Bloods and urine tests come back normal, so what could it be?

[bejewelled13]

As it says, last week I had bloods for diabetes (and other things but I can't remember what) and urine tests to tests for infection etc, all came back normal. The problem is my weeing, I have to go ALL the time. Quite frankly it's getting in the way of life & getting me down. I'm 27 years old and have to pee every half hour to one hour. I've cut out caffeine and pop, doesn't make much difference, I try not drinking as much, doesn't make much difference. Some days are better than others, but when the days are bad, god help! I'll be back and fourth the toilet all day. Sometimes I wonder if it's an anxiety thing (which I suffer with) been like this a while now on & off but it's been back like this for a few months again, it's worse in the night I get up every 2 hours to pee, altho a few nights ago I slept for 4 hours straight, first time in months! I can go for a pee, brush my teeth and go again, get into bed and 10 mins later go again, it feels like I never empty my bladder (I've tried the leaning forward when peeing thing lol) I was absolutely convinced I had diabetes, this being my only symptom, but when they rang and said it's clear, I thought maybe an infection without the pain, nope clear. The GP receptionist told me it's clear and no action needed, haven't heard off GP since so I guess I have to deal with it? My mum said to keep a few weeks diary of how much I'm peeing then go back. Anyone else dealt with this? Thank you

This is happening to me too. I mentioned to the doctor about diabetes mellitus (not insulin blood sugar related) and did a urine test. Just never able to get through to GP to get the results though

@Annaishere my blood sugars were tested, all normal 🫠 not sure where to go from here!

Sorry I meant diabetes insipidus. It’s not related to blood sugar. If it isn’t that I can’t think what else it could be. It’s driving me crazy I wish it would stop

When you pee, do you pee a normal volume? I was peeing all the time but didn’t realise that I was never emptying my bladder fully and was in retention.

"Bladder pain syndrome (interstitial cystitis) - NHS" https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/interstitial-cystitis/

@Albertross23 not every time, no. It's more a less amount than a full amount if that makes sense, but I have this awful pressure as if it's a big wee when it's not

That sounds exhausting, I'm sorry you're going through this. Don't take 'we found nothing' as an answer though. Your mum is right with keeping a diary - I feel like even a few days would highlight how frequently you're going.

Highlight how much it's affecting your life, social life, going out, sleeping etc.

I would want more tests ran to ensure it's nothing physical, but there is medication for incontinence which would work for your situation too.

OP I could have written your post. Not had had any checks with GP. I knoww its not a UTI. I just need to go a lot and like you, some days can be better or worse. I also have anxiety but I don't have anxiety for everyday things like work but I'm going loads even at work. It's ruining my life and making me a recluse/introvert. I'm v depressed over it.
I feel you OPxx

Fibroids?

@justasking111 I've just read through this and I never get any pain, just the need to pee so unsure if it could be this

@Laserbeam24 I will definitely be keeping track, I'll probably write down how much I drink too to see the volumes going in to going out. My mum said I should push for a scan

@chatchatrabbitrabbit it's just awful isn't it! Anywhere I go I'm like 'where's the toilet' if I'm on a train, seats near toilet. Won't go on a journey like a long bus one - no toilet! I'm the same, I do not have any anxiety in work at all, but I'll be going every half hour there. We went out today shopping and I only went once in the 4 hours we was out wish I was shocked at. But yesterday I went every hour. It is really depressing :(

Sounds more like irritable bladder than anything, particularly as you manage to go a bit longer between trips in the night.

1)Are you constipated? If even slightly constipated treat that aggressively.
2)You need to have a really good fluid intake, at least 2 litres per day, as concentrated urine irritates the bladder, and ironically makes you go much more often.
3)Good to hear you've stopped caffeine and fizzy drinks. Also avoid acidic fruit juices like orange or grapefruit, or blackcurrant squash. Best off with water.
4)Your urethra may also be irritated, which makes it harder to hang on. Avoid things like bubble bath like the plague, try to wash with only water, or use something like E45 as soap down below, and rinse off well. Cotton knickers, not too many layers.
5)Make sure you don't hover, as that impedes bladder emptying. It may help to wee with your legs apart. When you think you've finished, leave it a few seconds then try again (double voiding) as that tends to leave less residual stale wee to irritate the bladder.
6)Once your wee is dilute, it's time to work on holding it better, so bladder exercises. Do NOT try to stop/start your flow, as that leads to incomplete emptying. Instead, when you're on the toilet bursting to go, practice trying to hold on for just 5 seconds. You probably won't manage to do it to start with, but with practice you will. And that will gradually help your bladder to not empty quite as suddenly, which will in turn slowly build bladder capacity, and thus let you go longer between wees.
7)I presume you're not pregnant?
8)There are medications (oxybutinin is the most common) that your GP can prescribe to make your bladder less spasmy, but they only tend to work if you do all the homework above first...and most people then don't need medication at all.

Hope that helps.

