ms and uti ?

[Andipw3]

hi ...
well.. this week has been odd. i have had utils in the past. i certainly know what they are. so.. i read that ms and bladder are linked. a couple of days ago i had some quick, very quick, but intense spamming pain in the bladder area.. or urethra itself. i'm not sure. it was real fast. in addition, dark ( i'm assuming dark blood) discharge. maybe a teaspoon. and i notice after i urinate some (sorry everyone with the tmi) darkness , although be it minimal , on the toilet paper. ( i did notice some sensations leading up to that day that were present, but not painful. so.. kinda blew it off. )
so.. i increased my fluids and bought some cranberry juice. my kids got most of it. ( ugh). so then it kinda went away. now.. maybe 3 days later. same deal. i'm sure there must be a connection. i'm sure if i were to go to the weekend cvs minute clinic with a urine sample tomorrow... they'd say uti. here are some anitibiotics.

my question is... can i just deal with it by treating it with my own devices, such as water intake? if this is ms related.. how would you know?  is the dark blood worrisome? or part of the process? is it worth telling my neuro about? meaning, do i call or just wait  until the next visit in feb. which will be discussing my mri.
just curious as this is new. seems i've had a few "new" things. i sure hope i'm not progressing. i'm still crossing my fingers copaxone will work.
thx everyone...
andi

[Andipw3]

Ok thank you. I'll call Tomorow.  Thx again..

[aspen2]

Honestly, please don't assume uti.
With blood and blood in urine, please get your pcp/gp to refer you to a urologist for a cystoscopy ASAP.  It's probably nothing, but there other things that can cause these symptoms that should be ruled out.

It's a quick and easy procedure involving a tiny camera.

I had a completely separate issue that was ignored for a couple of years because my gp assumed it was related to ms.   Not everything is ms.

[Andipw3]

Thank you.. If uti s are prevalent .. I'd assume antibiotics are given often. That can't be good gor you either. Do you manage them on your own?

[supermum_ms]

This will link you to a few really good and well worth reading articles and pamphlets on bladder/bowel issues...

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Search?q=bladder&stype=0&chap=0

Cheers......JJ

[supermum_ms]

I've been dealing with bladder dysfunction (urgency & incontinence) for a few years and the UTI's have become more common because of it but whilst blood in the urine is associated with UTI's, i've personally never had blood in my urine unless it's coincided with a menstrual cycle.

I definitely think you need to see your GP to get this looked into, because it could be from the UTI, a menstrual issue or a kidney issue but unless your experiencing bladder dysfunctions without a UTI, i wouldn't actually be thinking it was likely to be an MS bladder issue.

Cheers........JJ