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I am 10 weeks pregnant and before I even knew I was pregnant (turns out I was about 5 weeks) I was having bad pain in my lower abdomen and in my back. I thought it was possibly something bad that I ate or maybe cramps before I started my period. I couldn't stand up straight and felt very weak so left work early, went home and made an appointment with my doctor for the next morning around 10 am. The next morning I woke up early with severe lower abdominal pain on the right ride…I could not stand it and cried for hours thinking that I would just see my doctor at 10. At 8am I couldn’t take it any more so I went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with a UTI and a pregnancy! They gave me morphine while I was in the hospital and the pain subsided. They sent me home that afternoon with antibiotics. The pain came back once I was home and remained for the next few days, but eventually began to subside. I was okay for about two weeks, just super nauseous and weak and tired. I thought it was all just first trimester symptoms.

2 weeks later, January 14th, I began having major pain again, but this time it was worse. I finally went back to the emergency room the next day, on the 15th and waited for 9 and ½ HOURS! When they finally saw me they did an ultrasound, found an 8 mm kidney stone (a normal stone one can pass is between 4 and 5 mm) and immediately admitted me to the hospital. I stayed for 3 days, during which I received surgery and had the dreaded STINT put in. My doctor told me there would be pain for the first couple days and blood in my urine, but that it would go away and there would just be discomfort through my pregnancy. He plans to leave the stint in me for the remainder of my pregnancy – 7 and ½ MONTHS. I am in constant pain, urinate blood regularly and cannot be on my feet for more than 20 minutes without feeling like my vaginal area is going to explode! I work retail and need to be on my feet but I just feel like I can’t physically do it. I am in school also and just walking to class is exhausting – I walk so slow and clench my fists the entire time because of the pain. I don’t know what to do. My doctor informed me of the other procedure, the one where a tube goes through your back, but my urologist, general practictioner, on call OB and my regular OB all said they thought the stint would be better. But seriously, 7 and ½ months with this stint in me just does not seem viable. I am so distracted by the pain in my own body, I can barely even think about the baby inside me. I am afraid to take the painkillers for fear of hurting the baby, and according to many other women’s posts on here, they don’t work anyway. I honestly just don’t know what to do…

About 2 weeks ago now, I went to my doc after having bad pain in my side and back for a few days. They did an ultrasound, and found that my ureter was dialated, and said it was probably a kidney stone, although, they could not see a stone on the ultrasound, and would not do an x-ray. So I got some Buscopan to relax the ureter, which helped witht he moderate pain, and they also gave me demerol, but I didn't take any. Even though the doc assured me it would be fine, I just didn't like the idea of all those drugs going to my baby. Well, the pain has eased up over the past few days, and I fiured it was gone. Last night, I woke up many times becuase of the pain in my kidney again. The thing is, the doc is not even sure it's a stone because there's no blood in my urine, and said it could be round ligament pain. I've assured her that I know what RLP pain feels like by now (I'm almost 25 weeks), and this is a deep pain, in my kidney and side, and I can't remember ever having pain like this. I'm hoping this doesn't last for the next 15 weeks of pregnancy. Do you have to have blood in the urine for it to be a stone? If it's not a stone I don't know what it could be, and i don't know what to do if the pain keeps coming back. I haven't had much sleep in the last 2 weeks!

hi i want to answer sara h my name is randi. i have a 7 month old baby and im pregnant again. with my last baby i was 6 weeks pregnant and one morning while at work i was dropped with really bad abdominal pain i thought it was gas or something but it kept getting worse. so i told my boss i was leaving and going to the hospital that was nov 15th 2005. i was in the hospital 1 week before they knew what the problem was. They could not do a cat scan to see why my kidney was blocked they did an ultrasound instead and saw that there was no urine coming from my left kidney to my bladder. so they put a stint through my back into my kidney and left a bag for urine to drain into around my ankle. i had to go through my whole pregnancy with this stint. not that that was bad enough i got severe infections from the foreign object in my back. i had severe kidney infections and almost died from almost turning septic which is an infection in your blood. no antibiotics worked and i was going through hell hospital stays left and right. finally they induced my labor and did lipsotripcy surgeory to remove the stone i have been fighting stones left and right now. I am now about 7 weeks pregnat again. And I have had past 2 stones so far. I recommend that you donot get the stint through your back because it causes to much infection plus you have to have it exchanged every 6 weeks which they fail to tell you about until you have it done. I hope and wish you well its a long road but if I made it so will you. Because I am the biggest wimp I know. I hate pain and kidney stones are worse than labor And I know this because this is my 5th pregnancy. Has anyone tried URIFLOW??

