I'm new here-Dairy allergies/UTI's

[Pinkpurple4]

I have been having reoccurring UTI's. Never horrible, but just bad enough to make me symptomatic and have to be on an antibiotic. It is always Strep B in my urine. I recently had blood testing for food allergies. It showed I was allergic to dairy, casein and coffee. Could this food allergy be causing my UTI's? I completely cut out those three foods 6 days ago. How soon before I would feel a difference?

[Penel]

Hi PP4

UTIs are caused by bacteria, so I'm not sure that drinking milk or coffee would cause them, but perhaps they don't help if you are prone to getting UTIs.

Unfortunately antibiotics, although necessary, can wipe out both the good and bad bacteria. To help try to increase your good bacteria and swamp out the bad, perhaps have a look at increasing your prebiotic and probiotic foods and/or supplements. Michael Mosley has written a book called The Clever Guts Diet, which describes ways of boosting your good gut bacteria, lots of different vegeatables and fermented foods. Going sugar free may also help. There are other books out there too.

If you are going to try supplements, do some research to make sure they are good quality. Hope you find something that works for you.

[Tania17]

Interesting!! My daughter has had 4 uti's in the last 4 months! She has coeliac disease, deficient in vit D, folic acid & iron. Dr doesnt know whats causing the uti's & is referring her to urology. Maybe you're onto something here?? I know caffeine & dark fruit juices irritate the bladder so i guess its a process of elimination. I know antibiotics arent helping her gut & she has previously taken live probiotics which seemed to make a lot of difference. If you are considering this then make sure to buy probiotics that come in a cold pack-this keeps the bacteria alive. Anything other than this is basically throwing money away.

[Pinkpurple4 in reply to Tania17]

Well, I've been on the probiotics for about 2 wks. now. Haven't seen a huge difference. No uti, but still that bloated, full feeling. I'm actually going to try the elimination diet starting tomorrow. I've been off dairy, casein and coffee for about 3-4 weeks. Going to eliminate sugar, soy, gluten,eggs now. I had allergy testing and it only showed I was allergic to dairy, casein and coffee. But, maybe I'm sensitive to other stuff as well?

[Tania17]

Hi again, what kind of probiotics are you taking? My daughter tried a few & then found one that made the difference. She was on them for a few months & then decided to stop taking them as she fugured she felt so much better that it would be ok. Subsequently im ordering more tonight as shes gone down hill since stopping them! Hers cost around £40 a month, so not cheap but they do work. I'll look up my emails & let you know which ones they were. I know they were freezer packed & that she felt a difference literally in 3 days!

Generally speaking though shes pretty much sensitive to everything. Also has a severe nut allergy. She did go dairy free for a while which helped slightly with stomach acid but isn't completely dairy free now but limits amounts. Its all trial & error! Tedious & disheartening at times x

[Pinkpurple4]

PB8 Probiotics. I bought them from a healthfood store. They were about $30. I keep them in the fridge...I believe someone told me to do that. The urologist I just saw told me to take 3 a day. Yes, let me know what your daughter takes! Thx so much!

[Tania17]

Hi, the probiotics my daughter takes are called Garden of Life, Raw Probiotics, Ultimate. They are packaged cold & must be refrigerated straight away to keep the bacteria alive. They are the best we have found to date and she has only ever taken 1 a day! Anything that doesnt come cold packaged is not worth buying to be honest. Trust me we tried out a lot!! They are available in the US also. Have a search & see what you think. There are a whole lot of reviews for them. Hope this helps xx

[Pinkpurple4 in reply to Tania17]

I was just checking them out. I noticed they are not dairy free. I know for sure I am allergic to dairy. Hmmm....I also saw they had one for Urinary Health.

[Pinkpurple4]

Thank you so much! I truly appreciate it! I have heard of Garden of Life. I will be purchasing tomorrow!

[Tania17 in reply to Pinkpurple4]

No problem! Im guessing you can probably get something similar dairy free. Its all about the strains & the storage. Just make sure wherever you buy them that they are delivered quickly & with freezer pack. Sorry i know i keep saying it but its wasting your money if theyre not x

[Freekyfoody]

Hi I've just recently had 4 kidney infections in 4 months but the last one was so bad I thought I was dying..sounds dramatic but honestly thought there was something serious going on....so ended up at a and e on drip bloods and urine showed infectio inflammation and liver reading off have since had bloods retested which were still not right and have another retest next week so will be interesting to see if diet change has helped

[Pinkpurple4]

I have been off dairy for about 4 weeks. Just this past week I took myself off soy, gluten, egg, and sugar. I can't say that I've noticed a big difference, yet. I'm still going to stick with it, though.