Examining urine

[Sparky16]

A few weeks ago when I got up in the morning to pee, afterwards I noticed that there was a small black speck of some sort at the bottom of the toilet bowl. I googled (yes, I know I should not have done that) and of course discovered that this can be a sign of bladder cancer.

So I called my GP's office, and he had me submit a urine specimen. I was told that the specimen was normal except for a little bacteria, so they sent it for a culture. The culture came up with nothing, so my doctor was not concerned.

I started looking for more specks, though, and have so far come up with a number of them. A few were just black lint off my clothes or towels, but a couple I can't identify what they are, one brown and one black. None of them have had any sign of red. When I found myself retrieving these specks out of the toilet and looking at them with a magnifying glass, I knew I needed help of some sort, either physical or mental, and called made an appointment to actually talk to my GP. I will see him on Tuesday.

I have saved the two bits I can't identify to show him. The whole thing sounds crazy to me, but at the same time I am so afraid every time I find something there after I pee. I'm so embarrassed of the way I have been behaving, but I'm also absolutely terrified and miserable. I have spent all of Saturday in bed.

I can't decide whether I am being reasonable or unreasonable in my fear. I'm 45, female, never smoked, never worked with chemicals, etc. I have no risk factors for bladder cancer other than simply being over 40.

I have tried a couple of counselors for my HA. The first one didn't help much, and I couldn't continue seeing her as she was an hour away and I couldn't keep taking that much time off work. The second is still too new to tell if it will help.

I don't know what I'm looking for posting here, except maybe to confess how bad it has gotten. Nobody knows what has been going on, at least not until I see my doctor on Tuesday. I guess I just needed to tell somebody.

[jojo2316]

Black specs?! Never heard that before! Is it supposed to be blood? If so that WOULD have shown up in urine test (which are very sensitive)

[Sparky16]

Yes, according to the article I read, it can be old blood. The patient said that his were red and dissolving on closer examination with his reading glasses. Mine don't meet his description at all.

I've heard the dipstick screens they do for red blood cells are ridiculously sensitive. Also, if they characterized by bacteria as a "few" that means they put it under the microscope right? So they had to have actually looked at it as well. Can you tell I've read too much about this?

[Munchlet]

I've had this fear on and off for a few years. I took a sample to the GP once as I was sure there were black specs in it and the sample was negative for everything.

It can be little tiny deposits from stones or more likely it is something coming off of clothing when you use the toilet.

If your test was clear you don't need to worry about this. I think I probably read the same article you did when googling and that sent me over the edge too.

My GP's words when I asked about bladder cancer were "you'd be peeing blood, not having to scrutinise your urine to look for it!"

Also even if these are little specs in your urine my reckoning is it's probably in most peoples but they don't examine their bodily excretions the way we do as they are not obsessing over it.

If it was blood it would have shown in the dipstick. GP told me they are so ridiculously sensitive they pick up the tiniest amount of blood and give false positives quite frequently.

[sam93]

I've had two urine dipsticks this year already, both came back fine. But I still look at my urine every time I go just in case something is wrong. I've had blood work done, all sorts of other tests and I'm still worried about my kidneys. So I'm in the same boat as you.

My advice is to stop checking if your results are fine. I've finally got to the point where I just flush without letting myself check properly. I'm worried it could becoming an unhealthy obsession if I don't stop myself.

We need to believe the results!

[Sparky16]

Thank you so much, Munchlet. I've heard the same thing about the dipsticks, that they can react to just a couple of blood cells in the entire specimen bottle.

I can't remember where now, but somebody recommend that she uses the bathroom in the dark! I think her therapist told her to stop looking for two weeks as part of her homework. I wish I had a therapist or doctor like that, I'd be honestly relieved if they told me to just stop for a while.

[swajj]

Dipsticks are notoriously unreliable tests.

The urinalysis would have shown blood, protein or various other things that act as a red flag. Your test showed nothing so stop worrying about it. Also, don’t give up on counselling. It is really important if you want to beat HA.

[pulisa]

You really do need to just flush and go, Sparky. Your urinalysis was absolutely fine so there is no need for you to keep checking. You know how these things develop with HA..I do hope that you get some decent help from your therapist.

[Sparky16]

Thanks Sam, Swajj, and Pulisa. I am going to the GP tomorrow and we will talk about my anxiety and my IBS (which is another topic). I'm also going to the dentist tomorrow as this bump on the roof of my mouth is worrying me as well. I'm a mess lately, that's for sure. I could fill an entire forum of my own with my worries!

My therapist thinks I need to see a psychiatrist to get a better handle on medication than Ive been able to with my GP, but psychiatrist appointments are hard to come by in my part of the country. We've got a shortage.

[swajj]

I think the more things you think you have wrong with your health the more you are able to think “but everything else turned out to be nothing so what are the chances this will be anything serious”.

I actually think that reaching that point in my HA was a contributing factor in my recovery. I don’t talk much about the various illnesses I thought I had but if I made a list it would be a very long and embarrassing one (but let’s be clear rabies wouldn’t be on it lol)! Anyway it came to a point where I did start to think exactly what I said at the beginning of this post. And it helped.

[Sparky16]

My thought process tends to be the opposite - "with all these symptoms, I can't be lucky enough that all of them will turn out to be nothing". Not that I think they are all related, just that one of them will turn out to be something serious.

---------- Post added at 10:16 ---------- Previous post was at 06:37 ----------

So the dentist says he doesn't know exactly what is on the roof of my mouth, but it feels like it may be a fibroma to him. He says he is so unconcerned about it he isn't even sending me to the oral surgeon at this point. Instead, he says we'll look at it again at my regular appointment in June. He says it isn't bone, and isn't fluid. He and the hygienist both had trouble finding what I was talking about. They could only feel it, not see it. He said it may have been there all along, and fibromas are common from when somebody injures their mouth, like with a chip.

[Sparky16]

I met with the doctor late this afternoon, and let me tell you, it was not fun to explain what I've been up to. It's just so embarrassing. He looked back at my U/A results, and said that they were normal, except for those occasional bacteria, which I'm guessing are probably from an imperfect sample, since the culture grew nothing. He said that we would know by the amount of blood in the sample if I had bladder cancer.

Then we had a talk about medication, which is tricky in my case because a couple of other medications I take for things that are actually wrong with me (or to prevent things that actually might go wrong with me) conflict with the SSRI class and some of the SNRI class. We decided to give Buspar another try, and if my blood pressure is still doing well in a few months, we may try Cymbalta as well, as it is one of the few drugs that is still a possibility for me.

So it seems we have a medication plan, in addition to the therapy I'm already in. Let's hope it helps, because I'm having trouble not worrying about the bump on the roof of my mouth now. Sigh. :wacko:

I forgot to add, I mentioned the part about using the bathroom in the dark, and he said that might not be a bad idea. Also, we had a chuckle about Pulisa's recommendation to "flush and go". Shouldn't it be "go and flush"? :biggrin:

[pulisa]

:D Of course it could! I think I was emphasising the need to get the hell out of the bathroom after you've "gone". Hang around at your peril!

I'm glad you've got a meds plan now along with the therapy. A double pronged attack on HA!