Opa has had some difficulties since his cystoscopy which was done a couple of months ago as part of his annual physical checkup. The results were good -- no signs of bladder cancer -- but he experienced some complications.
Since finishing the course of antibiotics, the incontinence has improved significantly, but there is still blood in the urine. Plus there are side-effects from the antibiotics: diarrhea, fatigue and poor appetite. Opa's not even interested in his all-time-favourite beverage, milk!
I called the clinic a couple of days ago, thinking that maybe the antibiotics didn't clear the urinary tract infection. I was told that no bacteria grew in the urine culture. This was surprising since the urinalysis revealed white blood cells which usually indicates a UTI. This was also troubling since now the most likely cause of Opa's symptoms is injury to the urethra or bladder from the cystoscopy.
Before returning to the urologist, who is likely to recommend some invasive treatment, we've decided to go the alternative medicine route.
A holistic health care professional recommended Urotonic Medicinal Tea to help soothe and heal the urinary tract and Ultimate Flora Critical Care to restore proper digestive function and boost the immune system. Opa's iron levels tend to be on the low end of normal since he rarely eats meat, and are probably even lower now that he's had this bleeding problem for so long, so we've also added Floradix.
We were told that improvement of urinary symptoms is generally experienced in about three days with the Urotonic Tea. It's Day 2 now, so we'll see how it goes. Keeping fingers crossed!
...and, it is more that three days after...
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