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I Have Been Experiencing Pain Or Discomfort On My Right
Question: I have been experiencing pain or discomfort on my right side just below my ribs for the last few weeks accompanied by occasional pain urinating. There is no visible discoloration in my urine. The sensations of discomfort on my right side are typically mild sharp or stabbing pains and sometimes sensations of pressure.
If I drink at least a gallon of water per day the pain usually subsides for most of the day, however now, even if I drink a lot of water, I am still starting to feel some discomfort.
Over the last year or two I have always noticed that if I didn't drink at least a 8 glasses of water in a day, I might experience the above symptoms but as long as I drank enough water I was fine. Over the last few months though, the amount of water I've had to drink to avoid these symptoms seems to be increasing to the point that I'm now starting to get symptoms no matter how much I drink.
Please note that I have already had an appendectomy.
Also, the symptoms that I have been experiencing are only on my right side.
If I drink at least a gallon of water per day the pain usually subsides for most of the day, however now, even if I drink a lot of water, I am still starting to feel some discomfort.
Over the last year or two I have always noticed that if I didn't drink at least a 8 glasses of water in a day, I might experience the above symptoms but as long as I drank enough water I was fine. Over the last few months though, the amount of water I've had to drink to avoid these symptoms seems to be increasing to the point that I'm now starting to get symptoms no matter how much I drink.
Please note that I have already had an appendectomy.
Also, the symptoms that I have been experiencing are only on my right side.
Brief Answer:
Possibly kidney stones
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using 'Ask a Doctor'. Your symptoms sound most likely to be due to kidney stones, especially if the pain is more towards your side or back along the ribs. It may be that you are having multiple small stones that you pass without seeing them, or this may be coming from just one stone. Drinking a lot of water does sometimes help with these, but often is not enough, and you may need further treatment to help the stones pass or even to break them up to allow them to pass.
You will need to see a doctor in order to confirm whether this is from stones or not, which will likely involved getting a urine and blood test, along with CT scan. I would expect this to show clearly the cause of your symptoms and hopefully you can get them treated quickly.
If for whatever reason you cannot see a doctor anytime soon, you can try to keep drinking plenty of water and see if that makes it tolerable. But if the pain worsens, or you get a fever, nausea and/or vomiting, I would recommend you be seen urgently.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Possibly kidney stones
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using 'Ask a Doctor'. Your symptoms sound most likely to be due to kidney stones, especially if the pain is more towards your side or back along the ribs. It may be that you are having multiple small stones that you pass without seeing them, or this may be coming from just one stone. Drinking a lot of water does sometimes help with these, but often is not enough, and you may need further treatment to help the stones pass or even to break them up to allow them to pass.
You will need to see a doctor in order to confirm whether this is from stones or not, which will likely involved getting a urine and blood test, along with CT scan. I would expect this to show clearly the cause of your symptoms and hopefully you can get them treated quickly.
If for whatever reason you cannot see a doctor anytime soon, you can try to keep drinking plenty of water and see if that makes it tolerable. But if the pain worsens, or you get a fever, nausea and/or vomiting, I would recommend you be seen urgently.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Thank you for the reply.
Do you know if there is anything else that I can do on my own to try and treat this besides drinking water? (I do not currently have health insurance so a doctor visit is only possible as a last resort if I have the symptoms you described).
Also, are there any medications that can be prescribed to help treat kidney stones or any other measures I can take?
If there is a medication, I can try to see if I can get it prescribed via a tele-health service. Thanks again.
Do you know if there is anything else that I can do on my own to try and treat this besides drinking water? (I do not currently have health insurance so a doctor visit is only possible as a last resort if I have the symptoms you described).
Also, are there any medications that can be prescribed to help treat kidney stones or any other measures I can take?
If there is a medication, I can try to see if I can get it prescribed via a tele-health service. Thanks again.
Brief Answer:
Not many other treatment options
Detailed Answer:
Unfortunately, there aren't easy treatment options for kidney stones other than drinking plenty of water. NSAIDs like Ibuprofen (up to 800 mg 3 times a day if you don't have any other medical problems) or Aleve can be used for the pain. If the stones are small enough to pass, we sometimes prescribe medications that help relax the ureters to let the stone pass, but I doubt a telemedicine doctor would prescribe these for you because of the restrictions on what telemedicine doctors can treat. If you are able to strain your urine and catch a stone, it can be analyzed for what type it is, and then you can take medications and adjust your diet to prevent them, but it would be impossible to know without doing that analysis first, and obviously that doesn't help you now.
I wish there was more that I could do to help you, I hope it clears up with the water intake, or hopefully you can obtain insurance or find a free or low-cost clinic that might be able to help.
Please let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be glad to help any way I can.
Not many other treatment options
Detailed Answer:
Unfortunately, there aren't easy treatment options for kidney stones other than drinking plenty of water. NSAIDs like Ibuprofen (up to 800 mg 3 times a day if you don't have any other medical problems) or Aleve can be used for the pain. If the stones are small enough to pass, we sometimes prescribe medications that help relax the ureters to let the stone pass, but I doubt a telemedicine doctor would prescribe these for you because of the restrictions on what telemedicine doctors can treat. If you are able to strain your urine and catch a stone, it can be analyzed for what type it is, and then you can take medications and adjust your diet to prevent them, but it would be impossible to know without doing that analysis first, and obviously that doesn't help you now.
I wish there was more that I could do to help you, I hope it clears up with the water intake, or hopefully you can obtain insurance or find a free or low-cost clinic that might be able to help.
Please let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be glad to help any way I can.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
Answered by
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