Bulge in my right side

[Bigdallas]

I have passed my 9th kidney stone in 25 years.  Most of the stones I have passed were years apart but this one was only 2 months after I passed a 3.5mm on the same side.  I had not had one for 5 years before that.  I used pain meds to get through these last two but after passed the last one I developed a large bulge just under the lower rib on my right side.  The bulge looked as if a softball was in my abdomen and protruding out about an inch.  I rushed to the ER and they performed a CT and said my Ureter was inflamed and the Kidney was ok but had more small stones. They gave me pain killers and anti inflammation drugs.    My question is how long should it take the inflammation to go away and am I in any danger of damage to the Kidney or Ureter?

[Bigdallas]

I went to my GP and he was puzzled because it did not act like a hernia when I coughed or tightened my abdomen and was not in a location that was normal for one.  He said the Physicians Assistants was wrong in saying it had anything to do with my Ureter or Kidney.  He referred me to a Surgeon a few days later.  Both Doctors could not feel an opening in the abdominal wall and upon investigation I disclosed that I slipped and jarred my back two weeks earlier then had a shooting pain in the right side of my back a few days later when I twisted.  The Surgeon diagnosed that I had a very rare injury to my spine around T12 and L1 that then pinched a nerve to the muscles at the bulge location.  He recommended anti-inflammatory, abdominal exercise, and resting the back to let it heal.  I am doing yoga and oblique exercises daily.  The bulge has not gotten any larger and no tenderness or pain.  The Kidney stone issue had nothing to do with the bulge just a coincidence.  I hope this information helps someone else in the future. I am a 59 year old male, 5'11", 240 lbs in excellent health and weight lifts daily (power lifting). Thank you for your time and assistance.

[David Rudnick, M.D.]

Its unlikely that the bulge was related to kidney stones or inflammation.  Perhaps a flank hernia??  I'm not sure what they mean by "inflammation."  On a CT scan one can see "stranding" around the kidney or ureter, but this could be the result of a long ago episode.  Kidney stones are RARELY a danger to your kidney function, so I wouldn't worry about that as long as they didn't see any blockage on the CT scan.