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White blood cells w no urine culture growth

Although this subject has been addressed before, I have a question driven by pain and fear of a diagnosis.
I have, for a month now, having bladder symptoms (urgency to urinate, pelvic pain, etc), w/o urine culture growth. Last month theses symptoms were treated as an UTI. After that, I was diagnosed with Atrophic Vaginitis.
I just finished a treatment for the A. Vaginitis this week.  Right after that my last application (24 hours later), I got the symptoms of ballder infection again, i.e., pelvic pain, urgency to urinate with discomfort and urethral pain.
Last month these SAME symptoms took me to the Dr. and the urianalysis showed WBC yet w/o bacterial growth.
Went to the Dr. yesterday, and again, WBC and blood in my urine. I'm waiting for the urine culture (the 3rd in 1.5 months). I am afraid it will come back like the others, w/ no bacterial growth. My PCP then sent me to the urologist for the possibility of an Interstitial Cystitis....
My question is, is this (White blood cells w no urine culture growth) an indicative of IC?
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Avatar universal
I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis years ago when most physicians knew very little about it if they had even heard of it before. Even though it had been around for years it was not considered to be as big of a deal as it actually is and always misdiagnosed many times before they realized what it actually is. I was misdiagnosed over and over for 2 years before they figured it out including having my appendix taken out and then I was told that I needed to see a psychologist cause there was nothing wrong with me and it was in my head so I first have to tell you to take a deep breath, you are way ahead of the game. It sounds like it could be IC so you need to know that the only true way to control it is through your diet. Go down to the very bare minimum for a week or so. I did it with grilled chicken with plain potatoes and pretty much any vegetables. If you have IC you are gonna wanna order the book, "you don't have to live with Interstitial Cystitis." This is going to feel like a bible to you for awhile so take it with you everywhere. It will tell you what foods you cannot have anymore and what is ok. Same with medications. The meds they are giving you could be causing it to feel worse. Once you have your symptoms under control and know that it is for sure IC then you can start trying small amounts of certain foods that they tell you no about because you may be able to tolerate small amounts of a food that somebody else can't handle at all and some foods may hurt you a lot more than they do others. The only way that you will know for sure if you have it is if you see a Urologist and he does some tests. Don't panic, you can have a perfectly normal life with IC and it may not be that at all. Go see a Urologist though because that is what they do for a living. Good luck.
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Avatar universal
please give us more information as we can't begin to help without more information ... where are you in this journey? Have you been to a urologist? What tests have been done? Have you been diagnosed with IC? What are your symptoms?
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Avatar universal
yes it can be! Shelly gave you great advice...I would add on you might want to check into pelvic floor dysfunction...this would not affect the blood work but with the pain you have been dealing you most likely have it or will develop it if you do not take care of it...if you are on long term antibiotics I would also recommend probiotics 2 hours after dose because antibiotics don't know the difference between good and bad bacteria...also if you are in the perimenopause or menopause estrogen cream down below might help prevent you getting UTI's...also eat a non-acidic diet this is very beneficial in calming thing down...I have managed mine through diet alone for many years...There is just so much going on in that deeply innervated area it can be hard to figure out exactly what is wrong...have you had a cystoscopy yet? Have you tried pyridium or prelief to see if they help with the uti pain like symptoms? D-mannose and inositol also help some women with IC... Definitely get a copy of your medical records and perhaps get a second opinion...never hurts to have more then one dr.'s thoughts to help us make the best decision for us! Let us know how you are doing!
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Avatar universal
Help me plz
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489228 tn?1291531454
According to my uro yes it can be.  White blood cells are a sign of inflammation.
IC is basically inflammation in the bladder wall, so WBC even without infection are common for us.  HOWEVER, you can also have chronic cystitis.  Cultures are designed to find typical acute not chronic infections and are based on colony count.

Do your symptoms go away while on the antibiotics, then return shortly after going off?

This is a classic pattern of someone with a chronic uti infection and is best treated by a uro who treat complicated infections, that will leave you on a long term hopefully low dose antibiotic.  Basically the symptoms of IC and chronic cystitis are the same BUT
a chronic infection can be cured and symptoms control with long term antibiotic treatment.  With IC you may see a slight improvement since a weakened bladder lining means more susceptible to low level bacteria but it will not resolve all the symptoms nor can antibiotics cure IC!

Hope that helps some!
Good luck! I hope you only have chronic cystitis!

Shelly
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