Pregnancy Info HOME

De Anna, I have had 2 surguries since i was diagnosed with kidney stones, the first one to place the stent, and then the second one to replace the stent and at that time they did lithotripsy to break up the stone, i feel soooooo much better since having my second surgury, i am actually able to do normal things now. i think it would be worth talking to your doctor about surgury esp with the amount of pain your in. My whole thing started when i was 18 weeks i am now 30 weeks and the doctor says my baby is doing fine despite the endless amounts of pain meds and the surguries, so i really feel the benefits outweigh the risks.

I am 21 wks and I started having severe pains in my bladder and they have gotten worse. I went to hospital and the doctor said it was and bladder infection, but I don't have any symptoms of a bladder infection. Do you think that it may be kidney stones? It feels like I'm having contractions.

De Anna, I've been reading all the posts since saturday.Before i forget i really want to agree with that girl that says to take your pain medication because thats less worse than suffering and putting your baby in distress. I was the same way.I did not wanted to even take a tylenol for a really bad migraine(this was like the first 19 weeks of my pregnancy) and after the gallstone atacks I had my family physician(he is the one i trust the most and he knows how stubborn i can be, i could never become a drug addict,i HATE taking pills)the dr @the ER, my OB/GYN AND my surgeon(the one that is going to remove my gallbladder after i deliver my baby) all 4 of them told me it was better to take the painpills.(of course they gave me some that are the safest to take during pregnancy).Ok to answer your question kidneystones are basically made out of calcium and gallstones are made out of cholesterol.After i had my kidneystones i decided to cut back on coffee,soda's etc and eat more yoghurt(i dont like milk) and drink more cranberry juice and water.Now i really dont like cranberryjuice it has a bitter taste to it but the white cranberry juice from oceanspray is not bad at all and they have them mixed with another fruit like peach or grapes.Cranberry juice seems to really flush out your system WHILE your having the stones and after to help prevent.And yoghurt seems to contain enzymes that help braek down the calcium build up.Im 29 now, first pregnancy and i'm 31 weeks pregnant. How far along are you??.Oh, and if you think that your dr is a moron request a different one!!!!!!

Tiara,
If you are having pain in your back/flank, there's a good chance. Otherwise, maybe not. Generally, with kidney stones there is also blood in the urine (can't necessarily see it - it is in the test), but sometimes not. The pain tends to build to a crescendo, then maybe slack off, then build again. For me, pacing around makes it feel a bit better sometimes. It may also trigger back spasms which clamp down even harder on the ureter (with the baby in there, and a spasm in the back, and a stone, there's not much room!).

Thanx . i never really thought about trying white cranberry juice , thats a good idea actually. cuz ur right about cranberry it has a bitter taste sometimes i just plug my nose when i drink it. (lol). I tried switching doctors but they said since im already this far along i cant switch and it would be no point they said. so unfortuantly im stuck with this guy and have to bare with him. Im 32 weeks. When is your due date? Mine is August.9th.

Tiara , there is a possibility it could be kidney stones if it feels like contractions , the only thing is Contractions Come and go , to where the kidney stone pain is ongoing (well for me anyway) cuz when i woke up with my pain i didnt know what to think i thought i was in labor ( cuz this being my first pregnancy , i didnt exactly know what contractions felt like) but he checked and told me i was not in labor. so if your pain is ongoing it could be a kidney stone or maybe even a bladder infection like your doctor said . i have had bladder infections , I always found that drinking alot of cranberry juice gets rid of it right away for me ( i tried avoiding drinking that , but it helped so i had to bare with the test ) lol. but if your pain comes and goes it could be labor ( or false labor ) check with your doctor. hopefully your doc. isnt an air head like mine , cuz im getting no where with him. but i wish you the best of luck.

I need to clarify what i said about not taking my pain meds....my doctor told me that when I (specifically) have an attack it is NOT affecting my son what-so-ever. Choosing not to take pain meds is a personal choice. I never gave advice to not take them if you need them TAKE THEM! I wish you all luck in alleviating the pain and getting through your pregnancies successfully. I know I am trying to do just that! GOOD LUCK!

I am currently 28 wks. This is my third pregnancy and the second that I suffer with stones. During my last pregnancy, at 26 weeks I spent two weeks in the hospital on morphine and percocet. They eventually had no choice but to go in and do an ureteroscopy. BTW, they waited until they were prepping me for surgery to let me know that it would be a local spinal anesthesia and that a 30 min surgery becomes 1 hour because of the pregnancy. They removed a 7 mm stone and inserted a stent. I had them remove the stent after 3 weeks because I could not tolerate the pain.

I am currently 28 weeks and have passed more than 20 stones since February. Was hospitalized last week and I knew the stones I passed in the hospital were too small to explain the pain. Passed a pea sized stone which caused a lot of bleeding on Saturday and another stone last night.

There seems to be no end in sight. I just need to get through the rest of this pregnancy.

I have suffered from stones since I was 20 but only had an attack once every 2-3 years. I have passed more stones in these four months than in the last 13 years COMBINED!

You ladies are the first people I come across with the same situation. It's good to know I am not alone. Doctor's do make you feel like it's your imagination sometimes.

I tip my water glass to you all....

Question: I'm in the middle of my seventh month and I've been to the hospital twice with terrible pain over the last week. They tested me the first time and couldn't find anything but trace amounts of blood in my urine. The following weekend I was in the hospital again begging for pain medication. The doctor thinks I have kidney stones even though nothing showed up on the ultrasound. I had some contractions the first time to the hospital, but when the pain subsided they stopped. The second time I had a fever, but no contractions. My doctor says if it happens again, I'll have to go to a urologist and perhaps have a stent put in to drain things. Has anyone had any experience with Kidney Stones during their pregnancy? How about contractions and pre-term labor as a result? Thanks!

