Gold Star getting UTI's

[RaptorChops]

So I'm what people consider a gold star. I've never had vaginal intercourse (because I'm a dude, I don't like that stuff lol) I've never let anyone stick their fingers in my mangina. I certainly (I know this is horrible) have never been to the gyno. I have never even stuck my own fingers or a tampon up their either. Anyways I have recently changed my diet from crap to good stuff, stopped drinking soda, and started working out. Ever since I started T my sex drive has been out the roof and I masturbate at least 1-2 times a day. I have noticed recently that I'm starting to get irritations down in my area and a burning sensation (I have had this maybe once or twice before T and I keep myself pretty clean down there). Could this be because the T is enlarging my clit and I'm like super sensitive? I started drinking cranberry juice once a day now and it seems to be helping a bit. Has anyone else had this problem?

[Nygeel]

Um...that's not really what a gold star is but that's a whole nother conversation.
Not sure what it is. Ask your doctor.

[aleon515]

Yes not sure that's what "Gold star" means but oh well. Anyway, it's not clear how long you have been on T, because it *can* increase UTIs initially. I don't know if you are using a packer. If you are don't let the packer touch you. Put it in a jock strap or pin inside your fly or use a sock and put the packer in there and pin it to your underwear.

Get on some treatment, they usually will not examine you anymore down there. You do a clean catch pee sample and they put you on anti fungals. It's usually pretty fast treatment. (1-3 days) It's very standardized at most doctors offices. I used to be able to call and say that I think I have one and they'd prescribe. That rarely happens anymore.

I was getting one LOTS but it really stopped after awhile.

Lots of myths going on here. So let me dispel a few whilst I am at it.  It's nothing you've done wrong and virgins can get them. It doesn't matter if you've stuck anything into your front hole, as it's not really your front hole anyways. It's the urethra.I've heard really frequent sex can cause them, but we are talking like an all night marathon. It's more not peeing than sex though.You can wipe the wrong way all your life, but if you aren't predisposed to them, you won't get them. Drinking LOTS of fluid can help. My doctor seems to think that cranberry pills work better to change the pH of your pee.

--Jay

[Gene]

Intercourse only plays a role when the sexual fluids have entered the urethral opening as is common during sex, and the person didn't urinate them out afterwards. It's usually an issue of hygiene (increased sweating, improper cleansing, soiled for long periods of time, etc) or an imbalance of bacteria/ph of the urethral tract.

Beyond that, I have never heard of a "Gold Star" in any trans* groups I've been a part of. It sounds hierarchical or like the dreaded "->-bleeped-<-r Than Thou" mentality, which most communities try to avoid. I don't think that is what you're meaning to implicate though, so I will happily provide the benefit of the doubt. Just remember that there's no Gold Stars, just a bunch of guys who express masculinity as they choose

[wheat thins are delicious]

The two definitions of gold star are: a lesbian who has never slept with a man or a homosexual who has never slept with a member of the opposite sex.  I've only ever heard it used in the context of the first definition.

That said, having sex is not the only way you can get a UTI.  The thing that causes a UTI is bacteria getting into the urethra.  Searching google shows a list of possible ways bacteria could have gotten into the urethra.

• Wiping from back to front after a bowel movement (BM). Germs can get into your urethra, which has its opening in front of the vagina.


• Having sexual intercourse. Germs in the vagina can be pushed into the urethra.


• Waiting too long to pass urine. When urine stays in the bladder for a long time, more germs are made, and the worse a UTI can become.


• Using a diaphragm for birth control, or spermicides with a diaphragm or on a condom.


• Anything that makes it hard to completely empty your bladder, like a kidney stone.


• Having diabetes, which makes it harder for your body to fight other health problems.


• Loss of estrogen and changes in the vagina after menopause. Menopause is when you stop getting your period.


• Having had a catheter in place.

