post UTI leukocytes but no infection… is it IC?
I’m a 26 year old woman, and in college I would get UTIs pretty frequently, but I had a couple good years of no infections. Last year, I had an unlucky bout of 1 that wasn’t fully treated w bactrim leading to a second one, treated with nitro. I got another a month later and it cleared up with nitro again. Unfortunately, for weeks afterwards I had no infection symptoms, but I had pain and swelling near the exit of the urethra (vulvodynia). I took the UTI test strip at home, and it showed trace leukocytes but no nitrites, so I went back to the doctors. The doctors ruled out infections then just kinda shrugged, which was fine because it went away.
this leads me to today. I got another UTI April 4th and treated it with Nitro, but I am still having trace leukocytes in urine with no nitrites and normal urine culture (It’s may 11). I’m having a hard time telling if it’s IC or not because only some of the symptoms overlap; for example, I do not have any pain when urinating, only externally afterwards bc of swelling/leukocytes. I also don’t feel anything when my bladder is filling or emptying. I feel a slight increase in feeling the urge to pee when I don’t have to, but it’s not “real” and I don’t feel the need to act on it. I feel a bit more “aware” of my bladder/a feeling of heaviness, but I kind of assume that has something to do with the leukocytes.
However, these symptoms are much more noticeable than last time. My question for you is, do you think it will go away post UTI or do you think its IC? Is there something else I can do (lifestyle wise, asking the doctor about, etc) that could help me get to the bottom of this? Thank you in advance!!