D-Mannose for UTI: It Came, It Saw, It Conquered
May 2019 update: I switched to Westcoast Mint D-Mannose sometime in the Fall of 2018. It's the brand that Ruth Kriz carries, and it's close to me proximity-wise in the States. (I'm in Canada). I switched to it because NOW d-mannose is sourced from China, whereas West Coast Mint D-Mannose is sourced from Ireland. It doesn't have mint flavors, in case you're wondering, it's D-mannose flavor only.
What is D Mannose? It is a naturally occurring sugar, an isomer of glucose; the body produces it from glucose naturally. Don't worry, it's not the kind of sugar that your pathogens like, and it's not the type of sugar that will hurt your bladder. It's a type of natural sugar that attracts e-coli from your bladder and the e-coli bind onto the D-Mannose sugars floating in your urine, then you pee the D-Mannose binded e-coli out!
But hmm, I thought, does this really work? I decided to try and see if D-Mannose is legit or not. I eliminated D-Mannose for 1 month to see if there would be any changes in my urine test results. Don't try this at home, ladies.
My D-Mannose Experiment
One of my urologists and GPs told me to stay on D-Mannose powder at ALL times. The rationale behind this is that D-Mannose gets rid of e-coli (proven in scientific research) and in case I have e-coli in my urine, it will get rid of it. In June, I did a MicroGen DX and Aperiomics test which showed I had no e-coli. The urologist told me to continue staying on D-Mannose anyway. So I tried an experiment. I stopped the D-Mannose for 1 month. When I did my next MicroGen DX test after the month of no D-Mannose at the end of July, guess what happened? Loads of Quinolone antibiotic resistant e-coli were found swimming in my bladder! They were not there in my June test, but lo and behold, they are here attacking my poor bladder at the end of July. So, this tells me a few things:
Theory 1: I had E-coli in my bladder and urine all along, but it was undetectable because it was either trace amounts left or all gotten rid due to the power of D-Mannose powder! All the other pathogens that were remained in my bladder was because D-Mannose couldn't get rid of them. D-Mannose only fights e-coli.
Theory 2: I had E-coli in biofilms deeply hidden and embedded in my bladder walls. When the environment is just right for them, they sometimes emerge out of their pods a little to test the environment. Then they tell their buddies to come out and these sucker multiply. Because D-Mannose was no longer in my system, the E-coli started throwing a party in my bladder!
My experiment showed that I either got newly infected with e-coli, or e-coli emerged out of dormancy because I quit my D-Mannose for a month to test if anything would change in my pathogens. I didn't tell my doctors until AFTER my experiment. I wanted to see if the urine test would show anything different and yep, it sure did. I was surprised, but I've learned my lesson to stay on my D-Mannose! I will be doing a re-test in September to see if I've successfully killed off the antibiotic resistant E-coli.
Verdict: Stay on your D-Mannose. Think of it as a team of security guards who hunt down e-coli. Even if you don't have an e-coli UTI. Because it can help you prevent getting e-coli (you don't want another UTI on top of what you're already suffering with, right?)
What kind of D-Mannose to go on?
Like I mentioned in my old posts, go on the PURE POWDER D-MANNOSE. Not capsules, not tablets, but PURE POWDER. Don't take the D-Mannose with cranberry if you have IC or if you are sensitive to acidic fruits, that could potentially flare your bladder and put you into more pain. Pure D-Mannose powder tastes like soft pancake powder in your water, so it's yummy as it goes down your throat. I love it when I take it.
How to take D-Mannose
There is a way to take D-Mannose correctly! I follow Stop UTI Forever's regime on how to take D-Mannose at 6 Worst D-Mannose Mistakes: Dosage for UTI and More. She also explains why pure powder form is the best D-Mannose to take.
Here are the following D-Mannose I recommend
I'm personally taking NOW D-Mannose because I live in Canada and the NOW brand is super accessible to me in my country. It's also pure, has no fillers or other ingredients that could trigger my bladder.
If you're in Europe or , I suggest Sweet Cures Waterfall D-Mannose Powder. They're based in the UK and the owner, Anna, personally had re-curring Urinary Tract Infections. In fact, one of the antibiotics really hurt her and she turned to D-Mannose and natural healing to heal herself. I have emailed back and forth with her several times and she has lots of info about battling UTIs. I recommend you reach out to her and talk to her about her products and see which ones may work for you! She has a lot of personal information and experience on fighting UTIs. I unfortunately could not get any of her products because I'm located all the way in Canada and it would be too expensive converting the currencies and getting it shipped to me. If I could get her stuff, I would in a heartbeat.
So the morale of today's story is: Stay on your D-Mannose, ladies! Even if you don't have e-coli, or if you are recovered, continue taking it to prevent the e-coli from coming. You can modify the amounts you take depending on your stage. If I ever fully recover, I'll continue with D-Mannose maybe every 2- 3 nights right when I head to sleep. But right now, in my sick IC/chronic UTI stages, I am taking this D-Mannose often. I'm taking 1 teaspoon (2000mg) to 3 teaspoons per day (6000 mg).
