So I have what I believe to be is a kidney stone working its way out. I have sharp radiating pain in my pelvic area that started up higher a couple days ago, and was more of a dull ache. It kind of felt like an air bubble at the start, and I thought that it would pass, but just got worse. Urinating is painful more often than not (sometimes I seem to catch it between pain pulses, if that makes sense, and it's not so bad). I bought a test strip kit for a UTI, which I had thought might be it yesterday, but I used all the strips at different times and they all turned up completely negative, not even a hint of infection (and no other signs of one aside from the painful urination). Laying down is more painful than sitting or standing, and it's hard to find a comfortable position.
I'm holding off on the doctor right now because I don't have insurance, and it's not debilitating pain. I've upped my water intake even more, use a heating pad on my lower abdomen and take ibuprofen. If It's still this bad tomorrow, I will just eat the cost and go to make sure it's not something else. But kidney stones run in the family, so that's why I'm leaning towards that being the case.
I've been doing a lot of reading on it, and I'm seeing websites that say higher protein diets can trigger this. I usually eat a lot more protein than I had before, since it keeps me full and satisfied longer. Is it possible that my higher protein diet has caused this problem to act up? And has anyone else noticed an issue with kidney stones after changing their diet?
