UPDATE : MY URETHRAL SYNDROME HAS BEEN CURED. In November 2015, Christine, a long-time sufferer of IC/urethral syndrome, posted a potential cure on the Comments page of this website. In brief, she used a drug called Nystatin which kills candida yeast in the intestines. This gave her complete relief. Read her comment HERE .
Based on her experience, I tried Nystatin myself in December 2015. I took Nystatin oral, 100000 U/ML PMS – 1 teaspoon (5 ml) three times daily for 21 days. From that I got a 100% cure, with no side effects at all. Nystatin is also available in pill form but I do not know the dosage. I continued to have symptoms occasionally while taking the Nystatin, even after 2 weeks of taking it, so I thought it was not working, but I continued taking it until the end, and never had a symptom again. Even when my urine is acid, I have no pain.
Based on this experience, I believe it is likely that urethral syndrome is caused by a yeast or fungal infection in the urethra, and that acid urine causes pain to the inflamed tissue in the same way that putting lemon juice on cut or scraped skin causes pain.
Therefore I recommend the use of an anti-fungal drug, such as Nystatin, for an extended period of time to cure the underlying cause of burning pain in the urethra. The minerals and alkaline diet can be used to control the pain but it is not a cure.
Before I was cured with Nystatin, I found it relatively easy to control the pain of urethral syndrome/non-specific urethritis primarily through mineral supplements and secondarily through diet. Taking mineral supplements of calcium (carbonate or citrate), magnesium (citrate, malate or oxide), potassium (bicarbonate or citrate or gluconate) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) makes the urine more alkaline and eliminates the pain of urethral syndrome.
Each day I took a total of:
* 1000 mg of calcium carbonate or calcium citrate
* 500 mg of magnesium oxide or magnesium malate or magnesium citrate
* 1000 mg of potassium bicarbonate or potassium citrate
These mineral supplements are inexpensive and are widely available at pharmacies and health food stores. The above amounts are all well within the recommended daily allowances for adults. For more information on recommended daily intakes from the USDA click here.
I split this daily dose up and take a portion with each meal (breakfast, lunch and supper). Using this regime I WAS PAIN-FREE for about 8 years.
If I was experiencing symptoms, in addition to the above I took:
* 2800 mg of sodium bicarbonate (1/2 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in water and drink it)
Note that if you have been experiencing this pain for a while you may have considerable inflammation that could take some time to settle down; perhaps a few days, although you should experience significant pain relief within a couple of hours. My experience was that my pain was usually gone within 2 hours of taking baking soda/mineral supplements, however after a strong pain it may take longer (24 – 48 hours) to get the urine out of the acid range.
**IMPORTANT: Potassium must NOT be taken in high doses because this could affect the functioning of the heart even in a healthy person. If you have a heart condition, do not take ANY potassium supplement without first consulting your physician.
**IMPORTANT: Do not take baking soda if a doctor has put you on a sodium-restricted diet.
**IMPORTANT: Potassium chloride has no beneficial effect on urine pH because the chloride component is acid-forming. So the chloride cancels out the alkalinizing effect of the potassium. The same is true for sodium chloride (table salt).
