It Was A “UTI” Afterall – Trigger of Inverse Psoriasis

What I thought was genital psoriasis from having inverse psoriasis was not that at all. This happened to me and it might happen with many of our fellow psoriasis patients as well.

I have written about having inverse psoriasis in the past. This is the second time in 60 years that I have had this. I have had it in my genital folds, which was not pleasant. Not telling your doctor about where you are suffering might worsen it. So, when I had this break out on my vaginal lips, I immediately told my doctor who said, it’s only a psoriasis flare.

Was it just a psoriasis flare?

I wasn’t feeling the same for almost a year. I had four pap smears, a urine test, and blood work tests. All of these tests came back negative and that I was okay. So I went with that, just a psoriasis flare. The symptoms got so bad that I couldn't even sit in my chair for too long, and using the washroom became even more painful. This was not pretty at all. I couldn't sit, lie down, or even walk without having some pain. Wearing clothes became even more difficult. So, I ended up with my doctor, (again) bursting into tears.  I knew something was wrong, but tests weren’t showing anything.  Of course, at this point, I was thinking the worst that I had a hidden cancer.

I had an annual appointment coming up with my kidney doctor. See him yearly because I also live with type 2 diabetes. I always get my blood work done before I see him. The tests were ordered. Within 24 hours he called me and told me that I have a urinary tract infection. What?! I flipped out, this has been going on for a year. He immediately gave me a treatment plan and relaxed me. I had to go on two thousand milligrams of antibiotics for the next 3 days immediately. I was so upset that my primary care physician missed this after 4 emergency visits, but I was grateful that I wasn’t losing my mind and that something was actually wrong with me.

Speak up!

This taught me just how diligent we have to be with our health. Hiding things from the doctor just because you are ashamed of it is never a good idea. If you think something is wrong speak up. When I spoke with my kidney doctor, he said that there are times that things to get missed. He said that as a kidney doctor, ordered tests that maybe my primary doctor didn’t. This infection actually showed up in my urine and not my blood, but she did urine tests too.

The sad part of this story is that I would have let this go on for years, not knowing something was wrong with me.  If you feel that something is wrong, don’t give up. It can lead to so many other serious issues which might aggravate the situation, something that happened in my case. I had to face extreme pain which if left untreated could have led to something more serious.

The reason I am writing this is to let you all know and give you enough courage to talk about anything with your physician and get second opinions if you are not satisfied. Remember that we have to have controlled over our overall well-being, health and self-care must be our priority.