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Kidney Stones - Anyone with first-hand experience? UPDATE: New symptoms
Figgy
Fighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered User regular
Fighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered User regular
Woke up one morning and could barely stand without my lower back shooting in pain. I went to work, fought through it, but then went to the doctor on my break in between shifts. At the time, I was also experiencing a slight pain in my groin area, which felt like it was coming from my right testicle, but it was hard to be sure.
They asked for some urine, I obliged. She came back in and said that I must have pulled a muscle, and the muscles is connected to the groin so that's why there is pain there as well. She prescribed some muscle relaxants and I went back to work. I found the pills made me groggy and didn't do anything for the pain, so I stopped taking them. The back pain went away in a few days.
The other day, the groin pain came back and started getting worse. On Thursday, I went back to the doctor (another doctor) and pee'd in a cup again. He did a physical exam on my testicles as well. He said they found a tiny amount of blood in my urine, and I might have a small kidney stone. He said he wasn't going to prescribe antibiotics because he doesn't think it's a bladder infection though.
He sent me for ultrasounds (abdominal and scrotal). I went, and I'm going to hear back about results on Monday, most likely.
Now, I'm kind of convinced I'm going to hear back that I have a kidney stone (or stones). Right now the pain has escalated from slightly aching at times to constantly uncomfortable almost all the time. It's like someone is pinching my bladder or the ureter on my right side. I've been drinking a lot of water (couple liters a day I'd guess) and going to the bathroom a lot. It burns very very slightly when I do, but I see no blood at all. Just very pale urine with a hint of cloudy yellowness.
Diet wise, I drink a lot of pop. Mostly diet pepsi, but I'd say 2 cans a day plus a few glasses at work on average. I've stopped entirely for the past few days and I'm drinking primarily water (some OJ otherwise). I read that soft drinks could lead to kidney stones because of phosphoric acid build up.
Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has had a kidney stone and could describe how they felt, so I could gauge how far along I am. Is this thing ready to pass any moment now or am I still in the beginning stages? Will there suddenly be an excruciating amount of pain out of the blue or will it happen randomly when I begin to urinate at some point?
I'm still going about my usual routine and going to work, but I'd like to know if I should take time off to get rid of this thing. I don't want to step into the washroom at work and suddenly start howling in agonizing pain. That might be bad for business.
Is there anything I should avoid? I'm already cutting down on pop to the tune of 100%, but what about foods? Beer? Etc?
They asked for some urine, I obliged. She came back in and said that I must have pulled a muscle, and the muscles is connected to the groin so that's why there is pain there as well. She prescribed some muscle relaxants and I went back to work. I found the pills made me groggy and didn't do anything for the pain, so I stopped taking them. The back pain went away in a few days.
The other day, the groin pain came back and started getting worse. On Thursday, I went back to the doctor (another doctor) and pee'd in a cup again. He did a physical exam on my testicles as well. He said they found a tiny amount of blood in my urine, and I might have a small kidney stone. He said he wasn't going to prescribe antibiotics because he doesn't think it's a bladder infection though.
He sent me for ultrasounds (abdominal and scrotal). I went, and I'm going to hear back about results on Monday, most likely.
Now, I'm kind of convinced I'm going to hear back that I have a kidney stone (or stones). Right now the pain has escalated from slightly aching at times to constantly uncomfortable almost all the time. It's like someone is pinching my bladder or the ureter on my right side. I've been drinking a lot of water (couple liters a day I'd guess) and going to the bathroom a lot. It burns very very slightly when I do, but I see no blood at all. Just very pale urine with a hint of cloudy yellowness.
Diet wise, I drink a lot of pop. Mostly diet pepsi, but I'd say 2 cans a day plus a few glasses at work on average. I've stopped entirely for the past few days and I'm drinking primarily water (some OJ otherwise). I read that soft drinks could lead to kidney stones because of phosphoric acid build up.
Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has had a kidney stone and could describe how they felt, so I could gauge how far along I am. Is this thing ready to pass any moment now or am I still in the beginning stages? Will there suddenly be an excruciating amount of pain out of the blue or will it happen randomly when I begin to urinate at some point?
