I have been getting uti's for 3 years now, they are the most painful and horrible things possible. And what makes it worse is that no one understands and there is a lack of research and no cure for this infection. I have tried litterally everything from cranberry juice, cranberry tablets, eating cranberrys, taking urinary tract support, ural, uracleanse, coloidal silver and every kind of antibiotic possible. But i still get them at least every two months. It is ruining my equality of life and is so painful! My specialest suggested i get a cystoscapy but i am not keen on this idea as they are meant to be very painful. Has anyone else ever had one? I do everything to avoid them but still they come, there is one thing that i have found to be helpful but no a cure is FULLY EMPTYING YOUR BLADDER! I want to get this message out because not many people know that you have to litterally squease every single drop of urine out, especially after sex, but in saying that i have still been getting bladder infections. Does anyone have and medications or hints that have worked for them? I am only 20 years old and can not deal with this for the rest of my life.

Hi faithv and welcome to NeuroTalk.

A cystoscopy is not meant to cure Urinary Tract Infection(UTIs) but is diagnostic, a cystoscopy lets the Urologist look at the urethra and bladder to see if there is something wrong that may be causing repeat UTIs.

A cystoscopy is not that painful, it may sting a bit and you may feel some pressure but that's about it.

If a cystoscopy is recommended then I would suggest you have it done to be sure there is not a medical reason for repeated UTIs. After the procedure be sure you drink plenty of water.

If necessary you can learn to deal with repeat UTIs. I started having chronic UTIs at the age of 4 and spent the majority of my childhood seeing Urologist and on antibiotics.

In regards to sex and UTIs:
Besides urinating after sex make sure your partner washes his/her hands before becoming intimate.

Drinking plenty of water can help decrease the frequency of UTIs although you can still get them. I drink anywhere between 80 & 100 oz of water a day.

If you need to urinate do not "hold" it. The more and longer you "hold" it the higher the possibility becomes for another UTI.

If on antibiotics remember to finish your prescription even if you think you are better. Your urine should be re-checked about 3 days after you finished your antibiotic.

Your Doctor should always to a culture of the urine which will tell him what type of bacteria you have as well as the best antibiotics to try. If a culture is not done it becomes a guessing game as to which antibiotic might work and can possibly prolong the UTI as different antibiotic are tried.