Dealing with UTI symptoms
August 1, 2013 1:58 PM   Subscribe

I've been to two doctors including one urologist and I'm trying to figure what is going on.

I've gotten my bloodwork done twice and a culture test on my urine sample including STD tests and nothing has turned up.

I'm basically having UTI symptoms including urinary incontinence and leaking that are aggravated by caffeine and alcohol. I had a doctor initially tell me that I have a prostate infection that caused an enlarged prostate. I took the antibiotics for some time and next time I came back, the infection was supposedly gone. Every doctor from now on sees nothing wrong and my current doctor won't give me the antibiotics as nothing is showing up on ANY tests that are done.

What should I do? My doctor won't give me anything and none of the tests show anything. All I'm doing is just paying useless co-pays for nothing.
posted by antgly to Health & Fitness (9 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
So you're telling these doctors that you still have urinary incontinence and leaking and they're not doing anything about it?
posted by limeonaire at 3:39 PM on August 1, 2013


Response by poster: Basically. They are telling me "Ok? We can't prescribe you anything unless the tests show something."
posted by antgly at 4:25 PM on August 1, 2013


See a different doctor. I just wrote out a long story, the moral of which is "switch doctors" but you don't need my anecdotal evidence. You may not need antibiotics, but you are WAY too young to have urinary incontinence for no reason.
posted by janey47 at 4:33 PM on August 1, 2013


1. Go see a urologist.
2. Can you clarify "incontinence"? Dribbling or full-on?
3. Check this thread and the thread I mentioned there.
4. You can have a non-bacterial prostatitis that will still respond to antibiotics. You will test negative but be miserable.
Read the threads.
posted by PickeringPete at 4:36 PM on August 1, 2013


It sounds like these are not good doctors because they aren't listening to you! You need a new doctor. You should find a urologist who will do a bladder ultrasound. That can find things that don't show up in a urine test sometimes.

Anyway, not sure if you want to post your area where you live, but perhaps we can all crowdsource a good doctor for you! ZocDoc.com has been pretty great for me, 9 out of 10 times.
posted by manicure12 at 4:37 PM on August 1, 2013


It sounds like seeing a proper urologist is in order.
posted by Blasdelb at 5:46 PM on August 1, 2013


Ask about interstitial cystitis maybe?
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 6:30 PM on August 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I would get a new doc, and ask about interstitial cystitis. It could be that (but could also not be). Also, as my doctor told me, don't freak out by reading the Internet. There's lots of crazy-making stuff about IC on the web that's not necessarily true. Hope you feel better soon. Memail mefi you want to talk to someone who has been in a similar position - and feels a lot better now. :)
posted by Shebear at 7:15 PM on August 1, 2013


Take it from me: It took me 10 years of running around to get a proper diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis... YEARS to get someone to take my symptoms seriously (urgency, frequency...misery...). Doctors always look at the big picture and dismiss the rest. I hounded three GPs and saw two urologists before finally getting a diagnosis. There is help, but unfortunately while you suffer through, you have to do most of the leg work. Be persistent, and don't let them dismiss you! Good luck - hope you feel better soon!
posted by MeatheadBrokeMyChair at 6:04 AM on August 2, 2013


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