Woman in despair over mystery urine infection

A 20-year-old woman who has suffered a with a urine infection for almost three years says she has “lost all hope” of NHS treatment after a doctor referred her to Google for answers.

Bianca Padurariu, from Crystal Palace in south-east London, says NHS doctors have been unable to find out why she needs to go to the toilet up to 15 times a day, and suffers with pain.

She is now fundraising for private treatment.

An NHS spokesperson has apologised and invited Ms Padurariu to make another appointment.

Ms Padurariu's symptoms started in September 2021.

“Every time I drank a sip of water, five minutes later I needed the toilet,” she said.

She said the condition had affected her job as a nanny and her intimate relationship with her partner.

"During this period, I stopped drinking the normal amount of water that I needed to drink as a human," she said.

“It’s quite sad really because I am not OK,” she added.

Repeated trips to the GP and multiple urine tests initially revealed the presence of an infection, but after two rounds of antibiotics, there was no improvement in symptoms.

Then a further urine test came back negative and doctors told Ms Padurariu that "nothing is wrong".

After two years of failing to get the right diagnosis, Ms Padurariu paid £700 for a private consultation with a gynaecologist.

The gynaecologist diagnosed a “recurrent urine infection” and early signs of endometriosis, a long-term condition that can cause severe pain in the pelvis, especially during menstruation, intercourse and when urinating.

“She also found high levels of protein in my kidneys and said I should see a doctor immediately,” Ms Padurariu said.

Continuing to be seen privately proved unaffordable so Ms Padurariu took the results to an NHS urologist at Queen Mary’s Hospital in south-west London.

However, Ms Padurariu said she was not given the support from the urologist that she had hoped for.

"She was like, ‘Oh, have you heard of this thing called Google?’

“I said, ‘Of course I’ve heard of Google’ and she was like, ‘Then you can find your answers there.'

Ms Padurariu said she left the appointment in tears and was still unclear about the medical issue she is facing.

What is a urinary tract infection (UTI)?

• UTIs are usually caused by bacteria, most commonly from a person's own bowels, entering the urinary tract through the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body
• Symptoms of a UTI include a burning feeling on passing urine and the sensation of needing to pass urine frequently, fever, shivers and pain
• Chronic UTIs can be caused by that bacteria entering the lining of the bladder

The 20-year-old lodged a formal complaint with the Patient Advice and Liaison Service about her experience, saying: “I [was] there to speak to a professional regarding my problems.

"Google will never give me the right answer, it will just make me panic.”

She said she had "lost all hope” of treatment with the NHS after years of trying and was now fundraising for private treatment.

“I’m not really sure what kind of infection I have at this point.

“It just didn’t go away, so I’m wondering, is it something more complicated?"

A spokesperson for Queen Mary’s Hospital said: “We are truly sorry that Ms Padurariu is unhappy with her experience.

“We take all concerns very seriously and have discussed Ms Padurariu’s experience with her and invited her to make a follow-up appointment.”

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