Ever use pH strips to check for acid urine?

[Momelf]

My naturopath suggested I use pH strips to check the acidity of my urine first thing in the morning. Thought I'd seen a thread somewhere on the subject but can't find it now.

Thanks for any insight.

Darlene

[ABliske]

i DO test my urine, mostly to test for infections, but it shows the pH.

[windwalker]

I've used em. Always a different result than my uros office. I show w/the strips at home, around 5 or 6 something (I dont have the guide in front of me so I am uncertain of the exact numbers), which is on the acidic side, but at the uros they test it and it usually comes out right around 7. Try not to get your fingers all over the paper/tape, I read somewhere that can mess up the true result. Just hold one end and nothing more.

[ABliske]

7 is good I think. Mine is around a 5 all the time - very acidic. I try not to eat the wrong things but it's really hard. I've heard that even if you eat alkaline foods the extra acid stored up in your body attatches to it and your body tries to rid you of it. I don't know if this is true.

[windwalker]

dont know about that (haven't heard it) and yea, 7 is good, its considered "neutral" I'll never understand why at home I test more acidic than I do at the uros lol.

[Momelf]

Well, I've been checking my urine for about a week now and found that the numbers seem to have no bearing on whether I have pain or not!

Dumb question -- which end is more acidic -- 5 or 8? The only info I've been able to find on the internet is "6.5 to 7.0 is optimal."

[windwalker]

7 is neutral, the lower the number, the more acidic. Not a dumb question at all

[RobinD]

Where do you buy the strips? I would like to test mine. So 7 is what I want it to be?

[windwalker]

The ICN sells the strips. They can also be purchased at health food stores or online. I can only say 7 is neutral, and is where mine usually is at when I go to the uro. I would say the closer to 7 the better, but I'd just check w/your uro/doc on that.

[Bea]

I have always tested at a 5 or 6.. I am assuming that is bad. .but even if I avoid all acid foods I test this way.. what can I do to stop that.. and what does a person without ic typically test at

[Momelf]

Those are good questions. Yes, 5-6 is acidic, 7 being neutral. Don't know what "normal" folks test at, but I've tossed the ph strips out the window. With repeated daily testing, the acidity of my urine has NO bearing on whether I have pain or not. That sure was a surprise.

Seems now like a useless endeavor. The ph strips, I mean.

[ABliske]

momelf, you can take Ph pills. They will make your Ph test normal. I don't feel that they help my pain at all though. My dr. has me taking Urokit-K, a potassium pill for more alkaline urine. I've never discussed the Ph pills with him. My husband just got them for me when I was diagnosed.
Normal would be 7. My husband tested his and it was right there even though he was eating sweets and junk food.

[Momelf]

Thanks for the info, ABliske. I had hoped to find some correlation between acidity and pain, but that didn't happen. I'm striving to become healthier in general -- no wheat, no meat (except salmon sometimes), 50% of the dairy I used to eat. That's got to impact my IC over the long haul.

Glad to hear the ph pills help you.

[Sarojini]

I stole some pH strips from the lab I was working in once, and my husband and I both peed on 'em... HIS urine was more acidic than mine was! He, of course, was pain free and had an 800cc bladder capacity, and at the time, I had a 90cc bladder capacity and agonizing pain. Soooooo.... after several repetitions of this experiment, and several checks on my own that indicated that there was NO corrolation with pH and symptoms, I gave up wondering about pH and my bladder...

[Momelf]

Jenn -- thanks for the confirmation! It's amazing what we all go through to try and figure out this IC thing.

Darlene