You might be interested in some research done by Dr. Hultrgren in St. Louis, Mo.
This doctor found biofilm infections in the bladders of rats. Though he does correlate these biofilm infection with IC they usually don't show up on standard cultures.
I actually have an article on IC vs. Chronic Cystitis on our website, a support group for IC patients in MO and Ark.
I have a IC and a Chronic kidney infection so diagnosing my IC took longer...,
however the antibiotics did nothing to relieve my IC symptoms. My URO treats many chronic UTI patients and for some it can take many months on antibiotics to totally clear up the infections.. more the n likely this infection went on untreated initially for quite a while. However over time and with patients he does see many of these patients totally cured from their chronic infections. The good news is the unlike IC chronic cytitis is curable... just hang in there.
There are some things you can do to help as well, WHILE YOU ARE TAKING THE ANTIBIOTICS AND OF COURSE TALK TO YOU DOCTOR ABOUT ANYTHING YOU TAKE OR TRY...I am not a doctor, but can tell you what I have found
that has helped me and others who struggle with infections.
Whether you have chronic cystitis or IC, your bladder is inflamed and irritated
avoiding things that make it worse can help a lot: caffeine, tomatoes, soda, acidic foods, including cranberry, alcohol and smoking.
Drink lots of water... and honestly distilled or purified water is best, some wells, can contain bacteria as well as things like lime etc. and city water is chlorinated which can irritated the bladder too.
Cranberry is one of the things that we all here is so great for bladder infections but in an inflamed bladder it can make your symptoms worse. One suggestions is to try something called D-Mannose. It has the sugars in the cranberry or blueberry that keep the bacteria from attaching to the bladder wall without the acidity!!
There are several naturals that can helps as well... one that has helped me that you might want to look into is called Silverbiotics by American Biotech Labs. Personally for me this product means the difference between being on IV's or my urine being clear,,, but my condition is more complicated by MSK and chronic kidney stones.
However they have a lot of research on this product that you can take to your doctor as well.
Again, keep in mind I am not saying to do these instead of taking the antibiotics you doctor recommends, I am doing them a long with, and anything I take is discussed with my doctor as well.
If you need any more info on the above or would like info, on the article I mentioned just pm me!
Shelly Matthewson
Private Medical Researcher
IC Support Group Leader
Director of MOARK IC
Hi, this sounds like a persistent infection, or a series of frequent recurrent infections. You have positive cultures. Some patients have a chronically infected bladder wall and the infection is very deep and can hide from antibiotics. You may need to be on months of suppressive antibiotics to control the infection. This does not sound like Interstitial Cystitis, and you can't make the diagnosis of IC when a urine culture has recently been positive. Most IC studies require you to be infection free for at least 6 weeks before the diagnosis can be made. You sound like you are very susceptible to infections and may need to see an expert in infectious disease. Good Luck.