[DrN (OP)]

So, obviously I'm asking for a friend ...

A google search reveals to me that musty smelling urine can be cause by liver disease or liver failure, or some metabolic disorders, but this is as much detail as I can find. I ... oops, my friend ... knows the liver is not at fault in this case, because all the liver function tests came back normal, with the exception of bilirubin, which was particularly high - Gilberts syndrome was suggested.

Any thoughts would be wee-lly appreciated  []

[RD]

Phenylketonuria causes musty urine, but the sufferer would be mentally retarded if it was undiagnosed & untreated.
There is a benign form: "benign hyperphenylalaninemia".
[These  conditions are genetic: the musty urine smell they produce would have always been present].

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) can cause foul-smelling urine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_tract_infection

If you had not said liver OK I would have suggested it could be a consequence of high alcohol consumption.

[DrN (OP)]

Thanks,

Yeah, my alcohol consumption is pretty low, although I don't seem able to tolerate it well anyway. Hence I'm always the 'designated driver'!

It's quite intermittant too, so I'm not sure about it being an infection. Surely I'd be crippled in pain by now if it was - its been months and months, if not longer.

Perhaps there's another dietary cause? I'll have to start keeping a food diary.


Oh, I just researched benign transient hyperphenylalaninemia, and it seems to be related to aspartame. There are days when i do drink a lot of diet coke, maybe I should lay off the stuff!

[RD]

If you've had urinalysis then presumably the possibility of diabetes has been investigated

This section shows a full list of all the diseases and conditions listed as a possible cause of Urine odor in our database from various sources.
Asparagus - may turn urine green color with odor.
Cystitis - smelly urine
Diabetes
Diabetic ketoacidosis
Kidney stones - smelly urine
Urinary tract infections (child) - smelly urine
Vitamin B6 supplements

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/urine_odor/causes.htm

[Chemistry4me]

Man, those asparagus are powerful! They seem to take affect in under one hour! []

[DrN (OP)]

Yep, all those things have been discounted or do not apply. I don't take vit B supplements (or any supplements really!) or eat much asparagus!

I'm going to do an experiment: I'm going to restrict my intake of aspartame (and phenylalanine rich foods) and see if it makes a difference.

[Chemistry4me]

For how long?

[DrN (OP)]

Well, not had much aspartame since my previous post, and have not noticed anything since then. Will keep going! Its not exactly much of a hardship really.