Reflections on a UTI

It's gone. I think.

UTIs are weird! It took about two weeks for me to get over it. Cranberry juice kicked the pain. But I still felt that urgency, that pressure, for a whole extra week.

The STIGMA of the UTI has stuck with me even longer.

In "Eat Pray Love," Liz Gilbert gets a UTI in Indonesia. She jokes about it. Because she's banging the hell out of her new boyfriend at the time. She's like: I got a UTI. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.


Read up on UTIs. Most websites claim that sexual activity causes UTIs. But not just any kind of sexual activity. It's really dirty sexual activity.

During my week of the burning pee, I asked people why UTIs happen. My mother said, Promiscuity. My brother said, Dirty penises. My Boston-BFF texted me the same thing: Your boyfriend needs to wash his giblets!

Hmph. My boyfriend DOES was his giblets. He showers more than I do, actually.

Do we have a lot of sex?

Um... yeah.

BUT I'm not convinced that's what caused it.

In America, we have such a weird perspective on cleanliness.

My brother - who'd kill me for using him as a source - is studying to be a nurse. About bacteria, he says, "It's all over you. You have e coli on you right now. Problems happen when you get the right bacteria in the right place."

http://nodovisual.net

I started thinking about all of the places where I could've come in contact with bacteria.

Toilets
Bathrooms
Kitchens
Light switches
Keyboards
Cell phones
Door knobs
Money

Maybe I woke up to pee in the middle of the night. Maybe I sat down on a toilet seat kinda sloppily. Maybe my bottom hit an area that hadn't been cleaned properly. Maybe I flushed the toilet and a little dirty water splashed back up on me.

Those damn public toilets with their vigorous flushing!

I'm not the only one that's happened to, right?

The point is - there are many possibilities of how I got my UTI.

The truth is - I am not afraid of germs. I'm pro-germs. I don't carry sanitizer. I like the idea of building up my natural antibodies.

Also - I don't like to waste water. (As an old school writer, I waste enough paper as it is.) I shower once a day. If I'm not going out, and I haven't been to the gym, I don't shower at all. It's very feasible that I gave myself the UTI.

Why do people always assume UTIs are sex-related?

We live in a dirty world!

There's also the issue of HYDRATION.

www.soccer-fans-info.com

Step back in time with me for a sec. Let's look at the day BEFORE I got the UTI.

• It was my last day teaching this six-week long accelerated summer program in Philly.
  
• We spent the morning at school.
  
• We spent the afternoon at the Franklin Institute.
• We spent the evening at a symposium.
  
• The day was hot. The day started at 9 am. It ended at 6.
  
• Because we were busy, I drank only two 12-ounce bottles of water all day.
  
• That's NOTHING.

When we don't hydrate ourselves, we don't flush out our systems. Bacteria gets stuck. We get sick. That's how colds and flus happen. Maybe that's how UTIs happen too.

Regardless - by the end of week two - I was super paranoid to mention anything to anyone about my UTI. I don't like feeling that way. It's wrong to assume shit about people. I don't appreciate people assuming shit about me. I definitely don't like people assuming shit about my boyfriend.

We don't live in the dark ages anymore.


We understand how sickness happens.


Anyone can get a UTI -

Not just "ladies who walk the night!"

http://www.cinemoi.tv

That said - Thanks to all my homies who offered support and treatments! It made me feel so much better to know I wasn't alone! Thank you so much!

Always pee after sex - says Witchy, Carbzy, Sax, and Eimear.

Averie says try D-Mannose. It's like gallons of cranberry juice in one pill!

Jess ended up with a UTI one night, unable to get to a store. She took baking soda in hot water. It worked wonders!

On the subject of antibiotics, Heather pointed out that infections gotta stop somehow! Great point, Heather!

If you are allergic to antibiotics, like the lovely Sax, there are good home remedies. Her favorite is cranberry juice with apple cider vinegar, honey, water, and raw crushed garlic.

Ameena keeps her UTIs at bay by drinking Trader Joe's cranberry juice in water every morning. That's my favorite too, Ameena!

Suki - who's blog is so diverse and fun - pointed out that just because you get a UTI once, it doesn't mean you'll get them forever.

Drea and Witchy gave great comfort lists! They included: bubble baths, pool time, reading, massages, painting, BBC comedies, and cooking. I agree, Witchy - Nothing better than an afternoon with Stephen Fry or the IT Crowd!

Kelli said that she loves herself by being herself. She says: "No matter how weird or awkward I feel sometimes, I love my nerdy self!"

This last one is the best reminder. It's why we do what we do. Because we love and care about our bodies.

Janis Joplin said it best - "You are all you've got."

Toots

What social stigmas get on your nerves?

Anyone ever assume anything negative about you?
How did you deal?

How do you combat germs? Are you packin' sanitizer?
Or are you more "whatev" like me?

More News from Downstairs

I love to drink. Vino is my alky of choice. But that, my lovely friends, is not vino.

That's cranberry juice.

Last Friday, I woke up around 12.15 having to pee. When I went to the bathroom, it felt strange. It felt like period cramps, but in the front.

After I finished up, I hobbled back to bed. In no less than two minutes, I had to go to pee again. Badly.

I mean - an idiot might have not known what was wrong.

I had a UTI!!!

TMI Warning:
Stop reading now
if you don't want to read about my UTI!!!

First thing I did? Well I didn't go back to sleep. There's no sleeping on a hardcore UTI. It's too painful. It's too needy.

