kidney stones, maybe? Long

So I have had for about a year, and intermittent, infrequent, sharp jabbing pain in my left pelvic area. Periodically when I sleep on my stomache I feel like I have a jagged rock in my left side and I find it painfull to move my body. Once I move the pain subsides and goes away.

Let me stress it was infrequent, some months nothing happened at all.

I did mentioned it to my internist who said I should take it up with my gyno.
This kinda put me off, but since the pain went away I didn't think about it.

Now the pain is almost constant and in my back too. It is still intermittent, but intermittent every 6 to 8 hours, not days, not weeks, or months.

Drinking large quantities of water helps, means you gotta be close to a bathroom, but that is okay as long as I'm at work or home.

So Thursday, last week, I go to the gyno. She isn't in so I see the PA, I give the PA my urine. The PA prescribes a antibiotic, but since there is blood in my urine she has me give her more urine. She tells me to come back in a week. Tells me she doesn't really think I have a bladder infection. I am in nasty pain all weekend, I call them Tuesday for my results. They forget to give the message to the PA, I have to call back at the end of the day only to have the PA tell me, that she thinks I may have kidney stones, maybe.
I tell her, why haven't they done bloodwork, she says they'll let the specialist do that.

She gives me the names of urologists, all men.

I look on the internet, seems like 99.9% of urologists are men.

I call the urologist, since I'm not dying in pain, I get to wait a week to see someone.

I'm so aggravated I want to cry. I'm functioning, but not comfortable. Thanks for letting me vent.

I remember when I had the (still undiagnosed) pulmonary emboli. I had shortness of breath and chest pain for several months and when I tried to get into the pulmonologist (my primary referred me) they wouldn't see me for 3 months. I did cry. Then a few days later, I started coughing up blood and my primary doc got me a CT and the rest was history. But I will never forget that hopeless helpless feeling when I just couldn't get IN to the right doctors.

Be your own patient advocate. It sounds like it's *probably* not a life or death problem, but you are in pain and you are not happy. Call your gyno - try to get an appointment with her (not the PA). Call the urologist back - call several urologists. Keep calling til you find someone who will see you. Soon. As in this week.

Good luck.

I've had a couple of bouts of kidney stones. One was not painful, but required lithotripsy. The other was more painful, but I was able to pass it after drinking large amounts of water.

Blood in the urine is a good clue. The test will probably involve an IVP (dye) and sonagram. I had a bad experience with my reaction to the IVP the 2nd time.

I happened to find a female urologist, but I wouldn't worry too much about the gender of the doctor- it's a biological/medical issue.

Good luck, and feel free to send a PM for more info.

Try looking specifically for a gynecological urologist. You may have to go to a major city to find one, but you're right, urologists deal with men much more often than they do with women, and they're overwhelmingly male. I totally get not wanting a strange male sticking stuff in your orifices, even if they are a doctor.

When I had a kidney stone I just wanted help ASAP, I didn't care if it was from male, female, black, white, or green.

If you feel well enough to wait to get in with a female doc, then more power to you. Just don't let it drag out so long that you get kidney damage.

Update

Well I got on the internet and starting research in urogynechology, there were a few. I went to the websites to investigate. One website of an office not to far away showed slim attrative model type women of all ages and ethnicities. It advertised urinary incontinense and prolapse, fibriod treatment, pelvic surgery and robotic surgery. I called they could take me, in two weeks.

So back to the internet of my medical insurance. I found someone who saw me and I do have a stone. I am getting a CT Scan to confirm size and location that will then determine treatment.

I'm more uncomfortable now. And I drink so much water now that I pee all the time. Maybe I'll just pee it out, I hope, I hope, I hope.

My first thought was dermoid ovarian cyst (because I had them, and every doctor thought it was kidney stones).

Has that possibility been entertained?

In any case, whatever it is, the CT scan will confirm it for sure.

Thinking of you. Both are very painful!