I have had a nagging ache and sometimes sharp pain at the bottom of my back either side of my spine for a few years now and it is gradually getting worse, I went to the doctor who told me that it was probably plain old back ache. The thing is it really hurts the day after a few beers making me wonder if its something to do with my kidneys. What are the symptoms of kidney infection or damage? I haven’t been to the doctor for over 18 months and am kind of worried about going. I used to drink heavily and take quite a lot of drugs, it is only since I have been clean that it has really started to get bad. I’m worried I have damaged my body severley and I think thats why I keep putting off going to the doctor. Can anyone give me some advice as to what it is likely to be? I realise that you cant give an exact diagnosis, what I really want is some possibilities so I know what to expect when I finally pluck up the courage to go. Thanks.
Well I have broken kidneys but am not a doctor so I will just tell you what the symptoms are in my case.
I have a genetic defect that caused my immune system to attempt to murder my kidneys when I was a child. I have ‘normal’ kidney function that is carefully monitored and medicated to keep it that way.
The biggest outermost symptom I have is edema. You can easily check for that by taking off your shoes and socks and pressing really hard on your lower shin. When I do this I leave dents that stay for at least 10-15 minutes.
Unfortunately for self diagnosis my other symptoms are high blood pressure and cholesterol and protein in my urine. You could go to the pharmacy and get some urine test sticks to see if there is anything extra in your urine but a doctor is the best one to interpret results.
You really should see a doctor and have a full set of labs done as you could have done all kinds of things to yourself that will only get harder to treat with time. Take care of yourself!!!
Thanks, i’m really quite worried now but i’m going to go to my doctor asap.
I had a kidney infection about a year ago. It was a constant pain, like somebody was squeezing my left nut with out lettin up, and at the same time being stabbed in the lower left back with a dull knife.