Hello...I'm new to this web-site...and desperately hoping someone can answer my question. I have been in a lot of pain for several months. I have a lot of pain in my right front abdomen and lots of lower back pain...also protein in my urine. Recently I've developed stinging pain on the tops of both of my hipbones. An ultrasound of my kidneys several months ago showed nothing, but a recent abdominal x-ray showed a 3 mm stone in my left ureter. The doctors think this is nothing, but I'm wondering if there are more where this came from. My main question is this...can kidney stones cause protein in the urine? My doctor said no, but I wonder if she's right. Also, do kidney stones always show up on ultrasound? Thanks.

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. Protein in the urine is not known to be linked to kidney stones. High protein levels may be a sign of possible kidney disfunctions, some harmless and some more serious. You should consult with a nephrologist or urologist about your symptoms if you haven't already done so. Also, if you can collect a stone after it passes out, make sure you get a full series of labwork done to know exactly what type of stone it is. There are many options available to help patients prevent further stones from developing, from dietary restrictions to medications, each tailored to what type of kidney stone you produce. Stones will show up on an ultrasound, as long as you have a well-trained radiologist doing the imaging.

As the the 3mm stone: the ureter is actually about 3mm in diamater as well. Passing a stone the same size or bigger than your ureter requires you to squeeze an object through a small space, which can be teribly painful. I've had many stones as well and my doctors always seem to think that I shouldn't have pain in stones smaller than 5mm. Of course, if all doctors were required to pass a kidney stone as part of their education, I believe they would be much more sympathetic to patients. I actually had a stone just over 1 cm in size and my nephrologist told me to not have a lithotripsy to remove it. How I was supposed to pass a stone that much bigger then the space available in my ureter I'll never know. A year later the stone was still lodges in the lower left pole of my kidney and I had the procedure to remove it, after a year of terrible pain. Current thought is that stones 3 mm and larger are candidates for lithotripsy. If the stone is obstructing, or is too painful to pass and is still in the kidney you can always insist on the procedure. Waiting until the stone has moved down into the ureter, where it may always get stuck, unfortunately means that you can't have the lithotripsy performed. If you have to pass it, be firm with your doctor about receiving adequate pain medication to help you in the painful period while the stone is working it's way out. Don't let them deny you the right to pain control, something I have battled my doctors every time I have passed a sizeable stone. I wish you the best of luck...

[This message has been edited by JohnInTacoma (edited 07-20-2003).]