What is D Mannose? It is a naturally occurring sugar, an isomer of glucose; the body produces it from glucose naturally. Don't worry, it's not the kind of sugar that your pathogens like, and it's not the type of sugar that will hurt your bladder. It's a type of natural sugar that attracts e-coli from your bladder and the e-coli bind onto the D-Mannose sugars floating in your urine, then you pee the D-Mannose binded e-coli out!
But hmm, I thought, does this really work? I decided to try and see if D-Mannose is legit or not. I eliminated D-Mannose for 1 month to see if there would be any changes in my urine test results. Don't try this at home, ladies.
My D-Mannose Experiment
One of my urologists and GPs told me to stay on D-Mannose powder at ALL times. The rationale behind this is that D-Mannose gets rid of e-coli (proven in scientific research) and in case I have e-coli in my urine, it will get rid of it. In June, I did a MicroGen DX and Aperiomics test which showed I had no e-coli. The urologist told me to continue staying on D-Mannose anyway. So I tried an experiment. I stopped the D-Mannose for 1 month. When I did my next MicroGen DX test after the month of no D-Mannose at the end of July, guess what happened? Loads of Quinolone antibiotic resistant e-coli were found swimming in my bladder! They were not there in my June test, but lo and behold, they are here attacking my poor bladder at the end of July. So, this tells me a few things:
Theory 1: I had E-coli in my bladder and urine all along, but it was undetectable because it was either trace amounts left or all gotten rid due to the power of D-Mannose powder! All the other pathogens that were remained in my bladder was because D-Mannose couldn't get rid of them. D-Mannose only fights e-coli.
Theory 2: I had E-coli in biofilms deeply hidden and embedded in my bladder walls. When the environment is just right for them, they sometimes emerge out of their pods a little to test the environment. Then they tell their buddies to come out and these sucker multiply. Because D-Mannose was no longer in my system, the E-coli started throwing a party in my bladder!
My experiment showed that I either got newly infected with e-coli, or e-coli emerged out of dormancy because I quit my D-Mannose for a month to test if anything would change in my pathogens. I didn't tell my doctors until AFTER my experiment. I wanted to see if the urine test would show anything different and yep, it sure did. I was surprised, but I've learned my lesson to stay on my D-Mannose! I will be doing a re-test in September to see if I've successfully killed off the antibiotic resistant E-coli.
Verdict: Stay on your D-Mannose. Think of it as a team of security guards who hunt down e-coli. Even if you don't have an e-coli UTI. Because it can help you prevent getting e-coli (you don't want another UTI on top of what you're already suffering with, right?)
What kind of D-Mannose to go on?
Like I mentioned in my old posts, go on the PURE POWDER D-MANNOSE. Not capsules, not tablets, but PURE POWDER. Don't take the D-Mannose with cranberry if you have IC or if you are sensitive to acidic fruits, that could potentially flare your bladder and put you into more pain. Pure D-Mannose powder tastes like soft pancake powder in your water, so it's yummy as it goes down your throat. I love it when I take it.
How to take D-Mannose
There is a way to take D-Mannose correctly! I follow Stop UTI Forever's regime on how to take D-Mannose at 6 Worst D-Mannose Mistakes: Dosage for UTI and More. She also explains why pure powder form is the best D-Mannose to take.
Here are the following D-Mannose I recommend
I'm personally taking NOW D-Mannose because I live in Canada and the NOW brand is super accessible to me in my country. It's also pure, has no fillers or other ingredients that could trigger my bladder.
If you're in Europe or , I suggest Sweet Cures Waterfall D-Mannose Powder. They're based in the UK and the owner, Anna, personally had re-curring Urinary Tract Infections. In fact, one of the antibiotics really hurt her and she turned to D-Mannose and natural healing to heal herself. I have emailed back and forth with her several times and she has lots of info about battling UTIs. I recommend you reach out to her and talk to her about her products and see which ones may work for you! She has a lot of personal information and experience on fighting UTIs. I unfortunately could not get any of her products because I'm located all the way in Canada and it would be too expensive converting the currencies and getting it shipped to me. If I could get her stuff, I would in a heartbeat.
So the morale of today's story is: Stay on your D-Mannose, ladies! Even if you don't have e-coli, or if you are recovered, continue taking it to prevent the e-coli from coming. You can modify the amounts you take depending on your stage. If I ever fully recover, I'll continue with D-Mannose maybe every 2- 3 nights right when I head to sleep. But right now, in my sick IC/chronic UTI stages, I am taking this D-Mannose often. I'm taking 1 teaspoon (2000mg) to 3 teaspoons per day (6000 mg).