Nephrologist (Kidney Specialist) Questions Nephrologist

Kidney stone?

This will be lengthy. Friday morning I was rushed to the ER with severe back pain. I had a CT scan and was diagnosed with a 2mm kidney stone. Urine was positive for blood, protein and bacteria and negative for glucose and ketones. My blood glucose was 126 which it’s never been that high. My mom is pre-diabetic so I’m proactive in checking my blood sugar at home- fasting it’s usually in the 88-93 range. Next morning it was 112 at home. I ended up back in the ER Sunday morning because they didn’t give us proper pain management instructions. That time the glucose was 112- this morning it was 91 at home. Aside from the kidney stone, nothing was flagged but it did say something about atrophy of the pancreas- doctors didn’t mention it. I’m a 41 y/o white male. 5’7 195. I’m in the gym 4-5 days a week including a minimum of 180 minutes of cardio a week. I recently cut soda out of my diet. I don’t drink alcohol and to my knowledge I’ve never had pancreatitis and never been diagnosed with diabetes. No jaundice or weight loss. Obviously I have severe back pain from the kidney stone but no abdominal pain with the exception of an ulcer that acts up one or twice a year at most. The CT scan was without contrast but everything else was reported as okay- liver, spleen, heart etc. My questions are how can I make this pass quicker- I have enough pain meds until tomorrow and I don’t like having to use heavy narcotics. I’m drinking as much water as I can. Two is the atrophy in the pancreas something to be alarmed over? As I said, unlike my blood work, nothing was flagged in CT. I asked the ER doc the second time I was there and they didn’t seem worried about it. There’s no family history of kidney stones or pancreatic issues. I’ll be honest, I have a history of being a hypochondriac when it comes to health. Any answers would be greatly appreciated.

Male | 41 years old
Complaint duration: 3 days
Medications: Tylenol as needed. Percocet, Zofran Naproxen Flomax
Conditions: Kidney stone, degenerative disc disease, Gilbert’s Syndrome

2 Answers

Change your diet. An organic DASH diet would be best. Lose weight if overweight or obese. Plum juice 1-1.5 liter daily. Start psychotherapy/counseling.
The best way to help pass a kidney stone is plenty of water and flomax taken daily. A 2mm stone has a high chance of passing, but it could still take a few days or even a few weeks. Take pain killers as required. To prevent future kidney stones, keep up good oral hydration at all times, and maintain a diet low in salt and low in animal protein.
daviesurology.co.nz