Drinking cranberry juice might be helpful in controlling UTIs. Taking cranberry supplement pills probably won't be. âÂÂThere is an active ingredient in cranberries that can prevent adherence of bacteria to the bladder wall, particularly E. coli,â says urologist Courtenay Moore, MD. âÂÂBut most of the studies have shown that juice and supplements donâÂÂt have enough of this active ingredient, A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs), to prevent bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract.â Overall, clinical studies on the efficacy of cranberry juices and extracts for the prevention of UTIs are conflicting. In 2012, the Cochrane Data Base identified 24 studies comparing cranberry products (juice or extracts) to control or alternative treatments. The review found that compared with placebo, cranberry products did not significantly reduce the occurrence of UTIs. The effectiveness of cranberry was not significantly different to antibiotics for women. Also, because supplements are not regulated by the FDA, it is not known how much of the active ingredient each product contains. Therefore, many of the products may not have enough of the active ingredient to be effective in preventing bacterial adherence to the bladder wall." I drink a concentrated cranberry juice (much stronger than the usual bottled cranberry cocktail), although not for UTI prevention. I don't know what its PAC content is, though it's likely significantly higher than in cranberry juice cocktail mixes. Here is a link that might be useful: cranberry juice and UTIs

Vickie, Sorry the spreadsheet didn't work for you. If you have any other type of spreadsheet program on you computer I can try to set it up for you (quattro, lotus, etc.). Otherwise here's what I'd do for your size pond and the strength of your "stuff".... @ 900 gallons add about 2 3/4 teaspoons (just shy of a tablespoon) of your solution. Likewise add just shy of 1/2 tablespoon of "stump remover" or potassium nitrate. Do this about once a week. I'd be a bit careful with your liquid iron because of the copper concentration but you could add that every other week with no harm. Just dump it and the potassium nitrate/stump remover in right by the pump intake and it will take care of mixing and dispersing it for you. You'll be amazed at the change in you water hyacinths within a week ! Good luck. ---David

Do get a second opinion to make sure you know all your options. In 2002 I was in surgery for 6 hours to repair a cystocele, a severe rectocele and complete tear of the vaginal wall. At the time a hysterectomy was done also. This surgery was done through an abdominal incision. I then spent 2 weeks in a rehab hospital before I could come home. This past January, I had to have more work on the rectocele, plus a bladder suspension. This was done vaginally. A new procedure that my doctor (from UPMC Hospital in Pittsburgh) has done research on worked wonders. I hope you find the help you need to correct this problem.

Wow, sounds like Sawyer is getting the whole kit and kaboodle! And it sounds like you have a LOT to do! Everything sounds good to me, except is she going to stop taking the bethanechol? With UMN bladder, she doesn't need it, as it tightens the urinary sphincter and that is already her problem. Also have you mastered the fine art of expressing her bladder? Sorry she has the more difficult problem to express, but I think you can handle anything that comes your way. The vet makes a good point about the rabies vaccine lasting longer than the legal 3 years. However, the duration of immunity is tested on young healthy animals who are challenged in a laboratory setting. Real life is often more complicated than what is replicated in the laboratory. Not all dogs are healthy when vaccinated, and we don't always know that they didn't mount an appropriate immune response to vaccination; the viral load in real life varies quite a bit from the lab; animals bit closer to the CNS are more likely to get the disease. My concern in your case is that you know Sawyer has a risk of being bitten, which is bad enough in and of itself, but rabid animals also tend to bite people. A couple of years ago, a properly vaccinated cat in NC savagely attacked several people in its family, and escaped through an open window. It was found later that day, and the family very reluctantly agreed to euthanize the cat and have it tested for rabies. It was positive. The parents said that if they had not found the cat, they would have never thought to seek treatment for rabies themselves or for their child who was also bit. They would have all died. And remember, this was a properly vaccinated cat. So while I am in total agreement that there are risks to vaccination which increase in some disease states, I am also very cautious about recommending against rabies vaccines because of the public health risk. Weird things happen, which is why the law (at least here in NC) is that all dogs and cats must be rabies vaccinated before 16 weeks, one year after that, and every 3 years thereafter. NC does not have a health exemption for rabies vaccines, but some states do. It would only protect you from a fine in case Sawyer was found wandering the streets and picked up by animal control. The pyrrosia14 is used for a variety of urinary tract problems including UTIs. I haven't heard of cord tablets; I'd be interested to learn what is in them. My Max (also a Lab) gets homemade food for his multitude of health issues- one kidney (the other one had to be removed due to an abscess), recurrent struvite bladder stones, mild heart disease, joint disease, food allergies. I can make 9 days worth of food in about 2 hours for him. He gets rice, chicken, eggs, mixed veggies, salmon oil, veggie oil, and a vitamin/mineral premix. His recipe came from a nutritionist because I was at a loss on what to feed him. My other 3 dogs are still on dog food (Solid Gold Wolf King) until I start making enough money to cook for them too. I do give them homemade food 1-2 times a week, plus they all get turkey necks or something raw 1-2 times a week as a treat. But I'd love to be able to cook for all of them. I like cooking, even for myself, though. How's Sawyer doing after her BIG day? Most pets get a little worse the first 1-2 days after their first couple of acupuncture-type treatments, but then get much better. I hope she is feeling better already.