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intermitent gross hematuria

Posted , 11 users are following.

mike666
mike666

Hi, I'm male - 26

I've been avoiding going to the Dr's for a while now, as I'm very scared.

Every few months, I have a day or so where I urinate blood. Also some bloodclots. No real pain.

Then it will seemingly dissapears for a few months, and will then return for a day or so.

I'm assuming it's something terrible.

Other symptoms seem to be frequent/weak urination.

Sometimes a mild/dull pain in one of my testicles.

Has anyone experienced this? WHy would it be every few months like this?

I plan to call my GP tomorrow as it happened again a minute ago for the first time in a few months and i'm plucking up the courage.

I'm petrified of the cystoscopy. (pain and embarassment)

I had my urine tested for an unralted issue a while ago, and it was apparently 'clean' (even though this was only a day after i'd been urinating what looked like almost pure blood)

How can this be??

What will the process be? (im in the UK)

Will gp send me straight to a specialist?

Even if my urine has no blood in it tomorrow, will they still be able to test it for cancer cells?

 

2 likes, 83 replies

83 Replies

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  • deb42962deb1960
    deb42962deb1960 mike666

    Posted

    Hi Mike

    Your health anxiety is not going to help with your discomfort. When you pee, albeit really hard to do, try to relax a bit. Stop anticipating the pain if you can. Tensing can make discomfort feel worse. You are catstrophizing your thoughts re this tumour. It may very well be a simple benign cyst or similar. 

    I have recently had to undergo major surgery for a pelvic abscess plus other organs removed. I Googled my hospital, searched for my Consultant/department and fired away questions that I needed answers to. I received a speedy reply from my Comsultant direct. Maybe you could do similar and also there is nothing wrong with asking if the tumour they discovered during the cystoscopy looked suspicious as you are worried sick. Hopefully you will receive a prompt reply like I did which should ease your mind. Health anxiety is a horrible thing to endure because you convince yourself that you have horrible diseases. Maybe once your ordeal is over you might speak to your GP about getting some CBT. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy really helped me. Wishing you all the best. Try not to worry although that is easier said then done. Keep busy and occupied to try and keep your thoughts more positive. 

    • mike666
      mike666 deb42962deb1960

      Posted

      ''When you pee, albeit really hard to do, try to relax a bit''

      I can now pee much easier. Not normal yet, but I'm not dreading each pee anymore.

      ''catstrophizing your thoughts re this tumour''

      I can't help it. Everytime I type in 'tumour' and 'bladder' into google, every page talks about cancer as though the they are all synonimous.

      ''Maybe you could do similar and also there is nothing wrong with asking if the tumour they discovered during the cystoscopy looked suspicious''

      I asked him at the time and he was pretty vague. He told me he wouldn't feel comfortable commenting much more until after the biopsy.This made me feel as though he was holding back his true feelings which cuold well be paranoia, but that's how I read his reaction

      Whatever the outcome i'm also concerned whether i'm now destined at a young age to be someone who is always having things like cystoscopys to keep an eye on me every few months. I honestly can't go through that ONE more time, nevermind frequently

      And maybe other treatments if it IS something really bad?.

       ''Cognitive Behavioural Therapy''

      I bought a book on CBT a year or so ago, but couldn't really get on with it. Maybe it wuold be different if It was with a councellor.

      I've had general anxiety for as long as I can remember.

      My MAIN things are i'm pretrified of things like job interviews or calling up strangers on the phone etc.In job interviews, my mind goes so blank that I can barely answer my own name and so stand little chance of succeeding. I'm hoping that if I get through all of this stuff it will give me the courage (due to its ease in comparison!) to finally speak to a Dr about it. Hoefully get some really good pills. Maybe this tumour stuff can be a form of exposure therapy for me!

      Thanks for trying to help assuage my fears  (JayneeJay, too).

      I feel worse for my mum that for myself. I hate seeing her worry. I want it all to be nothing serious for her sake as much as mine!

      ps - I hope you're recovering really well from your recent surgeries. Doesn't sounds like lifes been a day at the beach for you either, recently!!

    • jayneejay
      jayneejay mike666

      Posted

      Hi Mike

      Glad the pee pain getting better .. Does take a couple of days.

