November 23, 2025 • 23 mins
If you’ve ever had a bladder infection that feels like you’re peeing fire, this one’s for you. And if you haven’t? Buckle up — because today we’re diving into one of life’s messy, painful, hush-hush moments that almost every woman deals with, but hardly anyone talks about.
In this episode, I share the real, raw, and honestly hilarious play-by-play of the UTI from hell — the pain, the blood, the ER visits, the meds, and the moment I realized the real culprit might be my gut. We break down why UTIs happen, why they come back, why they can take you out at the knees, and what actually helps you get through one without losing your sanity.
You’ll hear:
- What a severe UTI really feels like (no sugarcoating here)
- How gut health, stress, antibiotics, and hormones all play a role
- Why recurring infections happen even when you’re doing “everything right”
- The pain meds that feel like the fire department arriving
- The tips your girlfriends should be sharing but never do
- The habits that help stop the cycle from repeating
- The probiotic + nutrition link no one warns you about
This episode is equal parts education, comedy, and “OMG, SAME.”
If you’ve ever been doubled over in a bathroom whispering “why me,” you’re not alone — and you don’t have to power through these torturous moments in silence.
Grab your $12 sour cranberry juice, hydrate like it’s a job, and let’s talk about the stuff women deal with every day but rarely say out loud.
Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this one with your girlfriends — trust me, they need it.
Thank you for tuning in! I truly appreciate every one of you, whether you’re here for the first time or have been with me from the start.
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Subscribe & Catch full episodes of In Shock Podcast on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@inshock.podcast 📺
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:39):
Hey friends, welcome to theshow.
This is a place where I talkabout life's messy moments and
how we find our way through themno matter how big or small.
And today we are gonna dive intothose messy moments.
And this is gonna be aboutsomething most people don't talk
(01:02):
about, but probably should.
Ladies, have you ever had a UTIor bladder infection?
So bad that it feels like yourbladder is on fire and someone's
stabbing you with tiny glassshards.
I know it's not funny, butthat's what it feels like.
(01:23):
Have you ever been there whereyou're like doubled over?
Because guess what?
That's where I have been for waytoo many weeks.
Yeah.
Not just days, weeks, I'm peeingfire, praying to the urinary
gods and wondering, is this evergonna go away?
But more so how the F, did I getan infection this bad?
(01:48):
You know, I talk a lot aboutlife's curve balls, but
sometimes they're microscopic.
They don't have to be these big,crazy earth shattering things
that happen on our lives.
We're gonna talk about UTIs,because no one really talks
about them, and half of us,probably even more than half of
(02:09):
us, are gonna get at least oneat some point in time.
Today we're just gonna breakthis shit down.
I'm gonna poke fun at it.
Hope that you enjoy laughingalong with me, and if you happen
to have one right now, grab yoursour cranberry juice and start
chugging away.
(02:29):
Because I have been in this for.
Two and a half weeks.
I was coming back from New Yorka couple weeks ago.
I stopped in Boston and wasplanning to stay there for a
couple of nights.
The next morning I woke up withthat strong urge.
You know the one that feels likea storm is brewing.
(02:52):
I noticed that my pee was kindof cloudy and I thought in my
head, this is the start of aUTI, and you're probably
thinking, how the fuck does sheknow that already?
Because I'm very prone to them.
Especially after having somebounce sex.
I basically have a lifetimemembership to macro bid.
(03:15):
And if you don't know what thatis, it is a drug that is
specifically designed to helpwith UTIs or to prevent UTIs.
So anytime I'm gonna have sex, Ieither take one of these before.
Or after to prevent one of theseM fers from causing me a great
(03:40):
deal of pain.
But this one you guys, it feltso different.
So I'm in Boston, which is about90 minutes away from where I
live, and I'm thinking, you'renot gonna make it another night
here.
The pressure in my belly gotworse by the minute, and I just
(04:01):
started to feel crappy all overand I thought, sister, you
better get your ass home.
So I hopped in the car.
And I knew the shit was about tohit the fan because when one of
these things hits me, at least,it's pretty fast.
It doesn't mess around.
I felt pressure and cramping inmy lower belly and pelvic area.
(04:27):
My thighs were throbbing theentire ride home.
Then the nausea kicked in.
I got home, I popped one of myMacrobid pills, and I'm
thinking, yes, I made it home.
