Can a small Kidney stone cause pain?
About a month ago they found calcium in my urine. Then on the 10th they found a small amount of blood. Yesterday they found a small amount of blood. Then tonight I wen to the ER for back pain I have been having for the past 3-5 days in the kidney region, mostly on the "right" side. The doctor told me that it didn’t sound like pain from a kidney stone, but said he has been wrong before. He mentioned I have chronic back pain, then sent me for a CAT scan of my kidneys.
The Tech found 1 small stone in my "right" kidney and a small amount of blood in my urine, 3-5 something per something, I don’t remember exactly. He says it is nothing to worry about because it is so small. The nurse told me if my urine gets darker or the pain gets worse to come back in.
Last October I had what I thought was a flu, due to back pain and a fever. It turned out to be a 6mm kidney stone stuck in my ureter that blocked off my left kidney filling it with puss. The infection then spread to my blood stream (ecoli). I am now scared to death of kidney stones. Three days into my 6 day stay in the hospital, the doctor came in and told me "you know, when you first came in here you were dying"
I am 28 years old.
Should I be concerned??? What should I do??? My back is so sore. I have other problems if you want to read my other questions.
I am just so afraid it will grow and block me up again. Two of my kids birthdays are in October, I missed them both last year, ER on 1, admitted on the other. Then on my wedding anniversary, same month, I had a lithrotripsy. I don’t want to repeat that.
I have had 4 vaginal births, so my pain tolerance is up there. But I also have fibromyalgia, so everything hurts.
Help, what should I do?
also have a uterine prolapse, cystocele and rectocele. Is this related?
By are they related, I mean are these problems causing the kidney stones because of the inability to empty bladder or something???
With my last kidney stone and infection, I had a stent implanted before my lithrotripsy. I don’t know the size of the stone. All he said was small. The doctor said he didn’t see it just the tech or something to that effect. He didn’t seem to take me too seriously though. Attributing my pain to chronic back pain and telling me it didn’t sound like a kidney stone. He only did the CAT scan to rule it out. I don’t think he expected to see anything, nor do I think he even really looked. It was just the way he acted.
My take home paperwork didn’t even say Kidney Stone, it said, lower back pain. No hematuria, No Kidney stone, yet he tols me both were wrong.
I think having the diagnosis fibromyalgia on your recors is more of a curse. They just don’t take you seriously.
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3 comments
Will on September 4, 2010 at 9:50 am
In short yes it can cause extreme pain. You can try to get rid of it by drinking a lot of fluids (water). However before doing that, consult your doctor. Pain medication may be prescribed to relieve some discomfort, however it needs to be determined the size of the stone first to see if it will even pass through the ureters into the urinary bladder from the kidneys. In some cases, a stent needs to be placed to allow for a stone to pass.
As far as what happened to you in the past, you developed a condition known as sepsis secondary from your ureter being blocked and inability to excrete. It caused you to become severely acidotic by lowering your Ph. (normal rages 7.35-7.45). That like your doc said would have killed you. I would keep a high index of suspicion for that to be safe.
QuillSB74 on September 4, 2010 at 9:50 am
A long time ago a kind doctor taught me a trick to handle terrible pain. I’ve used it ever since. It does not stop the pain; it changes my attitude toward the pain. He knelt down as I was in a wheelchair, in shock with a concussion, and said, "We cannot give you anything to stop the pain right now. You have to do it yourself. I want you to imagine that there is a round silver ball with a tether line on it attached to your head and the ball is in front of your face and off to the side a bit. When the pain intensifies, I want you to imagine that you are sending that pain along the tether or tube right into that ball."
I would urge you to consider developing a practice similar to that. Figure out how to do it in your own way. Make it a lifelong practice. And as for the kidney stones, put aside that fear. You might be surprised how many people experience kidney stones and think it is gas or something they ate. Well, it is probably the huge amounts of soy that they are eating (soy milk on cereal, tofu, soy nuts, veggie lasagna and everything else soy). If the stones are small, count your blessings in a way that shows your sense of humor about it all…Get Lost You Little Speck of Annoyance — Into The Toilet With You! Flush!
My best wishes to you in learning how to handle the fatigue, pain, annoying ceaslessness of it all. I have a little understanding of what you feel and I am sympathetic.
Justmeinthisworld on September 4, 2010 at 9:50 am
if there is blood it can causae pain..if there is blood–the cuts it is causing can lead to an infection which would cause pain
try drinking a lot of cranbury juice and water…its good to help prevent problems
AND GO TO A DIFFERENT HOSPITAL OR DOC AND DON"T TELL THEN YOU HAVE FMS..if you are on any meds–say they are for a different condition..
say the narcotics are for the kidney pain and you were prescribed them to take as needed
say any antidepressants are really for depressioin
as for the anti seizures? say you have some nerve pain in your other leg..