I am sure it has been discussed before but I can’t find any discussions about constantly recurring
STI's. Is this another side effect of Prednisone ? Have any of you found a solution other than taking constant courses of antibiotics? I would love to hear your experiences.
I know some people keep getting STIs, I must admit I have never had any problems. I am not sure we should be blaming Pred, although we do tend to blame Pred for an awful lot of things!
Thank you. Glad you have not had this problem. I think one of the theories is pred thinning the skin.
I have definitely had skin thinning. I do find that any problems we have when we have PMR and take pred, we tend to blame the pred for everything. Quite often it is guilty but not all the time!
Pred can cause cystitis symptoms by being an irritant and this reduces with dose. For this reason I had to always keep my urine dilute by drinking adequate fluids. Also, depending on dose Pred and make you more susceptible to infection. Others have found urinary irritation from calcium supplements often prescribed alongside steroids.
There’s also chronic UTI which is a beast of its own. See this
cutic.co.uk/what-is-chronic...
Many of us find use of the supplement D Mannose is a godsend, me included.
Specific to your problems, have you been taking lots of antibiotics, or is it that you want to avoid it? Have you had proven urinary infections with the organism identified by a culture in the lab?
Thank you for this. I have been needing to take Nitrofurantoin for infection. The original infection was identified by a culture. The usual e.coli I think. Since then I have been given antibiotics to have to take at the onset without needing the urine to be tested. I have also taken D-Mannose but probably not regularly enough. I also think as I posted to piglette the pred thinning the skin everywhere which doesn’t help. I will read with interest the link you have sent me. Thank you
How many courses have you had? What symptoms do you get that give the green light to start the antibiotics? Has there been any thought as to whether it is treatment failure or re-infection? I’m assuming you have female anatomy by the way. What dose of Pred are you on?
4 courses last year and one now which I don’t think has cleared it. I wonder if it is an infection or just a very irritated bladder etc. I get discomfort low down by pubic bone, urgency and frequency to pee and if left stinging. I have female anatomy! Just down to 3.5mg pred but was started on 80mg for a while in August 2023
What you describe here applies to me too although I don't always get burning or stinging. GP after a sample prescribes nitrofurantoin. I am on 10 mg pred after a Christmas flare. I also take D Mannose, vagifem for dryness, clotrimazole handy for fungal consequences of abx, and use castor oil externally against dryness. I'm 75, diagnosed with PMR in 2020, and have slippage in lower vertebrae which when triggered confuses the issue as it's difficult to attribute the pain accurately. I will be interested to read the above article.
Identical Sx leading to loads of urinary investigations! Not one doctor explained it could be the pred causing it! I’ve had to work it out myself and now down to 8mg it’s improving at last ! 3 months of constant discomfort!
The link you sent me cutic.co.uk/what-is-chronic is incredibly informative. I think I need to be looking at it a very different way with the help of an urologist.
Well, depending on how many courses you’ve actually had, you shouldn’t be given repeats without question unless it is known exactly what is at play. Your symptoms are also key each time. For example, Pred can make people more prone to fungal infections and sometimes a burning on urination is not a UTI but an inflamed urethral opening.
I must make an appointment with an urologist and ask all these questions of him. I am going away for a month shortly and need to know a bit more of what is going on
I saw an urologist and had a cystoscopy. All clear. She gave me a very mild antibiotic for 3 months which did the trick.
Thank you that is helpful
My urinalysis was negative, therefore no antibiotics were prescribed. but i STILL was having pressure and burning. I have had success in drinking a glass of water with I teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in it. Apparently my PH was out of whack and that helped. Instant relief!
Absolutely nothing to add to SnazzyD's brilliant exposition - except to say, don't take no for an answer from a doctor. The real experts say that management of vaginal dryness is also crucial.
contemporaryobgyn.net/view/...
Did you notice the typo in your post title - Prince not price!!!! Which confused the anatomy question ...
Thank you for this link, really helpful. Now I see what obviously caused confusion over anatomy! These typos!
Hi there - I posted this a while back. Still on vaginal pessaries, still not had any more UTIs. Good Luck.
I went through a series of painful UTIs last year, then my lovely GP put me on a vaginal oestrogen pessary. Marvellous - not had one since.
I later saw this article in the Guardian - see theguardian.com/society/202... I cannot tell you the rage I felt when I read the following sentence in the article: A recent NHS England press release on UTI prevention advised women to stay hydrated and wash themselves more, but failed to mention vaginal oestrogen at all, despite aiming warnings at “older adults” and their carers.
Sorry - I see the link to the Guardian article has got lost in the copying across - it's theguardian.com/society/202...
When you C&P from another thread the links don’t work for some reason… so you need to check and re-insert .. if they have worked the text turn blue -,as your has now.
Thank you so much, this is an amazing article with so much helpful information and such different and better solutions than just antibiotics
Awesome article. Thank you for sharing.
I will take this article I have printed out and take to the Urologist, I don’t expect him to read it all but I will mark the very relevant paragraphs . Thank you again
I had recurring UTI’s and this is a post from me from a year ago. I have now been using Estriol cream twice weekly and being careful to fully empty my bladder. I also use D-mannose, and so far no further UTI’s.
“Referred to Urology after many recurring UTI’s. Appointment included many tests including a flexible cystoscopy, which was very uncomfortable as doctor had difficulty locating urethra due to grade 2 cystocele and uterine prolapse. The urine flow test showed that I was not fully emptying my bladder, but after 3 attempts managed 98%, and now I’m making great efforts to make sure bladder is empty, which doctor tells me will improve matters. The diagnosis was that UTI’s are likely secondary to atrophic vaginitis. Have been prescribed Estriol Cream to apply daily for 2-3 weeks, then reduce to twice weekly”
Thank you, a complementary Dr suggested Estriol cream so I will now look into it.
I have also had this problem. Repeated infections. Getting older, thinning tissue, vaginal atrophy. Vaginal oestrogen fixed it for me.
Thank you, I think this will be the answer
I had UTI's when I first started on pred in 2020 and antibiotics helped. On my GPs advise I started drinking cranberry juice and pomegranate juice and haven't had it since.
I am trying D-Mannose which has cranberry juice in it, thank you
Did the last UTI test positive on culture? Or has GP just been giving antibiotics. D-Mannose one option or cranberry tablets.
I get interstitial cystitis - which is inflammation of the bladder that seems like an infection but doesn't respond to antibiotics. Lots and lots ofcwater to flush.
Thank you, I think it’s inflammation of the bladder, but they only seem to see it as an infection, I will question them much more
A friend ,who is not on preds used to get UTI’s frequently. It was recommended by a specialist she saw to use a very low dose of HRT cream by pessary twice a week. She hasn’t had an infection since. Apparently it was all to do,in her case, with severe vaginal dryness due to the skin thinning with age. She’s mid 70’s
Out of breath.
Reduction of Prednisolone Dosage
Oil of oregano 
Freaking out, sort of 
