kidney questions! help!

[heart_of_pomegranite]

last week was a pretty stressful week. i wasn't eating much and i got a bladder infection and assumed that it would go away. i am a school teacher so it is very hard to run to the restroom when i need to, so likely that compounded things and it turned into a kidney infection...a very painful one. i ended up getting antibiotics for it, despite my leanings against it because i couldn't be out of commission and honestly it really scared me. as i was thinking about it, i wondered if being raw (i'm raw again--about a month back into it after a year off) could have meant some kind of detox or at least a more-than-normal use of kidneys.

would it make sense that a kidney or bladder issue was actually compounded by the fact that my kidneys were working overtime? or were the two unrelated? i've never had kidney problems before, but the whole thing made me nervous.
would it be smart to try a kidney cleanse or would that be overworking them now?
opinions...experiences...suggestions....thank you!

[RawGranny]

I have lots of kidney problems and have had many bladder infections in the past. I used to work a job that I would not urinate when I should. I would hold it for long periods of time and just became use to doing that out of habit. That is what was causing my infections. With an active infection you really need to let your kidneys heal. Don't do the kidney cleanse now. Drink lots of filtered water and if you are a juicer, some fresh cranberry juice is wonderful. Don't do the bottled juice as it has lots of added sugars and not good for you.
Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital had the following information on a website post.
Cranberries, blueberries, and lignonberry, a European relative of the cranberry, are three fruits that may have protective properties. Researchers are finding that red pigments in these closely related fruits called tannins (or proanthocyanadins) prevent E. coli bacteria from adhering to cells in the urinary tract, thereby inhibiting infection. Fructose, which is commonly used to sweeten fruit juices, may also interfere with bacterial adhesion.
Cranberry juice offers well-known protection against urinary tract infections. In one study, only 15% of elderly women who drank cranberry juice daily for six months experienced UTIs (urinary tract infection), compared with 28% of women who did not drink the juice. Its effects were stronger in helping the body rid itself of infections than in preventing them in the first place, but it showed benefits in both situations.
Studies have suggested that for protection, it is necessary to drink at least one to two cups of 30% cranberry or lignonberry juice daily, or to take at least 300 mg to 400 mg in tablet form twice daily.

I hope this helps you.

[heart_of_pomegranite]

thank you very much for your help!