I probably caught this thing intime and I'm gonna be good.
(04:48):
Then I went to the bathroom andit was straight.
Blood.
I'm not talking pink or just alittle bit red.
It looked like a murder hadhappened in the toilet.
No joke.
And my kidneys just started toscream after that.
So I'm like, this is someserious shit.
(05:11):
I called my doctor's office andthey said, go to the er.
We don't know if this is a UTIor a kidney or bladder
infection.
We can't do anything, so go seethem.
So I did, and I left them anifty little sample of evidence
that had probably 10 pea-sizedclots to go along with it.
(05:36):
They tested it.
The doctor came in and he'slike, yeah.
Your immune system is shot.
I'm like, yeah, no kidding.
I feel like I've been hit by atruck I'm in pain.
I'm sitting there and I'm justthinking.
I wanna go home.
I wanna crawl on a ball, and Iknow it's gonna be days before
the glass shards and the fire goout, but they gave me a pain
(05:59):
med.
I didn't even know it existed.
It's like, wow.
Modern medicine has come a longway for UTI and bladder
infections.
It was like the fire departmentshowed up and completely melted
those glass shards and put thefire out because it didn't hurt
(06:20):
when I peed.
You almost think I don't have aninfection anymore.
It's that good.
And it's not like taking a painmed that makes you feel drowsy.
This literally goes straight tothe fire and puts it out.
But I still had to take two fulldays off work and just be in bed
(06:41):
because.
That's how bad it was.
They had given me a five dayantibiotic treatment.
They put me on Keflex, and thatwas different from Macrobid,
which is what I normally take,like I said before or after sex.
And I'm thinking this kind offeels like.
A short treatment plan for aninfection that's so extreme.
(07:05):
Less than two days afterfinishing my medication, I wake
up at 1:00 AM I'm back inanother hotel room, so total of
five days on the meds.
We will call it a total of sevendays out.
I'm traveling again in a hotelroom, and that fucking familiar
(07:26):
ache between my thighs wakes meup and I'm thinking, oh my God,
the house is officially back onfire and someone sprinkling
those glass shards all over theplace.
I'm peeing and I'm in so muchpain and I don't have any of
that stuff with me.
I'm done with Keflex.
(07:46):
I'm certainly not gonna betraveling with that pain med
because I'm thinking I'm done.
So by then all I could thinkabout was getting back home.
Back to the only thing thatcould put out the fire.
Those magic pain meds.
I had a bunch left over'cause Ionly needed'em for like two days
(08:08):
and I wasn't even taking a fulldose.
I took half a dose and it reallyworked.
It wiped out the pain.
So girls, I needed that.
Like I needed oxygen.
I was like, I gotta get outtahere.
So jump back in the car.
It's about three o'clock in themorning now.
Been up since one o'clock.
(08:30):
If you've ever had one of these,you know what I'm talking about.
It is serious shit.
You are like, call 9 1 1.
I'm in that much pain.
What's found in a urinary tractinfection brace yourself is e
coli, super disgusting.
That e coli can go rogue and ittravels from your digestive
(08:54):
track sneaks into urethra andboom, it's in your bladder
setting up camp where itabsolutely does not belong, and
then it's multiplying, like it'screating some kind of house
party.
Your immune system shows uplike.
(09:15):
Who the hell are these peoplehaving a party in my house and
it's trying to fight back?
But that's when you feel thatburn.
It's literally inflammation.
Your bladder lining and yoururethra are so swollen and
irritated, and the nerves arefiring off like fireworks every
(09:41):
time you pee.
Ooh, it is brutal.
It's just complete fucking fireand glass shards coming out.
No joke.
So why are we women the luckyones, and so prone to getting
these things?
A lot of it has to do with ourgeography are urethra is shorter
(10:04):
and closer to the rear exit.
My friends call it the BungHolyo.
Bacteria have a much shortercommute from your BHO to your
urethra.
If you add in the fact thateverything's close together down
there, and those little jerks,that bacteria can wreak havoc on
(10:27):
your system, it's brutal.
And for those of you who havenever had one, and I know you're
out there.
It's hard for me to believe,especially being so prone to it,
but I've had girlfriends tell merecently, like, girl, I have no
idea what you're going through.
Well, let me help you understandwhat the pain is like if you've
(10:48):
never had one of these M, it'slike cutting a lemon open.