I'm still going about my usual routine and going to work, but I'd like to know if I should take time off to get rid of this thing. I don't want to step into the washroom at work and suddenly start howling in agonizing pain. That might be bad for business.
Is there anything I should avoid? I'm already cutting down on pop to the tune of 100%, but what about foods? Beer? Etc?
Figgy on
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as for prevention, the urologist i went to said to stay away from caffeine and most drinks that are dark-colored, and to always drink enough water for your piss to not have any color to it at all, and to be especially careful when it's hot out or if you've been throwing up or have diarrhea. basically be extremely aware of anything that can dehydrate you, because when all kinds of minerals start to come out of solution is when stones form
but if you've got health insurance, my advice is to get to the ER as soon as you can. if what you've got is a kidney stone they'll be able to find it and figure out what to do about it. you don't want to wait it out too much because there's a chance it might not be able to pass on its own and they'll have to either go in and pull it out or do that really cool sonic bombardment thing
hitting hot metal with hammers
I got my first one when I was 14. I woke up vomiting and screaming in pain. I literally fell out of bed and was crawling around on the floor because I couldn't walk. When I finally ran out of things to throw up and dry heaved the entire ride to the hospital. I went to the ER, got a CT scan, was put on a morphine drip, and kept overnight. I left with vicodin, a strainer, a cup to put the caught stone in, and was told to drink water out the wazoo and pee all the time to pass it. It literally felt like someone was kicking me, stabbing me with a hot poker, punching me, and twisting all my insides on the right back side all at once. I thought I was going to black out before they got me on the IV.
The second ones were bigger. I got them a little over a year ago, so 22. It started similar to what you're saying: a sharp, annoying, cramping pain on my left side in front of the hip. It came on and off for the day, but nothing major. That night I woke up with some pretty intense pain I thought was a muscle cramp in the area. Pacing seemed to help some, then it passed. The same happened the next day, but a little lower. The NEXT day the pain came back a bit lower and didn't stop. It was slowly getting worse so I went to the ER and got the same treatment- CT scan, meds to go, a strainer, a cup. I didn't do meds at the hospital that time but by the time I finally got done with the scan I was crying from the pain.
The next time was 3 months later, my first morning here after my flight landed the night before. I woke up with severe pain on my left side and had someone take me to the ER. I was crying by the time we got in. I was about to start vomiting and going into hysterics by the time I got into a room. CT scan, morphine drip, vicodin to go, strainer, cup, drink lots of water.
The pain can stay constant or come on suddenly- you really can't predict it. bigger stones might be less painful than smaller ones, but maybe not. It's really a crapshoot. All I know is that it is literally the most painful and taxing thing that's ever happened to me either physically and emotionally and I really hope it's something else going on for you.
All three times I had trace amounts of blood in my urine samples- from what I understand from the doctors talking to me that's fairly normal with a kidney stone.
All I can say is drink lots and lots of water and pee frequently. Monitor the pain and if it seems to be getting worse before your doctor gets back to you, head in. You absolutely do NOT want to wait until your reduced to crawling around to get it treated.
I got a lot of the same advice as the above poster: avoid caffine and lots of sugar. Stay hydrated. Beyond that, not much. I guess there are different types of stones that can be caused by different things which is why they will generally try to analyze them, especially if you get them more than once, but I've never been able to catch any of mine. The at home pain meds make me sleepy, fussy, and uncoordinated so trying to sit, pee, hold a strainer, search for a grainy stone thing, and not pass out gets too taxing.
Oh, and I have no idea what they feel like when they get below the pelvic region or are actually passing. I'm usually already in the ER long before they reach that point and I'm drinking water nonstop anywhere from 2 to 5 days before they pass. I can't imagine it being pretty.
What you should be focused on at this point is:
1) Confirmation - Go to a urologist and get an x-ray performed to check the size of the stone. This is important as stones 5mm and smaller may be passed naturally, while larger stones require additional treatment.
2) Pain Management - Kidney stones are extremely painful. You basically have something like a quarts crystal structure in your kidney. The main source of pain, for me, was when it tried to go out of the sphincter that connects the kidney to your urinary tract. You've got effectively a bladed very sharp rock, and if it doesn't pass cleanly through, it will get stuck in the sphincter. This leads to the blood seen in urine, and is extremely painful. Additionally, the body's reaction to this type of threat is to swell, meaning that the stone gets stuck. The most powerful medication I've been given to combat this is Toredal, which is a non-narcotic anti-inflamatory. Once the swelling goes down, the stone can drop back into your kidney. Then you're left with the cuts and abrasions, which are painful but nothing compared to the trapped stone pain.
