What Causes Bladder Infection

Since I started spending regular weekends in bed with Ruf, I became a martyr to Interstitial Cystitis, a form of bladder infection that is different from the run of the mill urinary tract infections because it is not caused by bacteria and so will not respond to antibiotics.

This irritating condition would manifest itself at some point in the weekend when we had been particularly boisterous sexually. I would start to get pelvic discomfort. A sort of bloating and distending of my abdomen and the need to urinate every five minutes.

It was very distressing because it would often signal the termination of proceedings although, if I recognised the symptoms quickly enough, I could gulp down a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda in a pint of water, take a couple of painkillers and curl up on the sofa with a hot water bottle for the belly pain. After about two hours, I would be able to return to the fray… until the next bout.

I really needed to know the reasons behind what causes bladder infection so that I could work out exactly why I was being subjected to these irritating interruptions to my fun.

However, visits to the doctor confirmed that,although the lining of the bladder was inflamed and very sensitive, there was no actual urine infection detected. This is because doctors routinely only test for bacterial infections and the sample must be cultured differently to reveal a fungal infection, which is what I suspect causes my own problems.

Fungal and yeast infections are often side effects of an overgrowth of Candida Albicans in the body. This is why women suffering with interstitial cystitis also seem to have a myriad of other symptoms affecting various parts of the body – headaches and dizziness, heart palpitations and chest pain, backache, joint ache, abdominal cramps and nausea. Just like the cystitis, these are all just symptoms of an underlying infection.

My problem was definitely exacerbated by the intensely sexual nature of my visits to Ruf. His inquisitive fingers would transfer any Candida that was resident in my vagina to my bladder via his fascination with the little volcanic tumescence of the opening to my urethra.

The yeast organisms would make their way into my bladder, irritating the lining of the bladder and causing the ‘urge’ symptoms and uncomfortable bloating. Add into this the battering the whole area was taking from repeated penetrations from all angles and it all became just too much.

Short term, my treatment of a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda in a pint of water to relieve the effects of the acidity on the bladder wall would ease the desire to pee so often and allow me to continue my weekend. (You should check with your doctor to ensure that this course of action is suitable for you).

However, it was not until I addressed the whole issue of my diet that I started to get the symptoms under control. I had to accept that I had some level of Candida infection. I don’t believe it was systemic but it was definitely affecting my ability to function properly.

Being with Ruf and adhering to his vegan lifestyle regularly meant that I was exposed to an awful lot of yeast extract. So many vegan products add it as a flavouring. This, and my love of soft, white, fluffy bread, meant that my gut was being expected to deal with a lot of additional yeast. And I craved the stuff! I adored bread. I also started to eat a lot of chocolate and the Candida organisms love sweet food. Malt extract being their absolute favourite. So my diet of sugar, yeast and processed wheat products was, quite literally, feeding them and causing them to proliferate.

This meant that my gut could no longer contain them. As they take hold, these organisms grow a root-like structure which damages the wall of the intestines, allowing them to leech through into the bloodstream and make their way to other parts of the body to set up yeast infections.

It took me a long time to work all this out and to find the diet that would stop it from happen. I was extremely strict at first. I cut out all sugar – so no chocolate, sweets or biscuits or anything that contained sugar. You would be amazed at the number of ready-made foods that have sugar in – even plain tomato pasta sauce.

All processed wheat – I was allowed wholemeal pasta later in the diet. But to begin with, I had to have pasta made from corn or quinoa. No white rice, only brown.

All yeast-based products. Sometimes I wanted to cry because I lusted after a piece of toast or a sandwich or, my favourite breakfast, croissants. I couldn’t even eat most sodabreads because they were made with buttermilk and dairy was banned because it contained antibiotics. Another substance that causes the yeast to proliferate – hence the bouts of thrush that we ladies get so often after we have been on a course.

To begin with, I couldn’t eat fruit either because of the fructose it contains, but also because things like grapes grow a bloom (which is a type of mould) on the skin. No mushrooms or other fungus, so no Quorn. No vinegar, beer, wine, spirits or anything that has been brewed like soy sauce.

Meat consumption should be restricted only to organic because of the antibiotic involvement in most animal rearing.

At least most vegetables were allowed.

I was totally miserable.

I began to take a capsule to kill off the Candida before my meals and a probiotic afterwards to replace the good gut bacteria. In addition, the consumption of Milk Thistle Complex tablets containing Boldo has proved helpful.

A member of the sunflower family, Milk Thistle has been used as a liver tonic for centuries. The active ingredient in its seeds is Silymarin. This is an antioxidant and it removes any free radicals, which are toxic chemicals that cause cell damage.

Since an overgrowth of Candida can adversely affect the liver, Silymarin’s ability to strengthen the liver by stimulating the manufacture of new liver cells, and increasing the production of bile is invaluable.

The dried leaves of the South American herb, Peumus Boldo are used in the treatment of urinary tract disorders. (It should not be used if you are pregnant and you should never take the essential oil internally as it is highly toxic!)

You should always consult a registered homeopath before embarking on any course of treatment.

I would take my Milk Thistle Complex two or three times a day when I was visiting Ruf, just to be on the safe side.

Six months on from the start of my new diet, I have spent a whole week with Ruf. We have fucked twice or three times a day every day. As a precaution, I have drunk my bicarb and water mix and taken a couple of Milk Thistle pills but the symptoms have not materialised.

I am able to be a little less strict these days. I can have a pear or some blueberries as fruit. I can have the odd thing that contains a little bit of sugar – although I do try not to. I have discovered the sweetener, Agave nectar, and a type of chocolate that uses this which is quite orgasmic. I have also found some cereal bars that are raw pressed fruit and oats and do not contain sugar so I can have some treats.

I have learned that I do actually like my new diet. It helped that I found a type of soda bread that is made with wholemeal flour but uses bicarbonate of soda as a raising agent. This bread actually tastes like bread, rather than the black rye stuff that was the other alternative. I was in heaven when I found it.

But I don’t crave it in the same way. And my whole body shape is changing as a result of the foods that I am avoiding.

I think it’s been worth it.

For more information on how to stop recurrent urine and Candida infections.