Flank pain, but I'm having no trouble peeing

[MrWorldwide]

Apologies if that's a little graphic, but it's complicated by the fact that I have a lonstanding back injury : problem is that this feels more like my left kidney than my vertebrae. My first thought was 'Fantastic - my first kidney stone', but I'm peeing normally. If it's a UTI I would have also expected some discomfort/difficulty urinating - so far, nothing. As crazy as it sounds, the only similarities between the two bouts (3 nights ago and tonight after dinner) has been chilli : I normally avoid it, but on both nights I ate spicy food.

I know - clutching at straws and looking for a diagnosis online is a fool's errand, but I'm wondering if anyone who has passed a stone can give me some insight into the early onset - if it's more serious than that, I'll go to Pattaya Memorial in the morning. Thanks.

[nzexpat]

You are correct !

It is a fools errand expecting a "diagnosis" via a forum.

Flank pain can indeed be associated with either renal colic or a urinary tract infection.

The only way to secure a "diagnosis" is to seek medical advice.

[rgs2001uk]

If you had passed a stone you would know all about it.

Stick to farang food for the next two weeks and see if the problem persists.

No mention made of how much or how often you drink alcohol?

[Matej]

Go to hospital for God sake.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Matej

[MrWorldwide]

If you had passed a stone you would know all about it.

Stick to farang food for the next two weeks and see if the problem persists.

No mention made of how much or how often you drink alcohol?

Drink a lot and often, and I know it's not helping. I'm a binge drinker - went 12 solid months without a drop a couple of years back simply to see what life was like without beer, but try as I might there are only so many cokes I can endure in a single night in a bar here. Clearly, I may have to bid the bars a fond adieu and settle into the monastic lifestyle advocated by so many here

All good advice and I realise the stone theory was a longshot - still having absolutely no trouble urinating. Just woken courtesy of the idiot downstairs with a dud car alarm and the pain is gone, but obviously I need to see a professional.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

[gk10002000]

You can have Kidney stone(s) and have no trouble peeing. I speak from first hand experience. Go see a doctor. I had a very small stone right on the limit of detection by the CAT scan. Hurt like hell in the flank. no obvious trouble peeing. Remember, you have two urinary paths to the peepee. My small stone dissolved itself while they were giving me some IV and I went home shortly after the CAT scan. Damn that little thing hurt while in my kidney/blocking path. I don't even want to think what passing one would feel like!

[rgs2001uk]

If you had passed a stone you would know all about it.

Stick to farang food for the next two weeks and see if the problem persists.

No mention made of how much or how often you drink alcohol?

Drink a lot and often, and I know it's not helping. I'm a binge drinker - went 12 solid months without a drop a couple of years back simply to see what life was like without beer, but try as I might there are only so many cokes I can endure in a single night in a bar here. Clearly, I may have to bid the bars a fond adieu and settle into the monastic lifestyle advocated by so many here

All good advice and I realise the stone theory was a longshot - still having absolutely no trouble urinating. Just woken courtesy of the idiot downstairs with a dud car alarm and the pain is gone, but obviously I need to see a professional.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

Drink a lot and often,

One thing that helped me was, ditching the cheap crap that used to knock shyt out of me the next day.

These days i would rather drink eight bottles of 200 baht beer than 15 bottles of cheap crap.

I also drink decent single malts and not the local gut rot.

If I am moving from bar to bar I will stop off at a 7 and buy and drink a bottle of water before hitting the next bar, also before going to bed I drink more water.

I realise the above aint what the medical professionals would advise, but it helps me.

[MrWorldwide]

Thanks for that - I know I dont drink enough water when I'm out, which is a bit weird because I seem to drink a lot of it prior to going out. I take your point re cheap beers, but 200 baht a bottle must be some very good stuff ! A mate of mine back in my 20s told me he like Guinness because it slowed him down, but its useless unless you can get it on tap and then it takes 20 minutes for someone to pour you another beer

[Sheryl]

Yes, stone is possible even with painless peeing.

[dddave]

I had a similar episode 5 or 6 years ago. I was getting unusual lower back pains that did not seem at all connected with muscular or skelital pain...usually when I was sitting. It wasn't a constant occurrence and they eventually subsided, then kind of went away.

One day, I went to take a pee and what came out looked like I was draining the crankcase of an old car...black, brown, a bit of red, but no pain or noticeable discomfort. I was horrified and quickly called a friend who is a retired physician. He encouraged me to wait a bit before going into a full blown panic, told me to see how it looked the next few times I pee'd. Surprisingly, the next time was much clearer...really only a few hints of what had come before and the next day, pretty much clear and has remained that way since.

My friend believed I had passed a very small stone or perhaps had a blood vessel rupture somewhere along the line. I made no connection between the lower back pains and the urine episode until months later when it occurred to me that I had not had those pains in a long while.

Again, I consulted with my MD friend and he could not be sure they were connected or not but guessed that I might have had a minor infection or possible some kind of cyst that opened.

Don't panic but do get checked out.

Edited March 20, 2015 by dddave

[chubby]

http://en.diagnosispro.com/differential_diagnosis-for/left-flank-pain/24371-154.html

[Kitsune]

Drink 3-4 liters a day

Eat plenty of pineapple

When in pain practice controlled breathing