Luke C

Hello,

Does anyone know about kidney stones and if they might cause a sharp sore pain under my right ribs that seems to spread to the sides of my back and spine (I can touch the soreness even in those places at times)? For the last several months I have seen a few pinkish stains in my toilet bowl and in Nov. of last year I started having these pains. All my bloodwork, extensive tests, have shown no abnormalities (sed, white blood cell count, etc.). The doctors have told me I may have a pinched nerve in my side, though the pain radiates often through the abdomen and into my testicles (usually just the right one; it's all mostly on my right side). Today I saw more of the pink looking stains, which I hadn't seen in weeks, though I've had diarrhea most of this month which was then ascribed to irritable bowel (though I am going to see a gastroenterologist in two weeks). I believe this is coming from my urine. I have seen small clumps of a yellow-brownish color in my urine before. One picture of a kidney stone shape I saw online resembled these. All of mine have been small and soft. I read today that the diarrhea/constipation problems associated with irritable bowel can also be caused by kidney stones. I may have had symptoms going back as far as 2002 when I did have a diagnosis of a urinary tract infection. My TSH level was in question during a physical in March--it was .4--then in a second physical it came back .04 and I was told that second test had perfect T3 and T4 levels (I don't know if they were checked with the first TSH). Could this have anything to do with the parathyroid and calcium? As far as I know my calcium levels have been normal though I have been prescribed potassium for the diarrhea this month. (Hypokalemia diagnosis last week.) If all of this could be kidney-stone related, then the pinched nerve/fibromyalgia/irritable bowel theories may all be wrong. Before my lower rib area became so painful to the touch early last November, I had had some deep rib soreness in 2004. Also, around the time of the Nov. pain, I had a pinkish tint to some urine as it came out (the only time that has happened). As bad as the rib area pain can be, and the way it hurts the back and hip and spine areas with what are like fibromyalgia sore spots, the pain is intermittent and sometimes accompanied by fatigue and sore muscles that will suddenly become virtually normal again a day or two later. (Sometimes longer.) Touching just under my right ribs, there is a horrible sore spot that seems to radiate as I said into the abdomen often and around the sides of the back and in the spine and hips. My right testicle especially will ache from this at times and I noticed this pain before last November. I would appreciate any ideas on what all this could be.