fairydust7
03-15-2007, 05:26 PM
I was told today that I have a kidney stone. I've been having pain off and on since mid Dec on my lower left pelvic area. i had told my gyn doctor who brushed it off as being colon spasms and told me that a lot of women my age have stomach problems. My primary care doctor didn't think the same way. she ordered an x-ray and an ultrasound. The x-ray was done last week (ultrasound on the 19th) and it shows a 7mm (according to the report from radiology) kidney stone. She already gave me a referral to a urologist before I even saw her today and I have an appt for this coming Tuesday (20th).
Is 7mm small, average or big for a kidney stone? How do they remove them? I'm a little bit paranoid about this as I have never had any urology problems before, not even a urinary tract infection.
Is 7mm small, average or big for a kidney stone? How do they remove them? I'm a little bit paranoid about this as I have never had any urology problems before, not even a urinary tract infection.
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sunshine123
03-16-2007, 03:27 AM
Hi fairydust: I'm sorry you have a kidney stone too. 7 mm is too big to pass. Mine is even bigger and I'll be having a Lithotripsy. They put you to sleep and use shock waves to break up the stone into little pieces. My Dr. then goes up with a basket to remove the pieces. Unfortunately, I've been through this many times before. Good luck to you. I hope everything turns out alright.
fairydust7
03-16-2007, 07:15 PM
i've heard that passing them is very painful, so i've been paranoid since yesterday that it'll pass. but i've been getting this pain my lower left pelvic area since mid-dec, so i keep telling myself if it was gonna pass it would've passed by now and i shouldn't be paranoid about it passing before my appt on Tuesday.
fairydust7
03-16-2007, 09:10 PM
my doctor dind't give me a strainer or tell me to use anything. i also reread myu report tonight and it said 0.7cm not mm. i don't know how i misread that lol. the pain isn't bad and sometimes i don't have any pain, unfortunately i'm allergic to most pain meds anyway, but when it does bother me enough i take ibuprofen. Thanks sooo much for the advice, i truly appreciate it!
fairydust7
03-16-2007, 10:16 PM
dont have a paint strainer either, the only strainers i have are colanders lol. the ibuprofen helps me a lot, but i don't like taking it if i don't *need* pain medication because i've taken it for a long time for other health problems that cause pain pretty often.
i'm horrible at math too, so i wasn't sure if 0.7cm was still the same as mm lol.
i'm horrible at math too, so i wasn't sure if 0.7cm was still the same as mm lol.
rpg
03-17-2007, 02:57 AM
There is about a 10% chance that your stone might be made of uric acid. I say this, because uric acid stones can be dissolved with medication. Have a blood test (renal panel) done for uric acid levels. If uric acid level normal, then stone is most likely calcium and the lithotripsy must be performed for removal. Keep posting on your progress.
fairydust7
03-17-2007, 02:08 PM
thank you for that advice, I'll be asking the urologist on Tuesday about that. I had bloodwork recently done, but I believe it was a chem 7, cell count and a thyroid test. so i don't know if my renal functions were checked or not. I'll definitely be asking!
fairydust7
03-20-2007, 08:48 PM
I saw the urologist today. He's given me a referral to get a CT scan with dye study to get a better look at my kidneys. Because I'm also having GI issues my right kidney was partially blocked by my colon and the x-ray was for my pelvis so it cut off the top half of my kidneys. The doctor says its not normal for my pain to be so localized and so low on my pelvic area, so I'm still getting my pelvic ultrasound done tomorrow because he's wondering if I do have something else going elsewhere and we just happened to find the kidney stones too. Which kind of bummed me out really because I really don't want anything wrong with my reproductive system since I'm already dealing with other issues "down there" so to speak. grrrr.
he said depending on the ct scans and stuff, he might just wait and watch them, or maybe break them up. He said the only problem with breaking them up is that they are laying in the bottom part so for the pieces to come out after being broke up they'd have to go against gravity to move out of the kidneys. so tomorrow i'll call and make the ct scan appt when i get back from my ultrasound.
do the ct scans hurt at all? it's going to be done with contrasting dye according to the referral paper i was given.
he said depending on the ct scans and stuff, he might just wait and watch them, or maybe break them up. He said the only problem with breaking them up is that they are laying in the bottom part so for the pieces to come out after being broke up they'd have to go against gravity to move out of the kidneys. so tomorrow i'll call and make the ct scan appt when i get back from my ultrasound.
do the ct scans hurt at all? it's going to be done with contrasting dye according to the referral paper i was given.
fairydust7
03-21-2007, 01:54 PM
thanks allie! They aren't going to be donig an iv dye contrast, but the liquid that you drink I guess. Does that still make you feel funny? they told me to fast for 4hrs beforehand and then take it 90 minutes prior. also on my paperwork my doctor circled and highlighted abdomen and pelvis, not kidney. is that normal? my pelvic ultrasound this morning dind't show anything abnormal, but the tech said she only notices things that are really abnormal. so i won't know until next week at my dr appt what my ultrasound shows.
how are you doing allie?
how are you doing allie?
duzford
03-22-2007, 12:40 PM
Fairy,
Not for nothing, and not to scare you either, but be careful what the tech tells you - they should not be telling you ANYTHING about your results - they are not MDs.
