Duplex kidneys - any one else?

[Lynseylou73]

I was diagnosed with duplex kidneys/ureters at the age of 30 - having spent many a time in hospital with other problems it took this long in my life to discover it!

It was actually only found when I had kidney stones and needed a dye test to determine the problem. I am to understand that this affects 5% of the population so I am not a rarety??

I was wondering if anyone else had a late discovery of the problem and also if they suffer or experience any problems as a result of having the duplex system.

Should I be watching out for anything as I get older?

My 17 month old has kindey reflux (with only one kidney working) - does anyone know if there is a link betwen the two conditions (hereditary?) as I am well aware the VUR is strongly hereditary (1:3 chance a sibling will have it).

Just wondering really, it's amazing these things happen in the body and do not cause any apparent problems!

Many thanks
Lynsey

[chrisbradleyuk]

I am 66 and just discovered via a recent CT, I have a duplex kidney it has never caused any pain or problems, no stones or infection, I am currently experiencing a leak when asleep, so pads have to be used. I shall be asking my GP some relevant questions. The scan that discovered a D K was not the first scan I ever had, so how come it wasn't remarked beforehand.

[Fham2365]

i too have a duplex kidney that was also found when I was having stones, I'm now 50 and I have had no problems whatsoever with it. I always laugh and say that's why I always have to pee but don't think that's the reason lol however on a serious note, we found out yesterday that my Grandson that's 2 , has no left kidney. He had to have a ct scan to check his abdomen because of a fall and they asked us if we knew he had no left kidney. We were shocked! No one except me has any type of kidney deformity in our family..on either side..., could this be related to his problem? We are going to the Peyton Manning Hospital in Indy to find out what all is going on...but as far as worrying, mine has never caused me a problem :)

[kevin28]

How old are you now and how long have been on with it?

[Katie416]

Hi
My 14 month old daughter has a duplex kidney and we found out yesterday at our 22week scan that our son also has a duplex kidney. Iv written more information and advice plus our experience here http://www.twounder2two.com/2013/11/duplex-kidney-hereditary.html there are also more posts on this blog about duplex kidneys aswell

Hope it's of some help and reassurance
Thanks
Katie

[amandam1028]

I have duplex kidneys, and had surgery when I was 6 months old, my doctors discovered what was wrong with me when I was only a few weeks old, when I was born I had no symptoms, however at a few weeks old I was found unresponsive in my crib and rushed to the hospital. They couldnt operate until I was big enough. Something was wrong with the ureters, and urine was leaking inside where it shouldnt have been, and I had cysts on my bladder. Anyways, I am now 17 weeks pregnant, and had absolutely no issues conceiving, we were lucky with our first try. I am now left wondering if my baby will have the same issues I had. :(

[Lynseylou73]

How bizarre, I had trouble conceiving with both my boys, and have never thought there was a link with my duplex kidneys (no one ever suggested it either??).

I ended up conceiving naturally both times (after hefty treatment on the NHS that didnt work!), I went down the alternative therapies route and fell pregnant easily after accuouncture and reflexology! BINGO!!

I am now intrigued about a potential link with thyroid disease as I really struggle with maintaining a satisfactory weight....?

The plot thickens!!

[lindahand]

I don't know about fertility. I have stage 3 kidney disease and a few other health problems so I have decided not to get pregnant. Kidney disease can cause fertility issues but if those levels are strong I can't see it causing issues but would ask the specialist or your GP next time you see them.

[lynski1]

I also have a duplex kidney on my left side. I was first ill at 3 months old but my duplex kidney was not found until I was 19. It was only spotted when my boyfriend (husband now lol) basically told my GP something had to be done as I was being taken to hospital at least once a month and my weight was down to 6.5 stone and I had no quality of life and no one knew why. Finally after investigating I was told I had a duplex kidney but was then told to be happy as some people only had one!! This didn't help me much as i was still having recurring kidney infections! Again my hubby stepped in and told my GP this wasn't good enough. I was then sent to another kidney specialist who investigated further to discover it was reflux causing the problems. I had an operation to widen all my tubes and can now say I have far fewer problems. I have however had fertility problems. :-( Has any of you had trouble getting pregnant?

[Kathleen134]

