Mommytobe with Kidney Pain

Hi R.:

I understand your concern. Please keep your stress level as balanced as possible. Definitely stay in communication with your doctor. As suggestions, if you think the kidneys need help: you can increase your water intake (distilled water) and drink throughout the day, drink unsweetened cranberry juice or place cranberries in your oatmeal.

Alternative care can assist as well, Enzyme Therapy, Reflexology, Aromatherapy. Contact me if you are interested in these kind of wellness approaches.

All the best,
N.
Maternity Care Practitioner
www.wholecreations.com/wombfull.html

Hi R. most probably it is a UTI which will show the kind of growth only in a urine culture. Your OB will prescribe you antibiotics which are safe to use during pregnancy based on the type of growth that is shown in the culture report. Do not jump to any conclusions, although UTI is a cause for worry during pregnancy but waiting for a couple days will not cause any trouble. After the reports have come be prompt in taking medication for the prescribed no of days and do not forget to take a repeat test after three days of withdrawl of antibiotics to make sure that you are cured of the UTI

Advice-
Call your ob/gyn and ask if u ewnt to ER how long would results take? Tell them you are worried bc of yourhealth history. If they are waiting 3 days maybe they're not so worried or maybe they need more info from you.

Trust yourself to do what is best for u and your baby but inform your OBGYN before u go to an ER.

R., I would follow Jyoti K's advice to the T. The day i found out i was preggers, they told me i had a UTI (funny b/c i didn't even feel it.) I got them again several times towards the end of my pregnancy. They said that b/c your bladder is so stretched out from the baby's weight, it does not empty properly. Urine that remains in the bladder for too long can easily start to develop bacteria leading to an infection. I was put on ampicillin and other antibiotics to clear up the infection. These are not harmful to the baby and do not cause stomach upset. Try to stay calm and please avoid going to the ER unless you absolutely have too. Remember, there are a lot of germs in an ER waiting room that could be very harmful to your growing fetus. Trust your OB and always inform them of any problems you might be having. Good luck!!!!

I have never had a kidney infection but I think until you get your results and can start antibiotics I would increase my water intake and better yet add cranberry juicy to keep your kidneys flushed. Good luck and don't feel bad for worrying. We all worry when we are pregnant and then we worry when they are born. Everything always has a way of working out.

Hi R., based on what you have told us it sounds like the ER would be a waste of your time and money, not to mention extremely frustrating. Tests all indicate so far no infection, ER won't make the confirmatory test come back faster. Don't rely on co-worker to feel your head, especially if you are a worry wort and she wants to affirm you by saying "yeah, you do maybe you do feel a little warm." Just take your temperature with a thermometer. If you don't have one in the office, better to use your time and money to run to the pharmacy to get one (along with lots of cranberry juice (100% juice, not cocktail juice). If you don't have a temperature, then wait for your ob/gyn to come back with the last test. If you do, call your ob/gyn and give her this new info. Most importantly, take a few deep breaths! One day you will tell your child this funny story about how you panic'd unnecessarily out of your already great love for them. They will enjoy it immensely! (However, I recommend you write it down in your baby journal because you may forget it!!) Love to you from all of us :)

If you had a kidney infection, trust me when I say, you
would not be writing this. Kidney infections generally
produce a temp of 103, chills etc. Is there a possibility of a bladder infection maybe. That will usually
show up on a dip stick. I would just wait. You can
usually get preliminary culture reports in 48 hours.
Good luck and hopefully your discomfort is due to
the aches of a normal, wonderful pregnancy.

I would wait to hear from your doctor. Going to the emergecny room can be a nightmare, so avoid it if you can! A friend of mine went into the hospital for similar symptoms, (and in her case, it turned out to be kidney stones), and her experience was awful. She spent 12 hours there, only to be sent home told that they "didn't know" what was wrong. She has resident after resident coming up and asking her how long she had been in labor, and she had to keep explaining over and over (through horrible amounts of pain) that she WASN'T in labor!! You may have a urinary tract infection, and you may not, but I would not head over to the emergency room unless absolutely necessary!

i hope that you are feeling better. it seems like everyone that responded gave you some great advice. take it one step at a time and go from there. this is only the begining of being a new mom and worrying all the time. i do hope that it is nothing more than a uti, if even that. i would also like to say that i to am in croton and am a postpartum doula. if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask. it is always nice to know that there is support out there for when you need it the most. i also hold a postpartum support group. take care and maybe i'll hear from you. stay well :) -jen

I would go to the ER. When I was 7 months pregnant with my 2nd daughter, I had a fever that would not go away, even with taking tylenol. Turns out I was dehydrated with a kidney infection and was in the hospital for 1 week. This did not affect my daughter's birth whatsoever, she weighed 9lbs 3 ozs and is 13 years old today !!

R.,
I had kidney and bladder infections throughout my pregnancies and didn't have any problems with low birth weight, premature labor, or any other complications associated with them. Your ob should be able to give you an antibiotic that won't harm the baby. Whether you go to the E.R. or not is not going to make you be treated any quicker. Stick with your ob, he/she knows you and your history and can treat you accordingly, leave the E.R. for true emergencies. One other thing, I don't blame you for being a worry wart, I am too. I am in the health care field, plus I am a nursing student and have been told by my doctors that I know too much and drive them crazy most of the time. My biggest problem is I self treat for as long as I can and by the time I go to the doctor I am really, really sick. So the bottom line is let your ob take care of things at least for now. Let me know if you need anything else.
Hugs,
T.

never think you are being a worry wart when you are pregnant. You have to trust your instincts. I would call your OB right away and mention that you've had a kidney infection before, it feels the same, you're having a burning sensation and a slight fever (take your temp, perhaps). Talk to her and express your concerns. Worse comes to worse, you have no medical problem (which is actually the BEST case scenario). Don't feel silly. If you go to the ER, they might just tell you to go to your OB.

Drink lots and lots of water (a little lemon is nice and keeps your feet and ankels from swelling). Cranberry juice is very good to drink, because it sounds like from your symptoms that you may have a urinary tract infection.

It sounds very likely that you do have an infection. Can you ask your doctor for antibiotics that are safe during pregnancy to hold you over until the lab results come back? At best you'll prevent the infection from advancing; at worst you'll only have lost a couple of days of treatment.