Update on My Doctor/Kidney/UTI Concern

I agree that you're misreading the doctor and nurse. For some reason you're expecting them to not take you seriously. Perhaps because your family doesn't. I suggest that when you start to think that the doctor and nurse are doing these things you stop yourself and tell your self that they are professional people who do care about your well being. Be doing this you can change the way that you think and feel.

Think about how he's referring you to a urologist is taking you seriously. He's honest and says he doesn't know what is causing your symptoms. That doesn't mean that he doesn't believe you. It only means he doesn't know. A doctor told me once that not knowing why I was in so much pain only indicated that that it would take more time to figure it out in response to my question asking him point blank if my pain was psychosomatic. I have endometriosis. It took many years to know that. During those years I had tests and eventually surgery. It was only persistence over time that gave me an answer.

Also consider that the nurse was smiling in sympathy not smirking. Or that she's new and was smiling because she's uncomfortable. Give people the benefit of the doubt.

What is most important is that you call now and make that appointment. What does it matter what the doctor and nurse think. What matters is that you have pain and the urologist is the next step in learning what is causing the pain. Do not get side tracked with your anxiety and fear over what the doctor thinks.

If you can't shake the feeling that the doctor and nurse aren't taking you seriously, try some counseling to find out why you're prone to expecting the worst and a way to change the way you think. As I typed this it clicked for me that you learned this way of thinking from your family. You said that they're prone to think the worst. You're doing the same thing with the doctor.

With any Bladder infection, their is some blood noted in the urine. So, please don't freak yourself out.

Next, I would go to a Urologist. Your Dr. should always refer you to a Urologist if your bladder needs further examination. Especially if you suffer from frequent UTI's or other related issues. My father is a Urologist, and their is nothing to gain by not going to someone who is able to treat you accurately.

I think you could just be embarrased and nervous and are reading into something that isn't there. I do that all the time! Don't worry about it. Just get treated!

Good luck hun!

I agree with Marda.
Call the urologist. Your doctor gave you a referral for a reason, and I'm fairly sure the reason wasn't to make a fool of you.

Think about it rationally...why would he waste anyone's time like that? I've worked in hospitals and I've also been a patient many times. Not all doctors and nurses have the best bedside manner. It doesn't mean they don't take things seriously.

The fact that you were raised with people who always see the worst case scenario isn't helping matters. I know people like this and they are their own worst enemies. Be thankful for things that have been ruled out and don't borrow trouble. You had some tests, there isn't anything definitive. Your doctor referred you. It's not a death sentence. I think it would be well worth it to talk to your doctor about your anxiety over all of this.

As for the nurse....I got really sick when I was 19. I had to have my appendix and an ovary removed. I obviously lived. Anyway, I couldn't believe they wanted me up and walking so soon. I was in so much pain. I admit I was not the best patient, I was actually a brat about it. Some of my nurses were very sweet and gentle, but I had one who took zero monkey business. She told me if I didn't get up to walk, she was going to drag my I.V. pole down the hall and I would follow on my feet or on my butt. I thought she was SO mean. However, I had a history of pneumonia and I needed to be up and moving so that wouldn't be a complication of my surgery. She actuallly cared about me and you better believe I got out of bed and walked. She knew I hurt and wasn't making it up. But, she wasn't going to let me lay in that bed and get pneumonia either.

I'm just trying to say that not getting a reaction you expected is not the same thing as people thinking you're an idiot or not taking you seriously. Doctors and nurses are not alarmists, in general, especially if they are dealing with someone who is very nervous about things in the first place.

Follow up on the referral. Your doctor will have no more answers than he does now if you don't. Take good care of yourself in the meantime.

Best wishes.

Your doctor IS taking you seriously. He ran all the tests that he should run given your symptoms. He is now saying that this is the extent of his knowledge in this area, and that the best thing to do is to refer you to a urologist.

If you have blood in your urine and the urine culture and CTScan do not show anything, it's time to see a urologist.

Please do as Marda suggested. When you feel yourself starting to question whether or not the doctor or nurse are smirking at you, remind yourself that they really probably are not. I really don't think they think you are making anything up. You have blood in your urine. That's something that they know from running a test, so it's not based on you telling them that it's true. It really is true.

Try to relax. It really is possible that the antibiotics are working, they just aren't done working, yet. It's also possible that there is something else going on, but either way, the best thing you can do is see the urologist.

Call him/her! Make the appointment and see what he/she has to say. You'll be glad you did.

Call the urologist and set up an appt. One of my close friends had something go wrong with the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder. Something was causing a blockage or a valve wasn't working or some such thing. It caused urine to back up into her kidney causing "water on the kidney" because what was getting through was going through slowly. She was in tremendous pain, and it was damaging her kidney too. On top of that, before finding this issue, they thought she had an autoimmune disorder causing the bladder lining to basically destroy itself. Once the situation with the urine backing up into her kidney, the autoimmune issue was significantly easier to control. All of this just kind of hit in her 30s without much warning. The thing is that she didn't have an infection, but she had conditions that were serious and required extensive treatments. Whatever is going on with you is not something to ignore. There isn't much a primary care dr can do for you, if you don't have an infection. When everything is working right, urine is sterile (one of the very few facts that I remember from high school biology), so it should not contain blood. A urologist can check exactly how urine is flowing and any issues that exist. He can also prescribe medications that act as preventatives to UTI's, etc. Get checked so that you can get the treatment and relief that you need.

When you say blood in your urine, do you mean obvious red blood streaks or orange urine or microscopic blood in the urine or wine colored urine?
It makes a difference. Be exact with the urologist.