Bile in Urine, always serious???

[mkdmxk]

My husband (age 28) has had 2 urinary tract infections in 2 months.The only symptoms he had were rust colored urine and it took slightly longer than usual to begin urinating. The doctor said there was bile in his urine, but doesn't even want to discuss "why" with us. He's waiting to see if antibiotics will clear it up. I've been searching the internet for causes of bile in the urine and can find nothing except serious conditions. Can it be something that isn't serious and can be cleared up with antibiotics? Please help.

[mlgable]

According to an archived post on this board something as simple as inflammation of the gallbladder can cause bile in the urine so the doc is likely using antibiotics and waiting to see if that takes care of it. If that doesn't take care of the bile in the urine I am sure he will do further testing. My question is why wouldn't he give you any possible causes for the bile in your hubby's urine? That is part of his job to tell you what might be going on as well as to tell you what he plans to do about it. If this is his usual nature I would consider changing docs to one who is more patient oriented but if this is just a one time thing then let it go as it may have been a bad day for the doc.

[zuzu8]

Hi Mkd-

Migable, (well-informed as usual!) is right about it possibly being a gallbladder issue.

I see you've posted this on other boards. I've replied there but in case you missed it, here's my post:

This doesn't necessarily have to be serious.
Don't panic yet!
First of all, certain drugs can cause a false positive for bilirubin (bile) in urine:
ANTIBIOTICS (if your husband has been taking them earlier, the latest blood tests may be inacurate!)
steroids
barbiturates (sleeping meds)
diuretics
chlorpromazine
allopurinol
and others.

Secondly, I guess in your research you've found that billirubin can indicate liver disease, including hepatitis and cirrhosis.
But again, ALSO be an indicator of gallbladder disease (totally treatable)
ALSO biliary strictures....

But even hepatitis and cirrhosis are NOT tantamount to a death sentence my dear (!) and can be treated, so try not to make that leap in your head.....

If biliary stricture is the culprit, promising results are being achieved with surgery with newer minimally invasive techniques using endoscopic or percutaneous dilatation and/or stenting .....

Let us know how things go..
No panic allowed!

zuzu xxxx

[mkdmxk]

Thank you both so muchhhh! Waiting isn't easy, but just knowing there is a possibility of it being something minor helps a LOT.