@Cozytoesandtoast00 I've just looked up fibroids, the only symptom I have is the peeing. But I googled how they find out you have them and it says internal probe, i recently had a MMC at 12 weeks pregnant and I had a lot of internal scans up there during that time so I'm wondering if they would have picked that up then if it was that

@nocoolnamesleft thank you so much for all of this... I'm going to try everything you've said! I'm not constipated or pregnant (had a MMC at 12 weeks not so long ago) but when I was pregnant the peeing was 10x worse 🫠

My daughter had an overactive bladder than caused this. Effectively, your body tells you to go all the time rather than let the bladder fill properly. She had some tablets for a time (over a year) that dull bladder sensation and desensitise it to allow it to fill properly.

The fact you feel like it’s a big wee, and then it isn’t sounds very like my experience. I agree with the idea of keeping a diary and suggest that you include volumes in and out too, as this might give the doctor a clue if you are retaining urine. I used to get really strong urges that I needed to wee, sometimes almost painful and definitely very urgent. GP kept saying infection and prescribing antibiotics (without doing testing of a sample). Eventually, I begged them to feel my tummy as I felt sore and once he felt my abdomen he was straight on the phone arranging for me to be seen at hospital as an emergency.o

I'm on a low carb diet one side effect is peeing a lot. I wake during the night and it's a hurried dash to the loo. I'm having to wear a tena lady

Sounds like it could be interstitial cystitis. You need to find a sympathetic GP who will take you seriously and put you on medication. I take solifenacin, and also take amitriptyline at night to stop me from going all the time. It helps break the cycle.
Also, a consultant urologist once told me it's possible to have an infection in the bladder wall and it won't show up on tests.

It's very distressing for you and you must feel like you are living a half life bless you. I've been there, over the last 30 years.
If needs be, get a private appointment with a urologist and they can put you on their NHS list. It will cost you about £200, but you need to get this sorted.

I saw a urologist about this and we discussed probiotics and holding each wee five mins longer than the last to retrain the bladder. The probiotics made a significant difference for me. I got the liquid one from Holland and Barrett.

That’s interesting because this started for me when I did a 4 day fast and just hasn’t stop. I wondered if I’d broken my metabolism

I have a weak bladder and it can rule my life as to where to go, is there a toilet nearby etc so I sympathise with you.
Could it be a weak sphincter muscle?

@justasking111 I have also stopped eating carbs. I started around 3 weeks ago. Coincidently, this latest episode to pee a lot also started then. I really wonder if the 2 are connected.

@PineappleMom I am going to give the probiotics a go. I will anything, I am desperate.

@MargeIsBack I also have OAB. I manage it through food & drink. I am fathomed as to where this latest issue has come from as I have not had anything food/drink to aggregate. Can I ask what the medicine is called ? My GP has never recognised my OAB, I am self-diagnosed. All I know is that if I eat the foods that are known OAB triggers, then it starts me off,

Last night I met a friend for dinner. I used the toilet as the last thing I did before leaving the house. I drove 10 mins to hers. I needed to go again by the time I got to hers but I managed to hang on until we go to the pub which was another 10 minutes away. The pressure/urge to go then disappeared. I got home 4 hours later having never gone at all while out. Yet I was up the night and going loads again today.

I've got a nail appointment booked for Friday. It will be an hour. They have a toilet I can use but how the hell am I going to sit through an hour.

I cannot and do not want to carry on like this. Life is not worth living in this state. No point going to GP as they will do a dip test and say no UTI. I will then be no further along in terms of a cure/diagnosis. Suicidal thoughts have entered my mind. This is not life or living. To not be able to go anywhere without wondering where the toilet is, or what excuse you can make to be excused to go AGAIN, to not be able to do long car journeys or go on a bus or a long walk/run unless it's in a field where you can squat behind a bush. To not be able to sit through your friends wedding ceremony, or the hair appointment for the special day. To not be able to go on the underground or a coach journey or get a minibus with friends to the races. This is not life.

Will try probiotics, zero caffeine (I don't drink coffee or drink fizz and have decafe tea bags but even these have a small amount of caffeine in them). I don't know what the future holds for me - or if I have a future - with this condition, whatever it is.

@chatchatrabbitrabbit
the medicine she was on was this one, it was consultant prescribed in the end. It took a good few years (between ages of 7-10) for it to resolve for her. They never mentioned it potentially being food linked. Measuring volumes of urine everytim
you go is a good idea to prove that the bladder is not filling properly (we did that a lot for my daughter).

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/oxybutynin/#:~:text=Oxybutynin%20is%20a%20medicine%20used,often%20than%20usual%20(urinary%20frequency)

Sounds like a lazy or overactive bladder.

Go back to your GP. For the immediate issue,
They can prescribe medication to help with this .
For a long term solution, ask for a referral. In my area you can actually refer yourself to a specialist team of nurses who help with this kind of issue.

Sounds awful. Hope you get it sorted out.

There's another condition can't recall the name BUT it means that you're losing too much fluid. Now this sounds gross but you need to measure your urine loss in a 24 hour period. So buy a cheap measuring jug, measure it each time, that'll tell you the volume as well as the number of times you pee.

So date, time, how much. Total amount. Keep this for a week. If you pee too much you're losing potassium and other minerals too fast which is not good. Take that spread sheet to your GP. And insist on a referral. If he refuses and you've got £200-300 then investigate a private consultant.