urinalysis dipstick questions

pgiran

Regular Member

Joined : Apr 2006

Posts : 33

Posted 3/22/2008 4:55 AM (GMT 0)

Wow - it has been a long time since I have posted or been here. Things with my lupus have been great. Unfortuntately, I had to have a hysterectomy in December, right before my 30th bday - thanks goodness for my DD, and while it was done laparoscopically, it took me longer to heal (surprise!). Since my hysto, I have been having problems urinating. I have no urge to go. I was sent to a urogyne and today he performed a urodynamics test on me. Before the test, the nurse dipped my urine and told me that I have protein and red blood cells in it. The doctor came in and did the test, afterwards telling me that I have to self-catheterize 3 times a day for a month because I am retaining urine. I was so shocked at that, I forgot to ask him about the dipstick test. I plan on calling my rheumy on Monday, but am panicked that it means my kidneys are getting involved. Do any of you have any info on this or advice?

Thanks!

Paula

hippimom2

Veteran Member

Joined : Jul 2005

Posts : 5403

Posted 3/22/2008 11:54 PM (GMT 0)

Paula, it's food to hear that you had been doing pretty well. Yes, it can be scary to hear that you have blood and protein in your urine. It could be several things so try not to panic yet. I know for me, sometimes when I've had a UTI I can get blood and protein in my urine. However, if there is no infection it's possible that your kidneys are spilling protein. For about a 9 month period my kidneys were spilling protein and fortunately it reloved itself after I started taking prednisone. I had to do a few 24 hour urine tests and see a nephrologist. THe members here were very helpful and comforting and let me know that if your kidneys are involved, it is usually very treatable. Please call your doctor about this and ask if your urine is being sent off for a culture to check for infection. If there is no infection, ask about doing a 24 hour urine test. You might also want all of the info from the urogyne send to your rheumy. Let us know what you find out. Take care

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