Endo and leukocytes in urine?
Hi all. I have not yet had a laparoscopy but my new doctor he has me scheduled to have one this month as he strongly believe I have endometriosis. When I was younger I had a UTI but as I’ve gotten older I’m getting them just about every month but there are never bacteria in my urine, only leukocytes. I know it’s not common to have endo on your bladder but has anyone experienced it?
Hey, carabear! I'm so sorry to hear you're dealing with chronic, recurrent UTIs. I can certainly relate - I got my first UTI when I was maybe 8 or 9 and then around the same time I experienced my first signs of endometriosis, the UTIs spiraled out of control (about once a month, too). I had experienced enough UTIs in my lifetime where I felt confident that if it felt like I had one, I should actually have one. However, half the time, I would go to urgent care or take a UTI strip test from Walgreens and both would confirm the presence of leukocytes but not nitrites...no UTI.
What I have come to learn is that leukocytes can simply indicate is inflammation (which can often be representative of an infection, but not necessarily). The nitrites on the test strip indicate organism presence so an actual infection. My OBGYN and urologist don't think I have endo on my bladder, but believe there is something else at play here:
Recurrent UTIs can lead to something called Irritated Bladder Syndrome - when you have a flare up, your symptoms will mimic a UTI, but are already just irritation/inflammationWhen I have this happen, I always use the test strips to eliminate whether it's an actual UTI. I drink a qt of water with AZO pain relief, use the heating pad, and try to ease up on things that could irritate my already p'oed bladder like coffee, alcohol, sex. In most case, the symptoms subside within 24 hours.
Hi there @carabear! I experience this too, often. I used to get UTI's a lot. Over the last few years though, I have been having all the symptoms, but every urine test would come back with no bacteria growth + antibiotics would not help. My endometriosis specialists suspects it is IC (I will attach some articles about it below if you haven't heard of it yet). Change in diet has helped for the most part, with keeping my bladder symptoms under control. But I am still seeing a urologist next month, just to rule out anything else. Have you had your surgery already? Hope all went well if you did! Do keep us posted on how you are doing. Here are some articles about IC: https://endometriosis.net/living/bladder-pain/ https://endometriosis.net/clinical/interstitial-cystitis/ -Kimberli (Team Member)- Thank you @shelbylizmack for sharing your experience with us. I am dealing with similar issues. I have been taking AZO pill when my bladder seems angry, sometimes they help, sometimes they don't. It is so frustrating!! How have you been feeling lately? -Kimberli (Team Member)
