Posts by Angela Wright

dustymaker642 said:Last week I had a urine test come back completely clean—no bacteria in sight—yet at the exact same time, my urine culture flagged E. coli. Is that actually possible? It sounds like a total contradiction, so how does that even work? 🤷

It’s entirely possible, mainly because a urine culture is a far more precise diagnostic tool. A standard urinalysis is often just a quick glance—basically, a technician takes a sample and counts how many bacteria they can spot within a specific field under a microscope. It's a snapshot, but it lacks depth. A culture, however, is much more thorough; it identifies exactly which strain of bacteria you're dealing with and at what concentration. On top of that, you get an immediate antibiogram, which tells you precisely which antibiotics will actually kill the infection rather than just guessing.
What antibiotic are you currently on? If you haven't started your course yet and the lab results show that the E. coli is sensitive to nitrofurantoin, I’d strongly suggest asking your doctor for that specific one (Ninur). In my experience, whether you're looking at the direct impact or the indirect effects, it’s hands down the most effective way to clear things up—provided the sensitivity test actually confirms it'll work.

cosmiclynx12 said:What kind of data are we actually looking at here to support that?

Elevated red blood cells and white blood cells in the urine.

niki, your results look pretty solid overall. Your iron levels are just a touch low, but nothing to lose sleep over. As for the acne, that’s almost certainly a hormonal issue, so you really ought to dig deeper into some endocrine testing.
Also, looking at this again, it looks like you might be dealing with a bladder infection. I don't see any mention of a bacterial screen in your urine—I'm not sure if you just missed that part of the report or if the lab didn't run it, but you should definitely get a urine culture done just to be safe.

Brian Campbell6 said:The worst part is now I’m stuck wondering if I should just try to take care of things myself or actually go for it with a partner—just to see if everything still works. But honestly? It’s pretty hard to get anything going when you’re dealing with this much anxiety and pressure hanging over your head.

Look, you need to pull yourself together, stop the theatrics, and look at this situation with some actual maturity and realism. Here's the deal: you saw blood in your semen, so now you're going to find out why, and if there's an issue, you'll fix it. Take the first step and go see your primary care physician.
The odds of it being cancer—which is clearly what's eating you alive right now—are incredibly, incredibly low. It is far more likely that you picked up a bacterial infection that's currently throwing a tantrum in your system. 😉

brisklynx51 said:Thanks for the tip, 🙂
but we've already scoured Craigslist and everywhere else. We’ll make a call on which way to go in the next few days. We'll figure it out. (We rented a bed without a mattress because it wasn't an option, and one house had a mattress but the springs were shot.)

Maybe check with a local charity or a hospice support group; they might have something in stock. Have you asked them yet?

Also, regarding that pressure sore, I believe you can get Granuflex patches with a prescription. In my opinion, that's the best move when paired with Zoloft ointment, since the silver ions in it are amazing for speeding up wound healing.

Gary Thomas13, stop holding it back and just let the tears flow. There’s no shame in it, especially when you have someone truly worth mourning. It’s clear from what you've shared that you and your father had that deep, unbreakable bond. For me, I only started building that kind of connection with my mother right before she got sick. Losing her cost me so much, and honestly, the more time passes, the more I realize just how heavy and complicated that loss really is. But at the same time, I feel incredibly lucky for those final moments we managed to grab together and for the fact that everything ended on such peaceful terms.
Honor his memory by taking all those values he instilled in you and passing them down to your son. That’s how you carry someone forward. That’s what life is all about.

Brian Campbell6 said:Should I head straight to the doctor right now, or just wait a few days and see?

Honestly, I’m freaking out—I nearly lost my lunch from a panic attack when I saw this.

