I'm terrified of these urinary issues I'm having - what could this be?!

You say you were diagnosed with Chlamydia 6 months ago @lockost - did you have treatment? I would go back and check you haven't been reinfected.

Whilst you are waiting to get seen at GUM it won't hurt to take Nitrofurantoin- I take it regularly and tolerate it very well. You can also take probiotics too.

Sorry you’re so anxious OP and hope you get a viable diagnosis you can work with. Meanwhile, try drinking more water and cutting back on caffeine.

https://www.chronicutiinfo.com/chronic-uti-facts/chronic-uti-explained/

Painful bladder syndrome was disproved by the great work of the late Professor Malone Lee.
You have a chronic UTI.

I have suffered from recurrent and chronic UTI my whole life so am very well informed about this.

Didn’t mean to be derogatory, more trying to stop another woman being misdiagnosed and so falling into the trap of a lifetime of pain when it’s treatable.

HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · Today 14:58
Interstitial cystitis is rubbish- it doesn’t exist. You have a UTI, the tests are useless. Diagnosis is on symptoms. If you have UTI symptoms, you have a UTI and need antibiotics until the symptoms are gone.

As someone who has been diagnosed and had this condition, now known as Painful Bladder Syndrome for 15 years, I wonder why you should make such a derogatory and ill informed statement? This condition does exist, it is real and I have the version of it whereby I get ulcerated areas on the bladder lining (Hunners lesions) which have to be lasered, so please don’t tell me it doesn’t exist.
Im sorry you’re going through this OP, as many have said you may well have a UTI but my advice would be to get in touch with Bladder Health UK, a fantastic charity based in Birmingham. The website has lots of information and they offer great support. I do hope you get sorted out , good luck.

I had very similar symptoms 2 years ago and tested negative x3 for UTI. I couldn't understand what was happening to me.

It turned out I had an overstressed pelvic floor caused by extreme stress. I needed physio/pelvic floor relaxation exercises, time off work (I spent a lot of time lying down as the first few weeks even standing/walking for 5 minutes became painful). I was off work completely for 3 weeks, then gradually built back but now everytime I get stressed and feel overwhelmed issues start again.

Physio told me I can keep doing the exercises but also advised things like meditation to relax.

I have the worst health anxiety too, and issues taking new meds and my experience of nitrofurantoin was absolutely fine - no side effects apart from a mildly upset stomach that settled quickly.

If you have pain in your back around your lower ribs I would go back to the GP as that can indicate a kidney infection

Good for you.

I had a UTI (diagnosed by a urine culture) and had a fever.

Everything can have side effects. But nitrafurantoin is weak as far as antibiotics go - that’s why you can get it without a prescription. It specifically concentrates in the urine so it doesn’t affect the whole body, just the bladder. When I was trying to solve my problem I had two courses in a row - no side effects at all (it didn’t fix the problem but that’s beside the point).

I honestly think yours sounds like thrush though, so I’d try the pessary as well. As I said, the Canesten brand didn’t work for me but the unbranded one from the pharmacy did. If you’re still not fixed try the Balance Activ.

I would go back, push for bloods asap.
DM had described what you have, she doesn’t have weight loss. She didn’t have pain initially.

Please escalate- it may just be a UTI hopefully but it could be other things too. I had a UTI that presented as you describe, I had to drink gallons of water and ended up on a drip- I was also passing a lot of blood.

Gah, it didn't link. Just look up D Mannose effervescent tablets from Holland and Barrett. Read those reviews. £19.99 for 14. Good luck

D Mannose changed my life when I was having very similar symptoms to the OP. I began taking them a couple of years ago - I take them for about four days running with an interval of about three weeks between doses.

www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-d-mannose-effervescent-tablets-60040365/reviews

OP the antibiotic nitrafurantoin won’t hurt you. It’s so mild it’s available over the counter without a prescription. Worst case scenario it’s not a UTI and it won’t help. It’s worth a try.

But what you’re describing does sound like thrush rather than UTI. When you have a UTI it hurts a LOT more when you wee. The pain is right up in the bladder. Thats not what you’re describing. You’re saying the pain is more external, around the urethra. Thrush can make you feel pain like you need to wee. It doesn’t always have a discharge. It doesn’t always show up on a swab. It doesn’t always respond to your first attempt to medicate it.

You clearly have SOMETHING so it’s just a case of trying different meds until something works. Try thrush cream and put it directly on the opening of the urethra. Try the pessary that you put inside. Try the Balance Activ gel.

My DM had this. Have you had a full blood count OP? Any other readings?

It was recommended to me to take a supplement called D Mannose (which is the sugar found in cranberries) to prevent reoccurrence of UTIs. There's a lot of info online of how it works etc and it is actually recommended by urologists

amzn.eu/d/29nHm5N

Interstitial cystitis is rubbish- it doesn’t exist. You have a UTI, the tests are useless. Diagnosis is on symptoms. If you have UTI symptoms, you have a UTI and need antibiotics until the symptoms are gone.

@lockost oh I see. 🙈I'm pretty sure NHS guidelines say that a woman should be treated with antibiotics for a UTI based on symptoms regardless of test results. As others have said, get yourself some antibiotics via the pharmacy. Boots do an online pharmacy consultation and can prescribe via that. Hope you get sorted soon, I know all to well how things like this fuel health anxiety 😟

As someone said upthread, I'd go to a pharmacist and get antibiotics for cystitis - you just have to describe your symptoms and if you have already had a course of the cystopurin, they will prob be OK to give you them. Good luck and try not to worry.

I was feeling so poorly for months, tired, weak, headaches and lightheaded. No temperature and no other symptoms to suggest a UTI. GP kept saying it was viral and after 3 months I finally got them to do a blood test. This showed very high infection markers. I was asked to attend for a breast examination and a chest xray, off my own back I took a urine sample in with me. The nurse dipped the sample and it was clear, no infection but I asked her to send it off to the lab anyway. 4 days later i get a call "no wonder you've been feeling so poorly, you've got a nasty UTI! 4 months later and 4 courses of antibiotics I have finally got rid of the infection that "wasn't there"! Keep pushing for treatment for a UTI and or lab culture test!

A friend of mine is a retired nurse. She is incredible at helping with medical issues. I was having problems with urinary infections and she advised me to take these.

Obviously, not sure if they'll help you in the same way, but I always follow her advice and she's consistently right.

It has to be this actual product.

You could try bicarb and water - look it up online, and put a hot water bottle in the area

Hope you feel better soon. It's an awful pain.