It was in November, when I developed my ninth urinary tract infection (UTI) in four months, that I began to wonder if I had some awful disease. Could I have kidney disease – or even bladder cancer? What was going on?

Each time the symptoms were the same – stinging and burning whenever I went to the loo, together with a need to urinate all the time – often urgently.

This, along with blood in the urine and pain in the abdomen, is typical of the symptoms of a UTI – an infection of the bladder, kidney or urethra (the tube that takes urine out of the body). They are referred to as ‘recurrent’ if you have three or more a year.

The reason I had become so prone to them was not due to a dreadful disease – but, as I would discover, due to the menopause.

What upset me was the discovery that there was a ‘wonder-drug’ solution. So why did no one suggest it to me sooner?

The increased risk of UTIs is a characteristic of the menopause (and post menopause) but ‘we don’t talk about and we should’, says Mary Garthwaite, a former urology consultant surgeon wh is now CEO of the charity The Urology Foundation.

The drop in oestrogen that accompanies the menopause leads to thinning of the tissues around the vagina and urethra – making it easier for bacteria, such as E. coli, to find its way from the bowel.

‘The vagina and the bowel are in very close proximity,’ says Dr Garthwaite, ‘and when the tissue around the vagina becomes thin after menopause, as oestrogen leaves the body, it makes it easier for infections to thrive’.

As women get older, UTIs may be a result of menopause rather than sexual activity

Lynne Wallis feared she had cancer

What’s more, the make-up of ‘good’ bacteria in the area is in constant flux, making infections more likely.

Like many women, however, I knew none of this when I went through the menopause in my mid-50s in 2016.

It was in July 2025 that I was hit by the early telltale signs of a UTI – an uncomfortable burning sensation whenever I went to the loo – something I hadn’t experienced in decades.

I did what I used to do when I was struck by UTIs as a younger woman (when they are often linked to sex rather than thinning tissues) – I bought some cranberry juice and a powder remedy made from cranberries, which always used to work. It didn’t this time.

A few days later I went to my GP who agreed I probably had a UTI and prescribed antibiotics.

They worked, but a week or so after finishing the pills my symptoms returned – and this time, I was on holiday in France.

It was an hour’s drive on a motorway to see a doctor to get a prescription. And by the time I got to the late-night chemist I was tearful and in chronic pain but gratefully collected the prescribed antibiotics, the same one I had in the UK.