[Jennygirl]

If you do end up having a UTI, watch out for any of the quinolone drugs which doctors tend to overprescribe. I recommend doing your research and decide whether you really want to take it.. aka Cipro, Levaquin are very common ones. They have horrid side effects and attack the body's ability to reproduce cells.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinolone

A lot of docs proclaim that people tolerate these drugs very well, but that is a far cry from the truth. I had a mild reaction from Cipro a while back and it took a few months of magnesium treatment to feel normal again. I made an oath to spread awareness. I don't mean to scare you, just do your research before taking broad spectrum antibiotics

[blink]

If you do end up having a UTI, watch out for any of the quinolone drugs which doctors tend to overprescribe. I recommend doing your research and decide whether you really want to take it.. aka Cipro, Levaquin are very common ones. They have horrid side effects [snip]

Including the chance for permanent nerve and/or tendon damage. A doc tried to prescribe Cipro to me for a UTI once (I requested and received a different, non-quinolone antibiotic). It's terrifying that something with the chance for permanent side effects is being prescribed for common UTIs. Thanks for mentioning this.

[Jennygirl]

Including the chance for permanent nerve and/or tendon damage. A doc tried to prescribe Cipro to me for a UTI once (I requested and received a different, non-quinolone antibiotic). It's terrifying that something with the chance for permanent side effects is being prescribed for common UTIs. Thanks for mentioning this.

No problem, thanks for supporting my plea. It is indeed terrifying stuff. Black label warning on the box (complete with skull bone icon), the highest warning in existence from the FDA. Like I said, I would only take it if it were life and death. I got the generic so it didn't have the warning attached... I noticed symptoms after 4 pills (severe anxiety, heart arrhythmia, blurry vision, hives on lip and wrists). Then I looked up the side effects and about had a heart attack because I was also taking prednisone for anti-inflammatory which has a HUGE interaction. Then I had soreness behind my knees and wrists for weeks and persistent muscle cramps. Several bottles of chelated magnesium, calcium citrate, vit d3, coq10, and b complex I felt much better and in control of my life again. Never again.

If I see anyone with a cipro pill in their mouth you better believe imma slap it off your face! Join the boycott or at least save yourself

[ataraxiamachine]

I know a doctor who "prescribes" D-mannose powder for UTIs.  Get it at your local health-food store.  Lots of water, etc. etc. 

[Bombadil]

I got giardia while camping. I'm going to spare you the details but giardia is nasty and messy even with good sanitation. Camping ... it was horrible. And I ended up also getting a nasty UTI. No vaginal penetration of any kind involved.

Anyway, I hope you start feeling better.

[aleon515]

Intercourse only plays a role when the sexual fluids have entered the urethral opening as is common during sex, and the person didn't urinate them out afterwards. It's usually an issue of hygiene (increased sweating, improper cleansing, soiled for long periods of time, etc) or an imbalance of bacteria/ph of the urethral tract.

Beyond that, I have never heard of a "Gold Star" in any trans* groups I've been a part of. It sounds hierarchical or like the dreaded "->-bleeped-<-r Than Thou" mentality, which most communities try to avoid. I don't think that is what you're meaning to implicate though, so I will happily provide the benefit of the doubt. Just remember that there's no Gold Stars, just a bunch of guys who express masculinity as they choose

Peeing after sex (and actually before) is supposed to help reduce irritation in the bladder.

Just read cipro has  black box warning re: tendon damage. I don't know that I have ever been prescribed that. If I was, just I was lucky. I know I have been prescribed sulfa.

I was wrong re: anti-fungals. Thinking of something else.
Giardia YIKES. Also got it camping.


--Jay

[Kreuzfidel]

I have noticed recently that I'm starting to get irritations down in my area and a burning sensation (I have had this maybe once or twice before T and I keep myself pretty clean down there).

I was thinking thrush, personally.

[Hex]

I hate to sound like the weirdo here, but do you wash your hands before going down there?

I noticed that if your hands have sweated recently and you touch down there.. oh yeah. It burns. It feels irritated and well def not a fun feeling. But a quick wash and wipe usually helps.
Also because you hadn't been playing down there over the years and kinda just.. left it as is. It's probably not used to being played with as much so yeah it can get a little irritated. I know if I go long periods without doing much down there then kinda go to town it does get irritated and yeah it hurts a bit.

As for UTIs, if you feel any burning/pain while peeing, your pee becomes cloudier than normal for over a week, your sides/back area start to ache more, and or you wipe and see some unnecessary red, then yes. You might have a UTI. Cranberry juice and pills can help but it's recommended you get a run of antibiotics if symptoms persist for longer than a week. I let one go so long it reached my kidneys.. don't do that.