Not knowing that you have apaper cut and the lemon juice
seeping into that paper cut,you're like, holy shit, what the
fuck?
It's like that every single timeyou pee, and I'd argue it's 10
(11:08):
times as worse.
And these things don't stop atyour bladder.
Oh no.
If it's severe like mine, it canspread the misery.
I'm talking lower back painflank pain, it could be your
kidneys, which is really bad.
I had that in the beginningbefore my first round of drugs.
(11:29):
It could be low back pain, whichis what I've had for.
Over two weeks.
It's kind of that coic area.
It's not super comfortable tosit, but it's that flat area
that leads down to the coic.
It's a deep ache that feels likeyou've been hauling sandbags all
(11:49):
weekend, and God knows we'dnever do that.
That's the infection creeping uptowards your kidneys and you've
got to get in to see the doctorwhen you're feeling that.
When your kidneys are unhappy,they let your whole body know
leg pain comes.
I had that, the thighs, thecalves.
It's literally like an ache anda burning pain in your legs.
(12:14):
So not only.
Does it burn when you pee, butyou're starting to feel it in
your legs and you're like, whydo I feel like I just ran a
marathon and I haven't?
It's your immune system.
It's releasing inflammatorychemicals, making your muscles
ache while your body is tryingto fight this infection off, and
(12:36):
then you have fatigue.
The exhaustion just knocks youflat.
You're on the couch with theheating pad or maybe a water
bottle, you're tired and that'sbecause your immune system's
working overtime and it'storture.
Especially if you don't havethat magic pain med that's
(12:58):
knocking out the fire.
It truly is like being in atorture chamber.
So this time at Urgent Care, thenurse looks at me and she's
like, oh honey, you have got anasty one.
I'm like, yeah, no kidding.
So yeah, when people say it'sjust a UTI, they've clearly
(13:20):
never had that kind that.
Takes you out because therereally is a difference between
A-U-T-I-A bladder and a kidneyinfection.
The bladder may not be thevillain in this situation.
Meaning the reason why you gotthe UTI.
It's probably your gut.
'cause your gut health plays ahuge role in this.
(13:43):
And remember how I said I takeMacrobid either before or after
sex.
This girl wasn't getting anybound chick chick ka baum bow
on, so I was flabbergasted.
Why the fuck do I have one ofthese things?
Your gut and your bladder areconnected through your
microbiome.
(14:03):
That's the ecosystem of bacteriathat keeps your body nice and
balanced.
So when your gut is healthy,good bacteria crowd out the bad.
Totally makes sense.
Your immune system stays sharpand everything flows the way
that it should.
But when your gut is outtawhack, like mine was from all
(14:28):
the antibiotics that I was onand the pain meds I was on from
the surgical procedure that Ihad back in September.
Yeah, it's November now.
This was almost like a slowmoving.
Bacterial infection that wascreeping its way into my body,
all the antibiotics, the painmeds.
(14:50):
I've had a lot of stress tryingto get my book out among my job
and everything else.
Just living life, the badbacteria.
Start throwing a rave, e coli,overgrows in your intestines,
and guess what?
It's the same little jerkresponsible for most UTIs.
(15:11):
Once that e coli overgrows, itsneaks right into your bladder.
Isn't that disgusting when youthink about it?
Just makes you wanna take ashower.
I don't recommend putting soapbetween your legs when you have
one of these that's just gonnamake it worse.
Like when you pee, Ooh, girl,it's gonna be double fire.
But this could be why some of uskeep getting recurring
(15:33):
infections, even if you're nothaving sex.
By the way, sex.
Generates bacteria between youand your partner, and it creeps
into your urethra.
That's why I am so susceptibleIt's not always hygiene or bad
luck, there could be a couplethings that are going on.
In my case, I think my gut neverrecovered from.
(15:55):
All the medication and pain medsI was on for my capsular
contraction, breast implantsurgical procedure.
And then it never recovered fromthe first round of drugs that I
was on but here's the kicker.
Your gut affects your mood.
I've talked about this before.
I've got clips on social mediaabout it.
(16:17):
I've got IBS, when my bellyisn't happy, I'm not happy
mentally.
And I mean that your gut makes90% of your serotonin.
Did you know that?
That's that feel good hormone.
When it's unhappy, your mood isgoing to tank.
(16:40):
You're gonna feel anxious,moody, probably depressed more
than anything.
