Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: elsie001 on July 03, 2017, 10:45:31 AM
-
I was treated for a urine infection a couple of months back and every urine sample I've handed in since has had blood in it. I've no symptoms and results have always come back from the lab saying no cultures found so there's definitely no infection left, just the blood, urea & electrolytes.
Next step will probably be a camera in the bladder, which I've had before when anti-inflammatories were upsetting my stomach - this was long ago, before gastro-resistant drugs were prescribed alongside nsaids.
Can't pin the blame on anti-inflammatories this time though, as not on them any more.
Anyone else had this problem?
-
Blood in the urine shouldn't raise concerns if there is no infection. It could be due to a small tear or soreness.
If you aren't keen on investigations ask for treatment for vaginal atrophy - 4-6 months of either Vagifem or Ovestin. A dip stick test in the surgery is as good as useless, a urine sample HAS to be sent to a Lab to see what grows and if necessary the appropriate Anti-biotic prescribed. Often bladder irritation and blood are caused by natural drying of the vaginal area which has it's own HRT treatment ;-).
Have a look see at the various threads i.e. "My Bladder Etc." .......
-
Thanks CLKD, I am on Vagifem but haven't been on it for long so will see if that does any help. All samples went off to the lab & results came back negative so I definitely know there's no infection going on now, which is good.
I probably will opt for the bladder exam purely because of my past history with stomach lining problems.
-
How long have you used Vagifem? Some ladies find that they require more than 2 weeks 'loading' plus using every night or alternative nights due to it being a lower dose than the 25mg years ago. It really can be Trial and Error ::)
-
Probably 5-6 weeks, CLKD.
-
Every night?
-
No, nightly for 1st 2-3 weeks then twice weekly.
-
Maybe up the preparation to alternate nights for a week to see if symptoms ease?
-
Hi elsie - I had a cystoscopy last week for the same problem and I am on full HRT plus Vagifem. Thankfully everything was perfectly clear and healthy so I've been told not to worry about it as I'm doing all that I can. As well as the cystoscopy I also had a scan of the whole urinary tract including kidneys and this too was clear. I was praised for me complete emptying ability. lol.
I hope that you get a good result. It could be that Vagifem alone isn't enough to keep the bladder tissue healthy. Can I ask why you are having to hand in urine samples if you don't feel any infection symptoms?
Taz x
-
Well done Taz and :thankyou: 4 the update.
-
:thankyou:
Taz x
-
Hi Taz, I'm pleased to hear your cystoscopy went well.
I did originally have a uti (my first ever!), which was successfully treated with antibiotics eventually (the first lot of antibiotics didn't work). Procedure in Scotland is to hand in a repeat sample a week after completing the tablets to check the uti has definitely cleared. I was then told to hand in another one a month later. This one showed quite a lot of blood so was sent off to the lab but none of them have grown cultures whilst there, so the good news is infection cleared up but there's always blood present.
I have noticed a bit of stomach pain recently - very mild cramping, so mild that I don't really notice it during the day when I'm busy, just at times when I'm relaxing.
I have a mirena coil but don't think it's related to that as it's position was checked at my last smear test and all seemed in order there.
-
Is it present in every sample or at certain times of day?
-
Every sample CLKD
-
Hi elsie - I had a cystoscopy last week for the same problem and I am on full HRT plus Vagifem. Thankfully everything was perfectly clear and healthy so I've been told not to worry about it as I'm doing all that I can. As well as the cystoscopy I also had a scan of the whole urinary tract including kidneys and this too was clear. I was praised for me complete emptying ability. lol.
I hope that you get a good result. It could be that Vagifem alone isn't enough to keep the bladder tissue healthy. Can I ask why you are having to hand in urine samples if you don't feel any infection symptoms?
Taz x
I had a cystoscopy due to blood in urine last September (following a UTI). The cystoscopy was clear so I was quite shocked when the hospital urologist insisted on referring me to a nephrologist for further investigation of the blood traces. I had a stressful wait of 3 months. Fortunately the nephrologist wasn't too concerned about it.
-
Katejo, I'm glad to hear that your results came back fine. Good to hear it's not too unusual to have blood in urine despite no other symptoms.
-
elsie: how are the samples today?
-
I haven't handed in any more samples, CLKD. I'll wait and see what the GP's next move is.
-
How do you feel in general?