3) Treatment - At this point they will have performed x-rays and if required, a CT scan, to get the size of the stone. If it's less than 5mm in diameter, you can pass it naturally. Larger requires specialized treatments such as Shockwave Lithotripsy or semi-invasive surgery.
If you have a stone 2mm+ in size, a strainer isn't really required to "catch" the stone. You *WILL* feel it passing through your urinary tract to exit your body. It's not highly painful, just somewhat uncomfortable. When it's almost out, have the strainer ready to catch it. Otherwise it's time for toilet diving. Put the stone in a plastic bag, take to your urologist, and he will have it analyzed. Knowing what type of stone will help to come up with a plan to prevent future stones.
All plans include constant drinking of lots of water, and cutting out items like soda from your diet. All plans will include some dietary restrictions, but they very based on the type of stone. Certain stone types such as Uric Acid Stones can be treated with medication.
Some good news is, that if you only have 1 stone, you may never have one again in your life. Only about 50% of people have a second stone. However, once you've had a second stone, you will have kidney stones for as long as you live. I have had 6 in the past 7 years, and my first was 7 years ago.
My experience with my first kidney stone was horrible. None of the others have ever come close. I woke up at around 5am, feeling like I was severly constepated and in mild pain. I asked my roomie to go get me some constipation medicine. By the time he came back 15 minutes later, I had him rush me to the emergency room. While getting signed in, I discovered that shallow breathing didn't hurt as much. So, I hyperventilated until I passed out, and went through a whole series of "wake up / hyperventilate due to pain / pass out".
So they get me back to treatment and don't even fool with a urine test beause I couldn't control my bowels, and they have a CT done. They found a 8-9mm kidney stone in my left kidney. They then gave me a shot of Toredol, and within 5 minutes I was sleeping peacefully because I wasn't hurting anymore.
At this point, I go to the urologist, it's late november, finals are in 3 weeks. I am scheduled for Lithotripsy the next day, as t his stone is large enough to entirely block my urinary tract. I go in for the treatment, and come out peeing black cherry cool aid. The lithotripsy basically acted like punching me in the kidney until I would pee black cherry cool aid.
So, in a very doped up way, I made it through finals. My proffessors were understanding and didn't hold any of my grades up. After this, I was going to Denmark for 3 weeks to live with my girlfriend (now wife). I still hadn't passed the kidney stone, depsite being told it was now small enough to pass. I took pain meds when it would start to hurt, as heading off the pain is critical.
One morning while in Denmark, I had it flare up badly. My future wife called her doctor, who stopped by her apartment on his way to work just to give me a shot of morphine and some medication to help open up my urinary tract. I got violently sick from the morphine due to no anti-nausea medication.
So my trip is over, still haven't passed the stone, still have pink and red pee. Get on the trans-atlantic flight to go home. An hour into the flight, it flares up again. Two hours later, I can't stand it, have been drinking water like mad and taking aspirin (which don't take aspirin, it makes it worse), and I told a stewardess. She found a doctor on the plane and moved us both to first class. The doctor gave me some pills, I think ibuprofen and vicoden. As soon as the pain stops, I pass out. I didn't wake up until we landed, which means I missed out on my only chance to fly first class in my life.
When I got home, I went to the doctor, and he said if I didn't pass it within a week, he'd do the treatment again. After about 3 days, I finally passed the stone. This was an extremely painful experience. The stone came out with a foodball shape, 5mm in diameter, but 8mm in length. The urologist, in practice for 43 years, told me he had never seen anyone pass such a big stone. It was then sent out for analysis, and was found to be a calcium oxylate stone. So, no more spinach or chocolate and greatly reduced amounts of red meat for me.
My other stones, while being severly painful, haven't lasted nearly as long as the first, and are usually passed within several days of the initial flare up. This is because they haven't been to big to pass naturally.
I wish you the best of luck.
that's going to suck
but you should quit the soda either way
the regular stuff is terrible for you, and the diet stuff is still terrible for you.