I see you also have numerous problems with your DUPLEX KIDNEY plus the HYPOTHYROID problem. I traced the cause of mine back to my GREAT GRANDPARENTS and TB. In turn they cause problems with the pelvic floor, so my problems worsened after having had children (2), but Charing Cross did tests in 1973, and sent me home in a worse state saying they could find nothing wrong apart from the kidney being DUPLEX with 2 ureters on the right. Things worsened after I was sterilized (so will give a warning on this).
I was placed on a drug for many years in turn causing problems so more and more drugs were prescribed. The drugs had caused the thyroid problem to get worse. I became incontinent, in turn it did not help with infections. My weight went up to 17 stone during the 13 years I was kept on this drug. This weight would not have done ones heart or lungs any good (I suffered in childhood from collapsed lung twice. I ended up with breast cancer, in turn surgery 3ops pulled me down. The drug tamoxifen caused even more problems, so could not take them for very long. The same surgery caused me to be very ill having advised sugered lemonade allowed to go flat (never take this advice it is very dangerous). I departed from that surgery as I had attended the GP every month for 13 years but ended up in a shocking state.
Having had further surgery due to the effects of Tamoxifen caused the finish of our marriage enduring a rough time in a refuge in 2001. I have now just finalised divorce.
I had repair work done on a rectocyle and cystocele in Chelsea and Westminster (I no longer had faith in the local hospital).
I then had to have haemorroids dealt with in the local hospital, and again had problems within 5 months of this.
Since then having had a scan on the kidneys and then told I do not have a DUPLEX KIDNEY but may have a partial one. They arrived at this due to both kidneys being smaller than Charing Cross quoted. I do not feel a DUPLEX KIDNEY can disappear, but kidneys can shrink, especially when one cannot drink due to the other problems caused by these kidneys.
I suffer pain every night back and bladder plus joint pains. To have painkillers would only worsen things, and antibiotics are on the NO lists.
I am hoping to move shortly, but would anybody feel that it is worth signing on with a GP again having had problems with GP's in the past.
My present GP has refused to send me back to Chelsea and Wesminster due to the government guidelines. The local hospital does not have a resident kidney specialist, and to finalise I blame a GP for the break-up of our marriage.

[lissavalenz]

Wow!  After reading all of your posts, I'm beginning to think that we are related!  Here is my history.....  At age 2 years old I began running high fevers of 106 and 107 on a regular basis, i.e twice a month.  It took a year of this to finally find a doctor that would look into the source of the fevers and told my parents that I was having severe kidney infections.  After doing an IVP, they discovered that I had the following problems... 1.  Duplex kidney on left  2.  Left kidney is low in pelvis and malrotated  3.  Right kidney is scarred and atrophied due to infection  4.  Severe urinary reflux in right ureter (the cause of infections).  My family history of thyroid disease is nothing short of amazing, affecting both my mothers side and fathers side of the family.  I have four siblings.  Along with myself, two of my sisters have had thyroid disease and ultimately thyroidectomies.  My younger sister, who also was diagnosed with urinary reflux at age two years, also had a thoracic thyroid removed (3rd person in the world and 1st in the United States).  

I have had constant problems throughout my life with my kidneys due to the scarring on the right side.  I battle kidney stones constantly and my left kidney (pelvic, duplex) is now deteriorating and has started to fail.

Reading this forum has lead me to believe very strongly that all of these problems are definitely not random and most likely linked.

[jack67]

I also have a duplex kidney which I did not find out about until my 30's when I had an ultrasound before having an ovary removed.
My grandmother also had a duplex kidney.

[Kathleen134]

Since my last comment Drs now think that I have a PARTIAL DUPLEX KIDNEY and say one ureter from the kidney, but a diagramn I have from records shows two ureters enter the bladder on what was said to be DUPLEX, so I assume it splits as a Y into two going into the bladder. Our family do have thyroid problems, and this in turn causes a variety of problems. It also causes defects in a baby if the Mother has HYPOTHYROIDISM including kidney defects, as Hormones can also alter in pregnancy.
The thyroid problem in turn could have been handed down from the times when there was a lot of TB, as it can affect the thyroid gland and they used to remove part of it, so the mother becomes HYPOTHYROID in turn causing problems to a baby. They did not treat with thyroxine then and even today the condition can get missed.
The thyroid problem in myself was not found despite being hospitalized before my two were born.
Even after this despite many visits to GP'S and enduring remarks from them, it was not found out until my two Daughters had almost grown up. The condition was then found in one Daughter after loosing babies, but despite treatment the last one suffered damage before birth, but how much damage will surface in the future we do not know.
I will also add this that in my struggle to get to the bottom of things that I have been struck off twice by two GP'S. plus ending up with cancer myself.

[jillfreeman62]

Despite what they say, i think duplex kidneys are hereditary,  I was born with two duplex kidneys (removed at age of 3)  My brother has three individual kidneys, my sister an extra uether, my son a duplex kidney, my neice an abnormal kidney and my granddaughter is undergoing investigations but they have found that her left kidney is abnormal.  Co-incidence???  I dont think so..

My son was put on trimethaphrine (sorry not sure how to spell it) the day he was born until he was 2 and a half years old.  He had all sorts of unneccessary investigations, which were distressful to both my son and myself.  They found no problems with his kidneys and has had no problems since.  He is now 18 year old.

[Kathleen134]

HI Lynsey- I too have a Duplex Kidney, and had health problems since the age of 9months but developed more problems after having children, then the Duplex kidney was found, but nothing was done.
There is also evidence of another kidney condition in relatives.
I suspect a problem with my two Daughters who were never checked at the time.
I have linked to a cause in our family.I am glad to have found somebody with the same problem.
Regards Kathleen