Urethral Pain With No Infection

For past two years I have suffered from urethral pain. I did the tests but there was no infection found. They told me I got some disorder, so I have done biofeedback and followed the IC diet to no avail. Now I have been in pain for 4 weeks and no one has an answer for me and the vicodin is losing its effectiveness. Have you any suggestions?

I went to tests because of the same problem, urethral pain. They told me that there was no infection too and everything was a complete mystery. My doctor told me to see a therapist because I was having trouble with the constant urethral pain. He put me on Effexor, and within a month the pain went away. I am not saying anything, but mental health disorders can cause very real physical pain.

I have also been having extreme urethral pain, with no infection. Doctors don't have a clue. So far I've found applying tea tree oil topically and drinking plenty of water to be my only relief.

kenner wrote:

I went to tests because of the same problem, urethral pain. They told me that there was no infection too and everything was a complete mystery. My doctor told me to see a therapist because I was having trouble with the constant urethral pain. He put me on Effexor, and within a month the pain went away. I am not saying anything, but mental health disorders can cause very real physical pain.

my daughter has been to the Dr, a bunch of times and after a GYN consult and a urologist w/cystoscope they have found nothing. today she was in tears. now headaches and Vicodin not working. the Dr. today said he will do a cat scan but thinks it is bladder spasms due to stress. how the heck does you body pick your urethra to tack the stress out on??? she is on Lexapro for a few days now and feels more depress. i think from the pain. do you really think it could be stress. im a nurse and 53 years old and never heard of it.

My pain started when I was 15. At first it was a really really bad UTI, there was blood in the urine. After that it was a monthly continuous problem, first it would be a yeast infection, then menstration, then the UTI. Well the first two porblems went away after 6 mnths. The UTI's remained, or what I though were UTI's , I had the pain and the urgency without the infection. I had every test known to man kind, bladder pain made it painful for intercourse. This was not normal. I started taking antibiotics daily to no avail. I stopped them and started taking Cranberry supplements (6 daily). The pain was still there. Then I though it was the estrogen in my birth control. I switched to progesterone only and it worked. Not cured I still get the pain every now and then but it is manageable. It must have been the estrogen. I'm not completely sure and I still take Cranberry like it's air, and drink tons of fluids. I will still get the bruning maybe once a week and it gets worse right before bed, but at least it's not everyday. I have been living with this for a long time and sometimes its hard to cope. I hope that this will make people look into there everyday activities and start altering thigs, what you eat, wear, what times you sleep, look for things that could trigger it. It may surprise you. Be your own investigator.

I have to thank the person who posted about applying topical tea tree oil. I had kidney stones two years ago, and recent blood in my urine with no other sx. I have followups scheduled for CAT scan and exploratory with my urologist for when I return from vacation, but while away began to have urethra pain without infection (had it checked at urgent care). One night it was so painful I couldn't sleep. I went on the net, and found the advice above. Had a bottle of tea tree oil with me for my warts--what a surprise and blessing to find it relieved the urethra pain!!!!

Hi, I'm 35 & have had constant urethra pain for 2 years now - after my hysterectomy. The pain is like a severe bladder infection & is the whole urethra tube - so when I have intercourse it is even more painful.

When I had my hysto - I had to come home with a catheter & I had alot of problems with it , pain & bleeding. When it was removed - it was stuck-adhered to my urethra tube, it hurt worse pulling it out than having kids. I been blaming my pain on this, but it may not be.

After a cat scan, biofeedback, a laproscopy, a couple of cystoscopies, they said I have polyps & inflammation where the bladder & urethra tube connect. But there is nothing they can do.

Can anyone help.

OMG...I have the exact same thing with the exact same diagnosis!!! I started having terrible urethral pain January 2006, and went to 4 doctors before an iffy diagnosis of IC (interstitial cystitis), but during the in office cystoscopy my uro said she saw urethral polyps, but they are not the type that are removed, but indicate inflammation where the urethra joins the bladder (same as you)!!!! My uro said that these are treated with long term antibiotics, and I was given Macrobid to take 1/day for 6 months. I didn't like how it made me feel so I switched to Keflex, and now Bactrim, but I didn't really see any improvement. I was also given Urised for the pain, and it is awesome. You should ask your doctor for this. Also I suggest you alter you diet so that you aren't drinking anything acidic...ie oranges, orange juice, coffee, caffeine, tea (herbal tea with chamomile is okay) sodas... 1/2 tsp of baking soda in water also can help tremendously unless of course you have high blood pressure and can not take sodium (salt). This is a frustrating situation for me, and I can imagine for you too. There can also be an infection in the urethra is the glands that is difficult to detect, and usually is not detected with regular UTI tests. I hope you have some success with this and I understand what you are going through. You may want to check out the IC support sight: ic-network.com.

mollyso wrote:

Hi, I'm 35 & have had constant urethra pain for 2 years now - after my hysterectomy. The pain is like a severe bladder infection & is the whole urethra tube - so when I have intercourse it is even more painful. When I had my hysto - I had to come home with a catheter & I had alot of problems with it , pain & bleeding. When it was removed - it was stuck-adhered to my urethra tube, it hurt worse pulling it out than having kids. I been blaming my pain on this, but it may not be. After a cat scan, biofeedback, a laproscopy, a couple of cystoscopies, they said I have polyps & inflammation where the bladder & urethra tube connect. But there is nothing they can do. Can anyone help.