For the next few hours I basically lied on my bathroom floor a whimpering mess (including vomiting for the first time in like 9 years from the pain). After about 8 hours it had passed. Then a few days later it came out the exit in a very uncomfortable, burny, unpleasant manner.
The bright side is that the pain in the kidney is basically 5023948209 times worse than when it comes out the wang. It seems like it would be terrible, but the pain in the kidney -> bladder made me want to die, the burning pain leaving the package was like, "aaagh, hahaha, oh god aaaaahh." It sucked but it was the kind of pain you could still laugh about. There was no laughter during the first stage.
I've had a few since then but in my experience if it doesn't blow up into unthinkable pain within the first 20 minutes or so it's okay. If you can still function believe me it's not that bad and could be very much worse.
As far as the process goes, it varies. I had one that passed from the kidney to the bladder in about four hours. A few years later, it took a couple of days. (I slept a total of about six hours in three days, so that was fun.)
The back pain you're feeling is likely just the 'swollen' kidney. Increase your water intake and that should help a little bit. As far as where the pain is, if it's 'above' the pelvis, it's still trying to reach the bladder. Once in the bladder, you won't really notice anything for a few days until you feel a little (heh...) discomfort urinating. Just keep drinking water and going to the bathroom as often as you are able. Don't...uh...try to squeeze it out like toothpaste.
And frankly, just about everything we drink has the ability to create stones. Everything that isn't plain water, that is. I personally cut way back on my soda intake after the first one, but I still drink some every now and again because, fuck it, I like the taste. Just make sure you drink extra water to compensate and it shouldn't make much of a difference.
And whatever you do, don't look for images of magnified stones on the internet. Those are things nightmares are built on. Even images of afflicted kidneys are pretty nasty.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
Anyway, you can have kidney stones without them passing. Mine never actually passed, it's still there, it just backed off for some reason. My CT scan showed that I have several non-blocking stones, so I could be in for a rough ride, but I'm on a supplement that lowers my body's acidity (Alkalinity breaks down the type of stones I have). Anyway, the scan is about all you do to really know.
Then it passed into my bladder and the pain was just -gone-
I personally did not feel any pain at all when the stone eventually passed out of my bladder. (they gave me a sieve to get it so they could analyze what it was made of) It really depends on the shape of the stone.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Feels like a very strong pressure directly on my bladder. Been going number 1 every 30 minutes or so for the past several hours, but I did drink a lot of fluids today.
Hopefully I'll know more in the morning from the ultrasounds.
I'm almost 32 and every time I read some thread about kidney stones, I get terrified. I feel like a ticking time bomb. There's no kidney stones history in my family that I know of. Is this hereditary at all?
The main ingredient in diet pop is water anyway, right? So it must be some particular chemical in the pop that would cause this?
EDIT: Well, I did my own research. Based on what I've just read, I don't seem to be at too high a risk. So I laugh at your pain and I'm on my way to the vending machine for a Diet Coke.
If you're still able to go to work then it might not be a stone. In my experience (from 3 years ago), when a stone really hits the last thing you'll want (or be able...) to do is stand up -- let alone work. Kidney stones are usually the go-to reference for "this is a 9 on the 1-10 pain scale".
That said, I do recall having some substantial (but workable) back pain a few months before I was struck down from inside. I'm not convinced that the two were related, but I do know that if I ever feel that back pain again I'm getting it checked immediately.
Good luck with the results today.
Ohio: it's not necessarily the sugar in the pop, it's the carbonation and caffeinne. If you're no getting a lot of water from other sources, you could be at risk for dehydration. While there is water in diet pop it's not doing anything for you. Ever notice that it doesn't actually quench your thirst?
Good luck with the stones though, hopefully they can use ultrasound to break them up for you.
I cut the rivet in the hinge and cut through the spring on the other end to end up with two strainers-on-a-stick. They are quite discreet so that you don't have to walk into the bathroom at work with a big jug for urine collection or one of the huge strainers they give you. Collecting the stone is very important so that they can determine what type it is and give you some dietary guidelines to hopefully reduce the likelihood of stones in the future.
