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KIdney related symptoms--do I go to the ER or wait?

I have been having odd symptoms for about a month now and they have begun to get worse. I had originally waited to seek treatment because I moved/transferred jobs to another state and my insurance was invalid here. I now have insurance and have made an appointment but it is a week away.

I am 37 year old male that is active and healthy. I never get sick. I do catch colds or get influenza. I am really concerned about this because this is not normal for me.

The symptoms are similar to those of Nephrotic Syndrome.

My symptoms are:

VERY foamy urine--obvious protein in urine.
VERY strong smell from urine--very strong salty odor
Extreme fatigue
Occasional mild shooting pain in left kidney, prostate, or bladder area.
Loss of equilibrium/brain fog/poor memory/lack of comprehension
Constipation

It started with the fatigue which I dismissed due to the move and stress of the new position. It gradually got worse to the point of barely being able to function after 7-9 hours of sleep.

After a week of fatigue I started to notice the strong urine smell. I didn't really notice the foam/bubbles as abnormal until about 3-4 days after the smell started.

During the course of the last month I have had the occasional shooting pain in the kidney, bladder, or prostate areas. The pains aren't severe or dibilitating. They just happen randomly and last less than one second.

The equilibruim loss only happens about once a day and it's not bad. The room just tilts on me and then everything is fine. The poor memory/brain fog is constant. It's getting annoying!

The headaches are happening about every other day. They feel like they are blood pressure related or dehydration related but I drink about 4-5 bottles of water a day as well as 1-2 20oz bottles of Gatorade.


My question is: Should I just wait for my appointment or go to the Emergency Room to speed up the diagnosis/treatment?
6 Responses
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Avatar universal
Hey, I currently have almost the same symptoms. My testosterone is very low though. I also have low vitamin d. I have muscle weakness and foamy smelly urine and constipation. My urine tests have been normal. Did you find the cause of your symptoms?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I went to the Doctor on 4/28. They took 6 tubes of blood for tests. I have been calling to find out about my lab results with no return calls...until today. I spoke to the physicians assistant. She was very vague and was being careful with what she told me and was nervous answering questions. She kept telling me I needed to wait until my 6/1/10 appt to ask the doctor.

Anyway...

My urine protein was negative. ...but my urine is still foamy and I am still tired.

My results were all good except 2 items.

1) I have a severe vitamin D deficiency. They prescribed 50,000iu of Vitamin D once a week and 5,000iu OTC daily as well as 3,000iu of calcium daily.

2) My testosterone was triple to quadruple  the normal level. On a scale of 0.3-1.0 I was 2.0. She said that all 3 testosterone measuring tests were consistently about triple to quadruple the mean result.

I have to go back on 6/1/10 for chest and abdomen X-rays. The assistant told me she didn't know waht the doctor would be looking for based on my results...which was blatently a lie. She knows EXACTLY why but wasn't at liberty to tell me. It took me all of 5 minutes to look up online what she will be looking for. She will be looking for adrenal tumors or cysts.

My elevated testosterone could be caused by pituitary, thyroid, testiclular, or adrenal issues. My thyroid and pituitary tests were normal and my testicles have no lumps or issues leaving my adrenal glads as suspect--and the pains in my kidney area and my foamy urine really narrow it down! (foamy/frothy urine is also a symptom of adrenal disease)

So now I know where my anxiety, irritability, occasional insomnia, and inability to concentrate come from--my elevated testosterone. I think the equilibrium issue is an adrenaline overload that makes me "loopy" The more I think about it, the more symptoms I can pin on the testosterone and the vitamin D deficiency. (The Vitamin D deficiency is causing my muscular weakness in my hands and possibly some of my fatigue. Vitamin D helps with the synthesis of calcium so other symptoms are possibly calcuim related so--they're indiectly a result of the vitamin D issue)

I will keep you posted!





Helpful - 0
1308559 tn?1322685845
Do you  check your B/P  often or  ever?  what  are your numbers like?  
Do  you  have  adema  (swelling on the feet,  ankles  legs,  hands  and or face?

If  you  don't have  adema  just  wait  for  Dr appt. if  edema is  present  to the  point that your legs  feels  heavy.  and you  gain  weight  overnight  and  aren't  peeing as  much  then   you might  want to  go to  an  urgen  care  (not  ER),  have them  draw  blood.
You  might  want to  call  Dr's  office  tell  them you're seeing Dr  and ask/tell them   you'd  like to  have  blood  work  done  before you  see  dr,  so  dr  can  have  labs  to  look  at  time of your  appt.

Fatigue  can  mean  many  things,  tired  from  the move  as you  mentioned,  stress,  not  eating  correctly,  not  exercising  as much  and  ANEMIA.

Labs  are  so  important  to  find out  where  you're  at,  kidney disease is  called  a  deadly  killer  for  a  reason,  many  times  we  don't  know  (or  feel)  we  have  it  until  it's  too  late.

Take  care  and  keep us  posted  on what  Dr  said.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
pharmD_tobe_2012:

I urinate often but over the past few days the frequency has slowed down as has my fluid intake and the weird thing is that I don't have to go as bad in the morning when I wake up. I am not feeling like I have to urinate much at all but when I get to the bathroom I must have been ready to burst!

The past few days I go when I get up in the morning and then about every 4-5 hours. Some visits to the bathroom produce lots of urine, others not as much as expected judging by the pressure I feel.

There is no burning or pain. I don't have frequent urges or 'phantom urges".  I am having the opposite. I don't feel like I need to urinate then I spend 2 minutes standing there watching the bubbles fill the bowl.

mandylynn0621:

I had a physical last May and all my labwork looked good. I had no remarkable blood or protein in my urine. If you are having the strong smell and foam and have a history of blood/protein in your urine, it's possible your situation is kidney related. (or gallbladder/liver from what I have read. I had my gallbladder removed 2 years ago)
Helpful - 0
1282678 tn?1275186261
I really hope it has nothing to do with the kidney cuz i have all those symptoms and more for past 2 years.Certainly the brain fog and poor memory. I had blood and protein in the urine once that i know of for sure. I have been home for 2 years...dont know if its the kidney or stress, but i did find out i had a kidney stone but they said shouldnt cause any of this at all. You may have a bladder or kidney infection. Go to the doctor! Then let us all know how you are doing.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
How often do you urinate and when do you urinate?
Helpful - 0
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