I call it the emotional hostagesituation because now your
bladder's on fire and your gutis having a complete meltdown.
When your gut's happy,everything else follows.
(17:01):
When your gut is not happy,everything else follows, and
that's why probiotics matter.
When I went to see mychiropractor,'cause I'm like,
Hey, I am gonna do any andeverything to help get rid of
this thing.
'cause it is hanging on like itbelongs with me every single
(17:23):
day.
And my chiropractor's like, weneed to put you on probiotics.
This is gonna be your cleanupcrew.
They are the good bacteria thathelp restore order.
To your gut and my gut needed asmuch help as this bladder
infection because when you takeantibiotics, no matter what they
(17:43):
are, they can wipe out all thegood bacteria, especially if
you're on them for a while.
When I was going through my.
Recovery from my surgery inSeptember.
All I craved were pastries,sugar girls.
I'm not a pastry person, butthat's all I wanted and it made
(18:05):
me feel, oh, so good.
It's like comfort foodbasically.
Right?
I wasn't able to work out forsix weeks.
I was glued to my desk,sedentary and sluggish.
It's no wonder that my gut istotally trashed.
I usually work out six days aweek in my poor little body.
It was living a life.
(18:26):
It didn't know what had hit.
It's funny because a lot of shitwas probably happening at that
time.
Actually no shit because I wasreally constipated.
Like I had full on concrete inmy system, I just started to
work out when this fuckingbladder, borderline kidney
(18:47):
infection was like, hello, I'mwaving a red flag.
Pay attention, and that's when Ifinally connected the dots.
Everything starts in our guts.
When our guts are off.
Everything else spirals.
That's where these probioticsreally make a difference.
(19:08):
They help rebuild your gut.
It calms inflammation and otherthings like yogurt, keifer,
sauerkraut, kimchi, or kombucha.
Can you believe all thesethings?
They're helpful too.
Just make sure if you take anyyogurt or er, that it has live
(19:29):
or active cultures because itreally is for the love of your
bladder.
So skip the sugary versions.
Sugar, feeds bacteria likeyou're catering their after
party.
And speaking of sugar, stay awayfrom juice that has sugar
sweetened yogurt, sweetenedsnacks, even healthy snacks,
(19:51):
have a lot of sugar in'em.
You need to starve thisinfection.
Don't fuel it.
Drink tons of water.
The more you're peeing, the moreyou're getting that bacteria
outta your body.
Drink cranberry juice, and I'mtalking about the real stuff.
This is the$12 bottle thattastes like pure punishment.
(20:12):
It is so sour.
I've been drinking three shotsof that a day.
Oh, it's tough.
Let me tell you, but it helpsprevent bacteria from sticking
to your bladder walls.
And again, if we're trying toget rid of these infections
sooner than later, we've gottapull out all the stops.
(20:32):
Make sure that you are wipingfront to back.
I know I sound like your mom,but trust me, it makes a huge
difference and keeps bacteriaout of your urethra.
You're one of the lucky onesthat probably never gets one of
these fire burning UTIs.
But for the rest of us, if youhave to pee, just go pee.
(20:54):
Especially if you have aninfection and you've gotten past
the urgency piece,'cause you'reon meds, still go pee.
Get that bacteria outta there.
What do we actually do when ourbodies revolt like this?
How do we stop the cycle insteadof just surviving the pain?
(21:15):
We've talked about thechecklist, but I'm gonna review
it one more time so that you canget over one of these bad boys
sooner than later.
Hydrate like it's your job.
Drink the cranberry juice thattastes like regret.
That stuff works.
Rebuild your gut with probioticsand yogurt.
(21:35):
Stay away from full dairyproducts.
Eat lots of vegetables.
Stay away from the starchy stuffand wipe front to back.
Always, always, always.
And skip that sugar buffet,ladies.
Save that for when you are waypast the infection and never
ever hold it in.
(21:56):
And huge warning.
If you're peeing blood, runninga fever and you've got pain
shooting in your back, do notGoogle your way through this.
It's not time to be brave andfigure this one out.
It's time to go to ER and letthe professionals take care of
you because this shit's no joke.
(22:16):
You need to take it seriously.
I talk a lot about overcomingthese moments that shake us to
our core, but listen, sometimesit's something like a UTI
bladder infection.
We all have these moments andwe're just doing our best to get
through these messy moments.