I strained all of my urine until exactly a week later I passed it. I was lucking in passing it in that I wouldn't have even known if I wasn't straining. Didn't feel a thing but again this is highly variable.
From your description of the pain it sounds VERY much like a kidney stone and I am surprised that the doctor's did not seem too concerned. Depending on the size they can be quite dangerous if they get stuck. When I went into the hospital EVERYONE said it was a stone. Even the police officer we talked to to get directions knew it was a stone.
Officer: "You ever had kidney stones?"
Me: "No"
Officer: "You do now."
My pain was best described as being kicked in the balls and being stabbed in the back at the same time. It was impossible to get comfortable because of the pain in the groin. It hurt like hell at the time but after a few hours it finally made it's way to my bladder and stopped hurting.
In terms of work, how liberal is your leave policy? I basically told my boss "Hey, I got this going on and may need to leave suddenly if it comes back" and he was fine with it. I never did need to leave (I actually passed it at work) but it depends on your work situation.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Gave another urine sample and the doc said there was no blood. Nothing unusual. They're sending it to the lab to check for any sort of infection or bacteria. She said there is a chance I've pulled a muscle and I'm just feeling the strain--seems like Deja Vu.
I'm to wait a week and go back if the pain doesnt subside. They'll then do blood tests to check sugar and for diabetes, but I really really doubt that's the issue. Looking online, the only symptoms that match are light headedness (which I'm attributing to caffeinne withdrawal) and dry skin (which I've dealt with on and off since my mid-teens after taking accutane.)
I've also been urinating very frequently over the past couple of days but I've also been drinking like 3-4 liters of water each day. I'm not exceptionally thirsty. I just figured it would help if I did have a stone.
Oddly enough, thinking back I do often crave carbs (bread, etc) and have a sweet tooth, but again I'm not convinced we're talking about diabetes. Right now the pain is more like a bladder pressure, uncomfortable but mild. Occasionally, there's a sharp twang of pain here and there in the general area.
The doc ruled out some kind of urinary infection?
Some kind of cramps, maybe?
Oh yeah, at least it's good it's not a stone.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
Nothing was found in the testicles that would indicate they are the cause, and right now the pain is no longer anywhere near them. This is the third urine sample I've given, so I don't know if they even bothered to test for infection the first two times or if they were just looking for blood.
I'll know if a couple of days what comes back from the latest urine analysis.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
Is that basically just a pulled groin muscle? How would they test for that?
hitting hot metal with hammers
Do not engage the Watermelons.
If I have I don't remember. The original lower back pain was just suddenly there one day when I got out of bed. We do have a new mattress we purchased a few months ago that is super-duper soft, but I don't think that could cause this kind of pain.
Right now I just feel really, really bloated to the point of pain. I'm starting to wonder if this isn't just some sort of intestinal blockage or just a backup of sorts. I'm still having bowel movements every day, but I almost feel a little bit better afterwards. Then, it's back after a little while.
I'm not drinking crazy amounts of fluids now and the frequent urination has stopped. My bladder still feels like it's full or like it's being pressed on, but I don't need to go. I can stand there and go if I try, but it results in only a tiny amount. I can go normally by just waiting until I feel I should go.
I'm going to try to get my shift taken care of tomorrow, giving me four days off for the holidays instead of three. That would give me time to go back to the doctor tomorrow if need be.
Would there be any harm in taking some laxatives tonight?
Do not engage the Watermelons.
No harm in taking laxatives, but I hope you aren't taking them to get rid of your kidney stones! They come out the other end. :rotate:
I had numerous stones in high school (hereditary). I'm not going to mask it; it sucks, and if you have it, I really feel for you. The blood in your urine can indeed be indicative of a kidney stone.
I actually never felt mine pass through my kidneys. I only noticed it when I felt a very terrible burning sensation. Got it checked out. I (spoilered for the squeamish)
a few times.
If you have a kidney stone(s), they'll show up on your ultrasound. Mine were small and became so small that they broke down. I pissed through a filter for about a month and never caught a single one, although I did feel it transfer from one organ to another in my side. Now that was intense pain. I was actually on the phone with my girlfriend when it happened. I was talking one second then "AHHH!!!!" for a good 30 seconds. Then "My side... oh my god it hurts, I think I'm passing a kidney stone" for 2-3 minutes then "Okay, I'm good." Weird, weird stuff.
