Any of you have kidney problems with your autoimmune diseases?
In the past 9 months, something showed up in an MRI on one of my kidneys that was unidentifiable. Dr. did an ultra sound and then sent me for a CT and more ultra sounds. I chose to not let them go up with the dye because I headed toward a bright light with that dye and then with the nonionic dye. Not quite ready for that. Redid the CT and said I did not have a kidney stone.

ANYHOW...:o) Now I have a UTI and an appt. in the a.m. with the urologist. Not looking forward to it.

I have had blood in my urine for 8+ years and diagnosed with early kidney disease.

Will be anxious to read your input.

Thanks.
Possi

Hi Joyce - had acute nephritis as a 10yr old youngster: but that was due to a bug going round the school, others came down with scarlet fever, but three of us with nephritis. Two of the gals died, I got through it.

Since then, kidneys OK but am 'always' careful with ANY and ALL meds that might throw a kidney reaction.

An AS person I know over here has kidney problems. Presently in a very bad way. Lived on NSAIDs for years and years which his GP hands out like the proverbial sweeties.

Please be careful with those CT scans, each of em is equal to 120 X-Rays and a high resolution CT scan to 180 X-Rays = dangerous. Why didn't they do an ultrasound?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_stone
Kidney stone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_stone - Similarto Kidney stone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ultrasound imaging of the kidneys can sometimes be useful, as it gives details about the presence of hydronephrosis, suggesting the stone is blocking the ...
Signs and symptoms - Causes - Pathophysiology - Diagnosis
Renal Ultrasound
www.sonoguide.com/renal.html - Similarto Renal Ultrasound
Figure 8-12: Several examples of kidney stones are shown. .... The ureters are generally not well visualized by ultrasound, but, when distended may appear as a ...
How Ultrasound Is Used to Break Down Kidney Stones | eHow.com
www.ehow.com/how-does_4987800_used-break-down-kidney-stones.html - Similarto How Ultrasound Is Used to Break Down Kidney Stones | eHow.com
How Ultrasound Is Used to Break Down Kidney Stones. Kidney stones are calcium deposits that harden in the urinary tract. They can be very painful to pass ...

Most concerned - Hope they will sort this problem for you Joyce.

Take care -

Hi Joyce - I had kidney stone and crystals - also have adrenal adenoma (benign) on left adrenal gland on left kidney - having many symptoms from this adrenal gland - asking doctor to send me to specialist this Friday.

Like you had blood in urine ongoing my EGFR is high - but doctors not concerned - yet - my calcium is elevated as is my PTH hormone.

Hugs & kisses to you and Sassy
Gerri & Makaylah

Thanks for the links! I guess I didn't post accurately. They have done ultra sounds twice to see if this UFO is growing. :o)

I appreciate you.

Blessings.
Possi

Hi Gerri.
My husband has an adrenal adenoma on a kidney. They are choosing to leave it alone as long as it isn't bothering him. He has so many RA problems, COPD, Diabetes, Heart Disease. I don't know how they would know if it is bothering him. :o)

Since yours is bothering you, I really hope they do something.

Sassy has been cuddled up to me on the bed for my quick rest.
She stayed when I got up. :o)

So good to talk to you.

Hugs and Blessings.
Possi

Possi,
May Iask what blood in urine looks like? Is it red or just darker colored urine?

I hope your UTI clears up soon, sorry to hear about it. I don't have any kidney advice, I just suspected blood in my urine and I was unsure of what it looks like.
Take care.

Something to keep in mind is secondary amyloidosis - it tends to hit kidneys and liver when it is triggered by an inflammatory disorder. On ultrasounds I would expect it to show up as slightly denser areas, but I might be wrong as ultrasounds aren't usually used to diagnose it. Its also pretty rare so imaging places may not recognise it well. The only real way of proving what it is (if you don't have access to SAP scanners like the one at the National Amyloidosis Centre in London) is to have a biopsy, but with your history of blood in urine and early kidney disease I would say its worth considering amyloid and asking about having a biopsy done.

Primary amyloidosis is nasty, but treatment of secondary amyloidosis relies on just bringing down inflammation to stop more amyloid forming.

Sorry to hear that a test has led to more tests (I hate that, too). Last fall, I had a lumbar MRI (for sciatica), which had a 'something' in one of my kidneys. Radiologist suggested an ultrasound. Then the ultrasound radiologist suggested a CT (without contrast). It was never positively identified and the CT radiologist suggested a urologist. I balked at that point because I was having such issues with other problems that were more urgent. Now I'm having what seems to be interstitial cystitis, so a urologist is likely in my future when life quiets down some.

For you, if he can't figure it out, it's probably not something to worry about right now. Just wait and see. Hugs--keep us posted.

Visually, blood in urine makes it look cloudy (if you were to collect it in a clear container. A lot of it would gradually settle down to the bottom of the container and look like blood.

HERE is a link to explain more about urinalysis (look at the parts for the visual examination and the chemical examination for more information about blood in urine).

My kidneys were shutting down due to a bacteria.
All the men in my fam have that tendency, as did my Dad.

But my levels all got better as the bacteria died.

Nice to see you again, Possi