About 2 years ago I started experiencing right side lower back and abdominal pain and went to see my doc. He assumed it was kidney stones even though he was a little concerned that the pain wasn't nearly as sharp as he thought that it should be. We tried to figure out what could be a trigger for the pain. I seem to notice the pain most often happens after I've been in a seated position for a long period of time. He ran blood work, urine and ordered an ultrasound of my stomach, liver, kidney, pancreas (no gallbladder due to surgery 15 years ago) etc... Everything came back normal.
A few months later, the pain came back even worse than before so I headed over to emerge. After waiting for 8 hours without being called in, I decided to leave and the following day, back to the doctor I went. Another round of blood work, urine and ultrasound later, the only difference was a small trace of blood in my urine. Thinking that kidney stones were still the cause, off to the urologist I went. He examined me and said it's not due to kidney stones.
A few months later, the pain began to worsen, giving me sharp and dull pains throughout my right side (dull pain in the upper right quadrant, sharp stabbing pains in the lower right side) and one day I saw that I was bleeding badly when I urinated, so I called my urologist in a panic and he ordered me to have a CT done of my kidney and bladder, which showed a 9mm stone on my right kidney. Thinking that my yearlong mystery pain was finally solved, he told me to load up on water and prescribed me some pain meds and also to try and break down the stone. One thing that he said which deflated my good mood was that he was adamant that the stone in my kidney could not be the cause of the pain.
More months go by, the pain in my back and abdomen worsened ever more and I called my urologist and begged him to do something about the stone as I still believed that it was the cause of my pain. He ordered me another ultrasound, bloodwork and urine. The ultrasound came back negative (the urologist told me that all that meant was that there was no blockage but the stone could still be there), bloodwork was fine and there was still traces of blood in my urine. Since there was no blockage, again my urologist was adamant that the stone wasn't causing my pain.
Meanwhile the pain in my lower abdomen feels like my appendix will explode but it goes away only to come back again a few days later. My back pain never goes away but it's manageable. It's the abdominal pain that makes me keel over. Last week, my family doc ran further blood and urine and it came back negative, even for blood in the urine. My doc thinks I may be passing pieces of the stone. The urologist doesn't believe that this is what's happening. Throughout this 2 year ordeal, I haven't experienced issues with my ability to urinate, bowel movements are normal, no fever, weight loss, signs of a hernia or infection etc... The only thing that's ever come back from my tests that raised any eyebrows is the intermittent blood in the urine, which both docs believe is caused by the stone, but the source of my pain remains a mystery.
Could a stone that size, even if it stays in the kidney, be the source of my pain? If so, why is my urologist so adamant that it isn't? If it's not, what else could it be. I've gone on every medical website and they all say the same thing: stones, hernia, appendicitis, ulcer, cancer etc... None of the other possible causes seem to fit since I don't have the symptoms that are associated with any of the them, which leaves me with stones.... Help!! Any suggestions/ideas would really be welcome.
A few months later, the pain came back even worse than before so I headed over to emerge. After waiting for 8 hours without being called in, I decided to leave and the following day, back to the doctor I went. Another round of blood work, urine and ultrasound later, the only difference was a small trace of blood in my urine. Thinking that kidney stones were still the cause, off to the urologist I went. He examined me and said it's not due to kidney stones.
A few months later, the pain began to worsen, giving me sharp and dull pains throughout my right side (dull pain in the upper right quadrant, sharp stabbing pains in the lower right side) and one day I saw that I was bleeding badly when I urinated, so I called my urologist in a panic and he ordered me to have a CT done of my kidney and bladder, which showed a 9mm stone on my right kidney. Thinking that my yearlong mystery pain was finally solved, he told me to load up on water and prescribed me some pain meds and also to try and break down the stone. One thing that he said which deflated my good mood was that he was adamant that the stone in my kidney could not be the cause of the pain.
More months go by, the pain in my back and abdomen worsened ever more and I called my urologist and begged him to do something about the stone as I still believed that it was the cause of my pain. He ordered me another ultrasound, bloodwork and urine. The ultrasound came back negative (the urologist told me that all that meant was that there was no blockage but the stone could still be there), bloodwork was fine and there was still traces of blood in my urine. Since there was no blockage, again my urologist was adamant that the stone wasn't causing my pain.
Meanwhile the pain in my lower abdomen feels like my appendix will explode but it goes away only to come back again a few days later. My back pain never goes away but it's manageable. It's the abdominal pain that makes me keel over. Last week, my family doc ran further blood and urine and it came back negative, even for blood in the urine. My doc thinks I may be passing pieces of the stone. The urologist doesn't believe that this is what's happening. Throughout this 2 year ordeal, I haven't experienced issues with my ability to urinate, bowel movements are normal, no fever, weight loss, signs of a hernia or infection etc... The only thing that's ever come back from my tests that raised any eyebrows is the intermittent blood in the urine, which both docs believe is caused by the stone, but the source of my pain remains a mystery.
Could a stone that size, even if it stays in the kidney, be the source of my pain? If so, why is my urologist so adamant that it isn't? If it's not, what else could it be. I've gone on every medical website and they all say the same thing: stones, hernia, appendicitis, ulcer, cancer etc... None of the other possible causes seem to fit since I don't have the symptoms that are associated with any of the them, which leaves me with stones.... Help!! Any suggestions/ideas would really be welcome.
Sounds like you need a second Opinion. Stay away from doctors that are part of a large group practice. I have found that a private practice doctors will try harder to help than the larger groups will.
Hello, I was reading your comment and as you I have been searching for answers like crazy.
