Wezzo
01-10-15, 13:06
Hi all,
I'm back again, with more fears that I just can't put out of my head. Bit of an essay - please do bear with me, I feel so scared :weep:
I'm a 24-year-old male.
I have a urethral stricture, and have done for several years. The main symptom has been a weak urinary stream, with occasional discomfort, and slight bleeding on one or two occasions over the years. I have avoided having it corrected due to fear of hospitals - but all doctors I *did* bring myself to speak to were convinced it was a stricture. I first went to the doctors about it in January 2014, two years after first getting symptoms. Dr did urinalysis, prostate exam, blood tests. Phoned me back a few days later saying bloods were fine (I specifically recall her saying that my kidneys were fine.) Referred me for a scan of my bladder pre- and post- urination. There was slight urinary retention (100ml ish) which she took as confirmation of stricture. Referred me for a test which checked urination speed. It seemed ok, little on the low side maybe, that Dr also suspected stricture and referred me for cystoscopy. I didn't get an appointment letter for that until six months (!) later but which time I was no longer feeling brave enough to attend, so I cancelled, and haven't been to Drs about the subject since.
Flash forward to now. A couple of months ago, I had breathlessness for a few weeks, that seemed unconnected to exhaustion. (I believe I posted about it here). My mind immediately jumped to kidney failure, as I have read online that urethral strictures can occasionally lead to kidney failure. I went to the doctor who listened to my lungs and said they sounded fine and I didn't have fluid on my lungs or anything like that. He said I had a slight temperature of 37.7C and said it might be a sinus infection and gave me tablets. Whether that was or wasn't the problem I don't know but a couple of weeks later the problem disappeared; I presume he was either correct or it was all just health anxiety.
A few weeks later I had itchy arms for a week or two, which again had be concerned, but the problem dissipated.
However, in the last week or so, the itching has returned, and it's generalised, all over my body. It tends to be worse when I think about it but it does sometimes happen when I hadn't been thinking about it. I get the sensation that I need to itch my scalp; I do so, then ten seconds later I get the sensation that I need to itch my leg; I do so, then ten seconds later I get the sensation that I need to itch my arm; and so on and so on. The locations vary, everywhere over my body, but a scratch always seems to resolve it - it's not like I feel the need to keep itching and itching in the same place. There are no marks on the skin or anything, no rash.
In addition to this, a couple of weeks ago I noticed my ankles seemed to be quite swollen. I'm obese, so it's hard to tell if they actually are or they're just fat; socks leave a rather deep marked indentation at the end of the day but it's gone by morning. There's no evidence of the so-called "pitting" oedema that's mentioned online a lot, but naturally I can convinced that there's plenty of non-pitting oedema.
And between these symptoms, I am petrified that I am in end-stage chronic kidney disease, and I am too scared to go to the doctor for fear of finding out that I'm right. :weep: I keep thinking about my blood tests in early 2014 - is it possible that I could have gone from normal kidneys to end-stage renal failure in such a short period? I hope not. But everything seems to correlate. I want to believe the itching is psychological but I can't eliminate the fear of the worst. I have booked a doctors appointment for two weeks time - the soonest-available online appointment for my favourite doctor - but right now I feel almost too scared to attend. :weep:
edit: and now I have a dry mouth and a headache, despite drinking quite a bit today. Which could both be nothing.. but naturally I'm using them as additional confirmation of my self-diagnosis :(
I'm back again, with more fears that I just can't put out of my head. Bit of an essay - please do bear with me, I feel so scared :weep:
I'm a 24-year-old male.
I have a urethral stricture, and have done for several years. The main symptom has been a weak urinary stream, with occasional discomfort, and slight bleeding on one or two occasions over the years. I have avoided having it corrected due to fear of hospitals - but all doctors I *did* bring myself to speak to were convinced it was a stricture. I first went to the doctors about it in January 2014, two years after first getting symptoms. Dr did urinalysis, prostate exam, blood tests. Phoned me back a few days later saying bloods were fine (I specifically recall her saying that my kidneys were fine.) Referred me for a scan of my bladder pre- and post- urination. There was slight urinary retention (100ml ish) which she took as confirmation of stricture. Referred me for a test which checked urination speed. It seemed ok, little on the low side maybe, that Dr also suspected stricture and referred me for cystoscopy. I didn't get an appointment letter for that until six months (!) later but which time I was no longer feeling brave enough to attend, so I cancelled, and haven't been to Drs about the subject since.
Flash forward to now. A couple of months ago, I had breathlessness for a few weeks, that seemed unconnected to exhaustion. (I believe I posted about it here). My mind immediately jumped to kidney failure, as I have read online that urethral strictures can occasionally lead to kidney failure. I went to the doctor who listened to my lungs and said they sounded fine and I didn't have fluid on my lungs or anything like that. He said I had a slight temperature of 37.7C and said it might be a sinus infection and gave me tablets. Whether that was or wasn't the problem I don't know but a couple of weeks later the problem disappeared; I presume he was either correct or it was all just health anxiety.
A few weeks later I had itchy arms for a week or two, which again had be concerned, but the problem dissipated.
However, in the last week or so, the itching has returned, and it's generalised, all over my body. It tends to be worse when I think about it but it does sometimes happen when I hadn't been thinking about it. I get the sensation that I need to itch my scalp; I do so, then ten seconds later I get the sensation that I need to itch my leg; I do so, then ten seconds later I get the sensation that I need to itch my arm; and so on and so on. The locations vary, everywhere over my body, but a scratch always seems to resolve it - it's not like I feel the need to keep itching and itching in the same place. There are no marks on the skin or anything, no rash.
In addition to this, a couple of weeks ago I noticed my ankles seemed to be quite swollen. I'm obese, so it's hard to tell if they actually are or they're just fat; socks leave a rather deep marked indentation at the end of the day but it's gone by morning. There's no evidence of the so-called "pitting" oedema that's mentioned online a lot, but naturally I can convinced that there's plenty of non-pitting oedema.
And between these symptoms, I am petrified that I am in end-stage chronic kidney disease, and I am too scared to go to the doctor for fear of finding out that I'm right. :weep: I keep thinking about my blood tests in early 2014 - is it possible that I could have gone from normal kidneys to end-stage renal failure in such a short period? I hope not. But everything seems to correlate. I want to believe the itching is psychological but I can't eliminate the fear of the worst. I have booked a doctors appointment for two weeks time - the soonest-available online appointment for my favourite doctor - but right now I feel almost too scared to attend. :weep:
edit: and now I have a dry mouth and a headache, despite drinking quite a bit today. Which could both be nothing.. but naturally I'm using them as additional confirmation of my self-diagnosis :(