      Mike if you are really anxious and worried please go see the Doc

      Say since this and waiting etc your anxiety is off the scale and talk about it

      Tell him youve always had anxiety you said ,,

      And get some help .. He may give you a low dose med for anxiety. 

      Nows the time as your more anxious than ever.

      When i get stressed or anxious i get a lump in my throat, feels like a golf ball, its not acid just happens when a more anxious time comes in lifes path.

      Go get some help mike or at least talk about it to your GP

      Jay 

  • deb42962deb1960
    deb42962deb1960 mike666

    Posted

    You are so like me Mike. Off I go all of the time Googling. I am frequently being told don't Google: you only ever read worse case scenarios on the net ie key in lower abdo pain which gives you a list of causes but your brain will focus on that one dreaded horrible one: cancer. Then the rot starts to set in because your brain then convinces you that's it, that's the cause of what is going on for you. Can't possibly be anything else. Horrible way to be. I've bought several self help CBT books and have had x3 course of CBT over the past few years. I just have to keep reminding myself of the technique but I really feel the courses were invaluable. I did one group course which included learning to meditate which I found was particularly helpful. IMO there is nothing worse than to be anxious all of the time. It zaps you. But you can conquer it. Please ask your GP to refer you for a course. You may find it really helps. So glad peeing is becoming easier. I suppose some consultants don't like to commit themselves just on observation alone due to the legal culture that seems to prevail these days. No, for me life has sucked a bit recently but I'm hoping with time things will improve. I'm thinking of you anyway and keeping my fingers crossed that this issue is resolved for you quickly. But try to go ahead with CBT because as soon as you get the next ache/ pain etc you will naturally Google again and the spiral will likely restart. Gosh, there are so many of us out there, there really is. Take care young man and keep us posted. Push for the biopsy ASAP. 
  • mike666
    mike666

    Posted

    Spoke to the hospital a minute ago.

    They said I have to come in for a 'pre-asessment' on Friday - 2.30pm

    Not entirely sure what that entails, but shouldnt be too bad at a guess.

    quoting myself from earlier:

    ''I can't help it. Everytime I type in 'tumour' and 'bladder' into google, every page talks about cancer as though the they are all synonimous.''

    I think I can kind of answer my own query, now. Research from some specialist sites last night suggests that unfortunately, a tumour in the bladder is almost always cancer sad

    I kind of feel like a different person at the moment.

    Guess I just need to see where I stand once i've had it taken out...

    cheers

     

    • jayneejay
      jayneejay mike666

      Posted

      Hi Mike 

      they will just be checking you and explaining thr procedure etc, as it is general anesthetic ..

      stay away from people with colds as they wont give general anesthetic if you have a cold or cough..

      i can imagine how worried you are, i was too when i was told i had a tumour, but... all was fine... So try and stay positive.. it is not necassarily a bad tumour .. 

      did you have a rigid cystoscopy or a flexible one, do you remember ?

      if it was rigid then they may have done the biopsy already did they say which one it was ..

      jay x

       

    • jayneejay
      jayneejay

      Posted

      Hi mike 

      they can do a biopsy with a flexi or rigid .. I just wondered if yours was more painful as it was the rigid one..

      hope your pain has eased now, it does take a fews days ..

      all will be okay, hope you dont have to wait too long, then you can put it all behind you.. 

      take care 

      jay x

  • deb42962deb1960
    deb42962deb1960 mike666

    Posted

    And they always give worse case scenarios. A pre assessment is what you frequently have before surgery no natter how minor. Mine have consisted of blood pressure, weight, blood samples, ECG, height, history. Oh and usually a pee sample to check for infection. Nothing to worry about but can take a couple of hours. Have you a date yet? Tell them that you are keen to step into any cancellation and about your fears. 
  • deb42962deb1960
    deb42962deb1960 mike666

    Posted

    Mike, did they send a sample of this tumour off to the path lab for analysis or a sample of your pee off to check,for malignant cells? See if you can find out and what the results were. Might just ease. Your mind a bit.
    • mike666
      mike666 deb42962deb1960

      Posted

      They didn't tell me whether they took a sample at the time. I'd assume not. It wasn't mentioned.

      I gave them so many urine samples that I certainly expected them to test it for malignant cells - I was beginning to wonder what the point was in doing it all of the time if they were only cheking for infection every few days.

