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Frequent Kidney Stones and Infections

At the age of 13 I passed my first kidney stone, which resulted in a pretty bad kidney infection as well, and a 4 day hospital stay.  I passed three more over the next year, at which times I was also admitted for overnight stays to pass and to treat accompanying infections.  I received lithotripsy the following year for a larger stone.  I have passed MANY stones since (I am 20 years old now, and female), and for a long time I was seeing a urologist for my issues.  I would see my urologist every three months, and EVERY SINGLE time I went to the doctor, he informed me that I had a kidney infection, even the times I was not experiencing symptoms.  Never did he give me a reasonable explanation for these never ending infections, or help me understand why my body was creating and passing stones so frequently.  He just wrote out more and more prescriptions. So, naturally, I just gave up going to my appointments.
Recently I lost my insurance, and I wont have any until January, so I cannot seek out a new doctor.  I experience extreme pain in my lower back so often, that it's driving me crazy.  I suffer through passing stones at home, because I can't afford a visit to the doctor.  I'm still getting the infections all of the time.  I've also noticed that I feel the same sharp pains in the lower back area a few days before I start my period every month as well.  Is there anyway that these symptoms might be connected?  Also, could my kidney stones be the cause of my infections?  In a recent (a few months ago) ER CT scan, it was determined that I had 11 stones in one kidney (the side that I experience the most pain on) and 4 in the other.
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351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Recurrent kidney infection can be due to diabetes, some anomaly or defect in the kidney or due to the organisms developing antibiotic resistance. Recurrent kidney stones are found renal tubular acidosis, medullary sponge kidney, Dent's disease (genetic disease of the kidney), hyperparathyroidism, primary hyperoxaluria and Crohn's disease.
Since the pain comes  before periods too, it can also be due to endometriosis. It can also be due to a STD, may not have started with it, but may have caught in between if you are now sexually active. Non specific bacterial infection or fungal infection can also cause recurrent UTI.
Drink plenty of fluids, try apple cider and cranberry juice. These tips may help to flush out small stones.
Depending on the stone you have, you will need to avoid certain food items. For oxalate stones you need to restrict (not totally stop) foods which are high in oxalate like beans, legumes, dark green leaves, egg plant, spinach, beets, chocolates and fruit cake. Avoid Vitamin C as its metabolism produces oxalates in the body.
For calcium stones you need to restrict packaged food items rich in sugars and dairy products. For uric acid stones you need to restrict protein intake.
Hope this helps. I think you should discuss these possibilities with your doctor when you can arrange to see one. Meanwhile try the tips and diet advice and get blood sugar checked. Take care!
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Avatar universal
kidney stones can be very recurring and can start very young, although ive never heard of someone getting them in their early teens.. usually early 20s, but that doesnt mean it doesnt happen earlier. it sounds like you will have to sit in some pain until you get insurance again. you can try to seek out clinics, but theyre not very good at helping. get your insurance back and go to a dr, because if you have them so often, you might have something else going on. im not saying something is seriously wrong, probably just something is a little dysfunctional and causing this problem. usually people have a few stones, and they tend to grow until they come out. my mom just had one removed, was stuck in the tube, fairly big. my aunt had one removed, amazingly, almost the size of a baseball. while theres usually multiple stones, ive never heard of having 11 in one kidney, unless of course theyre very small and pass with ease. 4 is normal. i would assume the increased pain with period is normal, as the body becomes more sensitive and swollen, it begins its natural cramping spasms we cant control, which can easily cause more pain if you already have issues in the area.. but id definitely begin making appointments asap because you want to get thoroughly checked.. and dont get discouraged if the dr doesnt seem to address the issue. if you dont like the dr you see, go see a new one! you are the most important person in dealing with your care, so its up to you to make sure your dr does his job and you are satisfied with the care you receive. so if you see someone that doesnt do a good job, find someone else, theres many providers that will be covered by your medical care. if you have a state medical that doesnt give you options of other drs, you can appeal that and request a second opinion, which is required to be covered by your insurance. in the meantime, try to eat healthy, lookup ideal foods that are easily processed by the body (which is usually all natural items), drink lots of cranberry juice.. my family lives by cranberry juice because we have such a bad history of kidney stones, and i really do believe it helps. but eat for optimum health, keep your body active, drink a LOT of fluids.. doing these things should help you get though, and may even improve your symptoms.. you never know..
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