Hi,

37 year old female.  Non-smoker, infrequent drinker (6 or 7 drinks a
year). No pregnancies (by choice).  No complaints except menstrual
cramps --- gyn said possible beginnings of endometriosis.  Currently
taking estostep & naproxin (when needed).  White coat hypertension -
but at home averages about 117/72 (highest diastolic reading being 83
over a 2 month period of daily home testing).

Was given a dipstick test as part of the regular ob/gyn check.  Came
back positive for blood.  Had me give another sample for a more
detailed test which also came back positive, also showed no infection.
Sent me to a urologist 3 weeks later who also did a test which came
back positive.  Also did a physical exam which showed nothing.

Now the urologist wants me to have my bladder scoped and check my
kidneys with dye at the same time.  I don't know much about this
condition except what I've been researching on the net, so here are my
concerns.  Informed opinons on this matter are welcome...

1) I specifically asked him if it was glomerular or nonglomerular.  He
seemed taken aback by the question, then looked confused, then said he
was going to "treat it as nonglomerular".  Which leads me to believe
that either he couldn't tell from the sample or didn't bother to
check.  I wonder if sometimes it is difficult to determine or if he
dropped the ball on this.

2)  I asked him if he was planning on doing any blood work.  He said
no, not unless something came back from the scoping.  When I asked if
he didn't want to rule out some problems first, he said that if there
were problems, I'd have other complaints like swollen feet or that
they would have found protein in my urine.

He also went on to say that usually nothing shows up on the scope so I
didn't need to be overly concerned.  When I asked if my scope test
turned out to be negative would I need to worry about it anymore, he
replied that I should just "keep an eye on it".  When I asked him to
define what that meant, he said that I should have a test done every
once in awhile to check for problems (like when I see my ob/gyn).
This seems odd to me, if blood has shown up twice, isn't it likely to
continue to show up?  If so, what is the benefit of the occasional
testing when I already know it will come back positive?

Also, he led me to believe that nonglomerular was more likely to be
caused by something physical like a blockage or tumor and glomerular
would be from a disease affecting my kidneys, etc.  If so, isn't it
important to determine which one it is first?

I am willing to endure necessary tests, but I don't want to have to
put up extra invasive testing if I don't need it.

Thank you,
Want to be an informed patient