Flank pain 1 year post-donation.. could it be a kidney stone?

[mom2three]

Hello. I donated to my cousin 15 months ago and felt blessed to be able to help her. I've had pretty strong right sided flank pain for about 24 hours now and wonder if it could be a stone in my solitary kidney. I'll be at a doctor's office on Monday (actually a general surgeon appointment for an incisional hernia I just developed related to the donation!) but I'm wondering if kidney stone pain comes and goes? It's very uncomfortable but is not constant...

[audrey12]

When I was in the testing phase I woke up in the middle of the night with pain like you're describing.  I was so afraid I had a stone and it would eliminate me from consideration.  I called my doctor at 3 in the morning and they told me to go to the ED.  It turned out to be a muscle spasm.  I had a massage two days prior, the first time I've ever had one (gift certificate).  It wasn't even deep tissue.  But that did it.  I refused the pain "cocktail" and it passed.

If it persists I would not wait until Monday.  You never know, and you should not take any chances.  I'm sure it will work out fine if you listen to your body.

Best wishes!

[mom2three]

Audrey, did they run tests on you at the ED or diagnose just based on your symptoms and physical exam?

[WilliamLFreeman]

mom2three,

Flank pain due to a kidney stone usually comes & goes.  The diagnostic work-up often includes:
   1]   a simple urine test (looking for red blood cells in the urine, due to usually minor or microscopic bleeding due to the kidney stone scrapping the ureter [the tube for the urine from the kidney to the bladder]); and
   2]   a simple X-R of the abdomen when you are lying flat on your back (looking for a white dot from where your kidney is to where your bladder is).

If you do have a kidney stone, the docs would like to get it, to run an analysis of its chemical composition.  Kidney stones come in a variety of flavors -- er, chemicals -- and sometimes the way to prevent another one is to do a specific prevention for that specific type.

For many people [but not all] with a kidney stone, the pain is so unbearable that they would be in the ER or seeing a doc by now.  If you are going to wait to Monday, I suggest the following --whether or not you still have the pain.  A] See if there is a place or lab where you can give a urine specimen for "urinanalysis with microscopic exam" as soon as possible.  B] Get a bunch of multi-layered gauze pads; always void [pee] through the multi-layered gauze, to catch a tiny stone if there is one; shake the pad upside down into a container to see if a tiny hard object [= stone] falls in--if yes, keep it in the container.  Bring any stone plus the results of the urine test to the surgeon on Monday.

I hope you do not have a stone, but that it is something simpler, like a muscle spasm.  But if it is a stone, you can prevent a second stone from happening.  All the best!   

Bill

[audrey12]

I had xrays, blood work, urinalysis and a CT scan in the ED.  Their best guess was a spasm but they definitely ruled out a stone.  I couldn't have passed it already since the pain was getting worse as I waited in the exam room.

[mom2three]

Thanks for the good advice Bill.

[mom2three]

Well it turns out the mystery flank pain is not a kidney stone so that's a relief. Best explanation the surgeon could give is that it might be my ovarian dermoid cyst torsing on itself. The location does not seem right to me, but I'm thankful I don't have a stone!