makepeaces

Hi All:

So I've read several of the existing threads and they've been an unfortunate comfort.

About 4 years ago I started having sex, soon after I got my first UTI and yeast infection. I ignored it for about 2 months because I didn't know what either was and I didn't have insurance. Finally, I had blood in my urine and the pain was unbearable; intense burning, urgency, bloated, so I went to a clinic. They treated me for a UTI and within a week I was fine. However, I think I had 5 UTIs in 3 months afterward. My boyfriend at the time was well-endowed and I'm pretty small, sex was sometimes painful and we were both each others' first so we didn't really know what we were doing. BTW, I don't have any STD's or other diseases.

I went to college and didn't have sex for 4 months and I was fine. No symptoms. I went back home, BAM, within 1 week of being home I get a UTI after being with my BF. Because I didn't have insurance I went to about 5 clinics and they all prescribed me a week of antibiotics. I finally went to a Urologist and she did an invasive exam and said there was nothing wrong with my kidneys or bladder. She thought that I stripped urethra lining during sex and it left my urethra vulnerable to infection. She gave me mild antibiotics, take one before and after sex. I tried not to take them because I didn't want the side-effects (dizziness, immunity to them, reliance..). Within 2 years I had 10 UTI's and one ER visit where my pee was literally just blood. I also went a couple times, complaining of the same symptoms and they couldn't find any bacteria.

It was easy to see that the burn, blood, urgency was a result of sex because they would completely disappear for 4 months when I went off to school. I do not think that's a coincidence.

After we broke up I was fine also. My new BF, not quite as large, fits better and I don't get them as instantaneously as with my last BF. However, because we have sex consistently, i take my preventative antibiotics and cranberry supplements, it still occurs and when it does, i feel helpless and angry. Just when I think I'm ok, it comes back. I have great personal hygiene, I wipe front to back, I pee before and after sex and I drink plenty of water. I'm not as avid about personal health as I should be but I'm fit and I eat decently.

I don't want to rely on antibiotics. The worst thing about this syndrome is that as soon as it subsides you forget about it but when it's there, it's the worst frckn thing in the world.

Is there a chance I can hurt my boyfriend? Is there anything I can do to actually fix this?

Anyway, I'm just looking for a few other people who have the same problem, hoping that maybe we can communicate and get through this together.