Blood in urine stream

Lyme - Sounds like a plan is coming together. The urologist is scarier in concept than the visits usually are given the area they specialize in. Hope all turns out good for you and just part of getting older. Good luck to you.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes. I went for the Cysto Blood test (Sorry don't know what Cysto means) today. Its the blood test looking for cancer cells. Interesting they asked me if it was my first pee in the morning. I went at 11AM. I told them I pee every hour around the clock. But the 11AM pee was probably best anyway since I managed to hold off for 2 hours. Hopefully it is good enough. Here is keeping my fingers crossed.

Lyme, blood in my urine and semen were the symptoms that my Uro told me to ignore. Ignoring pink urine is one thing, but if you are sexually active ignoring it in semen is a "hard sell". I wish now I would have dumped him immediately and moved on as I was eventually (after finding a new Uro) Dx with G8 PCa.

Hi everyone, got the cytology (urine analysis) back and this is what it said: "Voided urine - Atypical urothelial cells identified with extensive acute inflammation and red cells identified in the background." No one has said anything to me about this. I think they are all waiting on the cystoscopy I have slated for October.

Of course your mind goes to cancer possibly the bladder now or is this some weird infection that has lasted since June? I've been taking Saw Palmetto and Lycopene and doing the kegels and I am up from peeing every half hour to peeing every 2 to 3 hours, yea! But I am worried, still have the low grade pain in the bladder/prostate area and the "very large" prostate as my doctor puts it. Could this be prostatitis for this long? Anyone have any thoughts?

The good news is you are not failing any tests which is encouraging.

BPH, prostatitis, and urinary tract infections can be the most perplexing medical problems. Sometimes they are fixed quickly, other times they resist diagnosis and treatment. BPH is a physical condition whereas prostititis and UTI's are typically infections that can be low grade and hard to kill off. They can also be related to physical and age issues, male/female differences, BPH, etc.

Regardless of that, the urologist is best suited for these problems after the GP's attempts have failed.

LymeSurvivor said...
…The cystoscopy revealed that my prostate is flat and wide and the urologist wants to take pieces of it out…

Did the urologist say what exactly what that means? I assume he is talking about a surgical procedure to improve restricted flow from an enlarged prostate. Usually medications to shrink the prostate are tried first as you surmised.

If you get the intervention point, there are a number of minimally invasive methods than the standard TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) now. You will need to investigate the options if and when the meds stop helping. Some are even available in Canada so it will pay to do your research before accepting the older standard of practice.

Mumbo said:

quote="LymeSurvivor"]…The cystoscopy revealed that my prostate is flat and wide and the urologist wants to take pieces of it out…

Mumbo said...
[Did the urologist say what exactly what that means? I assume he is talking about a surgical procedure to improve restricted flow from an enlarged prostate. Usually medications to shrink the prostate are tried first as you surmised.

If you get the intervention point, there are a number of minimally invasive methods than the standard TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) now. You will need to investigate the options if and when the meds stop helping. Some are even available in Canada so it will pay to do your research before accepting the older standard of practice.

My reply:

What he said was my prostate is very unusual. He said it was flat and wide, that's all I got, he then talked in the background to his assistant about taking a piece out here and there to relieve the symptoms. He asked me if I would agree to surgery right now, I said I would like to know the pros and cons before I go for this. I thought to myself must be a slow day. I really wasn't prepared to be on the table that day. I kind of felt my heart skip a beat. He said OK lets try meds first and suggested Tamulosin for 6 months. Whew! I dodged the knife for today. Of course I am saying this tongue in cheek as I assume since he had a waiting room full of patients he wasn't going to wheel me into surgery right then and there, but who really knows. (I kind of felt like I was in the beginning of a Stephen King novel).

I did do some research into treatments in Canada for BPH and there is a clinic in Montreal that does all the latest techniques. Of course its all user pay and I don't know the prices, but it is avialable.

Post Edited (LymeSurvivor) : 10/11/2024 6:21:19 PM (GMT-4)

LymeSurvivor said...
...
Thanks DjinTonic, yes he is starting me on Tamulosin for 6 months then re-eval. I understand there is also a drug that shrinks the prostate. I will look into that.

Yes, Here is an introductory NIH article about this class of medications, which are known as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. The best known in this class is probably finasteride (brand name Proscar).

Please keep us posted,

Djin

Hi everyone, just thought I would provide an update, had another uroflow test and my bladder is now emptying completely. No sign of urine after voiding. I have been on the tamulosin now for 3 months. It looks like it is working. Still have blood in my semen however but now it is different, before it was bright red, now it is dark red. Now it seems like it is part of the semen. No more blood at the end of the urine stream however, now it only occurs when ejaculating. Urologist will check with me in another 3 months to see how I am doing. I feel better, peeing normally, getting 3 to 5 hours between sessions, just the blood now. Maybe it will die out in another 3 months. Hope you are all well and wishing you the best for the holidays.

I read through and didn't see anything about you having a biopsy.
That would help in ruling out PCA.
I'll repeat that hematuria is not always from PCA and has many causes.
Keep seeking answers

Glen

In the US, the recommendations are a little easier. We would just tell you to see another urologist or go to a well known medical or university medical center to get checked out more fully. Not so easy in Canada as you have noted.

Generally, a 3T mpMRI (3 tesla, multiparametric MRI) is the standard for evaluating prostates for cancer. CT scans can not really tell much and the MRI has better resolution of the prostate. CT scans are the standard for most cancers but not the prostate.

It is also possible to have prostatitis which is an infection. It can be lower grade or acute in nature and is difficult to diagnose and treat. I had the acute variety years and felt sick, "peeing" more often and noticing blood after a day or two. I went to the ER after flying home (worst trip ever) where the doctor did some tests, diagnosed the problem, and prescribed sulfa drugs that quickly resolved the situation. The lower grade prostatitis is much more difficult to treat and can take a long time with antibiotics.

Just a couple of more things for you to investigate. You would not be the first to have issues that the medical establishment has difficult diagnosing. Sometimes it takes finding the right doctor to diagnose a problem that ran into similar cases before.

Mumbo, thanks for the info on the MRI, I think the reason I got the C/T was because the urologist wanted to make sure there was no cancer elsewhere in the urinary tract or surrounding areas. This makes sense since you mentioned it is the standard for non prostate cancers. I can certainly ask about the 3T mpMRI when I talk to the urologist. Of course it is all mute if the Tamsulosin solves the problem.

A technician while I was doing a blood test yesterday asked if I had dry mouth on Tamsulosin. Apparently this is a problem with taking this drug. I had not noticed this, but do have dry lips. Something to be aware of I guess.

Thanks for the notes on prostatitis. I am sorry you had to endure that infection. Glad they found a solution for you. I will cross my fingers that my problem is solved with the Tamsulosin.

I am not sure what to think here, I have been on flow-max for 3 months now, things going well, back to normal peeing then last night and all day today I have been peeing blood, to me it seems like quite a bit as it makes the toilet paper (in the toilet) completely bloody. Had a blood test today to see if they can grow anything and measure the level of blood as up to this point my blood tests in the hospital have come back negative. Anyone know how long you can go peeing blood at every urination before it becomes an emergency. I know my doctor is taking action, as I got the blood test today but as I am in Canada the only other option for me if I am greatly concerned is to sit in emergency and have a emergency doctor take a look.

Update, the urologist phoned and said he believes it is prostate irritation as it is very large and I may need a turp in the future. For now, he is suggesting lots of water, antibiotics in case there is infection and go from there.

Post Edited (LymeSurvivor) : 1/15/2025 1:01:29 PM (GMT-5)