Look, if you're spiraling this hard, just go get it handled. Go get some blood work and a urinalysis done just to rule out any kind of infection, and make sure they run tests on your ureters too. It might feel like overkill, but honestly, some private clinics will just take a superficial swab from the tip and call it a day when you really need an ejaculate culture. Do a little digging online and just get it over with. If you're worried about the discomfort or the pain, suck it up; it's better than sitting there worrying.

brisklynx51 said:Yeah, we finally picked up a hospital bed with hydraulics, and honestly, my mom is doing much better for it.
Now we're looking into an anti-decubitus mattress too... though I haven't heard anything about renting pillows. I didn't even realize you could rent those; I figured they’d just get ripped or stained, and then you're stuck dealing with patches or trying to sanitize a mattress and pillow properly. It's a mess. Mostly, we've been playing tug-of-war with our primary care doctor, but she just went on maternity leave without giving us any heads-up, and getting a replacement is impossible right now 🙄.
At least we managed to snag some diapers, condoms, and various other supplies from the main clinic. Of course, they won't give you a single thing without us having to fight them and figure out exactly what we're entitled to first.

We rented everything directly from the local medical supply center without any issues, including the full bed setup. Honestly, if the hydraulics on a bed fail, that's a much bigger headache than a compressor acting up. Besides, once you're paying the rental fee, I don't really get the anxiety... This is what my mom's looked like:
I did a little digging online; you can find them on eBay or Craigslist used. The prices aren't actually that steep.

cosmiclynx12 said:Just to add some context to my diagnosis—I’m actually baffled by how normal my urine results look, because I’ve been having serious trouble urinating. Last month, I was dealing with kidney pain, a fever, and chills.
For the last two weeks, my ankles have been swollen, looking like they're filled with fluid, all red and painful to the touch. 😢
It was even making it hard to walk, especially first thing in the morning when I get up, and I had edema around my knees and shins that eventually cleared up.
Now, my legs and shins ache constantly, particularly if I stay seated for more than 40 minutes.
The doctors are stumped; I’ve already been to two different hospitals and seen my primary care physician. 🙄
My throat swab came back clean, and my lungs are fine too.
I was really hoping this was something urinary-related, so I'm praying they find something in the urine culture. Is it actually possible for a standard urinalysis to come back normal while the culture still picks up an infection?
I read somewhere that ESR can be elevated in cases of rheumatic fever or rheumatoid arthritis, which would indicate some kind of inflammation in the body. 😕
I'm in my early 20s.

Also, what does RDW mean? Mine is 13.4, but the reference range is 14.6 - 16.5.

Between the high sedimentation rate and this bolded value, to a layperson like me, this looks a lot like gout.
You should probably run some specific tests—check blood uric acid levels (even though they aren't always high when someone is actually suffering from gout), leukocytes, electrolytes, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and kidney function. I'm not sure if there's anything else. Definitely bring up the possibility of gout with your doctor.

Brian Campbell6 said:So, I’m 29 and a half. Woke up this morning and noticed my semen looks... off. Like, orange-ish. I checked it against some white paper and realized there’s definitely blood in there. Honestly? I’m freaking out. My erections are fine, ejaculation feels normal, no issues peeing—nothing. No pain at all. I even went looking for scratches or cuts on my junk, hoping maybe I just nicked myself somewhere and that's where the blood came from, but nothing. It's coming straight from the ejaculate.

Last month, my testicle was hurting pretty bad after sex, but I figured it was just because I’d been edging for like two days straight. The day before this, I spent an hour with my girlfriend without actually finishing (not a medical thing, just how it went), and then again the next morning because I wanted to "build up" for later that night. Each time, I was right on the edge.

Everything seemed totally normal yesterday, and then boom—blood this morning. I’ve always been a bit of a worrier; five years ago, I actually went in for a testicular ultrasound because of some pain. Turned out everything was perfectly fine—it was just a pinched nerve in my groin from hitting the gym too hard.

Right now, though, I am spiraling. I mean, seriously, zero symptoms other than the bloody semen. As for sex, we’re doing it maybe once or twice a week since we work opposite shifts and don't see each other much.

I feel like I’m losing my mind here—I’ve been sitting here for an hour feeling nauseous and breaking out in a cold sweat.

http://www.medicinenet.com/blood_in_semen/article.htm
Look, it's most likely nothing serious. It happens, and there are plenty of different possible causes. Most of the time it's benign and just clears up on its own. You might just have some minor inflammation somewhere in your urogenital tract that manifested this way.

@brisklynx51/">@@brisklynx51
Look, just do yourself a favor and try to get your hands on a hydraulic hospital bed and an air-pressure anti-decubitus mattress with a compressor. You can rent them from private medical supply stores or local clinics for about $300-$133 a month, or you might even snag one for free through a local charity or a hospice support group if you sign enough paperwork. Trust me, you’ll be absolutely broken without this setup, and once those pressure sores start spreading and getting infected? It’s a total nightmare. Seriously, take my advice!

