Living with Kidney Stones

My 19 year old daughter has been in pain on and off for 3 weeks now. In the beginning she was extremely nauseous, but that has passed. Her pain is in the left flank area. She has a constant ache and the sharp, stabbing pains come and go.

Last week she was admitted to the hospital for two days, after taking her to the emergency room. All of her tests have come back negative, including two cat-scans and an ultrasound. On three occasions, she has passed sand-sized stones. I made the mistake of putting the first two on paper with a piece of tape, as they were so small, I figured it would be next to impossible to see them in a specimen cup. Even a few docs thought this was a great idea.

Afraid not! I’d forgotten the tape would interfere with the composition of the stone. She has been home for a week now, pushing fluids and taking the minimum amount of pain meds necessary, as she is aware of all the horror stories of addiction. She saw the urologist for the first time yesterday. He spent all of two minutes in the room with us. He didn’t so much as examine her to see where the pain was located. He pretty much dismissed her, saying to make an appointment in a week and the next step would be a cystoscopy

She was in tears because we’d been told by a doctor in the hospital that if the stones are small enough, they will not always show up on a scan or X-ray. Also, we were told the same is true with the urine tests. That if the stone isn’t big enough, there may not be blood in there. I’m so frustrated, as I’ve had my share of being mis-diagnosed, nearly dying because of it.

A compassionate nurse suggested a 24-hour urine and to ask if they could check for calcium, oxalate and uric acid; all things stones can be comprised of. First thing Monday, I am calling a pediatric urologist that my daughter’s pediatrician’s office uses.
We were given the referral to the urologist she saw, by the attending in the hospital, assuming he was good. Any support for my daughter would be greatly appreciated. Knowing others have been in the same situation may give her the strength she needs to get through this.