(22:37):
And guess what?
My friends, that's just livinglife.
This shit happens, and we canmake it easier on ourselves if
we stick together and we sharethe things that help us get
through so that we can startlaughing and smiling again.
I encourage you to share thiswith all your girlfriends
because we don't talk aboutthese things, and I think it's
(23:01):
so important that we do,'Causethere's some good tips in here
to help each other through thesetorturous UTI moments.
They are not fun.
If you've ever had, when youknow they can take you down.
To your knees, literally.
And if you haven't already,please subscribe and leave a
(23:24):
review and keep tuning in forthese real raw stories that we
all live through, but don'talways talk about,'cause we're
gonna talk about'em on thisshow.
If I haven't talked about ityet, I will talk about it
guarantee.
Until next time.
Hey friends, welcome to theshow.
This is a place where I talkabout life's messy moments and
how we find our way through themno matter how big or small.
And today we are gonna dive intothose messy moments.
And this is gonna be aboutsomething most people don't talk
(01:02):
about, but probably should.
Ladies, have you ever had a UTIor bladder infection?
So bad that it feels like yourbladder is on fire and someone's
stabbing you with tiny glassshards.
I know it's not funny, butthat's what it feels like.
(01:23):
Have you ever been there whereyou're like doubled over?
Because guess what?
That's where I have been for waytoo many weeks.
Yeah.
Not just days, weeks, I'm peeingfire, praying to the urinary
gods and wondering, is this evergonna go away?
But more so how the F, did I getan infection this bad?
(01:48):
You know, I talk a lot aboutlife's curve balls, but
sometimes they're microscopic.
They don't have to be these big,crazy earth shattering things
that happen on our lives.
We're gonna talk about UTIs,because no one really talks
about them, and half of us,probably even more than half of
(02:09):
us, are gonna get at least oneat some point in time.
Today we're just gonna breakthis shit down.
I'm gonna poke fun at it.
Hope that you enjoy laughingalong with me, and if you happen
to have one right now, grab yoursour cranberry juice and start
chugging away.
(02:29):
Because I have been in this for.
Two and a half weeks.
I was coming back from New Yorka couple weeks ago.
I stopped in Boston and wasplanning to stay there for a
couple of nights.
The next morning I woke up withthat strong urge.
You know the one that feels likea storm is brewing.
(02:52):
I noticed that my pee was kindof cloudy and I thought in my
head, this is the start of aUTI, and you're probably
thinking, how the fuck does sheknow that already?
Because I'm very prone to them.
Especially after having somebounce sex.
I basically have a lifetimemembership to macro bid.
(03:15):
And if you don't know what thatis, it is a drug that is
specifically designed to helpwith UTIs or to prevent UTIs.
So anytime I'm gonna have sex, Ieither take one of these before.
Or after to prevent one of theseM fers from causing me a great
(03:40):
deal of pain.
But this one you guys, it feltso different.
So I'm in Boston, which is about90 minutes away from where I
live, and I'm thinking, you'renot gonna make it another night
here.
The pressure in my belly gotworse by the minute, and I just
(04:01):
started to feel crappy all overand I thought, sister, you
better get your ass home.
So I hopped in the car.
And I knew the shit was about tohit the fan because when one of
these things hits me, at least,it's pretty fast.
It doesn't mess around.
I felt pressure and cramping inmy lower belly and pelvic area.
(04:27):
My thighs were throbbing theentire ride home.
Then the nausea kicked in.
I got home, I popped one of myMacrobid pills, and I'm
thinking, yes, I made it home.
I probably caught this thing intime and I'm gonna be good.
(04:48):
Then I went to the bathroom andit was straight.
Blood.
I'm not talking pink or just alittle bit red.
It looked like a murder hadhappened in the toilet.
No joke.
And my kidneys just started toscream after that.
So I'm like, this is someserious shit.
(05:11):
I called my doctor's office andthey said, go to the er.
We don't know if this is a UTIor a kidney or bladder
infection.
We can't do anything, so go seethem.
So I did, and I left them anifty little sample of evidence
that had probably 10 pea-sizedclots to go along with it.
(05:36):
They tested it.
The doctor came in and he'slike, yeah.
Your immune system is shot.
I'm like, yeah, no kidding.
I feel like I've been hit by atruck I'm in pain.
I'm sitting there and I'm justthinking.