I am a nurse practitioner and was making rounds when I was at 20 weeks. The pain started when I was getting ready that morning and kept getting worse. I met up with the doctor that I work for and he at first thought that it was round ligament pain. ( I should add that urology is not my specialty but I have and I have now learned more than I ever wanted in that field). No, this was not normal pregnancy pain. I called the OB and went in and was admittted to the hospital. It took 2 days to figure out the problem, as I too did not have any blood in my urine and all of the ultrasounds were coming up negative. They were trying to rule out appendicitis v/s kidney stone. After talking to the surgeon we decided that the benefits outweighed the risks and the we needed to do a CT scan. It did show that my right ureter was dilated and that there was fulid around the renal pelvis (hydronephrosis). They never acutally saw a stone but I have continue to have a lot of uric acid build up. A urologist was consulted and I had a nephrostomy tube placed ( a tube in my back). He was very honest and said that yes, we could put a stent in but that it would be even more uncomfortable than the nephro tube and that it would have to be replace a few times duringhte pregnancy due to the risk of calcification and under mroe anesthesia. The nephro tube would also have to be replaced it would be less risk. The hopes were that it would only have to replace it every 6 weeks. I have not been that lucky if that is even what you want to call it. I am now 31 weeks and going for my 5th tube this week. I have so much uric acid build up and pass so much sediment that they keep having to change out the tube. I can't imagine having the stent uretheral stent placed b/c I live in constant pain, somedays are worse than others and thank God for pain meds. I will say that I was hesitant to take the meds at first but have been reassured over and over that my baby is fine and will be, also I am only doing myself a disfavor by not taking them. My urologist has also encouraged me to drink a lot of lemonade, as it helps keep stones from crystalizing. I don't wish this horrible pain or expereince on anyone but it is nice to know that there are other women who can share there expereinces and that I am not alone.

i was put on dalodin spelling is wrong but it safe for the baby. i am now pregnant again after having all my problems with the stones i have passed 2 stones so far in this pregnancy so it re-occuring. not for everyone though. So i am not going to dicourage you from having another try but beware that pregnancy highers the risk of kidney stones in women. But dont be discouraged about the treatment its painful agonizing but it is worth it. just make sure you drink lots of lemonade and cranberry juice anything citrus helps. surgeory is not an option due to the fact of the anesthisia. but they can put a stint in if you have a blockage. but passing them really hurts it is worse than child birth as you now know but i know it is a scary thing that we are going through but feel confident that the treatment will not hurt the baby my baby is perfect. and i know this one will be too. good luck

I have a very similar situation as many of you. I had kidney stones after my first child was born (thank God it was afterwards) and then at 34 weeks into my second pregnancy (which is now), I ended up in the ER with severe pain. They did an ultrasound and couldn't see the stone but believe it was there because my kidney was a bit swollen. I ran back and forth to the ER for three days with pain until they decided to put in a stent. The stent is extemely uncomfortable. I makes me feel that I have to urinate all of the time and when I do it feels like I have glass inside my urethra. I am unable to sit straight up. I have to lay pretty much all day on my side. They gave me vicadin and dolodin in the hospital for the kidney stone pain but these don't help with the stent. My doctor gave me pyridium (spelling) yesterday which helps a little. It is a medicine that numbs the bladder. Although I still have pain, I can sleep better at night without having to run to the bathroom all of the time. They also have me taking amoxicillin to make sure I don't get a UTI.

I hated to take the pain medication but I think it is important. When I had severe kidney stone pain I was having contractions and they were thinking I was going into labor. Also, when they put the stent in, they did a spinal. The operation also increased my contractions to 2 minutes apart, which they were able to control with some type of injection. By the way, when they put a stent in, they have to do x-rays to make sure the stent is placed properly. I didn't know that from the beginning. They assured me it was fine for the baby at 35 weeks.

