Kidney Stones / Urethral Stent while pregnant

julimejia2 · September 2016

Hi Mommys! I am 24w3d pregnant and got diagnosed with kidney stones on my right side. I had a stent put in today and I am in quite a bit of pain. I have been trying to read on the topic and all I find are bad news...anyone who has suffered from this before and can offer some words of encouragement?

cayaylonglegs · September 2016

From my experience that stent (and kidney stone) is just painful, pregnant or not. Hopefully you'll pass the stone soon and it can be removed!

Mamax2 · September 2016

I've had kidney stones earlier in this pregnancy. It was so painful. However, I didn't have to have the stent. I'm sorry you're in such pain. Hopefully everything resolves soon.

phoenix870509 · September 2016

@LinziLoo09 is our resident expert on the subject of kidney stones during pregnancy.

ajstevenson · September 2016

phoenix870509 said:

@LinziLoo09 is our resident expert on the subject of kidney stones during pregnancy.

Was just going to say the same thing!

LinziLoo09 · September 2016

Awe I feel your pain...literally. Yea unfortunately there is a small subset of women who get kidney stones in pregnancy (and during breastfeeding) thanks to our wonderfully changing bodies. I wish I had good news for you, but essentially all they can do during pregnancy is treat the pain and put in a stent if needed. If you're still dealing with them once the baby is born, I would look into scheduling a lithotripsy before the end of the year (get it all under one deductible).

Despite the scary tone that "narcotics" has, particularly in women who try to avoid all medication during pregnancy, low doses of opioids used to treat pain from kidney stones have not been shown to cause any issues in development. The primary concern is if a woman is using them very regularly towards the end of her pregnancy, as a baby can be born dependent upon them. I've had to use them as needed for pain with both of my pregnancies, and DD1 (almost 2 years old now) is perfectly healthy and DD2 is developing on track and looks great. Of course, as with anything pregnancy-related, more research is needed, but the pain of stones really needs to be treated.

I would also recommend that once you have the baby, if you breastfeed, be sure to chug TONS of water throughout the day. My stones continued throughout breastfeeding because I was always essentially more dehydrated than usual since my fluids were going towards making milk. I'm sorry you're going through this! Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk further about it. I've been dealing with this fairly constantly for 2 years now and am always happy to bitch about my crappy kidneys!

ETA: If you go to a urologist, they should be able to ultrasound both kidneys to make sure you're aware of all stones. Hopefully you just have one that needs to pass. Even if there are multiple, as long as they stay where they are in the kidneys and don't try to make it down the ureter, you shouldn't feel pain. You can live very peacefully with stones as long as they don't move. If you're (hopefully not) like me, then you have a large stone that bumps to disrupt flow to the bladder periodically as well as "gravel" that passes on the regular. I'm a rare screwed up case though.

squiddy224 · September 2016

I haven't had any experience with kidney stones myself, but DH has and had to have a stent placed. He also had to have lithotripsy done as his stones were too big to pass. I second the recommendation to make sure you're well hydrated. DH's urologist gave him a list of food/beverages to avoid to try to prevent further kidney stones, they thought the culprit for him was store bought iced tea because of the caffeine and the preservatives. This is pretty similar to the list they gave him: https://www.activebeat.com/your-health/10-foods-proven-to-trigger-kidney-stones/?streamview=all

LinziLoo09 · September 2016

The problem with many of the dietary recommendations is that a lot of healthy foods make the list (not all are included on that list). After my first stone - long before pregnancy - I completely cut out sodas, and I was stone-free until pregnancy more than a decade later. I barely eat any processed foods; don't drink any carbonated beverages; and my caffeine was limited to one cup of coffee prior to pregnancy. But dairy, leafy greens like spinach, and blueberries are really nutritionally necessary to my diet, despite all being high in calcium oxalate. And those foods (especially ones high in antioxidants) are protective against heart disease and cancer. Blueberries are protective against macular degeneration, which runs in my family. My nephrologist even said that he wouldn't recommend I change my diet because those foods are so nutritionally valuable. And in the end, if it comes down to heart disease/cancer/blindness or some stones, I'll take the stones. So make the dietary changes where you can, but I definitely wouldn't restrict foods that have significant nutritionally benefits. It just isn't worth it.

tripledaggerWed95976 · September 2016

**lurking***
i had a stone on my right side when I was pregnant, it became stuck in my urethra which cause hydronephrosis (fluid accumulation in my kidney). My urologist told me that the stent is often times as painful as the stone and advised against it. Unfortunately the stone remained stuck for the rest of my pregnancy and it passed two days after I gave birth. I wish I had better news for u :-( sorry your going through this

julimejia2 · September 2016

I am just getting the chance to read all of these comments and I appreciate all of the kind words, thanks ladies!! I had been a bit shy about writting on the board but the response and being able to rant and hear back from people who have experienced the same is honestly AWESOME.

@LinziLoo09 great detailed info you offered, thank youu!!! Unfortunately my kidney stones run in the family, I have had to deal with them before, but obviously being pregnant makes it A LOT worse...the stent is new for me and I am having a REALLY hard time with it. You mentioning the "narcotics", that is actually my biggest worry considering I rarely take any medications at all, it mortifies me to be passing all of these "drugs" to the baby but really I can't bear the pain without them

Looking forward for the pain to be over and manage a safe and "healthy" pregnancy!

knottiee0254e4502ba4e7e · January 2023

Hello! I am 14 weeks pregnant and was diagnosed with a kidney stone on Weds. The ER doctor gave me a dose of dilaudid for the pain and my pressure was 158/108 but he insisted the high BP was more detrimental to baby than the dilaudid. I’m still however so nervous and anxious about them giving me the dilaudid. Should I be?

Also, I haven’t passed it yet as I still every other day have SEVERE urge to pee and a dull aching over my left kidney (hasn’t been nearly as bad as the night I went to ER). I see a urologist tomorrow but I am nervous about any procedures affecting the pregnancy if need be, shoukd I be?

Has anyone had an x-ray or CT to detect the stone if ultrasound couldn’t find it?

Want a personalized experience?

Kidney Stones / Urethral Stent while pregnant

Re: Kidney Stones / Urethral Stent while pregnant

Choose Another Board

Search Boards