I wanna go home.
I wanna crawl on a ball, and Iknow it's gonna be days before
the glass shards and the fire goout, but they gave me a pain
(05:59):
med.
I didn't even know it existed.
It's like, wow.
Modern medicine has come a longway for UTI and bladder
infections.
It was like the fire departmentshowed up and completely melted
those glass shards and put thefire out because it didn't hurt
(06:20):
when I peed.
You almost think I don't have aninfection anymore.
It's that good.
And it's not like taking a painmed that makes you feel drowsy.
This literally goes straight tothe fire and puts it out.
But I still had to take two fulldays off work and just be in bed
(06:41):
because.
That's how bad it was.
They had given me a five dayantibiotic treatment.
They put me on Keflex, and thatwas different from Macrobid,
which is what I normally take,like I said before or after sex.
And I'm thinking this kind offeels like.
A short treatment plan for aninfection that's so extreme.
(07:05):
Less than two days afterfinishing my medication, I wake
up at 1:00 AM I'm back inanother hotel room, so total of
five days on the meds.
We will call it a total of sevendays out.
I'm traveling again in a hotelroom, and that fucking familiar
(07:26):
ache between my thighs wakes meup and I'm thinking, oh my God,
the house is officially back onfire and someone sprinkling
those glass shards all over theplace.
I'm peeing and I'm in so muchpain and I don't have any of
that stuff with me.
I'm done with Keflex.
(07:46):
I'm certainly not gonna betraveling with that pain med
because I'm thinking I'm done.
So by then all I could thinkabout was getting back home.
Back to the only thing thatcould put out the fire.
Those magic pain meds.
I had a bunch left over'cause Ionly needed'em for like two days
(08:08):
and I wasn't even taking a fulldose.
I took half a dose and it reallyworked.
It wiped out the pain.
So girls, I needed that.
Like I needed oxygen.
I was like, I gotta get outtahere.
So jump back in the car.
It's about three o'clock in themorning now.
Been up since one o'clock.
(08:30):
If you've ever had one of these,you know what I'm talking about.
It is serious shit.
You are like, call 9 1 1.
I'm in that much pain.
What's found in a urinary tractinfection brace yourself is e
coli, super disgusting.
That e coli can go rogue and ittravels from your digestive
(08:54):
track sneaks into urethra andboom, it's in your bladder
setting up camp where itabsolutely does not belong, and
then it's multiplying, like it'screating some kind of house
party.
Your immune system shows uplike.
(09:15):
Who the hell are these peoplehaving a party in my house and
it's trying to fight back?
But that's when you feel thatburn.
It's literally inflammation.
Your bladder lining and yoururethra are so swollen and
irritated, and the nerves arefiring off like fireworks every
(09:41):
time you pee.
Ooh, it is brutal.
It's just complete fucking fireand glass shards coming out.
No joke.
So why are we women the luckyones, and so prone to getting
these things?
A lot of it has to do with ourgeography are urethra is shorter
(10:04):
and closer to the rear exit.
My friends call it the BungHolyo.
Bacteria have a much shortercommute from your BHO to your
urethra.
If you add in the fact thateverything's close together down
there, and those little jerks,that bacteria can wreak havoc on
(10:27):
your system, it's brutal.
And for those of you who havenever had one, and I know you're
out there.
It's hard for me to believe,especially being so prone to it,
but I've had girlfriends tell merecently, like, girl, I have no
idea what you're going through.
Well, let me help you understandwhat the pain is like if you've
(10:48):
never had one of these M, it'slike cutting a lemon open.
Not knowing that you have apaper cut and the lemon juice
seeping into that paper cut,you're like, holy shit, what the
fuck?
It's like that every single timeyou pee, and I'd argue it's 10
(11:08):
times as worse.
And these things don't stop atyour bladder.
Oh no.
If it's severe like mine, it canspread the misery.
I'm talking lower back painflank pain, it could be your
kidneys, which is really bad.
I had that in the beginningbefore my first round of drugs.
(11:29):
It could be low back pain, whichis what I've had for.
Over two weeks.
It's kind of that coic area.
It's not super comfortable tosit, but it's that flat area
that leads down to the coic.
It's a deep ache that feels likeyou've been hauling sandbags all
(11:49):
weekend, and God knows we'dnever do that.
