Hiya everyone
About 2 months ago I was rushed to hospital with the worse pain in my groin, I had no idea what it was and it came on so sudden. Anyhow I was diagnosed with a bad Kidney infection, given antibiotics and sent home. A week later, more pain, more antibiotics. Another week passes, more pain but tests came back clear so was just sent home.
Two weeks ago, the pain was severe and I spent the morning in hospital, told I proberly have Kidney stones. I now suffer daily from a pain in my right flank (back hip) that travels down to my groin then back up then eases off. I carry a wheat heat pack around with me because that is basically the only thing that eases it. I am on Diclofenic that I am trying to reduce as I have been on it for so long.
I am wondering what causes the stones and if there is anything I can take to help ease the pain as it annoys the life outta me. It only last a couple of hours at the most and over the last few days as gone from been severe to just dull.
I was recently diagnosed with Endometriosis and an Ovarian Cyst and wondered if this had something to do with it. The Kidney pain only came on after I had to have a stomach scan done. (I had to drink a lot of water to fill my bladder, it caused lots of pain, was so happy when the scan was over.)
Just to add.....I am also going through a medically induced menopause, the HRT hasn't kicked in yet, so I've had hot flushes, night sweats and the Insomia is driving me potty at the mo..........just shoot me now. lol
Been a pretty healthy person up till now.
Angel x
Hiya
Angel I do sympathise. I won't bore you with the details but I was born with deformed kidneys, which means that under the right circumstances I keep forming and passing kidney stones.
Unless you can find out what the stones are composed of (which means catching one when it comes out, usually...) it's impossible to give you any dietary advice. I don't hold with the general advice to drink lots of water - in my experience it causes more trouble than it eases.
What I found helped with the pain was Amitryptiline, which is an antidepressant but works wonders with intractable pain. I came off it this summer after 15 years. There is still some pain there, which rears its ugly head every so often, but not enough to bother me. Amitryptiline will definitely help with the insomnia!
I would ask for a referral to a nephrologist. That's the only way my troubles were diagnosed, and they had caused me to lose two jobs over six years. Going to the right specialist was the biggest factor in my recovery.
Very good wishes for the future and keep me posted now!
Hiya Chris
Thank you ever so much for the great advice. Firstly I sympathise with you for getting these stones regulary. I've just had them for 2 months and they are driving me mad, every little twinge I get now, I worry it's going to be the start of the pain. I can't live like this I want to be well again. lol
Anyhow, I have been drinking at least 2-3 litres of water a day, I've had to carry bottles of it around with me to make sure I get enough. While the weather was cold over the last week, I refused to drink outside, it was making me even colder and everyplace I went I was having to make sure I knew where the loo was. Because of this, my water intake has been reduced and the pain as actully eased. So I am going to lay off drinking so much and hopefully things will continue to improve.
I don't think I have actually passed a stone yet, never felt one anyhow, but I have noticed tiny amounts of grit....maybe they are breaking down?
When I am next at the docs, I will certainly mention the Amitryptiline, my hubby has took this in the past for back pain and it certainly helped him sleep. lol If I can kill two birds with one stone, then brilliant.
Thanks again for the advice and especially for bringing the "drinking water" thing to my attention.
Angel x
Hi Angel, I was there just over a month ago, ended up in hospital and a kidney stone was found with an ultrasound scan and then confirmed with a CT scan.
The "consultant" said that I should drink plenty of water and "see if it passes", which was about as useful advice as ... well ... it wasn't useful, as I'd already been in pain for a couple of weeks and been drinking loads of water anyway. My other half and a homeopath friend came along with a natural solution for me to try. It was about 2 fl.oz. of Olive oil and 2 fl.oz. of squeezed lemon juice, drank down in one sitting along with a cup of warm water. (It's very acidic to drink, but I just managed to somach it)
Within 36 hours I passed the stone.
I think, in principle, the acidity of the solution helped to break down the stone, just enough to let it get past where it was blocked (just before entering the bladder). The actual passing was without pain (fortunately!)
I guess it depends on how big your stone is. Mine was about 4 mm in size so just at the size where it could get stuck.
What I did find out from my GP (who was very good in this case) was that there is not much point in going to A&E with this as (in her words) they are just a bunch of junior doctors who give out painkillers and send you home again. What got me admitted to hospital was when I was in pain and the co-codamol wasn't helping and then I went to see the GP (emergency appointment) and she phoned up the hospital and got me admitted straight away.
As for what causes the stones, there's no real known cause. We pass calcium and uric acid etc. through our kidneys all the time. I think it just depends if particles/crystals of them stick together and lodge in the kidneys. Drinking plenty of water each day should definitely help to keep things flushed.
Hope you get it sorted soon. I definitely know what it feels like and can seriously sympathise with you.
All Love and Reiki Hugs