Not for nothing, and not to scare you either, but be careful what the tech tells you - they should not be telling you ANYTHING about your results - they are not MDs.
fairydust7
03-23-2007, 06:34 PM
The liquid isn't bad..not good tasting...sometimes they do IV dye also when they have you drink the contrast also..depends on the hospital and how the test was ordered.
The CT Scan will show everything within the abdomen area they will be able to see the kidneys also. It sounds like they might be looking for a gyno issue also.
Ultrasounds don't always show things..it's weird we have this testing equipment and we go from one test to another...:confused:
I'm doing OK still haven't called my doctor yet...I don't know what I'm waiting for...I really don't want anymore bad news... I can't take anymore bad news..this has been a long time for me with my kidneys, then UC, fibro, the list goes on and on...it gets very depressing. I'm having pain in my kidney now. I think I'll give the doctor a call...it would be the smart thing to do...DUMB on my part to procrastinate and I"m not one to put things off!!!
I'm sure others feel this way also...
Thanks for your concern...:)
thanks for clearing up the iv part, i hope they don't do taht but i've had sooo many iv's that needles dont bother me in the least. i could probably do my own iv's lol. Yeah my doctor said that ultrasound's don't really show much, especially for the kidney's and thats why he felt i should have a ct scan done. I was just sort of surprised to see it checked off for abdomen and pelvis, but i did tell him i'm also having GI issues and gyn issues on top of this. He gave us the impression that he thinks we just happened to find the kidney stone while looking to see what is really going on with me.
you've gone through so much, I can understand not really wanting to call. It gets old and tiring and depressing like you say. I really hated having to go in to the doctor yet again, nevermind that i had to bring a freakin list with me to remember everything that's been going on. I just get so sick of calling to make appt's and going in and I get tired of tests and waiting and wondering. it's just stressful and depressing. I really hope things get better for you as soon as possible.
The CT Scan will show everything within the abdomen area they will be able to see the kidneys also. It sounds like they might be looking for a gyno issue also.
Ultrasounds don't always show things..it's weird we have this testing equipment and we go from one test to another...:confused:
I'm doing OK still haven't called my doctor yet...I don't know what I'm waiting for...I really don't want anymore bad news... I can't take anymore bad news..this has been a long time for me with my kidneys, then UC, fibro, the list goes on and on...it gets very depressing. I'm having pain in my kidney now. I think I'll give the doctor a call...it would be the smart thing to do...DUMB on my part to procrastinate and I"m not one to put things off!!!
I'm sure others feel this way also...
Thanks for your concern...:)
thanks for clearing up the iv part, i hope they don't do taht but i've had sooo many iv's that needles dont bother me in the least. i could probably do my own iv's lol. Yeah my doctor said that ultrasound's don't really show much, especially for the kidney's and thats why he felt i should have a ct scan done. I was just sort of surprised to see it checked off for abdomen and pelvis, but i did tell him i'm also having GI issues and gyn issues on top of this. He gave us the impression that he thinks we just happened to find the kidney stone while looking to see what is really going on with me.
you've gone through so much, I can understand not really wanting to call. It gets old and tiring and depressing like you say. I really hated having to go in to the doctor yet again, nevermind that i had to bring a freakin list with me to remember everything that's been going on. I just get so sick of calling to make appt's and going in and I get tired of tests and waiting and wondering. it's just stressful and depressing. I really hope things get better for you as soon as possible.
sheenboo
03-23-2007, 11:48 PM
I was told today that I have a kidney stone. I've been having pain off and on since mid Dec on my lower left pelvic area. i had told my gyn doctor who brushed it off as being colon spasms and told me that a lot of women my age have stomach problems. My primary care doctor didn't think the same way. she ordered an x-ray and an ultrasound. The x-ray was done last week (ultrasound on the 19th) and it shows a 7mm (according to the report from radiology) kidney stone. She already gave me a referral to a urologist before I even saw her today and I have an appt for this coming Tuesday (20th).
Is 7mm small, average or big for a kidney stone? How do they remove them? I'm a little bit paranoid about this as I have never had any urology problems before, not even a urinary tract infection.
I would say a 7 mm stone is a large stone.
Is 7mm small, average or big for a kidney stone? How do they remove them? I'm a little bit paranoid about this as I have never had any urology problems before, not even a urinary tract infection.
I would say a 7 mm stone is a large stone.