Have you been checked for kidney stones they can produce many similar symptoms as well?
I may be way off base with this, but… I wonder if you have a narrow urethra.
In his early/mid 20s, my brother had serious paind and difficulty urinating (including the plugged up feeling that you described). It was extremely frustrating and scary for him before his narrow urethra diagnosis. He’s undergone 2 surgeries (years apart) to correct it. I don’t know if everything is totally normal now, but I know he’s a lot better.
Whatever it is, I hope it’s fixable. Fingers crossed.
Two months seems a little bit crazy. Don’t wait it out by yourself. You need your husband’s support and/or an earlier appointment.
Can you get painless kidney stones? I have always been under the impression they are horribly painful and make you very sick.
Yes, cultures have been done. Last one came back positive for Enterococcus and they picked something from the list of antibiotics that came back from the lab. I’ve followed all the directions on taking the meds too.
I suppose this is why they want to do a CT as well - to see if there’s any structural issues, etc. Unfortunately the date for that was cancelled since the urinalysis came back positive - they don’t want to do expensive testing for no reason, but I have been done with the meds for a week now with no change.
Best of luck to you, and I hope you can reduce your worrying. Most people don’t have bladder cancer, including most people who get plugged up and have a little blood and the like.
If you do have bladder cancer, it can turn out fine. My friend’s wife had it and recovered. So did my father in law - he died a few years later of other causes, but the cancer seemed fixed.
But it is likelier that you don’t.
You might be on the lookout for drug-resistant infections. I just read an article in the current Scientific American that cited the example of a lady with a UTI. There is a gene for drug resistance that recently crossed into E. coli and is creating fears of a growing problem.
You could certainly also have a stone, as far as I know (IANA doctor). I have had plenty. If you want to know exactly what a stone feels like, ask somebody that has only had a few. I have had more than 40, and have learned that there is a great variety in how they feel and behave.
I agree with your eagerness to get scoped quickly. If you can go to someplace less impressive than the big university centers and get on a schedule sooner, great - ANY doctor is going to get a better view of whatever is going on than the (blank) view you have today!
Don’t holler until you’re hurt.
Don’t sweat the news–because the odds are on your side.
Bladder infection–common.
Bladder cancer–vastly more rare.
I know what it’s like to worry about something like that. I found out last friday that suspicous spot on my tongue had cleared up and wouldn’t need a biopsy. When the dentist told me ok come back in two weeks and if it doesn’t clear up we’ll send you for a forensic culture or some other term like that. You mean a biospy I asked ? She nodded. Oral cancer is in my family it took my uncles life.
I tried not to think about it for two weeks but it wasn’t easy. But really there is no point in worrying about it until that date comes around for the test. It’s hard I know but give it a shot
And to leave you on a positive note you mentioned this:
Stick with that.
If the experts think it’s likely a urinary tract infection a very good chance that’s all it is. You don’t need the stress and anxiety that comes with worry. Be positive and hang in there.
I wanted to thank everyone for their input and well wishes. I really appreciate it and y’all helped me to quit freaking out.
A little update.
I got a CT scan last week - and it revealed the issue. I have a fibroid tumor the size of a grapefruit that is compressing my bladder! :eek: Imagine my surprise. There’s also a small ovarian cyst that bears watching. At least all the really important stuff (liver, pancreas, kidneys, etc.) are all looking good. And this makes sense to me now, considering some other symptoms that have been cropping up recently.
I’ve been referred to an OB-GYN that specializes in minimally invasive surgery to see what my options are regarding this thing. Scared of surgery, but I know there’s many thousands of women every year who have gyn surgery and come out OK.
Female parts. More trouble than they’re worth (in my case anyway). Telling my male bosses I may have to have surgery and need some time off was entertaining - as soon as I said it was a female problem they were all “LALALA do whatever you need to do!” 
that is one of the few benefits women have… “the female troubles”. there isn’t anything more powerful.
best of luck and i hope things go well with the ob gyn.
Glad to hear that they know what is going on.
Minimally invasive surgery can be very gentle (comparatively.) I have had some from which I was up and walking around the same day and usually was sent home the next day.
Sending out healing thoughts!
Well, here’s a phrase I never thought I’d use: Yay, it’s just a tumor! 
Don’t get me wrong, fibroids suck, and I’m sorry you’re going through this. But do you feel just a little better knowing what it is and that it’s treatable and not cancer? I do.
Oh totally! In the days before the CT, I began to suspect there was something ‘in there’ - when I’d bend over I could feel … things bumping into other things. And sitting for a long period is uncomfortable at times. And sometimes I have to pee every 15 minutes - which I know happens with women who are pregnant when the fetus begins to expand the uterus into the bladder’s usual space. Needless to say, a benign thing is way better than a cancerous thing. Though I am sure there are more tests ahead - we still have to see what’s up with the cyst. There are a lot of discussions and decisions ahead. There’s a lot more choices than just an automatic hysterectomy these days.
Yay for benign! Boo for surgery and fibroids and cysts and stuff. Female parts are indeed more trouble than they’re worth (for me, too).
You can ask about uterine artery embolization for the fibroids, which chokes off the blood supply to them. It’s minimally invasive and of course preserves the uterus. My gyno didn’t tell me about this option for mine (maybe because the hospital he’s affiliated with doesn’t do the procedure?) and when they start to get annoying I definitely will see if it’s an option. Good luck!
Oh good, they found it and they’re going to fix it! ((romansperson))
Thanks, and yes, UAE is one of the things that the med center I have my initial appt. with does offer. Of course it won’t address the ovarian cyst and I’ll need to keep in mind what my insurance will pay for … but I will definitely ask if I might be a candidate just to see if that’s something I can think about (not all fibroids can be treated with this method). They also offer something called MRI-guided focused ultrasound but I’ll bet the insurance won’t want to touch that since it’s so new. I’ve found out in my research that Condoleezza Rice had UAE at Georgetown back in 2004. If it’s good enough for her it is for me. 
And even if I end up having to have surgery at some later point the UAE will kill off the blood supply of this fibroid which should make surgery easier. Now that I know this is going to be a problem for me I can keep an eye on it - though at 49 I’d hope it won’t be a problem too much longer.
Funny thing - I work for one of the universities in this area that has a major medical center but I’ve been working with the ‘rival’ one on this issue since my PCP is affiliated with them and I’ve been able to get appointments in a more timely manner with them. Today I called the fibroid specialty center at the U where I work to see if I could get a 2nd opinion from them - and it turns out that the two interventional radiologists that do UAE and work for them are/were students of the academic department I work for … which means I know them. That could be weird - I’ve fixed their computer problems for them as our students, so now it might be their turn to fix me (and if I have trouble getting an appt. I’ll be emailing them, lol).
One frustrating thing is that there seems to be no objective way to find out how good a surgeon the doctor I’ve been assigned to is - he’s got a good rep, but I’d sure like to see numbers …
Holy crap, a grapefruit. I’m so glad you don’t have bladder cancer!
Best of luck sorting it all out, let us know how it goes. They have made amazing progress in the past 5-10 years with technology for this type of surgery (as well I know from like half the women I know having to have surgeries for various ‘female problems’), you will probably be walking and feeling fine within a couple days or even the day of.
Wow. Glad it wasn’t life-threatening, but a grapefruit? Wow. Best wishes with the treatment. Like others have said, there have been great advances in this field.
Yep, a grapefruit. And the worst part is, there a lot of women with bigger ones, and multiples too. That’s what I get for Googling this stuff. :smack: