Fresh Cranberries

I do not think you are imagining it. You are also correct in saying the juice generally bought in supermarkets is not a working substitute.

Cistitis is a really unpleasant problem that sometimes also requires a visit to the doctor's surgery as it can take prescription medication to clear it fully.

Cranberries do seem to alleviate symptoms, another useful soother is to drink two level teaspoons of Bicarbonate of soda dissolved in a little cold water morning and night. This helps to neutralise the acid that causes the horrible burning sensation when you pee.

best wishes

xx

Mo

You can also buy dried cranberries in health food shops. They usually have some sugar added to counteract their sharpness, but otherwise I expect they'd help, eaten with cereal or whatever.
Marje

Hi Guys,

I am not 'showing off' but yesterday I was in Waitrose, the posh supermarket, and noticed that they have frozen cranberries in their freezer section, looks like they stock them year round, so getting real cranberries rather than juice drink might be easier than I thought.

On the subject of 'treatment', I have a routine appointment with my Consultant next week, I am just hoping that the cranberries might do the trick, for I am fearful he may recomend letting the surgeons loose on my plumbing, and any amount of cranberries has got to be better than that?

:)

Dave

Just come back with a box of fresh cranberries which our Tesco had reduced to half price (50p) because they had a sell-by-date of today. Bit odd, as I understand they can be stored for months in the fridge... Now working out what to do with them as it seems eating them raw is not a pleasant experience, lightly boiling as Dave suggests then adding them to my cornflakes seems the best option. Not that I have cystitis, or at least all the tests for that come negative, but certainly found the flow was better while having a glass of juice in the mornings.

Hi Guys,

Throughout the autumn we have lots of apples, so I tend to eat a bowlful of cooked apple every day, and I just mix a couple of spoonsful of cranberries in with the apple.

I am into healthy eating at the moment, so cooking is easy for apples and/or cranberries, just put a little water in the bottom of a sausepan, fill it with sliced apples and carnberries bring to boil then simmer for 10 minutes.

Resultant mixture is as easy to chew as yogurt, has no added sugar or anything, and seems to be doing me some good?

:)

Dave  

Hi Guys,

Just a post-script to the Christmas cranberry extravaganza, I have today eaten the last of the fresh cranberries I bought while they were in the shops over Christmas.

I have been having a portion just about every day since I started this string and I must say they seem to have made a difference.

I am urinating less, it is now pain free with no stinging sensation, the urge to urinate is less intense, so all in all I think it is one problem I have managed to conquer.

Whether this is due to the radiation cystitis running its course, or Tamsulosin, or cranberries is of course debatable, but I would like to think the berries helped, and even if they didn't, they didn't do me any harm.

So I am looking forward to the spring, when my hormone therapy eases off, with new vigour and far better control of my waterworks.

:)

Dave 

I often found that the treatment ran late - machine breakdowns/late start ups etc. The team were very good and didn't tell us to drink the water until an appropriate time before our session. I took the advice of others and didn't take the water from the drinking fountain as it was too cold and took a bottle from home each day.

Hope the treatment goes well

Arthur

My appointments are done on a week to week basis, I have just received next week's schedule. Seems we can't book the whole lot at once or specify a preferred time. Next week I have a couple of very early ones, 8.55, the rest early afternoon. Saw the consultant lady yesterday, that will be every Thursday, the day when she calls at our clinic.

My sessions were staggered randomly from a 7.00 arrival (inc preparation) to the last session which was about 7.pm in the evening. Although I only had a 50 mile round trip, I found it convenient on a couple off occasions when having a late session followed by a very early, to stay overnight in the local Travelodge.

 I can only assume it was to achieve fairness by spreading the inconvenience of some appointment times around.

I did ask whether the appointments were computer-generated but not so, all by hand. It must have been a tremendous task as it was a large and very busy  unit. Of the four linear accelerators, two were mainly, but not exclusively, used for prostate, and despite it being like an assembly line, it was a slick operation and the staff were excellent.

Dave