Bilateral Kidney Pain, Stones on Both Sides May Be Infection
SiobhON Asked :
I am a 44 year old male, slightly overweight with severe kidney pain. Recently I started getting the flu very often and my doctor did complete check and told me that its probably due to stress. He found out that I had mild hypertension and told me to quit the cigarettes and start exercising. I did just that without using any nicotine products or anything else and I started gym and have been going quit religiously. My doc also put me on a diuretic for the blood pressure. Everything was ok and on the follow up consultation about 6 weeks later, my blood pressure was almost normal.
About 2 weeks ago I started to notice a pain on the tip of the penis. It was slightly itchy but I did not go to the doctor. The pain and itching went away but after that that I started getting severe pain on the right side and went to see my doctor. He told me that it was a kidney stone and I should just drink more water and it will pass out. He did not give me any medication.
Now both my kidneys are paining and the pain is going all the way down to my groin. I am worried that something more is wrong and my doctor is just passing these symptoms off without looking deeper. I plan to go to a physician in 2 weeks (appointment confirmed) but I was wondering if this may be anything serious that needs me to go to the hospital or see a doctor under emergency circumstances? Is it possible to have kidney stones on both sides?
This question was posted under the Kidney Pain Location and Symptoms article.
Any response by the Health Hype team does not constitute a medical consultation and the advice should be viewed purely as a guide. Always consult with your doctor before making any changes to your current treatment program. The information provided in this article is not an authoritative resource on the subject matter and solely intends to guide the reader based on the questions asked and information provided.
Dr. Chris Answered :
Kidney pain may be related to many other conditions and could be caused by pathology of surrounding organs. It is difficult to isolate flank pain as being due to the kidneys but since you mention that the pain is extending downwards towards the groin, it is more likely to be related to the kidneys or ureters or the entire urinary system. Stones are not the only kidney problems that can cause kidney pain on both sides but yes, it is possible to have kidney stones on both sides simultaneously.
Hopefully you did tell your doctor about the pain you had initially experienced at the tip of your penis. It is possibly that you had a urinary tract infection (UTI) which may have spread up towards the kidneys. You should have seen other signs and symptoms lower down the urinary tract (bladder and urethra) and by now you should have a fever as well. Nevertheless, the absence of these symptoms should not rule out an infection immediately. Your doctor will be able to advise you so make sure that you give him a complete breakdown of your symptoms in the preceding weeks.
Now that you have joined the gym and working out regularly, it is important to remember to keep drinking water all the time. When exercising, you can lose a lot of water through perspiration and coupled with your diuretics (water tablets), you could be dehydrating. This is one of the many causes of kidney stones and may also cause other kidney related conditions that can result in pain.
Since you have decided to go to a physician, rather let him/her assess you and diagnose any conditions that may be present. While it is important to give a thorough case history to your doctor, trying to lead them in a specific direction based on your findings or assumptions can be counterproductive. Two weeks may be a bit too long to wait so see your doctor again. If the pain is severe, or if you notice other signs and symptoms like a fever, dizziness or difficulty urinating, you should report to your doctor immediately.
