Blood In Urine Again!

[Creed3]

Hi Everyone!
It seems like lately so much has been happening to me. You may remember that about six months ago I had a little blood in my urine. Cysto and Ct scan showed everything was fine. No problems. Well I just recently was having some back pain that was around my left lower back and went down my left buttock to my upper left thight. My doc told me that he thought it was probably sciatica or a kidney stone. The major pain went away in about 12 hours or so. I have been having small twinges every now and again. I also have been having some strange sensations down around the vaginal area. I noticed today that I have blood in my urine again. I am also about a week into my period but the blood in the urine came when I was wearing a tampon. I went back to my doc and he took a urine sample. He did a dipstick test and it said that I have an infection. He prescribed cipro for me to take for a week. He also told me that he might get a ct scan to check for a kidney stone. At first I was relieved to hear that there was a UTI but then I began reading some things and I am now worried about endocarditis. One thing I read said that endocarditis can cause blood in the urine and uti etc.....I just don't know what to believe and I have myself so scared now that I have endocarditis. It just seems that whenever things are going smoothly something comes along to freak me out. My doc told me that this shouldn't be anything serious. He said that I just had a cysto and ct scan six months ago and that something like cancer would not have occurred that quickly.
Oh, another thing that was done on Monday was an xray. My doc told me that my xray showed narrowing of some disks low around the L4 and S areas. Again, he said nothing really to worry about. I am just scared that this is something major again. Any opinions would be helpful.

Thanks & Take Care!
Gail

 

[Guest]

Most blood in the urine goes away just like it started, for no known reason. You have done the right things.

 

[DrAllan]

Hi Creed3,

I appreciate your problem, however, there are some inconsistencies in your description from a medical point of view. First you say that 6 months ago you had a cysto and CT scan. Was the scan of your kidneys and bladder? After this your doctor tells you ?he thought it was probably sciatica or a kidney stone.? On the basis of your workup to that point if you have a stone it is radiolucent and thus not seen on CT x-ray exam. In order to prove this as a diagnosis you would need either an ultrasound (which will not show stones smaller than 3mm, or an IVP (intravenous pylogram) where dye is injected and then the x-ray obtained.

As far as you having blood in your urine while menstruating, careful specimen collection is needed. The gold standard would be to obtain a cathertized specimen. Second would be careful cleansing of the vulvar area, insertion of a fresh tampon, recleaning the vulva and then collecting a voided specimen. Without this precaution, the presence of blood in the urine is suspect.

The relationship of hematuria and endocarditis is more complex. There is primary kidney damage with a specific diagnosis of glomerulonehphritis. It is this disease proves that causes the hematuria. The chances of you having the complication without the obvious fever of subacute endocarditis are highly unlikely.

 

[centuryltd]

Hi,

Having had endocarditis I would only add one thing, insist that the doctor order some blood cultures!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery and good outcome,

Steve

 

[PamO]

I would see my ob/gyn. So many "female" problems' are masked by other symptoms. Not to be screaming "FIRE" but I would talk to my doc about a CA125 test to rule out ovarian or other cancers. I had some of your symptoms not too long ago and yes, I ended up having an infection, but my doctor did a CA 125 because of my "twingy" feeling in my hoo-hah (sorry, it's habit to call it that!), crampy pain, and a little spotting.

 

[Creed3]

Thanks

Thanks

everyone for your responses.
Dr. Allen, sorry if my post was confusing. This is how things occurred starting with summer/fall 2005. I first had my pap test and an ultrasound of the uterus in case I was going to have a uterine ablation done. Everything with both of those tests came back fine. No problems, everything normal. In October I had some blood in my urine. I didn't have any pain just blood in the urine. My doc did a urine test and it came back as being normal. No infection. My doc then sent me to a urologist. He looked at some recent blood work I had to check my kidneys etc....and everything was fine, normal. The urologist then sent me for a ct scan of the abdomen and the pelvic area. The ct scan showed everything was fine. No problems at all except for some tiney gallstones and a 6 to 7mm simple hepatic cyst, water density lesion consistant with simple cyst. I was told that was nothing at all to worry about and was of no consiquence. When I had my cysto everything was fine. No indication of anything abnormal. The urologist took a wash of the bladder and everything came back negative, everything was fine, no problems.
Now the present problem. Monday I went to my doctor with lower left back pain that radiated over my buttock and into my upper thigh. I also had a strange sensation in my rectum like I had to go to the bathroom. I was able to urinate and pass stoole. The strange sensation was also in the vulva area on and off. I had an xray done on Monday that showed I had narrowing of the disks around the L4 and S area. The pain subsided pretty much after taking flexeril and tylenol with codeine. A few days later I would have little twinges in my lower back and vulva area but not the kind of pain I had earlier in the week. I then started to check and see if I had blood in my urine. It was hard to tell since I still had my period. I put a tampon in and checked my urine several times and there was blood in my urine and I was getting slight back pain again with the strange sensation in the vulva area. I went to see my doc to give him a urine sample. I asked if I needed to remove my tampon to give a clean catch but they told me to just give them a sample. I tried to clean the area as best as possible and gave a mid stream sample. The urine had blood in it. There also appeared to be clots or something. I showed the nurse but she didn't say much. They did a quick test in the office which showed an infection. My doc gave me 5 days worth of cypro for the infection and wanted me to have a ct scan done. He told me that this isn't anything serious since I had previously had all those tests done in 2005. He told me that the main thing he is looking for is a kidney stone. When I came home I had a UTI home test that I took. It showed that I have an infection. So I am now at the point of wondering if this is just simply an infection or possibly a kidney stone or something else. When I asked him what else it could be he pretty much said it sounded like a kidney stone and that is what he was checking for. I asked if there was anything to see on the xray that had been done and he said that you wouldn't see a kidney stone on an xray. I am just jumping all over the place with what it might be. One minute I'm thinking it isn't anything serious but then my anxiety always leads me down the path of something catastrophic such as cancer etc.....eventhough my doc insists that whatever this is that it isn't anything major like cancer. Then I start to do reading and realize that endocarditis is a possibility. I am just so tired of worrying what is going on. My doc's nurse called back and has me scheduled for a ct scan on Tuesday very early in the morning. Would a kidney stone show up on a ct scan? What would and wouldn't show up on a ct scan? Thanks for responding to my thread and I'm sorry to be going on and on here but I just wanted to clarify the details for you.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[Creed3]

