r/CUTI

I have a history of post-sex UTIs. It destroyed my sex life when I was in college and made me stop even trying. I went well over a decade with virtually none out of fear. Now I've found someone I'm very into and want that connection. Unfortunately, that's lead to three culture positive UTIs in less than a month.

I've done all the things I've been advised to do - d mannose, cranberry supplements, peeing after sex, very thorough hygeiene, probiotics, lots of water. Nothing works. I get a UTI every time we try. The fear and pain have caused me to develop a hypertonic pelvic floor, which only makes things worse, and the antibiotics result in a yeast infection most of the time.

I want to pursue post-coital antibiotics as a possible solution, but I don't know where to start. All of my medical records from college are missing. I don't have an established gynocologist or urologist. All I have are the three positive cultures, and I'm worried that's not enough to convince anyone to give me the antibiotics. I don't think my family doctor will be willing to prescribe them. I'm afraid of getting more UTIs just to create a history.

If you have post-coital antibiotics, what kind of doctor did you get them from, and what kind of history did you need before you were given them? Did you bring any supporting evidence like studies? Anything helps, thank you!

I’m currently 24 weeks pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy due to IVF, and I’ve had positive urine cultures for Enterococcus faecalis at my last three OB appointments.
My only symptom has been increased urinary frequency, which I know can also be normal during pregnancy. I’ve never had a UTI in my life, so this is all new to me.

Here’s what’s happened so far:
First positive culture: My OB prescribed a 7-day course of Macrobid, but my subsequent culture was still positive.
Second positive culture: I was treated with amoxicillin, but the next culture was still positive.
Third positive culture: My urine culture is positive again, and I’m getting increasingly worried.

What concerns me most is that the bacteria was initially reported as sensitive to all the antibiotics tested, but the most recent culture shows a more limited susceptibility profile, with sensitivity only to amoxicillin and fosfomycin.
I’ve been trying to maintain good hygiene and keep everything clean, but I’m confused about why this keeps happening despite treatment. I’m also worried about the potential risks to my pregnancy if the infection doesn’t clear.
Since it’s Sunday, I won’t be able to speak with my OB until tomorrow.

Has anyone experienced recurrent E. faecalis bacteriuria or UTIs during pregnancy, especially when cultures remain positive after multiple courses of antibiotics?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, what ultimately helped clear the infection, and whether you needed to see a urologist or infectious disease specialist.
Thank you!

Went to the ER for severe uti (drenched in sweat with fever) doc treated as kidney infection. I am on day 4 of cipro but I have been doing a lot of research. I was treated for BV last month and then my uti progressed that I do not know how long I had it for. I got a culture back a couple days ago and saw I had group b strep bacteria from uti. I am curious about treating my partner for anything, and if we had sex again would I just get BV again, and then another uti from my own vaginal discharge ? I’m so confused and nervous about this because I have never been in such pain my whole life and where I came close to being sepsis and so Ill. I also have struggled with hormonal birth control my whole life and have had an iud in for 2 years now and also read that strings can contribute to bacteria growth. What do I do from here, I know I will need more antibiotics because I still don’t feel great and know it won’t be over within the next couple days. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you 🙏🏼

Hi all! I don’t know if this is the correct space to ask this question so apologies if it is not. I was diagnosed with IC five months ago but have been dealing with excruciating pain and some actual UTIs as well during this time period. This weekend the pain has been exceptionally bad and this was what my urine culture said:

7,000 cfu/ml Gram Negative Rods No further Organism ID, Bacteria Value Gram Negative Rods

This was at an urgent care and they told me this doesn’t indicate an infection. This frustrated me because I am peeing blood and in a ton of pain, does anyone know if low bacteria counts like this should still get antibiotics?

I AM SO EFFING DONE WITH THESE RECURRENT UTIs! ALL DOCTORS SEEM TO DO IS PRESCRIBE ANTIBIOTICS, AS IF THAT’S SOME MAGICAL SOLUTION. I’M HIGHLY RESISTANT TO POWERFUL ANTIBIOTICS, HIPREX DOESN’T GUARANTEE 100% PREVENTION, AND BIOFILM DISRUPTERS DON’T FUCKING SOLVE THE PROBLEM EITHER. HOW HARD IS IT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTING THIS IS? AND GOOGLE KEEPS SPITTING OUT THE SAME USELESS TEXTBOOK ANSWERS: “TAKE THE RIGHT ANTIBIOTICS,” “DRINK MORE WATER,” “MAINTAIN HYGIENE.” GODDAMMIT, I’VE TRIED SO MANY THINGS, AND I’M STILL STUCK IN THIS NEVER-ENDING CYCLE!

