I've been experiencing annoying urinary symptoms and it isn't a UTI. Atrophy or something else?

Never thought to ask you guys but I suppose it couldn't hurt. See if anyone knows what this is or if it's somewhat normal.

End of August I suddenly got what I thought were symptoms of another UTI, which I've gotten around every 5ish months since starting T a couple years ago. Pain at the end of and after urination, almost constant mild urge to urinate but especially right after from not getting it all out, odorous urine on occasion. This time however it was way more mild than UTIs have been for me in the past, and alternated in severity day to day, most days it being easy enough to manage or almost ignore unless exercising. Maybe twice a week it was bad enough to feel like a UTI.

However when I went in I tested negative and they didn't really have anything to offer me, besides agreeing it could be worse atrophy. They were going to prescribe me a different type of estradiol and then backed out of it after I clarified I was already applying the cream the way they'd recommended I try first. I was just told to reschedule with the specialist, who they claimed to have talked to already before responding to my email asking if they'd forgotten about me and declining the prescription. So I said I would if it got worse again. I probably will soon; it's just really stressful sneaking out of the house.

And there aren't any bad days anymore, but there isn't really a symptom-free day either. Waking up it's always a little painful, smells awful, and sometimes a tad foggy, and then the smell recedes or is gone. Constantly uncomfortable. Most times urinating will mildly hurt (the few times I've sat down it was worse), only at the very end, and every once in a while I think huh, is that atrophy? Is it just that the cream isn't doing enough? Maybe.

I'm not dehydrated. Urine is usually clear because of how much I drink, and lots of water reduces the pain further. After masturbating it's pretty pain-free too.

It's not the worst thing ever, but it still sucks not knowing if it's gonna be better or worse the next day and having to work around it or settle into the worse days, and I have bottom dysphoria that it's keeping me from taking my mind off of and is causing more dissociation and self-harming behaviors.

Any of you have this happen, did a different type of estradiol fix it? Something else? Just a normal part of being on T after a while that everyone silently adjusts to?

I'm bad about socially burning out and disappearing, so many thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to offer anything. I'll at the very least read and upvote ok :)