Why do I always have blood or protein in the urine?

Question

Hello doctor,

I had been experiencing extreme fatigue, brain fog, difficulty concentrating or remembering, muscle aches, mood swings, and frequent UTI (painful urination and sometimes blood) for years. I had a urine sample taken, and it always shows blood or protein in my sample, but no bacteria. I had been to the doctor frequently. The first time I had painful urination was before ten years, and the doctor said I might have kidney stones, which repeated before three years. Every time, I was asked to drink lots of water and always sent home without any diagnosis.

Last year, I tried to donate plasma, but it was denied because the protein in my blood was 10.4 g/dL. I recently went to a chiropractor, who asked if I had any other concerns, I told her the same, and she advised some laboratory tests and found that my hs-CRP was at a 10.6 mg/L and said it must have been just a long-term kidney infection my body is fighting for years. She put me on an "immune system cleanse" using FC-Cidal, Dysbiocide, and Lauricidin. This did not seem right to me.

So, I found it online and ordered my laboratory tests.

The results were:

ANA screen, IFA - Abnormal.

ANA titer and pattern - 1:320.

ANA pattern- Nuclear, dense, fine speckled.

Is this a marker for lupus? Is this something I need to address?

I have seen many doctors over the years, and they have never taken me seriously. I am so tired of it. I was referred to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed me with a borderline personality disorder because of my symptoms. I am not taking those medications because they are just treating the symptoms of something else.

I am 29 years old. I have had issues with my urinary tract for almost ten years now. I am worried that if I keep ignoring it and letting doctors say, "do not worry, drink more water, avoid spicy food, work out more," that I am going to be 40 to 50 years old and have severe kidney issues.

I am sharing with you all of my recent laboratory test reports.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I went through your post and laboratory tests (attachments removed to protect the patient's identity). I did not find anything suggestive of lupus (autoimmune disease). It looks like IgA (immunoglobulin A) nephropathy, which could be the reason for hematuria (presence of blood cells in the urine). Lupus would not stay silent for ten years. However, it would help if you did an ENA (extractable nuclear antigen) profile, giving us a clear idea of whether there is an autoimmune disease.

Regards.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Testing positive for ANA (antinuclear antibodies) alone carries little significance unless you develop clinical manifestations like arthritis, oral ulcers, photosensitivity, and hair loss. There may not be all of them but some of them. If kidney disease is in stage three or above, it can cause fatigue, but not cognitive impairment. However, for that, creatinine has to be more than 3 mg/dL, and if ANA-related kidney disease occurs, it generally progresses quickly just in a few years and does not wait for ten years, which is not there in your case.