That's the infection creeping uptowards your kidneys and you've
got to get in to see the doctorwhen you're feeling that.
When your kidneys are unhappy,they let your whole body know
leg pain comes.
I had that, the thighs, thecalves.
It's literally like an ache anda burning pain in your legs.
(12:14):
So not only.
Does it burn when you pee, butyou're starting to feel it in
your legs and you're like, whydo I feel like I just ran a
marathon and I haven't?
It's your immune system.
It's releasing inflammatorychemicals, making your muscles
ache while your body is tryingto fight this infection off, and
(12:36):
then you have fatigue.
The exhaustion just knocks youflat.
You're on the couch with theheating pad or maybe a water
bottle, you're tired and that'sbecause your immune system's
working overtime and it'storture.
Especially if you don't havethat magic pain med that's
(12:58):
knocking out the fire.
It truly is like being in atorture chamber.
So this time at Urgent Care, thenurse looks at me and she's
like, oh honey, you have got anasty one.
I'm like, yeah, no kidding.
So yeah, when people say it'sjust a UTI, they've clearly
(13:20):
never had that kind that.
Takes you out because therereally is a difference between
A-U-T-I-A bladder and a kidneyinfection.
The bladder may not be thevillain in this situation.
Meaning the reason why you gotthe UTI.
It's probably your gut.
'cause your gut health plays ahuge role in this.
(13:43):
And remember how I said I takeMacrobid either before or after
sex.
This girl wasn't getting anybound chick chick ka baum bow
on, so I was flabbergasted.
Why the fuck do I have one ofthese things?
Your gut and your bladder areconnected through your
microbiome.
(14:03):
That's the ecosystem of bacteriathat keeps your body nice and
balanced.
So when your gut is healthy,good bacteria crowd out the bad.
Totally makes sense.
Your immune system stays sharpand everything flows the way
that it should.
But when your gut is outtawhack, like mine was from all
(14:28):
the antibiotics that I was onand the pain meds I was on from
the surgical procedure that Ihad back in September.
Yeah, it's November now.
This was almost like a slowmoving.
Bacterial infection that wascreeping its way into my body,
all the antibiotics, the painmeds.
(14:50):
I've had a lot of stress tryingto get my book out among my job
and everything else.
Just living life, the badbacteria.
Start throwing a rave, e coli,overgrows in your intestines,
and guess what?
It's the same little jerkresponsible for most UTIs.
(15:11):
Once that e coli overgrows, itsneaks right into your bladder.
Isn't that disgusting when youthink about it?
Just makes you wanna take ashower.
I don't recommend putting soapbetween your legs when you have
one of these that's just gonnamake it worse.
Like when you pee, Ooh, girl,it's gonna be double fire.
But this could be why some of uskeep getting recurring
(15:33):
infections, even if you're nothaving sex.
By the way, sex.
Generates bacteria between youand your partner, and it creeps
into your urethra.
That's why I am so susceptibleIt's not always hygiene or bad
luck, there could be a couplethings that are going on.
In my case, I think my gut neverrecovered from.
(15:55):
All the medication and pain medsI was on for my capsular
contraction, breast implantsurgical procedure.
And then it never recovered fromthe first round of drugs that I
was on but here's the kicker.
Your gut affects your mood.
I've talked about this before.
I've got clips on social mediaabout it.
(16:17):
I've got IBS, when my bellyisn't happy, I'm not happy
mentally.
And I mean that your gut makes90% of your serotonin.
Did you know that?
That's that feel good hormone.
When it's unhappy, your mood isgoing to tank.
(16:40):
You're gonna feel anxious,moody, probably depressed more
than anything.
I call it the emotional hostagesituation because now your
bladder's on fire and your gutis having a complete meltdown.
When your gut's happy,everything else follows.
(17:01):
When your gut is not happy,everything else follows, and
that's why probiotics matter.
When I went to see mychiropractor,'cause I'm like,
Hey, I am gonna do any andeverything to help get rid of
this thing.
'cause it is hanging on like itbelongs with me every single
(17:23):
day.
And my chiropractor's like, weneed to put you on probiotics.
This is gonna be your cleanupcrew.
They are the good bacteria thathelp restore order.
To your gut and my gut needed asmuch help as this bladder
infection because when you takeantibiotics, no matter what they
(17:43):
are, they can wipe out all thegood bacteria, especially if
you're on them for a while.
When I was going through my.
