Referral to Urology for Cystoscopy. Female 27

Hi Hayley -- I'm not a doctor, but it sounds as though you have been referred to a urologist to rule out any problems with your urethra and bladder.  Any time there is blood in the urine, it needs to be looked at.  

I have a persistent microhematuria with no evidence of bladder cancer or any other problem - the usual causes have all been ruled out.  

I had a male cystourethroscopy last November to rule out bladder cancer.  I wrote about my experience here because I had such a good one, so I wanted to pass along a few tips I learned to you.

My urologist used a lubricant gel mixed with lidocane, which her assistant injected up into my urethra several minutes before the procedure.  My urologist used a flexible cystoscope, which has a very small diameter.  When she inserted it into me, I felt no pain, but just a very pleasant stretching of my urethra.  When the scope was fully inserted up into my bladder, there was no sensation in that area, even though she was rotating the scope to visualize all the aspects of my bladder.  

So, on an inspection of your urethra and bladder, you should expect to have a very reasonable time if your doctor uses some type of lubricant with an anesthetic agent mixed in.  I would ask about this beforehand, just so you know what to expect.

If something is found in the bladder, then you very likely will need to have some further work done, but you can cross that bridge when you come to it.  My urologist told me that not everyone that has blood in the urine has bladder cancer.  That includes me. No cause was found, and that's not an unusual finding in this case. 

I hope this helps.  The thing to do is gather info from the urologist's office staff about the procedure, ahead of time, and ask questions.  Be pro-active, but also, don't worry about having this procedure done.  And, I hope that you feel better soon.

Best regards,

Alan    

I am also 27 and due to have this procedure next week. Sounds like your symptoms are very similar to mine - blood in urine although I can’t see it but no sign of infection. How did yours go? Hope it was ok! X

Thank you for the luck 🙏🏻

My bladder and kidneys are perfectly fine ?? So relieved! Just awaiting my MRI now on my small bowels for different problem xx