Thanks

Thanks

Pam and everyone else for your responses.
Pam,
I am due for my gyn appt later this summer. Less than a year ago I had had my pap test as well as a uterine ultrasound to check my ovaries and uterus etc....in case I was going to have a uterine ablation done. Everything was normal and just fine with both tests. So it seems like with all of the tests I have had done within the last nine months or so everything comes back pretty normal. I am going to take my cipro and my doc has scheduled a ct scan for Tuesday. I guess I'll just see what happens after the ct scan and also see if the cipro helps with the pain and sensations. I was thinking earlier today that if this pain and strange sensation continues that I will go see my gyn before my scheduled appt later this summer. I hate not knowing what is going on. That makes me just jump to the worst conclusion. I really appreciate your advice.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[Ross]

Gail have they done a Kidney Scan on you? What your saying here sounds so much like what put Lyn in the hospital last year. Hers turned out to be a blockage of the ureter from a defect at birth. All her small vessels wrapped around the ureter and strangulated it. They have a name for it and I forget it now. They did not see this until it closed it off completely. She had all the symptoms your describing here.

 

[Creed3]

Hey Ross!

Hey Ross!

No I never had an actual kidney scan. The only thing they did was back in the fall. That was a ct scan with dye of the abdomen and pelvic area. I was scheduled to have an xray with dye but they said a ct scan would show more. I haven't had any problems since that ct scan until now which is six to seven months later. Now I have to go through another ct scan all over again. Won't a ct scan show something like what Lyn had? What about any bloodwork? Wouldn't bloodwork be off for the kidneys etc....? It is something I will mention to my doc. Thanks for the information.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[Creed3]

High Soy Diet

High Soy Diet

Hi Everyone!
I have been doing some research on possible causes of kidney stones. If I do indeed have a kidney stone I have read that diets high in soy can cause kidney stones. I don't know if you all remember but I had started a thread a few months ago where I started eating nutrasystem meals to try to lose weight and to help with my cholesterol and triglicerides. I decided to check about diets with high soy just because that is something that I have changed fairly recently when it comes to my diet. I started the diet in mid March. I am now starting to wonder if my new diet has possibly caused kidney stones or an infection of some sort. Just something I thought I would throw out there and see if anyone has any opinions.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[Ross]

Bloodwork will only tell how well the kidneys are functioning. You can have excellent results and still have a major problem. They had Lyn do a scan with Lasix administered and contrast dye injected because they saw nothing with the normal pelvic and abdomen ct. That is how they found the blockage. She had, what we thought were urinary tract infections off and on, but now know what the true cause was. Heck of a way to find out, that's for sure.

 

[Creed3]

Had CT Today!

Had CT Today!

Well, I had my ct scan today. It went pretty quickly. I know techs aren't supposed to say anything to you regarding the scan but he did. I didn't ask, he just brought it up on his own. On the way out all he asked me was if I ever had problems with my gallbladder. I said no, but that I knew from my last scan that I had many small gallstones. That was all he said. I guess I will hear something in a day or so.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[Ross]

I hate that. You know they know now, but they make you wait anyway. Well I'll wait with ya.

 

[Creed3]

Received Results

Received Results

I just received my ct scan results this morning. They told me everything was normal. When I asked what might have caused everything they said it was most likely the infection. I have taken my five days of cipro for the UTI. Do you all think there is any reason to worry about endocarditis with this infection? I will ask my doc when they call back with my INR and Cholesterol results.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[Ross]

Nope. If were going to happen, it would have already.

 

[Janea]

I had kidney stones during my first pregnancy. I did some reading in a book by nutritionist Adelle Davis. She recommended some dietary changes that could fix the problem. If you are still having the stones, strain your urine (gross I know) and try to catch one of them. They are usually made out of one or two minerals. Mine was made up of calcium so I took some magnesium vitamins to help my body better absorb calcium. The next stone I passed crumbled, and then I never had anymore. Let me know if your want more specifics and I'll look it up for you. Good Luck!