blood in urine

I’m a 55 year old male. I have a history of kidney stones. I have passed one stone per year for the last 5 years. Two episodes were with severe pain but three of them there was less or no pain. All though had blood in urine. January 2023 I saw blood in the urine. Ultrasound and X-ray show stones on both kidneys. No pain. I have not passed any new stones. I get blood in the urine only if I exercise more than 1/2 hour. I have not had symptoms since january but for the last two days, I get right flank pain if I go for a walk and hematuria. The hematuria stops by the first or second time I have to urinate after I see blood. Bloodwork is normal. PSA normal. I’m having a CT and a cystoscopy. Has anyone experienced something similar?

Thanks

Pat

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

HI Pat,

Curious as to what type of stones you are passing. And also, why are the doctors not doing anything about it. I passed stones for 2 years. Some were quite large. But I had five in my kidneys that were huge and I wasn't ever going to pass. They did a lot of damage to my kindeys. Finally they put me on medication to dissolve the stones and medication to stop the formation. I haven't passed a stone since. But the damage was done and now..... I am on my way to dialysis.

Do not let them not take care of this issue. If the stones are uric acid, there are medications. Oxalate stones, there is diet changes needed and medications; things that you can do yourself to help stop the production. The fact that you have hematuria means that the stones are damaging tissue, whether it is in the kidney or uretha. Get to the doctor and demand some help.

nyulangone.org/conditions/k....

[Hidden in reply to Bassetmommer]

Thank you for your reply. I have oxalate stones. I have changed my diet but still get them. I am vegan so plants in general have more oxalate content. You mentioned medication. I was told by one specialist and there are research papers that show that citrates help dissolve and loosen stones. But you have to be careful with the type. Potassium citrate can effect cardiac rhythm and calcium citrate can lead to increased calcifications throughout the body. I have a relative that was told to try sodium bicarbonate pills as she has several stones and is also ok now since she started. What meds are you referring to? I need to get the diagnostics first because ultrasound and regular X-rays can give false positives and false negatives. The CT will be more accurate.

[Hidden in reply to Bassetmommer]

Forgot to mention that all my bloodwork is normal and no symptoms but just two or three days ago I started with mild flank pain on the right.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Pat, These are questions for your doctor. I had uric stones so the medications I am on are not for your situation. Please check with the doc.

kidney.org/atoz/content/cal...

[Marvin8]

The obvious question is what is your usual state of hydration? How many liters of water are you drinking a day?

[Hidden in reply to Marvin8]

What is that magic number? I was told by my urologist to drink enough until your urine has a slight yellow tinge, not completely clear. Too much may disrupt electrolyte equilibrium. My diet is vegan and plants have more oxalates. I’m drinking lots of water but also taking citrate in the form of calcium and potassium, alternating each day. Calcium in the supplement or food will bind with oxalates in the gut and the citrate has been shown in research papers to loosen and dissolve oxalate stones. I’m waiting for further imaging to see if I’m actually dealing with a large stone higher up in the kidney or something else is going on. But even when I’m hydrated and I exercise, I still see blood in the urine.

[Marvin8 in reply to Hidden]

It sounds like you're drinking enough. As for the amount, the only number that nephs seem to "sort of" agree on is half your body weight in ounces spread throughout the day. Seeing visible blood in your urine must be incredibly disconcerting. Soon after I passed my first stone, the doctor put an indicator test strip in what appeared to me to be clear urine. The strip turned black and the doctor said that indicates a lot of blood that resulted from the stone passing through the ureter. Again, there was NO visible blood. Sounds like your condition requires a lot more investigation.

[Hidden in reply to Marvin8]

Thank you for your reply.

[GoodHealthIsAJourney]

I'm assuming they checked you for a UTI? They are very common with kidney stones. Sometimes the test comes back negative even when you have an infection. My husband's urologist always runs a PCR test. Here's an article explaining: liveutifree.com/uti-test/ Best wishes!

[Hidden]

Some of the urine samples that were taken a day before and after having hematuria were negative for any culture growth but I’m not sure if there are any other tests for UTIs. But I will ask the specialist. Thank you for your reply.

[Hidden]

I finally got the results from my CT. There is a large stone in the right kidney. The urologist has recommended ESWL. Has anyone had this treatment? I’m very interested in anyone’s experiences with this treatment.