When ever anyone had their side or back pain that was afflicated with the stones, how was that pain? did it come and go or was it constant? was it severe or was it mild?

i went to my doctor on thursday and i'm going for an IVR in 2 weeks...only time i can get off work and as of right now, the pain isn't that severe, but if it gets worst, i will up that date of the test.

anyways, i went to see her because i am having side and back pains. because that was how my stone symptoms started last year, i wanted to see her and do whatever i needed to do. except, this time, it's my left side and last year it was my right. last year's pain was horrible, lasted a week and nothing worked to help the pain, not even tylenol. the pains i was feeling was similiar to my monthly cycle cramps, except, to a higher degree. at first i just thought it was going to be a bad cycle with horrible cramps, but did find out it was stones.

now, 11 months later, i'm dealing with side pains and back pains. but it's completely different. this time, i can go hours without feeling anything or even go a full day without feeling any pain in my back or side. it's mostly my side that hurts, but then it shifts and feels like it's my back, near my kidneys and then it can shift back to my side and i even had it shift where it felt like the pain was underneath my breast. that happened once. i can take either tylenol or ibuprofen and within an hour of the pain, it's gone. then, i'll feel fine, but i've noticed, if i eat or drink certain things, it seems the pain acts up. or if i bend down to pick something up, it acts up. if i sit on my sofa, i'm fine, but if i sit on my sofa and lean on my left side arm rest, it acts up.

i can't really sleep on my side, because after a few minutes, i'm sore. if i sleep on my right side, i'll feel the soreness on my left side. if i sleep on my stomach or even on my back, i can sleep normally.

i don't really feel nausea, though this weekend i have been, but i am sure that is due to all the food i've been eating. i admit, i wasn't very healthy in terms of eating this weekend and i'm pretty sure, the nausatic feeling was due to overeating junk food, because once i used the bathroom, i was fine or once i let out a good gas bubble, i was fine. i don't have a fever at all.

so, my doctor is torn, because there is white blood cells in my urine, there is some kind of infection, so i'm on 7 days worth of antibotics, macrobid. there was also some red blood, but she can't determine the cause, since i had just started my cycle. my doctor is torn that it's either kidney stones starting up again, but for some reason, they aren't moving from my side and back. or she's also thinking it could be a really back pulled muscle. i'm overweight, i'm 5'4, 315lbs, female....i guess it's possible that it's a muscle issue.

just not sure why there is white blood cells in my urine though. maybe the muscle is causing an infection?

she is almost ruling out an actual kidney infection, simply because, i had been dealing with this pain for 2 weeks before seeing her and i never felt sick or had a fever, just the pain that comes and goes. she said, that if it was an infection, after that amount of time, i'd be at least feeling sick or at least have a fever.

anyways....now that i rambled on and on....does anyone have any ideas what this could be? is it possible this is another stone forming? is it possible it could be something completely minor? could it be anything else more serious?

i just would like to know what could be going on...so that i'm prepared. i'm really hoping its not stones again, because last year, it took me 3 months to pass 2 stones, had to have surgery to remove the last one. i dont' want to go through that again and i'm drinking all the water i can, thinking it would help.

i even stayed home from work on friday, literally drank 4 liters of water, thinking if it was a stone, that amount of water would make it move, but no such luck.

anyways...any ideas or advice would be really appreciated.

thanks
char

My daughter, who is 9 had several kidney stones all about 3 months apart for over 2 years. She is now on medication that controls them and hasn't had one in almost a year. Her pain would start in her back. The pain would come and go. Then it would move to right under her ribs. Again not constant but a little more intense. Then it would move to her abdomen and she would be playing and then bend over in pain and start crying. That is usually when we would go to the ER and then she would pee blood a couple of times and the stone would pass and she would be fine until the next "episode".

My daughter's "episodes", as I call them, would only last for about 3 or 4 days and then the stone would pass. If it has been over 2 weeks then I would assume that the white blood cells and red blood cells are caused by a stone that is stuck in the area where your pain is. Or maybe it is just a pulled muscle. If the pain gets worse, not better, or you get a fever I suggest an ER visit.

Are you seeing a Nephrologist or just a family Dr? Have they put you on a low oxalate or protein diet? Do they have you on a water intake regiment? Have they given you any medication to prevent stones? My daughter is on a low oxalate diet, no salt, pepper, or chocolate. And she has to drink at least 60 oz. of water a day along with taking chlorthalidone and potassium citrate. If this is another kidney stone I would suggest asking your Dr about a treatment plan to prevent stones.
Christina

Hello,

Although I don't have any advice I would like to say that I am having a very similar problem. I have been having kidney stones off and on for about 10 years now. My first set was at 19yrs and required stents and lithotripsy. That was the worst set, since then I have had them about once a year or so and have had 2 lithotripsy's now. I thought I knew the signs but now I am having the same kind of pain (like you explained) but it doesn't seem like a stone. I feel the pain almost daily but not all day long off and on all day. Like you said it comes and goes. I would like to ask if you happen to find out what is going on outside of the boards that you might post the answers here anyway and I certianly do the same. Good luck!

Take Care,
Cooki

Cooki,
Are you on any meds to prevent stones?