Rebecca Garcia35 said:Hmm, I don't know, I got a completely different vibe from the whole situation. 🤷 Shouldn't our doctors be more than capable of handling stuff like that? Regardless, it’s beside the point here.

My take is that they were dealing with a tumor sitting in a really tricky spot, probably right up against the aorta, so they likely sent the patient to a major hospital like Mayo Clinic where they have the specialized gear to actually deal with it... at least, that's what I heard.

Rebecca Garcia35 said:It would be incredibly fair if some famous lady journalist with that diagnosis actually spoke up—you know, saying, "Look, I went here, it cost this much, and they performed these specific procedures." I haven't been able to find any actual data like that anywhere. Oh, wait, I forgot, this happened overseas, so I guess that kind of intel isn't meant for us mere mortals. Not everyone has connections like a high-profile celebrity in New York...

Zachary Howard2, sorry, I can't help you out there.

Hang in there!

Who knows what her exact diagnosis was? My gut feeling is that it wasn't even a malignant condition to begin with.

Amanda Miller69 said:I’m back here after a few years following my mom's passing from ovarian cancer.
This time, it's my father-in-law dealing with esophageal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma), caught in its early stages.
Looking at the prognoses, nothing looks particularly great... he's scheduled for surgery on July 4th, and so far, there hasn't been any mention of radiation or chemo.
Anyone have experience with this? Honestly, I don't have the time or the mental energy to scroll through everything from the beginning.

Angela Wright, I see you're still active on here, so I figured I'd join the fray too.

Man, Zachary Howard2... 😢

It doesn't necessarily have to be a grim outlook; catching it in the early stages is a massive win. If the lymph nodes around the tumor come back clear, they might skip chemo entirely and just go with radiation. You know how the drill works these days—surgery first, then they wait for the pathology report to decide the next move.

I can't believe life is throwing this at your family again 🙄. Look, try to view it through the lens of your own experience: with everything you've navigated before, you're going to handle this current wave much more effectively than most people would. That's a significant advantage.

Benjamin Diaz71 said:Does anyone actually have a clue what the legal deal is when it comes to importing meds, herbal remedies, supplements, and all that stuff from abroad—and I mean countries outside the US? If someone could be a total lifesaver and drop some info here, I’d really appreciate it. Honestly, we’re all just stumbling around in the dark; we place an order and then pray it doesn't get stuck at customs. One time it slides right through, the next time it gets seized... It's the absolute worst when you've already shelled out the cash for your stuff and then nothing ever shows up at your door. Maybe if we actually understood the procedure for certain things, we wouldn't even bother trying to order them in the first place. Thanks in advance for any answers that actually make sense.

Any medication or supplement has to be registered within the US. You can check whether something is officially approved by looking up the status on the EMEA website. If a drug isn't registered, it can sometimes be obtained through an emergency import, but that's strictly handled by pharmacies under a doctor's recommendation. Anything else falls into a legal gray area or is completely off-limits.

Gary Thomas13 said:Sadly, my dad lost his battle today. He didn't suffer, and he didn't die in pain... he just stopped breathing in five minutes flat...

Please accept my deepest condolences. I truly believe God showed him mercy during that struggle. Let him rest in peace; Dad is in a much better place than this one right now.

electricangler32 said:Thanks for getting back to me. Honestly, I’m just as confused—I’m still running to the bathroom every single minute and the stinging is brutal, plus now my kidneys are starting to ache. I have no idea if my doctor will even let me redo the urine culture, since they're claiming everything looks perfectly fine based on the current results. :/

Look, you can always just head to a private lab. But listen—you have to be extremely careful about how you collect the sample! You need to wash up first, wipe with sterile gauze, and then catch the midstream portion of your very first urine of the morning. Personally, doing it in the bathtub is the easiest way to avoid a mess... at least for me. 😬
Taking some Neo might help take the edge off those symptoms.