I am sorry to hear so many people are going through the same ordeal but it is a bit comforting to know I am not the only one. They tell me that I will keep the stent in until the baby is born and then they will take it out either then or a few weeks later. After that, I will have surgery or a lithotripsy to have the stone removed. I have had lithotripsies before. They aren't too bad.

I am 28 weeks and I just got out of the hospital for my cervix bleeding and they told me that I will most likely be having a kidney stone in the next two days. I am realy scared and not sure I can handle it. This is my second child and I didnt have any probloms with my first. But it made me feel alot better that there are other wemon who went through the same thing and pulled through. I look up to all of you for making it past the pain. Thank you.

An update on my situation. I have had the stent in now for almost two weeks. The discomfort (pain-about a 2 on a scale 1-10) is still there. I believe the stent has moved a little causing the pain and some blood in my urine. The urologist said that this is normal. I have had to take medical leave from work because I can only stand up for about 5 minutes at a time without strong discomfort/pain and feeling an extreme urge to urinate. I went to my OB today and they decided that the best thing is to stay home on bed rest and wait it out because I only have two more weeks until the c-section is planned. I am taking both ditropan and pyridium to ease the pain. They do help a little. I was hoping they could take the stent out and the kidney stone out the same day as the c-section but they think this will be too much. Most likely, I will have to go home from the c-section with the stent in.
The pain from passing the kidney stone is the worse I have ever felt (15 on scale of 1-10) but once in the hosptial they gave me medicine through the IV that took the pain right away. The problem with the kidney stones (besides the pain) is not knowing when they will start to pass or when the pain will come, which means you are running out in the middle of the night to the ER. I suggest that you go to the hospital as soon as the pain becomes severe because it caused me to have contractions. The good news is that the hospital does have medication that takes the pain away. It was called dilaudin. I would suggest drinking tons of water and pineapple juice.

Hello! Wow, I was stunned reading all of the responses-I thought I was all alone! I got my first stone while five months pregnant with my daughter. After four admissions to the hospital, they considered putting in a stent, but thankfully the neurologist decided against it . At this point, I was having one to two kidney stones a week and the pain was continuous-and unbearable. After being on a Dilaudid PCA, (by the way, the anesthesiologist said this is a safer narcotic than morphine because it is easier metabolised by the baby) I was put on 160 mg of oxycontin per day. At first, I flat out refused to take the medication, but the perinatologist said that the effects from pain (high blood pressure etc.) are far more detrimental to a baby than carefully monitered pain medication. I was much better after delivery, and today my daughter is a healthy 1 year old, and has suffered no ill effects from the experience. I have had two attacks since her birth. Today I found out that I am pregnant again, and I feel more dread than joy. I am ecstatic about the baby, but terrified of going through another pregnancy like that. I am so glad I found this forum: it really helps to know that I am not alone.

Another update on the kidney stones. Our baby was born by c-section. She seems very healthy but was anemic. We don't think this has anything to do with the kidney stones. However, she is beautiful and is eating and gaining weight very well. The stent I had was removed about 10 days after the c-section. Removal was very painful and the stent was calcified...covered with a thin calcium crust. The urologist was surprised by the calcification since the stent was only in about 45 days total. I was told that removal hurt so badly because the stent was calcified. Well, pieces of the calcium on the stent broke off inside the ureter and I need to pass them in addition to the stone. I wasn't happy about that. I'm waiting on the results of a CT scan to see where and if I had more kidney stones. The first day the stent was removed it was very difficult to urinate but the second day things got much better. I hope I don't have the kidney stone pain again. We'll see.

One more update. I just got off the phone with the urologist's office. Apparently, the x-ray i had showd no stones but the CT scan showed several stones on both sides. Since I'm not having any pain at this moment they are not having me come back in for another 3 months! They also said that they most likely won't remove these unless they are big enough. I was hoping to have this taken care of before the end of the summer, but apparently this is not how it works.

