Seven years ago I had a very bad few weeks with severe cystitis. Nurse at GP Practice put me on ab's. Very little effect, So she changed to a different ab. I felt so ill that weekend that I phoned 111 who sent me to local hospital, where they examined me and put me on stronger ab's. Worked for about three days, then came back just as bad. Spent following Saturday evening at out of hours GP, who said there was a lot of blood in my urine and put me on a different ab.
During the fourth week of feeling so ill I wrote to my GP demanding a referral to hospital, which I got a few weeks later.
There a camera showed a small growth in my bladder, they put me on a low dose ab and said i would be brought in for a procedure to remove this and for them to have a proper look at it.
They did keep saying I was not to worry - it did not necessarily mean it was cancer. Actually, I was so relieved that something physical had been found, and I was not just a neurotic old woman that I was quite relaxed.
Within a fortnight I was brought into the hospital - was worried as a couple of days before that this flared up again badly and I wondered if they would cancel. They did not, just put me on strong ab's.
Procedure meant I had to stay in for 48 hours and at end of that I was told that it was not malignant.
I was told to use Vagimax (or whatever it was called then), which I have done ever since.
For the following five years I had to have an annual hospital check to see if this growth had reformed. Fortunately, it did not and I was discharged last year.
No UTI's since then, although I still live in dread of one. I keep very hydrated whatever the weather, very careful about hygiene down there.
So glad I did insist on that referral