I also had a really bad UTI about 5 months ago, with lots of blood in the urine, but the antibiotics didn't seem to cure all my symptoms, especially the constant urge to urinate. Now i have pain im my urethral and seem to be a bump on the outside to, but sometimes it gets bigger and smaller. My bladder feels tender and sometimes theres pain. Ive seen a urologist and hes keep saying its the UTI that its not going away, i also had a cystoscopy done, all he said is that my bladder wall looks swollen and inflamed and i am on antibiotics fro 3 months but i still done feel any improvement. I really don't know what this is, does any one have any idea. I was reading "Urethral Pain- Forever" mines seem familiar from the beginning, i hope you still go to this site, i really want to ask you some questions and maybe you can help me. Thanks.

In August i got a UTI and i went to the doctor and he gave me antibiotics well the uti went away but i have had a burning sensations since then. I have went to doctors i have even had surgery to get my bladder dialated. NOTHING HADS WORKED. My doctor thinks it may be Interstial Cystitis? I looked it up online and it does sound like that maybe could be it but it doesn't say anything about me having constant burning. I feel like it is ruining my life. Sex is not enjoyable anymore because it hurts now. Can someone help me please?

I have been having similar problems. I had UTI in February and it took about two months for it to go away. But even though the infection had cleared up I still had burning pain, mainly after I urinated. This pain was different from the UTI pain: it would go away at times, and there was no real frequency to urinate or pressure in my abdomen. The doctors tested me for UTIs, STDs, and yeast infections, and all results came back negative. The pain was still there. My doctor gave me a prescription for hyoscyamine, which is an anti-spasm medication. It seemed to help tremendously, but it is really just a band aid, just covering up the real problem. Supposedly irritation in the urethra/bladder causes it to spasm, which causes pain. I don't know what is causing the spasms, but I went to the urologist, and she said it may be that because the UTI took so long to heal, there is left over irritation from the infection. And acidic foods and drinks can make this more painful. I cut out the coffee and tea that I drink everyday, and the cranberry juice that I drank to get rid of the UTI, and this seemed to make a difference in the pain. I am going to try this diet and keep taking the hyoscyamine for a few more weeks to see if the pain goes away on its own. If it doesn't, there may be a more serious problem like a urethral stricture. The pain is definitely limited to the urethra, and it is ruining my sex life. It hurts to have sex, the pressure on the urethra is just too painful. I would suggest looking into this medication and cutting out acidic drinks for now, and I will post again in a few weeks if the pain has gone away or if the problem is something else. Good luck.

I have had a lot of bladder infections. But recently have had pain but no infection. My urine has been clear on the last two visits. The pain is like a spasm which comes after I urinate and it refers to my right shoulder. I have never heard of this except when I had gall bladder problems and that pain also referred to my shoulder. I do think the description of it being like an orgasm which won't come and which hurts instead is a very good description. I have been unable to orgasm for quiite some time and wonder if there is some connection. I am not comfortable with intercourse.

Ok, so I'm SO glad that I found this thread because, although no one seems to know what this condition is, at least I now know that I'm not alone. I have had this exact same problem for 9 years!

No infection, no UTI, no burning when I pee, just a spasmodic pain in the urethra after I pee, not during. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour to subside and tends to die down a little if my bladder is full. It's most painful when my bladder is empty.

The pain tends to be more violent if I've gone to the toilet without really needing to.

When the pain started at 17 (I'm approaching 25 now) I found that excersise would bring it on aswell.

I had 30 doctor and hosipital visitis and several minor ops and exploritories...and nothing. All they found during the tests was that I had PCOS aswell which, from my extensive research appears to be completely unrelated to this chronic pain that is ruining my life.

I was put on Buscopan which is for IBS (which I don't have) but "releaves muscular spasms of the reproductive organs". This bought me a little relief for a few years until my body became immune to the drug. Then I was put on Colofac ( a huge dosage of Buscopan) and now that doesn't seem to be working for me either.

If and when I found out what this condition is, I promise to start a website/help group as it seems that this issue is very rare...as every Doctor and specialist I've seen are completely clueless to it.

I have the same problem (I am a man).

I cannot find any explanation, but during a recent visit to my Dr regarding the pain it was suggested I stop drinking caffeine.

He said that caffeine can cause muscle spasms and pain. It was a suggestion I find hard to follow (I love coffee & soda). Since my pain episodes are rare I just lay off the caffeine and drink more water when I have my spells.

Might be a suggestion for some to try for relief.