Enlarged spleen - tests good so far

[Belial1134]

About 8 or 9 days ago I was experiencing pain on my left side which then moved about the whole abdominal area. Finally got blood work done last week and everything came back good. Doctor had me get a ct scan which was good other than an enlarged spleen (14cm)

Today I had a chest X-ray (negative) and more blood drawn (8 tests in all). I've gotten 3 back and so far everything was good on those. I'm meeting with the oncologist/hematologist on Thursday though my anxiety isn't helping at all.

I turn 40 this year. About 5ft 8 and 173 pounds. Last year I had a bout with LPR (silent reflux) but I got over that in mid October. Not sure if this could in any way be related though.

With all the possibilities of what can cause an enlarged spleen, Im worried. Guess I'm looking for others who had similar issues but had good news when all was said and done?

Thank you for reading

[jemma116]

I don't think that a blood test would show that someone has kidney stones.

Getting frequent kidney infections and also getting dehydrated can certainly lead to getting them.  There are other reasons too, depending which type of stone you have.  A cysteine stone is hereditary and doesn't show up (so I have read) on normal xrays.  I am sure if you or your dad had that type of stone, you would have know about it way before now.

Sounds like you had a reaction to the Cipro.  Make sure you tell your doctor or consultant when they need to prescribe an antibiotic so that you can avoid getting this one again.

[Belial1134]

I talked with my dad earlier today. He did have a kidney stone a few years ago. He said he had no pain whatsoever but had intense vomiting so I guess I need to keep that in mind (so far no vomiting or nausea - except when I was on Cipro earlier in the week)

I would have thought with all the blood tests, something would have flagged the doctors of a possible kidney stone?

Not sure what the ct scan captured. When I went it for it all I had was normal blood work and side/lower abdomen discomfort. I know they did tell me how it covered and I think it was bladder area up to ..well high enough to see the spleen and liver (and assuming that would have see the colon too but they never said anything about that)

[jemma116]

I did have kidney stones.  And you won't feel any pain and won't even know you have one until they start to get large enough to press on things or start to move and cause pain, damage as they move and infections.

It depends on how big the stone is to what degree of pain you could get.  I had been in extreme pain in passing blood and green gunge and kept getting infections, vomiting and diarrhea when a stone was moving.  Things would settle down for a while and then flare up again.  Sometimes you can just feel a discomfort like wind in the belly and this is referred to as renal colic.

At its worst point the pain was so severe that it thrust me into a sitting position when I was lying down in bed very ill and very strong pain killers did not help.

I don't know if a CT scan would have picked up any stones or problems with your kidneys.  It depends what the CT scan was scanning you for.  It also depends on what type of stone you have and the size of it.  There are 4 different type of kidney stones.  

I initially went to my doctor with pins and needles in my feet and was treated with Vitamin B complex and then later on for depression when I walked in crying with the severe pain in my feet.  It was only 6 months later that xrays revealed the stones.  Whilst waiting for months to see a specialist, that is when the stone started to break up and cause severe problems.  Even the specialist got baffled by the symptoms and thought the stone was stuck in the bladder - only the dye xray showed exactly where it was - most of it had been passing out (when I was very ill), but the last bit got stuck in the ureter and had to be removed urgently by surgery.

I do hope that you do not have a kidney stone, but it is worth keeping it in mind should you still continue to have those symptoms and everything else is ruled out.

Hope you find the cause of your problem soon so that you can receive the appropriate treatment.

Best wishes.

[mkh9]

Well, I guess you have to rule these things out. It may be that you had something and it will resolve on its own.  Yes you could get a ultrasound of the kidneys to rule that out as well. Usually, kidney stones are most of the time, extremely painful. Although, some tiny ones may pass with less pain I believe. I'm not an expert in this area. I would understand the lab work more than the patient symptoms.
mkh9

[Belial1134]

Yeah, I just wonder if my primary doctor is at a loss and just said colonoscopy as a last resort.

I understand he wants to rule out some more possibilities before chalking it up to IBS. Of course I don't understand how IBS would suddenly turn up after not having any issues for nearly 40 years.
If it is IBS and this is a flare-up, I thought flare ups would last several days. So part of me is thinking it won't be IBS but obviously I know nothing about medicine

I figure meeting with a gastro and getting a second opinion from someone who deals with colons and that area of the body couldn't hurt.
Maybe he will tell me to check with a urologist or recommend the colonoscopy. If it's the later, then I will have no choice and go thru with it

[Belial1134]

Thank you for the reply.

Kidney stone crossed my mind but everyone I talked to who has had one was in excruciating pain and I'm at the mild pain/annoyance level.
I have had doctors bang around my back and I didn't flinch. They said If I had a stone, I would have reacted.

I also had a ct scan a few weeks ago when they discovered the mildly enlarged spleen and would have thought if I had kidney stones it would have shown up then?

I'm still keeping that in mind as well as a hernia but I've had doctors poking and pushing and they never said anything about a possible hernia.

Now that I've had so much blood work done, they seem to have gone from blood disorder issue to colon-related