The medicine they give you can turn your urine blue (green, if you'e dehydrated). Other medicine turns it into a pumpkin orange. Have fun with your coworkers at the urinals with that
Drinking acids, like lemonade, makes it a difficult environment for the kidneys to form. I've never understood if the acids counterbalanced the sugar or what...
You're drinking a lot of soda right now. Even if you come up without kidney stones, I'd cut your soda intake in 1/2 at least. I was drinking 1 can/day back then along with a lot of water; now I do maybe 2-3/week. Kidney stones are common on the southern US because of tea, also - not sure if you have a diet with lots of sweet tea.
I think that's all of the random tidbits/advice I have for now
I went back to the same clinic a few times since my last post. Each time, they take another urine sample. The last time I went the doctor said they found "a lot" of blood in my urine. She gave me a cup to take home and a requisition form and told me to go to a lab in two weeks to give a fresh urine sample, and they'd analyze it. If I was still in pain, I'd get referred to a urologist.
She also said if at any time the pain increases, I should go to the ER so they could perform tests on the spot. This was a clinic, so there was very little they could do on-site.
I ended up going into the ER on Monday morning and spent about 5 hours there: urine analysis, CT scan, and X-rays. The doctor finally came in and told me that everything was clean: trace amounts of blood in my urine, nothing on the CT, and nothing on the X-rays. There was also no sign of infection in the urine.
He said what likely happened is that I did have kidney stone(s) but they passed without me knowing at some point. He said he had a patient the other day who had a kidney stone about 1mm in size and he never even felt it pass. He said the stone could have torn my urinary tract on the way out, and that's why I'm feeling pain/burning and why there was blood in my urine. He told me to see my family doctor to be referred to a urologist if it's still a concern.
It's only been a few days, but the pain is still very much there, except now there is almost constant bloating and abdominal pain. I'm having very watery/abnormal bowel movements, urination sometimes stings, and sometimes it looks almost thicker than normal. It's also clear with cloudy yellow. I tried taking laxatives Monday and Tuesday, but it didn't really do very much. On the second day (starting to think this whole thread should have been put under an alt account) I sat on the toilet, passed gas for a few minutes, and found all that had come out was a yellowy, odorless, slimy mucous. I'm assuming this was because of the laxatives? I've never taken any before and this is the only time something like that has happened. I'm also eating a lot less, it seems. The cramps/bloating seems worse at night when I'm lying in bed, but that could just be because I'm focusing on it more.
I'm not sure if the bowel problems are related to the urination thing, if the bowel problems are causing the urination thing, or what. The ER Doc said that constipation can happen with kidney stones.
About a week and a half ago, one night I took a piss that lasted, I shit you not, like three full minutes. I saw the damn water level rise significantly in the toilet. After, I felt almost like I had just lost a few pounds. Could the "constipation" actually be a bloated bladder?
Mind is reeling with what the heck is going on, but my current plan is to go to the lab, give in a fresh urine sample, and have the walk-in clinic doctor refer me to a urologist and update her/him on the constipation issues I've been experiencing. Thought I'd update this thread though in the meantime in case anyone had any ideas/similar experiences.
Kidney stones are fucking hard to find sometimes. I had a few years where id get them every couple months. It sucked. The first time it happened, i went to the doctor and they told me i was fine and thought i just took some weird drugs or something. Second time they told me my liver was failing. Third time was the ER room and i passed a stone while waiting to see a doctor. After that i had to go to a urologist a few times and finally after maybe 4 visits, they found some stones. Culminated in having to get a fucking laser shoved up my dick, but they didnt actually laser anything because they couldnt find any stones when they got in there. After about 3 weeks of pissing blood (cus of the laser thing tearing up my urethra), ive been fine ever since.
Each time i saw a doctor, they did ultrasounds and i even had a few CT scans. Only once did they actually find anything with an ultrasound, though after the third visit they determined it was infact kidney stones. So even though they were looking for them and knew which kidney to look in, thats still like 7 ultrasounds with no results, and 2 CT scans with nothing found (third CT scan found some).
