Borderline folate and blood in urine - no follow up needed. Is this correct?

[Tootscat]

Hi all,

I have recently presented with recurring UTI and microscopic blood in my urine. Blood test result came back with borderline folate, but no follow up with it. I still have the blood in my urine, which is not being investigated. Is this correct?

I still have symptoms regarding tiredness and lethargy etc.

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this and before I push for it to be taken more seriously.

Thanks!

[Vickysponge357]

I’m afraid I cannot shed any light I this, however since last November my urine tests have been showing up as blood in my urine but my gp seemed to put this fact to the side. I am interested to see what responses for the other ladies you may get!

[RJS626 in reply to Vickysponge357]

Likewise Vicky - my old gynaecologist sent my GP a letter asking her to refer me to the urology department given evidence of blood in urine for 4 months and the GP ignored his request because I was 'on the waiting list for a laparoscopy'. When in fact, my new gynaecologist wanted to look inside my bladder to investigate while I was under anaesthetic for my laparoscopy which required a separate cystoscopy so I don't know what my GP was thinking with that delay tactic - I even asked if I could give her another urine sample to check and she said no!

Tootscat, I hope you get somewhere pushing for this and aren't feeling too worried about it all. If you by any chance have a gynaecologist appointment coming up and find you're getting nowhere with the GP then they should (I think) be able to refer you to urological services if they're within the same hospital, that's what my consultant did so hopefully applies to you too

[justmai]

Try get a referral from go to see a urologist you might have interstitial cystitis.

[Michelle19]

Hi, I too have blood in my urine. I’ve had this for around 5 years and for me seems to be normal. I was referred by my GP to urology and I’ve had the camera in my bladder to check and everything came back okay. Hope this helps ease your mind that it could be your normal. I would still push for the tests because it will help put your mind at ease. It’s a simple procedure. Every time the nurse or another doctor dipstick my urine, they always say ohh you have blood we will need to look into it, I explain it’s aready been done. If they are all concerned I would say push for the tests. Xx

[Krithika]

Hi, do what you can to have it taken seriously. Not saying that you have endo bc eberyone is different and this can be a sign of many things, but I’m saying this so you find someone who will take action. Literally for 1.5 years I was tested by 20 doctors for things. I had blood in my urine each time. No one seemed to take it seriously but me. I was half of the time tested positive for a UTI and the other half they were just like “idk” and didn’t care. You should be your own advocate because having blood in the urine isn’t normal or okay. Again, it can mean many things. I got a cystoscopy and my bladder was normal on the inside. I finally met with a laparoscopic Excision specialist and he diagnosed and remove endo from my bladder. I’m fine now. Make sure not to get surgery with someone who does laser/ablation/coagulation because this can be more dangerous than helpful

[boru]

I helped my mother figure out why she had recurrent UTIs and blood in urine. It took a while and I learned a lot about all sorts of different reasons you can have blood in urine and recurrent UTI.

Some simple things first : you may not have enough Vitamin K1 and K2. Very hard to test for this as the test itself is not accurate, if you tend to bleed a lot from small cuts that’d be a good indication you could use vitamin k. Kale is very good .

Now the infections: if you’re on thyoid medication, make sure your levels are optimal. Thyroid UK a group on here is quite good.

Micronutrients: you said borderline folate deficiency, If you can have your RBC folate tested via medichecks, along with homocysteine, Active b12. Folate deficiency can mask a b12 deficiency and vice verse. Pernecious anaemia group on here will help you get to the bottom of that. You’ll also want ferritin optimal 100+

Folate and b12 deficiencies will cause you to get sick often including UTIs. Hopefully getting them sorted will be the solution for you . You may want to use a methylfolate : r or n 5-mthf to get your levels up rather than folic acid. Look up MTHF mutations. Mom has one c667t homozygous and requires methylfolate over folic acid. You may have a mutation and this could explain the low folate.

You’ll want to ensure your copper and zinc are balanced. There some good supplements that combine the two.

My mother turned out to have a Urinary Fistula caused by diverticulitis disease and a bladder diverticulum more than likely caused by a long term b12 deficiency. We are waiting for surgery for it. I got her to eat 50mg of poppyseeds with yoghurt and collected the urine for 2 days. Poppyseeds in urine is 100 percent indicative of fistula.

She is never without an infection but somethings I’ve found to work and sometimes just as effective as antibiotics: UVA Ursi liquid mixed with a teaspoon of baking soda (you need to alkaline your urine for the uva ursi to work). This stuff is very good, as is oil of oregano under the tongue ( it is a bit gross but works). Dmannose powder is also effective at times. And of course plenty of fluids.

You will find your solution, just keep at it and you’ll figure it out. There is a reason for everything, don’t let a lazy doctor frustrate you.

All the best