Please take your time to read.. Thank you

[niner123]

Hi I am 21 and male. About a year ago I had sex with a girl I hardly knew, but the condom broke. Within the next couple days I started feeling a tingling sensation in my penis, started having frequency urinating, a little burning sensation while urinating and a feeling of not quite emptying. Also I developed irritation on my foreskin and on the shaft a bit too (red, itchy, dry). The tip (around the opening) is also red and is sometimes irritated as well. I wanted to ask the girl but she moved to Texas the week after.. I waited to go to the doctor about 2 months after to make sure I was out of most of the window periods for testing for stds. I was tested for gonorrhea, Chlamydia, syphilis, and hiv. All came back negative. I went back about 2 months later (I don’t have insurance so I have not been able to go as often I want) and they tested me for herpes. That was negative. I went back about a month after that and they did another gonorrhea and Chlamydia test. Also negative. So I went to another doctor after that to see what he thought. He prescribed me smz/tmp for 7 days thinking it may be a uti. Didn't work. So he sent my urine to be cultured. Came back normal.. He thought I may have prostatitis so he put me on Ciprofloxin for 10 days, also didn’t work. He suggested I go to a urologist because he could not figure out my problem but I'm on a government aid (sliding fee scale) so its not completely expensive to see my regular doctor but to see a urologist would cost me ALOT more per visit and I have been barely staying on top of my bills as is.. So I decided to see a different doctor. About this time (about a year after the condom broke) I started having low back pains and basically pains around where the kidneys are so I was getting more concerned. She sent for another urine culture and it came back normal. She prescribed me levaquin for 10 days and said that if its an infection of any kind of bacteria that this would definitely take care of it (she thought it might be epididymitis because I have had a little pain here and there in my scrotum).. Didn’t work.. Of course during this whole time I was doing much research online and saw that I could I have a yeast infection that moved into my urinary tract (not likely but possible) So I told my doctor and she prescribed me diflucan. Also no luck. So they set me up an appointment to do an ultra sound to look at my kidneys and bladder. They found that my kidneys and bladder were fine. And now they’re saying that I definitely need to go to the urologist... But again I can’t afford it (I set up an appointment for next week anyway).... So my questions are……
{Oh and my symptoms at this present time are: frequency, slight burning sensation while urinating, pain in the areas of the kidneys, and the tip of the penis around the opening is still a bit red. (The irritation around my penis subsided a few months after I initially started having symptoms but I do have occasion where it gets irritated)}
1. Is there any way it could still be an infection of any sort? My Doctor told me a urine culture would show ANY infection (Is this true?) and there is no way I have any sort of UTI. ( I disagree cause I can feel it)
2. Would the urine culture show yeast? I read that it could miss a yeast infection. I also read there are strands of Candida that are resistant to diflucan, so is it possible that I may have a yeast infection. Could the culture miss the fungus and could the diflucan be resisted?
3. What else could it be? Maybe a parasite? Could it be fungus? Still a bacteria? Could the std tests given a false negative?
Please! Please! Please! Give me some clue as to what this is!
Thank you very much for your time!!!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hi,
Urethritis normally shouldn’t cause a pain in the kidney area and thus there should be a local pathology in that area for the pain to occur. Although the ultrasound is normal in your case but I’ll still suggest getting a CT scan done which is more sensitive than the ultrasound to look for any pathology causing the pain in the kidney area. Please do take the opinion of a urologist also for the same. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care.

[niner123]

Sorry I didn't realize at first but you said kidney infection isnt likely? How come the area where my kidneys are, is in pain? Could urethritis cause kidney pain?

[niner123]

Thank you for your info! I'm glad that there is at least something this may be and I may be able to get over this. It gives me hope, something I havent had for a while.. :)

[Dr J Singh]

Hi,

Since the urine culture and ultrasound kidneys has come out clear so UTI and kidney infection are less likely. It can be due to balanoposthitis or non gonococcal urtehritis. Urethritis is inflammation of the urethra.Urethritis is not diagnosed by a urine test but be urethral swab culture and examination of the swab.Other test useful in diagnosis is digital rectal exam (DRE) to inspect the prostate gland for swelling or infection. Balanoposthitis is the inflammation of the foreskin and glans and can be caused by bacterial or fungal origins or by contact dermatitis.
I know your financial constraints but you will need a urologist’s examination for this. Hope it helps. Take care and regards.