Undiagnosed kidney issue, running out of patience please help
Posted , 5 users are following.
For some background on me, I'm an eighteen year old female, 161 cm and 59 kg, asthmatic and on a contraceptive pill but otherwise healthy.
Back in April of this year I started experiencing severe intermittent pain in my right flank. I have a constant pain which is usually a dull ache that I have gotten used to but from time to time I have very bad episodes of pain during which I can do nothing except lie down and cry. When I was 9 I was found to have a slightly smaller right kidney with some scarring near the top half and ever since I've had yearly check ups which include urinalysis and blood pressure monitoring, which have always been fine and normal.
Since this pain began in April I have had 5 urine tests and 3 blood tests, all of which have come back fine bar a small amount of blood in one urine test and some protein in another. I have also had an ultrasound and a CT scan, both of which found nothing. I've had theory diagnoses, at first it was kidney infection, then stones, then a burst kidney, and most recently vesico-ureteral reflux. My blood pressure monitoring over a week came back with an average of 128/85 which I have been told is all fine. Creatinine levels were 69 and again I was told this is okay.
My doctors cannot find any cause of the pain and I have now been told that urology will not want to see me as the CT scan came back with nothing. I'm at a loss, I've sat all my final exams with this excruciating pain and now that exams are over this nightmare has not ended. All I have now is a follow up appointment with a nephrology specialist in September, which is over 2 months away, and from what I have been told is that I will be signed off then because all tests are normal. If anyone has any idea, please help me because this pain is reducing my quality of life.
0 likes, 3 replies
sam1881 grace011116
Posted
Hi, just a quick question, have you had a kidney biopsy?
the reason I ask is that in a number of cases of patients diagnosed with chronic kidney issues such as ckd, often cannot be diagnosed with a kidney function blood test alone.
I myself was in this situation and was not diagnosed until I had a biopsy and my kidney function was displaying as normal with blood tests.
Sam
student hcp
grace011116 sam1881
Posted
No I haven't and there hasn't been any mention of one by any of the GPs that I have seen, i thought maybe a cytoscopy would be next on their list but from what I gathered from my doctor today they are all thinking its probably nothing and so I don't think further tests will be booked, do you think it would be worth me mentioning a biopsy?
eric31962 grace011116
Posted
Five years ago I had very serious blood pressure. I was admitted to hospital with BP of around 400/300 +
I was admitted to hospital with total kidney failure and told to expect a kidney biopsy. I was on dialysis for four months.
The nephrologists told me and my family the potential risk of infection and damage was greater
than what could be learned from a biopsy. I do not know if your case is at all similar. But surely any kind of
intrusive surgery carries a risk,however minor. ? I'm sure your physicians will have your best interests in hand.
Good luck , E