Hi Denise, I thought I might be able to give you a bit of advise from my recent experiences (my story is listed above, May 15). I’m now 30.5 weeks. I had a stint put in May 11th to this was done as an out patient procedure. I was sent home with antibiotics. I have had two ultrasounds that have shown nothing. My urologist says either I have kidney stones that just aren’t showing in ultrasound or I have a smaller opening of the ureter to the kidney and the baby is just squishing it. He said either way the pain is there for a reason that reason being that the kidney cannot drain properly this causes pain and could be very dangerous if not treated. SO…I dealt with the first stint by pretty much sitting, drinking and crying due to the pain. I was in so much pain. Just last week I woke up and for two days straight I was feeling really achy, sore, and the pain had returned drastically in my side. I drove myself to the hospital. After some tests and another ultrasound the doctor discovered that my stint had calcified in my bladder. It had to be replaced. It is VERY important that I mention that this doctor was a different Urologist than preformed my first surgery to put the stint in. I had the stint replaced, and was kept in the hospital for 5 days. I was pumped with antibiotics like you wouldn’t believe. Contractions also started and had to be stopped. I have been out of the hospital for 7 days so far. I will tell you the complete truth, the stint is really painful. I take my pain meds to help with the pain (Vicodin 750). The pain from the second stint is so much less than the first. I truly truly truly believe this is due to the fact that I was kept in the hospital pumped with antibiotics to get rid of any infection. I know I had a bladder infection with the first stint. Each time I called my Urologist to tell him he said that I was on antibiotics and that the stint was just supposed to cause “discomfort”. My second Urologist, the one from the hospital (the man sent down from heaven to help me) told me that I had been carrying an infection and it just overrode the antibiotics I had first been prescribed. I would advise you to: 1) have the stint put in to help pass the wastes from your kidney, 2) DO NOT let them just send you home right after, you need intravenous antibiotics and pain meds (morphine) to get you through the recovery period. For the first two or so days it will burn like hell when you pee the morphine will help you get through this period. The antibiotics will rid any infection, if you can be sure to go home from the hospital infection free you are going to thank me in the long run!!! It will save you from so much pain. 3) When they send you home make sure to get a script for pain meds to take while at home. Fill it. Take them. I was soooo afraid to take the pain meds for fear that it would hurt my baby. I now know that by being in pain is what can actually hurt my baby. This is my advise to you. I hope that it helps you. T

De Anna, I'm right along with you.I,m also 32 weeks and my due date is August 10!!!!!!!!!!!!! can you believe we are already there?Sometimes I think time is going by pretty fast,thats probably because I'm not totaly ready with the nursery.That pain just slows me down,i had another gallstone attack yesterday and today it feels like somebody beat me up.Muscle pain all over my back,chest and tummy.But sometimes i wish time would go faster I can't wait to see my bundle of joy and get my freakin' gallbladder removed.I know I used to be really scared about the pain from going in to labor but they say kidneystones and gallstone pain are worse.As long as I don't get a gallstone attack DURING the labor.Oh oh, i better talk to my dr about it(I have an appointment tomorrow)because an epidural will take the pain away from your waist down, my gallstones are waist UP.Shit, now I'm going to be really worried.Can somebody come up with ANYTHING to make me feel better ti'l tomorrow?

The number of responses is amazing!

DeAnn - I am not currently pregnant but I had stones with second (nephrostomy tube then lithotripsy after birth) and I drink "lemonade" everday. I make it with lemon juice and splenda. Its really good, much better than water! Hope that helps. Are you on antibiotics? Be careful drinking a ton of real juice if you are because we ended up with thrush because of being on antibiotics so long and it took us 8 months to get rid of it. Dont let the nightmare continue after birth - Id stay away from the sugar if you are taking antibiotics

As far as the lithotripsy - I personally chose not to get it while pregnant because of the general anasthesia. Its a personal choice. And I was only 15 then 24 weeks. If it happens again Im not sure what Ill do though because the nephrostomy tube was awful :(

I am 5 months pregnant and have developed my first extremely painful kidney stone. As you know they will not operate. They have suggested i have a tap fitted to my back where the kidney is to drain the fluid which should stop the pain. This mean i should not have to take pain killers for the next 4 months. however i will have a bag which i will have to empty 2-3 times a day. Not sure what to do yet.

I am 5 months pregnant and have developed my first extremely painful kidney stone. As you know they will not operate. They have suggested i have a tap fitted to my back where the kidney is to drain the fluid which should stop the pain. The eurologist did not want to fit a stent as the calcium builds up on them and described it as a 'barnicle' which could cause more stones.

Im so excited Ladies!!!! :) Ive set up a message board called "Pregnant with Kidney Stones". Come and register so we can chat in an easier format!!!! Here is the URL: http://118790.AceBoard.net Come and check it out!!!

wow shelly , thats so weird we are right along with eachother. i know what you mean I cant wait to meet this little person also. Do you know what your having!? No Luck with my stone yet , it still hasnt passed! But Thanx Rachel , I will try the Lemonade and splenda Mix ... that works out good I love Lemonade ... anything besides water and that bitter nasty cranberry juice would help.
Thanx for all of your help everyone!!
we will get through this together!!!!!!!

Jayne-Go for the tube in your back (Nephrostomy) I have had it for 5 months now, and I am pain free!