Uti symptoms but test negative

There was an article in The I last week that said how unreliable testing for UTIs can be and that, as a result, some women suffer terribly without receiving the proper treatment. It has apparently also been reported in the Guardian:

www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/28/uti-test-used-by-gps-gives-wrong-results-in-at-least-a-fifth-of-cases-study-claims

Oh my Goodness, Candelle....20 TIMES ⏲️ I hope your current treatment continues to work and you feel well. Such a nightmare!

I haven't actually had back pain in the kidney area but guess small stones may not cause much pain.

Could it be kidney stones

Been there many times! My antibiotic list is in excess of 20 in a year.

You may not know that dip stick tests are notoriously unreliable: they are something in the range of 50 - 70% inaccurate.

Ditto the lab tests too.

The above facts came from my Gynae/Urology consultant.

Hope you are sorted soon. It's a horrible condition to have (currently on the second of three-month low-dose antibiotics plus Hiprex and is has worked for me).

Good luck!

My GP said only 8-10 drinks a day . Any more than that and you dilute your sodium levels to much. Which can lead to other problems.

Thanks Whiff. It definitely seems to be a waiting and trial and error game. Glad to read that you are doing well at present. Long may that continue.

I had recurring UTIs and kidney infections from September last year luckily haven't had one since May. But had 16 courses of antibiotics during that time . My urine test rarely showed the infection but blood test always did . Also found out only 3 antibiotics work on me.

On the waiting list to speak to a urology since March. I have water retention quiet bad at times but my cardiologist won't do anything about it as I waiting for the urologist. But that's fair enough.

Nurse gave me a good tip. When on the loo make sure your knees are in line with your hips that way you empty your bladder completely. I use a child's step to put my feet on. And sit up straight. The thinking is because men stand up they empty there bladder completely. But women sometimes lean forward or don't sit long enough incase extra wee comes out.

I am really thinking that I overdid the drinking of water (several glasses over two hours) before producing samples. I think I must have expelled most of the bacteria and diluted the samples way too much. The term came back " insignificant growth" and test results were back the next day so you have a very valid point there. Thank you.

Ask for the lab to grow bacteria in your urine and blood samples for at least 24 hours up to 5 days

Plenty of false negatives are cleared that way

Thank you for your kind words. I am having to be very determined to stick to water as I am a tea and coffee fan and guess they don't help.

Mary10 - I had similar recurrent UTIsymptoms. Urge and severe kidney/flank pain. Was sent for a scan - nothing was found and coincidentally, the pain stopped as well. The Doctor said, I probably passed the small stones out, with the urine. I have not had any problems since then. Carry on drinking lots of water and hopefully you will flush out whatever is causing the problem x

Yes my GP is referring me for a scan so now awaiting appointment. Symptoms are identical to those I had over a year ago and it cleared up within a day of taking antibiotics. So frustrating. Anxiety doesn't help.

I would think you need a proper assessment of your urinary tract. I would be asking (!) for a referral to a consultant as you have had two lots of antibiotics and still have worrying symptoms. I hope you gets some answers soon and are not too uncomfortable at the moment.