Kidney

[froggy]

I had an ultrasound of my kidneys today.  My right was fine, but the tech said the left was inflamed and looked thick.  I don't get to speak with the doc until sometime next week.  Does anyone know anyting about this?  Would the mino cause this?  I have severe RA.

Thanks

[linda]

I don't know if mino can cause that kind of problem, but it is partly filtered thru the kidneys so it certainly has the potential to damage the tissue. Have you had any pain on the left side of your back below the ribs? Or a history of urinary tract infections or kidney infections?It could also be something as simple as kidney stones causing a blockage of the kidney, if that's the case you would probably have the back pain.

Another possibility is that the RA is causing inflammation in your kidney, especially if you've had any infections that could have been mycoplasmas in your urinary tract ot kidneys. Mycoplasmas can travel thru the bloodstream, so maybe they hitched a ride and decided to hang out in your left kidney and now your immune system is attacking them there. Or you may have had a kidney infection years ago, and now the mino is attacking the bugs in your kidney causing a herx reaction. I think both of those theories are stretching it a bit, tho. There could be many possibilities, so I wouldn't get too worried yet.

Have you been tested for Lupus? Even if you have and it came back neg., you might want to get retested, sometimes it can take several years before the test will show a positive result. I'm really sorry that you have to worry about this right now. I hope it's something simple and not related to the RA or mino. Best wishes,

linda

[froggy]

Thanks linda.  I had a horrible UTI/kidney infection about 8 years ago.  Put me in the emergency room.  Maybe that is it.  i was tested for lupus a couple of years ago and it was negative.  I have had pain in my left lower back, but it's much lower than my rib cage.

[linda]

It sounds like the pain is in the right location for a kidney problem, it is supposed to be below the rib cage. That does make it more suspicious that the bacteria are active again and your immune system is reacting as usual, or the antibiotics are doing their job and you've got a herx from bacteria die off. If we knew for sure, I would say to drink a lot of water or the lemon/oil detox drink, but because the kidney could be blocked, drinking a lot of fluid could compound the problem. I'd call your doc and ask him if there is anything you should or should not be doing until you see him at your appt next week. Be sure to mention the bad UTI/kidney infection when you see your doc. Good luck,

linda

[Maz]

Linda, that is an excellent recommendation to take the lemon/olive oil detox drink for kidney probs. In fact, it's an old tried and true home remedy for kidney stones and helping to dissolve calcifications in the kidney. 😀 The other side benefit is that lemon is highly alkalising and any inflammation in the kidney would have a hard time in an alkaline environment.

Interestingly, I read a while back on a liver flush forum that when gall stones were examined in the lab, at the very center they found bacteria. I can't cite this as fact, as I don't have the relevant references to hand, but just remember that as being one of those stand-out comments that stuck in my memory. Kind of makes one wonder if bacteria may be at the root of many dysfunctions in the body.

Froggy – so sorry you're now having to go through this issue. Linda's comments are all well thought out and I don't think they're “way out there” at all. Proteus mirabilis is a common UTI pathogen and has actually been linked to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. A researcher by the name of Ebringer has done much research on this connection. I've had a kidney infection in the past and it isn't fun at all! Horribly painful and I could barely walk. Antibiotics will clear up the acute infection, but it's pretty common knowledge that whatever pathogen we pick up during our lifetime remains and co-exists with us in our body in latent forms.

As Linda says, this might be kidney stones causing inflammation and some back-up, but hopefully you'll have your answers soon and it will be something easily resolved. In the meantime, check with your doc to make sure, but the detox drink could be quite beneficial and pretty benign.

Peace, Maz

[froggy]

Thanks again.  I do not believe it is stones as they are none showing up on the ultrasound.  At this point I would mind if it was.  I don't understand the thick part.  I think I will call today and see if I can find anything out.  I hate waiting when something is not right.  Argh!:headbang:

[froggy]

I have had a lot of pain from the RA lately too.  Maybe it is an infection!  That would actually be nice at this point!;)

[richie]

Hi

You should really have kdney function blood tests –the two basic tests are BUN and serum creatinine –In fact anyone on minocin should have this test at a minimum of once a year along with liver enzyme tests —these are basic –if any thing is not normal then further blood tests are called for —

richie

[froggy]

I had them done in Nov and they were normal.  Guess I can go again.  So frustrating!:headbang:

[linda]

Sounds like you've covered all the bases. Waiting is the worst part, to be sure.

[froggy]

Linda,

Defintely the worst part!!!:headbang:

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