EDIT: Since it's the weekend, don't rule out heading straight to the ER. They can run the tests immediately and get you started on treatment right away 😉 I've had to pull that exact move several times myself.

electricangler32 said:Appearance: clear
Color: yellow (light yellow)
pH: acidic (4.6-7.5)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 (1.005-1.030)
Protein: 0 (0-3) 0
Glucose: normal (norm-3) norm
Ketones: 0 (0-3)0
Bilirubin: 0 (0-3)0
Urobilinogen: normal (norm-3)norm
Blood-Ery: 0(0-3)0
Blood-Hb: 0(0-3)0
Leukocytes: 1(0-3)0
Nitrites: negative (0-2)0
URINE SEDIMENT
Leukocytes: 15-20
Bacteria: many

A day after getting these results, I had a urine culture done and it came back sterile. I had a vaginal infection and was using Penicillin rapid wipes. Do I need an antibiotic based on this urine test?

Antibiotics are prescribed based on the antibiogram from a urine culture report. Honestly, I can't wrap my head around how you can have a massive amount of bacteria and elevated leukocytes in one test, yet have a completely sterile culture result. You really ought to redo the culture, just to be safe.

Morgan Cooper34 said:I’m looking for some input here:

Before getting pregnant, I was showing protein in my urine (+). Once I hit the third month, my OB/GYN sent me to a urologist for advice. Both the urologist and the nephrologist recommended a low-sodium diet, reducing my protein intake, checking my blood pressure daily, and watching for any swelling in my eyes, hands, or feet.
I’m now entering my eighth month. I normally have low blood pressure, so even now, it hasn't climbed above 130/70 (even when I'm active)—it usually sits around 110/60. My hands don't swell; my legs occasionally do if I sit at work for a few hours without walking, but mostly they stay fine.

Just as a routine check, I mentioned the protein levels to my doctor, and she had me do a 24-hour urine collection. Here are the results:

(I think these are the blood work results)
Urea 0.9 (ref. range 1.7-8.3 mmol/L)
Creatinine 74
Total proteins 67
Albumin 36
Globulins 31

Total protein in daily urine 0.052 (0.080-0.149)
dU Protein conc. 0.021 (0.050-0.119)

Creatinine clearance 0.78 (1.0-2.8)
dU Creatinine conc 2010 (7000-25000)

Diuresis 2490 (1000 - 2000)

Are these normal numbers for someone following the diet I've been prescribed? I have to wait a few days for my doctor to review them, but I have to admit, seeing values this low is making me anxious.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Just to add, I drink at least 2 liters of water during the day, plus about 0.5 liters of tea (chamomile, cranberry—I've been dealing with a bit of a cold the last couple of months), along with a glass or two of lemonade or fresh juice. So, I'm drinking at least 3 liters of fluid total. Could that influence the results?

The nurse at the hospital where I was monitored (given the risk of recurring preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome) told me that by flushing your system with water, you can actually get better readings on the 24-hour urine and creatinine clearance... based on your diuresis, if her claim is right, it's possible that's what pulled your otherwise normal levels down. Personally, I think around 2.5 L of fluid a day is plenty. You shouldn't overdo it.
If your platelets and liver enzymes look good, I don't think there's cause for concern. If you suddenly start gaining weight rapidly or notice facial swelling, that could indicate an issue.

EDIT: God forbid anything actually goes wrong and an emergency delivery becomes necessary; at 8 months, there shouldn't be major issues with the baby. My second child was born at 34 weeks and everything turned out fine—the birth weight was solid enough that there was no need for an incubator or a warmer.

Amanda Gonzalez66 said:I need some help here...
My mom has HPV... Is there any chance I caught it from her? We live in the same house, we share the bathroom, use the same toilet, all that stuff. (I don't think I picked it up at birth since I was a C-section baby, but I don't know if that actually matters—just putting it out there.) 🙂
Could I have actually caught HPV that way?

You’ve got one group of doctors claiming it’s entirely possible, while another group stands there swearing up and down that it isn't.
Look, if your mom didn't wash her hands properly before touching something, and then you touched that same surface and passed it onto your own system... yeah, it’s technically possible. But honestly? Don't let it get under your skin. Most people walking around the US are actually carrying HPV; it's just that the virus stays dormant because a healthy immune system keeps it on a tight leash. Just because it's there doesn't mean it's going to cause you any actual trouble.