Hello,

I am a 20 year-old female, who has been sexually active for the past 2 years. I have one kidney, which is enlarged but functioning properly and my diet is protein/fat based, put together by a nutritionist who knows of my kidney. I am physically active, being an avid gym visitor and 'sunday jogger'. I also take omega-3 and calcium/magnesium supplements and have been on the Lindynette 20 birth control pill for about a year now. I have never been pregnant and have not had serious illnesses in the past year or so, aside from traumas to the muscles and head (had a slight concussion in the beginning of February).

Last year, in around October-November, I had two cases of a mild UTI, which were quickly cured by over the counter urinary tract infection medicines and herbal tea for the bladder. Since the end of February I have gotten a new sexual partner and straight after I started seeing him I developed a very strong UTI. For about a month and a half I tried curing it with teas, cranberry juice and over the counter medicine (I live far from my physician), but about a few weeks ago I got it checked out. The inflammation markers in my urine were not very high, but I was prescribed a 4 day course of medicine to cure it. I felt much better and without symptoms after the pills. Also, I had a 3 day course of medicine to cure a yeast infection, which I got from the birth control pills but had caused no pain or discomfort to me or my partner. It is also suspected that a few days before I went to the physician I had an ovarian cyst explosion, having felt strong pain in my lower left abdomen after intercourse for a week. Nothing out of the ordinary was found during the vaginal check, though. A week later, when the growths from the urine were ready, I was also prescribed 40 tablets of Nitrofurantoinum and a 3 month course of Fluconazol Nycomed, one pill a month. I felt lightheaded and weak during the course of the Nitrofurantoinum pills, but without UTI symptoms.

The day after the last pill I had a very strong attack of the UTI symptoms, stronger than I've ever had. I had to go to the toilet every 5 minutes, I felt a strong burning sensation constantly, was shivering and in cold sweat. This went on for about 5 hours. During the next week I've had two similar, slightly weaker attacks. They start in the middle of the day after I've gone to the bathroom and last for a few hours. I have been on over the counter UTI meds (using cranberry extract and some such) since the first attack, also drinking teas. On the day of the last attack(today) I had two cups of coffee during the day, but I also drank coffee on Wednesday and then nothing bad happened.

I can't see my physician until the week after the next but I'm starting to feel fairly certain, that this might be leading back to my partner. He has had his blood checked and he carries no STDs and the growths of my urine showed only E.coli, but my physician has mentioned that it is not uncommon for a young sexually active woman to get bladder irritations just from a chemical imbalance or a 'bad match' between partners, not at all due to any kind of disease. Is this true and if it is, how can I correct this 'imbalance' between me and my partner? We live a very sexually active life. These UTIs are seriously starting to affect my life, even causing me to have to leave work today, so I'm quite desperate for a solution that doesn't involve kicking my partner out the door. Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice they coould give me?