You Don't Have to Live with Cystitus Rv

by Larrian Gillespie

Overview

Many women have been led to believe that a urinary tract infection signals the beginning of a chronic, painful problem that is fated to reoccur despite treatment. The good news is that You Don't Have to Live With Cystitis. Dr. Larrian Gillispie, a female uro-gynecologist widely recognized in the scientific and medical community and one of the few doctors with expertise in the area of pelvic pain, has shown that women can break out of the vicious cycle of cystitis. From the outset, You Don't Have to Live With Cystitis has helped millions of women. This updated edition reflects newly discovered causes and treatments:•Immediate steps to reduce suffering
•The surprising role of excercise and lower back problems
•Updated treatment and prevention options —
from diet to surgery
•How antibiotics may cause hormone problems
•Which method of contraception may cause problems
•The effects of stress on the uninary tract
•Newest treatments for interstitial cystitis
•Cystitis in children and during pregnancy and menopause
Plus

•A Complete Guide to Commonly Prescribed Medications
•Essential Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
•An Anti-Cystitis Diet

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780380787791
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/01/1996
Edition description:	REVISED
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	913,114
Product dimensions:	5.34(w) x 10.68(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Dr. Larrian Gillespie received her M.D. and urologic training from UCLA and has practiced medicine in Beverly Hills for more than sixteen years. She is a uro-gynecologist and one of only a few female urologists with expertise in the area of pelvic pain. Her work has generated more than forty scientific publications and contributions to three medical textbooks. She is the former medical director of the Pelvic Pain Treatment Center in Beverly Hills, California.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

Why You Have Cystitis

Any woman who has had cystitis cringes from the viewpoint held by many doctors that three or four bladder infections a year is no big deal. The pain of these episodic infections is excruciating. For hours and perhaps days, she can think of nothing else as her bladder controls her life. And while these common bacterial infections are not life-threatening, they are temporarily life-shattering. Cystitis won't kill you, but it does make life miserable.

Cystitis can occur at any time in males and females of any age. Children, grandmothers, husbands, and sisters can develop it, for various reasons. It is most common, however, in sexually active women. So to begin explaining how bladder infections develop in healthy people, we'll start with Tricia's story.

It was Monday morning. Tricia woke up and stretched, remembering the delightful evening before. It had started with a dinner date and wonderful conversation and ended with Tricia in the arms of her favorite man.

But now, as she sipped a first cup of coffee before work, she noticed something was not right. She had a strange need to urinate. There was a tingling sensation in her urethra and a feeling of pressure in her lower abdomen.

She had the feeling that she needed to go to the bathroom and needed to go now. First, while on the toilet, she removed her diaphragm. It had been in place about eight hours now, and she felt assured that it had worked correctly.

Moments later, Tricia's feeling of well-being was shattered. When she urinated, it hurt horribly.There was a searing, burning sensation as warm urine trickled out of her bladder. It felt as if someone were pouring acid on an open wound. She squeezed out everything she could and went back into the other room.

She thought, What am I going to do? At work, she had a report to finish before a 2:00 p.m. committee meeting and at least a dozen telephone calls to make. This felt like a bladder infection coming on. She knew from experience that it could knock her out of action for several days. She gulped down three glasses of water and went to work.

At the office, Tricia's symptoms grew worse. When she went to the bathroom, she noticed her urine was a smoky color. Later, there was a bit of blood on the tissue.

A colleague gave her cranberry juice and a vitamin C tablet. Another told her to wash her vagina with copious amounts of cool water. But Tricia developed a gnawing pain around her pubic bone and it seemed every time she urinated, the pain was more intense.

By 4:00 P.m., Tricia was in agony. She desperately wanted medical help. All the water, cranberry juice, and vitamin C had not helped. She couldn't stand the discomfort any longer. What went wrong? Why did this happen now?

Cystitis and Your Anatomy

Women who develop bladder infections constantly ask these questions. Why me? Why now? To understand what went wrong, you need to understand how your urinary tract is supposed to work and to know which parts of your body are affected by cystitis.

Amazingly, most women do not know where their urethra is located. Many of my patients are embarrassed to tell me they don't know this simple fact. Others think they know where the urethra is located but are way off track.

Look at the illustrations on page 16 of the female lower urinary tract.

You Don't Have To Live With Cystitis. Copyright © by Larrian Gillespie. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.