I am a mother of 5 and for the past year I have been with pain on my right side just above my waist on the front side and back. It gets worse when I sit for more than 30 min. It feels like a burning,constant pain and I can feel something hurt when I have a bowel movement.
I went to the ER when the pain first started so they did a cat scan and found nothing like gall bladder or appendix problems. They did an endoscopy at the gastro specialist and nothing. They did ultrasounds at the gynecologist office and nothing was wrong either.
I have read so many stories and the only factor in common is we have all gone through some kind of surgery. ( I got my tubal ligation done 5 years ago). Could this be a link to our problems?...
Any women out there will similar pain? Let us know your story.
I am a mother of 5 and for the past year I have been with pain on my right side just above my waist on the front side and back. It gets worse when I sit for more than 30 min. It feels like a burning,constant pain and I can feel something hurt when I have a bowel movement.
I went to the ER when the pain first started so they did a cat scan and found nothing like gall bladder or appendix problems. They did an endoscopy at the gastro specialist and nothing. They did ultrasounds at the gynecologist office and nothing was wrong either.
I have read so many stories and the only factor in common is we have all gone through some kind of surgery. ( I got my tubal ligation done 5 years ago). Could this be a link to our problems?...
Any women out there will similar pain? Let us know your story.
Hello. I was reading all your posts and it is similar to what I am experiencing. The pain in my mid to lower right side hurts all the time..can't even bend over or get up from a chair without severe pain. Just had a scan on my kidneys and no stones..nothing wrong with the gallbladder on the scans...had a kidney infection that was cured by antibiotics a few weeks ago. It feels like it has come back again but no burning. It hurts to have a bowl movement and I have to take miralax just to go... I do have osteoarthritis in my back and 2 budging disk, but no one has said it should cause pain in my side. I did have a hysterectomy about 7 years ago. Just wish I could figure it out and fix whatever is causing this.
Hi, I was wondering if you have any answers yet?
This is exactly what I am suffering!! For the past 2 months, checked for kidney stones and water infection, both negative. But I do have red blood cells in my urine.
The ultra sound showed up a cyst and so I go back in 6 weeks to check this has gone. Apparently this couldn't be causing the pain. The doctors just say it is back pain but the pain is many on my right side of abdomen and the pains are very sharp!
Would love to hear how you are doing now!
This is exactly what I am suffering!! For the past 2 months, checked for kidney stones and water infection, both negative. But I do have red blood cells in my urine.
The ultra sound showed up a cyst and so I go back in 6 weeks to check this has gone. Apparently this couldn't be causing the pain. The doctors just say it is back pain but the pain is many on my right side of abdomen and the pains are very sharp!
Would love to hear how you are doing now!
i have sharp pains in my lower right back too i can NOT bend over or sit i have icy hot on it now i am only 13 my mom thinks it may be from not drinking enough but i cant move!!!!
Your mom might be right. Drinking water is very important. When you don't drink enough, your back side hurts where your kidneys are. That happens to me when I drink too much coffee because caffeine will take away the water you have in yor body. Maybe if you are drinking more soda than water, you could be having problems too. Good luck in feeling better.
Urinary Tract Infection that has possibly moved to your kidneys.
OMG! I just stombled on this and I can't believe this is exactly what I am going thru. But after reading so much on many med websites I think this may be Pancreatitis.
Urethral diverticulum ? Have you been checked for this? Sounds like a lot of the similar symptoms I have had and none of them will be the same. I went through the same hell as you did for a year before I was diagnosed with this and treated finally this year. Something too look into and I hope you find out what it is. my case was a special one. there were stones in the sack, maybe the same for you. Good luck and hope you get out of you pain soon.
Hi. I had intermittent pain in my lower right abdomen area would be really bad for a few hours or even a few days but would the go away for up to a few weeks. For some reason I thought I was experiencing Something like an ovarian cyst. This went on for a few months. I finally researched ovarian cysts and realized this was not my problem. I went in to the doctor and ended up seeing a kidney specialist and found out I had a kidney stone the size of a pea that would sometime lodge against the wall of my kidney or even block the ureter and I was experiencing the pain when it was not floating free. I ended up having Lithotripsy to blast the stone and it did work and have not had the pain since then. That was seven years ago now. I was told to drink, drink, drink. Water is best but keeping the kidneys well flushed is key. Good luck!
I'm 54 and I've had this problem about every 4 years,they never find anything
I've been hurting for 4 months now and I am so tired of lying in the bed with a heating pad,it's not living,and I've had to let my house go.My pain gets worse when I lye on my right side,now that I have got this big stomach,since I passed 40,that might be causing more pain, because of the weight of it.I HOPE ALL OF YOU GET WELL SOON!!! Thanks for the info.I'll tell my Dr. to check Urethral diverticulum.
I've been hurting for 4 months now and I am so tired of lying in the bed with a heating pad,it's not living,and I've had to let my house go.My pain gets worse when I lye on my right side,now that I have got this big stomach,since I passed 40,that might be causing more pain, because of the weight of it.I HOPE ALL OF YOU GET WELL SOON!!! Thanks for the info.I'll tell my Dr. to check Urethral diverticulum.
I have this exact pain. I too have had a tubligation which led to having a hysterectomy. At that time they said they saw something around my kidney but couldn't make out what it was..... I am still trying to get help.
Hello, I am experiencing what seems like all the same symptoms that you have, and i went to many doctors and had many tests done and they come back with no answers. I a few months have gone by with no symptoms til this week where it is back and getting worse. I have the burning in my upper right adomen and pain in my back. Did you ever get anwers to your situation?
I have similar issues. I believe what we are suffering from is adhesions. They will not show on tests. I'm an RN, and it's the only explanation I can come up with.