D-Mannose or A Raw Alkaline Vegetarian Diet decreased my UTI / IC symptoms

I began taking D-Mannose along with my antibiotics for my undiagnosed UTI-like symptoms. At this point, nobody has any answer on what I have. I have been told that I either have bladder inflammation from a chronic 2.5 month UTI, or possible interstitial cystitis. But from researching on the internet, I learned about antibiotic-resistant UTIs and wondered if this was the case. My urine lab test results won't come in until next week.

I had been taking Macrobid 100mg antibiotics (twice a day) for 7 days from my GP with only 35% improvement in my symptoms. Then I was given 6 weeks of it by my urologist in low doses (1 a day) to see if it would help. It was still keeping my symptoms at 35%, neither getting better nor worse. I began searching the internet for answers and came across blogs that talked about D-Mannose and changing a diet for alleviating IC symptoms.

I completely changed my diet to all raw vegetables -  mostly alkaline ones. I will talk about this on another post. After 3 days of taking D-Mannose and on the day of completely changing my diet, I felt a huge improvement in my symptoms. I don't know if it was the D-Mannose, or the diet, but I'm suspecting it's more so the diet.... but I'm doing both because I am feeling much better. The raging burning in my urethra and stinging hot urine dissipated by nearly in half! The frequency of urination and dull bladder pain remains however, but I'm so much more relieved that a huge improvement happened. Because of this, my anxiety level has dropped way down. I still do get anxiety over this, but I'm hoping through trial and error, more tests, and experimentation with naturopathic ways will heal me to 100%. (2019 edit: Little would I know that my journey was just beginning, and severe bladder pain would come in later and render me immobile.)

What is D-Mannose and how does it work?
This article Benefits of D-Mannose explain how D-Mannose is a natural antibacterial. D-mannose specifically rids the body of E.coli (which causes up to 90% of all UTI infections). But it also helps with inflammation in IC as well. It is best to take D-Mannose in pure powder form, not in capsules. I buy the "NOW" D-Mannose Pure Powder brand because it got lots of great reviews and testimonials from chronic UTI sufferers. It comes in 85g and 170g.

The bottle says to take a teaspoon a day, but I am taking it every 2 to 3 hours from following this blog article's advise on how to take D-Mannose: 6 Worst D-MANNOSE Mistakes. D-Mannose Dose For UTI, How to Take D-Mannose. If you don't have E-Coli bacteria or if you don't have UTI, there is no harm in taking D-Mannose for Interstitial Cystitus or for UTI prevention. D-Mannose can help with IC and make the symptoms subside, read all about it here at: D-Mannose for IC.

You can get it on Amazon.ca or at any local health food store or vitamin supplements store. I buy mine from a local  health store in Vancouver BC. Just call around your local health stores first and ask if they carry this in "powder form". Why is D-Mannose best in powder form and which are the best? Read Stop UTI Forever's review at Shocking D-Mannose Review 2018.