greeting from nowhere

[spencoid2]

I live in just about the middle of nowhere, slight to the North. Going to town for a simple test takes half the day and I have gotten so far behind in work that I just can't keep doing this.

I recently had what I thought was a urinary tract infection based on pain and additional difficulty urinating. I had an emergency supply of antibiotics. I did get to town for urinalysis but this was after taking antibiotics so the results were inconclusive. Not enough bacteria to do cultures. Now I ma having what seems like a recurrence and i need to get another analysis but want to avoid this as long as possible because i really need to get work done.

I am having pain in my kidney area which was really bad at one point but i think responded to pain meds or maybe just went away.

I have Roch chemstrip7 dip strips and currently i am high on four of the five pH is almost normal and glucose and keytones are close to negative. I also did a microscopic stained sediment slide and all that shows up is a fair amount of red blood cells. rbc is supposed to be close to 0. I have maybe 150 to 200 per counting grid.

So the question is, does this sound like a UTI, a kidney infection? Can I delay in getting professional urinalysis and is there anything else I should have done at the same time. I recently had complete blood work and there were some abnormals but nothing really horrible?

[Hidden]

Please see a urologist immediately. Don’t play around with the kidneys.

[HopingForTheBest1]

As you may know, you have posted your question on our advanced prostate cancer forum. Did you have a PSA test, and are you being treated for PC?

[Hidden in reply to HopingForTheBest1]

I read past postings and replies before responding because I like to know some history of the poster.

This individual has pca and is currently receiving Firmagon. Sometime back he was discussing ED issues.

[HopingForTheBest1 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for doing your due diligence. Appreciate the posting advice.

[Concerned-wife]

Could you become a patient of a doctor who would do video consults. Perhaps they would agree to rely on your tests or know of another way to get then analyzed so you didn’t need to travel.

[spencoid2 in reply to Concerned-wife]

i do most of my visits with specialists on the phone as they are quite far away. great to not have to drive 5 hours to talk to someone.

[Concerned-wife in reply to spencoid2]

Agree. My husband just got off video consult with a specialist. Very grateful for this.

[spencoid2 in reply to Concerned-wife]

I just talked to a support person and heard kids having fun in the background. I thought that was so great. Working at home and video appointments are pretty much the only benefits arising from the covid pandemic. I hope they stick. We can do a lot less damage to our planet if we stop transporting ourselves all over the place.

[MateoBeach]

Interesting that you have a microscope and can do your own sediment slides. Cudos! What is your professional background (if you don't mind sharing)? Were WBCs rare in the slide with the RBCs? Guessing the WBCs on your chemstrip was strongly positive, as was blood and heme. You could put a clean-catch sample in the fridge before starting antibiotics presumptively again. But with a repeat a UTI you need urologic evaluation to find out the underlying cause. (Presuming you are not self-cathing.) Get a referral and urgent appointment to a URO and bring an overnight bag just in case. Good luck

[spencoid2 in reply to MateoBeach]

Husband is taking sample to town today and will get antibiotics to use in case it turns out positive. this time it seems different, less pain in different places but I am on oxtcodon for bone pain so??? i am a manufacturer of small parts. my background is computers and electronics but i added mechanics and machining because i find it so fun. that lead to a business and i have been self employed for many years. I saw virtually no WBCs in the microscope but the dip strip did register for leukocytes as one of the 4 positive tests. i am not good with the microscope yet. i am using uristain which clearly stains the RBCs and is supposed to stain leucocytes purple at the nucleus? did not see any.

I have not seen uro in over a year. when my PC metastasized my oncologist became my regular doctor in addition to my primary care doctor. If my urinalysis from today is negative I guess i need to see the uro again or? I just had complete blood work (about 5 vials) and no one seemed to think that any of the not normal results were significant so i was not terribly concerned with kidney involvement etc.

[j-o-h-n]

Could be a kidney stone...... but get to a urologist asap..... Don't keep us in suspense tell us where your nowhere is.... ("ain't going nowhere")....

*** To play the video click on the title on top of the video ***

youtube.com/watch?v=YxvBPH4...(Not working as expected?)

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Wednesday 05/12/2021 8:37 PM DST

[Chugach]

Dude - I was in the middle of nowhere. Going to the doctor took two days to get there, a ferry and 3 planes and 4000 miles one way. All my money was for ‘medical tourism’. I had to move out of the wilderness and begrudgingly return to civilization. You might want to consider moving.

[spencoid2 in reply to Chugach]

i live in the mountains in Norther CA not really that far considering more remote locations. it is 1.5 hours to a good hospital that has some very good doctors and at least one very bad one 2 hours to a more complete hospital but 4 hours to the closest one with a URO on call.

I don't think there is enough pain for a kidney stone. it is just a nagging pain that is largely removed with a little oxy which is seems i need to take twice a day. i feel much better when i do. it seems that constant nagging pain not necessarily that severe can really affect your mental state and the body's reaction to pain can cause even more.

i got the results of both my urinalysis and that from the lab and they agree. i have quite high RBC moderate leukocytes and a couple of other positives on the dip test which the pro analysis agrees with. my microscope exam also confirms what theirs did lots of red and white blood cells but no bacteria. i have an appointment with URO in a few days, monday i think.

[spencoid2 in reply to Chugach]

not moving, i would rather die here. if i get really weak i might need to change my mind. i work at home in my shop with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock and custom machines. i could never relocate this and survive the process. we bought a toy hauler trailer for both camping and for evacuation when PG&E causes the next fire. Everything is on wheels and i have ramps dollies hydraulic trucks winches etc. This is all new since the evacuations last summer. If I do evac and the place is destroyed I am just turning the machine that i can salvage over to the company for others to use. I can spend some time entertaining myself but if i don't accomplish something significant each day i feel like there is no point in continuing. i have been listening to my huge player piano for hours every night now trying to get tired enough to sleep. even without pain i can not get any sleep if i am not tires. i tend to get exhausted and not tires. great combination.

[Chugach in reply to spencoid2]

Having deep roots in a place is important! Enjoy your piece of the middle of nowhere!