      I asked the guy when he told me about teh tumour whether my urine samples could rule out anything bad, and he gave me a flat 'No!'

      Jaynee - It was a flexible cystoscopy as far as I know.

      I wish I could explain the extreme pain but I can't sad

      It was extremely painful from the second the supposed 'numbing gel' was injected. I can only imagine that I have an extremely sensitive urethra or something like that. It was torture, and to tihnk I likely have a boat load more of them to come terrifies me.

      I hope the surgery is soon and goes well, and then I guess I get to find out if I get to keep my bladder / prostate and stuff??

  • deb42962deb1960
    deb42962deb1960 mike666

    Posted

    I don't think pee samples on their own can rule out anything bad but I think if no malignant cells were seen that's a positive sign.
  • mike666
    mike666

    Posted

    will the person on I see for my pre-assessment be an expert and current with my situation, or will they just be a nurse, trained to take peoples blood pressure etc?

    I wonder how recovery from the operation will compare to how I felt after the cystoscopy, in terms of general pain, but especially when trying to urinate. It was brutal, and I guess this will be worse..?..

    I wonder if the results from my CT scan which I assume will be before my surgery, will effect my surgery at all.

    I so hope I won't need any further surgeries after. If they start talking about ripping my various organs out (in case it's invasive), i'm not even certain i'd even go through with that.

  • deb42962deb1960
    deb42962deb1960 mike666

    Posted

    They will probably be a nurse trained to do blood pressure etc although they may have your notes in front of them. So you've had the ultrasound. When is the CT? Has that been scheduled yet for you? If not it maybe a good idea to chase it. I'm only going by my recent experiences at my local hospital where I found referrals got lost so in the end I became a bit of a nuisance and phoned and phoned until I was given dates, times etc. Depending on the operation, you will be given pain medications to take. Tell them about your fears and past experience with the cystoscopy. As for ripping out other organs......you are catastrophising again but then you are already aware of that. At your appointment tomorrow ask if they have a date for your op. If they don't, ask for the contact details of the surgical admissions officer and phone them. You need some idea really of when you can expect the operation to happen. If you have a couple of hospitals near you, find out which hospital you might get treated at sooner. Hope all goes well on Friday Mike, keep us posted.
  • mike666
    mike666

    Posted

    I think my surgery is on Wednesday. 

    Had my pre-assesment today. I felt tearful at times talking about it all to the nurse.(i didn't get to speak to anyone else).

    So i'll be out cold for the operation which as least means no pain initially.

    I am told i'll have a catheter in when I wake up which they use to give me some chemo type medicine.

    I'm concerned about the pain when removing the catheter. Will it feel like the cystoscope?

    It's embarrassing that I don't know this, but how does the catheter actually work?

    it goes itno your bladder and you pee through the tube rather than your urethra?

    Does it do it by itself when your bladder gets full, or do you actually need to 'push'/use muscles like you do when you go for a normal pee?

    I'm slightly worried about the pain when removing the catheter, but i'm also concerned that, if i can't pee properly on my own (like how I couldn't after the cystoscopy) that they'll need to put it back in again, and I imagine that that will hurt as much as the cystoscope??? Maybe even more so, being that i'd have already gone through the cystoscope the day before!!

    And ALL of these worries are just the pain related ones.

    I'm still petrified about what could happen once they have the results on the tumour.

    With the paperwork they gave me today, there's a booklet and it talks about 'what to expect with your operation on your superficial tumour''

    Obviously I guess nbody knows what it is, yet, but is it at all encouraging that it says that? (superficial) or would everyone get the same booklet when going in for their first operation of this kind.

    I'm trying to find positives.

    I've been very tearful recently. Tearing up in the shower and when i'm in bed.

    I love my mum to bits, and i'm as worried for her throughout all of this, as I am for myself 

    I pray that this operation and the results when they come back are 'good'.

    • jayneejay
      jayneejay mike666

      Posted

      Hi mike 

      Sending a big massive hug to you from spain ..

      try not to over think things mike, it only makes it all worse..

      read the booklet.. And see what that is all about ..

      catheters dont cause pain, even when removed.. They are thin smooth tubes.

      may pinch at the very most ..  

      soon be over mike, then you can relax ..

      jay x

       

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