THE WORST PART IS THAT MY BLADDER HAS BECOME SO SENSITIVE FROM ALL THESE INFECTIONS THAT EVEN ON NON-UTI DAYS, I EXPERIENCE BLADDER SPASMS AFTER URINATING. NOW I CAN’T EVEN ENJOY THE DAYS WHEN I’M HEALTHY WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT THE NEXT INFECTION. THE ANXIETY, THE FEAR, THE CONSTANT UNCERTAINTY. IT’S EFFING DRAINING.

WHY IS THERE NO RELIABLE, LONG-TERM PREVENTION? WHY ARE WE EXPECTED TO KEEP SUFFERING THROUGH THIS CYCLE WITH NO REAL SOLUTION? I DON’T WANT ANOTHER GENERIC ANSWER OR ANOTHER ROUND OF ANTIBIOTICS WITHOUT A PROPER PLAN. I JUST WANT MY BODY BACK, MY PEACE OF MIND BACK, AND A CHANCE TO LIVE WITHOUT CONSTANTLY FEARING THE NEXT EFFING UTI.

I have almost had a UTI every single month since November of 2024. These are all real infections too. I never took an antibiotic for a UTI without a susceptibility report- My bladder was so inflammed from all the antibiotics I would reinfect instantly. Then I stumbled upon a reddit post talking about histamines within the bladder causing burning and urgency. I was so fed up with the constant infections.. my poor gut has suffered too. I finished my last antibiotic on July 3rd, 2026. I began taking a zyrtec every morning when I wake up along with my Uqora supplements and a hibiscus cranberry supplement... my burning and urgency has subsided. I feel like I have my life back. Zyrtec every morning has actually changed my life. I have seen 3 urologists in the past 3 months and they all insist on a cystoscopy.. I am not doing it. They have insisted on ANOTHER antibiotic to be taken before the procedure to prevent a possible infection.

I am visiting these doctors to avoid ever having to take another antibiotic again after taking nearly 25 rounds of antibiotics in two years and they have the NERVE to try and prescribe another one. I understand that they think they need to "find out" why I've been having so many infections but I know the reason- when all of this started i trusted a urogyno who kept prescribing metronidazole for BV. She prescribed 4 rounds of this- it never worked. It only flared up my poor bladder to OBLIVION . This was extremely irresponsible of her. And sadly for me... sent me on a path of infection after infection FOR TWO STRAIGHT YEARS.

I know people wave the white flag for cystoscopies. I understand that there can be scar tissue or a tight bladder neck- whatever. I am not risking another infection and blasting my body with more antibiotics because a urologist wants to stroke his ego- I asked for hydroxyzine or something of this nature to help with the inflammation and burning. One urologist prescribed hiprex (which i did not take because I read on here that it possibly makes IC flare) and wanted to do a cystoscopy. The other two would do nothing to help me until I did their cystoscopy. I saw one urologist after i had started taking the zyrtec. He was so curious as to how i figured out that this drug would help me. I told him I learned it on reddit. He then insisted on a cystoscopy AND a CMG and prescribed two antibiotics and sent me to his scheduling room . I was asking him for hydroxyzine because the zyrtec sometimes makes me retain urine and i was looking for another suitable med. I left feeling utterly broken and shocked that he could look at 3 pages of scripts on a pharmacy letterhead and prescribe even more antibiotics. This list of antibiotics i brought to him was not just a list of scripts they filled. It was a list of infections that wreaked havoc on my life and my body for weeks at a time- I felt violated and pushed into a corner. I feel there is no reason for an invasive procedure like this to feel better. And behold- I figured it out myself.

(I also avoid MSG, citric acid, artificial dyes, chocolate, and too much sugar) (I also try and limit milk and cheese as these seem to lead to increased inflammation)

So far, I am symptom free. When I was on my journey a post like this would have given me hope. I hope this helps.

Yo i might sound crazy but should we create the UTI Ender Cocktail? 😂😭

At this point, hear me out 😂

What if we as a community used AI + all the research + thousands of real patient experiences to figure out what actually causes this damn cycle and create a “UTI Ender Cocktail”?

Not another random supplement with 15 ingredients. 😭

Something specifically designed to END the recurrence cycle target whatever bacteria survive treatment, deal with persistence/biofilm/intracellular bacteria if those are actually driving recurrence, and help restore the bladder environment afterward.

Because I'm seriously tired of the cycle:

UTI → antibiotics → gut destroyed → anxiety → “is that a UTI?” → culture → another UTI → repeat. 😭

And honestly, the constant fear is almost as bad as the infection itself. Antibiotic resistance, gut imbalance, worrying about kidney damage in the future... it's exhausting.

Obviously, I'm not saying AI can magically invent medicine 😂 But there are SO many people here experiencing the same problem.

What if we started asking the RIGHT scientific questions instead of just accepting that recurrent UTIs are something we have to live with?

And if we actually figure it out...

UTI Ender Cocktail™ 😂💀

We'd have a massive market ngl AND we'd finally be helping a community that desperately needs something better.

Who's in? 😂

If you could put ONE thing in this hypothetical cocktail, what would you want it to target?