Recovery from my surgery inSeptember.
All I craved were pastries,sugar girls.
I'm not a pastry person, butthat's all I wanted and it made
(18:05):
me feel, oh, so good.
It's like comfort foodbasically.
Right?
I wasn't able to work out forsix weeks.
I was glued to my desk,sedentary and sluggish.
It's no wonder that my gut istotally trashed.
I usually work out six days aweek in my poor little body.
It was living a life.
(18:26):
It didn't know what had hit.
It's funny because a lot of shitwas probably happening at that
time.
Actually no shit because I wasreally constipated.
Like I had full on concrete inmy system, I just started to
work out when this fuckingbladder, borderline kidney
(18:47):
infection was like, hello, I'mwaving a red flag.
Pay attention, and that's when Ifinally connected the dots.
Everything starts in our guts.
When our guts are off.
Everything else spirals.
That's where these probioticsreally make a difference.
(19:08):
They help rebuild your gut.
It calms inflammation and otherthings like yogurt, keifer,
sauerkraut, kimchi, or kombucha.
Can you believe all thesethings?
They're helpful too.
Just make sure if you take anyyogurt or er, that it has live
(19:29):
or active cultures because itreally is for the love of your
bladder.
So skip the sugary versions.
Sugar, feeds bacteria likeyou're catering their after
party.
And speaking of sugar, stay awayfrom juice that has sugar
sweetened yogurt, sweetenedsnacks, even healthy snacks,
(19:51):
have a lot of sugar in'em.
You need to starve thisinfection.
Don't fuel it.
Drink tons of water.
The more you're peeing, the moreyou're getting that bacteria
outta your body.
Drink cranberry juice, and I'mtalking about the real stuff.
This is the$12 bottle thattastes like pure punishment.
(20:12):
It is so sour.
I've been drinking three shotsof that a day.
Oh, it's tough.
Let me tell you, but it helpsprevent bacteria from sticking
to your bladder walls.
And again, if we're trying toget rid of these infections
sooner than later, we've gottapull out all the stops.
(20:32):
Make sure that you are wipingfront to back.
I know I sound like your mom,but trust me, it makes a huge
difference and keeps bacteriaout of your urethra.
You're one of the lucky onesthat probably never gets one of
these fire burning UTIs.
But for the rest of us, if youhave to pee, just go pee.
(20:54):
Especially if you have aninfection and you've gotten past
the urgency piece,'cause you'reon meds, still go pee.
Get that bacteria outta there.
What do we actually do when ourbodies revolt like this?
How do we stop the cycle insteadof just surviving the pain?
(21:15):
We've talked about thechecklist, but I'm gonna review
it one more time so that you canget over one of these bad boys
sooner than later.
Hydrate like it's your job.
Drink the cranberry juice thattastes like regret.
That stuff works.
Rebuild your gut with probioticsand yogurt.
(21:35):
Stay away from full dairyproducts.
Eat lots of vegetables.
Stay away from the starchy stuffand wipe front to back.
Always, always, always.
And skip that sugar buffet,ladies.
Save that for when you are waypast the infection and never
ever hold it in.
(21:56):
And huge warning.
If you're peeing blood, runninga fever and you've got pain
shooting in your back, do notGoogle your way through this.
It's not time to be brave andfigure this one out.
It's time to go to ER and letthe professionals take care of
you because this shit's no joke.
(22:16):
You need to take it seriously.
I talk a lot about overcomingthese moments that shake us to
our core, but listen, sometimesit's something like a UTI
bladder infection.
We all have these moments andwe're just doing our best to get
through these messy moments.
(22:37):
And guess what?
My friends, that's just livinglife.
This shit happens, and we canmake it easier on ourselves if
we stick together and we sharethe things that help us get
through so that we can startlaughing and smiling again.
I encourage you to share thiswith all your girlfriends
because we don't talk aboutthese things, and I think it's
(23:01):
so important that we do,'Causethere's some good tips in here
to help each other through thesetorturous UTI moments.
They are not fun.
If you've ever had, when youknow they can take you down.
To your knees, literally.
And if you haven't already,please subscribe and leave a
(23:24):
review and keep tuning in forthese real raw stories that we
all live through, but don'talways talk about,'cause we're
gonna talk about'em on thisshow.
If I haven't talked about ityet, I will talk about it
guarantee.
Until next time.
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