Bottom line is it sounds like kidney stones to me, with the feeling of needing to pee but cant, the bloated having to shit feeling, and the pissing blood thing. If you can, id see a urologist rather than going to the clinic or the ER. This is their area of expertise, rather than a GP or an ER doctor who deals with everything from yeast infections to broken limbs.
The only other thing i can think of is maybe diabetes, cus of the cloudy urine (and it can also cause feelings of having to pee but not really having to, and bloated feeling), but i would think a blood test would rule though out right quick, especially cus a lot of doctors seem to jump on diabetes as a "most obvious" choice these days.
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I mean, a quick google search for symptoms (I bolded the ones I'm experiencing):
Frequent urination
Excessive thirst
Extreme hunger
Unusual weight loss
Increased fatigue
Irritability (Specifically on days when the aching in my lower abdomen/groin is worse.)
Blurry vision
Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
Blurry vision
Cuts or sores that are slow to heal (Been breaking out randomly over the past couple of months only on cheeks, very mild. Have a dry spot on my lip that hasn't healed in a week or two.. but I keep picking it)
Itchy skin, yeast infections
Increased thirst
Dry mouth
Need to urinate often
Leg pain
On one of my first visits to the doctor they did question me about thirst/frequent urination, but that's simply not happening. I generally have a beverage going just because I like having something to drink, but if I make a point not to I don't feel thirsty. Lately I'm drinking mainly water. Extreme hunger is absolutely out, since I'm eating much, much less lately.
And back on the kidney stones, when you say you were pissing blood, was it visible? Whenever the doctors have told me there was blood in my urine, I had no idea. It's cloudy, but it's never pinkish/reddish whatsoever. And I'm not too clear on how kidney stones would cause a constipated feeling. The ER doc said the same thing, but why is that?
I definitely think it's a good idea to talk be referred to a urologist if this keeps up, though.
I'm drinking a regular amount, nothing huge. When this first started happening, I was overloading on water to the point that I'd be pissing five or six times at the end of the day. It got annoying, so I scaled back.
I'll likely go turn in that urine requisition tomorrow so that the clinic calls me back in after a couple of days, and they can refer me to a urologist then. I'm in the process of securing a family physician, but my appointment with her isn't until Feb 16.
So, you don't think this could be anything bowel/colon related? I'm assuming if this was anything to do with cancer it would have been picked up in the CT or Ultrasound?
I've had the "blood traces" found in my urine to varying degrees but, like you, I've never been able to physically see it. At one point they wanted to attempt to trace everything to see if there was a cause for concern so they did a whole dye-test scan. That was probably one of the most uncomfortable things I've done (beyond the stones, and they're still not comparable!)l it involved drinking lots of water in a short time, an IV of dye, a scan, and trying not to piss myself lying in the machine while crying because I had to pee to bad.
They didn't find anything weird. My urologist at the time then did a catheter thing... I don't know. Basically he put one in to drain my bladder completely, filled it back up with cold water, and flushed it out again and then did a reading on it. Or something.
Basically they came to the conclusion that it was probably trace amounts from small stones I didn't know I had since this was not with one of my very noticeable stone attacks.
I've never felt a stone pass but I know things can be a bit uncomfortable for a few days once I'm off the pain killers- occasional stinging when urinating, gas, the pills themselves make me a bit constipated. It's all super glamorous.
It's also possible it can be related to diet or the laxatives, or any other number of things but the best thing to do is get them ruled out.
I'm assuming it would have shown up in your urine samples but there might also be some sort of infection (bladder, UT - even though they're not common in men) that may or may not have been brought on by possible stones. I'd just make sure if you get your appointments settled out to ask and make sure. Also I'd ask them about whether or not you should be taking laxatives or any other sort of medication that might affect things and potentially mask symptoms/be irritating things more.
This might not be a bad to time to also get a full work up done- get your blood drawn and checked and just make sure everything else is good to go as well.
I know how much it sucks when things are out of whack down there so hopefully they get it sorted out soon and you'll feel better!
Sounds like you did have a kidney stone at some point. I'd be concerned you didn't develop an additional problem from them, like hydronephrosis or something.
You havent had a blood test yet, really? This could also be a bacterial infection or something. Find a new doctor, your doctor is obviously incompetent. I dont think ive ever visited a doctor without getting a blood test, clinics and ER visits included.
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