I treat UTI and cystitis patients every day. Here is a dilemma I have come across several times when talking to people who have a cystitis or bladder infection, also frequently called a urinary tract infection. Hopefully this will help other sufferers from repeated UTI to know that they are not alone, and that many others worry too
Is regular sex important in your life and in your relationships? (For most of us it is, even if we have difficulty in admitting it – even to ourselves). The problem is – even if sex is not particularly important to you, and you can honestly say that you would be just as happy if your relationship had no sex at all – would your partner say the same?
Tricky question isn’t it? A true partner will put up with a lot – weight gain, bad temper, depression, tiredness – especially if they know that you are ill and have no control over your situation. But a lack of sex for many that is a real test of relationship!
You have caught and need to treat UTI. You also have a devoted long-term partner. What will you do? Do you really know him or her that well? Will they really be sympathetic and supportive? After all, a UTI or bladder infection is not like putting on a few pounds, or being cranky, or having a broken arm. Those conditions might make things tricky in bed (especially that broken arm), but at least your partner can’t catch a broken arm or depression from you after a vigorous hour or so -unless they fell out of bed anyway!
But a urinary tract infection – that’s different! Despite the fact that a large proportion of the population has had to treat UTI at some time or another; despite the fact that Cystitis pain is rarely life-threatening; despite the fact that it is not defined as a sexually transmitted disease; – for many it is still an embarrassing illness. You don’t talk about bladder infections in mixed company.
And if you do decide to talk about it? Well, you’ll certainly separate your best friends from the rest. They’ll all feel sorry for you and console you, but only your really true friends will always be there to support you when you need them. And your sexual partner? Well that’s a whole different ball-game. Because unlike a bad temper, UTI’s and Cystitis CAN be transferred to a someone else during sex.
So do you tell them? A partner who really loves you will probably understand – at first anyway – and be willing (for their sake as well as yours), to abstain from relations until treatment can be effective. The trouble is, treating cystitis with antibiotics isn’t always immediate, or effective, or lasting, especially using doctor-prescribed antibiotics.
Antibiotics don’t permanently get rid of the UTI’s or cystitis bugs in the urinary tract that are causing the condition, and now that most doctors are prescribing ever shorter treatments with antibiotics in the interests of preventing them becoming less effective, repeated UTI’s and bladder infections are much more common than they were. Read the rest of this entry »