I'm not on any diet or medication to prevent future stones, because from what i was told by both my family doctor and urologist, the stones i passed were too small and too sandy to do any tests. tests came back saying, yup, stones, but as to what kind, no one knows, so i'm eating like normal, except i need to drink more water.

which is such a problem for me. i just can't get the urge to drink water and during the day at work, i may drink 16 or 24 ounces and that's it. i'm so tired of water that when i do try to drink it, it almost makes me gag. i know, thats not good, so right now, my water intake is not nearly what it should be. my urine normally is dark yellow, orangy in color. plus, because of my job, i can't just get up and go. if i do, after awhile, i get a lecture saying that i'm not meeting my objectives and therefore, i need to use my personal time during my breaks. well, since i can't just get up and go, that is preventing me from drinking more water during the day. plus, my office is freezing and that doesn't make me want water, makes me want hot chocolate instead.

but the pain...it's pretty much in the same area. even though it moves from side to back to side to front to side...the location is still the same area. it doesn't move up, doesn't move down. seems to really hurt once i bend over or once something is pushing against that side. if i'm sitting at my desk at work, i need to sit in a different chair, because my normal chair was pushing my side and making it hurt.

doesn't hurt at all to urinate, doesn't burn, doesn't do anything. and today, the pain wasn't that bad and yesterday, it wasn't as bad. in fact, i was able to lay on my side for a few minutes, but then rolled on my stomach as not to irrate that area.

so, whatever it is...i don't know. i hope it's not stones, but i just don't know. i'm having my IVP done in 2 weeks, so hopefully after that, i'll have other answers other than,...i don't know.

I am not on any meds, I don't know what kind of stones they are because I have not had them tested. Testing them takes money and that I dont have. I drink a remarkable amount of water and ususally if I have laxed off on it I will get another stone. But this isn't like a normal stone.

Cooki

I've been very faithful with drinking " distilled water" as the Urologist suggested to me before my last episode which landed me to have lithotripsy surgery. I've been faithfuland its now been 2 1/2 years (knock on wood) I PRAY I am one of those fortunate ones that just stop getting them. However, I do understand that the majority that get stones usually will always get them.
I found out my stone that bursted through lithotripsy was an Oxylate stone....so tomatos re high in oxylates but I love them so just down lots of water after eating them. I have also since learned that a diet HIGH IN PROTEIN IS NOT REALLY GOOD for kidney stone sufferers as too much protein (at least in my situation) can PRODUCE a stone! So low carbers...just be cautious! For me it must be the water intake....has to be!?? I've been extremely faithful with drinking and buying ONLY distilled water. Its PURE and recommended by my urologist....must be working!??...so far so good! Yes!!! :)

Hi Wideawakeinaz :) Today I have started a quest to find out why I have "flank pain" much of the time. I had a terrible time with a kidney stone in 1982. I have read all of your replys, and I guess you all didn't mention the EXTREME pain associated with your stone(s), because either it wasn't a terribly painful experience, or you just assumed we all have the "terrible" pain, and it goes without saying. I guess I am asking how painful yall's stones were.My stone that was never "captured" in the little screen, I believe, damaged my right kidney permantly. I think I passed one or more stones, again about 8 years ago. I didn't even go to the doctor. It happened on a weekend, and I didn't want to go to the emergency room. But the pain was MUCH less severe, or I would have gone immediately. Never again will I suffer for 5 hours like I did in 1982, before I went to the ER. I had no idea what was wrong with me.After the stone event in 1982, my kidney has felt "swelled or enlarged". I get flank pain exactly around the area where my right kidney is. I also have lower back pain, but until today, reading the experiences of you gals, haven't associated it with my bad kidney. My left kidney which has never been affected with stones or anything else, I can't even tell that it exist. Couldn't even tell you where it is located, because I can't "feel" it as I can my bad kidney.I admit that coffee or caffeine, tea, cola, orange juice and such drinks increase my flank pain. I drink lots of water and have since 1982. This flushes my kidney and reduces the pain that I get after drinking coffee. Cranberry juice is great for kidneys, but the best kind is so expensive.In the past 3 years, I have been sidetracked from trying to find out just what is wrong with my kidney. I have had a heart attack and a stroke. I did have an ultrasound about 8 years ago, that showed everything A ok. I recently have started taking Lasix, a strong diuretic to reduce fluid retention. It is making my ole bad kidney talk to me, lol.A minister from a local church that I do not attend, just had a visit with me. I haven't seen him in a few years, but he has polycystic kidney disease, that has destroyed both of his kidneys. He has had a failed kidney transplant, and depends on diolysis, to live. He looked so bad, that I cried when he left. He was such a healthy man just a few years ago.I am going to make an appointment with a urologist today. It would help me so much if any of you can tell me of the best non-invasive, latest test to look inside my kidney. Is ultrasound still the norm, or is an mri so much better?Thanks to anyone for reading my book, and I apologize for it being so long. The best of health to all of you :)

My daughter, as I mentioned is only 9, had a MRA scan of her kidneys, it is much better at viewing the kidneys and stones than a MRI or an ultrasound. My daughter's kidneys are fine, the function anyway. But without medication, diet and water she gets stones about every 3 months. They never tested her urine for stones that passed, I guess they never thought of that, they only tested it for protein and blood at the ER. Of course there was blood and protein, her urine was almost black/red. Then after she was sent to a nephrologist (kidney specialist) they preformed 24 hour urinalysis's on her and discovered that the chemical to prevent stones was low and the chemical that produces stones were high and they were also able to tell that what type of stones she was producing from this urinalysis which was done when she was "normal" not having an "episode". It is probably one of the most common tests used now to pinpoint what type of kidney stones you may have.

Good luck, and keep us posted.
Christina

Jack51,

My first set of kidney stones were extremely painfull and I was admitted to the hospital for a week because of the size of the stone and the extremely small size of my uriter. It was and still is the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, and I have had more stone episodes and 2 children. Although I have had pain in my right kidney my left kidney is much worse. I feel it alot. Now dont get me wrong, all of my k. stone episodes have been VERY painfull but it was that first set that takes the cake pain wise.

Hope this helps!

Take Care Cooki