things. And it was a nightmare of an ordeal because we discovered that my body didn't feel any of the pain associated with a UTI. Without any warning I would suddenly start peeing blood, which means the infection has made its way up into my kidneys and is wreaking havoc big time. At this point in our life we didn't know much better and it was to the doctor and a round of anti-biotics.  Since the anti-biotic would kill the infection along with all the good bacteria in my body, there was the possibility that another infection would quickly step in and take over and once again I would see blood in the toilet bowl  and it would be another round of anti-biotics. So three rounds of serious antibiotics and a month later I was finally UTI free, but there was, for a long time, this constant fear that the next time I used the restroom I would once again discover that I had a UTI.

Now, eight years later I had the joy of experiencing another UTI, however with a completely different outcome.  Back in September I was more than my fair share of stressed and believe it or not went a whole week without showering. I know, almost unbelievable, but that is just how stressed and chaotic life was at that time.  I had just barely put a batch of tomato sauce on the stove to simmer down for canning when I felt a sudden need to use the restroom. And much to my undelighted surprise the toilet bowl was very red.  Within ten minutes I was unable to leave the house and within 30 minutes after that I was incapable of leaving the restroom altogether. So what did I do? I did not head for the hospital like some might have advised. Instead I was able to overcome the UTI with herbs and whole foods with no relapses, and a lot less time fretting afterwords wondering if I was going to be seeing red any time I used the restroom.

The Natural Way to get rid of a UTI

• Lots of Prayers
• Priesthood blessing
• Drink water -  loads of it and do not stop drinking. Drinking lots of water, especially at this time, helps to remove toxins and impurities from your body.
• Drink pure cranberry juice. I am not talking about those cranberry cocktails that you find in the freezer section of the grocery store. I am talking about the purest-pucker-worthy form that you can get your hands on. Since this is extremely pucker-worthy liquid you place 1 cup of pure cranberry juice in a quart jar and fill the rest of the way with filtered water. On the first two days I drank two quarts of this diluted mixture, one in the morning and one in the evening. I discovered that when this was the first thing I had for the day the liquid was actually sweet tasting. For the two weeks following I drank just one quart of this diluted mixture throughout the day.  So from the time I woke up in the morning until I went to bed I consumed a quart of diluted cranberry juice.
• Avoid all sugars, in any form, for the first few days. 
• I took Dr. Christopher's Kidney Formula, two capsules four times a day. I did this for two weeks. I feel that this was an extremely beneficial herb that helped loads in my recovery. 
• I also did a tea tree and apple cider vinegar sitz bath twice a day for the first two days. For those who don't know, a sitz bath is where you fill your tub hip deep and add  ingredients to help medicate your lower region. So while the bath water is running and the tub is plugged, I added 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar to the bath water and a tablespoon of Dead Sea Salt to which I had finger rubbed in four drops of Tea Tree Oil. Stir the tub around with your hand and sit cross-legged in the tub for 15 minutes to allow the water to clean out and re-acidify your vaginal area.

Within two hours of having a blessing, sitz bath, drinking cranberry juice, and taking the herbal kidney pills, I was no longer peeing blood. I felt totally drained and weakened from the loss of blood, but a few days of rest and taking it slow, and following the prescribed program I was good and back to normal.  Well, my kind of normal!

I also want to mention at this time I pulled all of my children into the restroom and showed them the toilet bowl of blood and told them if they were to ever find the toilet looking like this after using the restroom they were to get me right away. We live in a society right now that sees many of the things that happen behind the bathroom door as taboo.  Not in my home. We are open. That way we are able to address issues before they become large issues. My children knew exactly what was going on with Mommy and what was being done in the mean time to get Mommy better.  Any of my children ages 3-7 could have stepped in as doctor and taken care of me at this time. Knowledge is power, regardless of your age.