I crawled downstairs with my blanket and my computer to our family room. It was the only room in the house with a couch close to a bathroom. There I set up my research camp.

Here's what I found out about UTIs.

Symptoms of a UTI
Painful and frequent urination
Feeling of urination but no relief
Cloudy smelly urine
Sleepiness
Pain in the back or ribs
Fever, chills, dizziness
Nausea and vomiting

Wow! Many of these symptoms I'd had the entire day before. But I'd shrugged them off. It's so often that I don't feel well. Dizziness? That's my sinuses. Nausea? That's my stomach not liking what I ate. Constant peeing? Yeah, it's a family thing.

The pain was what woke me up. Literally and figuratively.

After some reading, I still couldn't sleep. It was around 2 am and I felt horrible. So I drove to Giant. I had two things on my mind.

Quality cranberry juice

Pamela's cookies

There was plenty of good cran at Giant. No double chocolate Pam's though. One out of two ain't bad. I also grabbed up some Uva Ursi tea - great for UTIs.


Back at home, I still couldn't sleep. So I continued my research on the UTI. How did I get this? Why did I get this? How could I get rid of it?

Treatments for a UTI
Quality cranberry juice (the stuff that costs $7 a bottle)
Uva Ursi
LOTS of water
LOTS of Vitamin C
Antibiotics

Let me tell you. After two glasses of cranberry juice and a mug of uva ursi, my UTI pain vanished. The next morning, I woke up feeling completely better.

Of course I went to the doctor anyway. The chance of getting a kidney infection was just too scary. Also, my momma was threatening to drive me herself.

Post docs, I got my antibiotics. Then I hit up Kimberton Whole Foods for some natural reinforcements.

Macro Greens has over 600% of the daily intake of vitamin C. I paired it with Vita Coco and added another 200%. Take that, nasty bacterias!



KWF started carrying bulk maca. So after months and months of pining after maca, I finally bought some!!! It was a present for me - an "I'm sorry you're sick, honey" present.

With it, I made...

...a cacao maca smoothie!

Cacao Maca Almond Smoothie
1 cup almond milk
2 T cacao
1 T maca
5-10 drops stevia

My yoga teacher was talking about self love the other night. She asked us to meditate on the different ways you can love yourself. For me, taking care of myself is the utmost form of self love. But treating myself is definitely a close second!

Third? I focus on the positives. Yes, I have gotten my first UTI. This means I'll probably get more. But now I have an excuse for buying really expensive cranberry juice, which is one of my most favorite things on the planet!

Toots

Ever have a UTI? How bad was it? What did you do to deal?

When you are sick, do you use home remedies or meds? Which do you think is better? At what point do you think the home remedies just aren't enough?

What expensive foodie thing would you love to buy, but don't because of the price?

What ways do you show yourself that you love yourself?

Hello, I Love You

The first time I ever heard the Doors, I was ten and driving out of New Hampshire.

My good friend Tash and I had been tubing at Lake Winnipesaukee for a week. As her parents pulled the car away from the lake, "Hello, I Love You," came on. We looked at each other and started cracking up.

At ten years old, it sounded like a pretty silly song.

ANYWAY!!!

I found myself saying "Hello, I love you" this past Monday morning. I was just walking down the non-dairy milk aisle of Whole Foods, minding my own. Out of nowhere, it jumped out at me.

365 ALMOND MILK!!!!

Let's review the ingredients, shall we?

Almonds
Water
Sea salt
Xanthan Gum
Tricalcium Phosphate
Potassium Citrate
Sunflower Lecithin
Vitamin A
Vitamin D2
Vitamin E

Notice anything missing?

There's NO CARRAGEENAN!!!

There's NO SOY LECITHIN!!!!

YAY!!!

And I forgot to mention - it tastes awesome.

I bought three boxes. Here they are in the back of my car.

When it comes to non-dairy milk, I prefer to make my own. This way, there's none of the "ates" and "ins" and "ols." You know, the stuff that we see on every processed food but don't really know what it is? I mean, it's convenient. But it's not ideal.

How to Make Non-Dairy Milk

Take 1/4 cup of nuts or seeds.

Process them in a processor.

When they are well processed, add 1 - 1 & 1/4 cup of water.

Let the processor whirl until everything is smooth and white.

Strain through a nut milk bag or...

a t-shirt!!!

Pour strained milk into a bottle.

Admire its glistening crisp clean glorious whiteness.

Place bottle in the fridge.

Smile.

Feel like it's the 1930s or something...

whenever milk was last delivered in bottles!!!!

Any kind of nut or seed makes good milk. Different milks go good with different things too. My personal fave is almond, because it's cheap and goes good with anything. Hazelnut and pecan are good to save for tea and coffee. Hemp works well for smoothies. When feeling really decadent, make some macadamia milk. It's very rich and luscious.

Now, not to discredit 365...

... But this is America, land of the overworked and lazy. We are busy little bastards. Not every day leaves a spare half hour to squeeze nut juice out of a t-shirt.

Yes, I know what I just said.

Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge.

The BEST thing about the new 365 milk is that it's closer to the REAL thing.

And to my carrageenan, naturally flavored, soy-filled Almond Breeze, I am saying...

SEE YA, SUCKERS!!!!





Toots

Are you a non-dairy milker? Why or why not?

If so - what's your favorite kind?

What are some good eats that you've grabbed up recently?