UOAA Discussion Board

i wonder if the pain i have in my left flank is a common occurence. i have some scar tissue in the kidneys and doctors guess that is what causes the pain but they aren't sure

I get a lot of pain in the kidney area. No one has ever been able to tell me what it is. What is yours like?

the pain is like the type you get with a kidney infection except it never goes away. it seems to be the worst when i lay down to sleep. that may be because there is nothing to distract the pain. i had tubes put in my kidneys at a very young age, when they shut down once, and have scar tissue from that. my pain management doctor thought the pain may be from the scar tissue but he's not sure. my bladder was removed at a year old and my urine was diverted through my colon. i started to get so much pain and such bad infections from the reflux in my kidneys that i went for the indiana pouch surgery. it has helped with the frequency of infections and i don't ger polyps in the colon like i was but the pain is still there almost all the time. thanks for the reply catriona. it helps sometimes just to know somebody understands.

Rik~

It sounds exactly like my pain. It gets way worse when I lay down and when I fly. I had the indiana pouch put in when I was in 1986, and I only have one kidney, but I have never had tubes/surgery on the kidney, so I know that it is because of scaring for me. Although, I have been asking all sorts of doctors about the pain, but no one knows what it is. It totally feels like an infection, but the tests come back neg. and my creatine is fine. But it sure does hurt.

`C

i wonder if it is caused by some kind of reflux into the kidney. mine hurts worse if i drink too many carbonated drinks (i know i shouldn't drink any) or if my pouch gets too full.

I had kock pouch 1983 and have alot of kidney pain on the right. Same, no infection all is fine. I get a little on the left but it's way more prevalent on the right. Turning during sleep pain will wake me up. No answers from docs. hmm...must have some nerve endings near this area of surgery?

Flemmart:

How long have you had your kidney pain? How about you Rick?

I know I've had it for several years...can't recall if I've had it as far back as original surgery. In fact, killing me last night. I wonder if its adhesions or scar tissue. It's funny that you started this topic, it has been bugging me for a long time what this is!

I get kidney pains too, but mine come and go. I was told it is either from adhesions or it is muscular. They feel like when I have an infection- it is that short stabbing pain and when it hits it can take my breath away. I had my bladder out in 1986 and had it converted to my pouch in 1992. Judith

catriona wrote:Flemmart:

How long have you had your kidney pain? How about you Rick?

Mine has been going on since 1998. i haven't checked this site in ages because the pain has been so bad lately. i have noticed that constipation makes it worse as does riding in a car or a lot of activity. thanks for your reply it helps to know I'm not the only one with this pain. Maybe i'm not crazy after all.

Both of my kidneys hurt all the time these days. Funny, first 25+ odd years they didn't hurt except when I had a kidney infection <shrug>. Maybe it's something in the water <LOL>. More likely, just old age overtaking me <G>.

Just to chime in... whenever I have pouchitis I always have a significant amount of flank pain.

Yep. The pain some of you are describing sounds quite different than mine though. I take mine as a sign that I need to drain my pouch. Then, if I think about it, I'll discover it's 6PM and I haven't drained since 9AM. Pushing the pouch too much makes my kidneys hurt.

I had the Same thing happen on my right Kidney. Finally in 2004 they removed it. Good thing they did. It was dieing. It look loked a burnned tree. Now my Left Kidney is doing the same way. And there is a Stent in it. Now they are talking about Kidney Dia next. THIS KIDNEY IS RELYING ON THE stent now. But the Creatine is very high and it is not producing the Hormone to build red blood cells. .So now the Next and Only way for me to go is the Kidney Dia way. I am not Looking forward to that at all.

DebbieD

[quote="wolfva"]Both of my kidneys hurt all the time these days. Funny, first 25+ odd years they didn't hurt except when I had a kidney infection <shrug>. Maybe it's something in the water <LOL>. More likely, just old age overtaking me <G>.[/quote]

Wolfva:

I don't think it is because it is your old age overtaking you. I started getting my pain about 22 years after my pouch went in. I am 27. And just the same as you, they didn't hurt for the first 22 years unless I had an infection. I am going to get to the bottom of this.