Posts by bluebadger12

So, I’ve got about a week left before my month-long window to sign up expires, and I tried calling them, but they basically just blew me off. Does anyone know if it actually works if someone just puts me on the payroll for three days to get my coverage back through Medicare & Medicaid Services? I remember hearing that used to be a thing you could pull off a few years back, but who knows how much the rules have changed since then.

Olivia Hayes89 said:There’s really nothing to worry about since the urine culture came back sterile!
Just redo the test and make sure you provide the sample correctly this time! 😉

So, I went ahead and got a second urine test done just to double-check things after that sterile culture, and I felt like I should share the update with everyone here.

Basically, the color looks exactly how it’s supposed to look now—not cloudy anymore. Leukocytes are at 1, squamous epithelium is at 3, and everything else is totally negative. It’s honestly wild; there isn't even any Bilirubin, or anything else, no bacteria, just all negatives. I still can't quite wrap my head around how a lab error like that can happen, especially since I gave the sample the exact same way I did the first time, yet this result is completely different and, more importantly, clean. I'm not even going to dwell on $100 and how much I was stressing over whether I was actually sick 🤷 Thanks, everyone!

Olivia Hayes89 said:Post the urine culture results! I’m dying to know what they come back 🙂

So, checking in again—the urine culture came back COMPLETELY STERILE!

I honestly don't know who's losing their mind here or what's actually going on, but there it is. Like, if there was some kind of infection, could it really just vanish in a day and a half because I drank some cranberry tea? One minute I'm looking at high Leukocytes and a ton of bacteria, and the next, everything is "clean." It’s driving me crazy because I have no clue how to process this... Maybe the pain is just my GERD acting up, or maybe I'm just spiraling and overthinking things in my own head. Either way, I'll probably just go get the test redone anyway... 😕

Olivia Hayes89 said:I agree that you really need to redo those tests and get a urine culture done.🙂
Well, looks like we’re on the same page about everything there.😁 😉

Thanks to both of you for actually staying on top of my health stuff! Looking at the results that guy mentioned earlier, there's some Bilirubin and ketones present, though apparently, the levels are so tiny they still count as "negative" according to the lab report. (It's one of those weird things where they use plus signs—like, anything up to three pluses is technically negative, and I've got two pluses, which feels pretty ridiculous, but hey, whatever)

Everything else in the sediment came back negative, except for Leukocytes at 20 and a bunch of bacteria... everything else was totally clear, no silly plus signs anywhere. I am feeling this weird pressure in my lower abdomen even though I’m not having any actual trouble peeing, but since most of my issues stem from my own head and being a total hypochondriac, suddenly my kidneys start hurting and then it's this and that... you know how it goes. My brain just starts spiraling and I convince myself I’ve got some massive disease involving my testicles, kidneys, bladder... it's just awful. Anyway, getting the urine culture tomorrow...

Maria Fisher46 said:Hey there, bluebadger12,

Your doctor is asking those questions because they spotted ketones in your urine. One reason you might see ketones pop up is if you’ve been fasting for a while or if you're dealing with dehydration from things like vomiting or diarrhea. Of course, there are other reasons too, so we really need to rule everything out.

Regarding that bilirubin finding—usually, a urine bilirubin test comes back negative. If it shows up positive, it could point toward something going on with your liver or gallbladder. That said, there are also times when you get a false positive, sometimes just from certain medications you might be taking.

You should probably go back and redo the urine test to check the ketones, bilirubin, and urobilinogen again. If the bilirubin still shows up positive, the next step would be checking your serum bilirubin levels and running some liver function tests along with other screenings. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, the moment I went back for that repeat urine test, I'd ask them to run the serum bilirubin (both direct and indirect) and the full liver panel right away. It’s also worth double-checking your blood sugar.

As for the urine culture, your doctor can usually get a call within 24 hours letting them know if any pathogenic bacteria are growing, and most of those results are wrapped up within two days.

Definitely touch base with your doctor about this, and I'm sure our colleague Harvey will jump in soon with his own take and advice.

Best, 🙂

Thanks again! My blood work looks totally fine—bilirubin is normal, blood sugar is normal, and my liver enzymes (AST, ALT, GGT) are all sitting right in the middle of the healthy range. CRP is normal, too. It's just that urine result that has me a bit worried, especially since I went ahead and did the whole works: full blood count, liver panel, CRP, triglycerides, and all that, and everything else is perfectly fine. AST 19 (11-38)
ALT 19 (12-48), GGT 31 (11-55), glucose 5.5 (4.4 - 6.4), total bilirubin 18 (3-20)

Olivia Hayes89 said:Yeah, it’s just about inflammation... nothing scary, don't sweat it! 😉

It's me again :S. So I went to see my doctor today and she gave me a referral for a urine culture and antibiotic sensitivity test, which I'm heading in to do tomorrow morning. She was looking over my urinalysis and seemed kind of puzzled—she actually asked if I'd been throwing up? Honestly, I totally panicked and blurted out "no" immediately, even though it was nothing major, just felt a bit weird. Then, once I calmed down, I started looking at the results myself and noticed some things I hadn't caught before. The values and the reference ranges look a little funky to me, so I'm reaching out to the experts here because I'm definitely feeling a bit anxious.

Cloudy
Leukocytes: 20
Bacteria: plenty

These bits are also in the mix:

Ketones +++ neg to +++ neg
Urobilinogen + norm to +++ norm
Bilirubin ++ neg to +++ neg

I was mostly just staring at the numbers, so I didn't really pay attention to those annoying little plus signs, but seeing them there makes me think something might actually be up, right? Even if the numbers themselves seem to fall within range, those pluses feel like a red flag.
And don't even get me started on what I stumbled upon while Googling "bilirubin in urine"... it was a total rabbit hole. 🙂 My doctor mentioned that I could get the urine culture results back from the local clinic in just a few hours. Is that actually possible? I always assumed you had to wait several days for stuff like that. Thanks in advance for any help...

Thanks for all the replies, you guys actually helped me chill out a little bit... Hopefully everything turns out okay...

Hey everyone!

So, I just got my blood and urine results back today, and honestly, I’m spiraling a little bit. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a massive hypochondriac—I’m basically the kind of person who reads one symptom online and immediately starts drafting my will because I'm convinced it's something catastrophic. 🙂

The good news is my CBC came back looking totally fine, everything is right within the normal range, but the urine analysis is what’s really messing with my head.

URINE SEDIMENT

Cloudy
Leukocytes: 20 (normal is 0-2)
Bacteria: Many

Everything else was negative.

From what I’ve read, it looks like there might be some kind of inflammation going on. I’ve got an appointment with my doctor tomorrow to get the real scoop, but in the meantime, I was wondering if anyone here has dealt with something similar or knows what this might point to. I don't have any major issues when I go to the bathroom, though I am feeling a bit of a dull ache down low, specifically on the left side near my bladder. I'm a 32-year-old guy. Thanks for any help you can give... 😕