Question:
Is there anything about surgery that makes us more suseptible to bladder infection?

I'm 5 months out, and had never had a bladder infection before now. It hasn't been painful or anything, so I'm not miserable. Anyway, I got antibiotics from my PCP about 3 weeks ago, took the 10 days worth as directed, and went back today for a follow up urine test. Today, I was told to "push fluids" and come back in another 7 to 10 days for ANOTHER test. No additional prescription. OK... I suppose I should also confess that I'm not great on fluids--I suppose I get about 32-40 oz in a day on average, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but rarely 64 oz. <br>Could this be somehow surgery related, since everything has been rerouted? Why won't it go away? And now that I've had this one infection (surgery related or not), am I going to be more likely to get them again?    — Kelly B. (posted on January 2, 2003)

January 2, 2003
Hi Kelly, I swear I could have written this post! I am 5 months out as of just the other day and I too was just diagnosed with a bladder infection. I have also finished my antibiotics and still feel like I have an infection. Like you, I don't really have pain but it's not pleasant even without the pain. The only difference between us I think is that you have gone back to the doc. I have planned to but haven't actually made the appointment yet. I am also like you in the fluid intake department. But I am working on that though. I thought about cranberry juice but I know that has a lot of sugar in it, not to mention calories. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you but I would love to hear the responses also. Feel free to email me too. Sounds like we have a lot in common so far. Thanks
   — Laurel C.

January 2, 2003
I have had 5 bladder infections since surgery in May 2002, and my sister has had a few too (we had surgery the same day). I was prone to getting about 1 or 3 per year before surgery. I KNOW that lack of hydration played a big part in causing the infections after surgery (in my case) - your body may be different but trust me, hydration is important for all of us. I am not whacko about it, but I make sure I get at least 60 oz of water in at the bare minimum, and I usually hover somewhere in the 70 oz per day range. They popped up during the summer, when we all perspire a little more even if we aren't aware of it, so that made my dehydration a little worse. I would be "bad" about my water because I was "so busy" at work and around 4pm I would start to feel a couple of twinges - by 9pm I was hurtin' and the next few days until the meds kicked in - YOUCH! The Dr. said if you only have a little bit of urine in your bladder, then your body doesn't tell you to pee and the urine just sits there and the bacteria starts multiplying. He said if you drink enough so that you have to pee every 4 or 5 hours then you are flushing your bladder often enough to keep the bacteria at bay. As for the cranberry juice - I have heard that that was better for kidney infections, not bladder infections - but others have heard differently. I do know that anything acidic like orange juice or citrus - and alcohol - all make a bladder infection much worse.
   — Kim A.

January 2, 2003
Because we eat a lot of protein post-op our kidneys do a lot of the work in breaking it down and that could be the culprit. I have heard from other people it does go away, but I know myself what a pain in the bum it is. BEst Wishes.4 mos. post-op -107
   — Jennifer E.