Is this a kidney cyst, kidney stone & simpe cyst, or?

[nemhain]

I was in hospital in April to have a kidney stone removed but instead of a stone, they found a cyst.  They inserted a catheter and took a contrast x-ray to find that there was in fact a cyst with calcification in it.  They still call what I have a kidney stone though.  I'm constantly in pain and the doc says I shouldn't be.  Is this a complex kidney cyst or is it a kidney stone?  Please help.

[researchaholic]

Of course you are right about "many more than three types of stones"- that's why I said at least 3- should have said "more than 3" I guess!  I didn't want to overwhelm her w/info- just wanted to impress upon her how important it is as a patient to be completely sure what her diagnosis actually is as isolated kidney stones and chronic cystic kidney disease are diff. things and it wasn't clear which she is dealing with.  I am not familiar w/ cckd and can't imagine the suffering (and research) you must have been through.  I had approx. 5 kidney stones before I finally took matters into my own hands and insisted that my vit d levels be checked only to find out I have lost most of the ability to absorb vit d other than through sunlight-which means reduced absorption of calcium- which in my case caused calcium stones- after mega supplementation with vit d under superviosion- I'v had no more stones.  Too bad my other health problems aren't so easy to fix!  Just wondering-if not too nosy-what types of stones do you struggle with?  Your post re renal cysts was interesting as I am not familiar with that particular prob. Something new to learn about.  I was an investigator for 20 years and try to use that interest to work on my health.  It wasn't until I started medically educating myself that I stared getting any answers.  

[el_em_en_oh]

I'm not sure what the above poster is talking about, as there are many more than 3 types of stones... I can name 5 off the top of my head: Calcium, Uric-Acid, Calcium-Oxilate, Staghorn, Cystine.

As for there being a 'stone' inside your cyst, don't be confused between a kidney-stone and a calcification inside your cyst. Kidney-stones occur within the renal cavity, whereas cystic- calcifications occur within the cavity of the cyst. Some doctors refer to the calcifications inside cysts as 'stones', but it's old-school terminology. More acceptable term these days is renal-calcification.

I'll reiterate... find out from your Urologist where on the Bosniak-Chart your cyst falls. That's the first thing you should do. Once you find that out, come back and we'll talk some more.

Been doing this for 20 years (since I was 18), and had 1,000's of stones and many hundreds of renal cysts both complex & simple, so I know of what I speak.

[researchaholic]

You should either clarifiy this with your doc or have him send you a report of his findings.  Did he say you had passed the cyst?  I would think a cyst would indicate it is attached to the kidney or ureter-you don't pass cysts and I've never seen a stone referred to as a cyst.  To further confuse matters, however- there are at least three different kinds of stones- one of which is calcium.  Once you've had a stone your chances of another stone increase so there would bethat possibility as well.  Please call your doc and either ask for the exact medical term or better-ask for the report.  When doc. know you are "checking" their work, they are more likely to make sure they haven't made a mistake.  You should feel free to ask them EXACTLY what the diagnosis is in correct terms.  I would be interested to hear what you find out.

[el_em_en_oh]

Ask your doctor where on the Bosniak-Chart your cyst falls. The Bosniak table is a sort of grading system used for classifying renal  cysts.

I've had more than several Bosniak 1 & 2 simple-cysts in my life, and even had a 2 with a calcification in it, removed earlier this year. Complex cysts simply mean that there's a higher probability that it's turn cancerous. Not trying to scare you... just being honest.

If the cyst is indeed a 3-4 on the Bosniak, as the doctor if it's operable. They don't have to perform 'open surgery' for this type of thing anymore and can do laporoscopically. It's called a "Renal Cyst Decortication".

As for the pain... don't let your doctor tell you that it shouldn't hurt. Renal cysts hurt a lot. More of a dull, throbbing pain, than an excruciating pain (like a kidney-stone, in my opinion anyway), but every urologist in the world will tell you that cysts aren't supposed to hurt and that you're wrong. Don't let them tell you that. If your doctor is unwilling to prescribe you pain-meds, have him refer you to a Pain-Management Doctor. A decent PM-Doc will be able to help you with some longer acting narcotic pain-killers.

Good luck to you my friend. I feel your pain, literally.

LMNO