This blasted UTI will not subside, so I called my midwife this morning to tell her that I am about to resort to going to our family clinic to get put on some antibiotics. She had me call my back-up doc for the pregnancy to see if she would call in some antibiotics for me. Her office said that she would not do that without an exam, and suggested that I go see my family doc if I have one. I would have gladly gone in to see my back-up doc instead because I like her and trust that she would put me on the safest possible meds, considering her views on natural low-intervention pregnancy....but she is almost 2 hours away. I really don't have one particualar doctor at our family practice that I feel comfortable with, and I doubt that they would be open and understanding to me choosing a midwife for prenatal care and birth. I know that there are probably certain antibiotics that doctors have deemed "safe" to use during pregnancy, but then I'm so skeptical when it comes to most doctors' knowledge (or lack thereof) of pregnancy.....I would wonder if they REALLY knew the true effects of the drug on the baby.

So, my midwife (who is also an herbalist) told me to pick up some cornsilk, couch grass, and echinacea. When I went to the natural foods store, I found that they did not have any couch grass, so my midwife said it would be fine to use horsetail instead.

Here is my remedy plan:
* 30 drops of echinacea 3-4 times daily
* brew cornsilk and horsetail into a tea and drink it 3-4 times daily
* add more citrus fruits to my diet and cut down on sweets
* drink TONS of water
* drink AT LEAST a few ounces of pure cranberry juice every hour
* take 1000 mg of vitamin C EVERY HOUR, at least for a couple days

Oh yes, and here is the worst part....I've been eating beef like crazy lately and she told me to cut it out! I already knew she wasn't crazy about her clients eating beef, but it just sounds so good to me. She told me that beef protein can do some strange things to the urine's pH balance so it should be totally avoided...at least for now, while I'm beating this infection. She suggested I pick up some rice protein powder to supplement my protein intake. So, my protein will be coming from beans, rice protein powder, eggs, small amounts of cheese, and nuts. Some chicken is okay with me, but it has to be "hidden" in something like soup or a burrito for it to look appealing to me.

I am also supposed to use a spray bottle w/ water and a teeny bit of salt to clean off the...ummm...affected area everytime I use the restroom. I hope all this effort (and money!) pays off and knocks the infection out.

Labels: health, midwife, pregnancy, pregnancy whining