Hello all!! I'm glad I'm not the only one in pain w/ stones while pregnant. :) Quick background: I was first diagnosed w/ stones at 12 weeks and a stent was put in. It was incredibly painful for about 2 weeks, but got better with time. The next 2 months were relatively pain free, but in the last week the pain has returned. I saw my OB/GYN yesterday (4/4) and he is concerned b/c my urine test showed a high level of protein. I'm on antibiotics for an infection and had an ultrasound of my kidney/bladder/stent today. The technician didn't seem very happy and I think we've discovered a new problem: my stone-less kidney probably doesn't function! UGH! My kidney w/ the stone is inflamed, so they are trying to decide whether to replace the stent or not. With the risks to the baby, I'm not sure what to do. I'm only 25 weeks at this point. It's not worth the risk to ruin my one good kidney though. My medication is Spasfon-Lyoc. My biggest issue is that my husband and I are living in France, so I'm under French medical care and I'm concerned about another surgery here. Not sure what kind of anesthetics they use and if they are safe enough for the baby. Any thoughts?? :)

I am 8 weeks 2 days pregnant. I have kidneys that feel like full time charlie horse pain. I have been to the ER once for my stomach pain, yet they did not do nothing for my kidney pain. By time I walked out of that ER I never wanted to go back. I have been trying so hard to just hang in there, but the pain is just to bad. I have had kidney stones for so long, it took about ten years for them to find this intense pain that feels like something is literley eating on my kidneys. I suck at drinking water, for in the militay being forced to drink it so fast after a couple mile run, has made me just want to puke when I think about it. What are these stents. I have never heard of them and I am really so scared to go back through all that at the ER. But the pain is just so bad. I have never passed a stone, but I can feel them just eating through my body. How bad should I let it get before I go.

Wow! I, like so many others here, thought I must be some kind of abnormality to get kidney stones during pregnancy. I am 28weeks with my third pregnancy. I had my first stone and gravel episode 5 weeks ago 6 days and a hospital stay later I passed all of them. Then just this past week I passed 2 more stones after 5 days of riding it out at home. This is not something I ever thought I would have to deal with, nor did I understand the kind of pain that they cause. Did anyone else find it as debilitating as I have? I am a SAHM with a 3 year old daughter, twins boy and girl that will be 2 in July and the pregnancy! Does anyone know if your likely to continue getting stones after pregnancy? and for those of you who have had stones throught several pregnancies did you have also have them after you delivered?

Hello everyone. I wanted to send out a warning about the medicine macrobin/macrodation when you pregnant. I took it up until delivery, while in the hospital after delivery and for 3 weeks after I went home and while I was breastfeeding. My daughter was born and acquired jaundice within 20 hours after birth. The doctors did cbc and found that her hemoglobin level was low (11). We continued to get her hemoglobin tested (CBC) each week and it lowered about a point every week. It went from 11 to 10 to 9 to 8 (now). We were told that every baby's hemoglobin lowers between 4-6 weeks but our child's was already low so we needed to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't go too low. They also checked her reyticulin (spelling wrong) count which they said is fine. This test essentially tells you how well the body is making red blood cells. I did some checking on line and found that macrobin/macrodatin should NOT be taken two weeks before delivery or while breastfeeding infants under 1 month of age because it may cause anemia (low hemoglobin). I did a search of 'anemia macrobid'.
I don't know for sure that this is connected, but they have done several tests to figure on the probleem and haven't come up with anything. It looks like our daughter will need a blood transfusion in the next couple of weeks. So if you are on these medications, please check with your doctor to see whether you should take these all the way up until delivery.

I came to this website praying I'd find some way to alleviate the pain and discomfort of the stent that I have placed about 3 weeks ago. I am so sad that there are so many of us going through this while being pregnant. I was inthe hospital 3 weeks ago for 5 days with kidney stones and because I did not pass them I have the stent implanted. I am in so much constant pain and discomfort I can barely take care of my other 3 children. I was planning on calling my midwife and urologist tomorrow to beg for some sort of relief and to ask about taking my baby early. I though that if I knew I only had 2 or 3 more weeks of this insteand of 6 weeks I may be able to cope better. I am so miserable and making everyone around me miserable as well. I've read most of the postings and I can't seem to fine someone who can say that a particular pain medication made a big difference. Has anyone found anything?