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Sorry tmi but uti’s and keto

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fatsork
fatsork Posts: 82 Member
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Has anyone had issues with keto and uti’s? Iv always had a film in pee when i started keto , I presumed its toxins etc? However i just tested positive for uti? Never had this before is this a side affect of keto?? I know other things cause this however does keto damage urethra as seen on some blogs??

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  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
    edited October 2018
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    Are you symptomatic of a UTI? Dipstick testing is really going out of fashion (medically speaking) for confirming uti for a number of reasons.
    First off - they just show that there is bacteria - that bacteria could be normal vaginal bacteria, bacteria from bacterial vaginosis or from within the urine itself - unless you send it off to be cultured in a lab and it’s positive you don’t necessarily have a UTI.
    25% of females test positive for UTIs at all times on dipsticks, something like 50% do in the over 60s group and for those is care homes it’s something like 75% plus. I can’t recall the stats for males but men have lower false positive rates due to anatomy but it still happens.
    If you don’t have symptoms (burning/discomfort, lower abdo pain, flank pain, increased urge, new incontinence, blood in your urine etc) then you probably don’t have a uti. If you do have symptoms then give your doctor a sample and get cultures grown from it to confirm. Also if you have blood in your urine definitely go to dr.
    And even if you do have a UTI - these things just sometimes happen - I wouldn’t necessarily put it down to keto with a single uti :-)
  • fatsork
    fatsork Posts: 82 Member
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    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    Are you symptomatic of a UTI? Dipstick testing is really going out of fashion (medically speaking) for confirming uti for a number of reasons.
    First off - they just show that there is bacteria - that bacteria could be normal vaginal bacteria, bacteria from bacterial vaginosis or from within the urine itself - unless you send it off to be cultured in a lab and it’s positive you don’t necessarily have a UTI.
    25% of females test positive for UTIs at all times on dipsticks, something like 50% do in the over 60s group and for those is care homes it’s something like 75% plus. I can’t recall the stats for males but men have lower false positive rates due to anatomy but it still happens.
    If you don’t have symptoms (burning/discomfort, lower abdo pain, flank pain, increased urge, new incontinence, blood in your urine etc) then you probably don’t have a uti. If you do have symptoms then give your doctor a sample and get cultures grown from it to confirm. Also if you have blood in your urine definitely go to dr.
    And even if you do have a UTI - these things just sometimes happen - I wouldn’t necessarily put it down to keto with a single uti :-)

    Thank you for that I will definitely take that into account, i dont have any other symptoms of the uti and wanted to know if its exacerbated by the keto diet, i am taking antibiotics- just wanted to make sure Im not causing any long term damage from keto. Thanks again for passing on the knowledge
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    Probably normal bacteria being concentrated by dehydration is my guess
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    ^^^ That sounds very likely.

    I've never seen any correlation between UTIs and keto. I haven't had one in years, and I've been keto for years. Just my n=1
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    edited October 2018
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    Dehydration due to the diuretic effect of low carb and improper sodium and fluid intake by the user results in many issues that keto ultimately gets blamed for.
    Some people suffer sudden gout pain upon going keto and blame the meat but, dehydration prevents proper excretion of uric acid so it’s not uncommon to see this happen and it makes people quit and tell all their friends that keto causes gout.
    Same for sudden kidney or bladder stones.
    The term “keto flu” is something thought to be unavoidable and simply some kind of detoxing/sugar withdrawal but it’s just low sodium/dehydration and 100% preventable.
    Dehydration is inevitable and unavoidable by anyone going very low carb that isn’t aware of the sodium and fluid needs or doesn’t take it seriously.
    Even the very common constipation and itchy skin issues that come up so often can be explained by dehydration.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    I recently had two urineanalysis tests, both said I had a UTI until I got back the cultures, which were clear. So yes, agree with ALL of the above...

    I hope you're feeling much better by now!
  • fatsork
    fatsork Posts: 82 Member
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    KnitOrMiss wrote: »
    I recently had two urineanalysis tests, both said I had a UTI until I got back the cultures, which were clear. So yes, agree with ALL of the above...

    I hope you're feeling much better by now!

    I am thank you , maybe urinalysis not very accurate
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    The urine tests are an inexpensive screening tool, whereas the cultures take more time and funds to do. If someone has complaints that seem like a uti, and the urine test.comes back flagged, they can start the person on antibiotics right away, rather than a few days later after the cultures come back...which can be way worse for pain and infections. And so on.

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